Cruising Up On a Year

"It hardly seems possible, but the big day is drawing near."

As I sat down to FINALLY write Selah's 11-month update, the Baby Center Bulletin for this week came in with this as the subject.

"Hardly seems possible" is right! I am in shock that my sweet, itsy bits baby is only a few weeks away from turning 1 year old. She hit the 11-month mark last weekend, and we celebrated with lots of outings :)

My sweet friend Erin was in town so we were out and about all weekend! Selah got to see white-water rafting for the first time as we watched people in Idaho Springs. She went to the Cherry Creek farmer's market for the first time and she went to school (for an hour while I volunteered) for the first time!

She is still growing like a little weed, and it's a fairly apt comparison. She is tall and thin and reedy and bendy and resilient. She also keeps popping up where she doesn't belong...in the bathroom, behind furniture, through doors she has learned how to open :) She is so determined. 

Along with the determination has come discipline, as she decides to do things that aren't good for her or that are in direct defiance of what we tell her. With the discipline this month have come fits. She pitches them at the drop of a hat lately, and I frequently find myself thinking she would make great entries into the "My child cried because...." site.

When I won't let her stick my phone in her mouth - fit. When she watches her dad or I walk away - fit. When she wants to be independent and I won't put her on the ground - fit. When I take her bottle away or when I try to keep giving her her bottle - fit. She has found her voice and cries and bucks when she's unhappy, but she also chatters and screeches and calls out to to people (and Ben) when she's happy. She is vocal. 

Selah has learned how to dance this month and when music comes on, she starts bopping around. She also understands the word "clap" now and tries to say it. When she says "clap" (which, incidentally also sounds like her "quack") she'll start clapping her hands and bopping. Likewise, if she sees a bird or duck she will make the "clap/quack" noise. We took her to the Dragon Boat festival this weekend and she saw lots of ducks, so there was a lot of clapping, quacking and squawking going on. 

Speaking of boats and water, I think we have a beach baby on our hands! She loves to be in the pool and swim, something we discovered while she and I visited TN. After a few mouthfuls of water, she likes to stick her head in the water and try and drink :/ Ummmm.....We have a baby pool in our yard that she likes to crawl around and sprawl in. Still no independent walking, but lots of speed crawling (in and out of the pool), cruising and hand-held walking. 

In addition to pool water, she's becoming a champ at drinking out of her sippy cup and regular straws. This has been helpful as one whole meal is replaced by solids now, so she's eating solids and drinking from a cup like a big kid *tear*. Some of her favorites lately are (still) sweet potatoes and avocado with lime juice, but she also really likes bananas, strawberries and black beans (mashed with avocado). She eats her Puffs dipped in hummus sometimes, loves mashed potatoes, and desperately wants to try everything on our plates. When we don't give her cart blanche to steal our food she pitches a fit. Obviously. She is an adventurous eater, though, and hasn't shown any signs of allergies, except some painful pooping. She definitely has a poop face. It's hilarious :)

So, that's about it this month for our sweet baby girl! Hard to believe in mere weeks I'll be posting her 1 year update. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Time to kick party-planning mode into high gear!!

We adore this little lady.

Selah's Ten-Month Update

If I felt like time was flying before, Selah's ninth month of life moved at supersonic speed, bringing us to 10 months!

She's as funny as ever, with personality galore still and an attitude starting to come out. This month, she started truly pitching fits when we take something away that she wants or won't let her do something. Thankfully, she saves most of the attitude for Adrian and I, so the adoring public still thinks she's an angel ;) Truly though, she still is an incredibly sweet baby - just developing more of a determined attitude lately!

We went to Wyoming for Memorial Day, where she had a blast chasing the cats and playing with straws. Around that time, she developed a love for riding on her daddy's shoulders and a hatred for riding in the car. When she's had enough of being in the car/carseat, she starts crying. A lot. Smart girl though, as she can tell when we're slowing down and speeding up and what that means for her! Speeding up elicits wailing, while slowing down gets giggles and squeals in anticipation of coming out of her carseat.

Selah is SUCH a ham. Frankly, I'm worried that she is developing a "performer" attitude where she will need to be the center of attention. Not a cute trait to have as she grows up. We're working on her being just friendly for friendliness' sake, but also learning to be amused and happy by watching and learning rather than performing. She certainly is an attention-grabber though. Everywhere we go in public, she crinkles up her nose and smiles and waves and giggles - sometimes at nothing more than her own reflection :) That hasn't changed. She looooves to see herself!

