Psalm 127:3-5

Behold children are a gift of the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior, so are the children of one's youth.
How blessed are those whose quiver is full of them
."

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Baby food... no thanks


With each of my children, I try to keep an open mind and not be dead set on any one plan. I just try and do what seems best for that child. When it came to food, with Serene I used "baby led weaning" to help her learn to eat. I didn't give her baby food. I just started her in on whole bananas, large pieces of avocado, and any other food we were eating. I just put it on her tray and let her do her thing. It worked great and Serene has never been a picky eater... which is part of the point of "baby led weaning". Anyway, with Ben I had envisioned doing this BUT, since at nine month he only had two teeth, I have to admit I was a little scared. When Serene was nine months she had six teeth (yes, six... she had all her baby teeth by 15 months). It seemed so much easier to trust her gag reflex when there was a nice little set of "chompers" in there to chomp up that food! =)

Ok so with Ben I've been trying traditional baby type food.... you know, the mashed up, pureed, liquidy stuff! Well turns out, he wants no part of it. I thought he just didn't want any table food yet but then by accident when I had my head turned Serene (who sits in a high chair right next to her brother) gave him the bread she didn't want from her sandwich and he starts eating away. At first I kind of freaked out but as I watched he was doing great. Ok, whole wheat bread was not what I had envisioned him eating (starting children on grains too early can cause food allergies later in life) BUT, he was enjoying it so I let it go. Next I got a banana and gave him a entire half and he held that thing and gnawed at it until he had eaten every last bite and cried for more!

That brings me to now. In the past week I have discovered that Ben loves boiled carrots, peas, potatoes, sharp cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs, brown rice and the occasional whole wheat bread his sister sneaks him. =) I guess this is true "baby led weaning"... led by the nine month old baby and the two year old baby!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Spring in our own backyard







I'm doing two things here... First off, I'm coping my friend Lindsay at http://becausehegave.blogspot.com with some "Spring has Sprung" pics of my children! Thanks for the idea Lindsay! =) Secondly, I'm trying to get some pictures of the children in this backyard before we move in two weeks. I will always cherish the memories of this tiny backyard.The first time each child used the little baby swing. The summer afternoons of turning the little slide into a water slide and our backyard becoming a mini (and I mean MINI waterpark). The MANY dinners we ate on the patio as a family and with many wonderful friends. Oh yes, the patio.. the one Jimmy got a sunburned back and blistered hands laying with his own two hands because he wouldn't let me lift a finger since I was in the first trimester of my pregnancy with Serene. Jimmy calmly telling me one night after we had finished a lovely meal on the patio that he had seen a mouse while we were eating but didn't want to tell me so I wouldn't freak out... I freaaked out anyway! =) The many flowers Anna and I have planted each season in our little flower pots. The tomatoes we grew our first year here. Watching the children play on the swing set while Jimmy and I talked for hours about the future and where we might be.

So that brings us to now. Here we go... into the future we talked so much about. In two weeks we will leave this first house of ours and that little backyard for the next phase of the Zimmerman family life. Can't wait!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

My dad... My girls


Three of my favorite people!

Some stuff I'm learning...

When I was a new mother, I thought I knew it all. That right there alone is funny considering I felt myself to be some kind of expert already, just a few months into the life of my first child. HA!! But, it stops being as funny and starts being a little more sad when you consider that I also became quite judgmental of other mothers and felt I was doing a much better job. VERY NOT FUNNY! You can have all the high ideals, read all the "best" books and still if your baby is only 9 months old you haven't fully arrived as a parent. BUT, that was me. I thought I had it figured out. To be honest, I thought I had it figured out when I was pregnant. I saw what others were doing "wrong" and I knew I was a better parent than that... HAHA!! What a silly 27 year old girl I was.

Now, here I sit, 33 years old (WOW) and the mother of almost 4 children (AGAIN, WOW) and I so know that I have nothing figured out. I'm human. I make mistakes. I'm completely imperfect BUT, one thing I do know is that the God who made me the mommy of these 4 amazing children has endless patience with me on this long journey of mothering and that HE has fully equipped me to do this job. I didn't have it all figured out 6 years ago when I got pregnant with Anna and I am no where near having it all figured out now. I've thrown out all the books, I've gotten down on my knees and I've asked God to reveal His will for our children.

BTW, I get a lot of questions on good parenting books...

Dr. Sears... NO
Ezzo... NO
Pearl... NO
Pantley... NO
The Bible... YES!!

It has the answers for parenting. I'm not totally against the books listed above but if you let yourself, you will feel that you have found all the answers in those books and you haven't even scratched the surface of how deep, rich and complete the Bible is for parenting!

I wonder what all I will learn over the next 6 years?

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Ben finds the dirt


For the first time today... since it has been cold or rainy or snowy for weeks and weeks now, instead of just swinging Ben in his swing I let him crawl all over the yard and he discovered the dirt. He loved it. He also found rocks and sticks and grass. He had a blast, although he was not happy when I would not let him eat the rocks. =)

I love laundry, dishes and cleaning the house

For the last five days I have had this major issue with my back that has kept me from doing anything I normally do. Picking up children, sometimes walking, standing up, sitting down, cleaning, laundry, dishes, driving, etc. etc. etc.... When I can walk I do it at a snails pace and all hunched over... it's a real pretty sight! =(

It has been a really hard five days and it has really made my grateful for the ability to do those tasks when I am not feeling this way. I take for granted how easy it is to do laundry or dishes or keep the house straight. I get overwhelmed by those tasks some days but on days like the ones lately when I can't do them, I realize how blessed I am to have those chores to do and to be able to do them. I'm thankful for the wonderful people in my family I get to do them for and I'm looking forward to feeling better and getting my well oiled machine of a house functioning again! =)

BTW, my amazing husband has been a major help to me... as well as my mom and mother-in-law! Thanks to each of you!