Pink Pajamas

Ari got some new cute pink pajamas from The Children's Place's fall clearance sale! I couldn't resist taking a few pictures, they are just so cute. :)

From Pink Pajamas and Hat

From Pink Pajamas and Hat

Look at that face!!!!!

Then I put her new hat on her so she could get used to wearing it, and she proceeded to climb on our safe and pull books down off the bookshelf. In her hat and overalls. Beyond cute.

From Pink Pajamas and Hat

BOOOOOOOOOOKS!!!!!!!!!!

From Pink Pajamas and Hat

My Favorite Game, by Ariana

Then I bribed her with a banana to sit still.

From Pink Pajamas and Hat

Here she is in the middle of her newest sound, something between a screech and a mongoose.

From Pink Pajamas and Hat

Our daughter is going to be a musician

She has repeatedly shown herself to be very auditory. She wants a toy that makes noise rather than lights up or looks interesting. Right now she is banging vigorously with a rattle on the bottom board of our console table, finding all the different sounds it can make. My guitar is her favorite toy (though she tries to nurse on the tuning pegs more often than she tries to strum. ;)

She loves playing with the pots and pans and a wooden spoon when I'm doing the dishes or cooking in the kitchen.

Of course, it's not at all surprising, considering that she has oodles of musical talent coming from every side of the family. My brother wants to start teaching her how to play the mandolin and she had a toy piano before she had her first pacifier. Ari doesn't really have much of a chance. She's going to grow up thinking "EADGBE" are the first 6 letters of the alphabet.

Ari and the Teething Biscuit

We gave Ari a teething biscuit the other day, because the list on the back of the box of milestones she's supposed to have accomplished before she can have one was completed! So she tried them out. They are the wheat teethers from Earth Baby Organics, but I think we're going to switch to the non wheat version...either way, she LOOOVES them. She's never sat in her high chair for so long! She got so messy and covered in cracker from top to bottom and did NOT enjoy the cleanup that ensued! We ended up just having to give her a bath because the washcloth just wasn't getting into all the nooks and crannies she managed to stuff cracker into. ;) Looks like we found a new staple treat... :D

Happy Swim Time!

We went over and did a photo shoot and had bbq with some new friends of ours yesterday. They set up this awesome little kiddy pool and Ari and her friend S played around for a while until both mommies discovered giant spiders in the grass and got a little freaked out. ;) She does love the water though!!

Trying out some new vintage processing... :)

Ari really liked this flower, she kept trying to crawl on it and eat it.

She found herself a slide!!! :)

"Do we have to get out? Really?"

Ari and her friend S! S can't crawl or really sit up on her own yet, so she was just kinda chillin' while Ari pretty much dominated the swim area. Look at that huge swimsuit! We had to borrow it - 18 month size! ;)

Ari's helping me pack

Yes, she did it on her own. ;)

This is what we woke up to this morning

Don't ask me how. I just work here.

Sophie

In response to the panic in the streets that the scare of BPA has created, I've decided to ditch all my plastic stuff and switch to natural. Even silicon pacifiers have toxins! I've just decided to play it safe from now on. So I bought Ari "Natursutten" natural rubber pacifiers, a "Sophie" natural rubber teether, a "Zmooz" organic cloth and natural wood teether, and "Green to Grow" BPA free bottles. I expected her to accept the new toys in place of her old - she's just not picky when it comes to stuff like that. I never, however, expected that she would love them THIS MUCH.

The first time she figured out she could chew on the wood on her Zmooz, she got a huge grin on her face and just started chomping down. She thinks the squeak in her Sophie is absolutely hilarious, and a few minutes ago (before I trapped her in her entertainer) she was rolling around on the ground giggling and chewing on the giraffe's squishy legs. And her pacifiers double as natural teethers - she seems to actually enjoy them more than her others! She is able to more easily grip the ring and so can insert and remove it with ease, a struggle with her others. Anyway - I'm really glad with these purchase and I can rest knowing my daughter is chewing on something completely natural - and not chock full of potentially hazardous chemicals that have been deemed "inert" by the same people who are trying to sell them.

