Pictures of Amaya's Birthday Party

Finally, I have a free moment to share Amaya's birthday pictures.

Amaya's cousin, Lydia, did an awesome job helping Amaya open her presents - and she had a lot!

Amaya's cousins, Ben and Miles goofing around.

Amaya's Great-Grandma Struckmann.

Grandma Horning reading to Amaya's cousin, Miles.

Amaya and Miles both trying really hard to share.

Lydia showing Amaya and Miles how the Pound-A-Ball works.

Me and the Birthday Girl!

THE ONE YEAR OLD!!!

Our Family of Three.

Our Family of Three plus Miles, Ben, and Lydia.

Amaya's Birthday Cake! Yummy! I made Banana Cake and a Chocolate Cake with ice cream and Grandma Gustafson brought her homemade mints!

After cake, we played an exciting game of Fast Uno. Surprisingly, Great-Grandma had beginner's luck and WON!!

Amaya's LOOT!

Grandpa Horning, Grandma Horning, Lydia, Me, Amaya, Great-Grandpa Struckmann, Great-Grandma Struckmann, Ben, Grandma Gustafson, and Grandpa Gustafson.

Thank you for making Amaya's first birthday so special!

James

Thursday mornings are rapidly becoming my favorite part of the week. I belong to a weekly Bible Study at our church called Cafe Agape. The first portion of the morning, we begin as a large group of women and usually have a "Love Gift" (aka testimonial) or worship and treats. We then split up into small groups - there are about 5-6 different studies to choose from. This year I chose to tackle the challenge of Precepts and we're studying the book of James. I am so blessed to be a part of this group. What I enjoy most is that it is multi-generational. Everyone comes from so many different backgrounds and it's fascinating to hear other's journey towards Christ.

One would think that being a Christian for over 22 years, there wouldn't be much more that I could learn from James. Surprisingly, I've learned more about James in the past few months than I have over 22 years!

Here's what I've been chewing on the past few months:

How can I become a "doer of the word?"
How can I be joyful in the midst of trials?
How can I honor God through my trials?
How can I resist temptation?
How can I have genuine faith?
How can I be more transparent?
How can I love my neighbor more?
How can I share the riches God has blessed me with?
How can I live out my faith?
How can I stop comparing my insides with other people's outsides?
How can I preach the word without using any words?
Are my actions consistent with my speech?
Is my heart pure?
Are my motives pure?
Do I serve joyfully and seek opportunities to serve?
Do I follow through?
Am I modeling a life filled with God's love?
Do others know that I am a Christian by my love?
How can I not become so busy that I miss out on hearing God?

Just a few things to think about....

Let the Weaning Begin

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends breastfeeding until your baby is 12 months old. Now that Amaya just celebrated her 1 year birthday and has been given the go-ahead to begin whole milk, we've started the process of weaning Amaya. Unfortunately, I think this process is going to be harder on me than it will be on her.

I remember when Amaya was first born, it was very challenging to nurse her. There were some days, I nursed her 17 times! Because she was so little, her stomach couldn't hold much, so she needed to eat more frequently. I remember cringing every time Steve said, "I think she's hungry again." I stuck with nursing because the benefits were so much greater for the both of us. If it hadn't been for the lactation consultants at Mayo, Steve's support, and both sets of Grandparent's support, I don't think I would have made it this far. It would have been so much easier to mix a bottle of formula, but my mom and Steve's mom were flexible and dealt with the frozen breastmilk. Thank you for being a big part of Amaya's life!

Here's a link to what the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee says:

Benefits of Breastfeeding

Over the past year, I've really enjoyed nursing Amaya. It's our special time during the day where I can snuggle her as much as I want. Now, that we're decreasing her feedings and introducing more adult food, it's been a grieving process for me. I've eliminated her morning session first because it is generally the easiest to remove. Her afternoon and bedtime sessions are related to sleep, so it isn't recommended to eliminate those first. She's handling the transition just fine and loves the whole milk! I'm doing okay - just realizing that my baby girl is getting older. I'm also realizing that I need to be more intentional about making time to cuddle more - while reading books together, after she gets up from a nap, etc. The AAP also states that babies will still need that closeness with their mother even after she's weaned.

