favorite thing

i asked a friend of mine a few years ago her favorite thing about her new baby boy. she didn’t hesitate to answer and said with an obvious love…the way he looks at me! as i was thinking back on this conversation i now know exactly how she felt. now that i am a new mom with a precious baby who is starting to look at me with a familiarity of who i am, my heart couldn’t agree more. there are times when he is starting to fuss -usually due to boredom- i can catch his eye, make contact, and he gives me his beautiful smile…my heart skips a beat. i still have to remind myself 5 and 1/2 months later that he is mine. that i have a son. a precious child of God who has been entrusted in my care to love, care for, and raise. life couldn’t get much better.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Pslam 136:1

avocado baby

saturday was a big day at our house…..hudson ate his first solid food! well “ate” might be a bit of an exaggeration since most of the food ended up back in the bowl or on top of his belly. but we tried!

since hudson’s grandpa is an avocado farmer it was an easy choice to pick what hudson’s first experience beyond breast milk would be. a fresh avocado right from grandpa’s farm was on the menu. i mixed about a teaspoon of mashed up avocado with quite a bit of breast milk to create a super smooth consistency. overall i think hudson liked it. we’ll keep trying to see if more of it can get inside his belly. here are a few shots capturing the precious moment.

i think i am supposed to be really excited for something so i’ll smile for the camera!

this is going in my tummy? (he maybe ate one teaspoon from this)

why do mommy and daddy keep saying “yummy, yummy, yummy” with such excitement?

not sure what is going in my mouth, but i’ll try it.

again?

ok i’m getting the hang of this now.

wow! that was fun. i’m such a happy boy.

such a big boy

my little boy can sit up! even with his bulging cloth diaper in the way. i wouldn’t say he has this skill mastered quite yet. but, he showed off enough for my wonderful and talented friend emily to take his picture. we’ll call this his 5 month photo shoot.

a salmon dinner

A couple years ago Brad’s sister Allison gave him the most awesome cookbook for his birthday, Bobby Flay’s Grill It! It has been our mission the last 2 summers to make everything in the book. We have not been disappointed with any of the recipes.

Last week we tested out the Grilled Salmon with Honey-Mustard-Mint Sauce. It was fabulous. Bobby Flay recommends this dish for brunch, but I think it makes the perfect summer evening dinner.

Whisk together

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 T whole-grain mustard

3 T honey

2 T horseradish

2 T finely chopped fresh mint leaves

salt & pepper

Let this sit for a while before using.

Season salmon with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill until slightly firm.

Combine 1 bunch of spinach (Bobbly Flay recommends watercress but I had spinach on hand) and 1 small red onion thinly sliced. Add 2 T balsamic vinaigrette (recipe calls for aged sherry vinegar instead), 2 T olive oil, salt, & pepper to salad. Toss and serve under salmon.

Drizzle each dish with the mustard sauce.

We served this with spiced grilled sweet potatoes. Also highly recommended! To make these boil potatoes for 5-7 minutes or until slightly resistant when pierced with a knife. When cool, slice potatoes lengthwise. Brush the following mixture on both sides of sweet potatoes:

1 t salt

1 t cumin

1 t paprika

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t chili powder

2 T apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

(recipe adapted from Wholefoods.com)

Grill about 15 minutes and enjoy!

living, laughing, loving lake bemidji

hudson and i spent the most wonderful week at lake bemidji with nana susie and several other friends and family throughout the week. we were blessed with perfect weather every day. a real treat in minnesota! hudson got to swim in a lake for the first time, suntan on the beach (shaded by an umbrella the whole time!), pick strawberries with his great-great aunt shirley, go for several walks, and play with all his favorite people. it was hard to convince him that we had to go home….or maybe that was me.

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my husband the pastor

my amazing husband was asked to give the message at church sunday, july 3rd. this was definitely a first for him. he has given presentations at work in front of several people, but never a 30-35 minute sermon for over one hundred people. brad did what he is very good at….prepared, prepared, and prayed a lot. he did SO well. i shouldn’t have been surprised. he spoke with conviction, passion, and poise. god was so faithful in answering our prayers. you can hear for yourself if you click on this link…

http://www.evergreennewhope.com/media/audio_messages

brad’s message is the final message in the series titled “a good foundation”.

hudson didn’t do as well as his daddy that sunday. it was his first time in the church nursery. i was given a number to watch for if there were any problems or concerns with hudson during the service. well, about 10 minutes before the end of brad’s message g6 (hudson’s number) flashed on the screen. my poor baby was overtired and unwilling to be rocked to sleep by the wonderful nursery volunteers. he was fine when i ran to get him. i guess he just needed his mommy. praying he will enjoy his time in the nursery more next time.

the power of breastmilk

long before hudson was born i knew i would be a nursing mother. i have memories of pretending to breastfeed my baby dolls while my mother nursed my little sister. i grew up hearing the benefits of breast milk from the beginning. so, when i was asked by my obgyn if i was planning to breastfeed i didn’t need to be convinced. yet, i still read the recommended books and articles before hudson’s birth. i figured it is always good to be educated about something that would become a critical part of my life.

i learned that breastfed milk contains essentials fatty acids to promote babies’ intellectual, motor, and visual development. it contains specific immunities against illnesses. it is always sterile and safe for your baby. it provides 100% of a babies needed protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and many more nutritional needs that i can’t remember. it is also FREE. saving up to $4,000 a year! i also read that breastfed babies have lower cholesterol levels, smaller chances of developing obesity, cancer and learning disorders. it is quite obvious that god created a perfect food for babies that he protected against human’s screwing it up.

well the coolest benefit of breastfeeding that i discovered recently is that it can cure eye infections! crazy, huh? hudson had a possible eye infection or clogged tear duct for a few days. it wasn’t serious enough to go to the doctor so i did some research and found a suggestion to squirt breastmilk into your baby’s eye to cure an infection or clogged duct. i followed the advice and hudson’s eye cleared up a few hours later. it was awesome.

i do know that breastfeeding can be terribly hard. it has its ups and downs for both baby and mom. but, in my opinion, it is the very best option for your baby. a good friend of mine gave me the book “the nursing mother’s companion”. it is a wonderful book for encouragement, guidance, and troubleshooting. i highly recommend this read for pregnant or new moms.