Cloth Diaper Baby... FREE Give-a-way!

We have just begun a new world of cloth diapering! My sister Jolyn, and her husband, bought an Organic Baby Business, Nurtured, in Canada back in the Spring. Jolyn and I met up in April and I got a day worth of diapers from her (we started with 4).  I/ we slowly got "trained" on this journey. (A day for us is about 4 with our 18 month old :). I really LIKED them. But about 3 years ago I was not so open to them....

When I was pregnant with Parker (2007), Mike wanted us to use them. His boss and his family used them, and he heard about the great save over time it was. BUT, I wasn't ready for something else new on top of being a first time mom. I was NOT familiar with them at all. :(

Two years later, the cloth diaper discussion came up again through Joy. She told me she was going to use them after the birth of her second baby. I was rooting for her, and told her to tell me how it goes. But still wasn't to sold on it.
And then the third time it came up when my sister bought their store. So, it was really rooted in my mind, and I started seeing how easy it was to use them with my exposure to Joy's little boy. So, Mike and I invested in a week of diapers from my sister.
Here we are three years later and we LOVE them.(Mike loves that I make it easy for him. I wash them and fill the liners for him). The velcro tabs today are so awesome compared to the old fashioned "pin diapers" :)

Here is one amazing way to save over $50.00 a month on your grocery/toiletries bill;

• The cost of an average diaper (before coupons) is 25.5¢.
• Thus the average child will cost about $1,600 to diaper for two years in disposable diapers, or about $66 a month.
• If you would like to read about some other interesting facts on why choosing cloth diapers check out this website -http://www.realdiauerassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
• To invest in cloth diapers it is about $200-$300 up front, but when you look at the long term investment, it is HUGE! :)

Thanks Joy and Jolyn, for exposing us to Cloth Diapers :)
No turning back now :)
SO it is time to give you a chance to try a cloth diaper out!

How about a give-a-way?! :)
I have a black/white (Eiffel Tower) ChelseyPerry (Bum Genius) Cloth Diaper to give away...and I know you will love it :) http://www.bumgenius.com/bg4-artist.php

Here is how to enter, and you can get up to 3 entries;

1. Leave a comment why you would love the diaper.
2. Post the give-a-way on your website or blog and you can get a second entry by leaving the website where you posted it.
3. You can get a third entry by becoming a follower of my blog if you are not a follower already (and leave another comment that you are a new follower:)

I will have a random drawing on Friday, and winner will be announced on Saturday AM.
Ready-Set- GO!!!!
Good Luck :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Kaden!

Today is the day...Baby Kaden is officially one! {sigh..tear}

  
                                    
 I feel like just last month I was sitting in Tri-Age waiting for the verdict to see if  I was going to have this baby before the end of the year.

Here is Kaden's birthday story and a sweet reflection of mommy's denial and daddy's joy that our baby was coming on 12.28.09! 
(If you don't want all the details...then just skip to the bottom).
I have posted a video of the birthday boy eating his first Ice-Cream Cake! It is hilarious!)

The beginning of December, 2009, I was overwhelmed with the fact that I was "supposedly" going to have a c-section about 2 and 1/2 weeks after Christmas. I had no energy and really didn't want to put up any Christmas decorations! Well, I got up the bare minimum up and decorated to make it fun for our then 2 year old, Parker. What I didn't realize is that the "braxton" hicks that I was having on a more "regular basis" were regular consistent contractions...and I was ignoring them till after the holidays!
The Tuesday before Christmas, I was totally struck back! I was already 2cm and 70% effaced...I was at the beginning stages of labor and I was only 36 weeks along. My OB told me that this baby would not make it to the first of the year! I was in denial...We had a plan...this baby was coming by C-Section Jan. 13th! I sort of packed my bags. (But I was fighting God to just get us through Christmas). But I really didn't want my baby before the 1st of the year! However, Daddy DID! Daddy wanted a big Tax break and of course have the baby fall on the old insurance plan!  I really think Mike had a big talk with God! Mike was thrilled that I was having more and more "contractions" on a regular basis as the month came to an end! Well, we made it through Christmas and I was thrilled Baby stayed in.
Well just two days later I was miserable. Sunday night, December 27, I awoke at 4AM with contractions every 3-8 minutes. I refused to call my Doctor... I could NOT possibly be in labor? So instead, I got in the tub and tried to relax. I still had 3 weeks to go. I dealt with the pain till my office opened at 9AM and just asked if I could come in! I got a call back within 15 min and my OB insisted on me heading to the Hospital. I of course had to be convinced by the nurse to go to the hospital! I had to get Parker situated. I had to call Mike and get him home from work! *(Yeah, he went to work...that morning...I let him go!) We made it to Kennestone by noon and we sat in Tri-age for 5 hours! I was begging to go home and had SO much to do. After all, I had been having contractions on and off for almost 1 month. My OB put me on Tributilin to try and stop the contractions...but nothing worked. This baby (and we didn't know if Kaden was a boy or a girl) was coming out tonight! I thought I could make it another week. Ha! I didn't win that battle. At 5:30 PM on December 28th, 2009, Kaden arrived via c-section. I was thrilled my OB worked it out to be there!

 So, December 28th officially became Kaden's birthday and so we celebrate our sweet boy today and each year to come just 3 days after Christmas! God DID answer my prayer for this baby to have a birthday any day besides Christmas. It was SO worth it to have him before the end of the year.  It was ALL God's perfect timing~My in-laws came down (because my mother in law had a week off since she was a teacher), so they were able to assist us with Parker for the week!~ and for that we are truly grateful!

