Day 1 of Fully Cloth Diapers!

To start with, I am thrilled to say that I have WON A CLOTH DIAPERING PRIZE!!! It was one of the pre-hunt prizes for the Green Quiz Quest I mentioned in the last post and it's 7 nice baby wipes, a travel size wetbag and some wipe solution cubes. How cool is that? I never win anything but will definitely review the new stuff when it arrives.
Today was the girls first day in completely cloth diapers after a partial day in cloth yesterday and a couple days in cloth little gpants from gdiapers with their disposable inserts. Her rash went away within just the first two days of being out of traditional disposables (other than nighttime and she was a little pink in the mornings). This makes me think she was either reacting to a chemical in the 'sposies or just the fact that they don't breathe at all! My little lions prefolds didn't arrive until yesterday morning and it took all day and all of last night to prep them so I didn't have enough cloth to get by with. :) Since a big part of our goal with cloth diapering is to save money, I didn't want to spend a huge amount on our stash but because I wanted to get the girls in fully cloth as soon as possible due to Paige's rash issues stalking the FSOT area over at diaperswappers.com wasn't really a good option either since I was needing enough to get going with ASAP! (We'd spent so much time discussing Paige's rashes recently that one day we realized Kyra was singing Paige a little song in the car about Paige's little bum-bum.) This led me to decide that prefolds and flats with covers were the right choice to make up the bulk of our cloth diapering options with a few pocket diapers thrown in for good measure in case anyone who was a little less diaper savvy ever needed to change them. I chose 4 Kawaii brand covers from theloveyourbaby.com and also 3 different styles of Kawaii pocket diapers from the same site as they were VERY affordable (and cute too!). I'm very happy with them so far! The fabric is soft and stretchy (I didn't know what PUL was like so I didn't know what to expect.) I chose all snap closures instead of Velcro/Aplix as that was what appealed to me and so far I'm happy with that. The pocket diapers each come with two microfiber inserts so you can add an extra one for nighttime wear or heavy wetters. The diapers and covers are all one size meaning they'll fit a baby from a small infant to a large toddler depending on how you adjust the rise length with the snaps. (Paige still needs the shorter rise sometimes depending on what diaper she's got underneath.) For prefolds I ordered unbleached Indian cotton seconds from littlelions.com and am so glad I went with the seconds as they were very inexpensive and the flaws that make them seconds are nearly unnoticeable. I ordered infant and preemie size to use as doublers/inserts and premium/toddler size for use as actual diapers. (Only the infants and premium are here so far, the newborn and toddler are still on the way.) They came with some free diaper pins too so eventually I might get brave and try those instead of just my Snapi closures. I also have a bunch of flannel receiving blankets, some of which I had and some of which I bought super cheap on Craigslist, to use as flat diapers and cut up for more cloth wipes. We also have 8 pairs of Gerber cotton trainers for Kyra to wear under her covers when she's feeling pottyish which sadly hasn't been very often this week. Phil has been working on installing a diaper sprayer for me too and I love it! For my diaper pail I'm just using a plain small kitchen garbage can with a flip lid and no liner so I'll just spray it out with the diaper sprayer after emptying it. One less thing to wash and I figure if I decide I want liners later, I can always get them. So THAT is my starter stash. So far I'm very happy with it except I have decided I need a few more covers since I'm using them on both girls. Oh, and we had four pooie diapers today and I still like cloth diapering so I figure that's a good sign.

After the success with the last contest, I've decided to enter another. :) This time it's at clothdiapers.blogspot.com and the grand prize is a $100 gift certificate to the Cotton Babies site! They're the people who make bumgenius, flip, econobum and hemp babies if any of that means anything to you and if it doesn't go check them out at CottonBabies.com. These are the sort of diapers I DROOL over and I think I'm going to fill out my meager cover stash with some flip covers so it would be great to get to do that for free or cheap with contest winnings and you should enter too! :D The contest is a Mother's Day contest and the entry task is to write a short bit to a special little person in your life about why you're glad they were born. I chose to write about Paige but I think I'm going to try to find time to write one up for Kyra too sometime this week and print them off for their baby books.

On a side note, Paige got another tooth (on the top, right of the middle ones so she's finally less lopsided) just over a week ago and Kyra got her 4th 2 year molar FINALLY last month but I forgot to mention it. :)

Trying to make being green a little easier.

