Frugal Friday: Ditch Cable!

Ditch your Cable!

Seriously....It's a BIG waste of money!

Inspire yourself to be more active, take walks in the park, visit family, read a book.....


And if you can't handle all that....


Invest in Netflix.

We have Netflix and are able to instantly stream movies through our Wii and we get 2 DVD's in the mail.  We used to get three, but Netflix raised their prices, so we cut back on the number of DVD's we receive.  


We are cutting back by not having an expensive cable, but we do splurge on Netflix.  Which it is a splurge.  Our Justification- We do...I mean I watch a movie almost every night to bed. When we do find a series that we like, we watch one episode each night.  I watch documentaries and other TV shows during the day when the only think on basic tv are soaps.  If we didn't have Ava I probably wouldn't have Netflix, because I wouldn't have time for it.  I was always on the go before I got pregnant!  


Netflix works for us and our lifestyle.


That's all for now!  Come back next week for a new money saving tip! 

Cole and Ava's Park Adventure

Cole and Ava walked to the park this morning.  

And they...

Swung on the swings.

Crawled through a tunnel.

Climbed up a slide.

Slid down a slide. 

Climbed up to a tunnel. 

Walked across a bridge.

Attempted to climb onto the bridge.

Called to his CeCe.

 Attempted to eat rocks. 

Swung on his tummy. 

Swung some more.

Sweet hand.

Sweet girl. 

Took a juice break.

Staying hydrated.

Went swinging again.

Climbed up a slide again.

Slid down a slide again.

Went down the slide by herself.

And again.

Climbed across the bridge again.

The guard dogs.

Snack time.

Found this bird in the grass.

Collected these on the way home.

Ava 13 Months

Ava-

You are such a sweet girl.  The Lord truly blessed your Mommy and Daddy when He gave you to us.  I know in my heart that we will never thank Him enough for finding us worthy to be your parents.  We love you so much.  You are an amazing miracle.  This past month I have looked forward to your future.  Not back.  I do miss that itty bitty baby that I brought home from the hospital, but you won't stop growing!  So I have been thinking about you growing up.  One thing I'm looking forward to is us going to the grocery store together and you insisting to have a little cart to put our groceries in.  I know that it will probably make our quick trip into a much longer one and I know that my arms will be full of groceries that won't fit in the cart.  I know you might see that I'm irritated or snappy and I am sorry.  I apologize now.  That little moment will be one that I treasure forever.  I love you sweet girl.  And I promise to try my hardest to be patient when we go grocery shopping together.  

A Little Bit About Ava:

Length:  ?
Weight: 18.2 pounds (4th Percentile. We think you are just a petite baby.)
Hair Color: Dark Blonde
Eye Color: Dark Blue with a little Brown around your Pupil

A Look at Your Daily Routine

5:30-6:30 am- Wake Up!
7:30-8:00 - Breakfast!  Pancakes or Toast.  Grapes or Bananas.
8:30-10:00- Walk to the park with Mommy.  Play at Park.
10:00 -12 pm- Play time!
Noon- Lunch time!  Finger foods.
12:30-2:00- Nap time
2:00-5:30 pm- More play time! Snack at 3.
6:00 pm- Dinner
6:30 pm- Bath Time 
6:45 pm- PJ's, Stories, Rocking
7:00 pm- Bed Time


Feeding:  On September 12, 2011 you refused to be spoon fed.  No more pureed anything for you.  You are eating normal food.  Pasta, rice, green beans, peas, corn, diced carrots, french fries, breads, grapes, bananas, strawberries.  Pretty much everything.  And meat. Chicken and Turkey.  Breastfeeding-  You are still nursing.  We are working on weaning and you are down to a morning and nighttime nursing.  I think the nighttime is more for comfort.  

Diapers: Size 3

Clothes Size: 12-18 Months.  There's a few 9-12 Months that still fit and a 6-9 Month Outfit

Favorite Toy: Right now you are all about your Baby Doll Stroller.  You like to put completely random things in it.  Completely Random!  Craziest combination so far:  2 Wii remotes (not 1, 2) (Oh and you have your own remote btw.  Mommy and Daddy were tired of fighting it, so we gave in (I know that's bad) took the batteries out and now there's the Wii remote and Ava's Wii Remote), a sippy cup, crumbled up expired coupons, and a maraca.   Sweetest moment:  You putting 2 baby dolls in the stroller and pushing them around.

Other Things You Do: You are walking!  All over the place!  You love to go outside.  We go to the park a lot and you love to swing.  Your first temper tantrum was at the park when it was time to go home.  You screamed and HUGE crocodile tears streamed down your sweet cheeks when I took you out of the swing.  

Sweet Things You Do: You started smacking your lips.  You walk around and smack, smack, smack. At first I thought it was just something random you started doing, then I realized that you are kissing.  Took me a while, but it confirms that you are a sweet girl full of love. 