I have a feeling Sophie and the Zmooz are going to be regulars in her toy rotation from now. ;)

Texas A&Sam Houston State

I dressed Ari all up in Aggie gear for Justin's parent's visit this week. When they showed up at our door, she was wearing a white and maroon A&M onesie, maroon A&M shorts and maroon A&M booties.

I gave her to her grandparents (who are both from Sam Houston State) and went to finish brushing my hair. When I came back out, my beloved aggie daughter had been converted. Check out the picture.

Baby and Doggies

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do! I've been in Dallas for a couple of weeks, and that was a bit of an adventure. Anyway, here's a little pic I snapped this morning on my phone - Ari is fascinated with these dogs!

Ari's First True Head Bonk

...and it was Mommy's fault!

I was holding Ari on the hip walking through the front door of our apartment when she suddenly leaned forward. I was too close to the frame, and she hit her head - hard - on the wood. I waited...3...2...1...SCREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAM! We got a frozen bunny out of the freezer and I tried to comfort her - heaven knows how much head injuries hurt. She's fine now but she's going to have a nasty bruise, possibly even a bump, right above her left eye.

As you can see from the photo, it's obviously bothering her quite a lot now.

Ari Goes Swimming!

Me, Justin, Ariana, and two of our friends who are down from Dallas to visit all went to the pool today! Ariana was so cute in her little blue swimsuit and red goggles and white hat. I slathered her in sunscreen, waited thirty minutes, and off we went!

The water was warm, no doubt heated by the ridiculously hot sun that had only started to cool, so the transition was not a shocking one for her. In fact, she seemed to not even notice she was in water. The first few minutes she just stared. At everything. At the water, at people blowing bubbles, at me, at Justin, at the sky. After a while, though, she got really excited. We passed her from person to person and she splashed herself and got water all in her face and splashed herself some more. By the end of the 45 minutes we were there, she was smiling and laughing and splashing and getting very excited. We left while she was still having fun so her last "memory" of water would be good, and came home. She was so exhausted she went to bed 15 minutes early. She had such a tiring, good day!! :)

I don't have any pictures, which is sad, but I didn't have a camera I could take to the pool. We're definitely going to go to the pool again, and probably often, so we might go get a waterproof disposable to take down there. She just had SO much fun, someone needs to record the absolute bliss on her face when her hands hit that water and it splashes up in front of her!! :)

Mythbusters

OH, did I forget to tell everyone? I married Jamie from Mythbusters!

Fedora

I "promised" Justin I would share this picture with the world.

We were in Wal-Mart and we saw these hats...these Fedoras...just lying on the shelf. Just LYING there! Poor hats...they were so...lonely...without some kind soul to wear them...

Seriously though...doesn't he look sexy?!?!

Pictures

Just a reminder...pictures of Ariana are posted on a separate website. I will occasionally put some up here, but I upload them as I take them to picasaweb.google.com/familyofbutlers. That's where all the pictures of her go. So, if you lose this link, it's in the side bar to the right of what you're reading right now. :)

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

Jacob's Birthday

Jacob, a little friend of ours, turned 3 years old on the 8th. His birthday party was on the fifth in south Houston, and we went. It was so much fun! We got to see a lot of friends who have moved to Dallas and Jacob's little sister, who is just a couple of days older than Ariana! She had a great time, we learned about trees and grass and to stay away from little boys who like to throw sticks up in the air. ;) It was a Superman party, so Jacob was Superman and he ran around that park like he owned the place and could fly. It was a lot of fun and Ariana got some in some quality learning while she was awake. ;)

Ariana Turns 3 Months!

Ariana turned 3 months old on April 1st! We can't believe how fast time has flown. She's already getting so very big. She can roll over (from front to back, at least) and holds her head up like a pro. She loves being in her Moby (a word which has become a verb in our family; "Ari, you wanna get Mobied up?") and facing out. She's technically not supposed to do that until she's 6 months old, but she gets upset if she can't see the world! Her favorite game is talking and it's the cutest thing in the whole world. To listen to her tell a story, you KNOW she really believes she's communicating something with you, it's amazing and hilarious all at the same time. Justin and I will just sit and talk to her for the longest time, she never gets tired of it. Unless, of course, she actually gets tired.

