Happy 1/2 birthday Wren!

Wren is 6 months old now!  I can't believe it has been 1/2 a year since she was born.  She is growing way too fast!  I know that it happens in a blink of an eye, just look at Gabby, but I wish I could slow down time or stop it all together.  At least for a little while.  I try to remember what Gabby was like when she was 6 months old and I just remember small snap shots. I know that I did it but, I can't remember exactly how it felt to just sit and stare at Gabby, like I do with Wren.  I am so afraid that in 9 years I won't remember this time either.  Knowing how fast it goes makes me hold on to every second I have that much more. 

Now that I am done being all sappy.  The fun stuff you have come to see!

A few hours old

6 months old

See the cute pic of her with her sock monkey?  Well I decided to take a picture with her monkey every month.  This months she decided to show her monkey who is the boss by using her awesome wrestling skills!

You want me to take a picture with him?

I don't know if I really want to

WACK!

POW!

NOM NOM NOM

She also tried to get up on all fours during her "photo shoot."  It was so awesome because she has never tried this before! Her poor foot kept getting stuck though so it didn't work.

Gabby trying to get her back on the blanket

Stupid foot why won't you move!

Went to Indiana for the weekend

We went to Indiana for my FIL's birthday.  It was great to see the family.  We stayed at a hotel and got to take the girls swimming.  Wren loved slashing and trying to drink the water.  We met a baby 3 days younger then Wren and they played together in the water.  Wren would splash him and he would laugh and laugh at her. Gabby had a blast with her and would have stayed in the pool the entire weekend if we let her.

Wren has severe stranger anxiety and would not let anyone hold besides Nathan's brother and her great grandpa.  I think it really up set MIL and I felt bad that she wouldn't go to them without screaming.  Gabby was such a Papa's girl when she was a baby.  O well we will be back in IN soon enough.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

FIL - it was a surprise party : )

Wren being a cutie pie as always!

My parents, FIL, Gabby and cousin Brayden.  Did I mention FIL is an Elvis impersonator?

Daddy and Wren!

Party girl!

Ready to swim

 

This is why there aren't many pictures of little miss attitude

A beautiful day

We had beautiful weather yesterday.  We took the opportunity to walk to the park.  In true Gabby fashion she would not let me get a good picture of her, but I did manage to get her in the background of a few of these.

Wren didn't know what to think about the grass and would not stop looking at it.

First time swinging.

She loved it!

Loved scooting on the slide.

My addiction to fluff

Hi my name is Aubrey and I am addicted to cloth diapers.

When I found out I was having another baby I joined a great site for mommies (the bump).  Many women on there were cloth diapering and I had been considering it and did some research while pregnant.  The husband wasn't too excited about it because he thought it would be a hassle so I put it on the back burner to consider later.


Then W was born and I didn't really think about it.



When W was about 3 months old many of the mommas on the bump started raving about cloth diapers and posting the cutest pics of their babies in fluff.  I was up late one night and saw one momma post a super cute pic and a link to her blog.  After that I started majorly researching.  I decided that I wanted to try them.  I found some used (yes used) diapers on e-bay and ordered them.   After they got here I washed/prepped them and put them on W.


I was in love!

W's first fluffy butt

How could I not be?  I am (very) proud to say that W is cloth diapered 100% of the time she is home.  Her daycare doesn't do cloth but we will be moving and that will be a must for our next day care provider.  

I plan to blog more about cloth diapering and maybe do some reviews of what I have tried.  For now I will share the reasons I really decided to cloth diaper.

1)  The saving of the moo-la!  Before starting cloth we were spending about $30 a week that is about $120 a month on diapers.  Now that we Cloth diaper at home we spend about $30 a month for diapers used at daycare.  So far I have spent about $150 on my "stash."  This includes 3-pocket diapers (2 rumparooz and one kawii heavy wetter), 4 flip covers with 14 inserts,  2 thirsties duo wrap covers, 2 indian prefolds, 1 snappi, 1 large wet bag. I have only bought diapers when I had a code for money or a percentage off and with free shipping.  I wish my stash was larger but for now it works and I will grow it over time.  Just look at the savings!  Most sites that I have found estimate that cloth diapering can save well over $1000+ from birth to potty training. (as long as you don't go over board once you are addicted)

2)  The saving of the planet!  Disposable diapers last in a landfill for hundreds of years.  I wish I had known about cloth diapering when we had G.  Just thinking of the mountain of diapers still laying in the landfill from our first daughter makes me sick. Not to mention all the junk that goes into making sposies.  

3) The diaper rash.  W has super sensitive skin.  Before using cloth she had a very bad rash that just wouldn't go away.  Now she hasn't had one at all.  She still uses sposies for about 6 hours a day but I like to think that using them less is helping her skin.

4) The fact that they are absolutely adorable! 

 

Do you need more proof?

Let's get this started!

I thought I would start of with an introduction of me and my family.  In the future I hope to use this blog as a way to share my experiences as a mom/wife/person living life.  I am sure a lot of it will be baby related as we have recently added W to the mix 9 years after our first daughter.  I definitely feel like I am starting parenthood all over again!  So let's go...

Me:  I am Aubrey.  Until a few weeks ago I could say that I was a PhD student working in aquatic toxicology.  Now.  I am not sure what I am.  After the surprise of our second daughter this past fall my priorities have changed drastically.  After next week I will no longer be pursuing my PhD.  I am unwilling to give up time with my family for school, research, and teaching.  Although I LOVE science, I want to be a mom and a wife before a scientist.  I consider myself a "green mama" and will share my adventures in that. So to answer the question, Who am I?  I don't really know anymore but I plan to find out!

The Husband:  My husband is Nathan. He is my best friend.  He has his master's in biology focused on Microbiology and is currently on the search for a job in his area.  God bless him.  While waiting for a job of his dreams he is working 3rd shift at a factory.  He is an awesome dad and husband.  I am sure I will post other things about him but for now that is all I need to say about that.

The Gabby Girl:  Gabby is our oldest daughter.  I don't know when she became her own person and not out baby, but he is a firecracker to say the least.  We had her young and learned fast what it was to be parents.  She has inspired us to be the people we are today.  She loves soccer and arts and crafts.  She says that one day she will be a soccer player or a clothing designer. She loves school.  Her favorite book is a birding book.  She can pull on my nerves sometimes as she pushes her boundaries and establishes herself. Nathan just laughs and tells me she acts just like me.  She is a wonderful big sister!

Miss Wren:  Wren is now 5 months old.  She is our little coodie pie.  After not having a baby for 9 years I feel like I am a first time parent all over again!  This blog will be filled with the adventures of relearning mommy hood.  Not that I am not a mommy to Gabby it is just being a mom to a 9 year old person is MUCH different than a mom to a baby!

Now for the best part, pictures!

W 5 months

Enjoying our first nice day of spring

The girls with daddy

The girls and mommy