For Christmas, Eisley got a baby doll and aptly named her Doma. Seriously, we asked Eisley what the doll’s name was on multiple occasions and she refers to her as Doma. We think Eisley is going to love being a big sister.

I can’t deny my love for 90′s hip hop, including Bone Thugs ‘N Harmony. So great.

But this isn’t about Bizzy, Layzie or the rest of the crew. Nor is this about Brittney Spears’ 2002 commercial failure. It’s about the reality of being at those crossroads in life, and sometimes feeling helpless.

This particular crossroads is the perennially, hotly-argued vaccine debate. I’m not here to promote one side or the other, nor am I really looking for anyone to win me to their side. We have a plan for our family that we feel comfortable with. It took a lot of research, wisdom, prayer, and ultimately faith.

I should say, “had” a plan. We got a letter from the clinic that our pediatrician is part of saying they will terminate their relationship with us if we don’t comply to the CDC recommended schedule. This came as a complete shock because our pediatrician has been VERY good about presenting the available options, voicing concerns one way or the other, and then leaving the decision up to us. And she supports whatever decision we make. Now our hand is being forced to make a decision, comply with the CDC or find a new doc. Which isn’t easy as more and more doctors are feeling the pressure to follow the CDC recommendations and thereby leaving any freedom on the parents’ part at the door.

I’m not here to bag on the CDC either. I understand why they have recommended what they have, but I also feel that some recommendations are unnecessary. For example, do we really need a chicken pox vaccine? Our generation and generations past lived through it. But I digress.

And I’m not here to bag on big pharma. But I will say that, and I can speak from my own heart, people are more often motivated by money than doing good. I know I am. Just saying.

So what do we do? This is our current crossroads, but it’s not like it’s the first crossroads in our family, marriage or individual lives. We do what we always do: seek wisdom, seek God, seek faith. I fully, 100% trust in God’s goodness, but the hard part is it doesn’t always look how I want. We do our due diligence, ask tough and important questions and pray for God’s goodness to reign in our life. Whatever the outcome, we have to have faith that God is bigger. God has shown up in BIG ways in our life, and we have to trust His faithfulness is better than our faithfulness.

Besides, we could always get in a car accident on the way home.

Hello old friend, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? And I’m going to bring it with a little bit of a downer.

Daily I get an email from a health magazine with some nutrition tips, and today it focused on kids’ health. It caught my eye because I agree with Jamie Oliver, Michelle Obama, and the rest of the crazies out there that our kids are getting fat and it’s OUR fault. We feed them quick, easy, processed junk that is destroying them inside and out. There are plenty of factors – cost, time, convenience – but this email had 6 great tips. One struck a bit close to home.

Rule #5: SET AN EXAMPLE (ESPECIALLY YOU, DAD)

The portion of America’s food dollars spent on meals out increased from 34 percent to 48 percent between 1974 and 2008. Parents’ increasing penchant for restaurant food can translate to nutritionally unsound decisions by kids.

One recent study laid the heaviest blame on fathers. Researchers at Texas A&M University say dads carry the most influence largely because when they take their kids to the Mickey D’s, it’s often as a treat or some sort of celebration. This enforces the idea that unhealthy eating is positive. Mothers, on the other hand, often choose fast food due to time constraints, so the food doesn’t hold as much psychological sway.

Since Katie became pregnant with Eisley, our diet changed radically. And I have to commend Eisley, she eats veggies like a champ. Her favorite food is broccoli and the kid LOVES rice. And sweets are highly moderated. And you know what, she’s fine with that! Just a bit of conditioning and will power on the parents part.

The reason rule #5 struck me was in part about food, but maybe more so the psychological side of things. In our home, dad works all day and mom stays home. Though this trend has been waning in American culture in recent decades, I think there is still a psychology of reward with fathers, and maybe it has snuck into the mentality of working mothers. In some ways, you feel guilty for being gone all the time, and then harping on your kids to eat right. You’d rather not fight the dinner fight and just give them what they want, and let’s face it, the heart wants sweetened batter fried buttery goodness.

