Strawberries II

I guess this is what happens when you buys 13 lbs of strawberries, but Andrew is obsessed with them. He eats strawberries at least 5-6 times a day. Anytime we open the fridge he wants one. He likes to grab them and squeeze the juice out and then lick it and then break pieces off to eat. Thankfully, we'll be leaving on vacation tomorrow - otherwise, I think weaning him off of millions of strawberries would be very hard.

CSA: Week #1

We joined the Beautiful Earth Family Farm CSA (community supported agriculture) this year. Basically, you pay your fee at the beginning of the year which they use for seeds, etc. and then each week through the summer, you pick up a box of veggies! We are very excited. The farm is working towards being certified organic and uses all organic methods. Chandra, the woman in charge, is really nice and explained to us how to cook all the vegetables. This is going to be a great summer and fall. We can't wait for yummy fresh veggies, especially ones new to us, plus being able to introduce them to Andrew.

This is week #1 of 20. Because the season is just starting (it was a cold, long winter / spring), it's a "lite" share with mostly lettuces, but it's going to get a lot bigger. I thought I would keep track of every week.

This week:

Red Russian Kale Greens Bunched
Baby Collard Greens Bunched
Rapini and Mixed Stir Fry Greens
Red and Green Leaf and Baby Butter Lettuces
Green Garlic tops and bulbs

Andrew is 13 months old

Andrew is 13 months old. He has grown up a lot in the last month.

First and greatest - he is walking. I was kind of hoping he would hold out on this for a while, because I knew the moment he started walking, he would be everywhere. Oh, well. I still can not believe how fast the whole process was. We showed him how to walk between us the day after his birthday and by the end of the week, he was taking off from the furniture (never much of a hand holder) and now he is a really really good walker. He can stand up without the use of furniture, he can walk over small obstacles (like the door frame), he can walk some sideways and even a bit backwards. Fortunately, he hasn't gotten into a lot more stuff yet and he can't run yet, but I am sure those things are to come. He hardly ever crawls anymore and pretty much walks everywhere - including the tub. Silly boy. He also climbs up little hills on the complex and loves going up (and sometimes down) stairs.

Eating is getting much better, too. Although he threw up a few times this week, that seemed a bit unusual. He usually swallows at least 50-75% of the food we give him, which is great. His favorite foods are: Kix cereal, Ritz crackers, strawberries, seaweed, yogurt, frozen vegetables (carrots, green beans, corn, and peas), beans (lentils, pinto, kidney, chickpeas), and rice. He, of course, still loves to nurse and also drinks tons of water, but is not interested in cow's milk at all! He is also starting to have a regular meal schedule and eat 3 meals and a couple snacks a day. This is taking me a bit to get used to because before he ate so little meals were more of a formality. But he definitely reminds me when he is hungry.

Andrew's speaking and comprehension seem to have grown a lot this month. Previously, about the only words he really responded to were "Where is Joe (our cat?)" or "Where is daddy" and he would then search around for the said person. Now, he really responds to what I say. It's really fun. If I ask him if he'd like to go outside, he'll walk to the door and wait. If I ask if he wants to eat, he'll go over to his highchair and wait for me to put him in. He also will respond to simple commands - this means the days of him being able to do chores are coming closer!!! He says more words now. He regularly says: Dad(dy), Mom(my), Joe, done, and thank you. He also says occasionally: bed, water, where, this, that, yeah, bath, bird(?), cat(?). Of course, it is still very hard to tell when he is trying to say real words, but he babbles ALL the time and is always pointing at what he wants.

Sleeping - well, as you know, with Katsu gone, this has been a hard month. Though, Andrew has been taking a two hour nap in the very early afternoon (like 11ish) pretty regularly. Thank heavens.

Andrew is getting more social. He sits by the window and watches the kids playing until we go outside. He is still too little to really play with them but he wants to be close. He still thinks Joe is his best friend ever and laughs the hardest whenever he is "playing" with Joe - throwing a ball to him or having him chase a string or stick.

