Dedicated?

Someone asked me today if we were planning on christening Aiden. My response? No, we're not Catholic (this is strictly a Catholic thing, right?). This started the discussion (again) between Chris and I about dedicating Aiden.

Christening is defined as: the ceremony of baptizing and naming a child.

Child Dedication is defined as: a ceremony in which believing parents, and sometimes entire families, make a commitment before the Lord to submit a child to God's will and to raise that child according to God's Word and God's ways.

By the above definition does this NEED to be done in public? Is there a NEED for this to be done in the church, in front of people that we don't know (or barely know)? Or is it just necessary to make the commitment? If the thought is to have the church (or people) hold you accountable to your promise to raise your child in a Christian household then why not just make the dedication (or promise) to those that you care about... family... friends... those that have a vested interest in seeing you raise your child right? Would it be the same to ask someone you know, say... a cousin, to personally hold you responsible for this instead of people you barely know? Chances are I'd be more likely to listen to the thoughts and opinions of someone I trust and love vice someone that I feel may just be judging me because they don't know me as well.

Just some thoughts about this that I'm having. Does the Bible say we are to dedicate our children? I must investigate... and pray about this...

On the same subject... are God Parents strictly a Catholic thing too? hmm....

Life is hard enough for my little guy... does he need to worry about this too?

Orientate what?

*I'm not actually sure if that's a word but who cares... haha
**It is by the way... Webster defines it as: verb: to face or turn to the east

Aiden and I had CDC (Child Development Center) Orientation today... Talk about enlightening (that's sarcasm by the way...). We were told to be there by 0900 because the orientation would start PROMPTLY at 0900. Well when 0930 rolled around and we were still sitting there someone was slightly upset that she skipped breakfast to ensure she was on time (that would be me).

The things I learned in the hour and a half that I was there (this was supposed to be 30 minutes... did I mention I missed breakfast?).
- Bottles must be labeled daily (name, room number, date and ounces)
- Diaper bags - no
- Diapers, wipes, 2 changes of clothes and bottles - yes (but no bag)
- No tummy-time (suffocation hazard?)
- They make you wear little surgical booties when you enter the room (is this odd or normal? lol)
- Formula must be mixed already (they don't mix it)

And the #1 thing I learned?
- I'm so not ready to hand my monkey over yet... As frustrated as I get from time to time I absolutely love him and hate to not see his precious face all day... :-(

Here's to hoping the next 2 1/2 weeks go by a little slower!

See... adorable, right??? :-)

And look how protective the pups are! haha...

Aiden - 5 weeks

5 weeks! So for those that have been following; you know that as of last week Aiden still wasn't up to birth weight. Last Thursday he was 8lb 5.5oz. The doctor wanted us to start supplementing with formula in order to try to get his weight up (and to ensure it was just a skim milk issue vice a liver or stomach issue). He went back yesterday for another weight check.; the doctor wanted him to gain 1oz a day (that would've brought him up to 8lb 12oz in a week). Apparently I have an over-achiever on my hands... my little guy went in today and showed that doctor who's boss. Little Guy weighed in at 9lb 5.5oz today... he's gained a whole pound in a week!! That's 2oz a day vice the 1 that the doctor wanted. Way to go Monkey! :-)

We moved Aiden into his own room last weekend as well. He's not in his crib yet but he is sleeping wonderfully in his room, in his Rock n Play. Most of this week he's slept from about 2130-0430! This varies from day to day (Wednesday he slept from 2230-0600). A friend of mine thinks we're blessed with a good sleeper because Logan wasn't so fantastic when he was little. Don't get me wrong; Logan was a great baby but he was definitely more fussy and slept less than Aiden does. Whatever the reason, we are truly blessed by having such a great baby.



**The fabric for this week is in honor of the first day of Fall! Happy Fall everyone! :-) **

New job prospects?

Yes, please!

Hubby put in for a new job this weekend. He's perfectly qualified for it (probably overly so) and the raise would definitely help with paying off bills...

What is this job you ask? Why it's the EXACT job he is currently doing only as a government employee instead of a contractor. So see... he really is perfect for it... hehe... ;-)

Here's to praying for God's will and guidance in this matter.

