In my kitchen this Lent...

In years past, I have had a more fulfilling Lent when I take something on rather than give something up. My most memorable Lent was 2003, my brother's senior year of high school, when he, my mother and I made a conscious effort to spend time together on a weekly basis. We didn't miss a week and had a good time. Emotionally, that was a very full year for me, and starting it that way really helped. My least favorite Lenten discipline was giving up chocolate one year while I was in high school. I was miserable. My mother told me on Easter that I was never allowed to do that again.

My Lenten discipline this year is going to be baking bread and making baby food. This will serve two main purposes, and multiple other ones as well. In the main, we will save money and eat healthier. It will also taste better, which is always a good thing. I made a batch of the master loaf from the wonderful book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. (That's the jclc.org library link. If you want to buy it, visit your local independent bookseller. They need the business more than amazon.com.) The premise of the book is that you make a large batch of dough that gets refridgerated and used over a two week period. The resulting bread tasted good. I've baked three loaves and a pizza from it and I really like it. I think I'm going to enjoy this. My grandfather (who passed away in 2003) used to love making bread. I think he would be glad that I have picked up his habit.

Winni Wednesday, take 1 . . .

Here's old one-track Winni. Single-minded in her concentration on a milkbone. So much so that her ear stick out like that. So cute.

Could you just give it to me already!

Winni is such a photogenic dog that I might try to include more pictures of her and her furry friends on the blog, least y'all think Emmeline is taking over.

Emmeline - 7 months (Can you believe it!)

So Emmeline is 7 months old. I cannot believe how quickly she is growing. David bought be an infant beam scale at the thrift store, so I can tell you her exact stats.

Weight: 16 lbs. 15 oz. (59%)
Height: 26 inches (46%)
Head Circumference: 17 inches (62%)

She is really enjoying floor time and is getting the hang of playing now. I was checking the babycenter.com Milestone Chart and trying to find out what they mean by "object performance." (Edited to say: What this really is is "object permanence," which makes a lot more sense. Perhaps Dad should teach reading comprehension. Thanks for pointing out my typo, LAG!) They use the example of peek-a-boo. Well, Emmeline has been playing peek-a-boo for a LONG time. Starting at about 4 or 5 months, when I would take her pants off during her nightly routine, I would put them over her face. She would then pant with excitement, and wait a few second and then pull them off and grin really big. This went on until she was about five and a half months old and then she started to put anything within reach over her face, pant with excitement and then pull them away and give me a big grin. Who knew that this was "object performance" and was a normal milestone at 7 months! So smart, my child!

We have gotten back into a normal sleeping schedule after the craziness of Christmas and two infected ears. She now nurses 4 or 5 times during the day, one of which is a dream feed before I go to bed, and then once at night. She takes three bottles at daycare. She has finally gotten the hang of solids and LOVES them. Amy, her favorite teacher, mentioned to me that Emmeline would screech every time anyone else was being fed. Incredulously I sent a container of sweet potatoes to daycare the next day. We had been trying for weeks to get her to eat solids. I made my own baby food, I mushed up bananas and avocados, I mixed rice cereal - all to no avail. What finally worked was peer pressure. After that first serving at daycare, Emmeline hasn't looked back and now eats anything we feed her. She ate stage one foods for about two weeks and now is onto stage two.

The picture on the left shows her about 3 weeks ago. The one on the right was taken last weekend.

The other milestones she has met this month include:

sitting unassisted
scooting / crawling backward
going from hands and knees to sitting (she does this every few days, so I think she is almost ready to do it consistently)
stands while holding onto something (she can almost pull herself up in her crib)
waves good-bye
passes things from hand to had
understands cause and effect (that's the nice way to say "throws things off of high chair tray")
the above also means that she is beginning to experience stranger and separation anxiety

A highlight of the past week was her first injury - a black eye. She was on hands and knees and lunged forward for a toy and face-planted on it instead. Can I mention that David and I were both sitting on the floor with her. Geez, we felt terrible.

All in all she is growing into a beautiful child. I am really enjoying being her parent.

Emmeline - 6 months (and an on time update)

Half a year old. Man, oh man . . . that doesn't seem possible.

Emmeline is such a smart child. I know that every parent says that, but really, she is fantastic!
We had her six month appointment today. She has gained 1 lb. 2 oz. since last month and now weighs 15 lbs. 6 oz. which is great news. The not so good news is that she has at least one, but probably two infected ears. That most likely accounts for her getting up 4 times a night for the last few nights. Hopefully with her antibiotics will get rid of the infection and she will be back to being a happy baby with good sleep habits. She also got five shots, but after her nap, has been acting like nothing is wrong.

This has been a big month for her. She has hit the following milestones:

• She has her first two teeth, the middle ones on the bottom (Dec. 13 on the right and about two weeks later for the left)
• Passes objects back and forth between her hands, especially her pacifier. If you put it in her left hand, she moves it to her right hand and then puts it in her mouth.
• She sits up for a minute or two with out support, and for a long time if she has her boppy behind her. She might be fine without the boppy, but I get a little nervous.
• She really likes "talking" now. She yacks away, even thought we have no idea what she is saying. She gets into squealing matches with my mom, too, which is quite funny! She also squeals with delight every time the dogs pay her any attention.
• She is really good at getting toys (and anything) that she wants. She rolls around in her crib or on the floor or on our bed to get whatever she wants.
• She is so mobile that I have started changing her on our bed because the changing table made me nervous. David gave me a little crafting tote a few years ago that he suggested that we repurpose as a diaper tote. It is fantastic and holds diapers, wipes, medicines, a changing pad, lotions, baby powder, desitin etc. I love it!
• Solids are going okay. I gave up on rice cereal, but she will eat bananas. Next up are avocados and sweet potatoes.
• She is really good at sitting on my hip now.
• She stands up when she holds on to me or onto the couch. She will pull herself up if she is squatting on your lap.
• She says "mama" but has no idea what it means, but I love the way it sounds.
• She plays peek-a-boo and knows that it is fun! It has always been part of our nightly routine, but she initiates play now.

Y'all have a good day, and ROLL TIDE!!!

Emmeline - 5 month (and 4 weeks)

Man, I'm really bad at the monthly updates. I'll make this one fast.
So far this month, sweetest Emmeline does the following (I took this list from Babycenter.com):

• Distinguishes between bold colors
• Plays with his hands and feet
• Recognizes own name
• Turns toward new sounds
• Rolls over in both directions
• Sits momentarily without support
• Mouths objects
• Turns toward sounds and voices
• Rolls over in both directions
• Is ready for solid foods
• Mouths objects
• Lunges forward or starts crawling
• Jabbers or combines syllables
• Drags objects toward herself


Here are some pictures - highlights from the month!

Here we are in Linn Park. We went to the Veteran's Day Parade.

Here's Emmeline Thanksgiving weekend. We all had a stomach bug... can't you tell she doesn't feel good. Yeah, we couldn't either, except when she was vomiting.
She absolutely loves this swing. My sister-in-law let us use it and man, it is so fantastic!