Hijacked love letters

Memorial day found us strolling about Loose Park while Z and Grandpa ran an 8K. We found many awesome things in the park-- a pond, a rose garden, ducks and turtles-- but the coolest thing we stumbled upon was this love note someone had left. What a lovely surprise! I snatched the boy out of the stroller, because I could think of no better photo op than hijacking someone else's love letter. Turns out, it's one of my favorite pictures with Sam!

Sam @ 5 months

Okay, here it is... finally five months, before he is 6 months! HA!

Sam @ 5 months

Weight:

at birth: 9lbs 2.7 oz

  five months: 16 lbs 11 oz

Eating

Exciting news! You are eating solids! I know, you are so young... everyone tells us. But you would freak out every time we ate, because you were not. It didn't matter if I had JUST FED YOU, you wanted to eat with us. So I threw a toasted bread crust at you one day and you happily gnawed on it for a while, then at 2 more pieces of bread. Okay, then. Since then, we have given you mostly fruits and veggies-- cucumber, zucchini, green beans, asparagus, sweetpotato, apple, pears, (your favorite) mango, yogurt, and applesauce. After a lot of research, we decided to go the Baby-led weaning route with you, and it seems to suit you. We love watching you feed yourself and discover new foods. I don't think anyone is more delighted than your Grandpa S-- but I ma sure that shocks no one. Your very favorite thing in the whole world to eat-- Mango yogurt popsicles that mom created special just for you!
You are still taking formula feedings 6-8 ounces about 5 times a day and once in the middle of the night.

Sleeping

As soon as you hit 4 months old you went... um... I think I would like an early morning snack to get in more calories. So you only slept through the night for about a month and now we get up once in the night around 3:00 am and you suck down formula and fall immediately back asleep.

You've also got on a somewhat consistant nap schedule. About 45 mins at 11:00 a.m., about 2-2.5 hours at 2:30 p.m., and about 45 mins at 7:00 p.m. It's nice and predictable during the week when we are home most of the day-- weekends anything goes.

Likes

EATING! You squeal and laugh and throw things and enjoy your food thoroughly.

Sleeping on your tummy. You can roll wherever you want now... so the tummy it is. You could not be more pleased.

Bath time... you figured out how to splash. Oh my goodness is that a good time.

Your dogs. Your eyes are glued on them whenever they enter the room. they are fascinating, huh buddy? At night when you are trying not to go to sleep, mama plays with the dogs while daddy holds you, and you watch intently. And you giggle.

Sophie. Sophie the giraffe just might be your very favorite thing ever. She is so delightfully gummy and squeaky, you can't get enough of her. The girls you love in order go like this: Mama, Sophie the giraffe, grandmas, Aunt Melodie, other babies. Somedays... mama and sophie switch places on this list, huh?

Dislikes

Hot car rides. It's summer, it's getting hotter, and our cars don't have awesome airconditioning. You fuss in the car now (you used to love it!) because it's hot, and then we feel awful and try not to take you anywhere unless it is cool morning or cool evening.

Dirty diapers. You let us know, the instant that thing is dirty you want it off.

Going to bed... you've figured out the routine and hold your eyes as wide open as you can to avoid bed time. You eventually give in, but you hate going to sleep-- like you are afraid you might miss something.

Firsts

We are rolling for real now. All the time. All over the place. Front to back, back to front, left to right, right to left...

Solid food.

First Mother's day. It was such a special day for Mama. Last year on mother's day we announced to everyone you were coming, can you believe that? This year you were here with us, and everyone enjoyed you.

You were also dedicated on mother's day. Which was awesome. More to come on that...

Special talents

Eating popsicles. (everything else is hit and miss-- but the popsicle never misses your mouth. Hmmm...)

'Talking' about your day. You get chatty in the evenings, and can spend a good hour ya-ya-yaing and ma-geeeee-ing all about everything that you saw that day. It's entertaining especially because you respond to prompts, so we call people to share your conversation. :)

You respond to your name now. If you hear someone say "Sam" you turn your head and smile. Smart baby.

