on my insides

on our way to a beautiful wisconsin wedding

at cherokee triangle park this very morning

yep, the one inside o' me: teeny, tiny foot

little skeleton face

my favorite, curled up, head being the same size as body

We had our ultra-sound, the true test to see if we could stand our ground in not finding out the sex. It wasn't difficult as you might have thought. The wee-one distracted us enough with doing things like scratching its head with its little finger and moving its mouth open and closed. The technician was even laughing, and she does these things all day. The strangest part was seeing the shape of an eyeball and watching it move around. SERIOUSLY, a miracle this baby growing thing is.

Personally been more tired than the usual these past few days. This, unfortunately has led to some boredom, lack of motivation and depression. My midwife told me my hemoglobin levels are a bit low, of course. I know that this is attributing to how I feel. So Royal and I went to get some B-complex and kombucha. I will say that I feel better this morning. I started to think through the reasons why this morning/day has been better, listing things in my head: coffee, being outside, having more productive bm's...BUT I stopped myself, and was reminded of the prayers that my husband, as well as myself have muttered. The Lord always hears 'em. We are so good at making ourselves feel/look good with reasons, am I right?

the end of summer

smashin/eatin tomatoes and peppers

got this carrot flower

made these with cornmeal raspberry muffins with our very own raspberries

one of these guys got a hair cut, can you guess?

learnin what to do in front of a camera

lacto rainbow salsa, excited to crack this open come winter

Once again another summer passes, once again I don't do as much as I had anticipated. We put up a good amount of tomato sauce for winter pizzas, made some fermented cukes, froze a bit of snap peas and kale but that's about it.
I blame it on the pregnancy. 14 weeks now and we have decided to NOT find out the sex of this one. Many guesses on a girl because of how I have felt physically, but, who really knows. We won't be able to have a homebirth, which I had finally felt good about after much deliberating (in my head). The midwife that would do it, can't do it. She isn't seeing anybody when I am do. Oh well.
As the summer heat wears off, so does our laziness. We find ourselves once again walking Cherokee, only now Royal walks along side of us. He much prefers this over being in his stroller.
We will be in Wisconsin this month, briefly, for a much anticipated wedding. And next month we are planning a bigger trip to celebrate 5 years of great memories together!

Royal

Just sayin' Hi!

stuck inside

I went grocery shopping yesterday and was very surprised at myself. As I walked through the aisles of foodstuffs, I found myself grabbing things like can ravioli, frozen waffles, cheese crackers, mac and cheese, pizza and SODA! I remember just doing it and shaking my head, thinking, this has got to stop at some point. It seems like the babe inside takes control of my brain when I am around food, wanting the diet of a college bachelor. Is there a college bachelor living inside of me? Playing X-box and dipping his cheese crackers in black cherry soda pop? Must be. 

One thing that I finally did after a long hiatus, was make bread. I was able to purchase a 50lb bag of organic whole wheat flour for a stellar price. "Looks like bread is back on the menu boys." ( Said like the orc in Lord of the Rings ).  

I have had a few weeks of naseau but thank the Lord that it is gone. This morning was a bit rough because my wonderful husband has the idea for Royal and I to go on a walk. This, a very foreign concept seeing as it has been, like the rest of the country, hot. One step outside for me and all hope of having energy for the day is gone. Well, I thought, heck it isn't AS hot as it has been, sure, we will give it a try. I had to put Royal down for an early nap, because I needed one. Now I sip on Tyler's left over coffee from this morning and I am feeling good. 

Speaking of Tyler, he has been the best at taking care of me and Royal during these times. Getting up extra early, making great breakfasts; eggs, toast, potatoes, french toast. Really a life saver. 

What Royal is up to: 

alternating shaking his head yes and no when you ask him something

blabbing about things that get him excited

walking so much!

throwing fits, not cool

saying papa (sounds more like baba)

also saying ball ( ba!)

climbing up on dinner table from chair that adult forgot to push in

drinking out of normal cups when we aren't looking

giving hi-fives

pointing at his belly-button and making a grunt sound

pointing at my belly-button and doing the same

sticking out his tongue, especially when there is food on it

Staying busy

June has past us already. We enjoyed trips and visitors alike. One of my old bunkmates came through with her husband to see us and meet Royal for the first time. It was short and sweet. I made butter from real milk cream and lacto-fermented ketchup ( which was great on grilled-cheeses).  As always, sharing great meals with my husband. The best one last month I would have to say was PIZZA SUBS on homemade, pretty awesome bread, with canadian bacon, sweet and spicy peppers, mozzarella and crispy, salty kale. They were so good!

Unfortunately my appetite has changed drastically this past month. I find myself craving Fazoli's and pizza and mac n cheese. Keep vegetables away from me, gross. Maybe you can guess why? Royal is gonna be a big brother! As of right now I am 7 weeks pregnant and I feel exhausted.  

Spring, we all love.

Royal had not seen this thing in bit. 

Just a delicious burger and fries shared outside on a warm day.

Our friends, the Douthitt's, invited us to their family's cabin for  a night. It was a great time.

We definitely made s'mores in our living room.

This is the time of year that we all yearn for. Finally made it through the snowy, windy gray days. We put things in the grounds and nurse them as they were our children; Anticipating some future homegrown meals. We have eaten many spinach and red romaine salads with the new addition of sugar peas. Royal bats at the little seedlings and giggles at their movements. He is truly enamored with plants and trees and flowers. Give him a stick with some leaves on it and he will be entertained. 

We have had some great times this past month, cabining with the Groces, sleepovers with the Criglers (like ol' times), farmers markets, walks in Cherokee Park, and mothers day was a treat!

Next week, we are on our way to FL to see Tyler's grandma and beach-it-up. It will be a real quick trip, just 4 days. Next month we will be going to WI to see my grandma for her 95th bday!

A one Year Old!

A year has passed since the birth of our smirky little boy. Not so hard to believe actually. We had a party in the park with blankets, kites, balloons, food, family and friends. It was really a good time, the weather was perfect and so were the people. Tyler held a man challenge which included tree climbing, baseball throwing, nail hitting, cornhole and bottle topple. I was pleased to have my mama and seester here with us to celebrate. It would have not been the same without some representation from my family. 

 

Royals stats:

25 lbs

8 teeth

crawling

stair climber

grinner