The men in our life

Life has been very busy lately, putting me behind on blogging. I'll try to get everyone caught up on what's happening through the next series of posts. I wanted to do a special Father's Day post for the wonderful fathers and grandfathers in Caleb's and my life. Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble with my hands because of a lupus flare, making it difficult to type, so I didn't get to it in time. While it's more than two weeks past due, I figure "better late than never," right?

This was Dave's first Father's Day. Even though he's only been a father for two and a half months, he's done an incredible job. Dave is the type of daddy who is always willing and ready to jump in and take care of his boy. From diaper changes in the middle of the night to helping cook dinner or caring for Caleb so Mommy can have a break, he's right there and never complains. He's become a pro at eating while balancing a baby, folding cloth diapers, and treating clothing stains. Dave patiently swaddles and rocks our little buddy when Caleb's a bit on edge, and he makes sure to spend quality time with us after he gets home from work. Most importantly, he is committed to make sure Caleb grows up learning about Jesus and is surrounded by positive influences. Since his "love language" is quality time, Caleb gave him father-and-son fishing poles, a tackle box with fishing gear, and some camping supplies; all items to make memories together down the road.

Dave and Caleb at the hospital

Dave reading to Caleb

Dave and Caleb hanging out on the deck
at Cliff and Stacey's house

While I've only seen Dave act as a father for a few months, I have twenty-six years of memories with my daddy. My dad is one of the hardest working men I know. There are so many nights he's gone with very little sleep, heading to work early in order to give us a little more than we might have had otherwise. He taught me financial responsibility by teaching me to save for a car but met me half way so I didn't have to spend time working during the school year. He emphasized the importance of doing your best at school and put me through college, helping me avoid the burden of loans when I was first getting started. Valuing your family and putting them first, taking your care of your responsibilities instead of relying on others, treating others with fairness and honesty, and being a person of integrity are all life lessons he's taught me. Some people may take advantage of his good heartedness at times, but for me, his consideration for others is one of the things I respect the most. Daddy also has a great smile and sense of humor. Caleb's little face lights up already when his granddaddy smiles and talks to him. A few more years and I bet he'll be teaching his grandson how to play baseball and football, how to bait a hook, and, most importantly, how to treat others like you want to be treated.

Granddaddy holding Caleb on Mother's
Day weekend

Dad, Courtney, and me fishing

Caleb and I are also lucky to have Grandpa McKinstry as part of our lives. Grandpa has only seen Caleb once in person so far, but Caleb enjoyed all the time Grandpa spent holding him and letting him sleep across his lap. Hopefully, there will be many more visits for Caleb to spend playing with and learning from Grandpa McKinstry, who knows more biblical facts than probably any man I know. Not only is he a man of great biblical knowledge, he also is a man of integrity who tries to live by God's word and encourage others to do so as well. I know we can always trust him to carry us in prayer if we need it. Grandpa also knows a lot about computers. (Maybe he'll even teach Caleb how to play Farmville.:))

Grandpa holding Caleb

Three generations of McKinstry men

Last but not least is Granddaddy Eddie (aka Peppaw). Over and over again, my granddaddy has told me that no one could ever get him to do anything he didn't want to do. He's encouraged me to do my best and not let others persuade me otherwise. He's also always there for me. Despite the fact that he was probably the only man in David's Bridal, Peppaw went with me to help pick out my wedding dress. He also sat in the waiting room all day beside my Grandma Nora Ann waiting for Caleb to be born. A few weeks later he came two hours to see Caleb's baby dedication at church and then again not long after to watch my graduation. I can't wait until Caleb's old enough to climb up in his pick-up truck and go out to check the cows with him, making memories like the ones I had as a little girl.

Granddaddy Eddie and Grandma Nora Ann
at the hospital right after Caleb was born.

Four generations at Peppaw's 80th birthday party!

