date night

no, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth. i promise. we've just been busy trying to keep up with all of eli's movements (he's trying to turn doorknobs but isn't quite tall enough).

so earlier this fall joel and i decided that we needed to be more intentional with going on dates. so we've made the commitment to having a date night every other wednesday night. we've got a standard high schooler we use for childcare (though we may be looking to set up an exchange with a certain new aunt and uncle in our family).

so far, we've had some pretty fun dates. mostly it's low-key, no pressure dates. just a simple dinner and, now that we're parents, errands sans child sometimes. some fun date nights have included:

-a trip to stoughton's movie theater where you can get pizza and watch a movie in comfy seats. totally awesome experience, we recommend it!

-checking out smokey jon's bbq on the northside and finding out there isn't much to do on the northside at night.

-dinner at brocach's irish pub and strolling down state street with a cup 'o' joe and dessert.

-a date night in complete with dinner on our nice dishes, a fire and smores with reeses.

we've found that carving out this time for just us has been so good. it's great to reconnect and enjoy each other outside of the house. this week will be a very special date night as it falls on our three year anniversary and we can't wait to celebrate!

First steps...

this weekend we were playing at the library and eli took his first assisted steps. i'm not sure if he really knew what was going on but he's getting better and better at it each day. last week he started pulling himself up on furniture and has quickly mastered that task. i captured some of his antics on video, so enjoy!

time flies....

opps.... it's been a month and no posts. i think september got away on us a little bit! mostly because we were gearing up for eli's first birthday! it's crazy to think that a year has gone by so quickly. joel remarked that we now have something to mark time against again. back in college it was semesters now it's first smiles, first crawling, first steps (last week!), first words and so much more. we decided to have our wedding photographer take some pictures for us and i feel that was a great way to mark eli's first year. i'm hoping we'll do this with all of our kids at their first birthdays. i'll be writing a post later about eli's party and dedication so for now, enjoy our modeling poses.

labor day

in addition to picking apples and making applesauce (post on that to come soon) we enjoyed having monday off this week. the morning was spent on working on some projects while eli napped and in the afternoon we decided to bike over to the madison children's museum. as a child, i have very fond memories of playing at the minneapolis children's museum. i remember my favorites being a mock grocery store where you could play clerk and a mock tv studio. the madison children's museum just reopened a few weeks ago and it is quite spectacular. one great thing is that they have an area that is only for kids 5 and under. there are tons of wooden and fabric toys to play with, walking aids, percussion instruments and, the total hit, a water room. seriously, that room was the busiest room in the place! they do have smocks that the kids can wear but we're not sure what the point is, they get soaked anyways. we decided that next time around we'll just let eli get wet and bring a change of clothes. we actually brought our camera along for once hence the pictures. all in all we had a great day.

apple picking

we were some lucky folks this weekend. we had the pleasure of going apple picking at door creek orchard with mary, jon and their little one.









here's to many more years to come!

finally crawling!

so eli is finally army crawling. we have such a chill baby, definitely an observer. he just likes to check things out but doesn't necessarily need to move around the room. we have discovered that he does tend to be more motivated to crawl towards objects he finds interesting. then he takes off! he's mostly interested in blocks, the dishwasher and cheerios that i don't quite get with the broom.

here's a little demo of his crawling skills.

it's just better...

on saturday we were generously offered APT tickets for that night. did i mention they were free?

oh, and did i also mention that i LOVE APT. i mean seriously.

one hitch, we have a kid. and that means needing a babysitter.

arranging a sitter is hard on last minutes notice. we couldn't find one.

so we had to pass up that great offer. all of this occurred while eli was taking a nap so my grumpiness and resentment had a little time to stew. being a parent is hard in many ways. one thing is you can't drop everything that you're doing on a moments notice to fly off to a play in the woods. you can go to a play in the woods, you just need a little more time.

back to the afternoon. after his nap, eli was playing in the living room while i was figuring out what to make for dinner. i looked up and he was spinning around in a circle, stopping and clapping his hands. once he noticed i saw his little moves he broke into the biggest smile followed by the biggest giggle. it was possible the cutest thing i've ever seen. totally better than any play in the woods. i immediately put down my magazine and covered our little guy in kisses which led into more giggling and clapping.