Along with her personality, her little brain and problem-solving skills are definitely developing. You can almost see the wheels turning when we change up her toys or when she is trying to figure something out. For example, she knows she's not supposed to push the blue buttons on the DVR. After being reprimanded for that numerous times, she started crawling on top of the DVR and sitting there without touching the buttons. When I put a basket in front of the DVR to block her access, she figured out how to crawl behind it and started trying to pull wires out the back :/ Oy vey. I should have started having babies earlier in life ;)

Selah's started to transition herself to 2 naps a day, although depending on our schedule, we still try and give her 3. Speaking of three, her third tooth popped through a couple weeks ago! She's now a triceratooth (?) with two on the bottom and one on the top. This one didn't seem to cause as many sleep disruptions as the previous two, for which I'm thankful. Although, I think my use of the essential oils is also helping me sleep through :)

This week, Selah will experience Southern living and humidity for the first time!! She and I are flying to TN to spend a week with my parents and introduce her around. We're really excited, although I think we may die from the heat and humidity. My Colorado native does not do heat! Hopefully she'll do just fine with planes and travel though. I'm nervous, but also thinking that as long as there are people to wave at, she'll do just fine. Any tips for me as we fly, though?

I think that's about it for now! Without further ado - here's her 10 month photo!

Growing out of this basket...

Why I Talk About Essential Oils

About a year ago, I was introduced to essential oils. Like any bad introduction, not much was told to me about oils or this oil in particular. It left me feeling....awkward. I was told this oil would help me feel strong and courageous. I was about 7 months pregnant, so courage wasn't high on the priority list. What I wanted was help with swollen feet, heartburn, feeling gigantic and SLEEPING. I wish a proper introduction had been made, for it might have saved me a lot of issues and time.

Fast forward several months, and a different friend posted about how that SAME OIL helped with her husband's snoring! I figured my husband would like it if I stopped snoring (and crazy-talking in my sleep, but that's for another day). So began my relationship with Young Living essential oils. I started researching what they were, what they did and how I could get my hands on some. Like a good little (ex)journalist, I wanted to get to the bottom of the story, so I researched for mooooonths.

Back in April, I finally ordered my starter kit. The day it arrived, I had what I am pretty sure was strep. Fever of 103, swollen glands, sore throat. I was miserable. When my oils arrived, I began ingesting them, putting them on my neck and throat, diffusing them into the air...and by Saturday (3 days later), I was golden. Granted, I was also a little cranky and detoxing, due to the overkill on how much I used right off the bat, but the fever, sore throat, swollen glands were all gone. Since then, I've been getting more and more familiar with the oils that came in the starter kit. We're learning how to replace medicines with oils, treat common things more naturally and I'm loving it. Call me Granola Girl ;) (But don't, because compared to other Denverites about as non-granola as they come!)

So, just as an idea of some things to do with the kit oils and an introduction to what comes in the kit, here are a few of the things I have used oils for the last month:

• Stress Away: This, combined with lavender, is like "lights out" for us. Also great in a bath when you get threatened with a lawsuit or find yourself snapping at your husband for no reason....hypothetically.
• Lemon: Good for detoxing your body and/or weight loss. I put it on my swollen glands and also drink it in some water to help detox.
• Purification: Put it on scrapes and cuts on my hands. I put some in my face cream to help clear up acne. I've also diffused it to make the air in the house fresher.
• Frankincense: LOVE THIS. It's good for skin issues, so I put it on a sun spot on my face and in my cream that I am applying to my post-baby belly stretch marks.
• Joy: Put it over your heart or in an Epsom salts bath.
• Peace & Calming: A looooot of people find this helps them sleep. For me, it jazzed me up a little. I prefer to put it in an Epsom salts bath to help relax.
• PanAway: Super pain oil! (PanAway/PainAway). This helps kill aches and pains!
• Peppermint: I use this a ton. It's great for bringing down fevers (I heavily diluted it and put a drop on Selah. It brought her fever down 3 degrees in 40 minutes). It also works wonders on headaches and migraines for me. When I start to wean Selah, I can apply it to my chest to help dry up the milk supply.
• Lavender: A MUST-HAVE for us. This was the one that hooked us for sleeping! We put a little lavender on our wrists before bedtime and sleep like rocks. It's also great for cuts, itching, bug bites.
• Valor: Lessens my snoring!! I put it on my big toe and instead of a gargling freight train, Adrian reports that it's a nice soft heavy breathing :)
• Thieves: My favorite. Hands down. This one killed my strep, attacks Adrian's colds and I put a drop on my toothpaste every morning to help freshen breath, kill illnesses and whiten teeth. The other day, Adrian asked me if I had used my Thieves. I hadn't (it was packed for a trip!). He said he could tell a difference in my breath having not used it a day.

