Daphne was walking playing and sitting on her aunt Melissa. Melissa is such a great sport about the whole thing. She is so good with Daphne and I appreciate the little extra help.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Auntie Melissa
Daphne was walking playing and sitting on her aunt Melissa. Melissa is such a great sport about the whole thing. She is so good with Daphne and I appreciate the little extra help.
Eli the Farm Hand
Eli is such a wonderful helper. Here is is pushing the cart. Isn't he cute as can be?
Riding a Bucking Heifer
Daphne my sister and I all went to the rodeo and watched the mutton busting. I think it is a fabulous tradition, and I would love to have Daphne do it some time. It is pretty cute.
Back at the ranch, I was with my sister while we were doing chores, and she put the baby on one of her heifers. The heifer was completely tame and calm about it, and it made a good conversational piece photo!
Back at the ranch, I was with my sister while we were doing chores, and she put the baby on one of her heifers. The heifer was completely tame and calm about it, and it made a good conversational piece photo!
Hanging with Mom
Daphne and I went with my friend Julie to "green" hippie festival this weekend. They were giving away free fruit, so I took an apple. She wanted the apple so bad. She chewed on it the whole time and screamed and whined if I took it away. Here is a photo my friend took on her phone while she was chewing on the apple.
I love this photo.
At the Races
Here is a photo of Daphne and I at the horse races at the Harney County Fair. She was intent on watching the horse races, and she really liked the bucking bulls at the rodeo. What a smart girl!
Ferris Wheel
When I was in Eastern Oregon, my sister and I went to the Harney County Fair. She had taken Eli on the Ferris wheel earlier in the week, and she wanted to take him again. I was into it, and I took Daphne on it with me. She was wrapped up tight in her sling, and this is the photo that I took while we were way up high.
Eli and Daphne
Here are some photos of Daphne with her cousin Eli. They are really adorable together. He is so kind and nice to her. He is such a great little boy.
Why Can't I Sleep Like That
I took this photo when I was particularly tired and Daphne got to sleep and I had to stay up to do some work. It was taken out of envy. Doesn't she look lovely and peaceful.
Playing with Grandma
Daphne recently spent some time playing with her grandma. This is a puppet that they were playing with, and I liked the photos.
My Favorite Photo
Even though I am a pro photographer, I sometimes have to acknowledge that there is a moment that has to be caught on a less than prefect camera in less than perfect circumstances.
This one is one of my favorites. I took it when I was with Daphne waiting for a wedding meeting to start. Her dad and I had been arguing. In my board state, I took the photo and sent it to Jared. It was the end of that argument.
It is my favorite photo. That is for sure.
Cute Daphne Phone Photos
I just got all the photos off my phone and here are some random cute ones that I took while I was playing around. What a lovely daughter I have.
Phone Magnet
Daphne is a phone magnet. I can put my phone anywhere and she can find it within a few seconds. I have had to use the warranty on my phone now more times than I can count. I hope the one I have now works fine because it have been drooled on a lot, and I don't know that it doesn't count as not having water damage.
Here is a photo I took with my new phone of the phone magnet who recently found a phone to chew on.
Here is a photo I took with my new phone of the phone magnet who recently found a phone to chew on.
What No Photos?
It has been a while since I posted photos. I HAVE some, but they are mixed in and amog the 18,000 wedding photos on my computer right now. As soon as I locate them, I will edit them and then resize them and put them up with their respective stories. Things to look forward to: photos of Chris nursing Daphne while doing yoga!
Infants Don't Need Shoes...OK, They Do...
I have always been under the impression that it was really dumb to put shoes on children...until I ran into some problems.
1.) It is cold in Oregon in the fall and winter (not freezing, but not tank top, shorts and sandals weather)
2.) Cold babies need protection from the cold.
Based on these two datums, I started to leave Daphne in her pajamas 100% of the time, but I ran into problems with that.
3.) Crawling in pajamas is almost impossible because the feet don't always stay in the "feet" part of the pajamas, so the baby always ends up in a tangle of clothing.
4.) For some reason, the universe is against me, and there are no pajamas in the world in the 9-12 month old stage. I have up to 6 month old pajamas and I have pajamas for 18 months and up, but there are no pajamas that are for 9-12 months. She no longer fits into any pajamas that I have.
To solve # 4 above, I had to get creative. How about long sleeved onesies and pants? The problem with that is:
5.) Traditional shirt and pants attire require socks.
6.) Infants don't keep socks on NO MATTER WHAT!
