more vacation please!

Such A Merry Christmas!!

if you're like me you...
A. think it all went by too fast
B. are dreading putting away the decorations
C. have a lot of cleaning to catch up on
D. will be super thrilled if husband does B and C while he's at home this week! =)
E. are not counting on D...haha
(had to come back to this post to note that husband did in fact clean up while at home this day! He's too sweet)

Fun Crayon Shapes

I found this fun way to save those little broken pieces of crayon from getting thrown out! Or if you're like me and you have no crayons in your house you can melt new ones. Also, the big shapes are easier for little hands to hold. And, they're more fun than plain ol stick crayons! Annnd, they make a fun gift. If you think you have no shred of creativity in you at least do this little project!! I found the idea at Living with Lindsay and she found the idea at Beach Brights.

It's so simple. Just toss your color sorted crayons (3/4 full) in a cooking spray coated muffin/cookie pan and melt in the oven. 350 for 8 min.

I used a holiday cookie pan I found at Hobby Lobby, it was 40% off. But I'm sure a muffin pan would work too. I bought a 64 count box of the cheaper crayons. And was able to make all the shapes shown below plus 6 more. It is recommended to sort the colors. And it didn't take as long as 8 min. I just kept an eye on them, and pulled them out when they were all liquefied. When you go to pull the pan out it is probably best to not have little ones or K9s near. You have to move pretty slow to keep the hot wax from spilling, all the while the oven door is open. Then just let cool and pop 'em out and admire. Some just fell out when I turned the pan over, others I had to bang out. Here are some photos from my crayon making fun!

I wanted the ribbon on the wreath to be red, didn't really work. I think I had too many reds in that little area. There is a close up of the finished wreath below.

There was one white, black, silver and gold crayon. I mixed the silver in with the snowflake and I think it turned out pretty cool. And the white went in with the snowman. Not sure where the gold went. And I did not use the black crayon.

all melted

yay fun shapes

He got some fun hand me down toys from cousins. Yay. I'm all about reusing and free =)

For a few weeks now Bear has been putting his hands to his mouth. It may take him a second or two to find his hands with his mouth. He's not fully aware of what his hands can do but I'm sure that's just around the corner. He is up to 11 lbs as of today. But he just ate. =)

4 month stats

    Little guy had his four month check up on Wednesday. We are always full of questions, but our doctor is super nice and smart and takes his time to answer 'em. It's always interesting to talk about where Bear is on his growing chart. I suppose if I had had a full term baby before him I would be able to compare the differences for a preemie and a full term baby. But then again I might be comparing too much and worry unnecessarily about his development. Regardless, Bear's development is normal to us. And he truly is right on track for being 2 months early. In case you're wondering. The doctor has a nifty graph on his laptop that shows us his development. There is a line for Bear (born 32 weeks gestation) and a line for if he were born on his due date (Oct. 5). But there's no interesting lines around the full term area. So the graph is made to reflect his "adjusted" age. It would be no fun and kinda sad if all we ever did was compare to a baby born full term. The conversation would be full of "he's not there yet", "behind", "soon enough". So I'm glad we have our little adjusted graph from the doctor. Oh and our doctor had a preemie baby, so that's nice too. He'll basically be about 2 months behind on physical development. Like head control, eye movement, smiling, and then the bigger things like crawling and walking. Did you know that crawling isn't on the growth development chart? Some babies skip right over crawling and go to walking! Our doctor also had a child that skipped crawling. Guess some are just eager to get going!
And for some things he'll be ahead of his baby friends that were born around his due date. Can't remember what specific things he said. Probably social things? maybe? Oh and he gets all his shots on a normal schedule, meaning those aren't adjusted for his prematurity. Since as soon as he was born he was exposed to the world and all those fun germs (well not so much in the NICU, but still.)
So for his 4 month appointment....
he weighed in at 10 lbs 6 ozs and 22 inches.
He eats about 4ozs ever 3-4 hours.
Wears size 3 month clothing.
Size 1 diapers.
    I like Pampers diapers better than Huggies because I think they are softer. And if I had to wear a diaper 24/7 I think I'd pick the soft one. But I will buy others when I have a coupon. And his diaper is changed often at daycare so we sometimes get the Target brand for daycare.
But for wipes I like Huggies. They tear easier.
    In an ideal world I'd be at home with little man and I'd use cloth diapers. I think it's a great option because you save the world, bah! whatever, you save money!! and we all know that's what we care about most. Well actually they are healthy for you baby's bum too. And that's priority. But in the long run, money is saved. yay.
Have a fun and safe weekend yall!

Bear is 4 months

Bear turned 4 months old on Saturday the 12th.

Bear -
You are 4 months old today! Amazing! You bring so much joy to your dad and I. We are so thankful God gave you to us. How wonderful to be able to care for you here on Earth. We know we aren't perfect but you make us want to do our best. We hope and pray you come to know your Savior Jesus. He loves you immensely, even more than you father and I! We know God has a great plan for your life. He made you in His image and He delights in you.

At four months old you are so alert and becoming more and more aware of your surroundings everyday. You recognize daddy's and my voices. Daddy's voice gets you particularly excited and you try to smile at him. We know that so soon you'll be smiling all the time! Since you were 2 months old you have been able to roll to your back from your tummy. You fuss for a bit then use your strong arms and legs to flip right over. You try to walk, but as daddy says you aren't quite strong enough to hold up your whole body. We hold you under your arms and you lift one leg at the knee and move it forward, then the other leg. We move you along as you lift your legs and it's like your walking. All too soon you will be! You are truly a great baby. When anyone asks what you're like. I tell them you may fuss if super hungry or if your pacifier falls out, but other than that you are so calm and relaxed. You have started sleeping about 6 to 7 hours at night! Wow, it happened one night and you decided you liked it and have been doing that ever since. We like that too. Holding you in our arms is simply bliss. Being your parents has brought us so much joy. We never imagined that we could experience such a love as this. God is a wonderful creator and we praise Him for your life. We are anticipating the next step in your life, what ever it may be. I can't say this enough, you are such a delight and you amaze us. Your father and I have so much love for each other and we gladly pour out our love to you.

Happy four months baby Bear!

yawning at small group Christmas party

At Opa’s land

Bear's Etsy Items

We got the package of his handmade items in the mail on a Saturday and he wore his little ensemble to church the next day. Sadly I forgot to take a picture. But we went to the 5th St. Christmas extravaganza and he wore his shoes and hat. Here Bear and Dad are watching a performance by some girl, she's famous and a great singer but I didn't catch her name.