sitting there i realized that this is better. better than our life pre-child, better than being single, better than being super rich, better than flying off to do something on a whim; it's just better.

cloth diaper 101: the extras

so there are some extra items that we use in our diapering "system" that we've found helpful.

a wet bag: this is a reusable zippered bag that we use to store eli's dirty diapers when were out and about. i used to use a plastic bag but felt guilty/bad about throwing the bag away. we bought a wet bag from bummis and you can find it at any store that sells cloth diapers.

odor remover spray: bumgenius has a spray that naturally removes odors. we use this spray on his diaper covers between changes while they dry. it really helps to keep the urine smell at bay and stretches out how long we can use the diaper covers. we also will spray a little in the diaper pail to keep the smell at bay. also found at any cloth diaper store.

disposable liners: now that eli has solid poop, we use a disposable diaper liner that bummis has created (it's called the biosoft liners). this goes between eli's bum and the diaper, then we are able to throw it in the toilet and flush them away. no spraying or scraping needed. found at cloth diaper stores.

deodorizing disks: there are some deodorizing disks that are made by, well i'm not sure who. all i know is that they are natural and smell like citrus. we usually use one every two weeks and that really helps with any smells. this can also be used with diaper pails with disposable diapers.

baking soda: i sprinkle a tablespoon of baking soda every few diapers.

vaseline: we use it on his legs to help with the chafing.

i'm sure there are other extras but i don't remember them all right now. if and when i do i will post them later.

cloth diaper 101: laundering

two questions i get regarding washing are: how long does it take you? and how do you wash them? it's a myth when people say "you'll spend all your time washing diapers!" despite what people may think, washing your own diapers does not take a ton of time. i would say that actual "hands on" handling time is about 15 minutes. the rest of the time the washer and dryer are doing their thing.

the process: we do not pre-soak or pre-rinse our diapers. we just toss them in our diaper pail and then toss them in the washer. some people recommend a "two step" wash system and we found that it really didn't make any difference. so we go the easy route and use the "whites cycle". we have a front load washer so i set it on the "whites" cycle, put in a teaspoon of detergent (more on detergent later), put some white vinegar in the softener dispenser (or a downy ball if you have a top loader) and start the machine. pretty easy. then we just toss them in the dryer or on the line to dry, that's it. you should have a hot wash and a cold rinse.

stripping the diapers: periodically you will want to strip your diapers (this gets rid of any detergent build up). we just run a normal cycle with no detergent and a vinegar in the softener drawer (hot wash, cold rinse). we do this once a month. if you notice your kid is getting diaper rash easily or any yeast symptoms you should strip your diapers.

detergent: there are many cloth diaper detergents out there but we don't use them. basically all you need is a detergent with no additives (the free and clear variety). we use seventh generations free and clear detergent and that works great. here is a secret about detergent and cloth diapers: you don't need a lot. you see the more detergent you use means that it will build up in the diaper causing it to lose absorbency and smell more.

laundering "don'ts": don't use bleach! it breaks down the fibers and will decrease the absorbency. if you want your whites to be whiter, just place them in the sun (even in the house in front of a window) and the sun will bleach them. this goes for all your clothes by the way, neat little trick! don't use essential oils in the wash because they can build up in the diaper.

laundering really is simple and again i'm saving the money of having someone else wash them for me. thank you cheapness. one caveat: if both joel and i were working/out of the house full time i would use the diaper service in town, just for ease. though my wallet probably would be protesting (smile).

cloth diaper 101: the basics

we've had a few people lately ask me about how we diaper little eli. i thought i would write up a few post mostly to consolidate the info in my brain and to make sure that i don't forget anything. the world of cloth diapering can be a confusing place and sometimes it's hard to wade through all of the information and jargon. there are many options out there including: prefolds (of various fibers), pocket diapers, all in ones, disposables in a cloth diaper cover etc.