Things I don't want to forget

The way you straighten your legs and rotate your ankles when you get excited about something.

The happy squeals and the way your face lights up when the door opens and Daddy comes home. 

The sound of your giggles. The sound of your playing with daddy. The joy on your face and everyone else's when you start laughing that big fat belly laugh.

And here's some footage of you at five months old.

 

It is such a joy to watch you grow, Baby. We regularly stop and say to each other, look at how big he has gotten! Can you even believe it? We can't believe it. We had no idea how awesome you were going to be, Sam. You bring so much JOY to our lives. We love you so much.

cupcakes

It's been a little crazy around our house. I have been creating father's day presents, which through trial and error are turning out really cool-- but super time consuming.
And then this morning at 3 am when I was feeding Sam I was going-- dang. It's Mel's b-day and I don't have a good video plan. So I got up at 7 am and started whipping up some fake cupcakes (fake=something I could feed my 5 month old child without him going into a sugar coma.)
Organic applesauce muffins with yogurt 'frosting'. The sprinkles are contraband, but it was a birthday, and I didn't actually think he would dig in like he did. That's what I get for trying to guess what Sam will do next.
Anyway, whipped those babies up and got the video in one take, edited and sent to Auntie Mel...
but my kitchen is a disaster. It doesn't help that the dogs got in the trash today while I was putting sam down for a nap. Sigh.
Hopefully I'll have more completed projects to share soon.
And I hope to have Sam's 5 month post up before he is 6 months old. But no promises. Not when my brain dreams up videos of cupcakes at 3 am.

Bubble

Sam, you are too little to be able to remember this, but you loved your first trip to the aquarium. You loved it even more than Mama and Dad thought you would. You sat mesmerized, quietly following the fish with your eyes, kicking your feet with excitement when one would come closer. You put your hand against the glass, and much to your delight a little yellow and pink fish followed it. You tried very hard to touch the bright red starfish stuck to the glass-- I promise when you get older we will go back to the touch pool and you can touch a starfish, okay? You and mama looked at fish from inside a bubble, and that was pretty cool-- you can even see in the picture how focused you were on the little fish swimming by, not mama or the camera or anything else going on, you were all about the fish.
I love you, your sense of wonder and curiosity, and your capacity to learn and take in new things. So glad you liked the fish, buddy.

Lust

Mmmm... pretty.