Our family medicine doctor also told me that weaning can take as long as you want - cold turkey, 2-3 days, 2-3 weeks, or even 6 months. I think we're going to try eliminating one feeding a week and see how it goes. Both of us are going to require a little adjusting, so we'll learn along the way.

12 Month Stats

Yesterday was Amaya's 12 month appointment with Dr. Horn-Ommen. She's our third family medicine doctor in the past 6 months, so hopefully we'll be able to stick with her for a long time. Here are her current stats:

Weight: 17 1/2 pounds (5th percentile)
Length: 2 feet 4 1/2 inches (39th percentile)

Dr. Horn-Ommen wasn't concerned about her weight. Amaya has always been a light-weight and since she's more active, she's going to be leaner. On average, most 12 month olds have tripled their birth weight - which she has done - so we just need to keep doing what we're doing (and sneak in some ice cream every so often!).

Every time we go to her well-baby checks, we fill out a form regarding her developmental progress. She's right around the 13-14 month skills, which reassures and encourages us. Amaya's right on target for her gross motor skills and the doctor said she has advanced language skills for her age. She must have gotten the "talking gene" from Steve!

The best news that we heard was that Amaya no longer needs the surgery to correct her blocked tear duct! Praise God! Shortly after we had a consultation with the pediatric ophthamologist, her eye seemed to get better on its own. I didn't want to get my hopes up until she was evaluated again. We're so thankful that it cleared up!

Amaya received another round of vaccinations. Our favorite and regular nurse, Dawn was there, so it went pretty smoothly. Amaya hasn't had any adverse reactions - yet. With the MMR, some babies can develop a high fever and rash 7-14 days later. We'll hope that it won't be too bad.

WALKING!!!

I was a little disappointed that Grandpa didn't get any toy trains, lift-the-flap books, cars, little people, or balls for his birthday. So... after Mommy and Daddy took pictures of Grandma and Grandpa and the grandkids, Grandma stood me up on the floor and (drum roll please) I decided to take my first steps on Grandpa's Birthday! Mommy and Daddy have been practicing quite a bit with me since then. It's a lot of fun, but I sure am glad I have some diaper padding! I fall down a lot, but I like walking better than crawling!

Happy Birthday AGAIN!

Mommy says that January is a very busy month full of celebrations and today we're celebrating my Grandpa Gustafson's birthday. (It's also my mommy's cousin Brenda's birthday too! Happy Birthday Brenda!)

After my nap today, we're all going over to my Grandma and Grandpa's house to celebrate. Grandma is making roast beef - one of my mommy and daddy's favorite meals. I can't quite chew the meat very well, but I try. Then, we'll have cake and ice cream. I had one candle on my birthday cake - I wonder how many candles will be on Grandpa's cake? Then, Grandpa will open presents. I wonder what Grandpa will get? He likes trains and books. Maybe he'll get a lift-the-flap train book! That would be perfect! He also likes sweets, so maybe he might get some Yogurt Melts. We should have a great time!

Happy Birthday Grandpa! I love you!

-Amaya

Play Date with Grandma Horning

Yesterday, while my mommy was at work, my Grandma Horning came over to play with me and my daddy. I really look forward to the weekends my mommy goes to work because I get special one-on-one time with my daddy. But this weekend was extra special because I got to play with my Grandma too!

I showed Grandma all my tricks. I've learned how to feed my baby a bottle, push the balls down on my Pound-A-Ball Toy, and cruise behind my walker. I'm still afraid to take a step by myself, but maybe soon. Grandma also showed me some of her tricks. She makes all kinds of funny noises just like my daddy! I can't wait for her to come over to play again because we had so much fun!

