Leavin on a jet plane...

I know, lame title. But we're headed out in about 30 minutes to catch our plane to California!! Wish us luck! Well, wish me luck...I'm a little nervous about traveling with a 9-month old. I'll post lots and lots of pictures when we return!

The best toys...

are always the free ones :-)

Daddy's Girl

These two together...totally melt me.
There is just something about seeing my handsome, manly-man

with my delicate, pink baby girl
that pretty much makes me want to bear 10 more of his beautiful children -

Pronto.

These two have been pretty inseparable lately when Daddy's not working.

And it's pretty much impossible to tell who enjoys the time more -

A proud daddy, a happy Caroline, or a momma relieved to have some time to herself.

Although usually, I just end up watching the two of them together.

I mean, can you blame me?

If this doesn't make a girl happy, I don't know what will.

Oh, that's right - maybe this!
Just admiring the view ;-)

Caroline can't seem to take her eyes off of the man, either.

I know I'm a week late on making this a Father's Day wish, but Dan I want you to know that watching you fall in love with our daughter is one of the greatest gifts I've ever been given. You are a phenomenal Daddy, one that I am blessed and privileged to call my husband. I can't imagine tackling parenthood with anyone else in this big wide world. Like everything else in life, you make it so much fun :) We love you more than words can say.

mobility

I've been a bad blogger. I have so much to share that I just don't seem to get around to sharing any of it...makes so much sense, huh? Anyway, Caroline has been very close to crawling for some time now, and the day Dan & I were both sick (2 weeks ago now) she decided to take off. My guess is she figured we weren't going to get up and get her the toy she wanted that day, so she just did it herself! Here's a quick video from this morning so you can see how she rolls these days...and pulls up, too. She's everywhere. Life will never be the same.

Homemade

When Caroline began eating solids a few months ago, I began a new past-time as well -- making my own baby food. I have to admit that at first I was a bit intimidated. I had never really seen the process first hand, and I always feel much more confident trying new things that have actually been explained to me in detail (let's just say I'm not the most creative person you'll ever meet). But with a few helpful tips from friends and a handful of library books, I decided to jump right in. After all, when I compared the price of the jars with the price of making my own, there really was no comparison.

Boy am I glad! Making my own baby food has been far easier than I anticipated and incredibly cost effective. Then about a month and a half ago, I won a giveaway on my friend Carrie's blog, with all that I've been given. She focuses her blog on stewardship and writes often about different ways to be frugal and thrifty at home (it's a great read - you should check it out!). In one particular post, she mentioned 10 of her favorite kitchen gadgets, one of them being an immersion blender which she said she loved using to make baby food. When I won her giveaway, I decided that was what I wanted to put my Amazon money towards.

I was like a kid on Christmas morning when this thing showed up in the mail! I immediately got to work on some of the baby food I needed to make that day since I couldn't wait to try out my new toy. After I made peas in no time flat, I texted a picture of my new toy to Dan and said, "this is changing my life."

I was only slightly exaggerating.

Here is a very brief tutorial on the art of making baby food...and a big plug for an immersion blender if you don't own one :-)

1) Cook your food according to it's kind (sorry - we've been studying Noah's Ark in church. "Each animal, according to it's kind..."). In this case, I steamed a bag of frozen peas. It doesn't get much easier than this. Then drain them and put them in your hand-dandy cup that came with your immersion blender.

2) Admire the beauty. Then pull the trigger and puree peas in about 5 seconds. Add a little water if necessary.

3) Scoop the lovely green substance into an ice cube tray to create individual portions. Then freeze it.

4) Pop off the end of your amazing new toy and wash it. That's it. That's all you have to clean up! (Well, for the mixer anyway - you'll still have to deal with the pot and cup. Still, not bad.)

5) Try not to trip over the cute little baldy that has you pinned in the corner. She's dangerous in this thing!

6) Pop the colorful cubes out and put them in some freezer bags. Don't forget to label them! (These are not peas, but sweet potatoes rather. See, that's why we label things.)

7) Feed them to your hungry beast. Or in my case, try really hard to get her to take just one bite. I believe I was successful in this instance.

**Side note** Does anyone have any tips on how to get an uninterested baby to eat? It took her a LOOOOONG time to really get the hang of it and we were finally cruising along with the solids. Then after her stomach bug last week, we're back to square one. She'll take a few bites of something (if that...and it doesn't seem to matter what it is) and then she's done. I'm worried she's not getting enough since she was eating so well before. Any suggestions are welcomed :)

My only problem now is that I'm running out of freezer space! I guess I'll just have to take a little hiatus from the frozen pizza section for awhile.

Here are a few of my other creations:

Peas & Squash

Mango, Zucchini, & Carrots - colorful :)

Just thought I'd offer a word of encouragement if anyone else out there is intimidated by the idea of making your own baby food. It's so easy and totally worth the effort! Just...spoil yourself a little and buy an immersion blender, okay? Tell your husband it's for the baby. You won't regret it!

coming up for air

Phwew. We made it. Alive & intact (for the most part anyway). That was one looooong 24 hours.

I know that "they" say "misery loves company." After yesterday, however, I am convinced that "they" couldn't possibly have meant to include the stomach flu in that general statement. And "they" especially couldn't possibly have meant to include the whole family. In fact, I'm not sure that "they" know what they're talking about at all...whoever "they" are anyway.