diaper: we decided to go with the basic diaper and we use cotton prefolds with a diaper cover. this means that the diaper is basically a large rectangle with a reinforced middle. we then fold the diaper (in a variety of ways)and place a diaper cover over it. for overnights, we have some hemp doublers that we layer in his diaper. these increase the absorbency which means we don't have to change his diaper until the morning and his bed/clothes mostly stay dry. (hemp absorbs 7 times more than cotton, crazy!) we have 36 diapers which means we wash diapers twice a week, not much time at all. how many diapers should you buy? it depends how often you want to wash, the less you have the more you wash. though the more you have the stinkier they will be when you wash them so for us 36 seems like the best compromise.

covers: the second part of our system is a diaper cover. covers are reusable and we only toss them in the pail if they are soiled or smell too much like urine. we have 9 covers and that is plenty for 4 days of diapering. we just rotate and let them air dry between changes. we have tried a few brands/styles and we both agree that the bummis super whisper wrap is the best. (though i want to try wool covers but haven't coughed up the $30 ,gulp, for a cover.) we also have some flip diaper covers. we like that they are adjustable and grow with the baby but we tend to get a few more leaks with these covers (they are also cheaper than the bummis, a plus).

the last basic we have is something called a snappy. this device allows us to fasten eli's diaper so there are no pins!

All of these things you can purchase online and find great deals. craigslist is also a great resource or if you have friends you can borrow their diapers. that's what is so great about cloth diapers, the initial investment can be hard to swallow. BUT you get to use them for a ton of kids and save the cost of buying diapers. let's be honest, i love the environment but my wallet was more of an incentive when it came to diapers. i just didn't feel like spending $100 a month on disposables, what can i say i'm cheap (ya'll knew that already)!

world breastfeeding week 2010

All experts (WHO, UNICEF, AAP, AAFP, ACNM, MANA, AAPH, Surgeon General, the first lady etc) agree that the "breast is best" for both baby and mother. so this week is world breastfeeding week (i must admit, the website isn't the best); a week dedicated to breastfeeding education, protection and promotion. as most, if not all, of you know that breastfeeding is near and dear to my heart. so as a way to help promote breastfeeding i decided to post UNICEF's Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. if you are a mother, pregnant, nursing, know someone who's pregnant/nursing, are a partner of a pregnant/nursing mother or friend make sure to pass these along. ask your regional hospitals to pursue the baby friendly hospital initiative (currently in madison, only meriter has this designation. ask st mary's to jump on it already!) so without further ado....

Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within half an hour of birth.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed, and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants.
6. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.
7. Practise rooming-in - that is, allow mothers and infants to remain together - 24 hours a day.
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

trouble, trouble, trouble...

well, eli has learned if he can scoot over to the coffee table he can open the fun drawers. fun for him and fun for us, i suppose!

one the move, well sort of....

eli is slowly but surely moving into becoming a fully mobile creature. freaky. up until now, he has been content with just sitting in one spot but that is slowly changing. he has learned that he has the ability to scoot his little but around in a circle in order to get things in his immediate reach. he also is learning that if he leans forward just enough he can transition onto his belly. (we've had some bumps and bruises but he's getting better and not landing on his face.)and that's the point where it gets a little confusing for him. he so desperately wants objects in front of him that are just out of his reach and when he tries to get to them he only goes scooting backward. it's quite entertaining for us but frustrating for him. also he's scooted himself under beds, chairs, cribs and coffee tables; that is entertaining as well.

part of me is sad that he is moving into mobility, it means he gains more independence and needs us just a little bit less. but i'm excited that he gets to explore another part of his world that he hasn't contacted yet. watching your kid discover new skills, areas of his world, textures etc is a fun experience.

9 thanks for 9 months...

i can't believe that eli is nine months old already. it's crazy to think that he has been out of my belly for the same amount of time he was in my belly. in honor of eli's 9 month birthday i thought i'd write a list of nine things i'm thankful for in these past 9 months.

9. for eli's laugh and smile (who can resist a baby's laugh).

8. joel finding a job so i can stay home with eli.

7. being able to stay at my job and still engage that part of my brain and still work with my patients.

6. our burley. family bike rides are some of the most fun we have on the weekends.

5. that eli is healthy, happy and ohhhh so fun.

4. that we have a home, food in our bellies, health insurance, clothes, a garden, cars that haven't broken in a while...

