In 2006, we decided to go the cloth diaper route with baby number two (Madeline) and God willing-- subsequent children. The decision to move to cloth diapers was not one I made quickly. I spent hours researching, pondering, and pestering Jonathan with the pros and cons. We eased into the cloth diaper world testing out different styles and manufacturers--purchasing a diaper here and there for Hannah to sleep in . Very pleased with our limited experience (a toddler who rarely wet at night), we set up a cloth diaper registry with Cotton Babies. As they say, the rest is history. I can honestly say I have no regrets and have enjoyed using cloth diapers. Yes, enjoyed. Now, I have used my share of disposables throughout the course of the year-- during family vacations, in the midst of our move, etc., but there is something so very satisfying and even nostalgic about tossing a diaper into a pale, washing it , folding it, and reusing it. Never mind the endless array of cute and user friendly styles of diapers. I wish I had done a better job of tracking money spent on cloth diapers, disposables, and wash cycles, but it is very clear that we have saved money over the course of the year. In addition to the financial and environmental benefits, we later found out that Madeline has some mild eczema issues which were exacerbated by disposables--cloth is the best thing for her. I would definitely say that cloth diapering requires on the job training. It has taken me a year to perfect my system--washing, figuring out which diapers work best in various scenarios, sizing, shopping for diapers, etc. But one year later, we only use cloth (even Hannah sleeps in a cloth pull up). I am so grateful to my cloth diapering compadres (long distance internet friends and local) who have helped me to trouble shoot, offered tips, and shared their experiences. Gwen--thanks for responding to that e-mail over a year ago!!! You have been a HUGE help!!!
First Birthday celebration #1: Madeline's first birthday fell on a Tuesday, so we just had a family birthday on the 19th. We made Madeline some of her favorite foods and took her out for a pizza dinner. We enjoyed cake and let her open her family presents (a giraffe crawl through tunnel thingy and a big ball from sister).
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First Birthday celebration #2: While this dramatic re-telling may sound like grumbling and complaining, I am just being exaggeratory and sarcastic for fun. I do wish that I could say that I did not grumble or complain over the course of the weekend, but that would be heaping sin upon sin. Thankfully, sanctification is a process!!!:
The Brooks were scheduled to arrive on Friday night for a birthday celebration on Saturday. I had entertained the idea of throwing a first birthday party-- as we did for Hannah, but God in His sovereignty kept me from organizing such an event. I had felt guilty about no official party-- even though we all know those first birthday parties are for the adults, but as the weekend unfolded, I was very pleased with our decision. On Friday morning, I took Madeline for her 12 month well baby sans Hannah. I expected it to be an uneventful appointment with a couple of shots at the end. Not so-- after waiting about 45 minutes (unusual for our ped. office), we were finally seen. By this point, Madeline was loosing it, as she still depends on that morning nap. I stripped her down per the nurses instructions, and before I knew it she had taped some industrial plastic bag urine sample collector thingy to Madeline's oh so sensitive area-- it resembled a cross between a sandwich baggy and a medieval torture device. Needless to say, Madeline was none too thrilled and screaming before she even got weighed or measured. The rough estimate for weight was ~24.5 pounds (90 %) and they could not get an accurate length measurement. I have measured her at home between 31 and 32 inches. Nevertheless, she is well above the 75th percentile in height. Madeline continued to scream through the checking of the heart beat, eyes, ears, etc. Enter nurse with shots . . . three shots later Madeline is beyond return. Mommy is thinking well, at least we just get to dress her and head on home now (totally forgetting about the pee pee collector). The nurse then informed me that Madeline would need to give a blood sample-- another new experience, as Hannah never gave a blood sample until much later. So off to the lab-- where, in the grand tradition of laboratory sample giving, we waited. We were then greeted by a not very friendly or "let's make this as easy for baby as possible" lab tech, who pricked Madeline's finger and then squeezed it while Madeline squirmed out of my lap in a tirade. The lab tech proceeded to snap at me and tell me I needed to hold my baby still so she could fill the vials. The holy spirit seized my tongue, thank goodness, because I wanted to share a few choice words about her bedside manner, my baby being tortured for the last half hour, and the impossible task of trying to restrain a furious 24.5 pound baby. After the lab incident, our nurse found me and reminded me that she needed to check Madeline's urine sample--ughhhhh! Of course, no pee pee (hooray we get to do it again next visit!!!) The nurse then NOT oh so gently yanked the adhesive bag off of Madeline and with a final shriek of pain and disgust, we were free to dress and go home.
