An Update

luke said ariel was hungry, so he nursed her.

beth and luke shared a hard boiled egg, i'm so happy they've finally decided they like eggs this way.

books are best when they're a little soggy

A few highlights from our week:

1. Jackson Paul will be CRAWLING within a month.  I'd bet big money on it.  He hasn't even been sitting up for a full month but he is well on his way to that next step.  When he sits, he lunges forward, pushes up on his arms and knees, and winds up scooting backwards.  He'll be scooting forward soon enough, I can't believe he's going to be mobile so soon!  This is a game changer, ha ha.  We are also going to moving him into a crib upstairs within a few days.  He is NOT sleeping well at night and it's drastically affecting me and Ryan.  We're borrowing a crib from a friend and are going to put him in the spare bedroom until he's sleeping through the night, then he and Luke will share a bedroom.  I know it'll be months before he's sleeping through, but we have to change something because waking up once an hour at night (sometimes more!) is not very good for us or him!

2.  Luke is continuing to have his digestion issues.  It's so hard for a mommy to see her baby in pain and to not be able to help at all.  He's been having chronic constipation for months now, Miralax and probiotics don't seem to be helping him out.  He strains and strains, every day, and when he starts to cry it means I have to step in and give him a glycerin suppository.  :-(  His celiac test was negative as was a general allergy blood panel we had done in November, so the next step is I'll be taking him to see our pediatric GI doctor  in about two weeks.  The appointment can't come soon enough for him.

3. Beth had a checkup with her pediatric GI doctor (the same one who did her biopsy and the same one Luke will see) on Monday, her first appointment since her biopsy.  The appointment was just a chance for him and I to talk about how she's feeling, changes we've seen, and if there are any lingering issues.  Beth still occasionally complains of a tummy ache but it's impossible to know if it's due to accidental gluten ingestion or if it's just a random ache.  She will have another checkup in May, this is his usual schedule for his celiac patients.  We are supposed to keep an eye out for any other conditions that might develop (she's at increased risk for Type 1 diabetes as well as other autoimmune disorders) but we won't do any more testing unless something comes up.  She was acting incredibly shy toward the doctor, refusing to look at him or talk to him...VERY out of character for Beth.

4. I am sick.  Yesterday I started to feel bad but today I have a major head cold, complete with major sinus pain and massive congestion (yet somehow my nose is still runny?).  My first cold of the season, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner given how much the boys have been sick since Halloween!

Gluten-free baking and other thoughts

teff muffins with apples and carrots

Initially, I don't think it's any secret that gluten-free cooking scared the heck out of me.  I couldn't imagine a life without bread, not being able to fall back on eating out occasionally, and I thought I was going to miss "easy" meals-like frozen pizza- for difficult nights.  I'm not going to lie, it's not all fun, but now at 2 1/2 months into the mission it's already becoming second nature.

I've become very dependent on a couple of recipes that I feel work out pretty well for us, Elizabeth's sandwich bread and pizza crust. I use a boxed muffin mix if we decide to make muffins, but I'd like that to soon change. Everything I've made so far has been very dependent on brown rice flour, which has fiber but isn't the powerhouse I was hoping for. Just scanning the aisles at the grocery store turns up some interesting flours I'd bet most people haven't heard of before- Garfarva, teff, sorghum, arrowroot, quinoa to name a few. Did you even know flours could be made from beans or nuts? Before going gluten-free, I had no idea! Bean flours are really high in fiber and protein!

So my question to the world is why don't we make healthier breads?  Why is all-purpose white flour the standard when we could be receiving nutritional benefit from using other flours?  I know the answer... It's easier and usually cheaper.  For our family, I'm glad to be introducing so many rich flavors by using different kinds of flours, and providing learning opportunities as we bake together.

I've come to the conclusion (through my own experience in addition to reading lots!) that gluten-free food is never going to taste the same as gluten-filled food.  That's okay for me.  I've stopped trying to find the perfect substitute and have embraced the different flavors and textures, and am now just trying to find what we like.  Beth and Luke devour the sandwich bread I make!  I like it fresh out of the bread machine but don't prefer it just plain out of the pantry, I like mine toasted with some peanut butter or almond butter spread on top!  There have been a couple of times when I've craved a crusty, fresh loaf of French bread but that's just not going to happen at our house.  That is also okay for me.  Since my celiac blood test came back negative and I have no symptoms, I will enjoy an occasional treat when I'm out alone without the kids. :-)