Okay, enough of that talk. The cleaning supplies are out, the sheets are washed, and the freshening up is well underway. We are obviously well on the road to recovery :)

In the meantime, I thought I'd throw out a random sampling of pictures from the last few weeks that have been sitting here, just waiting to be added to the blog.

Out for a walk.

Displaying one of her newest accomplishments - pulling up!


Enjoying a little picnic at a nearby vineyard for a friend's birthday.


Quite fashionable in a little summer outfit from Aunt Linda :)

One of her new favorite activities - helping Mom with the laundry.

What? I didn't do it!

Showing off her swimsuit from Grandma Karee!

She's getting awfully brave.

Quite the figure, eh?

A little poolside fun with Daddy.


She's pretty amazed with Daddy's garden.

One last visit from Uncle Brent & Aunt Kelsey before they moved back to MO. We've enjoyed these quick weekend trips so much while they've been close, but we look forward to seeing them in their NEW HOUSE next time we travel to Maysville.

We thought we'd start her on some table foods a little early. (just kidding...it was just something to play with for awhile)

Like I said, very random assortment, but I hope you enjoyed! Now, I better get back to my disinfecting. Happy weekend!

PJ Day Round 2, Family Style

Yep - all 3 of us have the bug, now. Lovely. Is this how you become a professional Mom? Trial by fire? Because after last night, I feel like I'm starting to earn my stripes.

No pictures today - Dan & I aren't exactly feeling very photogenic. But Caroline seems to be some better this morning, so I am very grateful for that. We'll see what the rest of today brings!

PJ Day

Yesterday, my sweet girl woke up sick. The evidence in her crib spoke for itself if you catch my drift (no pun intended). After a morning of unsuccessfully keeping anything down I began to worry about dehydration (call me a first-timer), so I called and was able to get her in to the pediatrician right away. The doctor confirmed that it was indeed just a simple stomach bug, so we stopped and picked up some pedialyte and headed back home.


When I got her up this morning only to discover another mess, I officially declared today a PJ Day for the both of us. So I handed her off to daddy in the shower, changed the bedding (again), started yet another load of laundry, and then we both changed into fresh pj's. One of the many blessings of being a stay-at-home mom, right?


I've learned several things in the last 36 hours that I thought I'd share:

1) There really is nothing worse than seeing your child sick.

2) I can do more loads of laundry in 1 day than I thought.

3) No matter how old I get, I still need my mother more than I think I do. I already knew this, but it was reinforced as I have called her numerous times for simple questions like - how do you get stains/smells out of the couch? Is Mr. Man washable (a sock doll that belonged to me as a girl - turns out, he is!)? What do I do now? Can you please come clean this up for me (just kidding - but I thought about asking)?

4) Sick babies are much more cuddly.

5) You'll always feel better after you call the doctor, so just do it.

6) Sick babies also sleep a lot, which helps with #2.

7) Daddy can't get home soon enough on sick days! (at least from my perspective...)


I'm sure I could add to that list...but Caroline just woke up. I'll leave you with some pictures of my sweet girl in her comfy pj's. (I'll spare you pictures of me - I'm not nearly so cute in mine.) As you can see, she's still in pretty good spirits despite the circumstances!

Great Grandma Schoon

I'm still playing catch-up here, but I have some pictures that just can't be missed. As I mentioned earlier, I was finally able to introduce Caroline to my Grandma Schoon when we were in Iowa a few weeks ago. I had made plans to make the trip up during Christmastime, but due to blizzards and some crazy-cold weather (I believe it reached -30* the day I was supposed to travel), I had to cancel my trip North. Needless to say, I was thankful to have the chance to finally get up there.


Not to brag, but my Grandma is quite the lady (it's ok to brag if it's about your grandma, right?). She grew up on a farm in NW Iowa, watched and prayed as her fiance was shipped off to war for 4 years (WWII), then married him as soon as he returned and promptly had 8 children in 11 years. They were in church every Sunday, filling an entire pew I'm sure, and I can still hear my Grandpa's deep gravely voice saying the Lord's prayer with more sincerity and solemnity than I've ever heard before or since. Breakfast at Grandma & Grandpa's house always consisted of homemade bread & jam, apple juice and morning devotions. Her faith has always been sure and unwavering.


Her family of 10 has multiplied as you can only imagine. Today she has 20 grandchildren (not counting our spouses), 31 great-grandchildren, and even 1 great-great-grandchild.


Grandma turned 90 last month. After suffering with glacoma for years, she is now totally blind and her general health is failing. It simply does not seem like my grandma sitting in the wheelchair in that nursing home...the same one I used to walk to with her to visit her mother. But God blessed us with a few precious moments together while we were there, moments I will cherish forever. Though her arms have held and loved countless babies over the years, it blessed me beyond measure to see her hold my baby and smile. Caroline was exceptionally mellow and sat on her lap and just stared up at her for a long time, studying her face. Though Grandma expressed a sadness over not being able to see her, she smiled when mom asked if she remembered what I looked like as a baby.


"Oh yes, I remember."

"She looks an awful lot like that," mom said. "With a lot of Dan mixed in there, too."


Before too long, mom had Caroline giggling, and I saw a smile slowly spread across Grandma's face. Softly, I heard her said, "Grandpa, you're missing something."


I'm not exactly sure how Heaven works, but I know that Grandpa is probably enjoying lots of babies' giggles from there!


It is an understatement to say that I am grateful for the legacy my family has handed down to me. It is who I am. And as I relished these precious few moments together, I gave thanks that this is now Caroline's legacy as well.

4 Generations