Swimming... more or less

I'm going through our pictures online, and found a few of Amaya in her new pool. These were taken August 7th while Steve was at Bethel for orientation. The water was a little cool, so it took Amaya a while to feel comfortable in the water. And once she learned how to keep her balance without slipping around too much, she had a great time.

Quietness Leads to Trouble

How many times have you been preoccupied with something else, then all of a sudden you realize that......IT'S QUIET! You know that when it gets too quiet, trouble is just around the corner, especially when you have a baby in the house. This happened recently in our household.

We had Grandpa and Grandma Gustafson over for supper last evening and Amaya was playing with some toys on the floor while we were eating. We were chatting and Amaya was VERY QUIET, when my mom notices that she can now see the top of Amaya's head! We look over at her and somehow Amaya managed to grab onto the legs of the chair and PULL HERSELF UP! Amaya just stands there looking at us and smiling - as if she does this all the time. For the last week or so, she's being trying to pull herself up on anything she can get her hands on, but she's never been successful until now. Of course, I ran to get the video camera and catch the action, but Amaya wasn't interested in performing again.

Steve's project this weekend is to lower her crib mattress. She hasn't tried to pull herself up on the railing of her crib, but one never knows. Babyproofing here we come!

It's Nap Time

Amaya is taking a nap, so I'm....

Making the bed
Making a quick batch of caramel brownies for Steve and his co-workers
Emptying the dishwasher
Loading the dishwasher
Restocking the fridge with bottled water and pop
Taking out a load of laundry
Putting a load of laundry in the dryer
Checking e-mail
Checking to see if Mother Mayo deposited my paycheck
Posting a note on our blog
Praying that she'll sleep 10 more minutes so I can kick my feet up and read!

International Breast Milk Project

Right now, I have over 100 ounces of frozen breast milk in the freezer. For the last few weeks, I've been considering donating my breast milk to an organization called the International Breast Milk Project (IBMP). I first heard of it from one of our dermatology residents. His wife is the executive director and founder of the organization. Their youngest daughter is a few weeks older than Amaya. Yesterday, there was an article in the newspaper about the IBMP receiving an award as runner up in the Social Venture Partner Minnesota's Social Entrepreneur's Cup. IBMP provides safe breastmilk to HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa and to critically ill infants in the US.

Click here to read the Post-Bulletin story about the IBMP.

Click here to visit the website for the IBMP.

I've filled out the online application and they have to run a few blood tests in order for me to be a donor. If accepted, all I have to do is pump, bag and freeze the milk, and they will come to my door and ship the milk. Amaya is still nursing and I'd like to continue until her first birthday, but I figure, if someone else's baby can benefit from my milk, why not help?

Eye Infection

Since Amaya was born, she's had a blocked tear duct in her right eye. We were instructed to massage the inner part of her eye a few times a day and it would work itself out. Well, the last few days her eyes have been really goopey (sp?), so I called to make an appointment today. She has an eye infection and needs antibiotic ointment put on her lower eyelid four times a day for the next five days. It's near impossible to get her to stop moving to put a teeny-tiny amount of medicine on her eyelid. We survived - barely.

What Exactly Do You Do All Day?

"So Jan, what have you been up to this past week?"
"Oh, you know, just playing with Amaya?"
"Really? That's it? Didn't you get bored? I mean, didn't you have a week off?"
"Bored? Seriously? With a 7 month old?"
"Well, she is ONLY 7 months old. What exactly do you do all day?"
"We sing songs, go for stroller rides, and play with her toys. I nurse her, change her diapers, get her dressed, and clean out her goopey eyes. I hold her, rock her, tickle, hug and kiss her."
"And you like that?"
"There's no other way I'd rather spend my day."

Random Photo Shoot

The weather was beautiful yesterday, so Amaya and I spent quite a bit of time outside. I snapped a few pictures and all of them turned out great, so I had to post most of them! Enjoy!

Retail Therapy

Yesterday I was feeling a little "blah" because of the weather, so Steve and I packed up Amaya to go to Kohl's for a little shopping. We bought a black sweater for me, two rompers, two dresses, and a sweater for Amaya for a grand total of... drum roll please... $12.77! AMAZING! Steve totaled up everything at the original price and it would have been $114! Most of what we purchased was off the clearance or sale rack and I had a coupon for an additional 30%. Plus I had a little leftover money on a gift card! I love a great deal! Retail therapy works! Bye bye blahs.

