Quick Question

I wanted to present this question to those of you who read this, especially those with girls (and this now includes you, Chris! Just have to give a shout-out to VTS's newest baby, Ms. Layna Nicole, born on the best day of the year--besides August 31, that is--for a birthday!). Anyway, lately we've been discussing what we can do to be more environmentally-friendly and safe as consumers. We're doing things like using those curly bulbs (forgive my forgetfulness regarding their true name--I'm a little tired) instead of regular light bulbs, using cloth diapers as much as possible, buying what we can locally, etc. But one thing I've been wondering about lately is the meat we eat. In Virginia I tried to buy organic meat whenever possible--and the organic food movement was really big in stores like Safeway and Harris Teeter, so it was possible to buy free-range poultry and beef for moderate prices. In Valdosta, however, the organic meat is REALLY expensive, and I've been getting just regular. Then last week I was talking to a friend who is also the father of two girls, and he told me he wasn't going to give them regular beef or milk because of all the hormones given to the cows. We already drink organic milk and eat organic eggs, but I'm wondering now if it wouldn't be worth it in the long run to start looking into buying organic meat and skimping on other things. Any thoughts? What do y'all do?

I'll have another update soon! Hope everyone had a terrific Easter and congratulations again, Chris, Nicole and Brayden!

Solid Food

We started on the solid food a little over a week ago. Her first taste was of rice cereal thinned with some breastmilk (the pump is finally being used after like 4 months!). She didn't seem like that huge a fan, to be honest. So the next day I tried bananas with no cereal. Still not a fan. So the third day I tried rice cereal, bananas and breastmilk. She seemed to like that a little more...and I have to admit that I'm so paranoid that I'll just dry up that as soon as she's done eating the solid food, I'll put her on the boob for a few minutes just to make sure she still knows what to do!

This weekend Ben worked at Valdosta's Azalea Festival, where Saint Barnabas had a booth. Because we were out and about on Friday and Saturday she hadn't had any solids in two days, so I decided to bring a banana with me yesterday while we hung out with him to see if she'd take it alone. I brought her bib, a small bowl and a spoon and mushed up the banana. That little monkey ate the whole thing! So now I feel confident that she is liking this solid food thing enough to move on to other things. I would love suggestions from you experienced parents about what to give next. I'm thinking avocados or mashed up peas--just to get her used to green vegetables. She also decided for herself she wanted a taste of some "non-baby friendly" food on Saturday--Ben was eating from a plate with potato chips while he was holding her and she reached over and actually put a small piece of chip in her mouth! She choked on it right away and immediately spit it out. The face she made was hilarious, but it was also a good lesson for us to remember--she can reach, so we need to keep the food away from her little hands!

This week is going to be busy--Wednesday is my birthday and then my grandmother's is Thursday, so we're spending some time with her and my mom and sister are coming for Easter, and then we're all heading to Columbus for some R&R and time with friends. Lily even gets to visit a dog park in Auburn with her good friend Scout! Pictures to come!

A new post!

I have been very neglectful of this space for that past 3 months--mainly because I update my facebook page with pictures and am too lazy to actually write a real post. Well, an old friend with two kids and a full time job who still has the energy to update HER blog has inspired me to try updating more with the actual goings on in our lives.

So, as far as goings on go, it's really the same ol', same ol'. Amelia is growing--still skinny, but doing all the impressive things six month olds do, like starting to sit up and generally being more aware of the world around her. She's becoming so much fun. I have thought many times that I would do anything just to hear her laugh. It is so great.

We're starting solids sometime soon. I think the poor kid is ready for them. We were at Chick-fil-a the other day and she was watching us eat like a hawk. It was like eating with Lily, except without the overt attempts to grab the food. She was sucking on her hand, drooling, reaching--everything they say to look for. Her pediatrician gave us the go-ahead the other day, so now it's just a matter of buying the cereal and figuring out where she's going to be, because we still don't have a highchair. The pediatrician also told us we can speed through the cereal, which is good, because I didn't really want to do cereal at all (I wanted to start with sweet potatoes so she could feed herself). I'm sure I'll be posting pictures soon of this new foray!

I am still staying home with her. I haven't found any jobs I'm totally interested in pursuing yet, and I promised myself I wouldn't do anything I didn't want to. I am planning on applying for a Masters in History starting this Fall, so that may be my job for the rest of our time here. It's hard and semi-stressful living on just Ben's paycheck, and I would love to be able to pay down all our seminary debt, but I know God is in control and everything will work out, even if we're still paying down credit card debt from 2005 in 2030. :) And besides, I really do love being with her everyday. I miss a lot of my old working life, and I still think working would be a nice way to make some friends here, but we'll just see what happens.

I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks. My birthday is 2 weeks from yesterday, and then my grandmother's is the next day. Amelia and I are planning on going down to Tallahassee to meet Momma and Sarah for a birthday dinner for her (Ben can't go because it's Maundy Thursday), then Momma and Sarah will be here for Sarah to visit VSU and to attend Ben's first Easter service. And then, Ben gets some days off! Yay! Those have been a real rarity in this house during Lent. We're going to Columbus to hopefully buy a highchair and hang out with the Liles Family and an old friend of Ben's who will be visiting Atlanta. THEN, Loren comes for a few days! Then the next week we'll be going to the G-Day game in Athens (sooo excited about this!!!) and will get to see Annie for a little while, as she is generously allowing us to stay in her apartment. And then that next week, Ben and I get to be extremely grown-up and go to the Masters by ourselves. We haven't been since 2002 or 2003, I think, so we're really excited! Anyway, all this to say that I'll have some cool updates soon. In the meantime, here's my beautiful girl! Ben was doing laundry and she was helping. She looks kind of freaked out here, but there are more where she's laughing, so I think it was just the camera!