Blessings

Just celebrating all the wonderful blessings in my life...The last photo I have of Ryan and I together... I was still pregnant!

James & I at the Steinbach Aquatic Centre on our parents & son date. So much fun!

Our never-ending "Rayya Sunshine".

Rainbow of cars.

James demonstrating his flexibility at gym class.

Loving big brother smooch.

Dare to Compare - 6 Months

They have the same eyes and nose, but that's about it!

Ready, Set, Steam & Squish

I had fully intended on making my own baby food with James. However, when he started on solids I made the mistake of trying out jarred foods first - and I just never went back. It was TOO easy to just go out and buy the food. This time around I am not making the same mistake! I have forbidden myself to buy any jarred baby food - though I am allowed to buy the boxed cereals. The plan? Make ALL of Rayya's baby food myself.

To make it easier on me, I purchased a really cool product called Baby Cubes. They are like ice cube trays, but each cube comes off the tray, has an attached lid, and they are dishwasher and microwave safe! This is perfect for me. Our Braun hand mixer comes with a food processor attachment, so that's all ready to go. I bought a food grinder when James was little, but never used it, and that is also ready to use (I hear it's good to use to get rid of the "husk" from peas). I have my mom's old steamer basket, though I know I can just steam the veggies right in the water.


My aim is to try to make one or two new foods each day for a week, and freeze it in the Baby Cubes. After that, I calculate that I will only need to make food every 2 weeks - if not less. I also intend on trying a few different things with Rayya - like avocado, which doesn't even need to be cooked, and same with bananas. I never gave James avocado, and he hated bananas (still does). I think my first few foods will be steamed carrots, apples, pears, peas, squash, and maybe I'll try chicken. I'm actually looking forward to it! Wish me luck, that I don't get lazy and resort back to jars!

Rayya - 6 Months

Hokey Dina! (Yes, I just wrote "Hokey Dina"). My baby is half a year old. HALF A YEAR!!! Where did those last 6 months go? Crazy!

This is a picture of Rayya with her great grandma, on grandma's 75th birthday! I love this picture!

These last 6 months have been really good in my opinion. Adjusting to having two wasn't nearly the adjustment it was to have the first one. When you have number two you have already adjusted to the fact that you will forever no longer be the number one priority. You've already learned to sacrifice things for yourself, and give your all to your child. You've already come to realize that life will operate a little slower, and you won't always accomplish everything you had hoped to. You've already come through the phase of mourning "freedom", and though you still mourn for it every now and then, you are used to living without it. You are used to taking another body with you everywhere - like the store, or the bathroom. You are accustomed to the extra laundry, dirty carpets, drooled on shoulder, and messy dishes. So throw in baby number two, and all you really have to do is just get used to HER, and not all the changes that she brings about!

I've really loved most aspects of having two children. I longed desperately to see James become a big brother, and he is doing a great job of that! They are so cute together, and I just can't wait to watch them grow up together through the years. I can tell that they will (eventually) be friends. Rayya just absolutely adores James, and she smiles and lights up whenever she hears his voice or sees his face.

Rayya has been a dreamy baby. She is content, happy, adaptable, easy going, and just all around a joy. Her sleeping patterns have been funny, but I'm learning to just accept her unpredictable character and try to "roll with the punches". In doing so, I'm finding that her sleeping habits are becoming better... or at least I don't seem to be so frustrated by them. Lately she has fallen into a decent pattern of a short morning nap, and longer afternoon nap (which has conveniently been overlapping James' nap), and another short late afternoon nap which she doesn't always take. Then her nights have been sporadic, but the last two have been great - she's slept from 8:00pm to about 5:00am, had a bottle, and then slept again until after 7:00am.

Rayya rolls over now, both from back to front, and front to back. At six months James was sitting up, which Rayya hasn't mastered yet. She tries to "scoot" when she is on her tummy, so I think that in the next couple of months we may see her crawling. She still has no teeth, and no sign of when they may appear. She is ALWAYS, ALWAYS soaking wet - and I change her cloths several times a day, as she hates bibs (of course). She says "ga, ga, ga" and "wa,wa,wa" and various other coos and gurgles.

