Collyn- 4 Months

Oh, Baby Coll-Coll. I can't believe you are 4 months already! Having two little ones, time seems to go REALLY slow, yet super fast at the same time. Some days I don't think I will make it through the day sane, but looking back I realized a whole week has flown by. Collyn is such a laid-back kiddo. I love him dearly.

Here are some updates on my little man.

GROWTH: Weight: 12 pounds 9 ounces (5th percentile) Height: 23 1/4 inches (3rd percentile). The doctor isn't concerned about his weight or height. He is following HIS growth curve just fine. She will check back with him at 6 months to make sure he is still on this curve, or above it. He's just a little guy.

SLEEP: We are actually doing pretty good with sleep. I really have no complaints. No fully sleeping through the night yet, but he goes to bed around 9:30 with his brother. Some nights he wakes up at 1 AM to eat (Rarely) and wakes up at 4 AM to eat and we are ready for the day around 8 AM. He will nap from 11 AM - 1 PM and around 4 PM- 6 PM. This nap is nice because that is usually when I am at the dance studio. He will take little random naps throughout the day too, but they are unpredictable.

EATING: I am still exclusively nursing. I have tried different bottles and formula, but nothing... He eats about every 3 hours, so I haven't been away from him longer than that. He does great nursing, unlike Alden did, so I'm not complaining. It's way cheaper. He nurses about 15-20 minutes each time. I also introduced rice and oatmeal this month. He is doing amazing with it. It holds his tummy full just a little longer and has put a little weight on him. He is still trying to figure out the spoon, but we are starting to master it. At 5 months, we will be introducing veggies.

CLOTHING: 3-6 Month

DIAPERS: Size 2

DEVELOPMENT: Collyn loves loves loves to talk. He will coo and gurgle and giggle for 20 minutes at a time, talking to anyone who will listen. He can grab toys that are in front of him, he likes to shake rattles, he has rolled back to belly- but hates his belly so he screams until someone turns him back over. We have struggled with tummy time because he hates being on his belly. He will lift himself up like he is supposed to but has no interest staying there. His head is no longer wobbly and he likes to sit up when he is on our laps. He recognizes people now and will smile when Daddy, myself, or Alden talk to him.

He's my growing boy!

My 25th Birthday

At the end of November I turned 25. Quarter of a century. :) Hahaha!

For my birthday, we didn't do anything spectacular, but I definitely enjoyed it. Lyndon and the boys took me out to lunch at Olive Garden (Both boys did AMAZING so it was even better.) Then, we went shopping for a few hours buying some Christmas gifts for the boys.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Lyndon put on a small party for me with ice cream cake at our house. I really enjoyed having everyone over to celebrate. I am so blessed.

-Alden helping me blow out my candles-

-Mmm.... Ice cream cake-

-Collyn and Parker playing together-

-My parents and I-

-Sisters-

3 Months- Collyn

Collyn is my little itty bitty boy! Alden was huge by this point... Around 15 pounds. Collyn is no where near that.

GROWTH: Weight: 11 lbs 4 oz Length: 23 inches

Sleep: Most night we are sleeping most of the night. He goes to bed at 9:30 PM and will wake up once sometimes at 4:30 or 5:30 AM. Then, sleeps until 7:30 AM. He will sometimes eat and then go back to sleep until 9:30 AM. He's my good little sleeper... Finally. I'm still waiting for the full night of sleep, though.

EATING: Collyn is still nursing. He nurses every 3-4 hours for about 20 minutes at a time. We added rice cereal to his diet to help him gain some weight. He has fought it a little bit, but we are adding a hint of banana baby food. Breastmilk is so sweet that I think he isn't fond of the plain flavor of rice.

CLOTHING: 0-3 Month

DIAPERS: Size 1

DEVELOPMENT: Cooing a TON! Smiling and belly laughing. He tried to roll over, but still can't get past his side. He can lift his head up off the floor. He is holding his head really well when he is in the sitting position. He can reach out and grab toys, especially the ones on his play mat.

Happy Halloween 2012

We had a wonderful Halloween! Alden was Elmo (Pictured with his cousin Alexie who is a Samarai)

And, Collyn was a baseball player

We stopped by my parents house to see everyone before we left for the Halloween Carnival at our church. This is Collyn and his cousin, Parker.

Sarah and I holding our youngest children.

Then we went to our church for a carnival. There were lots of games. Alden enjoyed it a lot, but we left early because both boys were getting pretty sleepy.

All-in-all it was a great day!!! Happy Halloween everyone! :)

Discounts where you least expect it

Following up on my "How to be thrifty... or cheap" blogs (Haha), here is something else I learned about different discounts.

I was never the person to talk someone down on a price. Never. If the tag said a certain price, I paid it. Things have changed.

With 2 kids that we are still trying to pay off their hospital bills, plus my hospital bill, I decided I would give the hospital a call and see if we could extend the amount of time to pay it off.

With Alden, they gave us 2 years, no interest, to pay it off. Collyn came 19 months later, 5 months before Alden would be paid off. This through us for a loop. So, I called to see what I could do.

I didn't know, but I do now, most hospitals how a Financial Assistance Program. They mailed me a form to fill out about our monthly bills, spending, and income. Then, we had to mail it back with 3 months bank statements. I just sent it back, but this will be a chance that they could lower our hospital bill or eliminate it completely (Doubtful!). But, if we could get it lowered just a teeny bit, it would be so worth it.

So, if you just had a baby, look into it. If things turn out good, I will let you know how much we saved. :)

Tough Times

Like most people in America, financial issues are everywhere. Many people are struggling to put food on the table and put clothes on their kids. We are doing a little better than that, but it is still definitely a hard time. 2 kids under 2 means 2 kids in diapers. Diapers are expensive to say the least. On top of that, we have 2 kids medical bills, plus mine. We just bought a house, we own 2 cars... Bills grow, but income doesn't. It's a rough time, but at the end of the day we realize how blessed we truly are. We just learn how to do things a little differently.

For a little while, I'm going to do some posts about frugal recipes, fun, and different ideas for your family the CHEAP way. :)

Meat is expensive. We have been lucky to have family who raise cattle, so we usually eat a lot of beef. However, it isn't the season for butchering, so no beef available (Unless we want to pay outrageous prices at the grocery store). Lyndon's parents, however, bought some pork and bought too much, so we were so happy to receive some pork from them. We also got a great deal on some boneless, skinless, chicken breasts during a case-lot sale at a local grocery store.

Without beef, which is what I cook normally, I've been getting kind of creative.

So, Here is my recipe for chicken spaghetti....

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts, cut in strips and covered in bread crumbs or shake and bake

12-16 oz pasta (Any that you have on hand)

2 8 oz cans tomato sauce

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 packet spaghetti sauce mix

grated cheese

1. Preheat oven 425

2. Boil pasta until tender

3. Heat tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and mix and simmer until pasta is finished

4. Combine pasta and sauce

5. Pour into casserole dish

6. Line breaded chicken on top of pasta.

7. Top with cheese

8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through

We will also serve this with garlic bread and green beans.

We are just getting started on this whole "Being Poor" thing.. Hahaha. Just kidding. our heads are still above water, but it's still pretty rough. We definitely live paycheck to paycheck.

I guess what I'm getting at, is I will doing personal blog posts, but it will also include ways we try to save money and how we are handling 2 kids 19 months apart.

Samson Family Photos

I took my sisters family's pictures yesterday. Here are some that I got! :)