Marx is 1 year old!

Dear Marx,

We made it!! We made it to your first birthday!

Feww....

We both survived it, and for the longest time I didn't think we would.

It's been a tough year. I feel for every mother that complains about a baby that cries a lot, because

well, you cried A LOT! Everyday I'd just tell myself, "Just get to his first birthday, he'll get so much happier!" Let's hope that's the case.

You have been a bit happier this past week.

I don't know if it's because you're not nursing anymore during the day, and you're actually

getting fed. (I'm worried I starved you for 12 months, and that's why you were so fussy, but you were always right on track with weight...it's a mystery!)

Maybe it's just because you're a momma's boy.

Don't worry, I still love you to pieces, but I am SO ready for this next phase in your life!!

You give the best kisses EVER.

Every time we say, "Marx! Give me kisses!" or "Marx, can I have a kiss!" or just "Kisses?"

You come darting at us with your little mouth wide open like a baby bird.

It's adorable, and on most days, you just keep on giving them.

You're trying so hard to talk.

You say:

Mama

Dada

and

uh uh uh uh uh uh- Oh!

Which is Uh-Oh.

Stinking adorable!

And other times you'll just use your baby words, and we'll just talk along with you.

You'll get so excited like you're really telling us a story.

You still are a little champ at sleeping.

I'll take a baby that sleeps any day!! Because, let's face it, if I don't get my sleep, I'm not a happy mommy!

You lie down on your own for both your naps and at bed time.

I still wish you'd let me rock you, but you just would rather me put you down and let you

cuddle your duck.

(which actually used to be your sister's duck that she cuddled and slept with too.)

Just this last week you started to wrestle with your daddy, me and your sister!

It's so stinking adorable, and it makes your daddy so happy. His exact words were,

"I've been waiting all year for him to do this!!"

You're sister will lie on the floor for you and you'll run over to her and plop right down on her.

It's a joy that I don't know how to explain, watching you play like that with your sister.

Your favorite treats are:

chocolate chip teddy grams

animal crackers

chocolate cheerios

graham crackers

bananas

and of course

anything chocolate

When your daddy gets home work, you'll walk right over to him and hang on his legs until

he picks you up. It makes him so happy that you're so happy to see him.

You're big sister loves you so much.

I know at times it may seem like she doesn't, like yesterday for example, when she picked you

up and sat you under the sprinkler. I was trying so hard not to laugh and tell her that you didn't like that, but she just wanted you to have fun like she was.

When you're sad, she'll sing I am a Child of God to you, and it almost always calms you do.

She also loves to feed you, and if you don't like it, she'll say, "Look at me brother, I'll eat it! Mmm, it's good!" You're a pretty lucky guy to have such a great big sister!

You love watching:

Rio

Baby Einsteins

Tom and Jerry

Backyardigans

Dora

and

Diego

You still have the pretties blue eyes, and get compliments daily on how adorable you are.

Everyone always says, "OMG! Look at that blonde hair and his blue eyes!"

I'm a very proud momma. You are a very handsome man.

And really, you look just like your daddy.

You lucky little fella!

We'll buddy, I love you to pieces. Let's hope for a better year this next year!

Let's try to be happy how bout?!

Happy 1st Birthday! I can't believe it's already here!!

Love,

Your Proud Mommy

she did it again, and this time it was bad

Ya'll, I swear I watch my children.

This happened a week ago. I haven't blogged about it because, well, it's pretty depressing.

Layla cut her hair!

OMG!

All I could think of is... "What is the Lord trying to teach me!"

I had just put Marx down for a nap, put in Tom and Jerry for Layla, and started scrubbing

the bathrooms. I heard her getting into something I knew she shouldn't be getting into

and seriously had a sick feeling in my stomach.

When I came around the corner she had a huge grin on her face and said, "Look Mom!"

It all happened in a matter of 5 minutes, no lie.

I think she saw the furry in my eyes, because the grin changed to a frantic/scared look in .3 seconds.

All I could do was grab her arm, take her outside, and shut the door.

I was so sad. I just sat on the couch and cried.

I've just come to terms that my little girl may never have hair!

Since the day she was born, I couldn't wait for her to have long, thick hair for me to play with.....

She's got the asymmetrical, bald spot on the top look going on.

Sheesh!

DIY Bow Ties

I've been wanting to either make Marx some bow ties or buy some.
Buying them seemed more and more ridiculous as I searched for tutorials on the web.
So...
I was inspired here.

You will need:
-Fabric (cotton works fine as long as you use the starch)
-Scissors
-Iron
-Heavy Starch
-Hold glue gun
-mini alligator clips

1. Cut your fabric 9"x3". Find the center of your fabric by measuring 1.5" down and 4.5" inches over. Using a pen, make a dot. That will be your guide.
2. The first bow tie I made was to flimsy (sp?) So I got out my heavy starch, sprayed my fabric and ironed it. It made a HUGE different in how the bow tie held it's shape.
3. & 4. Fold your ends in like a present then fold your sides in to that little dot you made in the beginning. Then iron.
5. I then put a very small dot of hot glue on the end and folded that in too. Iron.
6. Fold both your ends into that dot, once again. Glue.
7. Cut a 9"x1" piece of fabric, fold both ends in and iron.
8. Glue one end on the back and wrap around your bow tie.
9. & 10. I then used a mini alligator clip, clipped it onto the fabric then glued to the back of the bow tie. That way it looked very clean.
WaLa! You got yourself an adorable little bow tie for your little man! Easy Peasy!

