Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Vintage Pearl

The Vintage Pearl is having a giveaway. Go to this website and enter a comment on their wall for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate! This would be a nice mother's day gift.
The Vintage Pearl

If you haven't check the Vintage Pearl yet, I suggest you do it now. Go. I mean it! You will be amazed at the handstamped jewelry that they made. I love the taste, the design, and the idea they created. I especially like the bird nest with eggs, the secret message ring, the baby's foot prints and even the family names. I am saving up my slurpee* money to get something special. Something that will remind me of my sweet baby boy and my wonderful husband. =)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Thunderstorm...Don't Be Afriad.

For the last few days we have been getting a lot of rains. Don't get me wrong, I do love thunderstorms. I just don't like the freezing cold weather that comes with it. Recently, I bought some really cute baby Spring causal clothes such as blue surfing board shirt and plaids shorts to go with it. Also a new overall! I couldn't resit not getting a summer overall jeans! Conner is only a baby once. I couldn't wait for Conner to try it out and take pictures. But it has been too cold for Spring clothes. Next week, the temperature should go from 50's to 80's! Alright, bring on the SUN!!=)

Last weekend, we had a big thunderstorm. I literally woke up from feeling the thunder. I saw a lot of flashing lights that made me feel like I'm sitting in a photo studio. While I was nursing my baby, I thought how nice it is to cuddle together safe and warm. It made me think of my heavenly Father how He loves to "cuddle" with us in His arms, safe and warm. I remembered a verse that I had memorized a few years back.
 "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken."  Proverbs 3:24-26
Remember, God is telling us not to be afraid. He is asking us to not to worry but to trust in Him. He promises us that we can sleep sweetly when we give away all our fears to God. I smiled when I thought of this. My baby is sleeping so sweetly because he trusts his daddy & mama that we will keep him safe. Just as I trust in God that He too will keep both of us safe.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Dinner At The Family Table!

Tonight, Conner got to try out his very own high chair that is strapped to the chair. He was able to stay upright the entire time! Last few weeks, I tried to see I he was ready for the chair but he kept sliding down or leaning to the side. Now, I'm proud to say my little boy is ready for family dinner time at the table!




-A Proud Mama!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

You Are My Sunshine!

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine! You make me happy when the skies are gray! You'll never know dear how much I love you! Please don't take my sunshine away.

When I hear the song, I thought of my baby boy! I thought of my husband! I thought of all the sunny days that they had gave me. I love trying to sing to my hubby & kid, even though they may think that I'm crazy (I really can't sing ok lol!) but they enjoy seeing me happy. It made my kid smile! Then today, my mom told me that my grandparents sang this song to each other on the way to church. It touched her heart how two of them interacted with each other. It was such a sweet love! I want that for my husband. I want my kid to realize he is my sunshine too!




Sweetheart couple...you are my sunshine!
 
My only Sunshine

You make me happy!


Don't you know how much I love you!

Lyrics
Bing Crosby
You Are My Sunshine

The other night dear, as I lay sleepin',
I dreamed I held you in my arms.
When I awoke dear I was mistaken,
And I hung my head and cried.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know dear how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away.

You told me once dear,
That you really loved me,
And no one else could come between.
But now you've left me.
And you love another.
You have shattered all my dreams.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know dear how much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away.

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Today in church, I learned about not to worry or be afriad. In Phillpiians chapter 4, Paul told the people to have JOY everyday. I'm pretty sure that it is hard to have joy while going through some difficult times. Worry actually drains out the energy that we have. By the time we stop worrying, we are too tired to spend some time with our family, going out to enjoy fellowship with our friends or even to worship God. Worry can cause physical pain such as heachade and back pain. Yes, it seems like that it does not but when we get those phsycial pains we realized we are stressing out over things that troubles us. We have to STOP worrying!When we give our heavenly Father our worries and forget about it. We recvice some amazing peace like a heavy bag has lifted off our shoulder. God is teaching us to depend on Him no matter what.
When I became a mom, I start to get worrying about raising my kid. Will he get enough food? Is he breathing ok at night? Will we have enough money to buy diapers. Will he get sick from other people whenever we go out? My mind is like a busy hornet nest. I did not like it one bit. It drained out my energy that I forgot how to enjoy being a mother. I was reminded from my husband and the pastor of this sermon. Now, I understand better about not to worry & let God take care of us. I hope this helps you in whatever situation you are in.
This video was showed in church and I wanted share to the readers. It's a child who became afriad of his mommy blowing her nose. The noise really scared him but he realized it's ok. His mommy is there to protect him from harm. Then he realized that it's funny because he did not worry about the noise. 


Saturday, March 26, 2011

Banana for My Monkey!

Conner finally is eating from a spoon. He learned how to train his tongue to swallow food. It is a tough job for any baby.

His new favorite food is banana! He goes monkey over this!

-Excited mama!!