What's Currently on My Nook (9-22-11)

My Nook is currently VERY busy; I've taught it to multitask just like me... hehe. I'm currently reading 1 book for fun, 1 Bible Study and 1 parenting (not to mention the Bible Study we're doing with our church group that is a hard cover book).

1. A Confidant Heart - Often the biggest obstacle to living out our faith is our own doubt--about our worth, our abilities, our relationship with God, and situations in our lives. A Confident Heart gives voice to the questions, doubts, struggles, and hopes so many women have. Author Renee Swope shows us how to identify, overcome, and learn from our self-doubts so that we can live confidently in God's assurance, truth, and grace. Perfect for women's small groups or individuals, A Confident Heart is an authentic, insight-filled and encouraging message for any woman who wants to exchange defeating thought patterns with biblical truth that will transform the way she thinks, feels, and lives.

My cousin received an email about doing this book as an online study and asked if I wanted to do it with her. It definitely looked like a study I would be interested in so I was all for it. The study started this past Sunday and so far I'm enjoying it. I'm not exactly the best at keeping up with things so I sure am praying I can keep this one up!

2. Bringing Up Boys - Dobson, a psychologist and family counselor, takes a decidedly conservative approach to the "special challenge of raising boys." Celebrating the natural differences between boys and girls, Dobson outlines biological differences, particular issues in disciplining boys, and the different roles of mothers and fathers. He scoffs at those who attribute differences to social factors. Dobson is particularly critical of feminists and their influence on American culture, for example, the advent of nonsexist toys. Dobson sees the "future of Western civilization" dependent on how we handle the "crisis" of raising the next generation of men. Much of his advice on boy-rearing issues, from discipline to attention deficit disorder to coping with divorce, is biblically based. Each chapter ends with a question-and-answer format. The most controversial chapter examines the origins of homosexuality, calling it a "disorder" that can be cured. Conservative and Christian readers may enjoy Dobson's book; other readers are likely to take issue with some of his observations.

The last 2 weeks a few women from church, all with new baby boys, have met up for a 'play date'... I use this term very loosely since right now the babies are all really little and aren't exactly 'playing'. We decided that this would be a good book to read and discuss together. We're reading the first chapter this week and will discuss it at 'play date' next week. I read the first chapter today and was quite entertained. I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of this book but am not looking forward to returning to work and having to stop attending these play dates :-(

3. Passion - Luce would die for Daniel. And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . . Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last. Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history. Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames. . . forever. Sweeping across centuries, Passion is the third novel in the unforgettably epic Fallen series.

This was my middle of the night feeding, quick read. It was number 3 in a series and extremely quick and easy to read (pretty sure it's actually a teen novel... lol). Either way, I enjoyed it. OH, and I say 'was' and 'enjoyed' because I just finished it today (while I was waiting for my tire to be fixed). Time to find another 'fun' book to read :-)

What are ya'll reading right now? Anything of interest? Any suggestions for my next middle of the night read?

Happy Friday everyone!

Footprints Through Time - Part 1

What does this


plus this


equal? Why a new art project of course! :-)

Chris and I were looking for a interesting way to document our little one's foot prints. He decided that the neatest thing to do would be to document them throughout his entire first year of life. So, for every month we will take a ink print of his feet and place it on this canvas. It will be interesting to see how much our little one grows in his first year...




Aren't little baby feet the cutest?? Happy Monday everyone!

Post Baby Workouts

4 weeks postpartum and I am DYING to start working out and to get myself back! I hopped on the elliptical the other day for 15 minutes; 5 slow, 5 more vigorous, and 5 as a cool down. I thought I would be just fine but where I had stitches is feeling really sore :-(

Perhaps I'll try a little slower for the next two weeks instead of trying to just jumping back into things. Especially since I'm not technically 'cleared' to work out yet. I have 4 weeks left until I return to work and 2 weeks left until my 6 week check up. I'll have to make a trip to the uniform shop at my 6 week check up if my pre-baby uniforms don't fit... I sure am hoping it doesn't come to this! Wish me luck!!

