Posts filed under 'Colby'
When I tell say that sentence to most people, they think I’m crazy, nuts, have gone off the deep end, etc. People my parents’ age especially think I’m nuts because they have visions of a cloth rag with diaper pins you have to stick in your hair in order for them to be sharp anymore. They also think of diapering services and hanging laundry to dry on a clothesline.
NOT ANYMORE!
We have some good friends that helped us make the switch. In fact, we were completely oblivious to the world of cloth diapering until we went over to their house and noticed their then 15 month-old son’s diaper cover was sticking out of his shorts and we said, “Is he wearing training pants?” They told us no, but we really didn’t ask anything about it. So then we started hearing more and more about cloth diapers and the revolutionary technology that has evolved into the 20th century cloth (no kidding). I actually read some websites that made me not want to switch, because they talked about the labor-intensive process of soaking, laundering, and folding. But the more and more I talked with actual people, they assured me that it was possible to still have a life and cloth diaper their kids at the same time.
So in a nutshell, here are the reasons why we switched.
1. We didn’t want to create so much waste. There is so much household waste and most American families do use disposable diapers. I haven’t asked each of them why, nor will I ever get to, but I believe most families like the ease and convenience of disposables, without thinking of the cost of the rising landfills. After switching to cloth, we only have 1 trashbag in our big trashcan each week, whereas before (with 2 kids in diapers) we had 3-4. Many people think that we should not worry about taking care of our earth, because God will take care of and provide for everything we need. But, since it does belong to the LORD, so why shouldn’t we have the reverence and respect to take care of His creation?
2. We wanted to save money. What about the start-up cost? Yes, it’s costly, but so is having a baby. We will easily make up the difference in six months, and if we have another kid or 2, we won’t have to pay it again. Not true with disposables. What about the trade-off in water costs? Our water bill has not changed in the six weeks we’ve been using cloth.
3. We knew it was better for the kids’ hygiene. Statistically, kids that are cloth-diapered learn to use the potty faster. And, when Colby wore disposables, he had several diaper rashes in his lifetime, and we had to get two different prescription creams (and two different doctor’s office visits) in order for it to clear up. Now, he rarely gets a rash, and if he does, it clears up much quicker.
4. We wanted the convenience. It’s convenient, you say? Yes! We don’t have to rush out and get diapers at midnight! I mean, we’re already washing clothes every day anyway, so why not throw another load on? And, we bought the one-size-fits-all, so Colby and Kennedy wear the same diapers and we adjust the sizes with snaps.
So, let me show you what these wonderful things are. (From the Cotton Babies website, Bum Genius diapers
There are tabs and snaps and elastic, oh my! My mom and dad think these diapers are the best thing since sliced bread, and I kind of agree. I really think another reason most American (or non-American!) families don’t use cloth is because they do have the preconceived notions I mentioned earlier. They don’t know how companies have spent millions trying to perfect their product and make it easier for Moms to make a difference in the environment. Ignorance is NOT bliss, in fact, it’s just ignorance.
We do owe a lot to the Supercinskis - they let us borrow diapers to try out. What great friends! We were able to use the diapers for both kids and then wash and dry them. Cloth diapering is pretty much the same as “regular” diapering, but with a better purpose in mind. I highly recommend it.
October 5th, 2007
Has anyone seen “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid”? Disney movie, circa 1990 or so. Rick Moranis builds this machine and it’s supposed to make things bigger. However, he zaps his two year-old and the kid keeps growing and growing until he towers over Las Vegas. (Keri Russell was in this movie, come to think of it.) Anyway, the kid’s least favorite word is “nap” because whenever he hears it he says, “NO NAP! NO NO NO NAP!” But when he gets to be gargantuan-sized, Rick Moranis wants the kid to lie down so he can get him back to normal size, so here’s the conversation between Rick, the kid, and the Mom.
Rick - “How about we take a nice…”
Mom - “NO, honey!”
Kid - “I love bunny.”
Rick - “…long…”
Mom - “Don’t say it!!”
Rick - “…NAP!?”
Kid - (pulls his thumb out of his mouth, throws his bunny on the ground and starts stamping) “NO NAP, NO NAP! NO NO NO NAP!”
So why am I telling you this? Because even though Colby is not a giant, he has decided that he is against taking naps. Thankfully, he doesn’t tell me “NO NAP!” But, my life, as I once knew it, is changing. No, it’s not over, but it is changing.