100+

Source: moneysavingmom.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Deadline.
My personal challenge to remove 100 items from my house is up today.
Are you dying to know how I did? are you waiting on the edge or your seat to find out if I made it to 100? I am sure you are... (ha!) But before i talk about results i want to talk a little about the process.
So how was it? Was it hard to part with things?
It was for me at first. Well, honestly when I started the challenge I had in my mind a list of the things i wanted to get rid of, so i felt confident going in. And then I gathered up those things and wrote them down... and I had 12 things. And I have to say, I was a little disappointed it wasn't more. How would I ever make it to 100? What was I going to have to 'give up' that I wanted to keep, simply to make this goal? And I started to get all needy and possessive and selfish about my stuff--
It's silly to get rid of this stuff that has value, or this stuff that I am not using now... but might some day. I need this stuff... I paid for this stuff... I have earned this stuff.
And then somehow, I heard this self talk-- and I was appalled.
That is exactly what got me into this over-stuffed house to begin with. That is the opposite of living simply and content. It is the exact opposite of living gratefully.  And I do not wish to be that selfish, ungrateful person telling herself she earned all this. YUCK.
So I started cleaning and sorting and getting rid of things. Some stuff was junk--trash-- that I held onto for sentimental reasons. I carefully logged the memory in my mind, or wrote it down in a journal if it was important, then got rid of the item.
Some things I found in my wardrobe were things I didn't even like or couldn't wear, but I had held onto them for the brand name, the status, the fact that I liked seeing 40 pairs of pretty shoes lined up in my closet even if I only reasonably wear 4 on a regular basis. People don't give a crap what brand name is on the pants that fit you poorly, Valerie. It was time to get rid of those items and those delusions.
Some things, I started cleaning out, and realized how much excess we had. Really. We have 2 beds and 10 sets of sheets in our house. 2 adults and 16 bath towels. Over a hundred pairs of socks between the two of us. That is entirely out of control. And does nothing but encourage me to do laundry less often. Our excess was harboring laziness in our house, and it was time to get rid of it.
This week I cleaned out our linen closet, my spice cabinet, half of my wardrobe (the other part didn't make the deadline), my jewelry box, and several boxes in our storage area downstairs. Do you want to know what items left our house?
1 box full of old magazines
1 large tub of books (there were probably 40 or so there, I didn't count them)
12 DVD's
1 Baby Bullet we aren't going to use
2 cookbooks
1 folder full of recipes I printed off and never tried
6 sheet sets
1 fitted sheet
5 pillow cases
1 comforter set (comforter, bedskirt, shams, and decorative pillows)
8 towels
5 hand towels
10 wash cloths
1 kuerig storage tower
1 grilling basket
1 pizza spatula
1 basement throw rug
1 chipped salad plate
1 folding desk
1 folding chair
1 humidifier
1 melted tupperware bowl
2 plastic tub/boxes I kept jewelry in
1 plastic jewelry pouch
30 pieces of jewelry in good condition
10 pieces of jewelry that were broken beyond repair and thrown out
3 hair accessories
16 clothing items
15 baby clothing items
8 bottle of baby products sam can't use (dang allergies!)
1 baby play gym
1 candle
3 picture frames
4 empty shoe boxes
And  17 bottles that were duplicates/expired in my spice cabinet.

So... did you do the math? That is 173 items removed from my home.
WHEW! I have to say I am exhausted after a busy week of cleaning, sorting, and getting rid of stuff... but oh my word, I feel better.
Really. It's been kind of freeing getting rid of this stuff. And cleaning out all the excess, trash, and uneccessary makes me feel like I have better access to use and enjoy the things still in my house. Also cleaning and getting rid of stuff is kind of addictive. I got started and then it felt so good I just kept going and going. And I am not stopping today just because it is the challenge deadline. Admittedly, I might slow down a bit, but I am going to keep working toward storing and holding onto less stuff.
Becuase at the very beginning of this challenge that's what I said I wanted, right? LESS STUFF. I am happy to report I achieved it, and it feels great.

So how did you do? Did you make your goal? What did you get rid of? How do you feel? Tell us about it all in the comments! :)

Summertime Salad!

I made this salad for a church potluck a few weeks ago and it met rave reviews! I was pleased that so many people liked it, and so many people asked me for the recipe. This is not a Valerie original recipe... I found it on pinterest, the original source is here. Of course I tweaked it a tiny bit to my liking... so I am reposting her recipe with my changes. (Her food photography is much more beautiful than mine...so you might want to check out the source just for drool-worthy pics of food!) Enjoy!

Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad

(with cilantro vinaigrette)

4  Ears Corn, husk removed, brush with olive oil and grill, remove corn from cob
2 Avocados, diced
juice of 1/2 a lime
2 C. Tomatoes, red and yellow cherry variety (or sometimes I use diced heirlooms... yum)
1 Small red onion, finely diced
¾ C. Feta, crumbled
1 ½ C. English cucumber, skin on and chopped small dice

Pour lime juice over avocado and toss to coat (this will prevent browning) Add to a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cilantro Vinaigrette

6 T. Olive oil

3 T. Sherry vinegar
1 t. finely minced garlic (or rub with salt to make a paste)
2 T. Fresh cilantro, minced
½ t. Salt
10 Grinds of fresh ground pepper

Add all of the above ingredients in a small glass jar with a lid. Shake really well. Taste and adjust seasoning and ratios of oil and vinegar as you desire.

When ready to serve salad, add the dressing and gently toss.