Andrew's favorite things to do are run around the house, pick things up and carry them, try to get into the cat's litter box and water bowl, play with his toys - especially his blocks and his activity cube, read his books, and go outside. He also likes to cuddle with me, Katsu, and the cat. He is very very good at playing independently and even prefers half the time if he reads books next to me instead of sitting in my lap while I read to him. He also loves looking through cook books and photo albums. He really loves playing with his toys and plays with him all the time. I guess he isn't like other kids where their parents say they never play with their toys. When he wakes up from naps and cries, as soon as I come in the room, he stops crying and points to his toys. No, "Hi, Mom", just "get me out of here - I want to play". And he goes straight for them and is playing within a couple seconds flat.

The funnest things this month for Andrew were going strawberry picking and playing outside and learning to walk.

We love Andrew a lot and are glad he is in our lives. Now, if we could just all get a little more sleep ...

Yikes

Yikes! I have been so focused on getting through Katsu's absence (this makes the last of 14 days in the last month where he has been out of town), that I just realized today that we are going to London this week. With a one year old baby who eats real food (which I will have to pack) and is walking (and is going to want to walk the whole plane ride ...). And besides accommodations and a train ride, we have virtually nothing planned beyond the wedding festivities and a rough idea of what cities we will be in on which day. YIKES!!!!!!!! Now, I am totally started to get stressed out. Just three days to get everything together, sign our lease for the next year, pick up our first installment of our CSA at the Farmer's market, put a hold on our mail, get the flat tire on our car fixed, etc etc etc. AHHHHH!!!! I better get going.

Where have all the piano players gone?

I used to enjoy playing the piano. I thought it was fun. And I enjoyed playing at church. I played in Young Women's and seminary. After I graduated but before going to college, I played the piano for the ward choir. At college, I played in Relief Society. I played at Institute. I should have been starting to see a trend ...

When we got married, initially I started playing the piano in the primary because they did not have a pianist and were using CDs or sister missionaries to fill the need. I felt bad and volunteered - first mistake. Even after my official calling switched from being a counselor in the Primary from pianist, I still was the official pianist for a good chunk of the time.

Then, we moved to Ann Arbor. I hate when they ask you what your previous callings were because then you know ... just know if really fess up, you are going to be stuck in the same calling for the rest of your life. Especially in you play the piano. Especially if you can play all the hymns and Primary songs without any advance notice. I guess it makes you quite a hot item.

So, lo and behold, here in Michigan, my first calling was: Primary pianist. Surprise, surprise. That lasted about a year, maybe a year and a half. Then, they called me to be a Primary teacher. For about six months. But with little Andrew on the way, they decided to give me an easier calling - guess what? Relief Society Pianist.

That lasted about six months. When they decided to call me as a Relief Society teacher. With a caveat - they didn't have anyone who could play the piano. So, if me and another sister could just have it as an unofficial calling. So, I was really still the pianist, at least most of the time.

Bringing us to the next calling update. Now, not only am I teaching Relief Society once a month, but I am once again: the Primary pianist!!!!!! I know - I also thought those callings were mutually exclusive. And everyone has been very vague about how the two will align on the Sundays I teach. Supposedly it is only a summer thing, but I know the true black hole nature of the Primary, so I am officially casting doubt on that option.

So, my question is - what happened to all the other piano players? Do they exist? Are they in hiding? Or does no one take lessons anymore? Because seriously, I am thinking of forcing my kids to quit piano lessons before they are competent on hymns or primary songs. It's really for their own benefit.

