Sunday, July 3, 2011

Stuff

Hey All,

Hunter is growing up like a weed lately. He has finally started really crawling like a big boy. I don't have a video at the moment, but I'll get one up here when I can. He can climb up stairs, but likes to come down them head first. Not the safest way to do it. So, we bought two more baby gates, taking us up to 3, one for everybody in the house. The joy's of a tri-level house. Hunter is also starting to walk if we hold his hands for him. He loves this but Mom and Dad aren't big fans. Might be looking for a better walking toy for him. Also, looking to get a video of him toddling around like this as well. Been busy but did grab some pics of the local events. Take a look below.

Chillin' with his toys. Takin' er easy.


Practicing for his Senior Pictures in a few years.


Sometimes are better than others!


Playing with Mommy. Hunter likes to stick his tongue out when he is trying to figure stuff out.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Robes and Watermelon

Hey All,

Few nights ago we put Hunter in his robe. He's starting to outgrow it a bit so we wanted to see him in it and get some pictures.




Tonight Hunter got some watermelon for dinner. He's been getting watermelon and has really gotten the hang of it. Take a look.




Nothing further. All is well. Welp, see ya later!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Some Videos

Hey Out there. Remember me?


Anyhooo. Hunter has some new skills these days. On top of his stylin' dance moves he is starting to crawl, like a real boy! He can climb up one step on his own. He's got 2 front bottom teeth and is getting the top ones soon. He's eating like crazy. He can feed himself watermelon still on the rind. It's pretty cute. Picassa album is up to date. Email Jon if you need the link. Due to space constraints the older pics have been pulled down. Again, email if you want them. Here are two videos of Hunter.

Sitting up in the Kitchen.

Giving crawling like a big boy a shot.


Thursday, April 14, 2011

11 months!

Wow, before we know it, Hunter will be 1! I can't believe how fast time has gone! Hunter loves to read books especially ones where he can lift the flap and find something underneath (reading= turn pages faster than mom and dad can read what's on the page!), play with his shape sorter, easter eggs, backwards scooting, and carpet swimming (see the video below!)

With pooh bear... pooh seems so small now!

Mom has been sewing... here's the sun hat she made for Hunter. Hunter is going to his first MLB game on Sunday, to see the Cubbies!

Video time.....




And one more


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Backwards to go forwards

Hey all,

Just a quick update. Hunter is making a concerted effort to crawl these days. He can push himself up on his arms, but when he goes to drive him self forward, he pushes too hard with his arms and scoots back. Looks pretty annoying to him. Sometimes you gotta back up to get where you need to go. If he crawls or I get video of him scooting back, I'll let you all know.

Jon.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Spring and St. Patrick's Day

Hey All,

Not a lot of changes around here. Hunter is still growing well. No major changes. He has learned how to clap and will clap several times in a row, and is pretty excited about it. Spring is beginning to show it's self around here, take a look:



A few of the flowers and such poking out around the yard. Hunter and I were able to get out a bit and hang out in the back yard.



Hunter loves to be outside pretty much anytime he can. Jon likes to get out of the house as well. Got some pictures taken and some yard work done while Hunter played on the blanket.

Hunter got some cute stuff to wear for St. Patrick's Day. Took some work and timing to get a few good pics but here they are.



Gotta keep breakfast off those jammies!



Even though it's warming up, still gotta keep those tootsies warm!



He was pretty excited to wear those socks!

Hunter says BYE!



Saturday, March 12, 2011

Cloth Diappers

Hey All,

Call us hippies or long hairs or even Boulderites. But we use cloth diapers. Works for us. We have one big advantage that I stay home with the kiddo so doing laundry and things like that aren't all having to be done between 5-10pm or taking up our weekends. It also reduces the number, 2 a week, of days that Hunter is in Day Care. Lots of Day Cares don't take cloth diapers. We use disposable diapers for him those two days. I don't know what the numbers are on the "green" side of using cloth diapers over disposables. Based on the volume of trash we throw out and the number of diapers we change, I'm pretty sure we're in the black on that one. If some one knows those numbers I'd love to see them! We could be totally wrong, numbers and feelings don't always agree. But, I do have some numbers. The good ones, the ones that start with these $.

We've just made our last round of cloth diaper purchases, big ones at least. These diapers should be the last ones we have to buy. There will be some additional purchases, like more larger covers and snappies and maybe another tube of butt cream and wipes. But overall our diaper spending is mostly done. So lets look at some numbers, these are the total value new, some of these were gifts:

Cloth Diapers: $300 or so including 2 sizes of prefolds and covers and other types of diapers.
Disposables: $60 or so. We bought some little guy diapers in the first month or so and we have some for Day Care.
Sundries: $50 or so in diaper cream and wipes.
Tools: $20, I built a rig to wash poop out of diapers into the toilet.
Upcoming: $50, guessing on more wipes and such.

I think that's it. So looking at $480 total investment to get the kid in and out of diapers. Which is about 2 years or so (I hope). Looking at $20 a month. Not terrible. You can compare that to what it would be to do the disposable diaper route.

Granted there is additional water and electric used as well as wear and tear on our machines. But I think it's minimal in comparison to having to run the heat between 68 and 70 to keep the kid warm over the 66 we used to set the thermostat.

I've just been thinking about it and if you are looking at changing your income, because of an up coming kid. This might be a money saver. Not sure as I don't really buy diapers so I could be way off base and they could be really cheap. Also as a side note, he doesn't need very much diaper cream because the cloth is softer on him. He does need cream after a day in disposables at daycare. Since we are moving up to bigger stuff for him all the old smaller stuff is unneeded. We can send those back for credit, they go to needy familes, which is good for the $'s and for my heart (Le Sigh). But, if someone wanted to try them out on their babies ass, just let us know. Lastly, I'm a lazy SOB, and I can pull this off, so it can't be that hard.

Questions: There are a few questions we always get. Here they are with our answers.
Q. Isn't it gross that you wash your clothes in the same washing machine as his poopy diapers?
A. 3 things on that. One, We wash and rinse the diapers each time we wash them to make sure it all comes out of the diaper, and the machine. Two, as I mentioned above We thoroughly rinse the solid material out of the diaper before washing. Lastly, kids shit their pants, that is a reality. You don't just throw those pants/onsies/bed sheets away. They get washed as well, we just tack those in with the diapers, not his other clothes.

Q. Don't you spend more on water washing all those diapers?
A. Nope. We spend the minimum that Louisville is willing to charge us on water. There hasn't been a noticeable increase in electric or water bills since moving in. We do two loads a week of diapers only, and one extra a week for baby clothes.

Q. How can you afford to buy all the stuff?
A. Looking at the numbers how can you not afford it? Also, the upfront cost is intimidating and it was a big step for us. The gifts helped a lot (Baby Shower) and I JUST told you we would let you use our old stuff. Now that's cheap!