Thursday, June 24, 2010

Three is Tricky

I'm a few weeks into this whole taking care of another kid every day thing. It's been quite the transition! But it's really made me think about whether or not we'd consider having another baby (jury's still out on that one...). I've always considered Nate to be a very social kid and thought this would be like a really really long playdate for him - what kid wouldn't love having another one over to play every day? However, it's revealed his competitive nature and how possessive he is over his stuff. Cody on the other hand loves having around another person closer to his size. He enjoys getting in there with the kids and playing with 'big kid stuff.'

Since all our family on the Horban side is heading out of the country for summer vacation, we got together to celebrate birthdays: Megan's 28th and Cody's first! I wasn't sure what to expect with Cody tasting his first cupcake (since Nate wanted nothing to do with sugar of any kind until he was 2 years old) but one tiny taste of chocolate icing, and that cupcake was demolished within minutes!


Thursday, June 10, 2010

My Best Friend... Husband, Father, Leader

Monte bought me an under-the-cabinet radio/CD player for the kitchen for Christmas, and so we have Praise 106.5 on pretty much all day. It's nice to have on in the background while I cook and it sometimes reminds me to be a little more patient and show a little more grace to my boys when we're in the middle of baby/preschooler drama! But the other day I heard a song that really resonated with me. Sanctus Real sings a song called "Lead Me" and it's a prayer of a husband/father's heart. After hearing it a few more times (Praise is not exactly known for their vast selection of songs!) and being totally affected by it, I went online to Sanctus Real's myspace page and read through the lyrics. In it I recognized pieces of Monte; I knew intimately the heartache and hope expressed through this song. It brought me to tears as I listened. What an essential and beautiful message not only for men, but for the women they're leading. I really needed a reminder to pray for Monte every day. It's an incredible responsibility and privilege to be a man, created to love and follow God throughout his entire life AND to lead his family in the same way, no matter what. As a wife who wants to follow her husband's leadership, I know the best way I can support Monte is by continually asking God to show him how to lead, and to give him the strength and courage to do what it takes as our leader.

Lead Me by Sanctus Real

Monday, June 7, 2010

Recipe Blog

Every Sunday I sit down with my notepad, recipe box and grocery store flyers to plan my meals for the week and make my grocery list, usually with a cup of coffee and a muffin in the morning before heading off to church. I love preparing my meal plans and digging out "lost" recipes from the back of my recipe box; I find it so satisfying when I can get something organized in our noisy, busy, cluttered home. But every so often I feel totally stumped and can't come up with anything worth making (or eating) for the week. From conversations with friends and reading status updates on facebook, it seems like most of us cooks feel tapped out from time to time. So I decided to start a blog where I can collect and share some of my favourite recipes, and hopefully new recipes will be shared in the comments section. Beware, I am no gourmet cook; I didn't go through in-depth training at a culinary institute like my husband. Some recipes are loved by our family because they're so simple and fun. Some recipes are healthy and low-fat, while others throw all that out the window. And everything I enjoy making can be found at a regular grocery store. If you have a favourite recipe or two, please share it! I could use some fresh ideas.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Bye Bye Baby... Hello Toddler

I was so on top of recording Nate's milestones during his first year; I'm not doing so well with Cody's. Well, he's on the move now and is a very determined little guy. He keeps me busy! He's crawling, pulling himself up, climbing stairs, even cruising around furniture a little. While I'm saddened by the thought of no longer having my little baby to snuggle with, I'm really excited to see Cody walk and interact more with Nate. Cody gets so energized by the people around him and I can tell he just wants to be included. Once he becomes a little more sturdy and mobile, he'll hopefully be less frustrated with having to just be the spectator.

Today's our first complete day on the bottle... Cody's been weaning himself over the last few months and while I tried to fight it at first, I eventually embraced the idea of bottle-feeding and slowly moved to formula. We're both happier now. I never loved nursing but knew it was best for him and my own preferences weren't a good enough reason to bottle-feed. Ten months was a pretty good run.

He's cutting his one-year molars on the bottom, making 10 teeth in total in six months. No wonder we're so sleep-deprived and cranky! He weighs 24 lbs, and is wearing 18 month clothes. He babbles a lot (and VERY loudly) but hasn't said his first word yet. Cody prefers finger foods over pureed baby food; I have to get creative with his meals, since I have a freezer full of homemade baby food. And he loves watching Mickey Mouse on TV - it's fun to watch how excited he gets when Mickey makes his appearance.