A day in the life...

As I write this, I am reflecting on all the changes we have seen in Zeke over the past few months.  He was 14 months old yesterday (March 19, 2011).  He has started saying more words with meaning, but it takes a little bit of translating to figure out what he means.  He says, "Ba" for ball, "kiddle iddle" for kitty cat, and the more traditional "Dada," "Bye-bye," and "Uh-oh."  "Uh-oh" was his first word if you call it a word, but I think I wrote that in a previous post.  Gregg taught him how to go, "Ahhh," after he drinks something, and now he does that if you just mention water or milk or he sees a sippy cup!  He says the sound, "Mama," but he doesn't say it referring to me.  When he hears the garage door go up, he starts saying, "Dada," and gets really excited, which is sweet.  He loves his Daddy!



Watching Daddy sweep the back deck!



He continues to pull up and walk holding on to anything that he can find.  His favorite toys are any of Gregg's baseball caps (he will put it on you over and over again), any ball, and his magnetic toys that Auntie Tessa gave him.  He likes pushing buttons on toys that make noise and stacking cups and containers inside one another.  He seems to enjoy trying to make shapes fit together.  He loves music and dances when he hears it, which is really cute.  He plays "Peak-a-boo," claps his hands, and loves to play on the floor with anyone who will join him.  He uses us as a jungle gym whenever we are at his level.  When I try to do push-ups and tricep dips on the floor near him, he climbs on me and adds an extra 25 pounds to my load!  It makes us both laugh!  He likes to listen to me sing "Itsy bitsy spider," "Happy and you know it," and just about any song I can think of, but he hasn't joined in on the motions yet!  I can't forget to mention how much he loves his Wynna (my mom)!  He lights up when he sees her!




Zeke and Wynna!



Walking



Walking some more!

Daddy's hat...so proud!

 

It's a ball...no, it's a chair!



Zeke's hat (harder to get on!)



Riding his fire truck in his lab pajamas!

 He still eats mush 3 meals/day and I am nursing him before breakfast and dinner.  I plan on weaning him within the next several months, but I just don't know when. Every time I give myself a cut-off point, I reach it, and decide I'm not ready to give it up! He's still interested in nursing, so we'll see what happens!

He has one egg mixed with some mush in the morning for breakfast and we decided to add organic cow's milk and goat's milk to his diet.  Dr. Denmark does not recocmmend giving milk (except from the mother), but we decided to try it and see how he did.  He LOVED it, and reacted well to it.  We recently gave him raw cow's milk (non-processed) from a local dairy.  He loved this too.  I have been reading a lot about going back to basic food preparation techniques like fermenting vegetables and milk, in addition to soaking beans and grains.  I started making homemade yogurt again and added homemade cottage cheese to my repetoire.  It is delicious, and worth the time.    My next project is to learn how to make sourdough bread, then regular whole grain bread with soaked grains.  Zeke will not eat the bread for quite a while (we will give him mush until about 18 months), but he eats the yogurt, kefir, and cottage cheese.  The "good bacteria" in these products is wonderful for him and us!  We have decided to increase our food budget in order to be able to purchase organic meats, vegetables, fruits, and dairy.  It means cutting back in other areas, but to us, it is worth it.  I have really enjoyed being able to give Zeke wonderful nutrients through breast milk, and I want to continue offering him the most nutritious things that I can as I prepare his meals.  



Enjoying his milk!



Enjoying his milk while Daddy enjoys his milk!


I want to remember his schedule for posterity (and future children), so here it is:

8am - wake up, nurse, eat 1 egg cooked in butter or coconut oil and 1/2 cup mush.  I usually give him about 3-4 more ounces of milk too.

10:30am-12:30pm - morning nap

12:30pm - lunch (1 - 1 1/2 cups of mush with some homemade yogurt mixed in)

3:30-4:30pm - afternoon nap

4:30pm - about 8 ounces milk (goat's, organic cow's, or raw cow's)

7pm - dinner (nurse, then 1 1/2 cups mush with about 4 ounces cow's or goat's milk)

8pm - bedtime

Each night Gregg and I put Zeke to bed together.  We have a little routine that rarely changes unless Gregg is not there.  Gregg carries Zeke upstairs and I begin changing his diaper (we're still soley using cloth) while Gregg brushes Zeke's teeth.  Then, we zip him up in his "snuggie" (sleep sac) and Gregg holds him while we pray with him using a little angel doll Jami gave us.  He holds his lovey as we lay him down and tell him we love him and turn out the lights.  He smiles as we leave him and he smiles when I get him up.  It is such a special part of our day...probably my favorite! 

I know this had been a long post, but there are so many little details I don't want to forget.  I try to cherish each moment and appreciate each milestone.  Our Father in Heaven has a plan for our lives, and our goal is to seek Him and bring glory to Him above all else.  Right now, my season of life has me home taking care of Gregg and Zeke, and I seek to be the wife and mother that God created me to be!

February...that was fast!

Well, it is March 1st, and I just realized I haven't posted anything since January.  February is a short month by design, but this one seemed to go by more quickly than usual.  We celebrated our second Valentine's Day with Zeke after taking our first trip away as a couple since before he was born!  We went to Callaway Gardens for the couple's retreat our church hosted.  We had a great time, but missed our sweet boy!

Wynna stayed with him, so he didn't miss us at all!  We are so thankful for the time Zeke gets with his Wynna!  As you can see below, the feeling is mutual!

When we got home, he was excited to see his Daddy and spent some time hanging out with him on the couch!

The next day was Valentine's Day so I made a special breakfast for Gregg (Zeke will get something like this next year since he's currently still eating mush!).  Zeke and I were at home together as usual, but I snapped a few photos of him in his Valentine's Day shirt.  It says, "I heart Mommy!"  I wonder how long I will get to dress him in whatever I want!


Gregg's breakfast





"Helping" Mommy do laundry!

Before the month came to a close, we were able to attend Luke Jordan's first birthday party.  His mommy, Dena, and I have been able to share a lot of the same experiences as our boys have grown over the last year.  She and I have very similar view points on nutrition, health, scheduling, and most importantly, we share a faith in the Lord!  I am so thankful to have them in our lives!

Zeke will be 14 months old in a couple of weeks.  He's not walking on his own yet, but has learned to crawl onto his firetruck to take a ride.  He loves to stand and push anything that is not bolted down to the ground, so I have a feeling he will surprise us with his first steps before we know it!  He continues to be the smiley happy boy whom we are thankful for.  He has said "Uh-oh" with meaning and we think he says "Dada" in reference to Gregg now, but that is all so far.  We know it will happen in time!  He loves to play and laugh and enjoys people.  Oh, and he LOVES to play with Sadie cat, but she doesn't necessarily love to play with him!