We're all pretty good at understanding each other now. Justin and I can distinguish her cries and can tell if she's too hot, too cold, too hungry, too wet, too tired. It's a great feeling to actually be able to understand what she wants instead of holding her, screaming and helpless. Her screaming. Us helpless. Most of the time, at least.

I really never imagined I would love being a mommy this much. I'm looking forward to the future but I've never found myself dreaming about it, like, "Oh, once she can call me Mommy, that will be great," or, "Once she can play with other kids, that will be great." I have really been able to just take each day as it comes and enjoy the moments I'm having with her now. Like this moment, for instance. She's just gotten done eating and, as I'm typing, we are having the most delightful conversation about "Arguububs" and "Thulgads" and I'm not really finding myself wishing anything about her were any different than it is at this exact moment.

Easter Sunday

We visited Dallas for Easter Sunday and it was a lot of fun. Me, Justin, Ari, Ashley, James, and both my parents all went to Bent Tree for the service. Ari slept in the nursery the whole time. In the photos above you can see a pretty blue silk Easter dress my sister bought for her - isn't it gorgeous? I'm glad I got pictures of her in it while she could still FIT in it (that child is growing like a horse!) We all enjoyed the little break and I know family really enjoyed having everyone together on Easter Sunday. We went and hung out with Justin's family after the service and had an Easter lunch. He got to spend some time with his brother and Ari had a great time in the bassinet that my in laws made for her. Then, on the way home, we blew a tire about an hour out of Dallas - at 8:30! It was dark, we were in the middle of nowhere and I was a bit terrified. Justin tried to change the tire and in his manliness actually BROKE the tire wrench! (Yes, BROKE, as in, IN HALF.) So we had to wait for a tow truck to come and fix the tire. We finally got back into Houston around 2:30 in the morning and poor Justin had to wake up and go to work in the morning! It was an exhausting trip and, though it was good, we are NEVER leaving Dallas that late again!

Granny B's 80th Birthday

The weekend we visited Dallas for Easter was also the week after my grandmother's (father's mother's) 80th birthday. The whole extended family (minus one who was just two weeks from her due date!) showed up in Hugo, Oklahoma to enjoy the festivities. My grandfather, who has been in and out of good health for a while now, was doing great. He was lucid and back to his funny, joking self. It was great to see him and my grandmother. There are SO many kids on that side of the family! It's really amazing, trips to the farm look more like summer camp than a family get together. ;) Ari was just one face in a crowd here, there were tons of little babies and kids running around. I'm so glad it's that way again, that's the way I remember trips to the farm and I'm glad that kids are able to enjoy it's magical wonders again. ;) I'm looking forward to Ari getting to be friends with all her little cousins and playing with them like me and Ashley did with all our cousins growing up. Anyway, the party was great and I know that my grandmother enjoyed being able to see everyone and have everyone there and to meet her new (not newest!) greatgrandbaby. (Yes, there was a baby younger than Ari there!) I'm really looking forward to our next trip to the farm - Thanksgiving will probably be the next time we get to see the WHOLE family there, and I'm really excited about it!

We've Moved!
Okay, for those of you who aren't aware (or who don't have to abide by this rule) the state of Texas doesn't like three people living in a one bedroom apartment, so we have moved! Just across the parking lot, so our new apartment number is 635 for those of you who have our previous address. Email me if you need the full number! We LOVE our new apartment! Once we got everything in Justin stood in the living room and looked around and said, "This isn't an apartment. It's a house on stilts." It's so huge - it's actually larger than my parent's first HOUSE. Especially being a stay at home mom I love having enough space to breathe, and the staff is great. Hopefully we'll be able to get a house in the next fifty-seven years or so ;) but for now, this place is perfect.

