Baby Food

We had a yummy smelling kitchen this morning as yams, apples, and pears were separately boiled, then purred into a smooth goop.  Okay, that might not sound so appetizing to you or me, but it's enough for Fynn to get excited about!  I'm not a perfect natural mom, I often feed him store-bought baby food, but I like to make my own when I can.  Especially the fruits; Fynn will barely touch the store-bought fruits but if I make them myself, he gobbles them down.  It's fun for a breakfast treat on occasion.

This hardly calls for a recipe it's so simple, just basically take fruit or veggie of choice, boil if it's hard, then pop in the blender and puree until smooth.  I even leave the skins on some things like the pears (after washing, of course).The real question that kept raising it's head was what to feed him and when.  I found one great page just by blindly bumbling through Pintrest (Homemade Baby Food) and another link a public health nurse friend of mine sent me (Infant Feeding Guide.)  Both were so helpful and really lay things out clearly and are worth checking out.

Love, Tears and Gyros

Josh and I caught ourselves dancing in the nursery to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" yesterday!  Ah, how sweet love is!  We giggle often at how much our lives have changed and just how much we love being a family of three.
I often fret about my parenting skills, both presently and for the future.  I so want good things for my baby!  I pray every night for his protection, character, and future as well as daily blessings and that Josh and I would be the best parents we possibly can be for him.  One of the most controversial topics in my heart is the matter of sleep and crying.  Before I get into this, let me say that I realize every baby and parent, and circumstances are unique, but I just want to pose an alternate perspective.

It seems the popular thing to do is to lay your baby down for a nap and allow him to cry himself to sleep.  I have had numerous well-trusted friends and acquaintances tell me that this was the only way to do it if you want to keep your sanity and for the well-being of your child.  Really, if you love them, you'll let them cry.  I also read several books on the matter including Baby Wise.  They all seemed to rub me the wrong way and I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that this was not right for us.
So I went with my gut and always responded to my baby's cries and tried to comfort him.  Obviously he still cries, but I want him to know that I am there with him and won't ignore him.  I am extremely blessed to have a very minimal work schedule, so I actually enjoy getting up to check on my little guy.  He's had his phases of sleep difficulties, but generally sleeps pretty good.  Nothing to make me feel like I'm loosing my mind.
Then last week I found an article confirming my gut feelings in Psychology Today (you can read this great article here: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201112/dangers-crying-it-out).   There's a gajillion references and resources with it.  Here's a couple quotes:
" giving babies what they need leads to greater independence later"
"Babies grow from being held. Their bodies get dysregulated when they are physically separated from caregivers."
"(When allowed to cry) neurons die...Disordered stress reactivity can be established as a pattern for life...trust is undermined...(and) caregiver sensitivity may be harmed."
"caregiver responsiveness is related to intelligence, empathy, lack of aggression ordepression, self-regulation, social competence"
Will I do things differently with subsequent children?  Probably to a degree, but it is important to me that my babies know that I will be with them through whatever they're going through.


Okay, off the soap box.  How about Gyros?  I think Josh introduced me to these first at a little hole-in-the wall place on the way to Whidbey Island.  So amazing!  I don't know how to get the lamb the right consistency, but we found that they still taste good with chicken or moose!  Here's how we do it:

Tzaziki

·         8 oz plain yogurt

·         1/3 c chopped seeded cucumber

·         2 tbsp finely chopped onion

·         1 garlic clove

·         1 tsp sugar

·          

Combine ingredients and refrigerate.

Gyros

Ingredients

1 lb. Chicken breasts

Italian seasoning

Pita (4)

Tzaziki

Cilantro

Diced roma tomato

feta cheese

 

Finely chop chicken, smother in seasonings (I use dried basil, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic, onion,and thyme) and cook.  Place on warmed pita, cover with remaining toppings, fold and enjoy!  So easy, SO good!

Coal Mine

Josh got sent out to the Usabeli coal mines today.  All I can think of is this song:

Some girls like them gussied up
Wearing all that smelly stuff...
Don't want no white-collared man
Me, I like them calloused hands
...Sara Evans

Friday Fun Finds:

Re blogged from http://themanyadventuresofsarah.blogspot.com/

A New Beginning/ Ham and Cheese Bread bowl

I love the fresh feeling of a new year!  While I'm not one for once a year resolutions, I think it is always wise to be evaluating myself frequently to acknowledge the changes that have occurred as well as the areas in which I will strive to improve.   So this year I've learned a great many things: how to change the exciting diapers, how to make a baby laugh, how to bake baby hats, and how to do a great many things one-handed. I've begun to learn how to be a wife and momma, but I think that's going to be a lifelong lesson.  Leading in to one of my biggest constant goals, to be a better wife and mother as well as daughter, friend, co-worker, etc.  What a blessing it would be for me to be a blessing to others!  Still more important to me, though is to improve my relationship with God, more consistently in prayer and His Word.  Then, of course, there's the less important things like weight loss, finishing Josh's painting for the stairwell, and about a gazillion other projects around the house.