So our newest adventure is switching to cloth diapers here. We haven't officially switched yet as we're still waiting on them to arrive (With two toddlers, you shop online for everything but tp and bananas. :D) I'm going to sew a few of my own I think too. This switch is partly financial in nature, partly ecological and primarily related to Paige's constant mild but uncomfy chronic diaper rash. Time to eliminate some chemicals! In all my recent diapery web searches I've come across the Green Quiz Quest which is an awesome green themed online scavenger hunt that will take place in July! There are nifty green prizes to be had so check it out at this site or search them on facebook. :)

Long overdue update... and there are about 6 more saved that need posting.. :D

Today, PayPay cut another tooth (her fifth, the second to the left from center on the bottom), learned where her nose is, SAID nose, asked for Dad when shown his picture, "beeped" her belly button and helped Kyra put the cars away in the tub. Kyra taught her about her belly button, putting the cars away and where her nose was. Such big girls! Oh, and I think "Dad" is definitely her official first word for something she really knew what it meant. I was really hoping for Mama this time! At least she did SAY Mama first. :)

Oh, and at their appointment last week, Kyra was 24 lbs 2 oz 33 3/4 inches tall (she uses the big girl scale and ruler now) and Paige was 23 lbs 11 oz. 29 inches long.

Food, FINALLY!!!!

We've had a busy month here at our house!!! Two weeks ago, Kyra's upper right canine came through and this week the upper left one FINALLY popped so hopefully we'll have a teething break while we're in Wisconsin before her 2 year molars start. Paige started eating solids for the first time last Sunday. (Yes, that was a few days early but she was definitely ready and that way Dad, Grandma and Grandpa all were able to see her get her first dinner (peas) and celebrate her 6 month birthday with her.) She's LOVING eating solids. So far her favorite seems to be squash and her least favorite is jarred bananas because they are SOUR from the citric acid they put in to keep them from browning. From now on we'll be mashing our own bananas. She grabs the spoon and pulls as it's heading for her mouth because I don't get it in fast enough. She ate the whole jar (2.5 ounces) of peas at her first try and now is up to two meals of 2-4 ounces a day of fruits and veggies. She's getting to be very wiggly and can sit up on her own in the bouncer. She rolls both directions now but still does better front to back. She sits unsupported and has for a month or so (don't know if I mentioned that before) and is definitely teething but no teeth yet. Phil thinks she'll be crawling before November but I think it will be a little longer than that. Her 6 month wellcheck was this past Thursday and she did beautifully! She only fussed about the shots and charmed everyone at the office. She weighed in at 19 lbs 11 oz (officially less than 2 lbs lighter than Kyra) and was 26 1/2 inches long. The doctor commented repeatedly on how wonderful her muscle tone was and how strong she was, predicting that she might be an early walker. When the two ladies came in to give her the shots (she got three of them poor thing) Kyra hid behind the chair when she saw the needles. As soon as they'd poked Paige and she started crying Kyra came flying out jabbering and yelling something that the only understandable part of was "BABY PAIGE BABY!!!" She was scolding them for having hurt her little sister. :)

Just a Quick Note

With getting ready for Phil's 30th birthday party, I just haven't had time to put up the post I've wanted to lately so I've ended up not posting at all! I need to get something up though or I'm going to forget things I need written down here. :) We've had a few firsts in the last two weeks. Paige started using a tippy cup last week (with just water in it) and LOVES it as she doesn't feel quite so left out at dinner anymore. Kyra cut her lower left canine last week also. At Kyra's appointment last week she weighed in at 21.1 lbs and was 31 3/8 inches tall. That means she's dropped from 53% on her length to weight ratio down to 19% on her length to weight because she's only growing up! It also means that she's officially 3 lbs heavier than Paige. THIS week, Paige has officially begun to sit up unassisted and hasn't looked back and Kyra cut the lower right molar. Kyra has been loving going out to Grandma and Grandpa Beebe's to pick blackberries, "'matoes", string beans, pears and blueberries. She has a blast seeing the food growing and then getting to eat it right away! She likes picking flowers too. The girls also had their first swing in a hammock out there last week.

Two Babies Leave Little Time for Blogging!!!

So, as you've probably noticed, I'm WAY behind on keeping up again... whoops! It just seems like we're having such a busy summer between softball, doctor's visits and just all the normal stuff that comes with keeping up with an 18 month old and a 3 month old!! The big news is that on the 14th, Paige got her loaner BAHA aid! She's doing great with it already. If you want to know more about that, as soon as I get the chance I'll put up a post on her blog about it all.

