I'm Moving!

O.K. Maybe I'm not moving, but my blog is! Instead of posting here on blogger, I'll be posting from wordpress.com from here on out. Sharlee convinced me to make the jump, and I finally have. If you want to continue to stay updated with the Dietz family or check out what I'm up to on ModernDayMatriarch, then follow me on over to moderndaymatriarch.wordpress.com. I'm looking forward to seeing you there!

My Baby Girl Has Turned One!

My baby girl has turned one, and as predicted, this first year flew by in the blink of en eye. I'm afraid if the rest of the years go by as quickly as this on has, that I'll be old before I know it:) It has been a phenomenal year and I have loved every minute of it. Well, almost:) This morning we woke up to a wet bed because of Grace, then when I changed her she proceeded to go potty again before I got a diaper under her. THEN when I put her in the bath, she managed to go to the bathroom AGAIN. I have to admit, I was not a fan of THOSE moments. But the rest, I have loved:) Grace has grown and learned so much in these first 12 months. She can get just about anywhere in the house in 15 seconds as a result of her fine tuned crawling skills, and she's teetering (quite literally) on the edge of becoming a full fledged toddler. She is still a petite little thing, and her hair is coming in SLOWLY, so she still looks very much like a baby to me, and probably will for a while; so, for now, I'm referring to her as a baby. However, Enfamil would beg to differ. They've been sending me those "I am NOT a baby, I'm a toddler" pamphlets for about three months now. Each time I get one it makes me ache a little. I'm excited for the next phase of her life, but I'm also sad to see this one come to a close. Before Grace becomes a full fledged toddler, here area few fun facts about 1 year old Grace: **She is saying quite a few words now, although I'm not convinced she knows what she's saying when she says mom. Here are a few she definitely knows: Kkk-Cat, Da-Dad, Da-Dog, Hi, Neow-Meow (My daughter adores our cat Maynard, and he appears to be pretty fond of her as well, or at least tolerant.) **She love to wave "Hello" and "Goodbye" and although she hasn't mastered saying "bye" yet, she has the wave down anytime she hears it. **She gives huge, slobbery, kisses, that I love despite the drool. **And, she has started giving hugs. When I hold her, she'll randomly lean in, wrap her tiny arms around my neck and squeeze her body to mine, often patting my neck. It's too much. It warms my heart every time. In fact, I doubt it will ever get old. She has started to give them on command now too, which I love. **Her brother is still, pretty much, her favorite person:) She lights up when he walks into the room.

**She loves books. If I'm reading she will crawl over to me, her book in hand, and slap it down on my lap to read. Sometimes she just sits on the floor and reads out loud to herself in jibberish. **She LOVES being outside. She was this was as a newborn too. We used to bring the swing outside last summer, so she could enjoy the outdoors. If we're doing yard work, she'll play in her play yard outside. She loves to walk through the yard pushing her Minnie Mobile that my aunt gave her at her party or playing with Fenix's soccer ball.

**She still loves the bath. Anytime she is fussy she immediately drops the temper tantrum when her feet hit the water. We got her a pool for her birthday and a cute little bathing suite, so we're planning to spend lots of time in it this summer. As of now, she's been in it twice. She loves to crawl out of it and then back in. Of course, once she crawls back in she's covered in grass, which she then brings into the pool with her.

**She's a good little shopper. We have yet to have a temper tantrum in a store, although I know it's coming. **My daughter has my temper:( It's true. I suppose it's payback. My mother would laugh at it if she was here. In fact, I'm sure she's laughing up in heaven. **Her hair has gotten light! I'd say it's blonde, although recently you can start to see more red in it, so I'm curious what color it will be once it finally grows in. **She loves giving "bumps". She's been giving high fives, for a while, but Ken and I taught her bumps a few weeks ago, and she has taken off with it. **She is a good eater! You'd think she'd be chunkier than she is, because she loves food. Ken and I call her our little foodie:) She will try pretty much anything. Last night we ate spaghetti complete with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and zucchini and she ate it up! She also LOVES fruit, with blueberries probably being her favorite.