Chris bought me Zumba and Biggest Loser for Kinect today! Has anyone used them? I cannot WAIT to try them out!

Anyone else have any ideas for getting back into shape after baby?

Aiden - 4 weeks

OH MY!! My Monkey is already 4 weeks old!! This means I only have 4 weeks left until I return to work... I sure hope the next 4 weeks go by a little slower then the past 4... :-(

He had his 4 week check up on Thursday. He's still not up to birth weight (8lb 9oz) but had gained 5oz this past week bringing him up to 8lb 5.5oz... I was THRILLED with his progress!! Apparently the doc did not share my sentiment :-( He's in the 35% for weight and 89% for height... Doc basically thinks that I'm producing skim milk instead of whole milk (she doesn't think my milk has enough calories for him). Soooo... she decided that I need to feed him the 3oz of milk that we've been giving him (he JUST started asking for more than 2oz at a time Wednesday) and THEN offer him up to 2oz of formula. She wanted us to try while we were there since he had just eaten. I was extremely skeptical that he would take any of it since he just started wanting more than the 2oz but he literally took the 3oz of milk and the ENTIRE 2oz of formula with no issues!! He's been eating like a champ the last few days but not looking forward to the added expense of formula (although I assumed it would come to that at some point). He'll see what the doc has to say about his weight gain this coming Thursday.

We made a trip to base Friday and surprisingly it was the easiest dealing with the Navy I've had in quite a while! I added Aiden to DEERS, put him on my page 2, added him to Tricare AND talked to CDC about his spot. They didn't think there would be an issue with him getting a spot by the time I head back to work (Oct 17th) but couldn't guarantee anything. We'll see how it goes :-) We also made a trip to work! Surprisingly he needed to have an 'escort required' badge in order to get into the building... I found this OVERLY humorous. I'm not sure I'd be worried about a 4 week old running rampant around the building or telling insider secrets... haha. But everyone loved him and thought he was just adorable!

Here's to a great week!! :-)

Aiden - 3 weeks

**Posted just a tad late but better late then never!**

Monkey turns 3 weeks today. On Wednesday he had his 2 week follow-up (yes, at 2 1/2 weeks...). Doc weighed him in at 8lbs .5oz. Still WAY under his birth weight of 8lb 9oz but doc said not to worry. With the fact that he lost so much right after birth (1.1 lbs or 12% of his weight) it's reasonable for him to still be under his birth weight. He did say that he was gaining enough per day (about 20 grams) to be considered just fine and perfectly healthy! He also measured him at 21.75 inches. This part is humorous to me. When he was born he measured 22 inches, 5 days after he was born they measured him at 20.5 inches, Wednesday they said 21.75 inches. Who knows how long my baby boy ACTUALLY is... haha.

He's not particularly a fan of tummy time. This usually ends up with TONS of screaming or he turns it into nap time... haha. Today he decided that it would also turn into 'roll myself over time'! Yup, he decided he didn't want to be on his tummy anymore and rolled onto his back! :-) Growing up far too fast for my liking!

The material for this week is in honor of football season starting!

Happy Friday/weekend everyone!

Outsider Looking In

One of my English teachers from high school, Mrs. Reitz, recently posted this article. While reading it, I couldn't help but see myself... how I felt, how I act, and how I react.

I've mentioned on here before that being from a military family and being in the military I've had to move around and therefore have missed out on having those life-long friends that most people have... the ones that they grew up with, the ones they went to college with, the ones that they'll never be without. I don't tend to open up to people I don't know. I don't usually go up to people I don't know and insert myself into conversations. I've been told on multiple occasions (by some good friends) that I can come off as a b***h because of these things... I've tried to change how I come off but I'm not sure how it has worked out. I have some fantastic friends that I've come to love over the years... sadly, most of them are in different states due to the military.

