Works for Me Wednesday!

Time for it works for me Wednesday.  Visit here to see the originator of Works for Me Wednesday and here for who hosts it now and to see all the links to other Works for Me posts.

So 6 months is usually when "they" say you can start a sippy cup for your baby.  If you haven't already learned this yet, much like you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince, you have to try a lot of sippies (is that how you spell that!?) before you'll find the one you like.  And even if one child likes a certain one there are no promises that the next child will like the same one.  So I thought I'd do a post about sippys (is that better??) that I've tried and what I've learned!  Here goes:

So here is my abundance of sippy cups.  I have multiplies obviously but here is each individual one.  Since pulling them out I've decided to do a little spring cleaning. : )

So first up is Munchkin brand.  *From left to right first we have the lovely Backyardigan sippy (one of Bella's favorite shows).  This sippy has a lid that is suppose to encourage them in the next step of using a regular cup, see how the lid is shaped like a cup but you still have the convienence of a sippy.  I have enjoyed this sippy.  My only complaint is the design has finally begun to chip (but it is one I've also had the longest).  It doesn't leak and the stopper has never fallen out. *Next we have the Dora straw sippy.  I got these sippys because Bella like the straw aspect and Dora of course.  Also due to her speech delay her therapist said she needed to use straws (something to do with her lip placement with a straw has a more developed formation than using a traditional sippy) or a regular cup for drinking.  These have probably been my least favorite.  They leak like crazy, the design is completed chipped, and there are so many cracks and crevaces for milk or juice to get stuck and moldy in. *Lastly this other Dora sippy.  So far I love it!  It doesn't leak, easy to drink from, no design chipping, and stopper stays in.

This is a Nuk sippy.  This one is nice because it is so nice and compact.  This is a beginner sippy because the nipple is very soft and bottle like. Although not often, I have had some leakage if it is left lying down and then pushed on but like I've said its very minimal.
Next I have some Gerber sippys.  I have to say, although some down sides these have probably been my favorite, next to Playtex.  *First the ones to the left and in back.  I used these for Bella to transition out off of bottles.  The nipple is very soft and bottle like, I liked the measurement levels on the side, and it flowed much like a bottle.  Now with Brynn is wasn't so great.  If you have a child that may be a little bit tougher on a sippy DON'T use these.  The stoppers are terrible at staying in!  Brynn would knock it out all the time and end up dumping it all over herself.  *The other Gerber sippys I have loved.  They are nice and small around so small grips can get around them, the one in the front is also curved to encourage tipping for better drinking, and the stoppers stay much better in these.  And I have had no leaking issues with these.

Next we have a modgepodge of sippy cups.  *On the left we have Playtex.  I have to say Playtex sippy cups have always served me well.  This one is insulated which is nice for milk.  Stoppers NEVER come out and they never leak.  *Back right I have the princess cup (I forget who makes it) which so far I like, Bella of course LOVES it and it doesn't have a separate stopper you have to worry about, its built in.  I've had a little bit of leakage if I over fill it but not very much.  *Then the yellow straw one (also don't know who makes it, found it at Walmart) I like.  Its compact, nice to use before they figure out the whole tipping their head back to drink thing, but like the other straw one its hard to keep clean, leaks, and lots of parts.  *Lastly the one in the front was the very first sippy I bought.  It's Advent and those were the bottles I had started with (ended up using Dr. Brown though).  Its nice and small and the nipple is soft like a bottle but I found it hard to suck the liquid out.  So I started giving it to Bella with out the stopper, which "they" recommend until they get the idea of sipping from a sippy anyway, but then not spill proof of course.

So bottom line....  I have found Gerber and Playtex to make the best sippy cups. They both have these small ones too that have softer nipples that I LOVE but didn't take pictures of because the girls keep them in their beds!  Hope this helped a little!

The Pink Bike....

So I'm a blog slacker....  I wanted to do my Not Me Monday post today but housewife duties called!  So though I wasn't blog productive I was very home productive!  Today I cleaned the house, did the bills, completed the laundry, opened a saving account, oh and took care of two precious girlies!  Ahh, it feels completely exhausting satisfying when I have days like this! 

