Filling the Tank

Ryan now eats three meals a day of solid food in addition to nursing/bottlefeeding. I had been giving him a pureed banana here, a mashed avocado there, with a few jars of Earth's Best organic peas and sweet potatoes interspersed, all with a side of organic oatmeal mixed with breastmilk and applesauce. This weekend I decided to buckle down and fill the freezer with a big supply of baby food, so I hit Costco and Whole Foods to load up on organic fruits and veggies. Sommer pointed out that you can buy frozen peaches and mangoes already peeled and chopped, so I headed straight to the freezer aisles. I got 4 POUNDS of organic mango chunks at Costco for $8.39 - that is a deal and a half, and it saved me so much work peeling and chopping!

I bought: frozen peas, peaches, and mangos, plus fresh pears, bananas, and sweet potatoes. WF was out of organic avocados; I'll have to pick up those later this week.

I started by steaming the frozen peas, then dumped them in the food processor. I later learned that the blender does a much better job of making a superfine puree.

I froze the peas in a special ice cube tray that makes sort of triangular cubes, which fit into a divided baby food bowl. Look at that beautiful green!

Unlike his father, Ryan LIKES peas!

The mangoes and peaches needed time to thaw, so I peeled and pureed these beautiful D'Anjou pears.

The thawed peaches were easy to puree and pour into leftover baby food jars my friend Julie shared.

The mango puree went into a regular ice cube tray.

Ryan enjoyed mango and sweet potato for breakfast.

I calculated that, based on the cost of 2.5 and 4 oz jars of Earth's Best organic baby food, I made over $50 worth of baby food for an investment of $29 in food and $5 for ice cube trays - not a bad return on investment for 3 hours of work! It remains to be seen how long all this food will last, what with Ryan's hollow leg and all...

Now We Are Five

One unfortunate side effect of running the Fleming Make-A-Wish Foundation Home for Geriatric Animals is the increased health problems and decreased life span these critters have. Last month we bid farewell to Chester, who at 18 suffered from kitty Alzheimer's with a side of incontinence and intermittent puking.

This weekend our trip to Missouri was interrupted by a sad phone call from the Arvada kennel where we had boarded Casey, our 8 year old German Shepherd mix. It appears that he passed away in the night, and our vet was not able to determine cause of death. Yes, there is a longer story behind it, but you'll have to pour me a glass of wine first.

Sweet Casey Jones

So we are left dogless (which we will remain for a few years, we've decided) with only two giant 9 year old cats to keep us warm and covered in pet hair.

Star

On a brighter note, here's a ridiculously adorable baby video. Umm, yeah, I sing that poorly just to make Ryan smile... right...

Homeward Bound

We headed to Missouri for Memorial Day weekend, this time with Daddy in tow. Ryan did very well on the airplane, even settling down for a 45 minute nap - maybe it was the vodka:

"Kansas City?! I thought we were going to Vegas!"

Relaxing at Paw-Paw's house

Ryan and I attended my niece Jessica's third-grade awards assembly. She received a Certificate of Achievement in almost all subjects and a Reading Circle certificate. Good job Jessie!

We went to over to my mom's mini-farm to meet her barnyard menagerie. Ryan was a little wary of the chickens...

I think he thought the bunny was our cat Star (so soft, too!).

Miniature goats

At my brother's house, we met a "turken" - a cross between a turkey and a chicken. Don't ask me what they taste like - my brother says his chickens are his pets and will never see a frying pan.

We got to play with some new toys - well, new to Ryan - this horse was a gift to me on my first Christmas oh so many years ago...

And this fire truck was a gift to Ryan from Paw-Paw on his first Christmas. He fits in it a little better now, but you can see that he still has a way to go before his feet reach the pedals.

We visited Great-Grandma Farris

and Great-Grandma Jones

Ryan showed off some new skills this weekend - he rolled over from back to front, sat up unassisted for a good 15-20 seconds, drank from a sippy cup:

Look at those guns!

and worked his core muscles by standing up at every opportunity:

"Dude, that is the biggest beer I have EVER seen!"

Recent Photos

Swimming with our neighbor Ali and her mom

Sew Happy, Part II

I told Sam that all I wanted for Mother's Day was to work in the garden. I forgot, however, to tell Mother Nature, so while it rained, I sewed. My friend Sommer sent me a link to instructions for sewing baby legwarmers, and I managed to make some that reasonably resembled the originals:

"High Chair Today, Chairlift Tomorrow"

They also double as armwarmers - perfect for these spring days that start out cool but warm up by midday.

Here's the next sewing project... good thing it's supposed to rain again this weekend (guess I'll never get the carrots planted!).

Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy

Okay, it's not summer yet, but the weather is nice enough for Ryan and Mommy to wear (almost matching) sandals.

Osh Kosh, B'Gosh!

My mom sent these overalls to Ryan with a note reading "Every little boy needs Osh Kosh". So true. Notice that his hair is slowly becoming ever so slightly darker and more abundant.


Today Ryan finally decided to get back at MacKenzie for her abuse of him last week. Her thick dark hair must have proven too great to resist. [Is it bad that I reached for the camera before I freed her from his grip?!]

This fish is one of the attachments on his Exersaucer. Sometimes he just stares at it, and sometimes he tries to put it in his mouth.

Did you lose a sock, Ryan? "Nope, I FOUND one!"


We have tried a lot of new foods lately - first it was bananas and rice cereal, then avocado, then sweet potatoes, and most recently applesauce. Here Ryan announces that his mama proudly serves him Gerber Organic Oatmeal with VitaBlocks (tm).