Not to toot my own horn (ahem, beep beep), but I think we have done a pretty good job throttling the desire to just give in. We have certainly seen the benefit of being steadfast at the dinner table, and we have a happy, healthy kid to show for it. Sure, some nights there are a lot of tears, and I mean A LOT. But the perseverance is worth it.

Maybe we all need to slow down, spend less money on ourselves and on better food, and take time to appreciate the dinner.

So suck it up dads, otherwise your kids won’t live long enough to be grateful for your discipline.

Check out the full article here.

In case you’re not hip with the lingo, and yes, we are, “the haps” is the super cool way of saying, “we haven’t blogged in a long time so we should probably let everyone know what is going on with the Saldanha’s because they all care so much.” You know you do, moms.

So what has been going on? A lot, actually. Currently, Katie is super sick and Eisley is napping, so that leaves me with blogging. We are officially 12 days away from Eisley’s first birthday, which is insane to us! She has been growing and a-growing. A lot of our activities are winding down for the semester, so we’re excited to welcome warm weather and a lighter schedule.

Rather than tell you what’s going on, here’s a look into the daily life of the Saldanha’s the last few weeks.

Today is a day America celebrates one of the greatest moments in history, the marriage of Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis. But in our household, that occasion is overshadowed by the birth of the Amazing Kathryn Ann Carlston Saldanha. (Yes, “Amazing” was on her birth certificate, but due to legal matters was later expunged).

I can’t even begin to tell how amazing Katie Annie really is, so those who know her best compiled this appropriately numbered list of reasons everyone loves Kathryn!

1.  She can bend a book like nobody’s business
2.  She will keep doing whatever she’s doing to get your attention until you make eye contact
3.  She’s FUNNNNNNY!!!! / Endless ability to make up jokes / Comatose!
4.  She has to explain her jokes
5.  She’s a wonderful mommy
6.  The softness in her voice when she talks about Eisley
7.  Wanting to be the best wife and mother she can be
8.  The way she loves and honors Christopher
9.  She has a huge heart / Her tender heart / Her loving heart
10.  The ability to care so much it hurts
11.  She shows love and compassion to everyone she meets
12.  She lights up a room when she enters
13.  She is just dang fun to be around
14.  Two words: air heels
15.  She’s a crazy worrier!
16.  Her volume!
17.  Her performances!
18.  Her infectious laughter
19.  Her olfactory expertise
20.  Her dancing abilities
21.  Her fondness for Gasians
22.  Puts family before anything else in this world / She always puts her family first and she loves us like crazy
23.  She loves her nephews like they were her own sons
24.  The look in her nephews’ eyes when they see their Katie
25.  The fact that random strangers stop Josh at the mall because they know his children
26.  She loves celebrating others
27.  Spontaneous singing about anything and everything / There is always a song in her heart and on her lips
28.  Her desire to REALLY understand God / Her desire to be a woman of God
29.  The fact that she can scare herself by whispering her name in the dark
30.  She gave us Chris

I swear, that last one wasn’t my idea. Love you, my sweet, beautiful, funny, charming, intelligent, kind, loving KK!

It’s official: Eisley is crawling. Friday night she decided to crawl an as anniversary present for Grandma and Grandpa Carlston, who, by the way, celebrate their 35th year of marriage tomorrow. Pretty amazing.

Miss E used to be content on the floor playing with blocks or just laying on her back looking at Colin P. Owl or Bunners, but now she insists on keeping on the move.

There’s no stopping her now…

My days have become pretty monotonous…routine is a prettier word…my days have become pretty routine:

• Feed Eisley at 7:00 a.m.
• Play with Miss Eisley on her playmat/bouncy seat/in Daddy’s lap – look at animals
• Kiss Daddy goodbye
• Lay E down for a nap
• Wake E up at 10:00 a.m. to eat.
• Play with Miss Eisley on her playmat/bouncy seat/in my lap – look at animals
• Lay E down for a nap
• Kiss Daddy hello as he comes home for lunch
• Turkey hummus wrap
• Kiss Daddy goodbye
• Wake E up at 1:00 to eat
• Play with Miss Eisley on her playmat/bouncy seat/in my lap – look at animals
• Lay E down for a nap
• Wake E up at 4:00 to eat (watch Oprah while feeding. But only if it’s a good one. If it’s about money issues/something seedy/Julia Roberts – turn it off)
• Kiss Daddy hello as he comes home for the evening!
• Play with Miss Eisley on her playmat/bouncy seat/in daddy’s lap – look at animals
• Lay E down for a nap
• Have dinner with Handsome Husband (usually something he has whipped up!)
• Wake E up at 7:00 to eat
• Play with Miss E…you get the idea.
• Bathtime!
• Nap
• Wake E up at 9:30ish for her goodnight snack. Jammies on, humidifier on, monitor on, King of Queens on for mommy & daddy’s viewing pleasure.
• Pray for Miss E before she retires for the evening.
• Bedtime for all.