On the 19th, we worked out at Oral Hull again. (Well, Phil worked. The girls and I did a little weeding and shrub trimming for a couple hours because there is a limit to what you can do while wearing both babies. :) It was a lot of fun and Kyra LOVED the watermelon!
Paige had her 4 month check on friday (even though she technically wasn't four months until wednesday.) She did very well and the doctor said everything looks good. She barely fussed for her shots and didn't fuss at all when she got her oral rotovirus vaccine. She weighed 15lbs 2oz and was 25 inches long which puts her in the 90th percentile for both height and weight so she's balancing out and slowing down a little on the growing. (She was 98th for weight and 95th for height two months ago.)
Last Sunday Phil surprised me with a late birthday trip to the Rennaissance Fair. It was so fun! Kyra loved it too. :) She really liked the police horse that she got to pet that was parking cars. She also liked the dressage and jousting demonstration... until she noticed that there was a dog next to us to play with. He he. Her favorite part though was the blacksmith oddly enough! I can't wait to take her to another one... we'll have to try to find or make some itty-bitty garb before then.
Paige rolled over for the first time that I'd really count this last tuesday. (It was the first time on a totally flat surface so she did it all on her own and she's done it a few times since then too.) She rolls just tummy to back so far which is great so far since Kyra at first only rolled the other way and would get ticked off when she got stuck on her tummy. Of course, Paige's first true roll was when Amy was trying to get her picture on her tummy. :D Amy was very brave and tried some of the girls together too that turned out cute, if not perfectly posed. It's just not possible to take a well posed picture of an 18 month old and a 3 month old without having at least one grown up person in the picture. *lol*



We've been trying and trying to get Kyra to say "Love You". On Wednesday, she finally said it... but not to me or Phil! I was changing Paige on the couch and Kyra was entertaining her for me and I asked Kyra if she loved her sister and she looked right at Paige and said "Love you!" several times. :) She also is finally saying her own name as of yesterday. She also now says very clearly Elmo, Grover, Ernie, Big Bird, and Bert. I should try to get a video of her doing those, it's cute when she goes through her book and names them. She can't quite get Zoe yet, that's a hard one.

Teeth to Chew With!

Kyra now officially has all 4 premolars through and we're just waiting on them to be ALL the way through for her to start being able to chew a little better which is a very exciting thing for me as I'm always paranoid that she's going to choke on things. Maybe now I'll settle for cutting grapes into quarters instead of eighths...
We were out at the dogpark the other night trying out the "new" from Craigslist Baby Jogger (which works great, even in the sand) and the poor girl got all bit up by mosquitos. Thankfully she doesn't seem to have noticed too much for some reason and she didn't react too badly to the bites which makes them hard to find. We apparently need to start remembering the bug lotion and order her a sun/bug net for the stroller.
Paige is really getting vocal. Last night she just sat and chattered and cooed to us for almost an hour before and through dinner!
Phil's softball team had their second to last regular season game yesterday. It was the last for us as we'll miss the final game as we'll be out at Oral Hull Camp for the Blind and Visually Impaired again with the group from church working on things. The girls were mostly very good at the game even though it was sort of cold and no where near the 70 degrees that had been predicted. Phil's team won 31 to 13. Needless to say, they had a good time. :) That's 7-2 for the season so far.. tournament is in August so we'll see how that goes!

18 Month Check

Kyra had her 18 month appt. with Dr. Byrne yesterday. Paige stayed home with Phil while we went and Kyra was VERY concerned when we got in the car without the baby. In fact, she cried more about leaving Paige behind than she did about getting TWO shots! She was a very good girl at the doctor's office except for fussing when the doctor wanted to feel her tummy. She even stood on the big girl scale and at the ruler to have her height measured. She is officially 22.6 lbs on their scale and 30 inches tall!! Ok, so the weight was at least in part due to the fact that she was fully clothed and last time was only wearing a dry diaper, but we'll take it since it means she doesn't have to go back for 6 months!!! Yay!
Also, Paige laughed out loud tuesday for the first time! Phil was talking to her and being silly and she broke out in a great big grin and then laughed several little chuckles. So cute!!!!
We took the girls to the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade tonight and they were both very good and had a blast! Paige stared as everything went by and Kyra switched off sitting with John and Amy and didn't even try to run into the parade once. I think her favorite parts were when she realized there was a dog sitting next to her and stealing all of John's waterbottles from him. She did seem to like watching the parade too. :)

Busy Weekend!

The girls had a blast on the 4th of July. We met up with friends for a picnic (Kyra had LOTS of fun "helping" me cut up fruit for the picnic) before the fireworks and Kyra played and chased bubbles with their kids until it got dark. Both girls watched the fireworks and like them. Kyra got just a little tense to start with but then relaxed in Dad's lap. I think she got more upset when we put two earplugs in and she couldn't hear us than she actually did about the fireworks! (We had to take one out before they started.) Paige liked them and actually kept her earplug in but she did get hungry and needed a snack in the middle of the show. We got home just before midnight and both girls were tired. Kyra slept until quarter to ten!










