4 days ago
Friday, June 20, 2008
Father's Day Weekend
Grandpa Mike and Grandma Coralie were down for the weekend - it was so great to visit with them. Greg just loves all his Grandparents - I guess he likes all that attention! We mostly just hung out, went out to eat a few times, and enjoyed each other's company. Here's a few pics:
Video Catch Up
Sorry these videos from our CA trip in May are so late... Enjoy!
Kayla playing videographer:
Sorry this one is sideways, but its cute. Greg shakes almost everything he plays with just to see if it makes noise. Grandma Mary and Grandpa Nick fittingly got him a music set for his birthday with bells, maracas, etc., and a drum too. He loves them!
Cuteness playing with Grandpa Nick. Some adorable clapping in this one, and the funny face he was making the whole time we were out there - scrunching up his nose.
Aunt Kayla - need I say more?
Kayla playing videographer:
Sorry this one is sideways, but its cute. Greg shakes almost everything he plays with just to see if it makes noise. Grandma Mary and Grandpa Nick fittingly got him a music set for his birthday with bells, maracas, etc., and a drum too. He loves them!
Cuteness playing with Grandpa Nick. Some adorable clapping in this one, and the funny face he was making the whole time we were out there - scrunching up his nose.
Aunt Kayla - need I say more?
Thursday, June 5, 2008
California Trip
We were in California last week - Dan had a conference in LA and we took advantage of the opportunity to make a visit out of it. It was so great to spend such quality time with the family - words cannot express how much I miss you guys!! It was so special to see Gregory bond with each person - I grieve that those relationships cannot be more continuous. As he gets older, though, he'll start to remember these good times in between visits and will be able to communicate on the webcam and stuff - that will help. I know we have always said that closeness is not dependent on proximity, but it sure helps!
Anyway, here's some pics to enjoy. There are many videos too, but they take a long time to upload so it'll be a few more days before I have them up.
Anyway, here's some pics to enjoy. There are many videos too, but they take a long time to upload so it'll be a few more days before I have them up.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Enjoying Spring
The weather has turned nice, I think for good, so we have been venturing outside a little more. Here are a few more videos and a picture...its kinda hard to get good shots of what he's been doing lately. For example, he has been practicing walking around all the furniture and with his wagon and has started standing independently (look ma, no hands!) but every time I get the camera out all he wants to do is grab at it, so a picture has been elusive. I'll keep trying though...
attitude...
a try to record clapping...
a little clapping...
a little walk...
attitude...
a try to record clapping...
a little clapping...
a little walk...
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!!!
Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms and moms-to-be that we are so blessed to have in our lives! We hope you are having a day filled with love and family!
Our little family enjoyed a sinfully delectable buffet this morning. Gregory particularly liked the bacon. He had some bacon at home before and was not impressed with it as it was overdone and really only good for crumbling, not eating. The bacon at the buffet, however, was meaty and succulent. He went into an altered state as he was enjoying it, the bacon trance, which went on for a long time since he was not very efficient at chewing it and mostly just gummed it up and sucked on it forever! Sadly, we neglected to bring our camera! We did snap some shots once we got home, though.
Another milestone on this Mother's Day, Gregory had his first haircut. Well, ok, I did trim one or two stray ones before now, but this was the first one of any significance. You may have noticed that he was a little untidy around the ears - well that's all taken care of now... Daddy was getting annoyed with it, but Mommy wanted to wait - well I will admit that he looks better now...
We also have a couple of videos for you to enjoy. The first one is Gregory on his rocking horse - this was a gift from Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Rodney and he gets a kick out of it.
The second one is of him out in the front yard - it ends abruptly because I had to go fish mulch out of his mouth...
And a few more pictures:
All in a day's work...
Sweet Potatoes!
...sweet...
Daddy and Greg at Tyler's birthday party
Tyler and Greg
Our little family enjoyed a sinfully delectable buffet this morning. Gregory particularly liked the bacon. He had some bacon at home before and was not impressed with it as it was overdone and really only good for crumbling, not eating. The bacon at the buffet, however, was meaty and succulent. He went into an altered state as he was enjoying it, the bacon trance, which went on for a long time since he was not very efficient at chewing it and mostly just gummed it up and sucked on it forever! Sadly, we neglected to bring our camera! We did snap some shots once we got home, though.