Now, you would think that having raised one child to the age of three, and considering the events of the morning, that I would have been smart enough to cancel Madeline's portrait sitting that evening-- not so. Portrait sitting-- not so successful!!! Things did lighten up as we proceeded to Taco Bell, and Madeline entertained us all saying, "Ta--co" repeatedly.
The Brooks arrived safely Friday night. Madeline was, of course, feeling under the weather Friday night and Saturday morning-- I assumed this was entirely due to the vaccinations. As they day wore on, she grew increasingly grouchy and irritable. I might add that the three year olds were unusually persnickety as well. There was some discussion about whether or not to go out for dinner as planned or to order pizza. Of course, once more Mommy made the wrong decision. Madeline threw up on me not once, but twice at the restaurant. So, after changing into Ruth Ann's sweater, I changed back into my original hoodie-- which had less throw up on it than Ruth Ann's sweater, and headed to the car with Madeline. Needless to say, there would be a very tame celebration that night. I called the Childers, the only guests scheduled to join us, and said the small party was off. Though sick, pajama clad Madeline did enjoy gazing at her barnyard cake and made some animal noises through her passy. Daddy helped her to blow out the candles and open presents, and then off to bed she went-- no diving into the barn smash cake for Miss Madeline. Madeline continued to run a fever that would spike to about 103. 9 for over 24 hours, and now she is just congested-- Mommy, however, has the full blown sickness. Despite our little series of unfortunate events, it was still fun to visit with our family and enjoy our niece and nephew. Thanks for coming to see us Grandma, Matthew, Kim, Philip, and Braewyn.
Here's a little video footage of Madeline learning to walk. Before you listen-- for your sanity and for the sake of my pride, turn down your volume, as I am in high pitched "encourage the baby" voice.
Well, stubborn though she is, Madeline has finally decided to leave the comfort of the coffee table and couch and venture out into the middle of the room. Last night in the attempt to retrieve a Little People cow from a clapping and overly enthusiastic mommy, Madeline took about five steps. She did this a few times, back and forth between Mommy and Daddy and then quit. Then, to my surprise, Madeline was so excited over a duck puppet that the Librarian was using during story time this morning, that she took off walking toward the front of the reading circle. Again, she made it about five steps before she either realized she was walking or lost her balance and then . . . kerploop! I had forgotten how much fun it was to watch a baby learn to walk. Between Mommy, Daddy, and Hannah all frantically clapping and screaming, she's probably too scared to try walking at home again.
You demanded pictures, so here they are. Of course, you cannot appreciate the dramatic differences unless you were here from beginning to end-- for us, however, things look very different. We did complete a few more projects over the weekend. I painted the kitchen walls and painted a custom blackboard on the wall, which Jonathan framed in with molding. It's so crazy to think that these pictures represent five months of work-- hours of labor. We are so pleased with the outcome though! Enjoy your tour!
The original kitchen (minus refrigerator).
Close up of damaged cabinets. Pictures don't do justice!!!
Life during the process.
Our updated kitchen.
It feels so clean!!!
View from dining room.
Original dining room.
Dining room after painted chair rail, banister, base boards, and new chandelier.
Original view from family room.
Updated view. (That is our office/bonus room through the french doors).
View from kitchen into family room.
Original family room (the mammoth bay window).
Updated family room.
Girl's original bathroom.
Bathroom after painted cabinets, new hardware, yellow paint, and new light fixture.
Again, pictures don't do justice to the contrast of before and after.
Original light fixture, etc.
Moving the light box . . . after stripping off the old wall paper we found behind the original light, Jonathan started the process of raising the light box . . . only to find that it had been moved around and patched before. Old homes are full of surprises!
New light fixture.
Another view (that ducky picture on the wall is one I took for an old post on cleaning bath toys).
The decision to move to cloth diapers was not one I made quickly. I spent hours researching, pondering, and pestering Jonathan with the pros and cons. We eased into the cloth diaper world testing out different styles and manufacturers--purchasing a diaper here and there for Hannah to sleep in . Very pleased with our limited experience (a toddler who rarely wet at night), we set up a cloth diaper registry with Cotton Babies. As they say, the rest is history. I can honestly say I have no regrets and have enjoyed using cloth diapers. Yes, enjoyed. Now, I have used my share of disposables throughout the course of the year-- during family vacations, in the midst of our move, etc., but there is something so very satisfying and even nostalgic about tossing a diaper into a pale, washing it , folding it, and reusing it. Never mind the endless array of cute and user friendly styles of diapers. I wish I had done a better job of tracking money spent on cloth diapers, disposables, and wash cycles, but it is very clear that we have saved money over the course of the year. In addition to the financial and environmental benefits, we later found out that Madeline has some mild eczema issues which were exacerbated by disposables--cloth is the best thing for her. 