So the other day I had the pleasure and really the honor of experiencing a true full circle learning experience.  Growing up mums and daddio, being missionaries and working in ministry, never had huge funds to pull from.  My wonderful father being the stingy frugal man that he is didn't help either(love you dad!).  During my adolescent years I had received the coolest pink bike.  After a couple years of blissful bike riding I had outgrown it and moved on to the next stage of bikes.  Now it was my younger brother's turn to receive a bike in the stage of bike I had just out grown.  Now instead of going out and looking for a cool Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle's bike, or whatever it was boys thought was cool back then, my parents spray painted my bike red and presented it to my brother.(I've got some other creative things they did/do to save money but that will have to be another post)

One of the things that drives me crazy I love about the hubs is whenever I say or suggest something we should get or need his usual response is, "I can make that."  Now although my hubs is super creative and talented there are times when I just want to buy it!!  Ya know?!  Now a little bit back our wonderful neighbors had given Bella an extra trike they had lying around.  And although it was blue and covered in crazy boy stickers Bella loved riding it.  Well the other day the hubs asked Bella how should would feel if we painted the bike pink.  Now if you know Bella, you know that this idea tickled her PINK (pun intended!)!!  The girl is obsessed with LOVES pink!  So Bella and her daddy spent the afternoon and evening taking the old bike apart, picking out just the right color pink and princess stickers, and starting to put it together.  After she went to bed that night the hubs put the finishing touches on the bike and then had it on the table for when she woke up the next day.  

Now although I complain about his "I can make it" response or hated that I didn't have the fancy things that others around me had growing up (or now for that matter) I learned so much from this experience.  Every time Bella wakes up, from nap or for the day, this last week since her daddy made her bike her first words are, "Can I ride my bike?" (its currently in our family room since the frozen tundra here can't seem to thaw out)

Who needs a fancy new bike when all you need is a fresh, girly, coat of paint?!  

Here are pictures from that fun day!

No she's not crying- we told her to close her eyes. : )

It isn't all bunnies and colorful eggs....

The hubs, being a MK (missionary kid) (which if I am being honest I technically am too but that's another post, I digress) grew up in a conservative home.  Where our holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, etc. are about the true meaning of that holiday.  That means No trick-o-treating, No Santa, No Easter Bunny.  Now don't misunderstand I completely and wholeheartedly support and agree with that. Although I also grew up in a conservative home my parents weren't this way with us.  We got dressed up and trick-o-treated (although we were not allowed to go to haunted house and anything with witches or ghosts, I think we attempted the awful Santa pictures, and we always had an Easter egg hunt.  Since we've had children of our own this has been a source of arguments discussion in our home.  I always felt like as long as they knew the true meaning of the holiday and why we truly celebrate it what's the harm?  But lately as I've gotten over more stubbornness grown wiser I'm not sure if I believe that.  When I asked Bella why we celebrate Easter the other day she said, "Eggs!"  That really bothered me.  I think she's a little young to know the full meaning of Easter but I certainly don't want her thinking its just about eggs.  Unfortunately all you see on TV or out in the stores are colorful eggs and bunnies so all kids know is that.  And that is why its our job, duty, priority to teach them that its more than that.  So I think right now our plan will be to let the girls enjoy some of the silly holiday traditions as long as we are constantly telling her why we really celebrate these special holidays.  One of the many bloggers I read was feeling the same way and wrote this.  

What are your thoughts?

Here are a couple of things we've been using to teach Bella about Easter.

These are great and will be super valuable as she gets older.  Right now she just enjoys finding the appropriate color and then we tell her briefly and edited what it symbolizes in the Easter Story.

We've also been reading this to her each night.  A much lighter and simplistic way to tell the Easter story.

Anything fun that you use?

Happy Good Friday!

It's Friday........but Sunday is coming.

Today was a sad day then but now its a day to truly celebrate! 

