Gwyneth Eden: 8 Months

My favorite Instagram pic of the month.

8 months!  I think she gets more fun with every month.  She giggles, laughs, and understands more every day.  When someone has not seen her in a week or two, their first response is, "She has gotten so big!"  I can't wait to see at our 9 month appointment how long she is and how much she weighs.  It is surreal to me that we are very quickly approaching the 1 year mark.  I probably say this in every monthly update, but she still seems like a baby to me, so imagining her as a 1 year old is just crazy!  I remember going through all the clothes that were given to us and as I hit the 12 month box thinking, "No way will I ever have a baby that fits in these,"  This was especially true when looking at my 4 lb. baby!

Gwen's "Firsts": Co-slept for the first time!  While David was out of town for a couple days, I did not feel like getting out of bed every single time in the middle of the night.  We normally share the night time duties, so it was much easier to just have her in bed with me!  It was kind of fun, but I am also glad she is back in her own bed :)

She also played dress up for the first time.  Pirate Gwen made an appearance.  Time with cousins is always fun!

High of the Month: She is starting to mimic us (I think).  Honestly, most of the time I don't know if she is mimicking me or if I am mimicking her!  Regardless, it cracks me up and she is cute.  My favorite is when she blows raspberries or when she sounds like Darth Vader.  Who thought a baby sounding like Darth Vader would be cute?  It is adorable.

Low of the Month: Gwen got sick for the first time.  After a long day of running around, her forehead felt warm.  I took her temperature and it was at 102!  No wonder!  After a couple days she was back to normal, but the congestion and runny nose linger.

Something I Learned: If you are a mom already I am sure you know this, but I had no idea that doctors don't worry about a baby's temperature until it reaches 105 or over!  Dang!  I was all concerned about the 102 mark and started (mildly) panicking that this meant the emergency room.... I know.  I never voiced this drastic assumption, but she is little and I know I feel horrible when my temperature reaches 102.  I love that the pediatrician I talked with was able to make me laugh, explain everything thoroughly, and didn't make me feel like an idiot.  Thanks, Doc!

Facts for the Month: 

Newest friend: Naomi Haven!
Favorite way to sleep: On her belly

Things she loves:
     -Being held
     -Reading books
     -Bath time
     -"Talking"

Things she hates:
     -Getting her face cleaned
     -The Nose Frida
     -When we leave the room


And here are your monthly pictures:

Gwen tried to eat the sign for her new friend

This outfit lasted 36 hours.  New record.

Baby Food Making Party!

Since I am a stay at home mom (with the exception of the 4 hours a week I work), I don't bring in a whole lot of money!  While this is true, I feel like one of my responsibilities is to be wise with the money David makes and find ways to save money.  It almost becomes a game at times because, believe it or not, it can be fun to go way under budget on groceries knowing it was because I figured out a way to make that happen.

Most months we don't go way under budget.  Normally, its over :)  Add in baby items and that doesn't help anything!  One solution is cloth diapers which is a whole other topic!  The other is making my own baby food.  Let's be honest though, I am lazy.  I don't want to make baby food from scratch multiple times a day.

When a friend of mine suggested getting together and having a baby food making party, I thought it was brilliant.  It would accomplish so many things.  I would make all the baby food I would need in one night, hang out with friends, drink wine, and be "off" baby duty.

Here is how we did it.

Erin a.k.a Baby Food Making Pro, sent out an email with all the types of foods we would need:

-carrots
-butternut squash
-pears
-asparagus
-sweet potatoes
-zucchini
-blueberries (or blackberries)
-apples
-green beans
-plums
-apricots
-peas
-mangoes
-tofu

We divided the list among the three of us and bought our food.  Our guideline was the equivalent of 10 sweet potatoes, 2 big bag of carrots, etc.  We each just used our best judgement.

We picked a cooking night, met up, and got to work.

Some items, like green beans and peas, simply could be put in a steamer basket and go right on the stove.

Others needed to be pealed and chopped up like apples, pears, and plums.

To know exactly how to cook each item we used the book, Super Baby Food.

 Once they were super soft, in the blender and food processor they went!

We all brought as many containers as possible to transfer the food from Erin's to our own houses.  I brought every jar, glass container, and Tupperware I could find!  As the food was ready, it was divided between the three of us.

We kept working until all the food was done!  I think we stopped around 11:30 pm.  I was wore out.  Who knew making baby food was so hard?

If you are curious what you do with the tofu, you mix it with the blueberries or blackberries.  It turns out very pretty and purple in the end :)

Here is our final baby food loot:

I got home around 1:00 am, put my food in the refrigerator, and crashed.

The next few days, I slowly transferred the baby food into ice cube trays to freeze.  Once frozen, I popped 'em out and put them in Ziploc bags.  Make sure to label them :)  Carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes all look very similar!

Yay!  That's the whole process. Oh, and then thaw them out as needed and feed your baby!  I love saving money and knowing exactly what Gwen is eating.  It is great.

Gwyneth Eden: 7 months

We are at 7 months!  That means she is closer to being a year old than when she was born.  Man...  She is so sweet and fun!  This month brought lots of great things including Gwen's first Christmas.  With 6 days of parties in a row, she was a champ.

Gwen's "Firsts": This has been a big month for her!  We have been trying out lots of new foods and she is doing much better.  It almost seems like she enjoys it now!

Gwen also can officially row from back to belly!  One day I put her on her back and walked out of the room.  When I came back, she was on her belly!  She has been rolling over consistently ever since!

Shortly after leaning how to roll over, she began sitting up unassisted.  It happened over night.  I still put pillows around her since face plants regularly happen, but she can sit up for long periods of time.

Luckily for us, she is still very immobile.  I am 100% alright with this.  One day we looked around the apartment and I had sewing needles and pins scattered on the floor... we are not ready for crawling.

High of the Month: Watching her open Christmas gifts.  She obviously had no idea what was going on, but it was so cute watching her tear apart the wrapping paper.  I was way more excited about all of this than she was.

Low of the Month: I bet you can guess... sleep!!!! Her schedule has been so off since Christmas which is a lot of our problem.  She probably sleeps better than what I make it sound, but I have way too high of expectations.  In my world, I want a solid 12 hours without having to do anything in between bedtime and wake up time.  We will start the Ferber method soon to help things along, but finding a good time with our crazy schedules has been difficult.

Something I Learned: I will keep this vague and brief.  Baby food poop.... YUCK!

Facts for the Month: 

Favorite activity: Sitting up and playing with her new giraffe toy
Favorite food: Anything sweet
Favorite objects to grab: Christmas tree, poinsettia flower, my hair

Rolling over? Yes!
Sitting up? Yes!


And here are your monthly pictures:

Standing up!

Hanging out with Uncle Dillon on NYE.

Ornaments we made for family!