Thus far, I have made a "night night mix" for us with lavender, carrier oil and the Stress Away. I made creams with coconut oil, frankincense and lavender for Adrian's mom and aunt. I added Purification to mine and use it on my stomach and face. I made a pain cream for A's dad with coconut oil, PanAway, peppermint and Valor. He texted me last night and said he could hardly finish a walk because of knee pain, but within 30 seconds of putting the pain cream on, he was feeling good! We diffuse lemon, lavender and peppermint for allergies. I'm going to start the "weight loss trio" which is lemon, peppermint and grapefruit. 

So, I am hooked, to say the least. I'm really excited to order more on Friday! I'll be getting some cedarwood for sleep (and hair regrowth for Adrian...shhhh), Progessence Plus to manage my migraines and hormones, more Thieves, orange and grapefruit!

Sorry if this sounded like a sales pitch. After months of researching and my husband being super skeptical, I was soooo excited to find that the oils actually worked for us for really practical things. If you have an issue you're trying to find a solution to, let me know. I'd love to research and help you find an oil that addresses that, you know, because I'm a stay-at-home-mom with a ton of time on my hands ;) But for real, just wanted to share some of the really practical ways that YL oils have helped us! I'm going to be doing a couple classes in June (in TN and CO), so if you're interested, come to one of those and let's chat!

Nine Months Has Come and Gone

Mobility.

That word, more than almost any other, describes Selah more aptly than I would have thought possible of a 9-month old! Mobility and personality. If I thought she had personality before, she has upped the ante these last several weeks.

Seh is a charmer, that's for sure. Give her a room full of people and she will work the crowd for all she's worth. She smiles a ton (an adorable, little scrunchynosed smile that says, "See how fun I am?"), waves at everyone and everything  with both arms until her whole body wiggles, bounces and squeals if you sing to her and claps her hands to show how pleased she is with life. She's crawling and cruising and tonight - even standing unsupported.

After moooooonths of her only knowing how to shake her head "no," although she didn't grasp the meaning, she has finally mastered the "yes" nod. And she will bobble her adorable little head around from no to yes and back again until you join in the head shaking.

Speaking of shaking, I think she'll be a mover and a shaker and a real go-getter. The little lady can move incredibly fast. Her favorite things lately to speed-crawl for are Ben (getting closer to catching him), clumps of Ben's hair when he's not around, pens and markers and various specks of things she finds on the floor. Whether she's crawling to something really quickly or grabbing something and crawling away with it, she has definitely figured out how to get from point A to point B really fast.

I don't think we have much longer until her speed crawl turns into a speed walk. She has been cruising from the coffee table to the couch, or legs to a toy, for a few weeks now. She pulls herself up on anything that will stay still long enough. One of her favorite bedtime games (when she's supposed to be winding down in her crib) is to stand up, fall down, stand up, fall down. If you see her doing it, she gives a big crinkly-nose grin.

Selah is eating a lot more solids now, including Mum-Mums and some kind of little Gerber snacks. She is holding strong at 2 teeth, but fussiness this last week makes me think #3 isn't far behind. She gets super excited when she sees me grab her spoon for some solids or a bowl for finger foods or snacks. I'm still trying to figure out how to begin easing her into more solids and more normal mealtimes. She does so well with 5 meals a day (nursing) and solid snacks that I'm not motivated or super sure how to get her nursing less and eating more like a kid. Is it too early? With an anniversary vacation later in the year, I want to be sure she'll be OK eating normally and taking fewer bottles. Any tips?

She is seriously the most exhausting and most fun little person to be around, all at the same time. She is such a joy, and so sweet and obedient. God has graciously blessed us. We pray every night that He will pursue her and that she will come to genuinely know and love Him at an early age! Until that day when she meets the heavenly Father, it's (a challenge but) a complete joy to parent her!

Motherhood

A lot has been written about motherhood. Far wiser minds than mine have attempted to capture the essence of this sacred union between a mother and child, and have come far closer to expressing it with eloquence and grace. I don't want to re-invent the wheel, just make some observations on this thing called motherhood, since Mother's Day was yesterday and Selah hits 9 months tomorrow. Many would say that means I've been a mother for 9 months now, but I'd argue that motherhood began before that. Yesterday I got a lot of "Happy 1st Mother's Day!" which, while I appreciate the well-wishes, rubs me a little wrong. The idea that motherhood begins when you hold your child doesn't take into account the months, sometimes years, that have been spent preparing for this high calling that God has planned for you and that motherhood begins well before you actually get to hold the baby in your arms.

