yippee!

The 13th is behind me AND I qualified to get my thirty-one website free for a year!  Praise God-what a blessing!  Thank you to all who have hosted, attended a party, ordered products and supported and encouraged me in these past 2 1/2 months!

thirty-one

About 5 months ago, I was invited to a Thirty-One party... I'd never heard of 31, didn't know anything about it, but knew the girl hosting, and the invitation was fun, so I decided to go.  Little did I know how it would change my life!  I came home from the party and told Woody that I had a "bag fetish" because I really liked everything I saw in the catalog!  As the weeks passed after going to the party, I began to think more and more about becoming a consultant with Thirty-One Gifts.  We had been brainstorming ways for me to possibly earn some extra money, but also still be able to stay home with the girls.  After a couple months of praying, talking, going back and forth, we decided I should give it a shot.  Two and a half months into being a consultant, I never would have thought things would be going so well.  I can honestly say I've had a lot of fun being able to go into homes, spend time with friends, meet new women and be encouraged through all of it, and be able to help our family financially right now when the economy and the construction industry aren't doing so well.  I can also honestly say how impressed I am with mothers who work outside the home, whether part or full time!  It has definitely been an adjustment learning to balance being a wife, mommy, home manager and thirty-one consultant!  I haven't really worked outside the home since I stopped teaching 2 months before Arden was born, so juggling everything has been interesting to say the least.  This blog testifies to the fact that I'm still learning to juggle things... as I'm now almost 3 months behind-ha!  ( By the way, I have made a goal to get you all updated on everything BEFORE Christmas comes, so here's hoping!)  

So all this to say, I wanted to fill you in on what's been going on around here and why the blog has been lacking.  I also wanted to share my story with you and tell you a little bit about Thirty-One in case you have no idea what I'm talking about!  And finally, I'm telling you all of this because I'm really close to being able to earn my website free for a year, and so if you're still in need of getting some Christmas gifts, let me know.  The cutoff date for Christmas is December 13th and I'm hoping to get in one to two more party orders to get my website for free.  

Now, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about... the name of the company, Thirty-One gifts, derives from Proverbs 31 in the Old Testament.  As I'm sure most or all of you know, Proverbs 31 describes a wise, hard working woman who cares for her family, as well as others.  Thirty-One gifts is all about encouraging, celebrating and rewarding women.  It is a direct selling company that offers high quality products (bags, purses, thermal totes, etc.) at an affordable price and most all of the products can be personalized.  Below is my website, where you can view our catalogs online or if you're really interested in looking at an actual catalog, let me know and I can put one in the mail to you.  

www.mythiryone.com/danabaugher 

And if you're still reading this, thank you for taking the time to do so.  Becoming a consultant with Thirty-One really has been a blessing.  If you're interested in getting some gifts, let me know.  But at the same time, please don't feel pressure to order anything... I don't want to be one of those pushy people. :)  

I promise, after December 13th, I will get you all caught up on more important things, like our girls! :)

ONE

Our Chloe is ONE, well, and has been for a month and a half!  We just love her so much and she is such a fun addition to our family!  Most of you know that while she was still in my belly, we nicknamed her our "fighter."  Well, she is living up to her name.  She has a very strong personality and although she only has a hint of red in her hair, she's definitely got the feistiness to be a redhead! :)  More recently, she has been called our comedian.  She keeps us all laughing and smiling at even the littlest things with the way she responds to us and gets our attention.  She's also our snuggle bug.  Chloe gives the best little hugs ever, wrapping her tiny arms around you, putting her head down on your shoulder and saying "mmmm mmmm."  I just MELT!  I am really enjoying this age and here are some more reasons why:

At her 12 month check up, she weighed in at 16 lbs. 9 oz. (3rd percentile) and was 28 in. long (25th percentile).

She nods her head "yes" and shakes her head "no" at the appropriate times, points at things, gives "fives" and signs "more" and "all done."


She blows kisses and waves hi and bye.


She says these words-
Mama
Dada/Daddy
bye
dis (this)
dat (that)
dah (done)
dog
no
Ga (God)  She says this when we're saying the blessing.
She has said the following words as clearly as can be, but only one time-
cracker
church

With ten teeth, she's recently had a great appetite and will pretty much eat anything you put in front of her.  I'm hoping this means she'll move up from the 3rd percentile in weight at her 15 month check up!

When we are ready to say the blessing before a meal, she stretches out her arms and hands, ready to hold hands with whoever is next to her-so sweet!


She can blow her nose when you put a tissue to it (not kidding!).

She is practically running, keeping up with her big sisters that she adores.

When Woody comes home from work, she stretches out her arms and runs to him, saying "Dada" or "Daddy" in the sweetest, most excited voice.


She stays busy.  She "cleans" with washcloths and play brooms, she pulls things out of baskets, cabinets, drawers and thankfully, also puts them back in.


She loves having a purse or a bag on her arm.


She loves music and has some awesome dance moves. :)


She likes climbing on things and has recently mastered the step stool in the bathroom which also means she's gotten into her sister's toothbrushes more than once!


She likes to head butt...this is her "thing" with Arden.  Chloe usually initiates it and they bump foreheads again and again.  She thinks it's hilarious.


Her favorite thing right now at the park is to slide down the slide.  It makes her cackle.




