Four-Month Catch-Up

I have this issue with blogging- I want the posts journaling our lives to have nice pictures and pretty writing. So, I wait until these things magically happen...which they don't....then I realize I've forgotten everything weeks/months later. Hence, no updates for awhile. Before I get any further down this road, here is the catch-up post.

Kai at Bryce Canyon



MARCH
•Aaron started spring softball, and I started Zumba
•Wedding showers and birthday parties :)
•Aaron helped organize a Multicultural night at our ward with about 15 countries represented by natives or folks who served a mission there. Note: Aaron roped me into making a Mississippi booth (apparantly the equivalenet of a different country. At least I dowloaded lots of Blues music for us!)
•Aaron, Kai and I take a trip to Asheville - Aaron has a week-long epigenetics conference (hence, more scary things learned about the possible effects of Kai's environmental exposures to everything). I take yoga classes from Asheville Yoga Center and explore. It was our first time back since our wedding; we stayed at the hotel where part of our wedding party lodged! Lovely Asheville, maybe we'll live there one day...

APRIL
•Kai started crawling!
•General Conference meant lots of inspiration and sitting over the weekend.
•Farewell parties for friends and catching up with others visiting town :)
•I joined the ward Book Club and loved the first one - Moloka'i. Sadly, I realize this is the first time I've read for fun in years.
•Easter rocked: "Last Supper" dinner (fish, grapes, dates, and something green), read the Bible as a family, huge spread on Easter Sunday, watched inspirational videos, dyed eggs, and had an Easter Egg Hunt with Kai.

MAY
•Aaron, Kai, and I took a second trip to Asheville for Aaron's grad school retreat. More exploring/hiking with Kaiboy. We also won a costume contest for best superhero -we were all "supermen" with capes and the crested shirts.
•We spent Memorial Day weekend in Wilmington with my folks. The beach was beautiful, the traffic horrendous, the rented home artistic, the off-shore fishing fun (and a bit stomach-turning for me), the yoga studio and natural foods store awesome.
•Wedding guests! :)
•Mother's Day was pretty sweet. Aaron got me flowers and planted/cleaned our garden. We had a delicious spread at Mom and Dad's house and a small gift exchange.

JUNE
•Kai learned how to clap his hands! He is crawling up the stairs, and he is communicating through in series' of expressive grunts. Kai has become more social and started to smile/flirt/talk to strangers. He's finally getting over his aversion to men!
•Father's Day came with a homemade breakfast, dinner, and scanvenger hunt around Southwest Durham for presents. Aaron and Dad also went on four fly fishing lessons this month - my ploy to start them on a new healthy outdoor hobby! :)
•Rob (my oldest brother) came for a quick visit, lots of food, and Music in the Gardens.
•We vacationed for two weeks in Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Duck Creek Village, UT. It was one of my favorite vacations ever - especially with our great company (Towers family reunion and DC friend reunion) and lots of outdoor adventures (hiking, golfing, paintball, horseback riding, swimming, stargazing). We even got to hike the strip in Vegas a bit. Just got back yesterday and work is dragging after all the fun!



Zion Park from Angel's Landing

Grandparents' Shoot with KaiBoy

My parents requested another photoshoot for Kai's 9-month milestone with our brilliant photo-savy friend Sarah. We agreed, on the condition that the shoot include Kai with them. Aaron showed up during the last 10 minutes for a few photos. What do you think? Doesn't Mom look beautiful in that third one?

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I was inspired by this post at the Mother Huddle blog. (The photo is hers too.) This dessert was so beautiful and had dairy-free potential. For those of you who don't know, I went dairy-free a couple of months ago in attempts to figure out the cause of Kai's hives and excema. ANYWAY- the coconut ice cream was awesome. We used this recipe for the ice cream, and then topped with fruits and piled everthing in the cinnamon-sugar tortilla bowls. Simple and delicious summer treat!

Wah-Pow!

I follow a few religious blogs, non-Mo and Mo. On Faith, a blog on religion hosted by the Washington Post, periodically has guest posts from Michael Otterson, who is the head of public affairs for the LDS church. Check out his response to an evangelist's concerns about voting a Mormon into the presidential office.Otterson's article is not an endorsement of Mitt Romney, neither is this post. Simply a reasonable response to attempts to enforce a religious test on those running for public office. Check out this gem:

"What it seems you would like me and six million other Mormons in the U.S. to do is concede a fundamental right granted to all Americans because we don’t fit within your definition of what is theologically acceptable. Fortunately, that’s not what the Constitution says, and it’s not what America teaches. I should hope that I can sit one of my grandchildren on my knee and tell them that in our religiously diverse society they are as good as anyone else, and that they will be judged by the fruits of their lives and not by discriminatory interpretations of their faith."

My Brest Friend

Not a Freudian slip, but a type of breastfeeding pillow...much like the famous boppy, shaped and contoured to fit around your waist and to support baby's little body. I never had a brest friend pillow, but I think they name is hilarious and its a nice segway for an update on the world of nursing:

I love it.

9 months ago I NEVER thought I would ever say that. Mastering breastfeeding was the second hardest event of my life. Constant stress, constant frustration, constant pain. How did I not get that memo? It took Kai and me about 6 weeks to get it down- longest 6 weeks of my life! But we made it. I gritted my teeth, cried, got lots of support, and pushed through. I now completely understand the urge and pressure to formula feed – if you remember, we did use forumla to supplement our weight-losing baby at the advice of our peds team. Based solely on my instincts and my support system, I decided to wean Kai off the formula at one month old...against the advice of his pediatricians. It worked, rather easily. Nature came through! I felt as though we stepped out of a cave and into the light. Big change to go from lack of confidence in my abilities to empowerment after our adapatation and strength.

Now, my little guy and me are in a great routine. I feel like breastfeeding is magical, a bit hard to believe superfood comes from me so easily and often. Nursing is our bonding time, and I cherish those sweet moments. I feel so grateful to those who support me and Kai. Thank you!