Strawberries

(Unbelievable as it may be to those in Texas, but) It is now strawberry season in Michigan! I just got an email this week from the local U-Pick, so Andrew and I headed out this morning and picked about 8 lbs of strawberries. Andrew feel asleep on the way over there and when he woke up, he was right in the middle of strawberry fields! He was pretty happy the first 45 minutes or so just sitting and munching on strawberries. His shirt is completely stained red from the juice. Then, he was done, and we finished up and bought some supplies for freezer jam. I am sure the people at the store really thought I was a negligent mom because Andrew was SO filthy, but there was no way I was going to go home and clean up and then go back out to buy pectin. I haven't made freezer jam for a few years and last time I made it it didn't set up, so wish me luck!!!

5 years, going strong

Today is our 5 year anniversary. We've been celebrating in bits and pieces - out to a movie (Indiana Jones) last weekend, out to eat on Thursday before Katsu left for San Francisco and Katsu had the most beautiful roses (with chocolate and a balloon) delievered yesterday. They are so gorgeous. Unfortunately, I can't find any wedding pictures on this computer ... but here is our engagement picture.



And this is us now!



I have been thinking about our wedding and I loved it!!! There is almost nothing I would change out it. We had a small reception on a harbor cruise in the Boston Harbor with close friends and family and I loved loved loved it. I have never been to a reception that I enjoyed more than mine, which is how I think it should be for everyone.

It's been a fun five years. It feels a lot shorter, but when I look back at all we've done. I can't believe we've already spent 3 years on our PhD!!! Yikes!

The Longest Month Ever, of so it's seemed

This has been a LONG, HARD month. And of course, it always deals with my favorite things about babies - eating and sleeping! After returning from Toronto, of course, Andrew's sleeping was a little amiss. He seemed to do okay, but then, less than a week later, Katsu left to Japan. The plan was that I would just put Andrew to bed and then he would have to cry. Katsu normally puts him to bed and goes in there as needed. If I go in, Andrew wants to nurse, end of story. I am zero comfort to him otherwise, I guess. So, he cried and cried. And cried and cried. And I am hating it. And then, as I'm about to go comfort Andrew and in my pajamas, the neighbors decided they'd had enough it (our lovely upstairs neighbors) and stomp down the stairs and buzz our door repeatedly. Well, I'm an emotional mess already and in my pajamas and comforting Andrew, so I didn't answer the door, but I get the message - shut the baby, up. So, I rock him to sleep. Which takes way too long - at least 30 minutes, probably longer. I don't remember anymore.

And then he wakes up several times in the night. And I go in. And more often then not, he ends up nursing. I don't like nursing him at night - he's too old for it, in my opinion. But when I go in he puts his body totally vertical. He won't let me hold him. If I just go in and say hi, it makes it worse. If I just leave him, he will cry for over an hour - and we're both exhausted, as are the neighbors, I guess.

So, unfortunately, this pattern has continued basically all month. Katsu got home from Japan, but was pretty jetlagged and helped as he could. But within a week, he was gone again to Indianapolis. And then, he was home and helped, but today he left for San Francisco. And then he's home for a couple days before we leave to London. Leaving no time to even attempt sleep training, really. So, we are having a miserable month. Andrew wakes up pretty consistently twice a night and will scream for over an hour if you don't nurse him (which happened last night) and then just wake up every hour thereafter until you do nurse him.

I hate it - night nursings are totally making me depressed. Like baby blues that never goes away. Every night I just feel like a) a total failure of a mom for being able to figure out nursing or sleeping and b) how much I dislike being a mom and how this all is not worth it. I love Andrew. But I am not a huge fan of babies. I hate dealing (as I'm sure everyone does) with sleeping and eating issues. I am really really tired of nursing. And I am mostly just really tired. Andrew has only slept the whole night through without waking up like maybe 3 times his whole life. Even when sleep training was working well, he still woke up around 4:30 to eat. (That is his favorite eating time - any other breastfeeding is easier to get rid of). I was talking to a friend about Andrew's non-sleeping and she's like, "Weren't you the person who said you had to have 8 hours of sleep a night? How is that working?" Yes, that was me, and no, it's really not working, unless you count a very depressed Amanda.

