2 Things

Yesterday evening, I took Sprout on a little walk. It was a nice and quiet little time that we shared (with the exception of a Golden Retriever who kept running to the edge of his invisible fence while barking like at us like we were thieves in the night). Anyway, I got to thinking about two things that I am grateful for…

1. I am grateful for my stroller! It has a fantastic story behind it … and here it is! July third was my birthday. I received $50.00 and I knew exactly what I would do with that money. I was going to buy Sprout a stroller! A nice, lightweight stroller. That morning Andrew and I dropped Sprout off at his grandparents’ house and we went straight to Babies-R-Us. As we got to the stroller section, I noticed that there were two models that were 75% off – one was for twins and the other was a red Peg Perego. As Andrew and I were looking at the snazzy, red stroller, we noticed that a sticker was telling us to take an additional 25% off the lowest ticketed price. SOLD! We went up to the cashier and gave her a 20% off coupon and the $50.00. Finally, we paid the remaining $27.00 with our debit card. Yes! We got a $200.00 stroller for $27.00! Don’t you love when stuff like that happens?!

One great thing about my stroller is the fact that it is so light weight – less than nine pounds, to be exact. Because of this, I discovered that I can stroll my baby with one hand and walk beside him instead of in back of him. Most of the time, I stroll my little guy like a normal human being. However, sometimes I just want to look at him and talk to him. Dorky, maybe, but I can’t help it! :-)

2. I never imagined that I would say this, but I am grateful that mosquitoes love me. I am not over exaggerating when I say that I can have 20 bites in about 5 minutes! Whenever I am outside with a group of people during a sticky summer day, everyone else is safe because all of the bugs are attracted to me. Honestly, Andrew and I can be outside for hours – I, of course, will be bitten up and my husband will be bite free. This got me to thinking… Insect repellent is not very safe for babies because their skin is super absorbent. No bug spray for Sprout – no problem! We can go on nice long walks and I don’t have to worry about mosquitoes biting my baby. Yes folks, this mommy is a nontoxic bug protector! I bet you didn’t know that I was so talented! Heheehe!

A Growing Sprout

I have an assortment of gift bags that were once filled with baby shower presents. When you receive an item in such a bag, you are really receiving two gifts! Obviously, gift bags can easily be re-used when you have a gift to give. However, they can also be used for other things as well. For example, I have a large blue gift bag that is adorned with flowers, bugs, and polka-dots. I keep it open in my closet. Whenever Sprout outgrows an outfit, I clean it, fold it, and place it in that bag. Inside that bag there are the teddy-bear pajamas that Sprout wore for his newborn picture. You will also find the striped onesie that Sprout peed through while his daddy was holding him. A little guitar outfit currently tops the pile -- that is the first outfit that we ever purchased for our baby ... we used it to tell Richard and Debbie that they were going to be grandparents. My ever expanding collection of outgrown clothes is more like an anthology of memories.

When I hold my little guy in my arms, I often imagine what our upcoming days will be like. I try to picture what his little smile will look like when his two bottom teeth come in. I can see myself feeding homemade baby food and I laugh to myself when the image of his food-covered happy face comes to my mind. I often wonder what I will be doing when I hear my little man calls me "mama" for the first time. I bet I will wonder if I really heard "mama" for a second ... and then I will scoop that little guy up and give him a million kisses while I call Andrew to tell him every detail. I can see Sprout run to the door when he hears Andrew's car pull into our driveway and he will yell "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" like I used to when his hero enters our house. What amazing times are in store for us!

As I simultaneously miss memories and anticipate the future, I am careful not to overlook the present. What a little blessing this very moment is. Thank you, God, for right now! Thank you for a baby sleeping contently in blue-striped pajamas. I love this time so very much.

Holding You

Dear Sprout,

You like to nurse -- all of the time. While other babies nurse for 30 minutes and are done for about three hours, you nurse for three hours and are done for 30 minutes! (slight exaggeration) Sometimes I get discouraged because I never complete the mental checklist I prepare for myself at the start of each day. However, I can't help but notice that when you are not in my arms I long to hold you. Perhaps it's because we shared a body for nine months. Before you, I was a true busybody; Staying still was not one of my characteristics. Now, for the first time in my life, I must be stationary. I look down at you and there you are loving being close to your mommy. I smile because I also love having you close to me. As your mom, I try to do what is best for you. Maybe, in your own little way, you know what is best for me, too.

Love always,
Mommy

Three Cheers

Today Sprout is three months old! Really, he is more like a year old; I carried him inside of me for nine months and I've held him in my arms for these past three months. My husband and I have been blessed with Sprout for almost our entire marriage. In fact, day one of Sprout was estimated to be day ten of our days as man and wife. Some well-meaning people have said that it would have been better to have spent a year together getting to know each other before becoming parents. While that may be the case for some, Sprout added such depth to our relationship. Andrew went to every check-up with me. He listened to me when I read him excerpts from multiple baby books and he told me when to put the literature down and trust God. Andrew read Sprout stories, sang to him, and prayed aloud for him. I know my little guy recognized a gentle voice and knew exactly whom his daddy was as soon as he was born.