Another milestone on this Mother's Day, Gregory had his first haircut. Well, ok, I did trim one or two stray ones before now, but this was the first one of any significance. You may have noticed that he was a little untidy around the ears - well that's all taken care of now... Daddy was getting annoyed with it, but Mommy wanted to wait - well I will admit that he looks better now...
We also have a couple of videos for you to enjoy. The first one is Gregory on his rocking horse - this was a gift from Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Rodney and he gets a kick out of it.
The second one is of him out in the front yard - it ends abruptly because I had to go fish mulch out of his mouth...
And a few more pictures:
All in a day's work...
Sweet Potatoes!
...sweet...
Daddy and Greg at Tyler's birthday party
Tyler and Greg
Monday, April 21, 2008
Feeding Gregory
(ask and you shall receive, Michal!)
So it has been not quite a month since Greg started eating new foods in earnest. And still, about 97% of his nourishment comes from me - which I'm totally great with! This past Saturday, we attended the Nebraska regional La Leche League conference, which was great in so many ways, including reaffirming the decisions we have been making about "solid foods," so I thought I'd ruminate on them here a little.
We are essentially following the principles of “child-led weaning,” or rather, my interpretation of it, which is influenced by LLL guidelines, attachment parenting, and even some Montessori principles. Most basic to feeding a baby is obviously nursing. “Weaning” begins with adding in solid foods, not stopping or reducing nursing, and is a long and very gradual process that can take years for the child to transition from getting his nutrition solely from mother to solely from solids. American culture in particular seems to want to rush the stopping nursing part. Actually, we rush the starting solids part too! For us, “child-led” meant waiting for Greg to let us know in no uncertain terms that he was ready to start solids, not going by an arbitrary date or age. In addition to being able to sit up alone, having teeth, and noticing us eating and chewing, we wanted to see him actually asking for food. And he did! One day he was not interested and the next day he was demanding!
To us, right now it is about learning how to eat, not about getting a certain quantity of food into his belly. I know he is still getting all his nutritional needs met through my milk. Right now, it is about having fun! He is exploring new tastes, textures, and temperatures. He is developing his motor skills by picking up the food pieces and getting them into his mouth, which is especially challenging when they are small and slippery, not to mention learning to chew and swallow things other than liquids. He is absorbing the social skills of eating together with others both at home and in public by sitting right at the table with us. Keeping these goals in mind really helps us relax if a day goes by when he doesn’t eat anything, or when he throws most of it on the floor or makes a huge mess! We don’t stress out if he’s not eating everything and we don’t shovel spoonful after spoonful down his throat to finish the container. In fact, we don’t give him any pureed baby food at all. He decides whether, what and how much he eats of the real food we happen to be having. This also helps him develop a sense of control over himself and his environment, and in this way we are showing him respect. Our obligation is just to offer him healthy foods to explore, and make sure he doesn’t choke!
I must admit that when he turned 6 months old, I began to stress out about solid foods. I know that this is the typical age when most people start giving their kids solids, if they didn’t already start at 4 months! And everyone typically starts out with rice cereal – oh, rice cereal! There is even a gal at Dan’s office who has been regularly asking if Greg is eating rice cereal yet (even after Dan said he was eating chicken and vegetables - LOL)! (ask me about the history of rice cereal some time…) I was really starting to sweat it, but deep down I felt that he wasn’t really ready yet and regardless, rice cereal was probably not in his future! Thank goodness for my wonderful mamas at La Leche League – their reassurances about the signs of readiness and that many of their kids weren’t interested in solids until closer to a year old laid all my worries to rest. And so far, we are really pleased with the choices we have made in starting this next phase in Greg’s life! It sounds so serious when I say it that way, but it really is kind of a milestone! And I know what we are doing isn’t what works for everyone, but hey, its working for us!
So I have perhaps some slightly more boring videos for you today, but here’s Greg enjoying some broccoli. He also has been playing shy – here he is playing with Daddy sitting across the table, but he frequently does it when new people greet him as well – too cute!
And we just got him a set of baby-sized silverware (silver-plated!) and he actually uses it – how cute!! I have to load it up for him, but he can get the food into his mouth with it – here he’s eating some peas which I have squashed so he doesn’t choke on them… Also I’d like to point out that he has adorable baby blue enamelware dishes – no plastic or melmac around here – are you surprised!?! ;)
And fortunately, children are washable!
