Vacation Recap

So we spent the last two weeks in Myrtle Beach with Ryan's family and had a blast! Some of the highlights:

Handing Kherington off to Grandma & Grandpa in the morning and going back to sleep for 3 hours. She loved laying on their bed and watching the ceiling fan go round and round.

Beach time - Kherington's first dip into the Atlantic Ocean. We only took her to the beach in the evening because it was so hot and a burned baby is NOT a happy baby from what I hear.

Golf - Adam hooked the brothers up with some free golf at the golf course

Games - Found two new good ones: Bananagrams (it's kinda like individual scrabble) and Monopoly the card game (only takes like 15 minutes to play)

Singing time - Ryan's family has some amazing musical talent. Kherington loved listening to Cory on Piano and Adam on Guitar with everyone singing along!

Prison Break - we watched the first series of prison break. It was really slow in comparison to 24...we all thought it would have made a better movie.

Baby Blessing - We blessed Kherington while we were there. She had been VERY gassy and right as Ryan started the blessing she let a very fragrant smell out of the rear. haha...like daughter like father.

Family - the whole family was there including Jason's fiance Tiffany. They are getting married August 31st. We are so excited for them!



We took some family pictures at the beach. Here are two of my favorites:

In the two weeks we were there, Kherington grew so much! She was a little angel on the plane ride out, but had about an hour of crying on the way back...she just didn't want to go to sleep. It is amazing how much more personality she has now. She has her different cries...some of them are pretty funny. She now loves her bouncer, swing and flying bears in her crib. Speaking of crib...Kherington now usually sleeps through the night (10:30pm - 6:30am)...at 8 weeks she slept exclusively in the crib and at 2 months, we moved the crib to another room.

Well, we got back on a Tuesday and I went back to work on Wednesday. After two months off that was kinda a shocker, but I like what I do and it is perfect for us right now.

Our Little Honey

We do have the cutest girl ever (she talks at the end of the clip...kinda):


Her dad and two of the uncles were nice enough to sing her to sleep...it's way large, but hopefully I'll be able to get it up eventually.

Exciting News

Ryan has started studying for the CPA exam. Here is a shot of his typical studying:
Yep, Kherington is just that interested in Tax Accounting. Well, he took the first of 4 exams during the last week of May and found out this morning that he PASSED (with flying colors I might add...and he thought he did bad). One down, 3 to go!

Favorite Baby Items

Here are a few of my favorite baby items:

Sleeper Sacs - Kherington has pretty much lived in these and onsies. The sleeper sacs are especially nice at night because she kicks off all the covers but still has something over her AND it we have easy access to her diaper to change her.

Sponge Pad (for Bath) - this was just 5 bucks at babies r us. We just stick it in the tub, soak it with warm water and fill the tub up a little (so it is still lower than the sponge but we have water to wash her with). She loves her baths. It keeps her warm on the back side, then we cover her stomach with a warm wash cloth on the front side. (Thanks to the Nelsons for both the object and technique) It takes up next to no room (I would guess the bulk baths are a pain to store) and it so cheap that I don't have a problem tossing it out and getting another one for the next kid.

Huggies Newborn Diapers - they have a line that turns blue when the baby pees. Now Kherington doesn't care if she is sitting in pee, but the first 3 weeks of life, if we could tell that she peed and she was unhappy, we'd change her and then she'd be happy again.

Gripe Water - We originally only gave this to Kherington when she was crying for a long time, but in the last couple days she has developed some bad gas and is not happy as she tried to get it out of her. We found if we give her the recommended amount 3 times a day, she is happier and poos more consistently. (Also thanks to the Nelsons)

Disposable Changing Pads - Yes, every couch cushion has been soiled (we spot clean them), but the changing pads are nice to have. First, when we open her up she often pees again; the pad cuts down on the number of locations that get soiled. Second when she goes poo it is nice to just move to a new section of the pad instead of dirtying another diaper.

Breast Pump - I had planned on pumping when I go back to work, but I've used it a ton just being home. Kherington like to fall asleep when she is breastfeeding which makes it take FOREVER. Generally when she takes the bottle, she eat a lot faster, doesn't fall asleep as much and we can tell how much she is actually eating. Pumping is way faster and then it doesn't always have to be me that feeds her. So depending on what I'm trying to get done for the day that is definitely a nice option (aside from only during formula which I would image would get pretty expensive).

Favorite Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

I have been looking for a really good oatmeal cookie recipe for awhile now. Most recipes I like the cookie dough, but the cookies end up cake like. I'm partial to the crispy outside, chewy middle kinda cookie. Well, I found this recipe on allrecipes, and with some adjustments, it is now my favorite.

OATMEAL COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup chips (I mix butterscotch and chocolate)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream margarine, oil, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients until well blended. Mix in oats and chips. Drop from a teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Let set up on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

One Month Old

Kherington is one month old today!...man, she's getting old! She is very long and skinny. She had graduated from newborn onsies to 0-3 month onsies (only because she is so long). The rest of the 0-3 months clothes still swallow her up. The first two weeks after she was born she spent so much time awake. Not necessarily crying, just awake and looking around. Then just in the last couple days she's been sleeping, waking up to eat and going back to sleep...i believe that means growth spurt.

Nights are interesting. The first couple weeks I just didn't hear her, but Ryan would wake up to everything. If I did wake up, I'd rollover and tell Ryan to get a bottle or make her to stop crying (I don't remember that one, but Ryan does). I've gotten better though. I like the current system. She gets put to sleep in her crib, wakes up at 2-3am and 6-7am to eat. If she doesn't go back to sleep, Ryan takes her and I sleep until I wake up (yesterday that wasn't until almost 11am). Hopefully by the time I go back to work, we can convince her that she doesn't want to eat at 2-3am.

Some things about Kherington:

• She now sleep in her crib (aka pack n play) for the first 3 hours of the night
  
• Poos by herself - no more poo pellets to help it come out
• Doesn't mind sitting in a wet or poopy diaper
• Has left her mark on every couch cushion even when we use the changing pad (fyi: girls pee shoots too)
• Enjoys all of bath time - not just getting her hair washed
• Takes both a bottle and a pacifier
• Likes to sleep on her stomach...too bad she is supposed to sleep on her back
• Has strong neck muscles
• Has a cute cry when she jolts out of sleep and is hungry (she doesn't even get her eyes open before the cry starts)
  
• Is a pretty chill baby

So our lives pretty much revolve around her now. It's hard to get motivated to do anything knowing that I really only have like a 2 hour window between finishing feedings and starting the next one.

The Grandmas - thanks for coming and taking night duty!

Shout Out from Kherington

Kherington: "Hi everyone! Thank you for all the comments on the blog. I'm glad I made it here healthy and strong. I look forward to meeting everyone soon."