Christmas Tree

I would just like to start by saying that I think Christmas is both more fun and more work with a mobile child J

This year I put lots of thought into what decorations I would use and where we would put them. I want to encourage Rose’s curiosity and make our home as child friendly as possible. That said, some things are just off limits and it is good for Rose to learn boundaries.

Anyway, I only don’t let Rose touch/play with anything that is breakable and so could possibly hurt her. I set my stuffed penguins on a table where she can reach them and we often play with them.

I also let Rose look through our holiday cards from friends and family.

And we decided to decorate the tree to allow Rose to redecorate and play with the decorations as much as she wants. SO, I very craftily (yes, that is a word!) made snowflakes from Rose’s finger paint artwork for the tree (and I hung some from the ceiling too) and for the first time ever I dried oranges (it took about 12 hours!). We do have a few special ornaments where Rose cannot reach them ;)

Rose and I also made Christmas cookies to keep our energy up as we decorated the tree. I think Rose definitely takes after her mommy in the kitchen and I see LOTS of baking in our future (lucky daddy!). 

So with all this preparation we were ready to get our tree :)

Uncle Bruce and Aunt Kate had purchased some trees to sell at the farm, so we traveled there this morning and Roes picked out a beautiful Blue Spruce.

Then decorations…

And redecorating…

And redecorating…all evening long! I would say Rose definitely enjoys her tree this year.

On another note, we have been dealing with leaky diapers when Rose sleeps overnight. I tried so many types of inserts in my pocket diapers, but the only thing that seemed to do the trick was some hemp inserts and a Grovia disposable insert. I really didn't like that though, because although it was keeping Rose dry for 11+ hours at night, I now was not completely using cloth. SO, I got some fitteds and a wool cover! I was *Super* scared of wool, it is just totally different then other types of cloth diapering systems. But two nights in and Rose is DRY J So by the end of Rose’s diapering experience I will be very versed in all methods of cloth diapering; I guess I’ll just stack that information somewhere in my brain and when I’m 90 in some home, I’ll tell all the little Girl Scouts who come to visit about cloth diapering J

Ok, on a final note, you may have noticed there's a new look to the blog (if you didn't feel free to notice now). Anyway, since Rose is a bit older, I thought we were ready for a different background and I also wanted to give the blog a fresh look in preparation for a 'spike' in traffic in February. One of the cloth diaper blogs asked for people to submit their birth stories to share on their site the first Friday of each month. I submitted mine and was chosen for February! I am always excited to share my story when asked, I realize that the birth Justin and I chose for Rose is not for everyone and I am sensitive that other's who do hope to have a birth like ours end up having to pursue different birth experiences. That said, I am really fulfilled with how Rose's birth went and can't imagine having a better experience. I enjoy sharing it with others to encourage them to consider all the options or simply be more aware of how to be involved in the birthing process.