Trip to Monterey

We discovered last minute that my sister Amanda and Brother-in-law Bill were going to be in Monterey for the Big Sur Marathon on April 25th that my BIL was running. Not sure how we all missed that and didn't plan ahead, but we decided to head down there to meet up with them anyways. It took us a few hours of driving but we got there. We ended up going to downtown Monterey and walking around a bit, ate some lunch. We visited the check-in for the marathon. Then due to fatigue and needs for naps Lonnie, Stephen and I all went back to their hotel room and took a nap for a bit. Then we met them for dinner at a pizza place that was packed out. We finally made it home by midnight but it was nice to check in and see them. We hadn't seen them since Christmas so they got to see how much Stephen had changed in 4 months.

Stephen's half birthday

So, I'm getting caught up now. Stephen had his half birthday on Tuesday April 20th. We were down in Sacramento with Lonnie. And he got to celebrate with his first trip into the swimming pool. He really enjoyed himself! Here are a few pictures!

6 Month Photo shoot

Well since Stephen is just about 6 months old we decided to have my friend Bekah do some family pictures for us. She took my pregnancy pictures, the pictures when Stephen was 2 weeks old, and now these. And she always does a great job. We live too far away to get any studio type of pictures so these are the replacement. Plus it's such a steal for $40 if you ask me.

Lonnie's left us!!

Well he did leave, but we'll see him again in 5 days. He has a TON of training to do in central California for work. One of the courses is 4 weeks long and he was supposed to complete it before he'd been at the probation office for a year (oops, that didn't happen). He also has an assortment of firearms trainings, defensive tactics training, and a number of things I can't remember. When all is said and done he will be gone for about 6 weeks. Stephen and I were hoping to go with him the whole time but in order to compromise with work I agreed to only take 4 weeks off which made it much easier for them to give me the part-time position that I now have. So Stephen and I will leave on Saturday morning and drive down to meet him in Willows which is north of Sacramento and then we'll caravan (is two cars a caravan?)to our hotel in Roseville which is about 15 miles from Sac. The people at the probation office aren't super "on-the-ball" about finding things and considering what a person might need for a whole month so I did all the research based on our needs since we'd have Stephen with us. I found a Residence Inn in Roseville which is 15 miles from where Lonnie's training is every day. We get a one-bedroom hotel room which makes it super convenient for Stephen to be in there while napping. We also have a "kitchen" that has a full sized refrigerator and a stove top. I'm bringing my crock pot and we'll get a toaster oven when we're down there to make our "kitchen" complete. I'm loading up all my books I want to read, photography stuff, stuff for Stephen, just about everything but the kitchen sink. I'm so happy we get to be together for most of the time Lonnie is down there. It would be really hard for all of us to be away from him for that long. I'm hoping to find a way to go to San Francisco while we're there to go and see "Wicked" but it depends on whether or not Lonnie's co-worker would mind watching him for the evening or if Lonnie's parents are going to come down. During our trip we also plan to drive down to Long Beach to see my older brother Tim and his wife Gina. We went down for their wedding when Stephen was a couple weeks old but didn't really get a chance to see and talk to them much. So we're hoping to use this chance that we are closer to see them and spend some time with them.

Making baby food

So I've decided that I am going to be making my own baby food. I'd never really thought of it before having Stephen. I just decided that along with other things that I try to do to provide healthy things for him, that making my own baby food would not only potentially be more nutritious but also a heck of a lot cheaper. The fact that I continue to drink diet coke is not included in the healthy decisions that I make. Since we have started in introduce him to new foods I have been exploring on what I can do to make it myself. It's actually a heck of a lot cheaper then I would have originally thought. Not only do I have the food mill which I will be able to use to grind up whatever we are eating, but it's also pretty easy to make purees and freeze them in ice cube trays. I am now in love with the website wholesomebabyfood.com where they have tons of tips and recipes on making your own. You can make any kind of fruit and veggie. You can also make your own baby oatmeal, rice, or barley. They have a cost comparison analysis that shows you how much cheaper it is and for the most part it averages around $.25 cheaper per oz then store bought food. So far I have ground up butternut squash, pureed sweet potatoes, and pureed bananas. Stephen has had small tastes of all of those and loves them all. I can't get the food on the spoon fast enough for him. I have also frozen avocado slices so that they can be taken out of the freezer, thawed, and then mashed and served. It's so exciting to make and try new foods with him. It's made even easier and more exciting because he loves the food so much. I'm so happy to have a big eater. He would definitely love to eat more then the 1 tablespoon that I give him, but for now that's where I'm cutting him off. I am also trying to figure out about organic vs inorganic foods. I want to provide him with the best possible nutrition and have it be healthy so for now I am trying to use organic fruits and veggies, although it does present more of a challenge and expense. I haven't actually figured out the cost if I buy organic and make my own if it would be any cheaper but we'll have to see. I may just do it anyways, then I know what is in the food that he's eating. Ahh, the challenges of making the best decisions for your baby.