Baby food makin' machine!

Even before Charlie was born, I knew that I wanted to make his baby food. For some reason, I never even thought of the idea that I could do that when Jackson was a baby. We just went with the flow and bought jarred baby food without a second thought. This time around I knew I wanted to do it differently. I wanted to know exactly what I was putting into my child's mouth without all the added preservatives and other chemicals that can be found in store bought baby food. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing mommas that choose to use jarred baby food, believe me. I did that with Jackson and I don't have any regrets about it and he's a perfectly healthy little man. I just wanted to take a different route with Charlie.

Now that we've gotten him started on some solid foods, I have literally become a baby food factory! Eric and I spent last weekend getting all the produce I would need and spent time together in the kitchen, steaming and pureeing different fruits.

Starting with some peaches!

My little helper

The peaches steaming away

Time for the Magic Bullet!

It was actually some great quality time with my husband. It felt good knowing that we were preparing our son's food together. And let me tell you - it was incredibly rewarding when Charlie took his first bite of our hard work! He loved it (we started with bananas) and he had his first taste of apples this morning. He wasn't so sure about the apples, but we'll get there. The bottom line is this - making baby food is fun!

I think he likes it!

Farewell LOST

As millions of people know, the series finale for LOST was on Sunday night. We have been watching it from the very beginning and I truly believe it was one of the most genius shows of all time. Love it or hate it, you can't deny that it has had it's impact on pop culture forever. The writing was amazing, the acting superb, and you were easily connected to each character in different ways.

I won't say much about the finale since I still have some readers who have yet to watch it, so I don't want to give away anything. I do know that there are many who loved the finale and there were many who hated it. I was one who loved it. I thought it was very well done and incredibly emotional to watch. I thought the creators did a wonderful job tying up each character and I felt satisfied with how it ended.

Eric and I were treated to a once in a lifetime opportunity - we were able to watch the LOST finale in a movie theater. It was absolutely incredible. His sister's friend works at a community center not far from here and she put together a huge LOST party for friends and family. We were able to watch the finale on a gigantic HD projector screen in a 400 seat movie theater... talk about amazing! It was a blast and I can't imagine watching it any other way. Thanks Amy and Nick for the invite!

Our view of the big screen - Hi Sawyer!

Rice Cereal Adventures!

We hit a pretty major milestone yesterday - Charlie's first time eating rice cereal. I can't believe he's already six months. Where in the world has the time gone? It was seriously a nano second ago that he was rolling around inside of my tummy. Now he's sitting in his Bumbo Seat (the best baby invention on the planet) eating cereal. Can we slow down time just a little please? I do have to say that I'm very proud of myself for going six months exclusively breast feeding my little monkey. Since I had to supplement with formula for Jackson, I was positive I would have to do the same for Charlie. But we did it - for six whole months, I was able to provide everything he needed. It was a rough start and I'm very thankful for my sweet husband who kept me going when I wanted to quit. Thank you, sweetheart, for your continuous support.

There's no ifs, ands, or buts - my boy is going to love eating. Is that any surprise considering Jackson eats like there's no tomorrow. It was pretty entertaining to watch his reaction as the cereal entered his mouth. You could literally see him saying, "THANK YOU God for this meal set before me!"

Alright Mom, let's do this!

What is this thing you're putting in my mouth??

This is interesting...

Hmm... I'm not too sure about this!

WHOA!! This is craziness!

Yep, I like it... any more on my hand??

And for your viewing pleasure, here's Mr. Charlie eating for the first time. Talk about crazy tongue!!

Blast from the past

It's still so hard for me to believe, but it's been ten years since I graduated from high school. It's strange because in some ways it feels like no time has passed, yet it also feels like a completely different life. Like everyone else, I had a very tight knit group of friends. Specifically there were seven of us that made up my "close" friends. Leah, Donny, Isaac, Laura, Tyler, and Jared. As the years have quickly passed, I have kept in touch with all but one of them. We have all gotten on with our lives - getting married, having kids, careers, homes, life. But on the rare occasion that we're able to get together, it's like no time has passed at all. Suddenly we're back to being kids with none of the adult responsibilities that are now piled on our shoulders.

