pictures

Here are some pictures from August. Definitely more than ought to be in one post, but.....here they are. Scroll down because the last few pics are my favorites! This month I've been much better about taking pictures. And now that I've learned how to post them hopefully there will be many more, smaller doses, of pictures coming. This month in review: we went to the beach every Tuesday, my tomatoes finally became ripe enough to pick, and I decided to exclusively use cloth diapers. My next post will probably be about what I've learned doing cloth diapers.

Will their relationship always have the sweetness captured here?

This picture reminds me of how much growing our children have left to do. I must not forget to show grace at their immaturity and walk rightly so they have a clear path to follow.

Another picture showing just how little they really are

Mommy, don't forget me! I'm still cute!

This is the only picture from Josiah's 9 month photo shoot that doesn't have motion blur. Sadly, I moved as much as he did! If I could learn to stand still I'd be a much more successful photographer.

Josiah is a well loved baby

We love to scare the little old ladies that live in the neighborhood

There is something wonderful here

Super Hero Ballerina

Bath time usually less relaxing  and more mosh pit like at our house.

She's not allowed to climb the lemon tree if Daddy isn't home anymore because she can go higher than I can! Absolutely 

Peek a boo

Josiah caught red handed

Summer tastes good

My happy boy!

Rub-a-dub-dub...

Laurana with the color by number she did!

Update: Baby food review

Left to right: Ella's Kitchen, Earth's Best, Peter Rabbit Organics, Plum Organics.

I am still happy with all these brands of baby food, but thought I should tell you that Earth's Best is the only one that adds water to their food. That isn't a bad thing necessarily. It is by far the thinnest, perhaps your early feeder will prefer it. Josiah has never enjoyed watery food, in fact he prefered stage 2 foods from the get go.

Earth's Best also adds ingredients like citric acid, the others use lemon juice. I will probably not buy more of the EB pouches, not because I think they are bad, but because it will be nice to narrow down a little bit! Take a look at my stash!

 

And since I buy from Amazon this is just one box of each flavor. I have an additional 3 boxes for each of the Plum flavors! The top shelf is all veggies. The plain white boxes are Ella's Kitchen. The left side of the bottom shelf are fruit blends and the right side are veggie blends. The green amazon packaging are Peter Rabbit Organics. 

New-to-me Baby Food Pouches (with a picture of Josiah)

Back when I started feeding babies, ha ha, in 2005, there were very few options. I was excited if the food didn't have added salt or sugar and it was a total bonus if it was organic. The baby food industry has exploded since then and there are so many wonderful options! I have been having so much fun experimenting with JoeJoe.

If I could fall in love with a baby food I think I would choose a packaging method and not a particular brand. Josiah and I both love the squeezable pouches of pureed fruit and veggies. He started being able to feed himself, ie nurse off a pouch he holds himself, at only 7 months. Now, at 9 months I can hand him a pouch in the car and he will finish it and be as clean as he was before he ate it! In my pantry right now are Plum Organics, Earth's Best, Ella's Kitchen (I splurge on this every once in awhile), GoGo SqueeZ, Mashups, Happy Baby, and Peter Rabbit Organics.

I buy Plum Organics, GoGo Squeez, and Peter Rabbit Organics at amazon.com. I buy Earth's Best and Ella's Kitchen at diapers.com. Happy Baby and Mashups I buy at either of these two sites--whichever is cheapest.

Before I found all these wonderful pouches of fruit and veggie blends I fed JoeJoe with a spoon from a glass jar. I started him on veggies (I learned my lesson about starting a baby out on fruit with Laurana) and he wouldn't swallow any of them except sweet potatoes. I quickly found these blends and he loves ALL of them. I have literally tried every flavor from each of the brands listed above. And yes, I mean I've tried them. Why would I feed my baby something that I wouldn't eat?! If I made his food from scratch I'd try every batch for taste and texture before giving it to him. Why would it be different with store bought food? I tried pureed green beans before I gave them to Laurana and decided that none of my children would ever have to eat them! I didn't want them to think that the disgusting grayish green bland and yet assertive flavor was what a green bean tastes like. I wait until they are doing finger foods and chop up the actual veggie for them to eat! So far green bean is the only flavor I've found to be unpalatable.