**She has just recently discovered the wonders of the kitchen, the pots and pans cupboard, the tupperware cupboard, and her favorite, the dishwasher:)

**I'm looking forward to spending the summer with her and beginning the adventure of the toddler years. This year has passed quickly, as I'm sure the next one will. Happy First Birthday baby girl! (P.S. I apologize that this post is not pretty. I really do know how paragraphs work, but blogger kept smushing all of my paragraphs together when I published this post. If anyone knows how to prevent that from happening, I would love to be enlightened:)

How Wonderful Life Is, Now You're In The World

Ken, Fenix, Grace, and I took a walk down to Dutch Brother's this morning. We were out of coffee filters, and I become all the more aware of my dependence on coffee. I just couldn't imagine starting my day without a cup of joe. It's more of a habitual addiction than an actual physical addiction. Nonetheless, we have a Dutch Bros at the entrance of our neighborhood. It's not my first choice, but beggars can't be choosers, right? And, this morning it did the trick. As we were walking back, we were talking about a new breakfast restaurant that has opened up down the street from me. For whatever reason, maybe it's because Mother's Day is next Sunday, I took a few moments to remember back to our last trip to eat breakfast as just Ken and I. It was Mother's Day last year, and I was incredibly pregnant, Grace was due on the 12th, and Mother's Day fell on the 8th. I wasn't officially a mother yet, but Ken and I planned to celebrate anyway. We usually wait to do something with Fenix, and Ken gives me the traditional gift of a hanging plant. (I used to give my mom a hanging plant each mother's day.) Our plan was to head out to breakfast and then stop by Fred Meyers to choose a plant. We were going to celebrate with dinner on Wednesday with Fenix, provided we weren't in the hospital awaiting the birth of Grace. There was a huge wait at Denny's for breakfast that morning. We spent a good chunk of time in the waiting area. At one point we caught an older couple smiling and commenting about my gigantic pregnant belly. They asked when I was due and congratulated us. They were strangers, but they were genuinely happy for us and excited for the journey which we were about to embark on. Little did we know, we'd begin that journey that very day. The memory makes me happy. In fact, it brings tears to my eyes. (I'm a sap like that.) But as I recounted the memory to Ken, starting with "Do you remember when we had breakfast last Mother's Day?", I cried. Last Mother's Day changed my life. My daughter was born. She was the greatest gift I could have ever asked for, and she came on Mother's Day. Her birth was going to be special no matter what, but having her arrive on Mother's Day made me feel like my mom was definitely watching and pulling some strings with the big guy upstairs.

I have been meaning to write Grace's birth story for a while now. I need to get it in her baby book, and I'd like to share it. So, what better time than now, when we are a week away from Mother's Day, and two days from her first birthday?

Dear Gracelyn,

I'm writing this to tell you the story of your birth, although before that I want you to know that I have loved you much longer than the time you've spent in this world, and I waited for you well over the nine months I was pregnant. Your dad and I wanted you long before we knew you were on your way. In some ways, it felt like I was patiently waiting for you for years. I knew some day you'd be here, and it was just a matter of waiting for the right time.

Your dad and I found out that I was pregnant on Labor Day. I took a test that morning, and a faint pink line appeared. I almost couldn't believe it. I had thought out the many creative ways I could tell your dad we were expecting, but then when it came down to it, I was so excited, and in such a state of disbelief, that I immediately had to share it with your dad. He too, was just as excited as I was. The doubters in us had to take one more test just to be sure though. We had plans that day to go to a family get together, so off we went. When we arrived home later that day, we took one more test, a digital one, to be sure. It read pregnant almost immediately. Our plan was to wait until 12 weeks to tell anyone, or at least until we went to the doctor's, but we couldn't hold our excitement, and soon the word spread like wild fire, to your Aunt Sharie, and Sharlee and both Amanda's. To your grandpa Jay, and and then after our appointment at six weeks, to your brother, to your Grandma and Grandpa Thayne, to your many Aunts and Uncles. At twelve weeks I told my students that I was expecting, and they were almost as excited as I was. They talked about your arrival daily. They brought you gifts, a crocheted blanket, hats, an outfit. They daydreamed about you with me. They say that pregnant woman glow, and I felt it. I was filled to the brim with excitement and love for you. I loved being pregnant with you. I would lie on the bed or the couch in the evenings and wait for your little kicks, your punches. When your dad got home, I'd press his hand up against my belly to wait. And, when we reached 37 weeks and it was O.K. for you to join us, and I got the go ahead to exercise, you daddy and I walked non-stop to bring on your arrival. We walked and we walked and we walked. We ate spicy food. I jumped up and down. For two weeks we tried. We walked so much I was perpetually sore. But, you had your own time frame in mind. You'd come on your own time table, and you did.

On Mother's Day, four days before your due date, your daddy and I got up and went out to breakfast. I remember feeling tired that day, like I could lounge around on the couch all day and be perfectly content. My body must have known that it would be the last day where I could do that. We went to Denny's because it was close, and we sat on the benches in the waiting area for an incredibly long time, as the many other people who were there ate their Mother's Day breakfast. While waiting, we met an older couple that wished us and you well. At this stage in the game, it was quite evident I was pregnant, and they struck up a conversation about when you were due and how much we'd love the journey we were about to embark on. After breakfast, our plan was to go and buy a hanging plant, which seems to be the traditional Mother's Day gift in our house, only I was exhausted and so we decided to spend a little time at home, curled up on the couch.

