I know it's been a million years since I've done a true post, but don't expect this to be the catch-up you're sitting on the edge of your seat for. But, you get to witness a BIG milestone in the Chambers household...Toby's started crawling! (yes, I know, nothing will ever be the same)
Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a quick video of some of his first crawl "steps" ^_^
Love in Christ ~ Valerie (& Toby, the speed demon)
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Photos Posted!!
Thanks to Toby's lazy morning (he's sleeping in!), I've finally taken the opportunity to upload photos to our Picasa website. There are two new albums, one for Christmas photos and one for 2011 photos to date. (BTW, click "Christmas photos" and "2011 photos to date" for the links.) There are also a few new videos in the "video" folder, though I'm not done sorting through those yet. Keep watching for updates there.
Hope you enjoy!!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
Hope you enjoy!!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
Friday, April 8, 2011
Feeding the Monster
RAAWWRRR. This is the sound of a monster. Or, in our case, the monster's tummy. Poor Toby's tummy was ready for solid foods several weeks ago but, due to traveling and such, I held him off until just last week. But now we're two weeks into the wonderful world of rice cereal, green beans, squash, and peas and we're loving it. Or at least we're entertained by it! ^_^ And now, you can be too!
At first, Toby would only eat cereal in his favorite place - the bathtub
"You want me to replace my thumb with whaaat?"
"If I have to eat, I think I prefer the plastic."
Next step, green beans in the high chair
"This isn't as good as I imagined it would be - bring back the cereal!"
"Hey cameraman, can you save me from the cafeteria lady?"
Moving on to squash...much more acceptable
Squash is excellent for your skin, everyone says so
Toby's done such a good job at eating, even the green beans after the first introduction. We've now moved him on to peas (yuck, I know) and have a lineup of carrots, spinach, and sweet potatoes before giving him bananas and applesauce. No allergic reactions thus far, and all indications point to Toby loving mealtime. Finally, the monster's tummy is satisfied!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
At first, Toby would only eat cereal in his favorite place - the bathtub
"You want me to replace my thumb with whaaat?"
"If I have to eat, I think I prefer the plastic."
Next step, green beans in the high chair
"This isn't as good as I imagined it would be - bring back the cereal!"
"Hey cameraman, can you save me from the cafeteria lady?"
Moving on to squash...much more acceptable
Squash is excellent for your skin, everyone says so
Toby's done such a good job at eating, even the green beans after the first introduction. We've now moved him on to peas (yuck, I know) and have a lineup of carrots, spinach, and sweet potatoes before giving him bananas and applesauce. No allergic reactions thus far, and all indications point to Toby loving mealtime. Finally, the monster's tummy is satisfied!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Just Roll With It
Well, after spending the last couple weeks rolling from back to tummy in the crib, on the playmat, etc, Toby figured out how to complete the cycle today! It was kind of random - we just put him down on the playmat to let him work out some excess energy before bed and then *whoops* there he went! I managed to get the affair on camera because I've noticed him leaning to one side when lying on his tummy, like he wanted to get over but couldn't make it. We're really excited about this milestone, but know that life as we've known it (with an immobile child) is now over. Oh, and we're going to go shopping tomorrow for a living room rug to avoid any concussions on the tile floor. ^_^
Check out my rolling boy!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
Check out my rolling boy!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
Thursday, February 17, 2011
A whole 'nother month!
Admit it, you gave up on ever reading words of wisdom again from this blog. OK, for those of you who just thought "and when have we ever seen words of wisdom from this blog", you're banned from the rest of this entry. And, no, you don't get to look at the fabulously adorable photos of my Toby. Well, maybe you can look at the photos. He's too cute not to share.
We're now coming up to Toby's 5-month "birthday" - SO hard to believe! The last month or so has been interesting when I've thought to myself along the way "last year at this time, we were thinking ___ about Baby C". We told our parents they were going to be grandparents last Valentine's Day, so I had a little special moment on Monday when I remembered those conversations. So crazy to remember something that now seems so far away and then look down at my baby boy. Babies just change too quickly; that's the problem!
Speaking of change, Toby has undergone a ton of it this month. He's so much more aware of his surroundings, actively reaching for anything he wants (which is everything). He especially loves things that appear "shiny" to him, like my glasses, water bottles, plastic wrap, or my wedding rings. Hmm...a son who's attracted to shiny stones...maybe this bodes well for future Mother's Day presents? ^_^ He tries to put things in his mouth, and is sometimes successful, but isn't quite coordinated enough to connect item to mouth on a consistent basis yet. He's also rolling over from back to tummy with great (and annoying) frequency. Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out that he can do the reverse, so he winds up mad about the extra "Tummy Time" and lets me know about it. The unfortunate part is that he often flips over in his sleep, making the discovery at the most inconvenient times during the night. His last "trick" is sitting up when propped on the couch, bed, my lap, etc. He's not totally steady yet, so I have to be watchful for face-plants into the cushions, but that's why I sit him up on soft things. Not ready to tackle sitting on the tile floor yet. But it's so cool to step back and watch him just sit on the couch and play with a toy...like a REAL boy!