If you decide you'd like to try something new, brown rice flour is an easy taste transition, but for baking it's generally not as easy as switching a gluten-free flour for white or wheat flour.  Gluten-free flours have different textures, consistencies, blending abilities, absorption rates... Everything I've read says it's best to blend several flours to achieve the best texture. Corn starch makes breads springy, xanthan gum is the glue that keeps breads together, and various flours and other starches each have their place.  Going gluten-free won't necessarily benefit anyone other than non-celiacs or people who have wheat intolerance (although some people believe it helps lessen children's ADHD symptoms-don't ask me, I don't know much about this), but mixing in a little gluten-free foods every now and then will definitely open your taste buds up to a new realm of eating experiences.  Overall, I think it's better for us because we're getting more health benefits from the foods we eat, maybe that's why gluten-free diets have become trendy?  In any case, I have so much more to learn!  After the next 16 years of watching Mommy cook gluten-free, I expect one day Miss Beth will have her own recipes to share with you. :-)

A weekend away

luke had so much fun swinging with daddy!

ryan and i went to my high school friend's beautiful wedding

A long weekend at my parent's house has left me exhausted!  We enjoyed a peaceful late drive in on Thursday night (we left at 8 pm, the kids were asleep in no time!) and came back home on late Sunday evening.  I am beginning to like this traveling at night thing!  Ryan and I attended the beautiful wedding of one of my dearest high school friends, and it turned out to be a fun date afternoon/night for just the two of us!  MawMaw, PawPaw, Aunt Jenny, and Uncle Matthew were all on call for the day, taking care of our little ones so we could go out alone!  To date, this has been the longest I've left little Jack alone!

 alex caught little water glider bugs in the pond and kept beth and luke very entertained!

david tried to shoot me with the christmas present i bought him.  how lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

luke loves the big trucks that his uncles have!

 

 

quite possibly the most stunning bride ever. <3

it was so funny for me to see jack taking a bottle from aunt jenny, i had to take a picture!  i didn't even realize he could hold his own bottle!

Bethany and Luke had a wonderful weekend, just as every time we head out of town to visit.  They love playing with the "big kids" and I hardly saw them at all!  I have some fun pictures to upload, they will come tomorrow so check back soon!

Enter the silliness

We've all heard of "the terrible twos," or maybe that "threes are just like the twos- with practice!"  Well two wasn't so terrible for Beth, and three had its challenges but nothing that bad.  Four is looking really good so far though!

No one warned me that four would include such intoxicating silliness.  I mean pure, straight up, laughing-till-your-tummy-aches silliness!  Beth's been four for only a couple of weeks now but if this is indicative of what this year has in store for us, I am really looking forward to it!

Beth has been trying to learn knock knock jokes.  She has a couple of jokes down but the ones she makes up leave me truly laughing, sometimes with a tear in my eye.  Not because it's funny in the traditional sense, but half of it has to do with her presentation.  Eyes darting around, the slight hesitation before the punch line...Who taught her this?  She tries to come up something on the spot, but what she says usually makes absolutely no sense.  Priceless.

She's really into drawing right now, she adores her Magna Doodle and spends a good portion of her day drawing or asking me or Ryan to draw for her.  Yesterday she asked me to draw a daddy sitting on a chair holding a little girl with a pony tail, so I did (I'm getting very good at stick figures).  Then she asked me to draw a mommy pushing a vacuum cleaner next to the daddy.  Nice.  A few days earlier she wanted a picture of a daddy sitting on a bed holding a baby.  Then she asked me to add a mommy putting clothes in the drawer and pushing the drawer closed.  (Are we seeing a trend yet?)  But really, it's not all about lazy daddies and hard-working mommies (haha!), sometimes it's animals (a tall elephant wearing a tutu or a giraffe) or three babies playing with each other.  Usually her requests are very specific though, including details I wouldn't have thought of.  I wonder what's going on in her little mind?

I can tell her imagination is revving up into high gear because she's also developed a fear of the dark, which literally started days after her birthday.  She's never been afraid of anything in her life but all of the sudden she was absolutely terrified.  She spent a couple of nights in Luke's room but was ready to move back into her room after the firecrackers stopped.  Now she falls asleep with her lamp on, and we leave the bathroom light on for her all night.  When Luke's ready to move out of his crib they may wind up sleeping together for awhile!

Bring on the fours!