Jessie's Tip: I ironed every fold that I made. It made the bow tie look much nicer than the first one I made!

Essential Wellness Tip

Lemon.

This essential oil powerhouse is cold pressed from lemon rinds to preserve it's delicate nature and potent properties. Lemon is know as a powerful aromatic, topical, and internal cleanser and can be used to complement many other oils (I love lemon, purify and onguard together, yummy!). Diffusing lemon in a room can cleanse the air and uplift a mood. it can also be used on surfaces throughout the home as a non-toxic cleaning booster!

The first time I really used Lemon was last summer when I was home visiting. I was coming down with a nasty cold and my sister-in-law told me to start taking 3 drops of lemon and 3 drops of OnGuard together in a capsule. I did that three times a day for 2 days and it knocked out whatever I was coming down with! I also used it whenever I was helping my mother do things around her home. She would just add a couple drops in her water and use it to wash any and everything. I now use it on a regular basis. Whether it be to put in my water (a great cleanse for the body), in my household cleaners, in my laundry. You name it.

Other uses for Lemon:
-blood pressure
-anxiety
-digestive problems
-hair (cleaning)
-nails (strengthening and hardening)
-clarity of thought
-cleaning the skin
-sore throats (great with a teaspoon of honey. Layla, my 3 yr old, loves it)
-stress
-respiratory problems

All the essential oils that I will be going over are completely safe to use on infants and children. That's what I love most about them! I don't feel powerless anymore when my babies get sick!

If you have any questions shoot me an email. LTS_28@yahoo.com or ljspiers@gmail.com

easter in a collage

The week of Easter and Easter itself was wonderful.
Our church did a Easter scavenger hunt inside the church because of rainy weather.
Layla and Brooklyn enjoyed themselves and got plenty of candy to last them the rest of the year.
Then we went to Lance's hometown to spend the holiday with his family.
You can see that the Easter bunny left some cheetos is Layla's basket. I don't ever buy cheetos, so she was in heaven, and I even let her eat them for her breakfast.
Only on Easter.
Then papa Preston made us a wonderful Easter dinner and afterwards we did another egg hunt with all the kids. We seriously have candy coming out of our ears.

{sigh}

happiness

i love moments like these...

Essential Wellness Tip

Lavender.

It's an amazing oil. This oil is what got Lance to be a believer of essential oils. Last summer he got a really bad sunburn and was using aloe vera to help soothe it. He still was loosing sleep and couldn't get comfortable with his sunburn. So I said, "Baby, please just let me squirt some Lavender on your back." I filled up a small squirt bottle with water then put in about 3 drops of Lavender. He burn was instantly gone. He was able to lay down and go to sleep instantly, and slept the whole night through without tossing and turning because of his sunburn. So, like I said, it did it for him. It's also a calming and soothing oil, so I'm sure that was another reason why he got such a great night sleep.

Just this past weekend, I was blow drying my hair while Marx was at my feet playing with all sorts of things I could entertain him with. Every time I ran the flat iron through my hair I made sure that the cord wasn't hanging where Marx would reach it. Well, his little fingers caught the cord just as I was laying it down and somehow his little foot got wedged between the flat iron part! I screamed! He whimpered just a bit, but I INSTANTLY got my Lavender out and rubbed it all over his little foot and we didn't hear a peep out of him after that. No one with cry, he just went on playing with all his little gadets. AND he has a huge purple blister on the top of his foot, so I know it got him good. You all know how burns are. They throb and hurt for hours. Well, not with Lavender. It takes the burn out instantly. It's amazing.

Other uses of Lavender:
(when in doubt, use your Lavender)

-anxiety
-arthritis
-asthma
-balancing body systems
-boils
-bronchitis
-bruises
-cold sores
-relieves headaches
-influenza
-migrane headaches
-spains
-sunburns
-burns
-whooping cough
-throat infections
-ear aches
-ear infections

That's just to name a few. I also put it in a spray bottle and spray it on our bed sheets and pillows each week after I wash our bedding, and rub it on Layla and Marx's feet each night after their bathes. It helps that is smells delicious too!

If you have any questions send me an email.
LTS_28@yahoo.com or ljspiers@gmail.com

Skeptic no more

Ok, so I'm sure everyone has heard about Essential oils. Heck, while I was in Esthetics school, we studied a whole section on holistic lifestyles and the uses of essential oils, and to be quite honest, I thought it was a bunch of quack!

So..

