September Update

Another month gone!

Adam: He finally got to start of the semester on the right foot (last semester my grandma's funeral was during the first week and the semester before that I had a baby). He only has one class, Intro to Program Evaluation and so far it is going great. He is working on revising his prospectus and gathering data so he can evaluate the course he created for his project. He has also started applying to jobs. Since I have more extra time than he does, I have taken on the task of searching for jobs. I am so happy that there are quite a few that fit his qualifications and are in areas that we are hoping to live. We are aiming for him to start a full-time job at the end of the year and then he will complete and defend his project by February.

Ashley: This month hasn't been too exciting for me. Mostly I just take care of Eli and find hobbies to do. I got the supplies to make a bag but I have yet to find time to sew it. I have been exploring more about nail art. Also, one of my best friends Kayla and I are doing a autumn bucket list since both of us are stay-at-home moms (and they live right upstairs). We've planned all the things we want to do this season and started our own little book club which has been fun so far. And of course, I've been enjoying volunteering as a babywearing educator. I also turned 25 which I guess is exciting haha. We had breakfast babyless with our friends on Saturday and then watched the BYU game that evening. On Sunday (my actual birthday), Adam made dinner, we played games with friends and had ice cream cake :)

Eli: He is 13 months old now! He is officially off formula and has 4 (nearly 5) teeth. He has learned quite a few things this month as well. He now knows how to clap, wave bye-bye, climb onto the couch (oh dear...), reach the TV, and open his dresser drawers. We've been trying to teach him how to give high fives but he often gets it confused with clapping haha. He LOVES going outside. Any time we start putting our shoes on or I grab my purse, he immediately runs to the door. He has gotten a ton better at walking and he enjoys being a big boy and walking to the car with mommy and daddy. He is definitely getting more independent and opinionated. He does not enjoy when mommy and daddy stop him from pulling books off the shelf, close any door, or take anything out of his hands that he wants (phones, daddy's glasses, a random piece of garbage he might find, etc). With every stage, there are good and bad things. Yes, sometimes he screams when he doesn't get what he wants but other times we play and laugh until our face hurts.

Sleepy boy is a tummy sleeper like his mommy; trying on a hat from cousin Anders; not thrilled to go visiting teaching with mommy

August Update

Here's how our last month went:

Adam: He defended his prospectus and it passed with just a few revisions!! This means that he can keep going with the project he's been working on. After making the recommended corrections, all that's left is finishing his project and then defending it in April. He also started a new semester! He is taking his last class required for his program and project credit so hopefully that'll be easier. He is no longer the TA for IHum 202 but instead he'll be working with IHum 240 (the BYU Online class he helped create for his project). He also started teaching DigHT 215 again. Amidst all of that he also plans to look for full-time jobs that he can start at the end of December :)

Happy baby being worn :)

Ashley: I passed my skills assessment to become a certified Volunteer Babywearing Educator with Babywearing International (BWI)! This means that I have the authority as an educator in my local chapter and if we move somewhere without a BWI chapter, I can start one myself :) I also got an accidental early birthday present from Adam. Accidental because he didn't realize Amazon would deliver it in its own box rather than an Amazon box haha. But I got a sewing machine!! I'm looking forward to all the projects I'll be able to do with it :)

New sewing machine!

Eli: is now one year old!! He has three teeth now and learned to walk this month! He took his first steps a couple weeks before his first birthday and now walks all over the apartment. There have been quite a few rough days this month due to him cutting his two front teeth (one of which he is still working on xP). Other than that he is a pretty happy boy in general. He always wants me to play  with him which does make it difficult to get things done around the house. But I'm trying to enjoy it since he will only be this little right now

(from left to right) happy baby climbing on the futon, playing at the splash pad, concentrating on some serious play time, grumpy teething boy

Special events this month

We had a little party for his birthday at a nearby park :) we were able to have a good amount of friends and family join us including a few of Eli's little friends :) he very much enjoyed eating one of the cupcakes I made and he LOVED all of the new toys he was given. He still plays with them over his older toys haha. We are so blessed to be surrounded by a few family members, some great friends, and an awesome ward (LDS church congregation).

Yummy chocolate cupcake!

Homemade Baby Puffs

So Eli tried puffs a couple months ago and he LOVED them. He would often prefer them over purees sometimes, especially fruit ones. I wasn't a huge fan of the added sugar in them so I wondered if I could make a homemade version. Then started the Pinterest research. There were less recipes out there than I thought and most of them were super complicated with a bunch of ingredients and requiring things like separating egg whites or two different baking temperatures. Ain't no mom got time for that!! I found one pin that was just a picture, not a link, that had a simple 4 ingredient recipe. With some tweaking, I think I perfected it! Best of all, it uses up baby cereal and baby purees (because I'm sure like me you guys have some extras of those laying around). These don't melt like the store bought kind but they kind of fall apart in there mouth and Eli (and his friends at church) have enjoyed them. So here is a cheaper and healthier version of those baby puffs!