Back to these wonderful pouches. They travel really well! My older children like them too. I've found them to be a great snack for when we are out and about. I always have at least 1 pouch in my diaper bag. They are ideal for the beach or the park, anywhere where sand is an issue. I cannot say enough good things about this new packaging method! There is only one draw back to the pouches, I don't get to take photos like this anymore!

Ella's kitchen's Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin, Apples and Blueberries was the first pouch I ever tried. They are my favorite, mostly because they are from the UK, I like the look of them and their flavors are really cool. I just saw that they offer more than just fruit and veggie blends in a pouch. They have "Stage 1 Fruit and Baby Rice" and "Baby Brekkie." These would be a great way to get the iron fortified rice and oatmeal into a baby. So far, none of my 4 would swallow baby rice or oatmeal. But I bet they'd like these with all the fruit blended in. There are also pouches of food for a baby with an adventurous palate. :) They are modestly called "Stage 2 Baby Food," but the flavors are anything but modest!

In an earlier post I said I would comment on NurtureMe baby food. I don't use it as often as the pouch style, but I do love it for one thing in particular. I sprinkle the squash flavor on pasta and it adds great flavor and nutrition for the kids! All my kids like the Scrumptious Squash flavor, it is pumpkin. I've added it to plain whole wheat pasta with butter and parmesan and also to macaroni and cheese. The kids will ask for it if I don't put it on. They say the pasta doesn't taste "right."

My father and mother go to orphanages in South America and Africa to give medical/dental treatment and encouragement to the kids and workers there. One of the biggest needs of these children is nutrition, the earlier they can get it the better. My parents bring children's multi vites with them, but the liquid multi vites for infants or baby food in a jar is just too heavy to travel with. I plan on stuffing as many of these pouches as possible in their bags the next time they go (Spring 2012) for the infants and toddlers they serve there. These pouches are so light and small they are ideal for travel!

Low Tech

I have a vision for this blog. It is a grand vision, full of recipes, pictures, books I have read and am reading, pictures, links to blogs I like, pictures, and a background that I actually like. I'm a perfectionist, it is hard to do something if I know it may never live up to my expectations.

What I'd really like, is for this to be a place where I can write about what I am learning about being a woman. Currently, I am a wife (7.5 years) and a mother to four young children. I've learned a lot about what it means to be a woman, wife and mother, I hope I never stop learning.

I assume I was one of those kids that asked "why" all the time. That seems to be the question I ask most now. Why should I get married? Why should we have children? Why do we use cloth diapers? Why do we buy organic food? Why do we eat eggs? Why do we have a gardener? Why don't we homeschool?

I also ask "what" questions a lot too. What is my primary goal as a mother? What is my primary goal as a wife? What are the gifts and talents that God wants me to cultivate and use now and which ones does he want me to save for later?

And then there are all the "how" questions.....so many "how's." That is often where I get bogged down.

Hopefully, this blog will begin to more closely resemble my vision for it. Ultimately, I'd like it to be a resource for other women who like to ask questions.

Vision

Today was a WONDERFUL day!

It started with successfully getting the BRIGHT blue nail polish out of my favorite dress for Maisie. Then my diapers came out of the wash smelling and looking clean. I outsmarted my kids into playing outside. :) Laurana prefers being indoors and she often sets the tone of the games they play. The girls were all playing nicely with dolls, but the day was too beautiful to stay indoors so I suggested that the girls take their dolls outside. I even let them take as many blankets out as they wanted. Our lawn looked like a patchwork quilt. It was only a couple of minutes before the hose was on and all 3 of them were in their swimsuits and JoJo was down to just his diaper. Then we got to go to my friend's son's 4th birthday party.

I got to spend the afternoon at a park with women who inspire me while our children played happily. I love listening to my friends' hearts, the priority they place on perusing Grace with abandon, the humility and joy with which they love and serve their husbands and the energy and creativity they bring to their children. Perhaps they have even given me a vision for homeschool....time will tell. These women are food for my soul! An afternoon spent with them leaves me encouraged, energized, excited and hungry for the Lord.

I wish I could post a picture of them....Brad has made it easy for me. I think it only involves the click of one button.....the trouble is I don't know which button it is! Soon I'll remember to ask him how to do it.