Family

Erica (18 months) & Aaron (3 months)
It’s crazy to see how much my brother and I had gone through together. My brother, Aaron, is a year & a half years younger than me. We both just became a parent last year. Never we would thought that having a kid would be such a joy to our life! He has a baby girl who just turn one today (happy birthday Amira)! Both of our kids are already curious about each other. haha! I’m really blessed have these 2 special kids in my life. I do hope that our kids will be great friends as my brother is to me. I love you Aaron & Amira & course my sister-in-law Aubrie too!
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Friday, March 25, 2011

What Goes In Must Come out! (read on your own risk)

Ok ok...what do all moms (& dads) have in common in talking about a baby? It's poop. I'm serious! I'm not even kidding here. Don't run and gag yet but you'll have to understand this. That is what our life is about. It's funny but I know it does sounds gross (I really hope you're not eating your lunch while reading this post). All parents ever talk about beside that cute dimple smiles, is about poop. I can see a mom & a dad at a dinner party talking to a friend.

dad--"He hasn't poop for 3 days!"
mom--"yeah, oh my gosh!!!!! What color was it even suppose to be?!"
friend--- "EWWWwwww!! *gag*"

Here's another example at home.
dad--"HONEY....It's your turn!".
mom--No, I had him all day!"
dad (with a gas mask on & changing the diaper)--"ahhh eww gross! This should be illegal!"

mom in a serious motherly tone--"Really baby Trent? Must you have a big blow-out right after I gave you a bath?"
(of course the baby gave mom a sly grin). It goes on and on! I personally don't think the poop talk will ever end until after the child is fully potty trained. Here's to hoping for the parents! ;)

As for me, I had my very own gag* moment today. My son ate his very 1st solid fruit. It's banana! I love banana and I'm really glad that Conner learned quickly how to be fed with a spoon. I have a video that I will post soon. Anyway, when my husband came home from work, my son finally had a poopy diaper for the day. I was horrified to see a very different kind of poop that looks very much like what he ate. I must stop here so I don't scare you away from my blog forever. haha! Thankfully, my husband came to the rescue after I begged him in the midst of my gagging & wiping my hands off. Whatever life gives you lemon, you make the lemonade right? I love my kid no matter what.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Conner's New Scream

It's time for me to be prepare for that scream every child has when he/she is cranky tired or wants something. Conner had a few moment this past few days. It was crazy watching & hearing him yell the the sound that made me want to turn off my cochlear implant. poor Brian! haha! Conner was really tired. I guess he found a new way of expressing himself. I am learning more and more about what he wants or what he needs. Pretty cool how God created something in every mother's instints to know their child. =)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Jello Everywhere!

This has nothing to do with Conner, but I thought it would be fun to share this recipe. Who knows, maybe your girls will want to have princess jello all pink and white or your boys will want a superhero colors. It can be in any shape too. =)

Do you remember Bill Cobsy and the jello commerical with the little kids? How he would have the kids wiggle like the jello? It's always fun to eat jello! I miss that commerical. I was thinking about him while I made this recipe, glass block holiday jello. This really awesome! I found it on www.ourbestbites.com and decided to make it since it was such a simple recipe. I knew my husband would be excited about this because he loves anything jello. He even considered it as a finger food for super bowl (which I have a little disagreement because it is too slippery haha). This recipe took awhile to make since the first 4 parts of jello has to be set before making the grand finale. Then we had to wait overnight. It's a good time to go to sleep while waiting. =) Here are the pictures!


 4 packs of different colors of jello all ready to be cut up into little squares.

*I used unusual flavors because I dont like lime or lemon. I have pineapple, melon, blackberry fusion and of course grape
Cut-up jello is put into a large pan. Isn't it so colorful and fun?


My 2nd part of jello mix. It is unflavored jello mixed with some water and sweetened condensed milk.


This is what it looks like now. It reminds me of mosaics glass tiles.


My yummy piece of jello! I guess I will count it as a finger food (only for Brian)!

*you can color orgainzed it to the holidays such as red, white and blue for 4th of the July. And so on...
To find the recipe go here...Glass Block Holiday Jello

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A New Name

Growing up, I have always been known as Erica Vance (or Erica June Vance). For some people, they had their name changed for different reasons. Most common ones are by marriage, especially for women who take on their husband's last name. Some may have more than one name or even has a nickname. For me, I got married almost 2 years ago. So my last name had been changed to Green. It's kinda odd & a funny last name to me but it is a simple name. I belong to my husband as he belongs to me. God has blessed our married so much!
Speaking of names, 5 months ago, I recived a new name. It is not about a nickname or permant last name. It is use as a role that someone will call me. It is Mama (or mommy). Mama is a big word for such a small child. It is a word which a child will set the person as a safe haven. Mama is the kind of a person who a child want her to meet all his needs. Mama can give comfort. Mama can feed her child. Mama can teach what is right or wrong. Mama can give love bigger than the moon. It is a very special word. When I was a child, I remember thinking "why does all my friends use the same name as my mom? There is only one mom and I want that word to be only for me to call my mom." Yes, it is odd for children to use the same word, "mom". Can you imagine a whole room full of moms and a child yelling MOM!!!!! Probably every women will run to this chilld to see what is wrong. haha! Anyway, I just had a deep thought about it. I am very glad I a special new name. Thank you God for giving me a role of being a mama!