New Job!
I (Amber) now sell BilJac dog food!...part time, just a few hours on the weekend, so Justin can have a fun Daddy-Daughter date with his favorite little girl. The job is fairly easy for me in the sense that I fully believe BilJac is the best dog food on the market, so it's not hard for me to try to sell it. BilJac is the best for EVERY dog unless they have some serious problem like kidney failure, so I like explaining to people WHY it's the best and WHY they should be feeding it to their dogs! It's nice to get out of the house but I always miss my baby girl by the time I get home. Justin, however, loves the time alone with her.

I think that's all for this update, thanks for keeping up with us and if you're reading this - call us if you're in Houston! We'd love to hang out. If we know you. If we don't know you, don't call. That would...well, that would just be weird.

First Hospital Visit, Possible Move, TV Obsessions, and More

First Hospital Visit

Well, we've had an eventful last week! I had to go to the ER - it was Ariana's first time in a hospital. I was nervous having her around so many sick people, but she did fine and stayed healthy. I was better about the third day and it looks like things might finally be looking up for me, I'm so tired of being sick! I'm looking forward to being good and healthy from now on. :)

Smiles and Coos

Ariana is really starting to show her little personality! She grins at me every morning after she's eaten and her favorite game is making faces with me. We coo and giggle back and forth and she just thinks it's the greatest thing in the world. What I don't think she fully appreciates is that it is the greatest thing in the world. :) Here is a video of those little smiles and coos I love so much:

Are We Moving Again?!

We are caught in a bit of a dilemma right now! Justin and I both really want to move back to Dallas because we want Ariana to be around her grandparents, but Justin absolutely loves his job. We've decided that the best plan (if it's at all possible) will be for Justin to do summer school here and then we'll pack up and move! I have a feeling him finding a job is going to be fairly easy, Spanish teachers are a "critical needs" area in many places. Right now we're really wanting to move to Carrollton, and when Justin spoke with them last week they apparently sounded desperate for Spanish teachers. We are going to hate moving from Kingwood and Justin's great job and our great apartment and the great church we have here, but we've decided that it's time to make our life a bit more permanent and stable. If we do move to Dallas, it's going to be the first time we've ever moved anywhere with the intent of staying! We'll probably rent a place for a couple of years before buying a house, but we're looking at living in the northern Dallas area, Carrollton or Plano or even Richardson. Nothing is set in stone yet, we certainly don't know if this is even going to be possible or even likely, but that's the plan we're hoping for.

A Bit Sad...
On a bit of a more personal note, I am really bummed right now, one of my best friends is moving to HAWAII in a couple of months and while that's a cool deal for her I'm SO sad about it! I hope to enjoy the couple of months we've still got!

Lost in Obsession
Justin and I have returned to our obsession about Lost. Greatest. Show. Ever. We have a standing appointment with ABC every Thursday at 7. If you don't watch it - you're missing out, and don't start! I told Justin it's like a drug - you can't wait to get your fix and after you do, the only thing you can think is, "What am I doing to myself?! I hate this thing!" Really, though, it probably is one of the greatest and most brilliant shows ever devised. Very clever and smart and entertaining and kind of obsessive. ;)

Cloth Diapering
I love cloth diapering, especially now that I have enough cloth diapers! It's a lot easier than I thought it would be and saves a ton of money and landfill space. I would recommend anyone with a baby (and a washer/dryer in house) to look into it, it's not nearly as complicated as I think people think it is!

Well that's all that's new with us! I should go do the dishes while my sugar plum is still asleep. :)

Second Grandparent Visit

Today was the day for Ari to meet the grandparents and uncle on the crazy side of her family. ;) My mom, dad, and brother came down to see their 3 day old granddaughter/niece. She was a big hit. My dad kept talking about the "teeny baby feet!" and sardonically constantly reminded everyone to "Hold the baby's head!" which is a phrase my great grandmother apparently used incessantly. She got passed around all day and I even got to take a nap! (Yay for sleeping!)