This led me to do research, and at last, I found Roobez. http://www.robeez.com/
They are leather soled shoes that are soft. The best part is that they are designed for staying on particularly tricky babies, who like to take things off their feet. She can crawl and stay warm now and there are no problems.
This, this is how you start at problem #1 and work your way to problem #6 and finally find a solution that wipes all other possible problems out. Thanks Roobez.
1.) It is cold in Oregon in the fall and winter (not freezing, but not tank top, shorts and sandals weather)
2.) Cold babies need protection from the cold.
Based on these two datums, I started to leave Daphne in her pajamas 100% of the time, but I ran into problems with that.
3.) Crawling in pajamas is almost impossible because the feet don't always stay in the "feet" part of the pajamas, so the baby always ends up in a tangle of clothing.
4.) For some reason, the universe is against me, and there are no pajamas in the world in the 9-12 month old stage. I have up to 6 month old pajamas and I have pajamas for 18 months and up, but there are no pajamas that are for 9-12 months. She no longer fits into any pajamas that I have.
To solve # 4 above, I had to get creative. How about long sleeved onesies and pants? The problem with that is:
5.) Traditional shirt and pants attire require socks.
6.) Infants don't keep socks on NO MATTER WHAT!
This led me to do research, and at last, I found Roobez. http://www.robeez.com/
They are leather soled shoes that are soft. The best part is that they are designed for staying on particularly tricky babies, who like to take things off their feet. She can crawl and stay warm now and there are no problems.
This, this is how you start at problem #1 and work your way to problem #6 and finally find a solution that wipes all other possible problems out. Thanks Roobez.
18 Pounds
Daphne is now 18 pounds! I just weighed her myself, and I can hardly believe it.
Try shopping with that and then bagging your own groceries at the end of the line while still holding her. I must be a buff mama now!
Try shopping with that and then bagging your own groceries at the end of the line while still holding her. I must be a buff mama now!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
A Little Known Fact About Me
There is one little known fact about me. This is something that I feel the world should know about me.
I once spent 9 months time on a Greek island. Every morning, the church bells would go off, and I would complain about how pesky they were but there was something about them that I loved.
Near the end of 6 months on the island, I was talking to a good friend that lived on the island about the chuch bells. I told him that I thought that it was such a wonderful thing that the bells still rang every day. I told him how quaint I thought that it was and that I respected a community that could keep such a wonderful and uplifiting tradition going.
His response, "The bells you hear are a recording."
Not all things are as they seem.
I still love church bells though.
I once spent 9 months time on a Greek island. Every morning, the church bells would go off, and I would complain about how pesky they were but there was something about them that I loved.
Near the end of 6 months on the island, I was talking to a good friend that lived on the island about the chuch bells. I told him that I thought that it was such a wonderful thing that the bells still rang every day. I told him how quaint I thought that it was and that I respected a community that could keep such a wonderful and uplifiting tradition going.
His response, "The bells you hear are a recording."
Not all things are as they seem.
I still love church bells though.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Picky (Hippie) Mom
I guess I should put a comment here on the mom quality that I seem to inherently have about natural parenting. It must have been deep down inside of me all this natural living stuff that I've been conjuring up lately because it keeps appearing more and more and more. We are in a snowball effect where I question almost everything that I would have once done and judge it against my new "green" standards.
It all started with cloth diapers. I don't even know my original motivation for using cloth diapers. I thought that it might be a little cheaper, and I wasn't interested in contributing to all the crap that goes in the landfills just because I didn't feel like handling my own child's waste. So, I fought it out with Jared, and won, and now she is in cloth diapers. I never knew that I would LOVE it as much as I do. It is a little bit of work, but it is good work. Most importantly, she has cute, safe, reusable diapers, and all the other babies are running around in ugly, wasteful, standard Communistic issue diapers.
Jared learned to stop fighting after that. The next thing to go was the baby wipes. I realized that if I was going to be using cloth diapers, why would I be spending the money on wipes that are just going to go back into a landfill. Plus, they have chemicals and stuff in them that I don't really feel like putting against the most tender part of my daughter. So, I bought cloth wipes, and I started to make my own baby wipe solution, which has been amazing. I have seen no signs if diaper rash, and my baby is clean and chemical free. Not to mention, reusable. Besides, what other baby has Alice in Wonderland on their wipes?