3. for new friends that have babies.

2. that eli loves to explore and is interested in how things work.

1. our marriage. i'm not sure how we'd do it if we didn't have each other. having a kid really can strengthen your marriage if you're willing to work on staying connected and working through the good and the bad. (sleepless nights and all).

trains

a couple months ago i started my new job at a railroad bridge construction and design company. the first couple months have provided quite the variety. i spent time in north dakota taking measurements on timber bridges, moved sandbags in western south dakota, spent a week on a historic bridge over the st. croix in north wisconsin busting rivets, another week in lanark illinois (booming metropolis) busting concrete, and this past week i've been cruisin down the rail in northern illinois inspecting culverts. i'm always a little nervous of what i'm going to see when i climb down and look inside the culverts out in the middle of nowhere. along with all that, i've spent time in the office working on some design tasks and gone on a shopping spree for supplies (gps, camera, waders, life jackets, the basics) with a company credit card. freight railroad is a whole different world most people never see. like any new job i've had to learn lots of new phrases and words specific to the railroad. for example; EIC - the person in charge of making sure no trains hit you while you're working the rail road or FRN-(pronounced furn) frickin railroad nut. the variety has been the good part of the job and the travel has been the hard part. i miss being at home with shannon and eli at night when i'm gone and hotels and restaurants get old fast. i do like the fact that when i travel it forces me to be more intentional about my time with shannon and eli on the weekends. good and bad, after over a year without a job it's nice to be working again. i still haven't been issued a conductor hat. hopefully someday.

Rub-a-dub-dub, the boy in the tub...

recently, eli has graduated to using the big boy tub and he just love, love, loves it. i think it has to do with being able to splash around and he seems to be fascinated with the drain pull; interesting. i guess videos are better than words so i let this one do some talking.

First Words?

so we've officially entered into the world of talking for better or worse. a few weeks ago, eli started saying "da da" and at first i wasn't sure if i had heard him correctly. but sure enough, after the 100th time it seems as though he's discovered his first "words". one thing we've realized is that he doesn't really say "da da" in reference to anything but sometimes we pretend he's calling joel "dada". we were lucky enough to catch his talking on video, so enjoy!

Road Trip!

we've been busy these past few weeks. joel has been traveling quite a bit for his job lately which means eli and i are holding down the fort. so far it hasn't been too terrible, though i am learning that i need a break from eli at times. so for me, working has been really good. it has provided me some time away from the house and away from eli and i find that i am much happier to see him when i get home. one fun thing about joel's travels is that we have joined him on the road. last week joel was in hudson, wi so eli and i drove up to stay with him. it was quite the road trip for the two of us! on our way through we stopped in eau claire and visited grandma anderson and grandma ruthie drove from duluth to visit. it was wonderful to see both the grandmas dote on eli and give him some well deserved attention (as if he gets none of that at home!). it was also very nice to have a break in driving as i can only listen to so many episodes of this american life.

since we were so close to the cities, we spent thursday at aunt jess and uncle ryan's house and eli tested out their nursery for their little one. eli demonstrated his approval by taking a 2 1/2 nap in their crib! hopefully their little one is okay with sharing his/her bed! it was wonderful to talk with them, eat with them and gush over jess's beautiful belly. i'm so excited that some of our closest friends are having a baby. i just wish we lived closer so our kids could play together more often.

on our way home on friday, eli and i drove through la crosse and had coffee (well soda) with gillian, my best friend from high school. it was so great to sit down and talk with a good friend. every time we get together to time goes by too quickly. hours fly by like minutes and i long for more conversation but realize we have to part at some time. another perk was that the drive was absolutely beautiful, i love that part of wisconsin.

i'm sure you're wondering where joel is in all of this goodness. well, he had to work 12+ hour (more like 13+) days so we only saw him late in the evening and early in the morning. all in all, even though we didn't see him all that much it was good to be with him. we are hoping the travel dies down a bit after july if not, we'll make sure to keep you posted on any other adventures.

Our Daily Bread...