Toby's finally gotten the hang of this thing we call sleep. For the longest time, he only napped in 45 minute increments and spent too much time during the night crying. With much work at being consistent, I've gotten him into a predictable nap routine and he goes down with no crying for naps or an early bedtime. AND he wakes up happy (usually) instead of the close-eyed wailing he used to wake with. Though a huge part of the sleep success is attributed to the aforementioned consistency, it also took some acceptance on my part (and support on J.Paul's) that we were just going to have to deal with some crying. We don't have horror stories of hearing baby cry for hours every time we put him down, but there's definitely been a mindset shift in our house of checking the video monitor first when he cries out and deciding if he actually needs us or if he's just crying to cry. It didn't take long for all of us to figure each other out...and Toby to figure himself out. Going in to see him after a good nap or night is the best part of my day - his smile and giggles are precious. And the cool thing about me going back to work (more about that in a minute) is that Toby needs to be getting up right about the time that J.Paul has to leave for work, so he gets to enjoy that special time with him 3 mornings out of the work week now.
Last time I blogged, I'd signed a Letter of Intent for my very own accounting class this semester, but wasn't 100% sure the class would make the minimum enrollment requirements. Well, we squeaked by with the minimum and I've been teaching for 4 weeks now. I LOVE IT! Helping students grasp a new concept is an incredibly rewarding experience. And then when they turn around and tell me that my class is their favorite (even after they got back their first exam grades)...well, let's just say I often leave campus on Cloud 9. The school's offered me this same class as well as a second one for the fall semester and I'm prayerfully considering accepting them both. It's made into a much tougher decision due to the schedule - I would have to drive out to campus every day because they weren't able to put the classes on the same day. But I've spoken with Ami, Toby's amazing caretaker, and she's willing to watch him every day. Now I have to think about the time I'll miss with Toby and decide 1) how much time I'll actually miss with him and 2) is it worth that time missed? I don't feel like there would be an excessive amount of time taken away from us, but that's where I'm stuck right now. I have the choice to take just one class, too, so it's not like it's all or nothing...but the offer's out there. We'll have to see where I feel the Lord leading me.
J.Paul just finished (like, 45 minutes ago) his last exam for this section of MBA classes. Only 4 more months of classes left - yay!! It will be a welcome change to have him at home on weeknights again. But as much as he'll enjoy playing with Toby and chatting with me, I know he'll miss the challenge of his classes and the social time with other professionals. This MBA program has been a great experience for him; we're extremely grateful that his company provided the means for him to do it and I'm SO thankful that Toby has been an easy baby to handle on my own in the evenings.
OK, you came to see pictures. Don't deny it. I'll put a few in here, and I promise I'm working to get our Picasa albums updated. It takes a while to go through our mega-pixel photos and resize/resave them all, so thanks for your patience. And now, here's Toby!
Watching A&M lose the Cotton Bowl with Dad
Loving the play mat
"Hanging" out
Sitting up and chewing...what a multi-tasker
So much entertainment! Notice the wooden train bookends on the bookshelf made by my grandfather!
Tummy Time is fun...for a few minutes, at least
My big boy sitting up and posing on the couch
Have a blessed night!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
We're now coming up to Toby's 5-month "birthday" - SO hard to believe! The last month or so has been interesting when I've thought to myself along the way "last year at this time, we were thinking ___ about Baby C". We told our parents they were going to be grandparents last Valentine's Day, so I had a little special moment on Monday when I remembered those conversations. So crazy to remember something that now seems so far away and then look down at my baby boy. Babies just change too quickly; that's the problem!