1/2 cup baby cereal

1 tsp baking powder

4 oz baby purée (I used apple)

2-3 tsp coconut oil (I preferred somewhere in the middle)

Mix and put in a ziplock bag. Snip the tip and pipe little puffs on some parchment paper. Make sure to give them height while piping so they turn out puff shaped. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes :)

July Update

So here is what happened this month!

Adam: He started off the month with his 27th birthday (which you can read about below)! He also finished his prospectus!!! For those who may not know what that means, it is a 35 page researched project proposal for his Master's thesis project. His next step is to defend it in front of his project committee and hopefully they will accept it. If they don't, he has to find something else to do which would be very tough since he's already had to do a lot for the project. With the nature of how his prospectus turned out, it looks like he may not graduate until April. The reason for this is that the online class he designed for the project will have its first semester this coming fall so he may just need time to actually assess how it did. However, graduating in April won't necessarily mean that we will be sticking around until then. He will finish his last course this fall and will only need to take thesis credit during winter semester. So we are planning for him to look for a full-time job no matter what starting the end of December. If the job happens to be out of state, he will just fly back for a few days to defend his thesis. Sooo...the end is in sight!!

Ashley: I am still at home taking care of Eli and finding ways to fill my time. I have decided to read through all the fiction books we own alphabetically (by author). We have 100+ books so it will take me awhile to get through them haha. I also finished my skills assessment to become a babywearing educator. I had to record videos of me teaching how to use all the different style of carriers (wraps, slings, mei tai, buckle soft-structured carriers, etc). I think I did well so all that is left is to wait to see if I passed. Some people may wonder why I would want to become an educator. Well, I want to be able to share my love of babywearing to others and teach them how they can do it safely and comfortably. I am involved at my local chapter of Babywearing International and once I get certified as a Volunteer Babywearing Educator, I can be more involved with leadership-type roles :)

Eli: is now 11 months old!! It is crazy that he is nearly one year old. He is still not walking but he is getting better and better at walking while holding one of our hands. He mostly just gets super excited about it which makes him lose his balance. He got his third haircut earlier this month and one of his top teeth has just barely broken through! He's been working on that for over a month which has not been fun for baby or parents. He loves to play with other babies/toddlers at church, he knows how to play peek-a-boo, and his favorite thing to say is "yah". Adam and I entertain ourselves by asking him crazy yes or no questions which he always answers with a confident "Yah!" hahaha. We are starting to introduce to him more table food and he is getting better at learning how to chew. He also learned how to use a straw! Its fun to see how he learns these simple skills that we take for granted :)

Adam's Birthday/Fourth of July Weekend
We were lucky to have some of Adam's family here! First, Seth and his wife came through for a short visit on their way up to see Sabrina's family. This was exciting because he was the last sibling to meet Eli! Then Adam's parents came to visit. They very much enjoyed their time with Eli and we were able to play lots of games (key part of any Lloyd gathering). We also were able to go through the Provo City Center temple with them (thanks to my sister for babysitting)! It was very busy being a holiday weekend and a Saturday but a very cool experience. It was especially special for them because they knew it so well as a tabernacle. We had a low key birthday for Adam with cheesecake and dinner with some of Adam's family and mine. I got him a new soccer ball and the two latest Star Trek movies. We didn't end up going to see any fireworks due to a crabby teething baby but hopefully next year we will :)

June Update

Here is what our June looked like!

Adam: He is SOOOO close to finishing his prospectus. He only has to add a couple more things and then it is done! The next step after that is for him to defend it. Hopefully, they will approve this project he has already been working on for the last year. If they don't approve it, he has to find something else quickly. But if they do, he will finish the project and do his last defense in December and then graduate!!

Ashley: The biggest thing I've been working on this month was the Climb Out of the Darkness event which you can read about below. Other than that my days have consisted mostly of taking care of the house and Eli, which is a handful haha. I have also been experimenting with making homemade puffs which has been fun but unsuccessful so far. I also finished my application to become a Volunteer Babywearing Educator for Babywearing International. Hopefully, I'll be able to do my practical skills assessment some time in July.

Eli: He is 10 months old!! This last month he got his second tooth in and we're pretty sure he started working on his next one (and still is working on it xP). He is still very social but occasionally gets a little shy around new people. The shyness usually consists of shyly smiling and cuddling mommy. He has enjoyed lots of summer water activities such as friends' swimming pools, the local rec center, and the local splash pad. He is very adventurous with water and always wants to just dive in head first haha. He is still not a huge fan of solids but he does enjoy puffs and cheerios. His favorite activities are climbing on anything (especially mommy and daddy), holding onto our hands and walking around the house, and playing with things he shouldn't.

