3 Weeks and 5 Years later

Well, we survived our marathon vacation to Utah. James was a champ ... no, make that a super-champ. He traveled well, he slept well, and he stole the hearts of all his aunts, uncles, and cousins (if they weren't his already). And though 3 weeks was a very long time to spend on vacation, we decided in the end that it was well worth it to be able to spend quality time with family.

Bonding with his namesake ... there is wisdom passing through the years.

He thought great-grandma Averett's doggy sounds were very funny!

Baby races and cage fights with cousin Marshall :)

The other bonus of being in Utah was that we got to take advantage of the free and willing babysitting. Jon and I stole away for 2 days to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Yes, that's right, I have been married to the most amazing husband in the world for a whole 5 years!! They've been the best of my life, and I can't wait for 500 more! We celebrated by staying at a lovely little B&B in Moab, Utah and rediscovering our love for hiking together (and for each other, of course). Arches was beautiful - I especially loved our sunset hike to the license-plate-famous Delicate Arch.

If you look real close, you can see Jon down under the arch!

Off to Utah

We're headed to Utah tomorrow. A 14-hour drive and just over 3 weeks with a baby ... are we nuts? Maybe. But we're looking forward to it all the same (we'll see what I'm saying after it's all done!)

Know any good road trip games? How about secrets to keeping a baby happy in the car for a whole day?

Reflections

So I've been having a hard time thinking up things to blog about lately. I don't know what my deal is, but I sit down with the urge to blog and then cannot come up with anything interesting to write ... maybe this is what they call writer's block?

Anyway, in an effort to break through the block I'm going to break out of my "comfort zone" (my mom lectured me for years about the value of doing that, and I try to trust my mother's judgment) and go for some personal reflections. Here goes...

As I get older, I increasingly feel the need to make deeper connections with people - to want to feel like I've touched or been touched by my interactions with others. I guess I see this as the foundation of solid, deep friendships, which is something I've never felt very confident about. I'm fine with meeting people, being friendly, and having a number and variety of "acquaintances," but I feel like my interactions stay right there and rarely deepen into what I would call close "friendships." I'm not really sure what to do about it, but there you have it - one of the burning questions of my life ... how does one move from "acquaintance" to "friend"? Any ideas out there?

Okay, enough therapy (this from the psychologist breaking out of her comfort zone) ... thanks for listening, Blogworld, I'm done now.

(p.s. in case you're wondering ... the picture has nothing much to do with this post, but since I see every post as another opportunity to sneak in a picture of my favorite baby in the world, there it is!)

Summer Fun!

Yay! Summer has started, which means I get a few weeks of freedom to be home and be mommy. There are many things I love about my work, but this has got to be one of the biggest!

So, summer's start has also coincided with James' 6-month birthday, which means the start of solid foods. I decided that living in an area with so much accessible fresh produce that we should try making our own baby food for James. We've barely begun to skim the surface of possible baby puree "recipes," but I'm impressed so far by how simple it is. I love knowing exactly what's going into his food, and I'm surprised by how much fun I'm actually having with the whole process (I think it feeds my creative cooking side - I actually even went so far as to by a baby puree recipe book).

Basically, here's what we do:
1. Cut up the fruit/veggies.
2. Steam them.
3. Puree them (we use our food processor).
4. Put the pureed mush into an ice cube tray prepped with a slight bit of non-stick cooking spray.
5. Freeze.
6. Pop out into freezer bag (labeled with food and date) to save until ready to eat.

Then, when we're ready to eat, I just take out an ice brick of the day's treat, let it thaw or microwave it for about 30 seconds, and voila - a lovely mash for James to enjoy. We've started with the basics, his favorites so far are sweet potatoes and carrots (with a tiny pinch of cinnamon) and peas. He is not a fan of apples ... go figure. But I can't wait until we graduate to more "gourmet" recipes like "chicken with sweet potato and apple" or "tomato, cauliflower, and carrot with basil" or "apricot, apple, pear, and vanilla" ... I think I'll want to start having what he's having!

Happy Fathers' Day

To the Fathers in my life:

• To my husband and the amazing father of my son: Thanks for taking a fully participatory, lovingly active role in raising our baby boy. I love the look in his eyes when he looks up and smiles at his daddy.

• To my Dad: Thanks for being a listening ear so many times that I've needed one. Thanks for being in tune with the Spirit to know those moments to call and lift my spirits.

• To my Father-in-law: Thanks for being a bright light of positive energy that makes me feel such a welcome part of your family. Thanks for teaching so many great skills to your son.

• To my Eternal Father: Thank you for all the blessings that fill my life with so much joy.
  

Sitting Pretty

James is learning lots of new tricks these days, and I can't help but post a picture of one of his latest.

Happy Mothers' Day!

I know many amazing mothers, and I am grateful for the example and influence of all of the women who take a "motherly" role in my life. But, I am especially grateful this Mothers' Day for two mothers in particular.

My own mother is my model - the person I think of in almost every respect when I think of the mother I want to be. She has modeled to me how to be patient when your children perhaps don't deserve patience, how to sacrifice and put your children's needs first, how to smile through the hard times, and how to make everyone around you feel like the most important person in the world. Most of all I have learned from my mom that unconditional love is the most important trait that I want to cultivate as a mother, and my greatest desire is to have a heart as big as my mom's.

The other amazing mother in my life is my mother-in-law. She has raised an amazing group of children, and I am eternally grateful to her for all of the wonderful qualities that she instilled into (at least) one of her sons. She is an example to me of hard work, of appreciating a job well done, and of focusing on those things that are most important in life.

This year, especially, I have become aware of the many sacrifices that go into being a mother, most of which stem from your enormous wish that you can give this child in your arms all that he deserves. In those moments when you want to be the best mother you can but have absolutely no idea how, I look to and am grateful for the examples I have been given from these amazing mothers.