Then, there is the whole china fiasco. I will not consciously buy toys from China, and I avoid allowing her to play with toys from China that she will be chewing on. It is nothing really having to do with the recent scare tactics, it was something I was concerned about before they recalled 5 million toxic toys. The toys I played with when I was a kid were wood mostly, or solid plastic, and they have lasted 3 generations!!!! I wanted to give her quality toys that she could pass down if she wanted, or that would certainly last for at least more than 1 kid. So, I have been getting wood toys for her, which has been wonderful and fulfilling. The quality is really high in them. I also feel that if China can't play nice by checking their toys to make sure that they aren't dangerously TOXIC, then we just won't play with them at all.
And it has snowballed from there. We are fazing out using plastic in our household. As our Tupperware slowly dies, we are replacing it with ceramic or glass. I am going to attempt to avoid Ziploc bags, which I am doing a pretty good job of. I know that some people have avoided using plastic in their house AT ALL. I don't think I will go that extreme, but if it can be avoided, it will.
And now I am crazy on food. I told Jared yesterday that I thought that it would be important that we don't allow strangers to feed Daphne. I have already had people offer her CANDY. A 6 month old child CANDY. She doesn't need to be eating sugar now. I am trying to teach her good food habits from the start which involves watching us have good food habits and feeding her food that has not been hopped up on sugar. We aren't going to give her sugar, and chocolate milk and candy bars and ice cream until much later. She doesn't need it, and if it is not introduced now, she won't be asking for it. So, the decision now is that only her mom or her dad get to give her food for a while as we figure out how to keep strangers from showing up with lolly pops for her when she is barely eating solid foods. People think kids need candy and lots of it. No wonder there is such a high incidence of child drugging for hyperactivity.
Also, I'm not interested in processed food. Do you know how easy it is to make your own cream of rice cereal? Who needs to buy the stuff in a box that you add water to and cook. It is almost as simple to make your own. Tofu is easy to make on your own as is soy milk or rice milk or yogurt or cheese. All of these things can be done and you can eliminate the use of processed foods that KILL in your diet. Now I just need a good cheap source of raw milk. Looks like I need to raise my own cattle and goats now doesn't it?
People always rebut with the fact that they don't have the time to do all these homemaker things. I say that I am proud to be doing what I am doing. The health and happines of my family is more important than any other stupid job I could be doing in the world. And don't you dare think that I am not contributing to society by doing what I am doing. I have a happy child and a happy husband who is becoming more and more healthy because of my efforts.
So, I am picky and hippie and many other things, but I think I am genuinely doing the right thing! I just hope I don't hurt too many feelings along the way because these opinions are VERY strong.
It all started with cloth diapers. I don't even know my original motivation for using cloth diapers. I thought that it might be a little cheaper, and I wasn't interested in contributing to all the crap that goes in the landfills just because I didn't feel like handling my own child's waste. So, I fought it out with Jared, and won, and now she is in cloth diapers. I never knew that I would LOVE it as much as I do. It is a little bit of work, but it is good work. Most importantly, she has cute, safe, reusable diapers, and all the other babies are running around in ugly, wasteful, standard Communistic issue diapers.
Jared learned to stop fighting after that. The next thing to go was the baby wipes. I realized that if I was going to be using cloth diapers, why would I be spending the money on wipes that are just going to go back into a landfill. Plus, they have chemicals and stuff in them that I don't really feel like putting against the most tender part of my daughter. So, I bought cloth wipes, and I started to make my own baby wipe solution, which has been amazing. I have seen no signs if diaper rash, and my baby is clean and chemical free. Not to mention, reusable. Besides, what other baby has Alice in Wonderland on their wipes?
Then, there is the whole china fiasco. I will not consciously buy toys from China, and I avoid allowing her to play with toys from China that she will be chewing on. It is nothing really having to do with the recent scare tactics, it was something I was concerned about before they recalled 5 million toxic toys. The toys I played with when I was a kid were wood mostly, or solid plastic, and they have lasted 3 generations!!!! I wanted to give her quality toys that she could pass down if she wanted, or that would certainly last for at least more than 1 kid. So, I have been getting wood toys for her, which has been wonderful and fulfilling. The quality is really high in them. I also feel that if China can't play nice by checking their toys to make sure that they aren't dangerously TOXIC, then we just won't play with them at all.
And it has snowballed from there. We are fazing out using plastic in our household. As our Tupperware slowly dies, we are replacing it with ceramic or glass. I am going to attempt to avoid Ziploc bags, which I am doing a pretty good job of. I know that some people have avoided using plastic in their house AT ALL. I don't think I will go that extreme, but if it can be avoided, it will.