Speaking of change, Toby has undergone a ton of it this month. He's so much more aware of his surroundings, actively reaching for anything he wants (which is everything). He especially loves things that appear "shiny" to him, like my glasses, water bottles, plastic wrap, or my wedding rings. Hmm...a son who's attracted to shiny stones...maybe this bodes well for future Mother's Day presents? ^_^ He tries to put things in his mouth, and is sometimes successful, but isn't quite coordinated enough to connect item to mouth on a consistent basis yet. He's also rolling over from back to tummy with great (and annoying) frequency. Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out that he can do the reverse, so he winds up mad about the extra "Tummy Time" and lets me know about it. The unfortunate part is that he often flips over in his sleep, making the discovery at the most inconvenient times during the night. His last "trick" is sitting up when propped on the couch, bed, my lap, etc. He's not totally steady yet, so I have to be watchful for face-plants into the cushions, but that's why I sit him up on soft things. Not ready to tackle sitting on the tile floor yet. But it's so cool to step back and watch him just sit on the couch and play with a toy...like a REAL boy!
Toby's finally gotten the hang of this thing we call sleep. For the longest time, he only napped in 45 minute increments and spent too much time during the night crying. With much work at being consistent, I've gotten him into a predictable nap routine and he goes down with no crying for naps or an early bedtime. AND he wakes up happy (usually) instead of the close-eyed wailing he used to wake with. Though a huge part of the sleep success is attributed to the aforementioned consistency, it also took some acceptance on my part (and support on J.Paul's) that we were just going to have to deal with some crying. We don't have horror stories of hearing baby cry for hours every time we put him down, but there's definitely been a mindset shift in our house of checking the video monitor first when he cries out and deciding if he actually needs us or if he's just crying to cry. It didn't take long for all of us to figure each other out...and Toby to figure himself out. Going in to see him after a good nap or night is the best part of my day - his smile and giggles are precious. And the cool thing about me going back to work (more about that in a minute) is that Toby needs to be getting up right about the time that J.Paul has to leave for work, so he gets to enjoy that special time with him 3 mornings out of the work week now.
Last time I blogged, I'd signed a Letter of Intent for my very own accounting class this semester, but wasn't 100% sure the class would make the minimum enrollment requirements. Well, we squeaked by with the minimum and I've been teaching for 4 weeks now. I LOVE IT! Helping students grasp a new concept is an incredibly rewarding experience. And then when they turn around and tell me that my class is their favorite (even after they got back their first exam grades)...well, let's just say I often leave campus on Cloud 9. The school's offered me this same class as well as a second one for the fall semester and I'm prayerfully considering accepting them both. It's made into a much tougher decision due to the schedule - I would have to drive out to campus every day because they weren't able to put the classes on the same day. But I've spoken with Ami, Toby's amazing caretaker, and she's willing to watch him every day. Now I have to think about the time I'll miss with Toby and decide 1) how much time I'll actually miss with him and 2) is it worth that time missed? I don't feel like there would be an excessive amount of time taken away from us, but that's where I'm stuck right now. I have the choice to take just one class, too, so it's not like it's all or nothing...but the offer's out there. We'll have to see where I feel the Lord leading me.
J.Paul just finished (like, 45 minutes ago) his last exam for this section of MBA classes. Only 4 more months of classes left - yay!! It will be a welcome change to have him at home on weeknights again. But as much as he'll enjoy playing with Toby and chatting with me, I know he'll miss the challenge of his classes and the social time with other professionals. This MBA program has been a great experience for him; we're extremely grateful that his company provided the means for him to do it and I'm SO thankful that Toby has been an easy baby to handle on my own in the evenings.
OK, you came to see pictures. Don't deny it. I'll put a few in here, and I promise I'm working to get our Picasa albums updated. It takes a while to go through our mega-pixel photos and resize/resave them all, so thanks for your patience. And now, here's Toby!
Watching A&M lose the Cotton Bowl with Dad
Loving the play mat
"Hanging" out
Sitting up and chewing...what a multi-tasker
So much entertainment! Notice the wooden train bookends on the bookshelf made by my grandfather!
Tummy Time is fun...for a few minutes, at least
My big boy sitting up and posing on the couch
Have a blessed night!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
Monday, January 3, 2011
Goodbye 2010!
Wow - 2010 was probably one of the busiest years of my life thus far. And it was certainly the busiest of Toby's! To think that I began the year by finding out (on January 19, 2010) that we were going to be adding another Chambers to the family and ended it with a 3-month old baby in tow. In the middle of all the baby stuff, I completed my Master's degree, J.Paul finished the first 12 months of his 18-month MBA program, I taught 2 classes at ASU, and I signed a Letter of Intent to have my very own class at Mesa Community College beginning in just a few weeks. Not sure what else we could have crammed in there. Let's hope 2011 offers some opportunity to slow down...but I doubt it will. ^_^
We had a fantastic time spending two weeks in Washington DC with my family for Christmas and New Year's. It was a perfect vacation for our whole family. Toby was held and played with to his heart's content by his grandparents and great grandparents, J.Paul got to take a break from work and school for two whole weeks, and I got to remember what it was like not to have to be at a baby's beck and call while he was entertained by everyone else. Ahh...life was very nice! Toby did beautifully on the plane rides up and back, though we have learned that flying in the morning (like we did going out) is a little easier on him than flying at night (like we did coming back). His schedule has been a little messed up now that we're back home, but he's quickly getting back into the swing of things. He's on his second good nap of the day at the moment, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll have a good night tonight.