Colby has been very good at keeping routines. When it’s time for nap, we get some milk, we change his diaper, he gives me his milk back, we sing some songs, I turn on his singing aquarium and maybe his cd player, and then I’m out the door with a “Night-night, Mama.” Apparently, that routine has passed. And, what works one day will not work the next. I also think he’s beginning to understand having a wet/dirty diaper, because when he has one, he comes to me and tells me, no matter what time of the day or night it is. He’s also having a hard time falling asleep for his nap if Kennedy is crying because he wants to be with her to console her. So, combine the beginnings of potty training with an infant baby sister, and his schedule is changing for sure.
Some days he naps, other days he doesn’t. Some days he’s okay without a nap, some days I think he might qualify for the “world’s tired-est kid” contest. Yesterday we went to Aerofit so I could teach my class. The ladies in the nursery told me he was so sleepy and that he would probably fall asleep in the car. Wrong. We went home, ate (some more) lunch, drank (some more) milk, changed (another) diaper, sang songs like usual, and he still wouldn’t fall asleep. So, after awhile, I let him come out of his room so he wouldn’t fall asleep too late. Then, I had to feed Kennedy while he went over to our refrigerator and played with his Fridge Phonics & Fridge DJ. A few minutes later, I hear silence in the kitchen, followed by… snoring. This was at 5:30 pm. Can you guess what our evening was like, trying to get him to bed after he took a nap at 5:30?
Ugh. Colby has always been very good at playing by himself in his room or in the living room. He doesn’t usually come out of his room during naptime unless he wants more milk or needs another diaper, so at least he is getting some “down time”. I’m just complaining because I want a nap! 
September 18th, 2007
I’m not sure who first said that, but I’d like to guess that it was a Mom of small children. Last week when we were traveling back home from Galveston, both kids were fussy and so I hopped in the back seat and sat in the middle of them. I gave Kennedy her pacifier and let her hold my fingers, which is what she likes to do to fall asleep. I leaned Colby’s seat back and gave him his cup to drink. Then Kevin and I started talking and I noticed they had stopped crying. They were both asleep! I breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at their sweet angelic faces. Tears poured from my eyes. I realized that in that moment, “All was right with the world.” I held hands with them and said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for blessing me with such wonderful children.
I know I can’t always make everything right for them, nor will I be able to in the future, but I am so glad to be their Mommy. God has given me such a great responsibility for them and I only hope I will make Him happy.
Can you guess what time it is right now? *shhhh!* Yep, naptime. Indeed, “All is right with the world.”
July 27th, 2007
That’s what Colby calls “Veggie Tales”. I never pushed Colby to watch tv, and he never had an interest in tv until he watched the movie “Cars”. But now I am so glad he has taken to liking G-Tales. The series first came out when I was in high school. I remember youth functions where we would get together and watch Veggie Tales, because we truly liked it. There’s a lot of humor there that children may not pick up, and I appreciate the creators for realizing that if you’re going to watch something with your child, it may as well be entertaining for both audiences.
Anyway, if you’re not familiar, the two main characters are Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. Except Colby calls them “Bob May-no” and “Ware-ry Cu-mummer”. (Cu-mummer sounds a lot like what he calls Grandmother - Gam-mummer.) Some people think Veggie Tales is weird because they don’t like talking and singing vegetables. I think it’s great. Colby will now pick up a tomato and say “Bob!” Then when the tomato is cut up and he’s eating it, he says, “Bye-bye Bob.”
What do you think? A ploy for kids to eat their vegetables? Or weird and uncomfortable?
By the way, every time I hear “The Hairbrush Song”, I think of mab. I think she was one of the ones to first introduce me to G-Tales, and I thank her for that.
July 27th, 2007
This morning Colby asked if he could have some juice. “Peez, Mama,” he said. So I filled up his cup and we went to Kennedy’s room, where I was putting away some of her clothes. Kennedy was sitting in her rocker and Colby sat down next to her and said, “Say prayers, Ken-dee?” Then he put his finger into her closed fist, bowed his head, closed his eyes, and started praying, “Dear God, thank you for food, thank you for Ken-dee, and Mommy and Daddy, AAAA-men.” And with that, he lay down on the floor and started drinking his juice. Kennedy smiled.
I only wish I had a picture. :-) But, I’m confident that won’t be the only time Colby will pray with his little sister. I am so glad I got to witness this first hand and not from someone else’s eyes and ears. And when I told my mom, she said, “Don’t you know that just makes God smile?” I agree. When children pray earnestly, God hears them earnestly.
July 25th, 2007
So its time for another video update. These videos are a few weeks old, but show some pretty cute things. Colby has really taken on the role of “Big Brother” quite well. He loves Kennedy and kisses her all the time.