So, we went home and settled in for a day of relaxation and T.V. At around 11:30 I began to feel contractions. They didn't really hurt, and so I told your dad they were most likely Braxton Hicks because I had been having those since around 30 weeks. So, we continued to watch T.V. About an hour later, I began to time them. Everything I read said to wait until your contractions were about five minutes apart before heading to the hospital. My body is made kind of funny, and so at 20 weeks the doctor discovered something that made preterm labor, and quick labor, a bigger possibility for me than most (In fact, your mother had to muscle through 20 weeks of shots in her hips to make sure you'd stay put until you were healthy and your body was ready to join the world. You were worth it though:). Our doctor had said that if we wanted to come in once they were ten minutes apart we could.

Once the afternoon rolled around, we were at ten minutes, so we started to pack. By 5:30, they were five minutes a part, and we were on the road! I wasn't sure if I would be the type of person who would want to be touched and massaged while I was in labor. During those incredibly long, and somewhat frightening labor classes we took to be prepared for your arrival, the teacher introduced different massage techniques. I love massages, so I have to admit, a part of me was excited to be able to ask your Dad for massages non stop. I learned on the car ride to the hospital, when the contractions really began to be painful, that I was NOT the touchy/massage during labor kind of woman. Your dad was expecting the possibility of this, so he didn't have hurt feelings.

Once we arrived at the hospital, they registered us, and brought us to our room in triage. They checked my contractions and some other things, and decided (even though my contractions were about five minutes apart) that they couldn't admit us just yet. They suggested walking the hallways for an hour and they directed us where to go. So, we walked, and we walked, and we walked. And, as we walked, we slowly watched the minute hand on the clock tick by.

(Funny story: While we were walking, another couple was doing the same thing. You could tell the woman was on a mission! She had a determined look on her face and was huffing and puffing away, madly marching the hallway, while her husband stood by eating out of a bag of fast food! Oh, it made your dad and I laugh. Your dad did not stand by while I walked. In fact, he walked each step of the way, lending me his shoulder when a contraction came on, making me laugh when I grew impatient of walking and waiting.)

When we made it back to triage, it was nearly 8. My contractions were three minutes apart, I were dilated to a five, and we were on our way to being admitted!

I had planned to have pain meds. Never was there a time when I wanted a natural labor. If that's the route that you decide to go when it comes time to have your own children, I will support you 100%, but it was not the route for your mom. I had done my research early on and talked to my doctor to make sure you'd be safe and alert when you arrived (and you were!).

In triage they offered me an epideral, but I said no. The contractions weren't THAT bad, and for whatever reason, I decided to hold off (not sure what I was thinking:).Once we made it to our room, things moved really quickly. The doctor came in at 8:30/9 and checked everything out, broke my water without much wanring, and really jump started everything. I asked for the epideral then, and I'm glad that I did, because you were on your way. We waited for the anesthesiologist, and then for the medicine to take effect, and then we began to push. The epideral took the edge off, but I was still able to feel each contraction. Your daddy had a look of shock on his face from the time they broke my water on:) I'm not sure how long we pushed, but at one point we stopped to wait for the doctor, and then there you were!

They immediately laid you on my stomach while Daddy cut the chord. I was so enamored and taken by you, that I didn't even notice I was crying until your Daddy told me I was later. I remember as they handed you to me that I said, "But I'm not sure what to do!" and then you were in my arms and it clicked, the whole world falling into place.

They cleaned you up, and weighed and measured you. Six pounds and fourteen ounces, 20 inches long. Daddy held you for a bit, and your aunt, and then we made our way upstairs for the night.

I was so excited to have you. You daddy and I fell in love with you immediately. From the minute you were in my arms I couldn't imagine a world without you in it. In the birth class that we took, they suggested sending your baby to the nursery so that you could rest. In class, that made sense. Once you get home, there won't be nurses to help when you're tired. But when it came down to it, once you were there and in my arms, I couldn't let you out of my sight. During the time you were in the hospital you spent a total of maybe 2 and a half hours in the nursery. Once, on the night you were born, when you began to choke up amniotic fluid, and one other time, when I decided to take a nap. That last time, you were gone thirty minutes before I sent daddy back in to get you. I didn't want to waste a moment away from you.

I spent that first night holding you and staring down at your face. I had dreamed about that moment, never being able to clearly picture what you looked like, and then there you were, it all made sense, like I had been picturing you all along.

You changed our lives baby girl! You have made our lives so rich and so full! I am so happy and proud to be your mother. I'm so grateful that I was entrusted with you.

You turn one in two days. It has gone by so fast that it's frightening! How quickly will the next year go? The next 10? 20? I love you my Gracie Girl! I am looking forward to it all, every minute!