Cloth Diapering Dilemma

For those of you who are cloth diapering, have you ever had trouble with the absorbency?

Cloth diapering was going really well for us until the past few days. Yesterday, every cloth diaper I put on Caleb (aside from the prefolds) leaked as soon as he wet. It was pretty much like he wasn't even wearing a diaper! Both of us had about 4-5 soaked outfits not to mention the number of towels and amount of bedding that were soiled.

There were no leaks last night when we used disposable diapers, but when I put on a cloth one this morning, his onsie and bedding were wet again. At that point, I debated putting a disposable back on because I was just so tired of changing and washing clothes, but they keep giving him diaper rash so it was not a favorable option either. Then, I remembered the prefolds didn't leak so I went that route instead.

I couldn't figure out why these diapers were leaking so much now, especially since they only leaked occasionally in the past. At first I thought maybe they weren't fitting him snug enough, but I couldn't get them any tighter without making him uncomfortable. Then I considered that maybe he was outgrowing them. That didn't make sense though because we use a wide variety of diapers including Thirsties, BumGenius, Fuzzibunz, and gdiapers. All of them were leaking!

Since I couldn't figure it out, I turned to google. One discussion board led me to this website that discusses laundrying: http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentbasics.htm#Pocket%20Diapers. I learned you are not supposed to use diaper creams without a liner because it can clog the diapers and make them less absorbent. It also described what it looks like when detergent builds up and mentioned how hard water can also clog the diapers requiring them to be stripped. Despite my previous research online and talking to other people, this was all new info to me. I had been using diaper creams, used more detergent than recommended for HE washing machines, and washed the diapers in hard water at my parents' house.

Somewhere I read that you can test to see if your diapers are clogged by filling your baby's nose syringe with water and squirting it on the diaper as if your baby had wet in it. It if beads up and runs off, you know your diapers are clogged. I tried this trick and sure enough all of the water beaded up and flowed to the legs of the diaper. My goal now is to try to strip the diapers as the website mentions.

Has anyone else had these problems or have other suggestions that work?

Let's Dish!

Before Caleb was born, I attempted weekly to plan out our meals on the calendar so we didn't keep eating the same old thing. Now that he's here, even my best laid plans often don't turn out the way I expect. Needless to say, I'm now looking for 15 minute meal ideas that are healthy, inexpensive, and different.

A year or two ago, my friend from church, Erin Dunkle, told me about a place called Let's Dish where you could build quick and easy meals. We talked about trying to go and build some meals to freeze before Caleb arrived, but never got around to it. This week we decided to give it a try.

1. First, you have to set up an account and decide what meals you'd like to make. (You can do this step at home to make the process go more quickly. Here is the link to get started: http://www.letsdish.com/registration/dishmethod.aspx?sessiontype=1)


2. After selecting your menu choices, you grab an apron and bandanna. Then, you find the work station with the recipe and ingredients you need to begin building your meals.



(Erin and I actually decided to split the meals since each one includes about six servings.)

3. After building each meal, you take the package to a table where you label it with the cooking instructions, your name, and the date.


4. Then, the meal is stored in the refrigerator or freezer while you make the rest of your food.



5. Once we made all of our meals, they checked us out as Erin loaded up the cooler.



We made Baja Steak Fajitas, Beachfront Shrimp Al Fresco, Chicken Casablanca in Grilled Pitas, Fiesta Chicken with Warm Corn Salad, Pink Ribbon Stir Fry, Pork Chops with Three Cheese Potatoes, and a double helping of the Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Herb Cheese and Egg Noodles. Because I am a new mother, they also gave me another half meal free; I chose a marinated flank steak. Additionally, they gave me free scones for putting info about them on my Facebook status.

