Last August Lesson

This is Little Lady's last August lesson that we will be doing for the Camping theme.

I am really enjoying making these for her and spending the quality time with her. Tomorrow will be review day and we will go over all the lessons that she has done for the month of August. I can't believe September is almost here. I made those lessons today during nap time and I can't wait to share them.

Little Lady's Lessons and Library Trips

I have been slacking on the lessons over the last two weeks from getting caught up on things around the house from being on vacation. Here are the lessons that we have done. Remember August theme is camping.
Also, we have made two library trips over the last week. Here are the books that we have been reading at our house.

Comparisons

A comparison look of Little Lady from last years trip to Branson to this years trip to Branson!

These were taken outside a 50's themed restaurant that we tend to go to every time we are there.

Just shy of 3 months old:14 months old:

Wax Museum

We hit up the wax museum in Branson on the way home. Good times. The teenager was too embarrassed to take pics with the people of wax but Big A and I certainly weren't!

Fishing

We spent a good deal of our trip fishing. The White River is dam water so it is typically in the 40 degree range which makes for good trout fishing. The river starts low at the beginning of the day and slowly gets deeper as the day goes on and then goes back down at night. I say it slowly gets deeper but it really is amazing how you can feel the water pressure change when they begin to let more water out of the dam, even the fishes feel it, they will start jumping when the water current changes. So, we trout fished our days away. We all caught fish, some of us more than others. Even Little Lady got in on the action and liked to hold the pole. Next year, we'll have to get her own kiddie pole for her!

Camping

Camping was fantastic but I do it in style - portable a/c unit, microwave, camp propane stove, etc. We have a two room tent so we set up one room with the beds in it and the a/c unit so everyone, esp. Little Lady, could be comfortable at night. Here are some pics:

Our digs:Breakfast:

Dinner:And if you don't know, this girls isn't the greatest sleeper, always afraid that she is going to miss something...well, apparently the camping lifestyle fits her, she slept, well, like a baby:)

A Great Vaca!

We are back from vacation and we had a fantastic time. We went camping at Bull Shoals White River State Park and then wrapped up with two days in Branson. It was my first time camping and it was fantastic. I wasn't sure how I felt about it since I thought that I was a city girl through and through but after the past week I'm starting to reconsider. I have always loved nature, I mean come on, I'm a girl that got married in the Rocky Mountains with snow on the ground. But, I have always enjoyed nature from the comfort of a hotel and a comfy bed and a nice shower. I thought camping was totally not something I would ever do let alone enjoy. And enjoy it I did. I have even thought about writing a book...The City Girls Guide To Camping...with tidbits of bring your make-up but leave it packed till your back in the city or how an the Intuition razor with the little soap bar on it is a must have for keeping your legs shaved while in a public shower or if you know you are going to fish from sun up to sun down of every day of your trip a pink fishing pole is an absolute must. All kidding aside, it was a fantastic time. Big A and I have talked and we think that we would like to make a yearly camping trip to Bull Shoals a family tradition, something that the kids can count on every year! I love things like that. I'll post more later this week on the details of the trip, I just wanted to let everyone know that is was great and here are a few pics as a teaser for the rest of the blogs to come about our fantastic trip!

Heading out!

This could be a post card but it isn't, the welcome sign with the welcoming committee, a mommy and baby deer!
The infamous, hand held, family photo because there is no one there to take your pic!

Life in the Home

Also known as the...we've got a really busy weekend and then it's vaca time so I better get a blog out...

Little Lady has been full of expressions lately, she is really, REALLY coming into her personality and here are a few of my favorites:

Our gardening is coming along, here are some fruits of our labor:

And Little Lady working on her lessons, she loves her jumbo crayons but insists on coloring with the flat side not the pointed side:

All in all - life is great. Little Lady is becoming quite the little person and the molars are almost all the way in which will be a very welcome relief. That will make 12 teeth in all at 14 months! Sissy is becoming quite the teenager with all the traits that come along with being a teenager. I think the hardest part for her is being torn between being a kid with Little Lady and being a teenager at the same time. Big A is working hard all the day long and since he finished so many projects before the girls birthdays we have taken a small break from house projects but I'm sure we will get back on that once school starts. Even if the basement doesn't get furnished and decorated this year, I would like to have it finished before Christmas. Lets hope that's doable. And me, I've just been taking care of Little Lady and soaking in every ounce of her wonderfulness during the day and putting in my time at the outdoor store in the evenings and weekends. I really love it. I had always heard terrible things about working retail but I LOVE it. I get to socialize all day long and not be behind a desk, maybe there is a new calling for me - retail management - we'll see about that one! I have also started doing some ZUMBA dvd's during the day while Little Lady is napping. I'm still not comfortable with leaving her in the gym daycare yet. I'm going to try to get better about hitting the gym on the weekends when Big A is home to watch Little Lady. My high school reunion is in October and I would LOVE to lose about 10 pounds before then. We shall see. I think that's it from me. I'm officially on a blogging vaca and then it will be back to school...can you believe? Where is the time going?

Little Lady's Lessons

Here is a quick look at Little Lady's lessons for this week. For the month of August our theme is Camping. During lesson time I put Little Lady in her high chair and give her jumbo crayons to her and we go over the letter, color, and we work on her name.

World Breastfeeding Week

Since it is World Breastfeeding Week I'm going to do my little bit to spread the word about how great it is for both babe and mom...

Newborn BoobyOne Year Old BoobyFrom the World Health Organization:

Breastfeeding

Over the past decades, evidence for the health advantages of breastfeeding and recommendations for practice have continued to increase. WHO can now say with full confidence that breastfeeding reduces child mortality and has health benefits that extend into adulthood. On a population basis, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life is the recommended way of feeding infants, followed by continued breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods for up to two years or beyond.
To enable mothers to establish and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for six months, WHO and UNICEF recommend:
Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life;
Exclusive breastfeeding - that is, the infant only receives breastmilk without any additional food or drink, not even water;
Breastfeeding on demand - that is, as often as the child wants, day and night;
No use of bottles, teats or pacifiers.
Breastmilk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life.
Breastmilk promotes sensory and cognitive development, and protects the infant against infectious and chronic diseases. Exclusive breastfeeding reduces infant mortality due to common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea or pneumonia, and helps for a quicker recovery during illness.
Breastfeeding contributes to the health and well-being of mothers, it helps to space children, reduces the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer, increases family and national resources, is a secure way of feeding and is safe for the environment.
While breastfeeding is a natural act, it is also a learned behaviour. An extensive body of research has demonstrated that mothers and other caregivers require active support for establishing and sustaining appropriate breastfeeding practices. WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in 1992, to strengthen maternity practices to support breastfeeding. The BFHI contributes to improving the establishment of exclusive breastfeeding worldwide and, coupled with support throughout the health system, can help mothers sustain exclusive breastfeeding.
WHO and UNICEF developed the 40-hour Breastfeeding Counselling: A Training Course and more recently the five-day Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling: An Integrated Course to train a cadre of health workers that can provide skilled support to breastfeeding mothers and help them overcome problems. Basic breastfeeding support skills are also part of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness training course for first-level health workers.
The Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding describes the essential interventions to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.