My sister briefly talked to me about them about a year a a half ago, while I was pregnant with Marx. She soon had my mother hooked along with a lot of other family members. It wasn't long before my mom was calling and telling me about doTERRA Essential Oils and the amazing things they were doing for her.

I still thought my family was going cooky!! Well, my mother insisted I have the oils in my house so she bought the Family Physicians Kit for me. You wanna know what I did? I put it in my closet! I had no idea what the heck to do with essential oils, and to be quite honest I was a bit intimidated by them.

To make a long story not as long. Shortly after I had Marx, I was having a problem with my milk supply. It just wasn't coming in (I had the same problem with Layla and she only nursed for 6 months) and both Marx and I were getting really frustrated. My mom, of course, was here with me and boldly said, "Go get your oils and your book and let's see what we can do!" I listened. It was simple. It gave to two options of oils to use. Clary Sage and Basil. All I needed to do was apply on my chest and neck, or I could take it internally in gel capsules. I did both! I was desperate to get my milk in. (I seriously had tried everything)

Let me tell you something. The next day, probably less than 24 hours later. It was impossible for me to keep my shirts dry. I wasn't squirting milk, but I was producing. It was amazing. I was actually getting the "let down" feeling that I had heard every other mother talk about. Of course, my body eventually adapted to what Marx actually needed. BUT, I was producing milk. And for me, that was it. That's all I needed to know that these oils weren't as quack as I thought they were.

I have a lot of other miraculous stories about these oils that I'll share with you another time. But seriously look into doTERRA Essential Oils. You won't regret it! I'm going to start sharing some Essential wellness tips real soon, so stay turned!! Until then, go read up on it. It's pretty amazing.

this makes me happy

Yesterday the kids and I loaded up, went to town and bought ourselves some pretty little flowers to plant in our pots. There's just something about beautiful, colorful flowers.

They put a smile on my face.

(yes, marx tore off the petal on my poppy)

Marx is 11 months old!

Dear Marx,

YOU ARE WALKING!!

You've been taking steps for a month or so, but on the 30th, the day after you turned 11 months, you

let go of the couch and walked to the TV console. And from then on out, you've been walking

everywhere. It's adorable. You walk with your arms straight up in the air like you're

praisin Jesus! You do your best when you're barefoot. But now I'm really going to have

to make sure you have shoes on wherever we go!

Here you are in action...

You're eating more and more regular food. Breakfast food is your all time favorite.

You take after me when it comes to loving breakfast!

I'd say pancakes and biscuits and gravy are what you like to eat the most.

You're sitting in a front facing car seat now.

When grandma and papa came to visit, grandma felt bad for you because you

were always trying to sit up and see what was going on around you in your car seat.

So, she bought you a new car seat.

(I knew it was time for a big boy seat, but liked that I could still carry you in your little boy seat when you fell asleep. Specially on our way to church.)

I'll look back at you and say, "Marx! You're such a big boy now!" and you'll kick your feet and squeal, almost like you're agreeing with me.

You've been happier the past month.

And I hope by saying that I'm not jinxing myself.

We still have our days when you whine and cry a lot, but they getting fewer

and farther between. Hope it stays that way!

You love to wave "hi" and "bye bye".

And you also blow kisses now.

Patti-cake is an all time favorite game,

and Baby Einstein is still a favorite for you.

You love Baird the Dragon,

aka "Blah."

And you're way of communicating is to scream at the top of your lungs.

It either means, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I'm done, or I'm tired.

You love being outside.

I'll open the doors and you'll zoom by whatever may be in your way to get out that door

before I close it.

You also love swinging in your swing.

I love watching your white hair in the wind when I push you.

You and Layla are the best of friends.

Sure, she can aggravate you, but when it comes down to it, you love having

her to play with and visa versa. If she tries to lay down on the couch and take a nap when

you're awake, you make sure that's not going to happen.

And now that you're walking, you follow her everywhere she goes, or

she'll say, "Come on bud! Let's go play!" I need to enjoy that, because I know it won't last long!

You're still a great sleeper, at night and during the day.

You take your 2 naps.

10:30AM and 3:30PM

Going to bed around 8:30PM waking around 8:00AM

I got very blessed on that aspect.

AND

you liked to be nursed, then laid down.

You'll then go to sleep on your own.

Such a good little man :)

Speaking of nursing, I'm starting to ween (sp?) you.

You usually only nurse at your nap times and at night.

Somehow I'll take one or two of those feedings out before you turn one,

then I'll stop cold turkey.

It's going to be rough for the both of us, but you're just getting to big to nurse.

You'll kick me, pull my hair, stick your fingers in my mouth/nose, and heck even try to sit up

while you're nursing.

So yeah, you're about ready to be done.

You get compliments daily about how handsome you are.

I hear "My goodness! He looks just like a Gerber baby!" two or three times a week.

So yeah, you're adorable.

Everyone loves your white hair too.

You get that from your daddy.

We love you little man!

Can't believe you're almost 1 year old!!

Love,

Your Proud Mommy