"A mother is a woman who has conceived, given birth to, or raised a child in the role of a parent." -Wikipedia

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Mama's lil' boy, 5 months old!

Today, I was thinking back on the night Conner was born. I didn't think my heart and world would change that much except knowing that I will be caring for a baby. I knew that I will be busy in taking care of him. It was more than that. Who knew how much that I will be cherishing the moments that Conner had made. Such as smiling for the first time and rolling over on his own! Yes, my life is going be all about poop, spit-ups, kisses & hugs and of course making more memories! I am in for raise this hard-core boy that I hope one day he will love God.

**Lil' bug! I can't believe how much you have grown! You are 5 months old today. You have already made our world a better place. You have been a blessed to mommy and daddy. We love you!


Playing with the tugboat toy
Reading a book is one of your favorite things to do!
especially when we read it together!
You light up my world!
adorable baby feet!!
Conner & mama!
More interesting in dirt than that flower!
you can fly!
That's my baby! he has the Green's cute dimple too!

Turning The Worse Situtaion Into The Best Day Ever!

Ok, some of you may know how I am when it comes to germs. I get random thoughts of how dirt a.k.a. germs can be everywhere. The shopping cart, a fast food's bathroom, the door handle at a local store. I mean it's everywhere! I try not to get nervous around it, especially during flu seasons. My husband tease me about it but hey I can never be too worry about it. When we went food shopping with Conner for the first time. I got my wipes out and cleaned the shopping cart. Crazy, I know. But my baby is a newborn and I would hate to think I didn't do my best to keep the germs away. Well at least moms can try, right?

So, to get the point of my story. We can make the worse case situation into the best time ever. The day the weather has gotten warmer. I asked Brian if we can go check out the new mill at a small park. It was such a warm & beautiful day. We decided to stop at Subway's before heading to the park. I was holding Conner and I realized that Conner had pooped. It was getting full. So I went back to the car to get the diaper bag. I head to the Subway's bathroom thinking that it's better than Hardee's. Wrong. There was no changing table in a one room bathroom. There was not even a countertop table to use. Oh no. It finally came, the worse expereince in finding a place to change diapers in PUBLIC place. What to do? I had to choose this. The floor. Hey, don't go judging me here right now. I pulled out the diaper bag's pad and got some paper towels all over the floor. It was a hard tilting floor (because of the water drain is in the middle of the floor). Little bit colder than I expected. Oh my word....I DON'T HAVE THE WIPES!!!! Where the heck is the wipes? I was thinking noooo!! Fine. I guess the next best thing is to use the hard brown paper towels. I will have to wet it up a little. Of course, Conner was laying there and trying to roll in his poop. I started to get up to wet the paper towel and there it was, the wipe box was sitting under my bottom. hee hee. Finally, it took awhile to clean up Conner's masterpiece and put a clean clothes on him. By the time we started to head out the door, Conner decided to give a big spit-up. Great. I changed him into the last clean clothes I had on hand, his pj's. I was thinking that "life can be messy but just go with the flow". And that's what I did.

I told BG my story. We ate an amazing subway sandwich. We stroll around at a little cute mill park. We took some pictures and sat by the mill. And I even got swing on the big ol' swing! My favorite childhood memory. Loving it!


BG and Conner

Don't judge me. I love to swing!

The neat ol' mill


This is a proof that we live in a countryside area.


Friday, March 11, 2011

Babbling my ears off!

Yesterday morning, I was chatting with my mom on Skype while Conner played in his jumperoo. I kept hearing babbling and cheerful screaming noise. It went on for at least 10 to 15 minutes. I realized that Conner was practicing talking to his stuffed monkey! He was so cute! He would bounce up and down and then turn to look at his monkey, who was riding along with him. He would smile and talk to the monkey. I asked, "Conner, are you talking to? Are you a happy boy?" He talked my ears off! Some of you know that I am wearing my cochlear implant & can alway turn it off. But hey, it's my baby talking his 1st interaction with his toy. I love it! I am enjoying hearing the new sounds that he made. My husband said "it is strange to hear his voice like that because that is what his voice will sound like for the rest of his childhood." That hit me. God gave babies ability to strengthen their voices at early age so that they may learn to talk. They want to express their feelings, their wants and their love. Would you imagine us as a adult just screaming and crying like a baby. And never learned how to talk. What a world it would be. So Conner definitely talked my ears off...in a good way!


-happy mama


Location:At home

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

It's almost Spring time!

Admit it...baby boys do look cute in overall! Today is such a nice warm day so I decided to dressed Conner in his summer overall. Oh look at those chubby legs and squirmy feet! Those long cold winter nights had kept Conner's legs and feet in warm clothes. So, I rarely see his skin except for bath time & big explosive diaper disaster! Anyway, he had so much fun playing with his bare feet. I can't wait for hot summer days and many park visit with my sweet & playful boy!


-A big fan of warm sunny days!