And now I am crazy on food. I told Jared yesterday that I thought that it would be important that we don't allow strangers to feed Daphne. I have already had people offer her CANDY. A 6 month old child CANDY. She doesn't need to be eating sugar now. I am trying to teach her good food habits from the start which involves watching us have good food habits and feeding her food that has not been hopped up on sugar. We aren't going to give her sugar, and chocolate milk and candy bars and ice cream until much later. She doesn't need it, and if it is not introduced now, she won't be asking for it. So, the decision now is that only her mom or her dad get to give her food for a while as we figure out how to keep strangers from showing up with lolly pops for her when she is barely eating solid foods. People think kids need candy and lots of it. No wonder there is such a high incidence of child drugging for hyperactivity.
Also, I'm not interested in processed food. Do you know how easy it is to make your own cream of rice cereal? Who needs to buy the stuff in a box that you add water to and cook. It is almost as simple to make your own. Tofu is easy to make on your own as is soy milk or rice milk or yogurt or cheese. All of these things can be done and you can eliminate the use of processed foods that KILL in your diet. Now I just need a good cheap source of raw milk. Looks like I need to raise my own cattle and goats now doesn't it?
People always rebut with the fact that they don't have the time to do all these homemaker things. I say that I am proud to be doing what I am doing. The health and happines of my family is more important than any other stupid job I could be doing in the world. And don't you dare think that I am not contributing to society by doing what I am doing. I have a happy child and a happy husband who is becoming more and more healthy because of my efforts.
So, I am picky and hippie and many other things, but I think I am genuinely doing the right thing! I just hope I don't hurt too many feelings along the way because these opinions are VERY strong.
6 Months! What a Milestone!
When Daphne was 1 month old, I realized that we had made it 1 month, and that I was supposed to nurse her exclusively for 6 months. At that point, I looked into the future and was sure that it was going to be an adventure and be difficult, and that I would feel that it was a major accomplishment when I made it to the 6 month mark.
It was in fact not difficult at all. It has been wonderful. I have had no problems or issues, and I am very happy with the results of such an incredibly happy and healthy baby!
But I was right, it has been an accomplishment. I feel like I followed through on something very important, and that I can totally do this nursing thing!
I plan to go for at least two years. That seemed like an incredibly long time, but now that I am 1/4 of the way there, it is totally doable.
I am proud of myself, that is for sure.
It was in fact not difficult at all. It has been wonderful. I have had no problems or issues, and I am very happy with the results of such an incredibly happy and healthy baby!
But I was right, it has been an accomplishment. I feel like I followed through on something very important, and that I can totally do this nursing thing!
I plan to go for at least two years. That seemed like an incredibly long time, but now that I am 1/4 of the way there, it is totally doable.
I am proud of myself, that is for sure.
Solid Foods Here we Come
Talk about growing up fast. Daphne has been a little more cranky than normal over the past week or so. I was holding out on trying to give her solid food until her dad's birthday, which is this coming Saturday. I don't know why I picked that day, it is just an arbitrary day, but I chose it when she was only a couple weeks old, and I can't believe that it has arrived so soon!
However, I discovered a couple days ago that she was nursing a TON and still cranky and hungry and wanting to eat every time I ate, so it is time to feed her solid foods--at least something. She is almost 7 months old for goodness sake. People usually jump the gun on this kind of a thing and feed them early, but I was content to be lazily nursing her along.
Anyway, so she started to get applesauce as her first solid food. I plan to be feeding squash and other vegetables after this, but I am also trying to be good and introduce only one new food each week. I want to introduce vegetables because she is accustomed to sweet, sweet, sweet milk, and I want to see what she thinks of other flavors. We are going to do squash and peas, etc. I did make some peaches, and that will be the next fruit we introduce, but I don't think it will be for a month or more. They are happily in the freezer now anyway!
So, she eats with us, three times a day, and she nurses the rest of the time. What a big girl!
However, I discovered a couple days ago that she was nursing a TON and still cranky and hungry and wanting to eat every time I ate, so it is time to feed her solid foods--at least something. She is almost 7 months old for goodness sake. People usually jump the gun on this kind of a thing and feed them early, but I was content to be lazily nursing her along.
Anyway, so she started to get applesauce as her first solid food. I plan to be feeding squash and other vegetables after this, but I am also trying to be good and introduce only one new food each week. I want to introduce vegetables because she is accustomed to sweet, sweet, sweet milk, and I want to see what she thinks of other flavors. We are going to do squash and peas, etc. I did make some peaches, and that will be the next fruit we introduce, but I don't think it will be for a month or more. They are happily in the freezer now anyway!
So, she eats with us, three times a day, and she nurses the rest of the time. What a big girl!
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