Funniest Moment: On October 11th we were on our way home from picking up Daddy from work.  As we pulled into our apartment complex and I realized I hadn't heard you in a while.  My heart sank and I spun around to make sure you were okay.  You were fine.  Fantastic.  Happily munching on an apple.  Daddy didn't eat his apple for lunch, you pulled it out of a grocery bag and had at it.  I was so worried you were going to choke.  When I got out of the car to get the apple from you, you were all smiles.  As if you said, "Hey mom.  Oh I'm just hanging out. Eating a little snack."  There were little chunks of the peel all down your shirt.  Thankfully you knew to spit those out.  You made a good little dent into the apple.  

Milestones and Other Events:
September 15, 2011: 1st time to drink milk.
September 20, 2011- First time to eat meat.  Ground Chicken.
September 23, 2011- Bought your new car seat. 
September 24, 2011-Cole's 1st Soccer Game.
September 25, 2011- 1st time in new car seat. 
September 26, 2011- 1st time to climb onto the couch.
September 28, 2011- 1st pair of shoes.  Museum of Fine Arts and Picnic Lunch with Mommy and Daddy!
September 30, 2011- 1st time for Abuelo to Babysit while Mommy and Daddy went out.  You were asleep.
October 1, 2011- 1st time to go to the Fort Bend County Fair!

Picture explains it all.

1st time to drink milk

1st time to eat meat.

Buying new car seat.

Cole's 1st soccer game!

1st time in new car seat.

1st time shoe shopping.

Picnic before MFAH.

1st time at the fair.

Swinging at the park.

Just hangin' out.

Putting Mommy's camera case in the stroller.

Last time to go swimming 2011.

13 Months

My Revelation

Ava and I were taking a walk this morning,but this walk was different.
As we were rounding the last bend,  I was in awe at the beauty that surrounded us.


The morning was cool and crisp. The leaves rustled as the wind blew.


The sunlight shone through the trees.  The most amazing shades of gold and white light.     


The chilly wind blew across my face.  And I smiled because it was too beautiful to not smile. 


The air smelled pure and clean. Crazy since we were in the middle of Houston!


Ava and I were in our own world.  No people, no noise, nothing.
Just us in the middle of God's Work.


And this song was playing on Pandora on my phone. 

I saw Him. Felt Him. Smelled Him. Heard Him. 

Babbling

Ava babbles all day long!  About what?  I seriously have no freakin' clue.  Lord only knows what she is talking about!  I wish I knew what she was talking about....or actually maybe I don't want to know....

 

Responding to a babbler does so much for their cognitive, social, and emotional development.  

A baby/ toddler is learning:

• Communication is Meaningful.
• To be an Individual.
• To Critically Think.
• To Build Vocabulary.
• What they have to say is IMPORTANT.
• Learning the Tone and Pitch of Language.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  There is so much more! 

There are so many ways to respond to an avid babbler.  But too often I think parents stick to the usual "Oh Really?," "And then what?," routine. I'm guilty of this too.  Then I put a little thought into it. 

Prompts for a Parent of a Babbler:

"What do you see?"

"What do you hear?" 

"What do you smell?"

"What do you taste?"

"Did you like the ___?" 

"Did you love it?"

"So what happened after that?"

"That's amazing!  Tell me more!"

Talking to your child is so important for language development.  There are so many opportunities for speech, so make every moment count!

Making Baby Food- Plums!

Plums! Plums! Plums!  Yummy!  We made organic baby food plums a couple of weeks ago!  They are extremely tart.  I have been mixing cereal or apples in with the plums to cut down on the tartness, but Ava seems to not mind.  So on to making plums.....

1. Buy Organic Plums.

2. Rinse and Remove Stickers from Plums.

3. Fill a Small Pot with Water and Begin to Boil.

4.  Once Boiling, Drop a Plum into water for 20-30 Seconds.

5.  The Skin will Peel Easily Now.

6. Repeat Until All Skins are Removed.

7.  Remove the Pit.  2 Options- 1. Use a knife to remove the pit. or 2. Use your hands to rip apart the flesh and rip out the pit.  I chose option 2.  Quick and Easy.  Tad bit messy. Also eliminated the need to chop the flesh.

8.  Place Plum Flesh in Steamer and Steam for 15 minutes or so.

9.  Remember to Save the Plum Liquid from the Steamer.  

10.  Place Steamed Plums in a Food Processor for a few minutes.

11.  Meanwhile, Pour Plum Water into a Liquid Measuring Cup.

12.  Pour Juice into an Ice Cube Tray.  I like to use these cubes to mix into her morning cereal.  I also plan to put them in her sippy cup  of water once she gets the hang of that.

13.  Pureed Plums will look Smooth and Creamy.

14.  Scoop Plum Puree into Ice Cube Trays using a Scoop.

15.  Cover Trays in Saran Wrap and Freeze Overnight.  

16.  Run Warm Water over the Bottom of the Tray.

17.  Bend Tray and Flip Over on Counter.

18.  Dump Tray of Cubes Onto Saran Wrap.

19.  Place Cubes in Labeled and Dated Plastic Freezer Bags and Put Back in Freezer.

Simple. Easy. Nutritious.

Ava enjoying Plums for the First Time....