I have always wanted to bake weekly bread. Though, with working and now being a parent I didn't really have any time (or energy) for the endeavor. Now that I am at home more I decided, this week, to give it a good ol' college try. I used a basic whole wheat bread recipe from The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. I like this book because it really explains how to bake with whole grains and has simple recipes. Well, I think it turned out all right! The loaves rose and proofed just like described in the book and after baked they don't taste like bricks. Next week I think I will try my hand at making whole wheat oatmeal bread. We'll see how that turns out. I tried to take some pictures of the process but I only managed to take pictures of the very beginning, I think I got too distracted later on to take pictures. (Sorry, no pictures of the final product!)

Photo Shoot with Aunt Momo...

Aunt Momo came and visited a few weeks ago and while I was either showering or taking a little break she and Eli had themselves a little photo shoot. Well, the pictures are so cute I just had to post them, so enjoy!

Is my baby high or something?

Leaving San Francisco

So Joel and I don't have the best track record when it comes to leaving our vacation destinations. For our honeymoon there was the riot at the airport and we were snuck on the plane and coming back from India our flight was cancelled without our knowledge and we had to navigate our way through the people at Air India. (Not to mention, they never posted our new flight on the billboard so the guards wouldn't let us go check in until 45 minutes before our international flight!) So we were a little nervous what may happen this time around, even more nervous because we have a kid now!

A little background information. To get to the airport for our 11 am flight, we had to take a 30 minute train ride (which left at 9:16 am) and then a tram to get to the domestic terminal. We would be driving from Point Reyes (90 minute drive) back to the city to drop off the car at Enterprise. I know, you may be asking yourself "Why didn't they just drive to the airport?" Well my friends, that is freaking expensive so we thought we'd try and save ourselves the $150. When we were reserving the car, we didn't notice that Enterprise didn't open up until 9 am and that they didn't have a drop off option from our rental location. Joel and I decided that we would still drive in to the city early with the hopes that someone may be at Enterprise early. I think it may be one of the only times in our marriage when Joel was more insistent about being someplace early! So we got there plenty early and waited in the car. Thankfully, someone showed up at 8:50; she was unable to give us a receipt (we didn't care at that point) but she was able to check us in and we were able to get ourselves going! So Eli went in the Ergo, I hoisted on my "mom bag" as Joel calls it, Joel threw on his 50 lb backpack and we started dragging our roller duffel to the train station. Yes, you read that right, dragged. You see, in our haste of getting going we lost a wheel. We couldn't carry the bag by the handle as we'd done before because the handle had ripped off earlier in our trip. I think we must have been quite a sight and quite noisy as we dragged ourselves and our duffel around town! Nonetheless, we made it to the train station with 5 minutes to spare, Eli fell asleep on the train and I got searched at security but we made our flights with an extra seat to boot!

So it wasn't as exciting as our other trips home, but there was this added stress of having a kid to deal with at the same time. Thankfully, our kid is totally awesome and such a trooper. We love him.

San Francisco Vacation

Well we are just about settled back in to our new life after our vacation to San Francisco and there is nothing like traveling that makes you love home even more. Our trip started early (4:30 am!) and Eli traveled like a champ. No fussing, crying or other mayhem; he just napped and played with the airline magazine. (Thank goodness for those, who needs toys?)

We had a great time in San Fran, we stayed in a small apartment in the Hayes Valley (smack dab in the middle of the city). It was a great location, right on a bus line and within walking distance of many sweet shops and coffee houses. When we arrived at the apartment we were slightly dismayed that there was no door on the bedroom. One of the reasons we got an apartment was so that Eli could go to bed and we could hang out at night. Thankfully, we are resourceful and noticed that Eli's sleeping pad fit into the closet in the bedroom (well almost, it was slightly too long!) so with that and a fan; Joel and I were able to still enjoy ourselves after Eli went to bed. Our first day, we just walked around and explored the neighborhood. We got to see the Full House House, which was about 6 blocks from our apartment! We turned in pretty early that night seeing as we had been up since the wee hours of the morning.