Her gaze is getting so much better. She's stopped doing her ultra cute "What am I staring at?" blinking, but she can maintain eye contact with me for several seconds at a time which is really just replacing one ultra cute thing with another. We're also doing great with breastfeeding thanks to my midwife (I sooooo wouldn't have been able to figure any of that out on my own!) She's also SMILING! I have yet to catch a picture. And you know, I don't really care that it's probably "just gas." Those tiny fleeting dimples make me the happiest person alive. :)

First Checkup and Errand

Ariana's first checkup was today. She is a happy, healthy little girl! Besides a bit of trouble breastfeeding (nothing my midwife said a pump won't fix) she's doing wonderfully. Heart tones good, lung function good (tell me about it!), everything exactly the way it should be. :)

She also made her first trip to Target today! Though she had plenty of warm clothes, Justin and I realized as we were dressing her for the doctor that all of her 0-3 month old warm clothes swallowed her alive, so we went to pick her up some newborn sized items of coziness. :) Putting her in the car was a task; first of all, I was nervous because I've never put a two day old child in a carseat before. We finally (after about 20 minutes) got everyone in perfect place and situation when - yep - our car was dead. So we had to switch cars and then - yep - out of gas. Then we got stuck behind a funeral procession, which wasn't that big of a deal because I couldn't have been PAID to drive faster than about 35 anyway. We stuck to the side roads and avoided potholes like little green monsters were going to jump out of them and run us off the road. ;)

She slept the whole time we were at Target and got ogled over by just about every woman in the building. I enjoyed that more than she did. ;)

Ari discovered that she loves her daddy's chest. Laying on it while he talks and sings to her is probably her favorite activity in the whole world. Besides eating. Eating is good. :)

First Grandparent Visit

Justin's parents visited yesterday and today. Ariana is not only the first grandbaby on either side of the family, she's the first girl on Justin's side. It was just Justin and his brother growing up, and Grandma Linda has been REALLY looking forward to finally having a little girl to spoil! So far she's doing a bang up job. ;)

They got to hold her and coo over her. She's a big hit and, by her grandfather's confession, "Much cuter than Justin when he was a baby." ;) They agree with the midwife that she has my lips but Justin's dimples.

Grandparents brought with them Christmas presents for everyone (including a present for our computer...don't ask ;), especially Ariana, who now officially has something to wear at every stage of life until she's 3 years old. :) It was a good visit and I'm glad they were able to come down, as both grandparents start back to work tomorrow and wouldn't have otherwise been able to see her until she was several weeks old.

New Year, New Life

Our daughter was born today.

Around 9:30 I started having contractions and called my midwife an hour later. She was at my apartment around 10:45. I progressed rapidly; so quickly, in fact, that Justin barely had time to call one person to tell them I was in labor. He was really great the whole time, helping me through contractions and reminding me that, no matter how strongly I insisted, I was not going to die. ;)

After 30 minutes of pushing, Ariana was born in our bathtub at 3:49 pm. I'll never forget that moment. All of a sudden everyone just started moving around, no one was concentrating on me anymore. I didn't even know what was going on and I asked what was happening. Justin almost whispered, "That's our baby's head..."

The midwife had to suction her fully, which took a couple of minutes. Before I went into labor I promised myself I wouldn't ask if she was okay. ("If she's not okay, they'll tell me, I'm not going to ask!") All I could say, though, was, "Is she okay?" The midwife had the suction in her mouth and couldn't answer. Finally she turned to me, dropped the suction and said, "She'd better be okay, she's BITING me!" ;)

It took a couple of minutes for them to fully suction her, then with one last push Justin caught her and put her on my chest. She was slimy and gray and had a ridge on the top of her head that made her look like a gorilla and I swear to you she was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. She stayed on my chest for several minutes before they wrapped her up and gave her to Justin so everyone could get cleaned up. I fed her for the first time - she figured it out really fast! - and then, after a checkup confirming a good heartbeat, good lung function, a weight of 7 pounds 9 ounces and a length of 21 inches, Justin and I dressed our newborn baby and went to relax on the couch.

The midwife and assistant left around 6:00. I was in the living room with Justin holding Ariana when I realized how incredibly grateful I was that we were able to do a home birth. Not only did my baby never have to be separated from her mother or father for more than a few seconds at a time, but here I was, with a 2 hour old healthy child, sitting comfortably in my living room. I am so grateful.