Amaya's News

I've had blogger's block for the past week, so Steve thought I should write about what Amaya has been up to lately.

We've got a thumbs up from her for Rice Cereal, Sweet Peas, Carrots, Squash, and Sweet Potatoes. There is a definite thumbs down for Green Beans, but I'm not sure if she really doesn't like them or if they are a little strong tasting for her. We're moving on to fruits this week.

Amaya has been sitting up for quite some time now, but lately she's mastered the "Face Plant." This occurs when she's sitting up and a toy is just out of reach and she falls flat on her face. I'm getting excited for her to start crawling. She has the desire, but the coordination needs a lot of work.

Amaya has also mastered her "Fish Face." She's absolutely fascinated with faces - especially a person's mouth. After watching me do the fish face for a few weeks, every so often she'll do her own rendition.

We are constantly amazed at how quickly she changes and how she's developing her own little personality. I never thought that such a little person could bring so much joy and laughter into our household.

What Happened to The Vikings?

Vikinigs lose, 34 to 17...

Grad School Update

I went to my grad school orientation last Thursday night. The Bethel campus is set in a beautiful location... it reminds me of Northwestern College (also in St. Paul) where my sister obtained her undergraduate degree. It only took me about an hour and a half to drive up, even with a little bit of stop-and-go traffic.

All of the professors seemed very nice, and very smart. Each professor, by way of introduction, mentioned where they received their doctorate, what they most enjoyed about teaching graduate students, and what their primary research interests were. One research interest that sort of resonated with me was that of Dr. Shawn Hofer -

Click here to view Dr. Hofer's picture on Bethel's website

- how a student's view of the image of God changes during the grad school program.

The orientation ended with a mock commencement ceremony. Providing the opportunity to visualize the completion of grad school was the perfect way to wrap up the night.

Overall, I was very, very impressed and I know I will be challenged and blessed while attending this school.

Amaya's Friend, Cooper (Part 2)

Here are a couple more pictures of the kids:

Amaya's Friend, Cooper

Recently, Jan, Amaya and I got together with Steve and Jen, our friends from our prenatal class. We went to Silver Lake to walk and talk, then to Mr. Pizza (yum yum) to eat.

These two cuties are only 2 weeks apart in age.

Here are some pictures of the kids from the lake:

Teaching Amaya to Put Herself to Sleep

Whenever Amaya wakes up at night (crying) I have been going into her room to comfort her. Last night, instead of rushing into her room right away, I let her cry it out for awhile. When I did go in and calm her down, she then decided to stay awake for the NEXT 2 HOURS. She apparently thought it would be fun to talk to herself for awhile, employing various different sounds. After that she gave a very close inspection to every aspect of her room, spending the most time intently staring at her orange night light.

I was too worried about her to be able to sleep, so I sat on the floor just outside her room (where she couldn't see me) while I watched all this activity. I was up from 11:30 until about 2:30 a.m.

This morning, I forgot that I was going to take my car in for an oil change and some brake work... apparently being awake for 3 hours in the middle of the night makes me forgetful.

Grad School Fall Schedule

I received my schedule information today... the schedule (for first semester) is as follows:

From September 9th through December 16th -

Integration of Psychology and Worldview

Research Methods and Treatment of Data

The first class is from 5:30 to 7:30, the second is from 7:30 to 9:30.


-Steve

Steve - 1, Mice - 0

If you all remember a posting on this blog awhile ago about a mouse, well, it seems he (or she) is back - if the mouse ever left, that is.

I went to the hardware store yesterday - twice! - and bought 3 different kinds of traps, and 3 of those electronic pest controllers. The traps were: the conventional kind that snap closed when pressure is applied to one end, the type where a mouse strolls into an opening and a door shuts behind it, and the "glue" type where if a mouse swaggers across the glue, it gets stuck. I plugged the electronic pest controllers into outlets on the 1st, 3rd and 4th floors: in the living room, kitchen, and basement. In all I think I had 14 different traps around the house!

I spent a good part of the night wondering whether mice were dying in the kitchen... when I went downstairs in the morning and looked at my traps I discovered I had murdered a mouse! The not-so-little mouse had tried to eat some peanut butter on one of the traps and got caught.

This mouse was pretty big - so I'm wondering if he was just the ringleader, and I'll have to take care of his little friends too. Anyway, I'll keep putting the traps out every night and I'll update this blog as I see more action.

-Steve