For the women who are adopting and have yet to meet their child - are they not yet a mom? What about women who have suffered the heartbreak of a miscarriage (or several)? For women who have labored and given birth to a stillborn baby, are they not mothers? Why then, are the nine months of a woman carrying a child close to her heart, rearranging her life, her priorities and her thinking, not considered part of motherhood?

You don't become a mother just because you give birth. You don't become a mother just because you change a diaper, or nurse a child at your breast, or stay up all night with a sick little one. These things are often part of the mothering journey at some point, but not for all. Likewise, giving birth or changing a diaper or staying up all night doesn't make you a mom. Motherhood is making sacrifices for another, often one who can't give you anything in return. It is a journey of re-prioritizing and making decisions that are for the betterment of a little soul. It is a constant, continual pouring out of yourself - your finances, your health, your free time, your heart.

Before I ever met Adrian, someone told me marriage makes you realize how selfish you are, and that parenting makes you really realize how selfish you still are. Parenting is in a lot of ways, a lot like marriage. It's a call to lay down your life for someone else, often without thanks or reciprocation. However, unlike marriage, you don't get to choose that person you're going to do that for. In many ways, you are called to lay down your life for someone you've never met and frankly, have no guarantee to ever like. And yet - you do it.

You let outsiders in to scrutinize your life, social workers, doctors, random old ladies in the grocery store. You empty your bank account to buy the safest gadgets (and the cutest clothes). You worry over the health of a tiny being you've never met. You give up caffeine, alcohol, milkshakes - things you love. You wake up in the middle of the night terrified that something is wrong with this tiny person you haven't met or named yet. You avoid travel and electric blankets and hot tubs and endure back pain and foot pain - gladly. And that's all before the child ever physically enters your life. You stay up late, get up early, wake up hourly. Feed till you're empty and spent. You take 3 showers a day to get the puke and poop off yourself, do load upon load of laundry, and deny yourself the little things that once meant so much to you.

As I was watching Killers tonight (that old movie with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl? I'm about to spoil it in case you haven't seen it), something struck me. After receiving a positive pregnancy test, she said, "This stopped being about what I want the moment I saw those two lines." Isn't that the truth? From the moment you find out you're entering the road to parenthood - you're a parent and it's no longer about what you want. Responsibility, decisions and sacrifice don't wait until the child has arrived and breathed our air for a certain amount of time. It begins with the beginning - conception, but that doesn't mean it suddenly becomes about what the baby wants. There's rampant idolatry in our country where our children are concerned. How do you find a balance between loving them, caring for them and not idolizing them? Where do you draw the line between being amazed at the gift God has given you, and worshipping the gift-giver instead of the gift? We do anything for our children, forgetting that the ultimate calling isn't to sacrifice for this child solely for them, but so that someday they would come to know Jesus and give him glory in their lives.

I love motherhood. Looooooooove it. Completely surprises me to say that, but it's true. I (mostly) loved being pregnant, the labor experience and the daily tasks of being a mom. If you had asked me two years ago my thoughts on this motherhood thing, I would have told you I was not excited about it. I used to be so independent. So against clingy, needy beings (except puppies). I hate(d) bodily fluids of all sorts and very much valued my alone time. You know what? Having someone depend on me, cling to me, puke on me and want to be with me constantly is surprisingly okay, even enjoyable. I won't say I gave up my cleanliness or independence or solitude willingly, but God is graciously allowing me to change. He is changing my heart.

What a blessing it is to have gone from a woman who feared children, to a woman who worships her child, to a woman who is learning (sloooowly) what it means to worship the Creator and not the tiny creation. I am a far cry from where I'd like to be in all respects, but I praise God that he is molding my heart for Him as a mother - a journey that started 18 months ago.

So, adoptive moms, pregnant moms, moms of 8, moms of babies who are already in heaven, moms-in-the-making (and dads in all stages too), take heart. God has called you to an incredibly tough task: to pour out your life for others, to love them mightily, not to worship them but to point them in worship to the One who poured out his life for us.

Eight Months of Selah Grace

My MIL recently reminded me that since I showed her where the blog is, I haven't done an 8-month update on sweet lil Selah. So, once again, better late than never! At least we're still in the same month....barely, but it counts.

Let's see. Not nearly as much to report this month as last. Seh is crawling like a boss. She doesn't usually move up on all fours, preferring instead to army crawl, but the little one is pretty fast. And determined. She mostly likes to go from the safe place where I put her to someplace far away, preferably full of objects she can put in her mouth and wires to yank on.

Baby-proofing soon is clearly a must.

Photoshoot at City Park

We dropped her crib down last night to the lowest setting because just recently, she has begun pulling herself up to standing when she's supposed to be laying down. Obviously, that made me super nervous, and I had visions of her pitching headfirst out of the crib onto the hardwoods. Thankfully, A brought out the tools last night and took care of that so we can stop lining the floor with body pillows.