Overall, it was a good experience. The two meals Dave and I already ate were tasty, different, easy, and quick. The only thing I really didn't like was the lack of kid-friendliness. They wouldn't let Caleb come back in the work stations with us; he had to stay in his stroller near the front of the store. While I could see him from anywhere I was, he was too close to the door for me to feel comfortable and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hear him cry if he woke up over the music. I kept having to run over every few minutes to check. We were there for about three hours which made it really difficult even though he was such a good boy and slept the whole time. If I ever go again (and I plan to), Caleb will have to have a babysitter.

Graduation

While I was pregnant with Caleb, I finished up my Masters degree as a reading specialist. Just two weeks before he as born, I completed the required comprehensive exam. I was so thankful he didn't come any earlier!

Yesterday was our graduation at McDaniel College. Here is a picture of my friend Sarah and me; we did our summer clinic together (along with Patti who we couldn't find for the picture). Sarah is also expecting a baby soon.

Caleb, Dave, my parents, and some of my grandparents came to support me.

Going to Church

Luckily, we've been able to make it to church every Sunday since Caleb was born.

Here is Daddy carrying Caleb in to church for the first time. He is six days old. (4/11)

Caleb is a very good baby which has made it easier for us to take him to church. Almost every Sunday, he sleeps through a good portion of both the service and Sunday school. On his third Sunday in church, Caleb was dedicated; however, this boy has no idea what happened because he slept through the whole thing.

Grandma and Grandpa McKinstry came from IL and Grandma Sharon, Great-Grandma Nora Ann, and Great-Granddaddy Eddie came from VA to the service at South Columbia Baptist Church to watch Caleb's dedication. (4/25)

Every Sunday there have been some obstacles to overcome in order to make it to church though. The first Sunday, Caleb didn't want to eat when he was supposed to, which made us twenty minutes late for the second service. The second Sunday, Dave and I thought each other had grabbed the diaper bag; we didn't realize until we arrived at church that we didn't have it. Again, we missed the first service since we had to run to the grocery store for diapers and wipes. To make matters worse, Caleb ended up getting his outfit wet when I was changing him after church and the extra outfit was in the diaper bag! God had his hand on us though because one of my friends gave us a "Finding Nemo" outfit that same morning. Despite that is was a summer outfit and it was only in the 60s outside, it was dry! We wrapped him in a blanket and headed for home. Live and learn! Three of the of the other four Sundays we've also had to replace clothing due to leaky diapers and other mishaps, but fortunately we've remembered the diaper bag and a change of clothes. (Today though I should have brought a change of clothes for myself since my skirt suffered a little too.)

The diaper bag we hope to never forget again!

The "Finding Nemo" outfit that saved us (plus a cute boy modeling it)!

God, thank you for the grace to make it to Your house to worship each Sunday. We appreciate the patience you're teaching us and the laughter that comes from some of the mishaps Satan tries to use to discourage us. Thank you for the opportunity to dedicate our baby boy with our biological and church families behind us, committing to help raise Caleb to know You and Your great love for us. You are more than worthy of our praise for these gifts and so much more. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Getting Started

Welcome to our blog! My sister-in-law Amy started a blog a few years ago that has allowed us to get to know our niece and nephew better even though they live half way across the country. While I'm not the most skilled computer user, I thought I'd like to create my own blog now that Caleb is here so that we can share a little bit about him as he grows for those who aren't with us everyday. (Hopefully, my technology skills will also improve.:)) Another reason for blogging is that I love scrapbooking but haven't found much time to focus on building Caleb's book yet. I hope updating the blog will help me keep up with my picture taking and journaling until I have time to record all of the memories in paper format.

For now, here are some pictures of our sweet baby from the hospital.

Granddaddy Eddie and Grandma Nora Ann

Grandma Sharon

Caleb and Daddy

Caleb and Mommy

We had other visitors at the hospital too, including Granddaddy Jeff, Granny, Aunt Courtney, and Beth Judd. Caleb's other grandparents, Wayne and Shirley, came to visit a couple weeks later because they live in Illinois. I'll have to try to dig up some pictures from their visit to share soon.