from the garden

Here are just a few of the things we've been harvesting from our garden. You know a lot is growing when it becomes a chore to have to go outside to pick it!

Lettuce and Strawberries

Elephant Garlic

Yellow Bush Beans

What's growing now:

LOTS and LOTS of cherry tomatoes (3 cheers for the mexico midgets...)

The beefsteak and paste tomatoes are just starting to ripen. I had a slice of one on my egg sandwich this morning. Definitely worth the wait!

We have a 6'x6' bed of sweet potatoes in fulls wing, but we won't harvest them until the fall.

A row of peanut sprouts (to harvest in the fall...homemade peanut butter). This is Gabe's baby.

Jalapenos, habaneros, cherry peppers, and cayenne peppers. Salsa anyone?

A huge head of red cabbage

Basil, basil, basil

2 baby watermelons

Gourds (both the bottleneck and easter egg varieties I've grown in the past...they came up as volunteers)

Coming soon:

Kale

Mustard Greens

Collard Greens

Carrots

Acorn Squash

What I really need to get outside and plant, but have been ignoring because of the heat and mosquitoes:

Lettuce

Another pumpkin (the vine I had going died from the heat and lack of water...)

Beets

Radishes

tickle me caleb

I always forget that I can't turn the videos after I take them...

But it's still super cute, even though it is sideways.

first bites - video

fun with the Boucher boys

We spent the weekend with Caleb and Owen Boucher so Jason could go on the "Man Trip" with our church. It was a lot of fun and a lot of craziness. Liam loved it. Gabe and I slept really well each night.

the boys

Owen

Caleb

first food

So I had been planning to wait until Liam turns 6 months to introduce solid foods. My research had convinced me that at 6 months a baby's digestive system is better prepared to handle new foods...and Liam has had issues with regularity from day one...

And then I started reading up on making homemade baby food, so I would have plenty of time to prepare myself for the logistics of it. That's when I read the "signs" to look for when determining if your baby is ready for solids:

Good head control - check
An interest in our food - check (he LOVES to watch us eat)
Wanting to nurse more frequently, like when he was a newborn - check...
Losing the tongue-thrust reflex - check (at this point I had to test it...)

So I caved and gave him so avocado.

First bite

What the...?
yuck!

4 months

...and these are a few of my favorite things!

Liam seems to be changing so fast these days:

+ He has really great head control. No more bobble-head!

+ He likes us to help him stand up.

+ He laughs and squeals LOUDLY

+ He pets the kitties (and grabs their fur/ears/tail/whatever)

+ He gets really upset whenever I leave the room (inconvenient, yes. endearing, that too)
+ He weighs 13 lbs and is 25.5 inches long, putting him in the 75th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight... In other words, he's long and lanky.

The water is so fascinating...
Is anything possibly cuter?

Oh, the things she'll put up with for a little attention...

New Blanket

Liam has a new blanket. We went to Target over the weekend, and Liam instantly fell in love with this blanket. It's soft and furry on one side and fleece on the other. He likes the furry side to be up next to his face when he's going to sleep.

He likes to play with it. He pulls it up to rub his face. And to taste it.
He really likes it.

Visit from Grammy

We all had the special treat of visiting with Liam's Grammy for the past week. She hadn't seen Liam since he was a week old. He sure has grown alot in the past 3 months!

Liam sure loves his Grammy. She sings songs to him, reads him books, tickles him, takes him on walks outside when he's fussy, and gives him lots of cuddles.

And, she watched Liam so Gabe and I could go out on a date...the first time since he was born. We saw a really dumb movie, Wanted, which is not worth the movie ticket even though it has Morgan Freeman. Despite the disappointing movie, we had a great time together. The HUGE slice of chocolate cake at Common Grounds was the perfect end to the evening.
We're sad she had to leave already, but plan to see her again in August. We love you, Grammy.

Fun at the pool

Our church had a family pool party at the local aquatic center. We weren't sure how Liam would do, but (after a little uncertainty of the cold water) he loved it. He was fascinated with the water, which is why he's looking down in most of the pics...