See what I mean? A little repetitive, a lot wonderful. But if I let it, this routine could get me down. Yes, this is what I have always wanted – to be a mommy with a beautiful baby staying at home with said baby – but the adjustment has the makings of woe-is-me. Repetitive, unglamourous, the same day after day. I love my family, my munchkin, my husband, my little home with all my might and I am so thankful this is my life now. And it is IMPERITIVE that I remember that every little thing is an absolute gift. Here is a beautiful thought from Mr. G.K. Chesterton from Orthodoxy:

“A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore. Heaven may encore the bird who laid an egg.”

Okay, GK! You got me!
May we revel in the beauty of the everyday. May I see how the sun hits the mirror at 6:00 p.m. making our whole living room glow and be glad for our little house. May I breathe deeply the smell of Chris’ coffee in the morning and be grateful to have a husband who goes to work to provide for us. May I hear Miss E’s cries from her crib and be thankful that I can be at home with her to hear her cry.

May we revel in the beauty of the everyday.

James 1:17 – “EVERY good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” I guess even our Heavenly Father is kind of “monotonous”…must be an okay thing…

We did it! We made it to three months! Now we can let off the pedal, right? No? There’s more work to be done?

First off, just take a look at the difference between one month and three months. Baby girl is not only surviving, she’s thriving! I love it! Every day we are in complete awe of who she is and who she’s becoming. Our friend Travis said that every new phase with their daughter is his favorite. We can’t agree more.

So what’s new at three months?

• Bean is sleeping 7.5 – 8 hours a night. How’d we do it? A somewhat firm eat, wake, nap routine courtesy of Becoming Babywise. Haven’t read it? Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. You won’t regret it one bit.
• Homegirl is doing some major tummy time. At first, she would just whine when we got her on her tummy, but now she’s smiling and looking around. She’s always been a pro with her head, but now she’s an all-star!
• We think Eisley has found her voice. See earlier post, Eisley Learns A New Trick. Warning: your heart will melt.
• Lots of smiles. It’s the best. Period.
• Moms work a lot harder than dads. I know this isn’t Eisley related, but I have to throw it in. Seriously, Kate doesn’t get a break. She cares for and teaches/entertains Eisley all day, and when I get home she feels bad for ME if Eisley cries at all. Don’t worry, darling, I’ll be fine. Give yourself a 10-minute break.

It’s hard to put it all down, so that’s just a few highlights. We have loved every minute of Eisley, but are certainly thankful that the newborn phase is behind us. This is getting really, really fun.

Thanks, Jesus, for blessing us with such a wonderkins. We hope we can honor You with how we raise her.

Man, I kinda wish we had these BEFORE we had Eisley! I had no IDEA about some of these!!!!! (Click on the picture to see them up close)

What’s that you say? You want to know which ones are my favorite? Okay!
Lifting Baby
Feeding Baby
Shopping with Baby
Fun Games For Baby
Bonding With Baby (this one inspired this post. I’ve had this one on my fridge for awhile. Then I got to wondering if there were more like this.)
Making Baby Smile (COULD be my all-time #1 favorite)

We have had our share of “ah goo’s” and “coo’s” over the last several weeks, but last night Eisley decided to learn a new trick. Out of no where she just started “hoo-ing” and couldn’t get enough of it. On top of that, she has the cutest face ever.

Sorry babies everywhere, she really is the most precious.

By the way, did you see Jennifer Hudson on the cover of the new InStyle Makeover issue?!?