(from left to right) playing with toys at the library, biting a sling ring (used in babywearing), baby selfie!, and playing with cousin Anders

Climb Out of the Darkness is an annual event put on by the non-profit organization Postpartum Progress some time around the summer solstice. The purpose is to raise awareness for maternal mental health and to symbolize the journey those who suffer take. They hold individual climbs all around the world and I ended up leading the one in Provo this year! So I worked on spreading the word about the event and (attempting to) raise money. Then on June 18th, moms and their families and friends met at a park up Provo Canyon for a short hike to Bridal Veil Falls. I was really happy with the turn out! I was really nervous it wouldn't seem put together enough but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves :) I don't know if I will lead again next year if we are still in Provo, but it was a fun experience :)

Meet the Convertible Onbuhimo!

So those who know me know my latest obsession is babywearing. It really helped me with my postpartum depression and it is super convenient. I currently own a baby k'tan, a mesh water ring sling (Beachfront Baby), a woven wrap (Ethos Cascade Mint size 6), and a mei tai (Infantino Sash). I have yet to own a soft-structured carrier (SSC) being poor students so I thought it would be fun to put myself into a drawing to be a tester for a brand new carrier from my favorite babywearing company Ethos! This is a local Utah company and for every wrap they make, they donate part of the proceeds to different causes :) Another reason why I love them is that they are super interactive on facebook and they even put together fb groups for wrap design ideas that customers come up with! So cool :)

Anyways, I am hosting this patent-pending brand new carrier by Ethos for a week. Meet the Convertible Onbuhimo! It is a two-in-one soft-structured carrier and onbuhimo (waistless carrier)!

Top is SSC mode and bottom is onbuhimo mode. The buckles midway down the panel tuck in, the strap buckles clip into the waistband buckles and the waistband just tucks in between you and baby for the seat.

At first I had a difficult time adjusting it to fit me but I think it is because it's a traveling carrier and it is my first time doing more than just briefly trying on a SSC. Once I got it all adjusted I found it to be very comfy. I could hardly feel him on my back in waistband mode.

I was excited to try it in onbuhimo mode as well! It was a bit difficult getting Eli on my back without Adam's help but I'm sure it would be easier with an older baby. Being 10 months old, he is fully safe in an onbuhimo because he can sit unassisted and has full upper body control but his legs are still pretty short. Once I got him up there, I was surprised that I didn't miss the waistband like I thought I would. I felt more free to move and Eli LOVED it (he was more free to move too). It just felt like wearing a backpack :)

After wearing it a few more times, the only issues I had was that I didn't have much room to tighten, especially in onbuhimo mode. I'm not super petite (about 5'6 and 175 lbs) so I was surprised by this. It would definitely be comfortable for more plus-size parents.

*Later edit: After the testing, Ethos fixed this ^ issue.

After testing is completed, Ethos will have the Convertibu available for purchase at Ethos Babywearing either using their wraps or your own to convert. I can't wait to see how this takes off!

*I am not paid for any of the affiliated links. This is just my honest opinion :)

May Update

Here's how the last month has been!

Adam: is grateful to be done with classes and finally have time to work on his prospectus. He is also trying to get as many hours as he can with BYU Online and preparing to teach DigHT 215 again. The biggest thing he's been doing is playing on every intramural team our ward is participating in. That means games for coed ultimate, coed softball, men's softball, coed kickball, coed soccer, or men's soccer every week night. We've begun the tournaments for all of these and so far coed softball, and coed kickball are done. It has been fun for him to hang out with the ward and be active.

Ashley: has also been doing intramurals. I was on the ultimate team but then I got roped into doing softball as well because of lack of girls. It's been fun! I'm getting better at ultimate and playing softball brings me back to the days of playing baseball with my dad in our yard. The rest of my time has been consumed with keeping up with Eli which is getting harder and harder to do :) 

Eli: is 9 months old and constantly on the move! He is crawling fast and getting into EVERYTHING. We've worked on baby proofing everything which has helped but then he learned how to pull himself up and cruise. Now he constantly wants to climb all over us or any uneven surfaces. He also has decided he does not want his diaper changed because it means sitting still for more than a second. So changes usually involve crying and us pinning him down with our legs haha. He is growing so fast and we can see him walking any day now. He has one little tooth and we think he's getting another one soon. He's a crazy little guy but we love him :)

Fun things we did this month!

Adam and I went on a date on the anniversary of our first date! We went to Provo Beach Resort and played croquet and arcade games just like we did 5 years ago. We had also collected enough tickets from the past few times of going that we were able to get one of the nicer prizes. Adam was extremely excited about our new wireless headphones :)

We also went to Scandinavian Days in Ephraim, UT with Stephanie and Anders. Luckily it only rained for the first bit after we got there. It was fun eating Swedish meatballs and seeing all of the fun booths. Utah is all about their festivals. It seems every town has their own "Days"! Steph and I want to try to go to more this summer if we can :)