Well, its been far too long since we last updated the blog.... So, I'm going to try and update you...
Since we last updated the blog, Joe's parents made it back home and we had a set of friends come and visit us.
Steven and Mickaela Peterson came --they live in Ankeny and Mickaela is one of Joe's best friends from high school. They are the couple that we ended up by chance going on our honeymoon with, as they got married a week before us and also picked the same resort as us in Jamaica. We were a "home base" for them, as they stayed with us a couple of days, then traveled on their own and then came back before leaving for home again.
After much thought and consideration, before they left we asked them to be Scarlett's God Parents. They gladly accepted the task and were very excited to have a God Daughter. :)
Scarlett and I went with them to Rothenburg, Germany, which is a quaint little village, which the movie Pinocchio was drawn after. It was beautiful! And while we were there, Mickaela was kind enough to carry Scarlett for some time while walked around. Here are some great pictures with them. :)
 |
| Steven & Mickaela with Scarlett....This is their true personalities! :) ...We Love them! |
 |
| All 3 of them again, but this time, all looking fabulous! (& Scarlett is even awake!) |
After Steven & Mickaela left, it was life back to normal, well, as normal as we could make it. We haven't done really anything, but we both successfully made it back to work and are on a schedule again.
Joe really likes his job in the Mechanics Shop on base, where he works with your everyday vehicles (Chevy Impalas [Cop Cars for base] and Ford F-350s). He is at work by 6:45 and works until 3:30, when he goes to WIN, a workout program to help him with his flexibility --in hopes, to help him pass his upcoming PT test. He is usually home by 5:30. ....makes for long days!
I (alyson) work for a gentleman in Mackenbach, a village right next to ours, who does financial planning for military members and government employees, for the most part. He is a great boss, who is flexible with hours and Scarlett's needs. I work Monday through Thursday 9:30am until 3 or 3:30 usually. I process paperwork and prepare life insurance and annuity applications for mailing.
While we work, Scarlett tends to herself here at home, while doing the dishes, cleaning house and preparing dinner for us.
HaHa! We wish... Someday. :)
No, while we are working, she is taken care of by Teah, who is the wife of Steven, who Joe met in Tech School in California. I would go and pick up Teah from the airport when she would come to visit Steven. They are from Oregon and expecting their own bundle of Joy --Annibelle-- in just a few weeks! She is due November 2, but wants to keep working until she goes into labor. She is a wonderful person. Teah puts up with breast milk to feed Miss Scarlett and cloth diapers on her bum. Both of these things can make it hard to find a nanny --as it "apparently" makes things more difficult for a caregiver. Which Joe and I don't understand, but luckily, we are blessed to have Teah who is willing to do both!
We chose to cloth diaper Scarlett because it is better on her bum that disposables, and cheaper! We only paid to gather the diapers and covers, and with the help of Carole and Gina, who gifted us some, we have only spent about $30 on everything. The one month we spent using disposables, we spent $80. EIGHTY DOLLARS. Since then, we haven't spent a penny. Its fabulous.
AND! A new good friend over here --Lindsey-- who is also enjoys sewing, has endeavored into the cloth diaper cover making land with me. She doesn't have any children yet, but is trying to have one of her own and wants to cloth diaper. We have figured out how to make covers out of our own materials, most of which we already had on hand, making the covers not only better looking (in my opinion) than the store bought covers, but cheaper too!
Here are the three that I have made so far.. The first one (blue and green) was free as all the materials were already on hand and it was a tester for the pattern. But, it turned out so well that I'm using it. :)
This was the first diaper cover I ever made, but I'm so pleased with the way it came out! Here are the other two that I made for her bum:
The Owl Print... Had Everything but the cotton --saw it and just had! to buy it. hehe! :)
The pink/salmon floral print. Had this cotton in my scrap fabrics, so it didn't cost me a single penny!
And here is the owl one on her bum! I think it looks pretty darn good, if you ask me. :)
So, this is my newest adventure. Each diaper cover only takes me about an hour or so to make, so it is a quick, money saver! The perfect combination. :)
Miss Scarlett is 4 months now... Here is the newborn and 4 month comparison:
She has grown so much! Well, not enough for the doctors, but she has grown!
When she was born, she was 8lbs 5.1oz and was 20.1" long and was in the 75th percentile for everything. At 4 months old, she weighed a whopping 12lbs 4oz and was 24.25" long.
However, that is the 60th percentile for length and 20th percentile for weight. I was told that she doesn't weigh enough and they were concerned that she isn't eating enough. However, I reminded them that her dad is long and lanky, which they said could definitely play a part. This made me laugh. :) Everything else checked out on schedule and was looking great. She is such a happy little baby!
Speaking of Scarlett being happy........we took some videos for you to enjoy. However, you must remember that the microphone on Joe's phone is terrible. Therefore, what you SEE is super cute. What you hear, though is not (which is nothing, unless you have FANTASTIC speakers). We have uploaded three different videos for you:
Video one is of Scarlett trying a lemon for the first time at dinner the other night. She didn't seem to mind it, so her reaction isn't that great, but its still cute and we thought you might enjoy it. :)
video link: http://vimeo.com/29192912
Video two is my favorite. She has started to giggle and its adorable. We were at Josh and Lindsey's and he was playing Peek-a-Boo with her and she got a kick out of it! We haven't gotten her to do this very often (just a hand full of times), but we did get it on camera this time, but with no sound. So, you can't hear her very well laughing, but you can see her -and its funny to watch her little eyes and her smile.
video link: http://vimeo.com/29193734
Other than this, we fall cleaned our bedroom tonight. A bin of clothes and three bags of shoes later, we have a cleaned out bedroom. We didn't realize how many clothes/shoes we had that we don't really wear anymore. So, they're going out of the house! yay!
Well, that is about all I have for now... We have had a pretty boring life recently, but had a wonderful little girl growing, growing, growing, which seems to make everything better. :)