-Amaya

"Thankfulness"

I read a recent post on a neighbor's blog about wishing that there were more "thankfulness" in the world. It started me thinking about what I'm thankful for:

1. My faith: Only by God's grace have I made it this far.

2. My wife, who loves me unconditionally. She is my best friend.

3. My daughter, who turns a bad day into a great day simply by thrusting out her arms so I'll hold her.

4. My parents, who have supported me over the last 35+ years, no matter the circumstance.

5. My in-laws, who willingly and happily gave me their youngest child to be my wife.

6. My nieces and nephews: Joshua, Jordan, Hannah, Ben, Annika, Lydia and Miles. You have helped me remember how fun it is to be a kid.

7. My extended family: though I don't see you often, I enjoy your presence when I do and miss you when you're gone.

8. My job: I'm blessed with a job that is flexible - allowing time for familial concerns and graduate school attendance.

9. My school: Thank you for accepting me into your grad school program! I will continue to do my best to be deserving of that honor.

10. My neighborhood: I know everyone by sight, and almost all by name that live on our cul-de-sac. How rare that is nowadays.

11. My city: I love this town. It is, and will continue to be the place I will raise my family.

12. Ice cream.

12. Ice cream!

13. Ice cream!!

14. Ice cream!!!

The Biggest Loser

As many of you know, Steve and I don't have cable or bunny ears. When we turn on our TV, we have two options - Videotapes or DVDs. When I moved into my townhouse in 2002, I didn't like where the cable jack was located in the living room and just never ended up getting cable. When Steve and I got married, Steve was laid off from Pemstar two weeks later, so we held off from getting cable because of the expense. Now that we're in our house, we're both working - albeit part-time, we've still made the decision not to get cable, but for different reasons.

Last night, my parents invited me over and we've started watching the Biggest Loser. My mother-in-law Ruth Ann and sister-in-law Debbie both watch the show and I've heard so much hype about it, so we started watching a few weeks ago. I can see how quickly these reality TV shows become "Must See TV." You begin to care about these people and wish for their success. However, we had to change the channel several times because there was so much arguing between a team. Do I really need to see that? My other complaint is about the trainers. I realize that their job is to motivate, encourage, and challenge the teams, but is it really necessary to yell at them and use a string of obscenities to get them to go five more minutes on the treadmill? And why do they have to eliminate team members? Isn't one of the main components of weight loss a support system? Your best friend, mother, spouse, cousin, is eliminated and now you're working out with strangers and trainers are yelling at you and tempting you with food? Bring on the pizza and chocolate! (I'm a stress and emotional eater, so I wouldn't do very well on this show.)

Anyway, if I were the producer of The Biggest Loser, when the team wins a challenge, instead of being granted immunity, I would offer them a trip together of their choice, give them a day or week at a local spa, give them a gift certificate to their favorite clothing store etc. No one would be voted off or eliminated. Only healthy choices would be offered and there would be classes on how to manage temptation and the behaviors that precede binging. The trainers would be the most highly skilled and wouldn't use yelling as a motivator. I suppose if this were the case, it wouldn't be considered "Must See TV."

If there was a way that Steve and I could pick and choose only those channels that we enjoy watching - Fox News, HGTV, TLC, the History Channel, ESPN, etc., we may decide to get cable. Steve misses watching football and I miss watching home improvement shows, but for now we're content with renting movies or television series at the library. It's free and if we don't like the content, we can just turn it off. As for the Biggest Loser, I have to find out who ends up winning! :-) Stay tuned for next week...

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday to AMAYA! Happy Birthday to Me!

Mommy and Daddy had a birthday party for me on Sunday to celebrate with my grandparents, great-grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. Daddy will put some pictures on the computer this week. I had TWO CAKES - one banana and one chocolate. And Grandma Gustafson made pink mints too! There were lots of balloons, a banner, and A LOT of presents!

But today is my ACTUAL birthday! I'm not a baby anymore! My daddy has to work today and then he has to go to school when he comes home from work, so I'm sad that he can't spend the day with me. Mommy said that we'll do something special though! I think I'm going to like birthdays!

-Amaya