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Kennedy has been smiling a lot lately, but this video is from some of her first smiling a few weeks ago. What a cutie:
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And last but not least is Kennedy with her favorite item right now, the bird. This is a little blanket with a bird that moves around and “tweets”. It was one of Colby’s favorite toys as well.
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July 8th, 2007
No, I am not speaking a foreign language.. I am speaking “Colby”. Most of you know that Alicia is not only my sister but my “built-in” best friend. Colby seems to have picked up on this, and now he has decided that Alicia is his playmate.
Let me back up a little bit… Colby loves to play chase with Cooper but it only lasts for a few seconds. He really likes it when Mommy & Daddy play chase. So, we’d tell him, “We’re gonna get you!” and go running after him. We hide behind the shed in the backyard and he runs right up to us so we can hug and kiss him and then put him back down to start over again.
So, Colby has taken to the “get you” part, and all it took was Alicia playing “git-chu” one time for him to be hooked! She puts on her tennis shoes whenever she comes over to see us because she knows she’ll be running for quite some time. My favorite is when he “asks” her to play.. sounds like this - “EEE-sha, git-chu, huh?” And he’ll bat his big eyelashes at her until she can get up to run around. Poor Alicia.
I need pictures of this event.
June 10th, 2007
So last night during our prayer time Colby and I were thanking God for our family and friends and then we started to thank God for Christ and what he did for us. Here’s the transcript of the end of our prayer:
Me: Thank you God for Jesus.
Colby: Tank you Jesas.
Me: Thank you that Jesus died for our sins.
Colby: Died sins.
Me: That’s right, Colby. Isn’t God great?!
Colby: Grape!
I couldn’t help but laugh. However, it reminds me how a child is born with a sinful nature and lacking a knowledge of Christ. Both of those together is a recipe for an eternity apart from God. If you have kids or you plan to soon, I encourage you to pray with them.
May 31st, 2007
I have often wondered why we have middle names… most (some?) of us are not called by our middle names, and unless they are family names, there really is not a point, except to sound pretty.
My middle name is Renee. Why? My parents liked the sound of it. Plus, it would roll right off their tongue when I was in trouble: “JENNA RENEE!” Kevin’s middle name is Matthew. Why? His parents liked Matthew for a middle name. But, when we were first dating, I found a verse for him that has become his favorite - Matthew 6:34…
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
When we were first married, we also did a wonderful verse-by-verse study of the book of Matthew in Sunday School. Coincidence of Matthew? I don’t know. But, I know that there are no coincidences with God.
Fast-forward to Colby’s birth. We knew we wanted to name him Colby but we weren’t sure of his middle name.. we wanted it to be Biblical, but we just weren’t sure until we really talked about it and decided on Joshua. One of our favorite family Scriptures is Joshua 24:15 -
“Choose for yourself, this day, whom you will serve…as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
We love that Joshua was such a warrior for God. He was a leader, a conqueror, and a musician! (See Joshua 6; maybe Colby will play the trumpet?) So, for Colby’s dedication, we read Joshua 1:9 -
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
We wanted to pray this for Colby (and all our kids) because we know how tough the world can be. With God on our side, there is no one against us.
Kennedy’s middle name is Faith. We also thought about some other Biblical middle names and even Renee. But, when she was born, we looked at her and knew that’s what it should be. While I was pregnant with her, I did Beth Moore’s study, “Believing God”. (Beth Moore writes wonderful Bible studies with women in mind, but men can do them as well, and in fact, I know many men that have enjoyed her studies. I highly recommend them.)
The main premise in Believing God is Hebrews 11, which has been dubbed the Faith Chapter of the Bible. Brother Tim calls it “The All-Star List of Faith” because many of the Verses begin with, “By faith…” and continue with a list of how Biblical giants (and some unsung heroes) have shown faith in their life. I love that this chapter starts with, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Isn’t that the very essence of pregnancy? I had so many hopes and dreams for Kennedy, and I couldn’t even see her! At first, I had to have faith that she really was in my womb, and at the end, I had to have faith that she really was going to come out!
The specific Verse we chose for Kennedy is Hebrews 11:6 -
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
I will not pretend that I earnestly seek God as much as I should, but I know that He has rewarded us with two wonderful children. And, it is our prayer that Kennedy (and Colby!) would come to know their Heavenly Father and earnestly seek Him daily.
Not many people ask my kids’ middle names and if they do, they don’t ask why we gave them that name… But my hope is that they can use their middle names for God’s glory and to increase His Kingdom!