When Chris and I moved to VA we joined a church, met some great people and became good friends... or so we thought. I put myself out there, I opened up, I let myself be vulnerable and I was hurt, tremendously. Enough so that we ended up leaving the church in order to find another one. A few months later we found IBC after looking at MANY other churches. I love the church but even after a year I feel like an outsider at times. It's truly hard to move into a new area, where friends already exist and groups are already formed. In order to try to counteract this Chris and I joined a small group and have tried to become involved in the happenings of the ABF (Sunday school). Most recently someone (multiple someones) invited me to join the church's MOPS group. I thought long and hard about this... I prayed about it... I tried to come up with excuses why I couldn't/shouldn't join. Instead I decided to put myself out there... You can join and pay either all at once or one meeting at a time. I decided to bite the bullet and pay for the entire year hoping that this would ensure that I would attend.

So tonight was the first meeting. I was excited to be going... more so for the opportunity to NOT to be the outsider anymore, the opportunity to hopefully make those life-long friends that I long to have... friends I can trust and that are there for me... friends that are at the same place in their life that I am. Chris came home from work, I fed Aiden, I left... sadly, on the way to the church I hit a pothole and destroyed my tire. :-( We're still not sure if it's the tire or if I messed up my rim as well. Hopefully we can find out tomorrow. Maybe I can go to the next meeting without it being so eventful... we shall see! Here's to hoping

Aiden - 2 weeks

Our wonderful little monkey is 2 weeks old! I can't believe the last 2 weeks have come and gone. Chris returned to work today (just in time for a 3 day weekend), his mom is coming into town this afternoon/evening for a week and we're hoping to go visit Chris' brother, Danny, down in North Carolina this weekend (he's in the hospital down there after he was hit with an IED July 24th).

Once he hits a month I'll probably start giving information on what he's liking and doing, etc. But for now he's not doing much except eating, sleeping and pooping ;-)

He's sleeping decently off and on (as I sit here and type this he's been fighting sleep for over an hour... lol)

He's eating like a champ (2oz every 3 hours or so)

And steals my heart more and more every day!



OH, the fabric this week? It's in honor of his Uncle Danny, who he will get to meet tomorrow!

You Call this Healthcare?

As most of you know, Aiden Christopher was born on August 19 at 0609. He weighed in at 8lb 9oz and 22 inches long (definitely gets his height from his daddy!). Being active duty I had to deliver him at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda (about 45 minute away, on a GOOD day). Within my 9 months of pregnancy I've come to realize that Military medical stinks! Want some reasons? No worries, I've come prepared :-)

1. In the 9 months of my pregnancy (of which I was only seen for 7 months since they won't even SEE you until you're 9-12 weeks) I was seen 12+ times and saw 8+ doctors. This is absurd to me! If I can see the same doctor for the entire pregnancy out in town, why not in the military? Is the military that understaffed? Do they not think continuation of care is important? Or do they just think it's humorous to have a pregnant lady tell the different doctors the same information over and over again because none of them know the issues that have been going on? None of these are acceptable reasons to me.

2. Aiden was seen 3 times at NNMC within his first week of life. How many different doctors did he see? Two. Now again, is it not important for the SAME doctor to see the my child continuously? Would make more sense to me... especially since they don't appear to put the information that was discussed in his record or on the computer.

3. When discharged from the hospital the pediatrician said that Aiden had an appointment the following Monday at 1030. We get up, get ready and are about to leave the house when we get a call from the hospital saying that the only opening the actually had was for 1530! Then please tell me why I was told to be there at 1030... we live 45 MINUTES AWAY! This is now in the middle of rush hour... not acceptable.

4. All babies are required to have a 2 week follow-up with the doctor after birth. This is to ensure that their weight is going up, jaundice is non-existent and that circumcisions and such all healed properly. While at his third appointment at NNMC (he's 1 week old at this point) I tell them I need to make his 2 week follow-up in a week (they wouldn't allow me to make it earlier because he was still coming in to be seen), this SHOULD have been on either 1 or 2 September. What does the receptionist tell me? We have 7 September open. ummm... that's 3 weeks... it should be his 2 week follow-up, is that ok? Sure, as long as it's not before 2 weeks... THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF IT BEING A 2 WEEK FOLLOW-UP????

Do I need to go on at this point? I didn't think so. Here's to hoping things get better in the healthcare department! :-)