Here's just some photos of our Christmas to New Years' week:  We found Mello Yello at the store the other day (I hadn't seen these in forever!), Fynn playing with his buddy Evan as we made Laura's wedding reception cards, and just a few of adorable little Fynn!

Finally, we have me trying out my new hefty tripod that Dad sent me for Christmas!  This is what I look like to run out to feed the chickens.  See we've had a bit of a cold snap and it's been hanging out between 30-40 degrees below zero.  It's just like a slap in the face when you walk out the door.  And so dry!  My hands and nose just start cracking and bleeding every now and then. Fynn seems to like the cold, he's had a couple bloody boogers, too, so I only have him out (WELL bundled) between the house and pre-warmed car.  Oh, and that's a headlamp on my hat seeing as it's almost always dark right now.  

So, our New Years  consisted of some family time at home.  Really nice, actually.  Josh woke me up at midnight to say happy new year.  But we did have a special dinner: sweet potatoes and rice for Fynn, and Mom's sourdough, ham and cheese bread bowl with iced tea for Josh and I; it's tradition.

Hollow out a sourdough loaf and save the innards for later.  In a separate bowl, mix 1 c. mayo with 8 oz Colby cheese, 8 oz. parmigiana, 1 cup diced ham (we used Christmas leftovers) 2 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 c. chopped green onions.  Press into bread bowl and cook for 1 hour.

Well, Fynn's not exactly crawling, but he seems to wiggle where he wants to go and he's getting mighty close to the computer cords, so: signing off for now!

And to All a Goodnight

What fun starting Christmas traditions with our new baby!  Josh got Friday off and we packed up sweet little Fynn and drove to North Pole to see Santa at his home.  Since Fynn got croup on Wednesday night, car rides have been even more traumatic, but he held up like a trooper on the way there.  Santa Clause's house was all aflutter and smelling of the amazing fudge, sweets, cocoa and coffee brewing.












Santa was just getting ready to go check on the reindeer out back, so we walked over to the ice park to see this years sculptures and take Fynn down a slide or two.  We pulled him out in a little sled and Josh took him down the big ice slide and I took him in the ice spinning bowl.  He wasn't real thrilled, but tolerated our photographing.

Then we went to meet the big man himself after sampling their homemade fudge and sitting by the roaring fire.  I was worried that Fynn would be afraid (separation anxiety has begun to set in), but he was just cool as a cucumber!  He actually does seem to be more okay with guys with beards than anyone else, now that I think about it!  We read a couple of the letters to Santa posted about, saw the world’s largest Santa outside, and Josh and Fynn sat in Santa’s ice sleigh.

Christmas Eve was fun, too.  Mostly just hanging out around the house during the day, then a service at church that evening.  I kept Fynn back in the sound booth with Josh to avoid spreading any of his croupy germs.  The boys got their Christmas PJs and we hit the hay.

Then it was Christmas!   Josh got up early and got all the presents set up, a fire going and chai tea brewed (so nice!) and we began to go through all the generous gifts that were given.  Fynn made a haul with a bunch of books, a tractor, a train, some CAT trucks, hats, gloves, clothes, and a bookshelf for all his books!  The cats loved the boxes, the dog loved the wrapping paper rolls, and Fynn sure loved the paper!  Again, it’s often the free things…

Josh read Fynn The Story from his Bible book while Fynn intently listened.   Then we made some cinnamon rolls and watched A Christmas Carol while Fynn napped.  When he awoke, he had so much fun playing with all his new toys.  So fun to see the joy on his face!  We (I) decorated the gingerbread house I made with candy from our stockings and later that evening, had a 6 way video chat with my folks, brother, aunts, uncle, Grandpa, and cousins in Washington, North Dakota and South Dakota.  Slightly chaotic, but it made me appreciate technology just for the ability to see everyone, if nothing else.

Dinner was super simple, but yummy: ham, mashed potatoes, salad, sparkling pear and strawberry cider, and chocolate cream pie for desert.  Fynn played with some Cheerios and ate homemade yams and rice with pears for dessert.   Fynn was pretty wiped and fell asleep quickly after reading one of his new books.  And now I’m listening to Josh pick some carols on his guitar as I write.  What a fun season, but most importantly, what a reminder to be grateful for Jesus’ choice to come to give us hope!  A merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!