 The year has been a long one with many illnesses, sleepless nights at the beginning, getting Kaden beyond his Reflux and adjusting to life as a family of four and balancing our everday responsiblities! BUT it has been so rewarding to have him as a part of our family! His laugh lights up the room, his smile melts our hearts, his love for Parker and just the fact that he LOVES his mama makes me melt and Parker's love for him is precious! It is truly a joy to be his mommy and daddy and we are so honored that God has chosen Kaden for our family! We pray that one day you will come to know the Lord, Kaden and know how much he loves you and how much we love you!

 Here is a sweet video of us singing "Happy Birthday" to Kaden and he is checking out his FootBall Ice-Cream Cake. (We have a tradition to eat Ice-Cream Cake on the real birthdays around here!)
Let's just say -He LOVED it!

Video (Part 1)


Attacking the cake video...(Part 2)



We had a fun day celebrating Kaden. NeNe flew in for Christmas and Kaden's special birthday! So, we met Daddy for lunch! Tonight for dinner, NeNe, made homemade Maple Turkey Burgers and ended the night with a Carvel-Football Ice-Cream Cake! So fun to have celebrated our boy all day today!




WOW-What is this??!!?

(Yummy-I love it on my face...I wonder how good it really is?!)

(Not enough...I need to pick up the whole thing)

(Now this is GOOD and I LOVE it!)

Happy 1st Birthday Kaden A.K.A ("Sweet Pea, Chunk of Love, Tank, Mommy's boy, Baby Kaden),
Daddy, Mommy and Parker love you!

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Our first furniture purchase for Baby!

Mike and I had an adventurous day! We made our first BIG purchase for Baby Riese!
We bought the baby crib and High chair (which is actually called a "feeding table") today!
I got an invitation to a Safety Seminar by a company called: Babee Tenda and it perked us to go, because there was a gift at the end!
We went after church and we are thrilled with the investment we made.
Here is the website of what we purchased:

We got the crib in Cherry Wood! The thing that impressed us, is that it comes with the mattress and a built in box spring.(Most of the cribs in the stores do NOT come with a mattress and you end up paying the price in the end for just the right (style or design of a crib, and then the mattress!)
The representative from Babee Tenda stood inside the crib! He was around 175 pounds. The cribs built by Babee Tenda are made to hold up to 280 pounds! WOW!
It has a door on the side, so that you can open the crib up and place the baby in it from the side, by sitting in a chair or you can lean over and put the baby in from the top! (The door option is great if you have a c-section!) No leaning over needed! So much more I could say...and yes it is also made to convert into a bed for a child!
The feeding table will convert to: a feeding-table for 3 months old all the way up to a 3 year old, a desk, art table and much-much more for the child when they are older!
The comments were outstanding. One family bought the feeding table 50 years ago and used it with all 18 of their grand kids. How often do you hear a family using a highchair 50 years later?!
You all know how frugal my husband is! He was the one who was in favor of buying the crib and the feeding table! I just wanted the table. He is a man of saving his $$$ and knows when you make a purchase not to just buy anything but he looks for the long-term investment! They do have a great policy too: if by God's plan you lose the baby during pregnancy or birth, they will fully refund the purchase and pay the shipping back! That is a wonderful deal.
The bed and table will arrive in about 4 weeks!
We will hopefully have some work done on the nursery once the bed arrives.
FYI: No recalls at all~ They have been around for 70 years!
We will post pictures when the furniture arrives!
Blessings,
Jenn, Mike & Baby Riese

Very Healthy Baby Riese

Tuesday was the big day! Mike and I got to see Baby Riese(BR)!
It was an amazing morning! Words can not express the emotion and thrill of seeing our baby in the womb! God is amazing-at the miracle of life! How can one not believe in the God of the universe and the creator of Life?? I am truly grateful for this little blessing. I really wanted to reach out and hold BR,especially when it opened its mouth and looked like it was talking to us! Precious!
When we first began,BR. was sleeping on it's belly with it's head turned side ways- so we saw the spine and back first!( I said..."hey that is how I sleep!!") So it must take after mommy! Gina(the Ultra-sound tech) had to wake up BR. and soon it started to move around. (It didn't like being tapped around at first with the Ultra-sound monitor!) I felt the kicking too! BR is very LONG! The actual term was "above average" In the life of a teacher;so nice to hear that your child is considered "above average!"
The Ultra-sound actually read that BR is 1 week older then the original due date, because it has really long legs. (Long legs run on both sides of our family!) I am still on schedule for the end of Aug. Maybe Baby will come before the 20th!!! But then hearing about baby Riese being so long-makes me wonder and think that I may be in for a big baby at the end! Mom R. said that Michael was 22 inches long when he was born. Some of you may not know this know about wonderful husband-(who is actually small framed with a big heart) but, he was 10lbs & 14 oz. at birth! Yes, a prayer for a nice sized (7 or 8 pound baby would be great)...not really praying for a 10 lb baby! My OB said parents' birth weight does not always have to do with the weight of your future children! (Fingers crossed!)If I do have a big baby and have to go early, I am all for that-that would be awesome!
I got complimented on the amniotic sac having plenty of fluids. She said "I can tell you are drinking plenty of water!" I really have done pretty well with the fluids and only gained 16 pounds total since the beginning!
We got 10 photos (actually 11...but that one is just for me!) Mike walked out of the room-when the sex was to be revealed! I am thrilled...and you all know we do not care if the baby is a boy or a girl!
Enjoy the photos of Baby Riese!
Thanks for all the prayers thus far!We covet them the next 17 weeks! (Only 4 more months to go!)
The week has been more noticeable in the world of (pregnancy)!
I have really felt it in the "ribs!" They are sore from all the stretching-but no complaints.
I just rest much more now when I get home from work!
Speaking of which...only 26 more days of 3rd grade! I am not sure what to think? I will miss it, but will really treasure being home with Baby Riese!
Blessings to all,
Jenn Mike and above average-Baby Riese