In the big scheme of things, we only spent two weeks on vacation. But in "Toby Time", that's a lot - 14.29% of his lifetime, actually! His development really accelerated while we were gone. When we first arrived, I was telling my parents about my concern that he wasn't yet reaching and grasping things when I played with him. Then, within just a day or two, he started reaching out to play with the reindeer on his Christmas footie PJs. From there on out, he was more intentional about reaching for toys on his bouncy chair and for the socks or footies on his feet. Uncle Andrew gave him the Lamaze Captain Calamari toy for Christmas and Toby couldn't take his eyes off of it or quit reaching for it. Amazing! Toby also rolled over for the first time on December 26, both from back to front (in the morning on his changing table) and from front to back (in the evening while doing Tummy Time). He hasn't yet given me a repeat performance that I can capture on video...but he hasn't really spent much time on a flat surface either. Too many arms or bouncy chairs to keep him captivated. ^_^ Speaking of keeping him captivated, it was also interesting (if that's the right word) to see Toby develop a little bit of a demanding personality. He very much enjoyed the attention lavished on him and was reluctant to allow that attention to shift away for too long. A few times, we heard weak "cries" that would magically disappear once he was picked up. He's going to have to get over that now that we're home and I'm the only one on Toby Duty. One last accomplishment that I hope he doesn't abandon now that we're home (though he probably will since everyone isn't here to wear him out) - Toby slept through the night - as in, all night for 10-12 hours - every night but the last while we were gone. SOOO wonderful! Keep it up, little man!
OK, now for some pictures. This will just have to be a little taste, since we have a gazillion photos between ours, my parents', and my grandparents' cameras. I'll work on creating a Christmas Picasa album and add a link to the blog once we wade through all the pics.
Arriving to freezing weather in DC
We like Uncle Andrew - he feeds us!
Santa came!!
Loving the Captain!
Riding the Metro to the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the American Art museum
First cooking lesson - making scones with Granddaddy
Watch for a Christmas album link later!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
We had a fantastic time spending two weeks in Washington DC with my family for Christmas and New Year's. It was a perfect vacation for our whole family. Toby was held and played with to his heart's content by his grandparents and great grandparents, J.Paul got to take a break from work and school for two whole weeks, and I got to remember what it was like not to have to be at a baby's beck and call while he was entertained by everyone else. Ahh...life was very nice! Toby did beautifully on the plane rides up and back, though we have learned that flying in the morning (like we did going out) is a little easier on him than flying at night (like we did coming back). His schedule has been a little messed up now that we're back home, but he's quickly getting back into the swing of things. He's on his second good nap of the day at the moment, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll have a good night tonight.
In the big scheme of things, we only spent two weeks on vacation. But in "Toby Time", that's a lot - 14.29% of his lifetime, actually! His development really accelerated while we were gone. When we first arrived, I was telling my parents about my concern that he wasn't yet reaching and grasping things when I played with him. Then, within just a day or two, he started reaching out to play with the reindeer on his Christmas footie PJs. From there on out, he was more intentional about reaching for toys on his bouncy chair and for the socks or footies on his feet. Uncle Andrew gave him the Lamaze Captain Calamari toy for Christmas and Toby couldn't take his eyes off of it or quit reaching for it. Amazing! Toby also rolled over for the first time on December 26, both from back to front (in the morning on his changing table) and from front to back (in the evening while doing Tummy Time). He hasn't yet given me a repeat performance that I can capture on video...but he hasn't really spent much time on a flat surface either. Too many arms or bouncy chairs to keep him captivated. ^_^ Speaking of keeping him captivated, it was also interesting (if that's the right word) to see Toby develop a little bit of a demanding personality. He very much enjoyed the attention lavished on him and was reluctant to allow that attention to shift away for too long. A few times, we heard weak "cries" that would magically disappear once he was picked up. He's going to have to get over that now that we're home and I'm the only one on Toby Duty. One last accomplishment that I hope he doesn't abandon now that we're home (though he probably will since everyone isn't here to wear him out) - Toby slept through the night - as in, all night for 10-12 hours - every night but the last while we were gone. SOOO wonderful! Keep it up, little man!