May 30th, 2007
So even before Colby has been able to talk, he has been saying his name… well, sort of. He calls himself “Lell-a” mainly because when he was very little I used to make faces at him by sticking in and out my tongue and making kind of a lell-o-lell-o-lell-o sound; Colby would mimic it. So I would say to him, “What does Colby say?” and he would do this thing with his tongue.
So since then he has called himself, “Lell-a”. Even when we try to train him to say “Col” and then “bee” and then “Colby”, he would always repeat back “Lell-a” to us. Well I finally decided I better catch this on tape before he started saying it properly.
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And sure enough… this was the last time it appears that he will say it the old “Lell-a” way… in fact… check out this next video. He has never said his name before today and now he’s just crazy with it!
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May 15th, 2007
So we went outside after I got home from work today and it was real pretty outside. We pulled out the bubbles that Aunt Charlotte got for Colby for his birthday. He loves them! Here’s a short video of him playing with Jenna.
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Here’s another cute picture of the kid:
May 14th, 2007
Kennedy will be 6 weeks old on Wednesday, and she is opening her eyes more and more. She’s also smiling! I love to see her little mouth make a big toothless grin. At 3 weeks old, she weighed 9 lbs., 4 oz., and was 22.5″ long. She is growing and eating well… and spitting. 
The doctor says she doesn’t have reflux or any sort of medical problem, she just spits. I’m hoping she outgrows it soon. My mom said I spit up a lot when I was a baby. And, I’m not spitting up now, so she will be okay. It does give me a very good reason to use all the cute clothes we got! We don’t go anywhere without multiple outfits (and burp rags!) in her diaper bag. Colby never spit up, he just peed all over creation, so we had to do the same thing, minus the burp rags.
When Kennedy cries, Colby says, “Kendy cwying!”, like, ‘Do something about it! Fix it!’ He is a very good big brother to his little sister.
Speaking of, we have a 2 year-old in the house! AAAAAAHHHHH!! Life is definitely an adventure. We had a fun birthday party last weekend with mostly family and a few of Colby’s friends from church. It was a challenge to try and fit all our family and friends inside our house, but we managed quite well!
The weather was beautiful; the forecast was 90 degrees but it ended up only being in the low 80s, and there was a lovely breeze while we ate in the backyard. Kevin grilled burgers and they were wonderfully tasty.
Colby’s latest thing is the Disney/Pixar movie “Cars” . He LOVES it and watches a few minutes before naptime and bedtime. He tells me, “Lightning 5 minutes!” (The main character’s name - the little red car - is Lightning McQueen.) Sometimes, if we’re in the car going home for naptime, I’ll think, “He’ll fall asleep in the car and I’ll just put him in bed.” But, his little voice will pop up as soon as we get into the garage, and he says, “Lightning 5 minutes!” Funny kid.
Almost blew out the candle!
We got Colby a Lightning birthday cake. It was very cute, but because there was lots and lots of blue, black, and green icing, there was lots of icing all over the kids’ clothes at the party.
Gabriella
The Birthday Boy
Yesterday (on Mother’s Day!) as I looked at my two gorgeous children, I realized how very blessed I am. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count all my blessings. But, I am out of time now! Goodbye for now!
May 14th, 2007
Wow, what a difference a week makes. Kennedy is now one week old and I can’t believe it’s gone by so fast. I realize 3 of those days were spent in the hospital. (Yes, 3 days… sometime I’ll tell the whole gruesome story about why we spent 3 full days there when I didn’t have a c-section, but right now I’m still mad. I guess that’s my penance (sp?) for having such a quick delivery. Ha!)
Things at home have been interesting. Did I mention Colby is turning 2 in a few weeks? I think that just about speaks for itself. He is incredibly sweet with his baby sister and is such a helper with handing us diapers, picking out Kennedy’s clothes, throwing away trash, picking up toys, washing dishes… But, he wants independence and control! “No” and “mine” are his (and any other normal 2 year-old’s) two favorite words. I’m not getting much sleep yet, but I didn’t expect to either. Kevin has been wonderful to let me sleep in the mornings while he takes care of Colby, and then I handle the middle of the night stuff, for the most part. However, Kevin’s returning to work tomorrow and it’s just me and the kids. Oh boy.
On the other hand, things are going really well. I am so much further ahead than I was with Colby as far as nursing, sleeping, housework, and thank-you notes go! There are just some things that I was way more comfortable and assertive doing this time, which is one of the reasons I think my delivery went so quickly. I am very thankful the Lord has given us this precious baby girl and we are going to love and spoil her the best we can! Thanks everyone for your well-wishes and prayers; they have definitely been felt. Oh, and Kevin is working on putting more pictures up; we’re trying to find cables and cords and computers (oh my!).