So, here's to all the people who can have lots of babies and love it and still want to squash their little cheeks. And to all the people, who even the first few weeks, say it is definitely worth all the spitting up and night feedings and wakings and diaper changes. Because, I have never felt that way. Hopefully, by the time Andrew is sleeping and eating well (I'm thinking like 4 years old), I will feel like it was all worth it. But right now, not so much.

[pity party ending now]

Belated: Pictures from Andrew's birthday party

We had a great barbecue birthday party for Andrew which was lots of fun and very yummy. He loved eating chips but was not very interested in the birthday cupcakes which he mostly just threw in the dirt. His favorite parts were the presents and the fabulous helium balloons his dad bought for him. He would hardly let me get him in or out of his car seat because then he had to let go of the balloon. For the first hour at the park, he wouldn't even let me take him to the slide because he wanted to hold the balloons. They got away from us once, but thankfully I ran really fast across the park before it was too high for me to reach. We still have said balloons, though all the helium is almost out of them. They have long ceased to fly.

Opening presents at home:



New fun toys:



The balloons:





The spread:



The guests (some of them):



And the birthday boy:

Books: May 2008

While doing this post, I always conclude that I read too much. But perhaps that is my only sanity ...

Helping me help myself : one skeptic, ten self-help gurus, and a year on the brink of the comfort zone - The story of a woman who never was into self-help, but decided to try it out for a year. I honestly don't know why I read the whole thing (and in a day, no less), since it wasn't all that interesting, and I found the author a big strange. But on the other hand, I find the sort of people who attend these self-help seminars and the czars who run them a little bizarre. Especially after hearing more about these self-help gurus ... well, they sound crazy to me. Interesting. 3/5 stars.

Deceptively delicious : simple secrets to get your kids eating good food - Jerry Seinfield's wife wrote this recipe book, so it's not exactly a "read", but I like the idea about baking with purees. I already tend to add purees to my baking (esp. banana bread) and now the idea of adding purees of things I don't like (think cauliflower and brocolli) to baked and other goods appeals, but I still want to try to get my kid vegetables the real way. But to add even more nutrients, sure why not? At least it got me thinking. 3/5 stars

Little sugar addicts : end the mood swings, meltdowns, tantrums, and low self-esteem in your child today - I don't know why I picked this up except I was looking for nutrition books for kids. Andrew is definitely not a sugar addict (Eating most solids would probably come first), but I think I might be. But actually going off of sugar ... um, that would be really hard. 3/5 stars

Playstation nation : protect your child from video game addiction - I really liked this book - it mostly focuses on the addictive nature of video games. I don't think video games are entirely bad, but I do think they can be very addictive and I definitely saw a lot of college guys just totally waste their lives away playing. And I think that is the real danger, so this book really inspired me to make sure our family has lots of fun alternative activities from the beginning that we are involved in as a family so this kind of entertainment has less appeal from the beginning (we are thinking of going camping often, as a family, for example). 4.5 / 5 stars

Funny in Farsi : a memoir of growing up Iranian in America - This book is about an Iranian girl growing up in the US. SO FUNNY. It is told in little vignettes which are loosely tied together. I think of it as a book form of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", but they're Iranian, not Greek, and it isn't about a wedding. 4.5 / 5 stars

The senator's wife - This book was okay, but had way too much sexuality for my taste. I think the part I liked best was thinking about what really makes a marriage and really figure out how I feel about the senator's marriage. 2 / 5 stars

A charmed life : growing up in Macbeth's castle - This is about a women who grew up in a Scottish family on the castle where Macbeth takes place as her father gradually grows crazy. Fascinating to see what that kind of life is like and definitely helped get me in the mood for our trip, but ultimately not my favorite and I didn't finish it. 3/5 stars

The appeal - A fun easy read by Grisham, like usual. 3/5 stars

Mortal causes : a John Rebus mystery - I only got through about 1/4 of this. I guess mysteries are just not my thing anymore. 2/5 stars

And I am currently reading
The feminine mystique
and enjoying it very much.