Now that Sprout is here, he enjoys playing horsey and airplane with his old man. When he is in his car seat, a place he doesn't particularly like, he is soothed by a CD that Andrew made just for him. Each night at bedtime, Sprout falls fast asleep in his daddy's arms. I confess that this new mom does not have everything together. The house is not as clean as I would like it to be, dinner is unpredictable, and sometimes my son is the only one who has all of his basic needs met. I am competitive with myself and I would like to feel like everyday is an A-plus day. However, even when I have a day that does not even come remotely close to making the grade, Andrew can put everything into perspective for me. We're a family, we love each other, we have been very blessed -- who cares if our overcooked chicken dinner would best be described as chicken jerky?!

Thank you, Andrew, for everything. We love you so much! Three cheers for you! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray!

Last Night

Last night you were awake after your usual bedtime. I was in bed and you were sitting on my stomach. You kept looking into my eyes and giving me these enormous smiles -- smiles that say, "You are the best person in the whole world!" I smiled right back at you, but I had a bittersweet feeling in my heart. There you were overjoyed with your mommy ... I wish I was as great as you think I am. You see Sprout, mommies want the very best for their children. I have such high hopes for you. I want you to grow up to be a man characterized by his honesty, integrity, loyalty, and dignity. I want you to always think about others. I want you to be a man of faith who has the courage to always do what is right and just. I know that you are going to look up to me and I fall short of what I want for you. I promise that I am going to try to make today better than my yesterdays. I am going to work very hard to embody the traits that I want for you. However, remember that I (along with all people) will disappoint you. God is the only one who will never let you down. It is my prayer that you will get to know Him at an early age. You can always look up to your heavenly Father; He will always lead you down the right path.

culinary expertise, please!

Three months from this coming Friday will be a very special day. Baby Sprout will be six months old and I, Anna, will become gourmet baby food maker extraordinaire! I am so excited! I have decided to purchase the Beaba Babycook to help me with this endeavor. This little machine steams, purees, and defrosts! It can do anything and it will pay for itself. I found an amazing website (http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/) that gives you age-appropriate recipes for your child and I want to try each and every one!


Andrew and I want our baby to eat nutritiously from the get-go. Furthermore, when Sprout graduates from baby food, we want him to continue to eat well. I don't want him to go from healthy meals to meals laced with preservatives. This means that I need to learn how to cook NOW. Yes, Andrew and I need to change our eating habits before we pass them on to our little guy.



When I was pregnant, I had an eye-opening experience. I decided I did not want to consume MSG; Little did I know that basically every pre-made food has MSG in it! Yes -- lots of soups, stuffings, and frozen meals are culprits! (Note: yeast extract is basically the same thing as MSG. I did some research on the subject) If I were president, one of the first things I would do would be to mandate every MSG containing food to have a warning on its label (this only second to making sure that every vehicle has a "How's My Driving" number on its back). Let's be realistic here ... I am not saying that I will never cook with preservatives, but I want such an occasion to be the exception rather than the rule.



I need help! Cooking is not my gift and it does not come naturally. I want some simple recipes that I can make for my family. If you are reading this, can you help me with my quest? Do you have a recipe for me?



It is only fair that I give you a recipe, too. This is a cobbler recipe from my culinary-gifted mother-in-law :-). I just made it (with blueberries) last night! It is super simple and fantastically delicious!



Fruit Cobbler

1. Heat your oven at 350 and melt a stick of butter in your dish (use a pie dish or an 8x8ish sized dish)
2. Mix together one cup of milk, one cup of flour, and one cup of sugar.
3. Pour flour mixture over melted butter. No mixing is necessary.
4. Pour fruit of choice on top of everything. Do not mix together.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
6. Enjoy :-)

Camping

Today is a big day for our family -- for today is the day that we bought our first tent. It is a Coleman Laurel Creek 6-Person Tent, to be exact. You may wonder why a family of three needs such a large tent. Andrew and I could easily pack everything we need in a single backpack ... on the other hand, Sprout's necessities take up the entire cargo space of Andrew's Chevy truck. Also, we plan on bringing our poodle Shimmer on our future adventures. Therefore, a 6-person tent is what we need indeed!

Although Sprouty is a mere 12 weeks in age, he has already been on three camping and/or hiking excursions. As we expected, he loves the great outdoors. I carry him in my green Sleepy-Wrap baby wearing device and he takes everything in as snug as a bug in a rug. Andrew documents our outings with his trusty camera.

Since I am staying home with our little one, Andrew and I have to think carefully about our finances. Travelling that requires hotel stays is not in our budget. However, now we have a tent! Prime mountain land comes at a premium, but not for us! Perhaps we have the desire to have waterfront property with a Spruce-filled backdrop -- within ten minutes our tent will be pitched and there you have it! Should we have the desire to be in the midst of sand dunes and wild horses the next weekend ... no problemo! No matter where we decide to go, we'll always have a place to stay.

Whenever we have the opportunity to go hiking, the scenery makes my imagination go wild. Sometimes I imagine that Andrew is an English settler and I am an Indian princess who happens to fall in love with him. Since our people do not understand or approve of our love, we must venture into the untamed forest together to make a life for ourselves. Other times I like to think that we are Bohemian tree huggers on a mission to save all things that are green. We have renamed ourselves -- Andrew is Juniper, I am Clover, and Sprout is still Sprout. As we step deeper into the woods and further away from our conventional lives, we can be anyone -- at least in the recesses of my mind. :-)