Captured by sister, right before the sneeze!

Resurrection Trail

This morning the kids and I had the opportunity to do a Resurrection Trail at one of the (thousands!) of churches here. It was so great and I am so glad we went - it really set the tone for Good Friday. There were 12 stations to walk to and each one had actors dressed in character and we were able to "walk" as Jesus did on Good Friday and have a hands on experience with some of the things we read about in the Easter story. Here are a few pictures from our day

From Trail

Getting ready to walk - Jordyn wouldn't smile because she was upset there were no girls there for her to walk with

From Trail

Caden with a couple friends from the church

From Trail

Caden with teachers and kids from his Sunday school class


First station, a donkey. His name was Eeyore =)


palms


Getting ready to wash parents feet

From Trail

good thing I didn't wear socks! It was in the 80's today =)


30 pieces of silver


Pilate


hammering nails



empty tomb and celebration with the "angels"

It was such a great morning and we all loved taking part in it. There were hundreds of people lined up in the parking lot and radio stations there. At one point, they asked us to yell "crucify him!" over and over and I got teared up! So memorable and we will defiantly be there next year.

Etsy...

...is a dangerous thing!! I have been doing a little shopping on the site lately and here are a few things I am eagerly awaiting arrival on!


This baby tag blanket. Of course it will say Griffin instead - funny thing is that I requested his middle name put on as well (which is Reed) and I think I had them spell it "Reid". Tracy and I argued over how to spell it when he was born and I won with "Reed" but am realizing that "Reid" is probably the correct way and he was right all along...


This binky clip, monogrammed with my baby's name. The fabric will be different, though. It will match the tag blanket.


This cute little tie onsie - my favorite!! I am really hoping it comes in time for Easter.

I just have a thing for monogramming things! At least no one will have to guess his name =)

Snuggle Luv leg warmers came today!!

Hint

Does anyone want to buy me a present? I HAVE to have this for Griffin's room!! And one for each of the other kids, too!

Garage Sales!

I went to my first garage sale of the year last weekend - the morning of Jordyn's birthday slumber party. There was a sale just down the street where they were raising money to send their daughter to Hatti on a mission trip. I bought a few baby books for Griffin at $1 each - does anyone else think that is way over priced??! I bought them anyway to help support the cause. Would have felt wrong to talk them down on the price =) I also bought this great bookshelf for $10 to put Jordyn's littlest pet shop collection in.




The family was so sweet to offer to deliver it to my house for me. The father and son loaded it in their truck and followed me back to my house. They were a home schooling family so I rationalized that it would be safe?

I also got these blocks for Griffin. He loves them =)


After we set the bookshelf up in Jordyn's room I was admiring the view she has out her window...


Beautiful, right? Once all the trees get their leaves in we wont see the water as well. But until then it just makes me happy to glance out and see it across the way.

Milestones

Today marks two milestones for my little baby. First, he cut his first tooth!! And hasn't even complained about it once. I just happened to have my finger in his mouth (can't remember why!) and there it was! =) Last night was also his first time sleeping in his crib. Crazy, right? He is a few days shy of 5 months old and he has never been in his bed!! We have had him in a co-sleeper and our bed but last night he slept in his crib. He woke up once to eat, then again for his binky, and then one last time to eat in the early morning. Not bad for us. I know the nights will get easier as he gets more accustom to sleeping in his bed. Here are a few pictures I snapped of him. They were with my phone so they are not the greatest quality.

He seems so small in there! Wouldn't you just want to cuddle with this baby all night in your bed? I am kind of missing him =)

Yum!

A little video of Griffin trying out some new food today. It runs a little long but...who wouldn't want to watch him for 5 minutes!!

Outtakes

Double chin, anyone?

3 and 4 Months Old!!

3 month check up stats...
weight: 13.8 lbs (between percentile 25 and 50)
length: 25 inches (in percentile 75 )
diaper size: 2
clothing size: 3-6

Griffin defiantly had a growth spurt in his second month of life! He wore size 0-3 months for about a week and then moved up to the next size. During his 3rd month we went to the doctor quite a bit to try and heal up a rash he had all over his head and the side of his face. It was a bad case of cradle cap. We used Aveeno, Selson Blue, Vanicream (still using), hydrocortizone, and finally a prescription strength cream. He was also on oral antibiotics because the rash was so bad the doctor was worried about infection. But he is healed up now!! It comes back if I don't use the cream every couple days but the cream works so quickly once it's on. He still constantly scratches the back of his head whenever he cries. I have to put baby mitts on him while he is sleeping. He will not have a well baby check up until later this month so I will fill you all in on his current accomplishments! =) He is eating rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and pears. He still wakes up a few times during the night and is in bed with us most of the time. I was going to be firm and keep him in the crib but....he is just so sweet!! And our last little one so I decided to just relax on that issue. He does take all his naps in his bed. He prefers his bed and will not sleep anywhere else. That makes it hard to be out in the evenings now, he is extremely fussy when tired and just cant sleep in my arms anymore. He laughs when you bounce him and tickle his neck. He grabs all his toys and puts them directly into his mouth. He rolls over from tummy to back but has yet to go from back to tummy. He is the center of attention in this family, loved by all!

Dining Room

We've been here almost six months and have yet to get a dinning room table! Our dinning room has sat empty this whole time. I was waiting for spring/summer to go out garage saleing and find one that way. Our dear friends here, Philip and Leah, offered one evening to loan us their table for a couple years!! They are living in married housing while he is in school for a few years and had to downsize and put quite a few things in storage while there. They just delivered it this past week, along with a free treadmill. =) Philip delivers exercise machines to people in their homes and some of these rich folk can't be inconvenienced with selling used exercise equipment. So often they will just ask him to "take it away". =) This one is only a few years old and works great!! So back to the table - the chairs had been covered in a country plaid that Leah described as "hideous" and gave me free reign to recover them. Here is what I picked out




Who knew it was so much cheaper to make your own curtains??!! All the home interior fabrics were half off at Joannes so I bought some material while I was there to make some curtains. They were $18 total.



Too much puddling? Does it even work on carpet?


I want to get these to sit on the table...



...and this runner


Our new home is starting to feel like home!

Zoolander

Couponing

Here are the deals I got today all at Kroger! =)



Charmin tp - $4.24 each (normally $8.25)
Downy - $2.87 each (normally $5.96)
Tide - $7.59 each (normally $14.99)
Crest mouthwash - $1.05 each (normally $4.99)
Febrez candles - $1.99 each (normally $7.99)




Olay lotions and body wash - $.99 each (normally $6.29)
Secret deodorant - $.29 each (normally $2.49)
toothbrushes - $.56 each (normally $3.70)
make-up - averaged to $2.95 each

This was a fun shopping trip!! I am stocked up for months on laundry soaps, tp, body wash, deodorant, mouthwash, and toothbrushes. The initial total before coupons was $274 - after coupons (and some grocery items)was $100 =)

My Cameron men! =)

Disaster Area

Jordyn and I worked very hard for two hours to clean out her room. Things have been neglected around here with the new baby and I was so tired of walking past her bedroom and seeing this mess. The problem was that she had way too much stuff!! Our home group is helping out a refugee family here from Africa for Christmas so it was a good opportunity for her to pass on a lot of her things to the little girls in this family. Jordyn has worked hard ever since to keep it picked up - I hope that doesn't wear off! =)