Donny came into town this weekend with his new lovely wife, Taylor. I was ecstatic when I learned they would be here and Leah and I immediately started planning a BBQ to celebrate his return. Several e-mails were tossed around our "group" desperately trying to get everyone together. It ended up being Leah and her husband, myself and Eric, Donny and his wife, and Tyler. Jackson had a blast playing with Leah's little girl, Hailey, while Charlie was content to be passed around the group. We gathered in Leah's home and made some great memories with good food and many laughs. I won't deny that there was a long walk down memory lane, but our spouses took it in stride!

Donny and Taylor

Little Miss Hailey

Jackson doing some yard work

I left the party feeling so happy inside. I truly didn't realize just how much I missed these special people in my life until we were together again. I was so fortunate and blessed to have such amazing friends through my high school years. I miss those times, but last night was a solid reminder that we can still get together and have new adventures together. Only now our group is growing by adding spouses and kids. What could be better than that?

Donny, Leah, Me, and Tyler

Remembering to reflect

Over the last few nights, Charlie has decided to go back to being a newborn. He is literally waking up every two hours on the dot. I know he's not waking from hunger - he just wants the comfort of being in his mommy's arms. Last night was pretty brutal. He woke at 2:30 to eat and was up again at 4:15. I decided to try and let him self soothe himself, which I quickly realized was not going to happen. So I then resorted to the pacifier and Charlie looked at me like I was a crazy woman. He couldn't understand why I wasn't picking him up and comforting him. It broke my heart into a million pieces. This went on until 5:00 until I couldn't take it anymore and picked him up. He nursed for only a few precious moments and he was asleep again.

It wasn't until I was feeding him this morning after he woke that I had a revelation. He was staring into my eyes while eating and I paused to reflect on the fact that he is growing so fast. He will be six months next week and I can't fathom how so much time has already passed. He went from being a blob in my arms to this active, alert baby. Before I know it, he'll be cruising around the house, eating regular food, and ultimately sleeping through the night. As much as I'll adore getting a full night of sleep again, I will miss nursing him. I will miss this closeness I share with him in those dark, quiet nights.

When they say to enjoy every moment because it goes so fast, they weren't kidding. It seems that time goes faster with each day. I think it's because as moms, we're so focused on getting through each day, we forget to just pause and reflect. Sleep can be replaced... this short amount of time with my little boys can't. I need to remember to stop sometimes and savor these days when my babies are just that - babies.

Time for a new name

Okay, I have put this off for far too long. I started this blog without knowing what I wanted to call it. I didn't want to continue putting off writing just because I didn't have a clever name for it. Well, I think it has officially become time to rename the blog. The only problem? I still cannot decide what I want to name it.

So I'm asking for help from my loyal readers. I need some tips and suggestions on what to name this bad boy. Just a few notes about myself: I'm a stay at home mommy to two little boys, love taking care of my home and family, and truly relish in the fact that I'm a mom to boys. So c'mon readers - it's time for a game of NAME THAT BLOG!

P.S. Is is completely and utterly lazy that I'm relying on the help of other people to name my blog??

Glacier on my mind

There are two locations in this country that are my favorite places on the planet: Disney World and Glacier National Park. Throughout my childhood, we made many trips to both of these places and the memories have stuck with me as I've grown. It's funny - I find myself wanting to share the same experiences with my own children now that I'm a mother. Since Jackson was born in 2006, we have made one trip to Disney World for his first birthday and two separate trips to Glacier.

Now that summer is quickly approaching, I find myself constantly dreaming of Glacier. We missed our trip last summer since I was pregnant, and let me tell you - I really missed it. And as my little boy gets older, I want him to experience everything it has to offer. All I can think about are the gigantic mountains that tower over you, the green forests, the thousands of rivers and streams, and the peacefulness that overtakes you the moment you arrive.

My poor dad is in a quick scramble to try and find us a cabin to rent for a week this summer. Almost everything is already completely booked. He has found one place that looks absolutely incredible, so my hopes are high that we'll get to go this year. I feel like I need it. I need that escape to God's most incredible creations.

Anyway, I found myself browsing through some pictures from our trip in 2007. Jackson was only 18 months old and we had the best time. I'm praying desperately that we'll be back again this August.