Stole this from Kelly's Korner-isn't it great?

Priceless

Receiving a small boy's trike from the neighbors- free

Buying new paint for the small boy's trike- $10

Purchasing princess stickers for the small boy's trike- $5

Taking apart, painting the small boy's trike the very color you picked out, and spending the evening doing a project with your daddy- Priceless

More to come about this..... 

Who doesn't love bragging about their kids!?

So this week's Mom to Mom Carnival topic at It's Almost Naptime this week is...bragging about your kids! I am happy to brag about my sweet girlies. Be sure to do some bragging of your own over at Its Almost Naptime!  Here goes:

Isabella Kathryn...aka. Bella....Three words:

Beautiful. Brilliant. Angel.

Perhaps the Lord should not have spoiled me buy sending one of the most perfect angels, I have ever met, as my first child. Bella has beautiful white blonde hair and the fiercest blue eyes. She has always been petite (always in the 5th to 10th percentile). The girl knows how to accessorize. And if the camera or camcorder is out then thats when she's in her element. Bella amazes us with her intellect and her amazing puzzles abilities (doing 25 piece puzzles like they're nothing before she was even 3). Unfortunately Bella's sweet lips have not been able to keep up with her brilliant mind for she has a bit of a speech delay. Since we got her some assistance a year ago she has gone from saying maybe 20 words to hundreds and speaking in good 3 to 4 word sentences. She just needed someone to help her mouth catch up! Bella loves her friends. Bella loves her sister. Bella loves anything pink and anything princess. Bella since 4 months has slept 12 hours at night and takes a great nap and rarely fights us about going to sleep. One time we were over at a friends house during nap time and I had to put her down on a couch, in the middle of their toy room, and she went right to sleep without a peep (she has her daddy's ability to fall asleep instantly)! Bella is also an excellent listener. We rarely have to raise our voices to her. Bella only has to hear a no or even the inflection in your voice and she acts like you've broken her heart. Or just the threat of a punishment is enough of a punishment. Another thing I love about Bella is her fearlessness (from her daddy, not me!).  Bella will try and do anything once.  Last summer when she was barely just 2 we sent her down a grown up water slide, without us, and she LOVED it!  The hubs has even let her enjoy a jump or two from off the refridgerator (don't ask)!  I love that she is fearless because I am definitely not, I will continue to encourage her fearless attitude the best I can!  Bella has this sweet, sensitive spirit. Her laugh and smile is infectious. She is just beautiful in every sense of the word. Here are just some of the pictures I love or incapsulates her, sorry there are so may but you have no idea how much it pains a photoholic to narrow 3 years of pics down to 7!







Bryanna Karina...aka. Brynn...One word:

Smiley....but an angel too, Oh I can't do it in just one word!

The reason one of Brynn's nicknames is Miley is because she's SO smiley. (don't laugh but I heard an interview with Miley Cyrus and Miley isn't her real name but she was so smiley so her parents started calling her Miley and I thought it was perfect for my baby too!) Ever since about 3 months all you had to do was look at this precious baby and she would flash you a world class smile. It would warm your heart no matter what kind of day you're having. Brynn is also a total momma's girl, which thrills me to no end (Bella was and is the type that doesn't really need us around-although she loves to too). She is more of a timid soul but has the sweet sensitive spirit her sister has. All you have to say is no and she sticks her lower lip out so far your heart breaks immediately (she has definitely perfected this move too since she was about 3 months old). Brynn is also very careful. She took her time walking to make sure she really could let go with both hands and not land on her head. As each day passes she seems to be more and more like me, which to be honest boosts my ego and scares me. : ) Brynn loves her sister her blankie, babies, and dancing.  She is the sweetest little toddler you'll ever meet and she'll bring a smile to your face on the cloudiest day! And some pics of my Miley, again impossible to limit, it just pained me to only post 5 : ).

I love my girls so deeply my heart aches and wonders how I could possibly love them more, but each day I seem to.  I pray they grow to love the Lord and love each other in the same way!