A Goodnight Kiss

This evening, as I was trying to put Grace down for bed, she sat up, placed her hands on both sides of my head, and then proceeded to give me a big, slobbery kiss.

It was absolutely priceless. She will give me kisses when I ask, but this is the first time she has done it all on her own, with no prompting from me. The hands on the side of my face was too much!

I love her. I wanted to jot the moment down quickly, so I wouldn't forget it.

(She is still up by the way, and it's 11! My daughter is a night owl, like her daddy.)

My Cat is a Good Cat...

Seriously.

My daughter is on him all the time.

Petting,

Pulling his tail,

Yanking fistfuls of hair,

LAYING ON HIM.

And yet he hasn't laid a finger on her.

Not so much as a hiss.

In fact, he doesn't even leave. She will pounce on him three, four times, and yet he still stays near her.

Strange.

I'd probably be hiding under the bed during daylight hours if I was him.

He's a good cat.

She Is a Strange One, But I Love Her!

My daughter LOVES the bath, LOVES it!

Cranky? Throw her in the bath!

Sleepy and want to keep her awake? Throw her in the bath?

Teething? Throw her in the bath and she is bound to forget about it.

This morning I gave her a bath, and rather than play with the dozen of toys that accompany my daughter at bath time, she was infatuated with the faucet. Not only was she licking it, and pressing her face against it, she was holding full on conversations with it in Grace talk.

I do not want her to grow up, but I honestly can't wait to see what she comes up with when playing make believe as a toddler!

Apps for the Tech Savvy Mom

I've been meaning to post this for a while. A friend of mine is considering buying a smartphone and so it reminded me that I had left this post on the back burner for a while.

My husband and I purchased smartphones this summer. I was incredibly resistant at first. Why do I need so much internet on my phone? I have a computer for that. Do I really need fingertip access to my e-mail? The answer was a very big no. However, Ken really wanted one, and we were lowering our minutes, so the data plan (with Ken's discount) had us breaking even with what were were initially paying. My husband is weird and won't buy himself things of that caliber unless I get something equal to it, so we took the plunge.

And,
I have to admit,
I love my smartphone.

It's so much more than having the internet and e-mail. (Although I use that too. I'm the queen of googling things I don't know, and my phone makes it that much easier.)

Over the last 9 months, I've stumbled over quite a few really useful apps that have made life, and motherhood a bit easier, and I thought I'd share my top five. (Did I mention their free? I have yet to buy an app.)

*ShopListFree

This is a grocery list app and I love it! I can add things that we need throughout the week and shop for them on our weekly trip to the store. I also always have my list on me at all times (and I won't loose it in the mess I call my purse), so if I stop at the store midweek, I know exactly what I need to pick up, without having to rack my brain too much. It allows you to check items off and get rid of them as you go. It also has different sections you can separate your items into, which makes getting in and out of the store quickly, really easy.

*MyFitnessPal

This app is a calorie and diet tracker. You can put in your weight and your goal weight, as well as how many pounds you want to lose and it calculates how many calories you should take in daily. You're also able to add in what you've done for exercise and it will subtract your calories burned from those you've consumed. At the end of each day, after you submit your entry, it computes what you'd weigh five weeks from that date if you continue to consume/burn that same amount of calories. I use this A LOT, not too say that it always keeps me inline when it comes to eating healthy and exercising, but it does put things into perspective.

*Cozi

This is a family calendar. Anyone in your family can sync to the same account and have easy access to dates and appointments that involve everyone. You can also set it to send texts or e-mail reminders. I just recently downloaded this app and haven't use it too much, although it's a great concept. I imagine if you have older kids with phones that this app could prove to be really helpful. For example, Fenix doesn't have a smartphone, but he can still get text reminders for events I have put into the calendar.

*LoveFoodHateWaste

This a great app for trying to figure out what to do with left over food. All you have to do is throw what you have left over into the "blender" and the app spits out recipes that incorporate those foods.

*BestBudget

One of my goals this year was to be better at writing and sticking to a budget. I think in categories. We spend this much on food, this much on gas, this much on utilities, etc. This app is organized in that same way. You create categories for how your money should be spent and saved. When you make a purchase, it subtracts it from the category you select. This app is easy and intuitive and runs without a hitch. The only thing I don't like is it doesn't synch to Ken's phone. I initially had an app called EEBA, where you had similar categories, called "envelopes", and that did synch. Unfortunately it was painfully and oddly slow.

*KitchenDial

This app converts measurements for you. It's quick, simple, and pretty handy.

Of course there are others I use as well, like Pinterest, the Idaho Statesman app (my smartphone has made it so that I am psychotically always up to date on local news), and WebMD, which I use to self diagnose myself with strange illness. But the ones above I can actually argue as being useful:)