Now that I've told you everything you wanted to know about Chloe (and more! sorry!), here are some pictures from the last couple of months.  It's been awhile, so be prepared, there are a whole lot of them. :)  Sometime in the near future, I'm planning to post about her birthday party, so for now, these are just random shots of her and some fun we had at the fort one afternoon.

no more paci

On Saturday, September 4, 2010, Esther said goodbye to her beloved paci.  We'd been preparing her that once she turned 3, she would be a big girl and not need it anymore.  I was planning a somewhat elaborate way of getting rid of her one and only paci and then it happened... she lost it... not exactly how I'd planned things!  After turning the house upside with still no paci, Woody proceeded to put Arden and Esther down for the night.  What came from their room was not at all what I was expecting... instead of crying I heard giggling, and lots of it!  I must say Woody did a fantastic job of distracting Esther and even after he left the room, we heard giggling and then the silence of two little girls sleeping peacefully.  Wasn't this too easy??  What happened to the little girl from a year ago who could not function without her paci?  Apparently she is all grown up.  We did actually find the one and only paci later that night, but decided to keep it and see how things would go.  Esther has really astonished us... she has not once cried for her paci.  A few nights later, I was holding her and she put her head on my shoulder and said in a very sweet, but sad voice, "Mommy, I need a new paci."  I don't even remember how I responded, but that was all she ever said about wanting another one.  She did go through a couple of weeks where she just didn't seem herself, almost like she was silently mourning the loss of her dear companion.  And the other major change since not having a paci is that she no longer sleeps during naptime.  She went from taking 2-3 hour naps and still sleeping 12 hours at night to not sleeping at all during the day.  At first it was okay, but a week or two into it, her little body could no longer keep up and she started having melt down after melt down.  This part has NOT BEEN FUN, but she seems to be adjusting better now and even though I try and get her to sleep in the afternoons, it's just not happening.  So our little girl is growing up and we are officially a paci free household (since Chloe doesn't take one)-woo hoo!

Here's a quick look back at Esther and her love of paci...

   

oh blog how i miss thee

I promise i haven't forgotten about this blog even though this is probably the longest I've ever gone without posting!  We are still here, still going strong and I have plenty to catch you up on, including a little one's FIRST birthday!  So hopefully that will happen soon, considering she is 13 months old today-eek!!  

Arden's first day of school. ever.

growing up

(I'm a little bit behind...I wrote this almost 2 weeks ago and realized I never finished it or posted it!)


Sometimes I wish that I could hit a pause or even a stop button on life.  The girls are growing up so fast before our eyes.  It really hit me last Sunday when Chloe started walking and we were preparing for Arden to start school the next morning... and with that the realization that Esther will start school next fall!  Needless to say, I was a little "emotional" this last week.  


I thought about the milestones Arden reached this summer... she lost her first two teeth. We were totally not prepared for this-she's four! In July, she began reading! I'm so proud of her.  And even though it's been a couple of months, I'm still so surprised when she reads something aloud to me and I think, "how did you do that?"  The other day she came home from school with a book from the library and sat down and read the entire thing by herself.  I asked if her teacher read it to her or the class, thinking she'd memorized some of it by chance, but no, she'd never heard it before.  It was so neat teaching my students to read and being excited for them when it clicked.  Being a mommy now and watching it "click" for Arden and seeing her excitement is a-mazing!  
  
We also watched old home videos last weekend to show Arden and Esther video from when they first started walking.  Watching Esther learning to walk also meant we heard Arden learning how to talk.  I don't think we've actually looked at these since we took them and so it was really eye opening to hear Arden barely speaking.  (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, this  might help a little bit.)  The Lord has done such a wonderful work in her life and to think that just two years ago she could only say a few words and now she's reading and in preschool is just amazing-praise Him!! 

And the big event... Arden started VPK (K4) on Monday.  She is going 5 days a week from 9 to noon.  I'm sure some of you are thinking, what's the big deal??, so I will tell you.  Beyond Sunday mornings at church and a once a week, 45 min. ballet class she started last year, Arden has always been at home with me.  She's never been in a mother's morning out program or any type of preschool program until now.  I was really hoping for a 2 or 3 day program to ease her (and me) in, but VPK where we live requires 4-5 days.  So our life has taken quite the change this week.  I'm happy to report though, that Arden LOVES school and  was sad when she learned she couldn't go on Saturday.  Being our social one, I knew she would thrive and it has been really fun seeing her so excited.  I also think it has helped me not be so sad.  It's hard to cry when your little girl is so happy!  I will admit to shedding some tears the first day of school.  Woody prayed for Arden before she got out of the car...that started it!  And then I walked her in, helped her find her cubby and seat and she got right to coloring, as happy as can be.  I found myself lingering at the door, not wanting to say goodbye... my little girl was all grown up!  On my way back to the car there were a few more tears shed and that was that.  I did great the rest of the week until Friday morning when I dropped her off in the carline for the first time instead of walking her in.  She was so proud to walk in by herself and I shed a few more tears pulling out of the school.  

I'm not the only one though that had an emotional week.  Life for sweet Esther has also changed.  Her best friend is dropped off at school every day and now she gets more time with Mommy.  I've been looking forward to this time with Esther and I've seen glimpses of how much she is also enjoying it, but for most of the week, she seemed to long for her sister.  I think she was also just confused for most of the week about what was going on.  On the days she went with either me or Woody to take Arden, she took her backpack and said she was going to school too.  It was really sweet, but also made my heart really sad!  I'm thankful that A and E are so close and it has been really neat to watch them go straight into playing together when we come home after school.


So if you're still reading this and wondering where all my emotional rambling is going... I guess it really struck me this week how fast our girls are growing and how life is changing.  I'm so grateful that the Lord has blessed our lives with each of them and provided the opportunity for me to stay at home with them.  I want to make sure I'm making the most of each day to love and nurture them, train them according to His Word, and of course be silly and have dance parties and tea parties too!  I know they're all still very young, but I just want to savor as much of life as I can right now.