So it has been not quite a month since Greg started eating new foods in earnest. And still, about 97% of his nourishment comes from me - which I'm totally great with! This past Saturday, we attended the Nebraska regional La Leche League conference, which was great in so many ways, including reaffirming the decisions we have been making about "solid foods," so I thought I'd ruminate on them here a little.
We are essentially following the principles of “child-led weaning,” or rather, my interpretation of it, which is influenced by LLL guidelines, attachment parenting, and even some Montessori principles. Most basic to feeding a baby is obviously nursing. “Weaning” begins with adding in solid foods, not stopping or reducing nursing, and is a long and very gradual process that can take years for the child to transition from getting his nutrition solely from mother to solely from solids. American culture in particular seems to want to rush the stopping nursing part. Actually, we rush the starting solids part too! For us, “child-led” meant waiting for Greg to let us know in no uncertain terms that he was ready to start solids, not going by an arbitrary date or age. In addition to being able to sit up alone, having teeth, and noticing us eating and chewing, we wanted to see him actually asking for food. And he did! One day he was not interested and the next day he was demanding!
To us, right now it is about learning how to eat, not about getting a certain quantity of food into his belly. I know he is still getting all his nutritional needs met through my milk. Right now, it is about having fun! He is exploring new tastes, textures, and temperatures. He is developing his motor skills by picking up the food pieces and getting them into his mouth, which is especially challenging when they are small and slippery, not to mention learning to chew and swallow things other than liquids. He is absorbing the social skills of eating together with others both at home and in public by sitting right at the table with us. Keeping these goals in mind really helps us relax if a day goes by when he doesn’t eat anything, or when he throws most of it on the floor or makes a huge mess! We don’t stress out if he’s not eating everything and we don’t shovel spoonful after spoonful down his throat to finish the container. In fact, we don’t give him any pureed baby food at all. He decides whether, what and how much he eats of the real food we happen to be having. This also helps him develop a sense of control over himself and his environment, and in this way we are showing him respect. Our obligation is just to offer him healthy foods to explore, and make sure he doesn’t choke!
I must admit that when he turned 6 months old, I began to stress out about solid foods. I know that this is the typical age when most people start giving their kids solids, if they didn’t already start at 4 months! And everyone typically starts out with rice cereal – oh, rice cereal! There is even a gal at Dan’s office who has been regularly asking if Greg is eating rice cereal yet (even after Dan said he was eating chicken and vegetables - LOL)! (ask me about the history of rice cereal some time…) I was really starting to sweat it, but deep down I felt that he wasn’t really ready yet and regardless, rice cereal was probably not in his future! Thank goodness for my wonderful mamas at La Leche League – their reassurances about the signs of readiness and that many of their kids weren’t interested in solids until closer to a year old laid all my worries to rest. And so far, we are really pleased with the choices we have made in starting this next phase in Greg’s life! It sounds so serious when I say it that way, but it really is kind of a milestone! And I know what we are doing isn’t what works for everyone, but hey, its working for us!
So I have perhaps some slightly more boring videos for you today, but here’s Greg enjoying some broccoli. He also has been playing shy – here he is playing with Daddy sitting across the table, but he frequently does it when new people greet him as well – too cute!
And we just got him a set of baby-sized silverware (silver-plated!) and he actually uses it – how cute!! I have to load it up for him, but he can get the food into his mouth with it – here he’s eating some peas which I have squashed so he doesn’t choke on them… Also I’d like to point out that he has adorable baby blue enamelware dishes – no plastic or melmac around here – are you surprised!?! ;)
And fortunately, children are washable!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Fun getting around
Greg has been pushing the limits of his mobility and has been gaining ground every day. We got him a walker wagon so he could practice (courtesy of Uncle Benny) and he has been having fun with it - although we had to weight it down a little to keep it from tipping back - its not the fanciest thing. But hey, it does the trick!
The wagon is also good for teething - who knew!?!
Greg and Daddy having fun (well maybe Greg is having more fun than Daddy!)
Also I have recently been learning how to knit - and this is the first finished project - a diaper soaker - I think it turned out pretty good. My definition of pretty good is that he can actually wear it for its intended purpose! (Although our little friend Jacob thought it also would make a good hat!)
The wagon is also good for teething - who knew!?!
Greg and Daddy having fun (well maybe Greg is having more fun than Daddy!)
Also I have recently been learning how to knit - and this is the first finished project - a diaper soaker - I think it turned out pretty good. My definition of pretty good is that he can actually wear it for its intended purpose! (Although our little friend Jacob thought it also would make a good hat!)
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