The Saturday Post

So much stuff going on around here, I thought it was time for another Saturday Post to share all the current events and what not.

Bye Bye to the Bottle
A huge event around here is we said fair well to the bottle. Back when I was pregnant I read an article that had a photo of Tom Cruise & Katie’s baby girl and she was almost 2 and she was drinking from a bottle. The article basically said this was horrible and the kid should be off the bottle. Of course at the time I read it I had no experience with any thing bottle let alone know when a kid should be off the bottle. So I remember doing some research to educate myself a bit on the subject. It appeared that it was a big deal to get kids off the bottle and a good time is at one years old. So I made a plan. When Chloe was 6 months I introduced her to the sippy cup, just putting water in it. Once she got the hang of it, I started giving it to her with meals only putting water in it. She liked it. A couple weeks before she turned one, I dropped off a few sippy cups at her daycare and took back the bottles I had there for her. So on the days she went to daycare she only had the sippy cups during the day, but had the bottle in the morning with me and in the evening. Then about a week ago I scrubbed up all the bottles and put them away. I decided to just go cold turkey. Chloe got up that day and in her routine I changed her diaper then went into the living room where she would normally have a bottle first thing. I handed her the sippy cup with whole milk in it. She was not happy. That first day was tough and there were tears I definitely know it would have been much easier to just give in and give her a bottle. What I did was just keep giving her affection and offering her the sippy cup. She would eventually take the cup and each time it got easier and easier. The first day was the worst and each day after got better. Now she is in to a new routine with her sippy cup and just fine with it. I am over-joyed with not having to make up the bottles. It is so easy to just pour milk into the sippy cup.
From 6 months to 9 months we tried several different kinds of sippy cups to see which ones worked the best. The one that worked out for us is the Munchkin Mighty Grip. I have six of them and that gets me thru the day. She is able to hold onto them and even with just one hand. It does not leak which is a big plus because this thing is all over the place. I have not had one break and she is getting good at tossing it over the highchair. Next we will work on her drinking from a regular cup and also teaching her how to drink from a straw and working on her using a spoon.

Resolution Results
Photo of HABA children’s toy scale
I have completed my 3 month resolution to become more fit and loose weight. March seemed to go much better than February. Overall I lost a total of 15 pounds since the beginning of the year. I am very happy with the results. I am down one clothing size. I can put my wedding ring on & off with out having to goop on lotion first. I am going to continue on and see what happens by the end of the year. I have added exercise on the treadmill, so this should help me tone up a bit.

The Herd Moves North
Last year we were able to sell several of our alpacas. After the sales we were left with a total of 26 alpacas in our herd. Last Monday they were shipped up North to a large alpaca farm where they will be cared for and sold. Hopefully we will be able to find some good homes for them this year. It is so strange to look out my windows and not see them frolicking in the pasture. It is even stranger to not have the daily chores of feeding them and tending to their needs. I miss them but feel a relief of our progress. We are currently working on cleaning up the barn, shelters and pastures and preparing the property to be put on the market.

Everybody Loves Babies
It seems like there are a ton of movies out now that I want to see and just have not had the time to go. I recently read an advertisement for an up coming movie titled “Everybody Loves….. BABIES”. The documentary follows four babies around the world from birth to first steps.

The four kids are:
Ponijao from Opuwo, Namibia
Bayarjargal, from Mongolia
Mari from Tokyo, Japan
Hattie from San Francisco, CA

The movie opens mother’s day weekend. I hope it will be playing at our local theater. I am definitely going to try to catch it and show my support. If you would like to read up on it and watch a trailer go to their website HERE.