The next day we explored the Farmer's Market and purchased our lunch there, it was totally amazing. We walk to Chinatown (and accidently found ourselves in the naughty district of town), had our lunch and enjoyed seeing all that Chinatown had to offer. We then met up with our friend Jill and her boyfriend Preston. They took us up to Twin Peaks to get an amazing view of the city and then they treated us to an amazing Indian Dinner. It was very excellent. Our third day was spent hanging out in Golden Gate Park, the sunset district and eating the best felafel I've ever had (besides my own of course!)

We then left San Francisco Proper and went up to the Point Reyes National Seashore, it was so nice to get out of the city and see the ocean. We spent a whole day meandering up Highway 1 and in the John Muir Redwoods. On Friday we spent the morning at a lighthouse and they went on a 5 mile hike in the afternoon. The day was capped off by some really great tacos, a bottle of Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir and a soak in the hot tub at our bed and breakfast.

I'll write a separate post about our travels from San Fran, it's not that long of a story but does deserve its own space.

Feeding Time (There's a Video...)

My mom came to visit last weekend and she got a great video of Eli eating solid foods. Eli has taken well to eating some solid foods during the day and he pretty much will gobble up most foods. We are following some of the advice in Super Baby Food which is a great book. It has a nice balance of advice on both feeding babies organically and also how to save money. No little baby food jars here, I'll whip up a batch of veggies and then freeze them in ice cube trays. When we want to feed Eli, we'll just thaw 2 cubes and get the meal going. It's been really easy and nice to just use the food we have in the house. Some of the foods that Eli has tried are sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, yogurt, squash, peas and spelt/oat cereal. So far he's been liked most everything and we haven't had too many issues just a few moments of food being spit into our face. He's starting to understand that it's fun for him to spit his food out all over the kitchen!

He also is getting really good at sitting in his highchair. We opted for a chair version that comes right up the the table so he can join the action. Initially we had to tie him into the chair with a receiving blanket because Eli's little spine couldn't quite handle it. But starting this week he can sit up very well in his chair. Though, that means that he can lean forward and get things off the table, we learned that the hard way with a bowl full of food! So far, it's been great to have Eli at the table in all the action. It's been fun to give him some "work" to do and I love watching how he concentrates on something that intrigues him.

It's crazy how much and how fast he is growing up! I just can't believe that he's been in our lives for 6 months. The time as flown by and we don't really remember what our lives were like prior to Eli (that's some good amnesia!)

Changing roles again...

Hi all, sorry about such a delay in our posting lately! March was a busy month for us and we had a little lag in posting. Some good news has come into the Anderson household recently in the form of a real-life engineering job for Joel! He will be working for E 80 Plus engineers. Joel will be working as a design engineer and project manager for some of their projects. They design and repair railroad bridges (I think). The job is located in DeForest which is about 20 minutes from our house. Joel had applied for the job back in January, was told it was on hold but then was asked to interview for the position in March. He's excited to start working again and to start something new. The job does entail some travel (25-35%) during the week so that means that I will be solo-parenting at times. (I'll take any invites or outings during those times!:)

So that means that I quit my job, well somewhat. I am planning to stay on at Access for about a day a week and will be helping ACHC move towards becoming one of the first baby-friendly clinics in the country. It's a very exciting venture that focuses on the promotion of breast feeding and increasing that rate in our country. I will also be completing certification as a lactation consultant and will be applying for an internship in community-based lactation support. And of course, in addition to all this goodness I'll be taking care of our little squirt! I am excited to be with Eli at home and for all the creative projects I'll get to start (and complete, don't worry honey)! I've started a small list of projects that I have been dying to do but haven't had the time with working and being a mom. I'm also excited to go back to the weekly play group I attended during my maternity leave and I'm excited to start this journey in the summertime. Lucky me!

It's funny that all of this happened right now. Joel and I were getting settled into our life and roles for the time being and now it's going to change all over again! We're excited for the prospects that this change brings and were excited to take this bend on our family adventure.

My last full-time day at ACHC is April 23rd, I will then have my lactation consultant certification class for the last week in April and then we're taking a vacation to San Francisco. Joel's future employer is being very generous and giving us that time prior to his start date of May 10th. Thanks for joining us on this ride.... we'll make sure to update more often. I promise!

Dipping His Toes in the Sea of Solid Food

Pictures of the Month