 Speaking of standing up, Selah is not only sitting up on her own now (moving from back to belly to bottom), but she is also pulling herself to a standing position frequently. She finds an edge of a table, or a basket or a leg to push off of and away she goes. Pretty soon she'll be figuring out how to do that without any assistance some day soon :(

Selah had her first major fever last week - right before Easter! She was cranky and warm Thursday evening while I had some girls over and I attributed it to her 2nd tooth coming in. Friday, although the tooth was already in, her fever was 101+. We called the pediatrician, who had us come in for a check-up (thank you Lord for health insurance). Although she didn't find anything wrong, the fever last all day Friday and all day Saturday and finally broke Sunday morning. She slept great while fevery, only waking to eat a couple time Saturday, but by the time she started feeling better she was SOOO sleep-full that she didn't want to sleep much Saturday night. Super.....We're finally back on her normal schedule mostly, and I'm so thankful! 12 hours a night with occasional night cries - we're golden. At least until tooth #3 comes in.

Smiley Selah

So, in the last month or so, Selah has gone to the library for the first time, gone on lots of walks, had her 2nd tooth come in, begun wearing bows, mostly mastered crawling, gotten a fever, celebrated her first Easter, begun sitting up on her own, started pulling herself to standing and eaten rice cereal, squash, mashed potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes. Next on the docket is zucchini! We are all so excited :) She makes noises that sound like "mama," but not with any regularity or any intentionality. I have a feeling though once she really gets to talking there won't be any stopping her!

Anyways, without further ado, here is her 8-month photo!  

Selah's 7-Month Update

7-month shot

Ok, so March is over and I only posted my personal photo challenge once. I also never posted the exciting update I had planned on and mentioned in my last post. Obviously, by the truckloads of angry fan mail I received, all my adoring readers are upset about my lack of posting too....Anyways ;) Fail.

Win? Selah turned 7 months and celebrated a ton of milestones! Here goes the past month (and a half...) of her life quickly!

She turned 7 months on the 13th, and between her last update and now, she has had a tooth break through, started to crawl, transitioned out of her swaddle, seen a herd of elk, gone to Summit Kids for the first time, gone to her first movie, started solids, had her baby dedication and slept 12 solid hours straight through the night. Whew. What a month!

It has been a crazy whirlwind here. Spoiler alert: A got the job he has been working toward since October! So, with the news of his impending start date and secure employment, we tried to do some things we've been putting off as a family. This culminated in lots of chaos around the VanderHouse as we tried to fit various memories in before a new chapter began for our family.

Contemplating elk...or her tooth...or food.

We took the little nubber up to Estes Park one day and we had fun! She loved seeing the herd of elk and watching the river. This came on the heels of her first tooth making its appearance, so I think her excitement was tempered by the woes of babyhood.

The last week and a half or so has had its share of changes. She started rice cereal, did it like a champ after the first try (at first she wasn't impressed), but now she's eating some squash and seems to love it. Next up are carrots and sweet potatoes, in that order. It will be a miracle if this child likes and craves vegetables, so I'm trying to hold off on the sweet stuff I'm sure she'll enjoy!

Not impressed with her first go-round with solids (rice cereal). She's a fan now.

Selah began crawling about a week ago. She has only done a legit crawl a few times, but she can definitely do it. Mostly she goes in circles. The first time her motivation was Ben's stuffed meerkat toy, which she happily put in her mouth as she scooted around :/ I'm sure it's only the beginning of the toy sharing!

Showing off her snaggle tooth!

Just within the last few days we FINALLY transitioned her out of her swaddle with the use of a Zipadee-Zip. I had read about them on Baby Center and figured we needed to do SOMETHING or she'd be swaddled till she was 12. So, we started with naps, not swaddling her, and then transitioned to bedtime this past weekend. With the lack of a swaddle, I figured it was time she learn to self-soothe and so began letting her learn. The first night was rough, listening to her cry for 10 minutes, but by the second night, she was putting herself back to bed within about 10 minutes. We made a few more tweaks to it and the other night she slept a solid 12 hours!!


So, that's about it from the VanderHouse for now! Here are a few more 7 month pictures!

Parent Commissioning at church with our friends Angie and Cedar and Melissa and Zoie.

Getting commissioned to send our littles as arrows into the world for God's glory.

At her first movie! I think she enjoyed it.

The Lego Movie at the Alamo for Baby Day :)

When we put her in this bouncer, she transforms into the happiest little nutcase. We sure are fond of her.