Getting big!

Norma took these pictures while Ziva was at their house during my parent-teacher conferences last week. Doesn't she look so grown up? (except for the toys in her mouth, of course?)

Converting to Couponism

We are making a major lifestyle change around here: I'm becoming a couponer! My friend Cherissa has been doing this for over a year now and she just launched a new blog all about it, and seeing the amazing deals that are out there has inspired me to try my hand at saving some cash this way. You can see Cherissa's blog here.

I'm still new so I've got a long way to go before I'm making the most of my coupons, but I've made a couple of good deals this week, and the latest one was at Walgreens yesterday. Here's what I got:

1 box each of Honey Nut Cheerios, Golden Grahams, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch
3 bars of Dove soap
2 Dove invisible solid deodorants
1 Dove cream oil body wash
1 box of Kleenex

The total I paid out of pocket, with tax, was $4.15. My total savings was $28.46! And my out of pocket would have been much lower if I hadn't bought the Kleenex, because I didn't really have a good deal for them, but we really needed them. So there you go! We just wanted to share this great resource in case anyone else is up for a fun challenge. I'm looking forward to the summer so I can devote more time to getting better at this!

Spring (break) cleaning

Today is the first official day of my spring break! (I love having a job that still gets spring break!) During my time off, I have set some substantial goals:

• Ziva's first birthday is in two weeks, so I need to plan her party AND do her baby scrapbook. I bought a scrapbook last summer, but haven't even touched it since then. It's one of those kits that has everything included, so hopefully that will speed the process along. Right now I'm working on sorting out pictures to decide which ones make it into the album.
• Get organized! We're thinking about downsizing to a 2/1 from a 2/2 when our lease is up in May, and that means it would be smart to clean out any accumulated junk. Our closests really need to be cleaned out, so that's first on the list. Even if we don't downsize, we could still use our closets more efficiently.

Hmm, that's about it. It doesn't look like much in bullet form, but it should keep me busy. Plus the weather is supposed to be in the 70s all week, so I'm sure Ziva and I will spend plenty of time playing outside!

Goodnight Kisses

In the past few weeks, Ziva has started giving kisses, and they are so sweet. :) They're mostly open-mouth slobbery smushes, but she's getting better at it. Lately when I'm rocking her before bed, she'll sit up suddenly, give me a kiss, then snuggle back down in my arms. It is so precious, and I try to intentionally savor those moments. Spending my days with teenagers reminds me all the time that Ziva will be a senior in high school before I know it, and things will be different for sure.

She has also taken to dragging around fabric.....anything that's handy, whether it's a blanket, towel, or laundry (clean or dirty, doesn't matter!) I'm not sure if it's the beginnings of a security blanket need, or just a little phase, but it's pretty cute.

Pneumonia

Ziva has pneumonia. We took her to the doctor Thursday aftenoon after she had to come home from school (10 minutes after I dropped her off) with a high fever, coughing, and blah-ness. After listening to her breathe, the doctor ordered a chest x-ray, which was NOT fun for either me or Ziva, but we survived, and it did show pneumonia as the doctor suspected. She also has a double ear infection, poor kid. So we stayed home yesterday, and she's been dosing up on antibiotics, Tylenol and Motrin. Considering all that, she's doing really great. Even when she's sick, she's still a pretty happy baby.

In other news, I'm expecting that after her one year check up in a few weeks, we'll be needing to upgrade to a forward facing car seat. Can anyone who's passed that stage recommend a seat you love? I can spend hours reading recommendations on-line, or trust people I know. Sounds like a no brainer. :)

Serious Bed Head

Okay, I found the cord, so here we go!

Yesterday morning Ziva woke up with the CRAZIEST hair we have seen yet! Above is the side view, and below is the full effect...
Vince put a little bit of gel in it before we went to school so she could sport her wild bed head all day. It was quite the conversation piece, as you can imagine! :)

Wearing Grandma and Grandpa's Valentine's Day shirt...love you Grandma and Grandpa!

Doesn't she look just like her daddy in this one? She loves playing in our bed, but she's started having almost as much fun playing in her crib too.

Pictures soon

I was all ready to finally post some new pictures after way too long, and now I can't find the cord to download the pictures, so it will have to wait a little bit longer. But, so as not to disappoint, here are a few of Ziva's "favorites" to entertain you:

Food: Cheerios (hands down!!)
Place to play: Mom and Dad's bed
Parent: Daddy (this doesn't hurt my feelings...I'm sure my turn will come)
Book: "Let's Celebrate God's Blessings on Thanksgiving"
Toy: This one changes so often it's hard to say, but some top competitors are pots and pans, blocks, and anything she's not supposed to have
Chore: Unloading the dishwasher
Bath game: Splashing
Song: The Alphabet Song
School activity: Stealing the other babies' pacifiers
New skill: clapping

Okay, I'm off to search some more for the cord....hopefully I'll have some pictures up soon!