Jackson

 

 

Starting Solids

This morning we gave Mr. Jackson some wheat cereal mixed with breastmilk.  Okay, it was mostly milk!  He ate more than I expected, giving it a good shot before calling it quits after a few bites.  Luke wanted a bite, I nearly let him (he has a horrible cold, and wasn't interested in trying it after Jack was done!).  Pumping milk isn't very easy for me but I will keep trying so that I can mix his cereal with my milk, then we'll probably start introducing other foods per the baby-led weaning protocol, like we did with Luke.  I don't think Jack needs any solid food, at this point I'd like to give him something to do while we're eating while slowly-on his terms- introduce him to real food.  I'd like to avoid the mushy and expensive baby food as much as possible!

Before the torture began!

I know it doesn't look like he liked it, but he didn't spit any out!

Mmmm...spoon.

I love me some messy baby cheeks!

Christmas!

Finally, my Christmas post! This year was our first year to host the festivities at our home, and it was really nice. I loved being home, in my bed, waking up with the presents under our tree, attending mass at our parish, and enjoying all things Christmas at our house. My parents didn't stay with us this year, but they came on Dec 23 to stop by and visit before heading to my grandmother's house. Then on the morning of the 24th, things got busy! Ryan's parents came over, my parents (and all four brothers!) came over, and we got busy cooking. We had a Christmas Eve lunch before heading to Christmas Eve mass.

Oh boy did I massively underestimate our arrival time to that! By the time we arrived, it was standing room only in the overflow mass! We snuck in to the church because if we had to stand, we'd rather stand in the church than in the gym! We stood in the back and actually had a pretty good view of everything!

After mass we came home, had some leftovers and took some pictures in front of the tree. The kids were excited but exhausted, so we had no trouble putting them to bed. I zonked out pretty early myself but Ryan and his dad apparently started a new tradition of staying up until 1:30am and drinking Jack Daniels on ice. ;-)


Christmas morning was full of fun and laziness! We took our time opening gifts, making muffins, and laying around in our pajamas all morning! Ryan's parents left about nap time, and we put the kids down before heading out for the afternoon and evening family events.


At this point I should mention that I received a gift on Christmas Eve, a new camera lens which allows me to take even more awesome pictures! Beth's big gift was a Our Generation doll she's named Lily, Luke received several handmade toys (not made by us!) like a tractor and bull dozer, and Jack received... some clothes? Poor guy didn't get much from us yet, but he's going to be getting a new car seat cover as soon as I find one on sale!

So after nap time we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house for a family dinner, where my sister and her boyfriend met up with us. Then my immediate family came back over to our house to open presents before heading to my grandmother's house for more presents and dessert!

Happy Epiphany and a Blessed 2011!

Today is the Epiphany, the day celebrated as the day that the wise men visited baby Jesus. We heard a great homily today by our priest about how in order to participate in Christmas, we must make it our own and make it personal. The wise men went out of their comfort zone to seek Jesus, put themselves in danger to find this baby that was rumored to be The King. How often do we go out of our way to bring gifts to our Lord? What have you given to the Christ Child as a Christmas gift?

Beth was really excited to hear "We Three Kings" in mass today, she loves that song! We listened to about 10 versions of it on YouTube last night, lol.

This year I spent a great portion of Advent reflecting on what I should give to Jesus for Christmas, and I've decided that seeking monthly spiritual direction through a lay person is what Jesus is asking of me right now. I've already contacted my church to find someone not affiliated with any particular group. Lately I've been struggling with my vocation as a mother in multiple ways, and I think discussions with a trained lay person will help me figure things out. I also want to make an effort to say "yes" to my children when I want to say "no, not now."

My new year's resolutions are the same as always, so I'm not really resolving to do anything other than seek spiritual guidance. But, if I had to say something... Workout more, eat more veggies, and save some money. :-b

Stats for Jack

We took Jackson to the doctor this morning for his six-month checkup, and the stats aren't what you think! He's 18 lbs 10 oz and 27 inches, which means his growth has slowed down quite a bit! He's in the 68th percentile for height and weight. He seems to have eczema on his back, it's really red and patchy but it doesn't seem to bother him. I have a few baby food items to start feeding him, but first I need to pump some milk to mix in with his wheat cereal, so maybe we'll start on Saturday?

The Zoo

Here are some photos from our visit to the zoo on Tuesday, as part of Beth's birthday present. It was a chilly day but not too cold to be outside! Beth toted around her new doll "Lily" or "Lucy" that she got for Christmas (which I just realized I haven't blogged about yet!). We were there for a few hours, and of course everyone (including mommy!) fell asleep in the car on the way home! What a great day!