OK, now for some pictures. This will just have to be a little taste, since we have a gazillion photos between ours, my parents', and my grandparents' cameras. I'll work on creating a Christmas Picasa album and add a link to the blog once we wade through all the pics.
Arriving to freezing weather in DC
We like Uncle Andrew - he feeds us!
Santa came!!
Loving the Captain!
Riding the Metro to the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the American Art museum
First cooking lesson - making scones with Granddaddy
Watch for a Christmas album link later!
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Yummy Thumb
Toby's been working on discovering his hands for the past few days but they've been a little elusive...until now! This morning, I let him play in his bouncy chair behind my computer chair and heard a loud sucking sound. Afraid he was gagging or something equally horrible, I whipped around only to find him sucking his thumb. It's getting time for his morning nap, and he just soothed himself right to sleep. His Grandpa (the dentist) won't be so thrilled, but we'll work to make sure the thumb sucking isn't a habit. ^_^ I caught a little video of the moment - sorry for the light quality, I didn't want to disrupt him by turning on the overhead light.
It's been a joy to watch Toby grow and learn new things. I feel as if I'm getting to conquer the new world with him. When he smiles and "talks" to me, it's like there's nothing else that needs to be done but sit and play with him. Which is why not a lot gets done around my house right now. Haha!
With the advent season upon us (already!), it's been neat to have an infant in my arms everyday, reminding me of baby Jesus. I remember thinking last Christmas, when my friend Sari was 8 months pregnant with her own little boy, how amazing it would be to feel like Mary did before she gave birth to Jesus...especially right at Christmas. Now, I've had the experience of anticipating my firstborn son's birth and I get to marvel at his growth and think about how Jesus, born human just like us, went through the same growth experiences. I wonder if Mary ran to tell Joseph when Jesus smiled at her for the first time, or when he sucked his thumb, or if the two of them devoted time to just sitting with baby Jesus on their laps cooing at each other. We forget that Jesus was really a human baby, since we usually think of Him as an adult, beginning His ministry on earth and dying to give us salvation. But He went through the same milestones as my Toby...awesome!
The downside of looking at my own son and being reminded of Jesus is the follow-up reminder than my precious baby is still human. That means that my smiling, adorable little boy has a sinful nature in him that will turn him into a lying or angry person someday. It makes me want to cry to think that. But then I'm immediately reminded of the beauty of salvation. That baby Jesus grew up to be mine and my son's savior, to replace our horrible sinful selves with God's righteousness. It's beyond incredible to have that glorious reminder in front of me every day. For me, this advent season is one of new awareness of God's love for us and how wonderful the gospel is. I'm excited to celebrate that this Christmas with my expanding family.
I hope your advent season has begun with a beautiful start, beginning with a time to be thankful for the many blessings we've been given in our families, homes, and lives.
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
It's been a joy to watch Toby grow and learn new things. I feel as if I'm getting to conquer the new world with him. When he smiles and "talks" to me, it's like there's nothing else that needs to be done but sit and play with him. Which is why not a lot gets done around my house right now. Haha!
With the advent season upon us (already!), it's been neat to have an infant in my arms everyday, reminding me of baby Jesus. I remember thinking last Christmas, when my friend Sari was 8 months pregnant with her own little boy, how amazing it would be to feel like Mary did before she gave birth to Jesus...especially right at Christmas. Now, I've had the experience of anticipating my firstborn son's birth and I get to marvel at his growth and think about how Jesus, born human just like us, went through the same growth experiences. I wonder if Mary ran to tell Joseph when Jesus smiled at her for the first time, or when he sucked his thumb, or if the two of them devoted time to just sitting with baby Jesus on their laps cooing at each other. We forget that Jesus was really a human baby, since we usually think of Him as an adult, beginning His ministry on earth and dying to give us salvation. But He went through the same milestones as my Toby...awesome!
The downside of looking at my own son and being reminded of Jesus is the follow-up reminder than my precious baby is still human. That means that my smiling, adorable little boy has a sinful nature in him that will turn him into a lying or angry person someday. It makes me want to cry to think that. But then I'm immediately reminded of the beauty of salvation. That baby Jesus grew up to be mine and my son's savior, to replace our horrible sinful selves with God's righteousness. It's beyond incredible to have that glorious reminder in front of me every day. For me, this advent season is one of new awareness of God's love for us and how wonderful the gospel is. I'm excited to celebrate that this Christmas with my expanding family.
I hope your advent season has begun with a beautiful start, beginning with a time to be thankful for the many blessings we've been given in our families, homes, and lives.
Love in Christ ~ Valerie
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