Yesterday afternoon we were invited to a 3rd birthday party for a friend's daughter and Kyra had a wonderful time! This is the first kid's birthday party she's been to (with the possible exception of her own where she wanted to sit on one of our laps most of the time) where she's been old enough to participate some. She loved playing in the little kid wonderland of plastic Little Tykes outdoor toys in their backyard and THOUGHT she wanted to play in the pool until she realized the water was a little chilly. She never did get in the water, even though the other three girls were already in.









When we got home, we got out the Color Wonder finger paints before bed and she did some painting for the first time. I think we need to get her some regular finger paints to use outside so she "gets" it a little better but she did pretty good with a little help!

3 Months and Counting!!!

Hard to believe, but Paige is already 3 Months old!!! We went with a muffin this month instead of an actual cake because I was feeling a little lazy and wasn't feeling up to the temptation of resisting all that sugar. :)









Paige is just so alert and strong, she loves to sit up in the corner of the couch or in one of her chairs and look around. She's still eating and growing and is pretty solidly in the 3-6 month sizes now. She had her Early Intervention Evaluation at our house on Monday and it went very well and we heard from her ENT that she'll be getting her hearing aid in a couple of weeks.













We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house last Thursday to celebrate Great-Grandma Pat's 80th birthday and it was so much fun! Kyra entertained G.G. Pat all through dinner and Paige cooed and smiled for her several times.
Kyra is listening very well now and is getting to where she can get down and play more at softball games or walk holding our hands too and from the car. She's really enjoying her newfound freedom. :)


I made Kyra some grape juice popscicles the other day and she thought those were absolutely wonderful. You have to wonder though where exactly my brain is considering that I didn't think to use white grape or apple or anything other than deep purple juice...
Kyra is really working on the teeth right now. She cut the bottom premolar on the right side two days ago and the top one right above it popped through this morning. I can tell the one opposite that isn't too far behind either. The poor thing is having a much rougher time cutting the big teeth than she did with the front ones, but at least she'll have some grinders in soon and we can start giving her some of the lettuce she's been asking for!

Firsts, Firsts and More Firsts!!!

So Kyra has been hitting firsts and new things like crazy lately! She peed in the potty for the first time last week, said her first 2 word sentence verbally ("more please") and has been giving her first closed mouth kisses (it's so nice not getting slimed.) Her first premolar came through on Saturday and the one on the other side is VERY close to being through too.

The poor baby also had her first really bloody owie when she tried to lean on my legs while I was wearing a long skirt. She forgets that I'm not shaped like the skirt underneath and leaned on a part where there wasn't any leg to lean on and fell over, biting her bottom lip pretty good. I got her calmed down in just a couple minutes but she bled pretty good and got a big gash on the inside of her lip. She seemed to forget about it completely though until about an hour later when it was time for nap, then she was holding her hand up to her mouth and wanted to be held. ;) She tasted her first feta cheese and made some pretty sour faces and also had black olives for the first time. She loves when you put them on her fingers for her. :) When we were out at Grandma and Grandpa's house last Monday, she rode along in the Ergo carrier on Dad's back and saw the horses, but I think she may have done that before, I'm not sure. She thought they were pretty entertaining at any rate.

Paige now weighs 15 lbs almost even. This is at nearly 3 months. At 4 months exactly Kyra weighed 13 lbs 2 oz. This is a somewhat frightening thing! It's odd though, Paige didn't outgrow her 0-3 clothes any earlier than Kyra did, she just fits better into the 3-6 months clothes from side to side than Kyra did at first. We'll have to see what sort of a growth curve Paige settles onto as her growth slows down.


Both girls did BEAUTIFULLY on Saturday while we were working with a group from church out at the Oral Hull Camp for the Blind. It was the first time I've worn both of them together for an extended period and they did great! Even Kyra was pretty patient in the carrier for over 2 hours straight while I was helping with some landscaping clean-up stuff. During the afternoon while Phil and some of the other guys were working on setting up the Bocce Ball courts, Kyra plaed in the grass by Angi and I for a really long time and did a very good job of listening and staying close to us. She loved rolling in the grass.



I forgot to add before, the other day I had Paige sitting up on the couch taking her picture and Kyra wanted to crawl up and get in the picture so I helped her up and she put her arm around Paige. Then she leaned over and grabbed her Elmo book and got it opened up in front of them and started babbling and pointing at things and turning the pages. She was "reading" to little sister. :)