I've started solids a few times, but up until yesterday she would just let it all trickle out of her mouth. James gobbled solids when we started him at 5ish months. Rayya doesn't seem to need it so much, so she is just getting a little bit of rice or oatmeal cereal in the evening. Last night she finally ate more of it than what she smeared all over herself, so that was nice.
I think Rayya might end up being a people-pleaser like me. She is mostly quiet (though she talks a lot, just not loudly), and smiles at most people we meet. She loves to pan the crowd at church until she finds someone willing to make faces at her and smile at her. Like I mentioned earlier, she loves her big brother, her daddy, and of course, ME! She'd be happy to be carried around all day, but also loves her exersaucer. I put her in the Jolly Jumper the other day, but unlike her big brother, she didn't seem ready for it yet.

All in all, I think she's a keeper. We can't get enough of her.

A Quiltin' We Will Go

My latest obsession/hobby has become quilting! Well, making rag quilts anyway. My sister-in-law's kids all have a rag quilt, made by a lady in town who is a friend of the family. I always admired them, and wished my kids had one.

My wish came true when my friend Carla made one for Rayya. I was so pumped! I asked her how she made it, and was shocked to learn how relatively simple it is. If you can sew a straight line, you can make one.

At my very next opportunity, I stopped in at Fabricland to pick up some fabric and thread to start quilting. I quickly completed two rag quilts, and also an easy fleece "knotted" blanket. Then my friend told me I could buy pre-cut fabric squares online! Oh boy! So now I have enough fabric to make two more rag quilts. I already know where two are going, but I'm not sure about the others yet. I might hang on to them for gifts, or perhaps sell them. In any case, I think I might start taking orders - because I love to make these quilts, and it would be nice to make a little money off of it so that I can keep making them! I've always really wanted a hobby, and this is perfect for me. I think I may have found my niché!

The Kids

Rayya, my little munchka. You couldn't be any more adorably cute! I love how you chatter almost constantly, and try to grab my mug and peek inside of it. I love how you kick your legs when you are excited, and how you smile so big when you see me that you have to turn away. I love how laid back you are most of the time, and how you just seem to be smiling all day long. Even though I wish you'd sleep longer stretches at night, I love how you look when I tip-toe out of your room when you've fallen back to sleep. I love how you smell. I love your skin. I love your hair. I love your eyes. I love how you are part of me, and part of daddy. I love that we call you "Birdie" because you never close your mouth, and are always soaked. I love watching you looking at James - studying all his moves so that in time you can follow along. I love how you spin the froggy toy on your exersaucer over and over again. I love how you watch my face to see my reaction to things that you do - like splash your legs in the bathtub. Rayya, I love everything about you - you are my miracle baby.

Jamers, my little monkey. You are precious. I love how you learn things so quickly, and how much you love to talk about everything you've learned. I love how much you talk - even when it gets frustrating. I love how almost every day you get us rolling on the floor laughing by something you've said. I love you for being so willing to wear your glasses, and then getting even cuter once you have them on. I love how you do everything at high speed, and full force. I love how you giggle, and how it sounds when you are playing with your cars and whispering to them. I love it that crocodile Steve plays in my plants - even though you break the leaves off. I love your zest for life, and your excitement over things - like making Jello, or building forts. I love how you have always loved your sister, and when you tell me you think she's cute. I love how you know exactly which four Hot Wheels cars I like best - because they are sparkly. I love how you try out new phrases you heard on cartoons that day. I love how you look for me every morning to give me a hug. I love that you still want me to carry you after naptime. I love it when you take my hand and want to hold it. I love how you are so proud of your family, and introduce us to strangers that we meet. I love it that you are sensitive and gentle. I love hearing you pray at night. James, I love everything about you - you are a gift.

More Vaccine Info

Alright, so in my panic yesterday I got a few details wrong. There is no aborted fetal tissue actually IN the vaccines. The viruses from which vaccines are created are cultured in these tissues. Also, there is no aborted fetus factory out there for which these tissues come from. The same three cell lines have been used now for 35 years, and the aborted babies were not aborted FOR this purpose. That changes things for me. I like this article that a friend sent yesterday. I think it makes some good points.
That being said, I am going to be talking to our local public health nurse about the possibility of bringing in the "ethical alternatives" for my kids. This might mean more pricks... but I'm okay with that, we can space them out. In the meantime, if there are no alternatives, my children will still be vaccinated. I was never an advocate for the chickenpox vaccine anyway, and I don't think James got it. I do think the MMR vaccine is important, because these viruses can cause sterility in men (my uncle is sterile because he got measles as a child), and can cause miscarriages and severe birth defects if Rayya got it while pregnant someday. So that's my stand on that issue. I'll likely spend more time in prayer about it, but for today my decision is made.