[random_side_note]so ABC has a new tv show coming out called “Life in the Underbelly” or something like that. It’s about pregnancy and delivery and first-time parents. I hope it’s funny and clean.[/random_side_note]
April 11th, 2007
…can anyone tell me what that jingle was for? Extra points if you can “sing” the song…
So I’m on the hunt for good tv shows because the ones we have been watching have really started to go downhill. Too much violence and nudity, not to mention all the innuendos, suggestive material, guns… there’s also just a very weird overtone on some shows.
Anyway, I am looking for seasons of shows that I can watch because I’ll be nursing for a while (hopefully) and not really wanting to do much else but sit and look at my baby girl and let my cares and worries be drowned out by tv. So, this has to be kid-friendly tv (or movies will work too) because Colby will probably be in the room. Right now on my list are “Mad About You” and “Frasier”, which are both shows that I never watched when they were on prime time but now that I’ve caught a few episodes on re-runs, they’re really funny! (I love syndicated tv.) I’m also looking for funny stuff; shows/movies I don’t have to concentrate too hard to figure out… but if you have any good suggestions for those, let me know in a separate category. Anyone have any other suggestions?
If Colby could choose the show, hands down he’d pick the “Cars” movie. He calls it “Eye-ning Mmm”, which of course means “Lightning Car”. Cars say Mmm, if you didn’t know. He watches the movie for like 10-15 minutes right before his nap sometimes, and he’s totally silent while watching. I’ll talk to him about it a little bit, but then once I turn it off to go to sleep, he starts telling me all the things he has just seen… in complete sentences!… and I think I understand like 15% of it. Such a funny guy.
And since I’m telling Colby stories, I am so excited for his baby sister to get here because I want to watch how sweet he’s going to be with her. I washed a bunch of her clothes and blankets so we could pack a few things for the hospital. He has taken to this one pink outfit.. he’ll carry it around with him and say, “Baby Sister clothes.” and then he’ll drape it over my stomach. He also tries to feed her cheerios and milk through my belly button. He also practically undresses me when we’re in public and someone mentions baby sister.. he has to “see” her, and he can’t do that unless my belly is bare. I have a really sweet picture of him uncovering my tummy to give her kisses, and I’m putting it in her baby book to remind them when they’re older and fighting that they really did love each other, once upon a time.
March 9th, 2007
So I have to brag about Kevin’s Valentine’s “gift” to me… actually, it’s becoming a tradition! For the past 3 years, Kevin has cooked dinner (and cleaned up!), while I’m in charge of making the table pretty and fixing dessert. Last year we took pictures. This year we were too hungry.
Kevin left work early so he could do his grocery shopping, and we agreed that he wouldn’t get me flowers because they’re just too expensive ON Valentine’s Day. I’d rather be surprised with flowers when it’s Not V-day. While the meat was marinating, we took Colby to my parents’ house so that we could talk and get ready for dinner without a toddler at our feet. (Instead, we had the whining dog, but we can send him outside when he misbehaves.) Colby didn’t seem to mind being at Doc & Belle’s; he got up on the counter and said, “Bye-bye, Daddy!” as soon as we got there.
We dressed up, which was kind of a stretch because it’s difficult to make dinner in dressy clothes. But, I put on the dressiest maternity dress I own, and Kevin wore what he wore to work! He looked so nice. We had a candlelight dinner on our china, but the best part was definitely dinner. Let me see if I can adequately (and correctly) describe our menu:
- Peppercorn-crusted Filet Mignon with Port Wine sauce
- Baked Potato with all the fixin’s
- Salad
- Green beans seasoned with butter & garlic salt (and maybe dill?)
- Chocolate Molten Cakes with Whipped Cream (you know, the kind that the chocolate oozes out when you poke your spoon into it?)
Mmmmmm…. it was super good. This is the second year he was cooked this same menu, but I didn’t mind! I requested it. Plus, we listened to Yo-Yo Ma play Vivaldi, which set a great mood. I couldn’t believe how quiet it was in our house… no Colby, no tv, no noise… (Cooper went to sleep.) No wait at a restaurant, no obnoxious waiter interrupting precious conversation, no ordering something weird that I don’t know if I like… This has proven to be the Best Valentine’s gift Ever, which is why it has been repeated for 3 years running! Kevin likes it too because he’s a perfectionist, so cooking is an exceptional talent for him. (Add that to his list!) He told me he might become a chef, in his spare time. Ha. Ha.
How was YOUR Valentine’s Day?
February 15th, 2007
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