Paul Loves Bella

My proud accomplishment from last week was that I taught Bella the command "Kiss Paul". She usually goes for the hands and bare feet, but every once in a while she carefully goes right for the kisser. She's such a good dog. ;)

Thank You Photos

"Biggest Little Longhorn Fan"
Not sure how much truth this outfit speaks, but Matt you are one sweet little boy for gifting this to Paul. :)

" I've Arrived!"
And it finally fits!! This is the onesie we packed with us for him to wear home from the hospital. I probably could have fit about three of him in there it was so big. :) Thank you Uncle Dan and Aunt Patti Jean. Thank you also to Ashleigh for the jeans and to Joslyn for the fun set of socks!

Haha - I think I waited a bit too long to see if it fit him! He's just too long! Sorry Mrs. Marino.

Thank you Aunt Karen and Uncle Larry for the Pagosa Springs pajamas! :) And of course, thank you Aunt Kathy (again) for the quilt.

Blog Mention

My Discipline Dots got a blog mention! :) She said she may be doing a giveaway soon too, so add her blog to your favorites and keep checking back. She has lots of great ideas about parenting. Perhaps you can win something from Navy Mango. ? :)

Shop Update

I hate to waste fabric – especially expensive designer fabric - so I made myself a cute luggage tag. I have a few other ideas in mind as to how I can use the rest of my remnants, but I’ll have to work on those after we move. For now, I just thought you’d want to know that I added some of those pretty luggage tags to my Etsy Shop. I know at least three of you lovely ladies already have fun vacations planned for this year and I’m pretty sure you’ll need a suitcase for your bathing suits and I’m pretty sure that suitcase needs one of these cute luggage tags. ;)

By the way – I simply can’t keep up with two blogs so I deleted the Navy Mango blog. Go ahead and remove it from your favorites, blog lists and your feeds. I won’t be back there again – I’ll just post here. And twitter? I still don’t understand what that is that all about. I’ve tried twice now to get into it and it’s just not for me. I deleted my account there also.


Since some of you that read this blog love to sew also, or are currently learning how to sew from me, I figured I’d also share my pattern for the luggage tags. I figured out a few time-saving techniques and cut out the fluff to make an easy thing even simpler and far less time-consuming to make.

Now if only I can quit sewing and start packing!

Cute Pic Post

Paul with his Uncle Joe.
He fell asleep running errands.

These next two are for Great-Grandma Pedersen. The sweatshirt fits perfectly! He likes to lick/gum/chew and knaw on the top of the zipper... :)

Love you Great Grandma!

(I'll snail mail hard copies too.)

John Vernon

Our 100th Post!

Blake and I are getting ready for a new chapter in our lives - we're moving! We found the perfect neighborhood with the perfect house for us and we're super excited to make it our own! As thrilled as we are to move, Blake and I are sad to think about leaving the John Vernon house. For those of you that don’t know, we rent this house from Blake’s parents. It was the first house they ever purchased and they’ve been renting it out for the last twenty-something years.



When Blake first showed me this house and then told me that we’d be moving in, I cried. Big, fat crocodile tears. To put it nicely, the house had not been maintained by the renters and was not in the best shape. I’ll never forget when I knelt in the front room to wipe the windowsill and found a darkened ring around the knee of my jeans when I stood up. NO – the carpet was not wet. YES, it was that nasty.

The backyard probably hadn't been mowed in years and it was littered with trash.

The kitchen smelled sour, was pretty dirty and had bugs on the floor.
The master bathroom was just ... yucky.

I could go on, but I won't. You get the idea. You probably would have cried too.
The Holt’s were planning to update and remodel the house after the prior renters moved out anyway, but it gave them even more reason when they offered us the option to move in. What should have been a fun project that I could have bonded with mother-in-law over became my constant worry and nightmare. I had a terrible attitude. I didn’t want to go with her and pick out countertops or cabinets with us in mind. We were only going to live there for a solid minute, I swore. I was going to find a way out of that place as quickly as I could. BUT - I couldn’t convince Blake that it was not a good idea to live there. Instead, he wisely talked me into shopping for some new furniture and distracted me with a decorating budget.

The Holt’s are incredibly generous and Blake was actually right for once (kidding!) despite my selfish attitude and original hesitations. It DID make the perfect home for us. (Thank you Dale and Roxanne.) I think that’s why, now that we are about to move, I am feeling some sadness for leaving this place. I really should have considered it a blessing from the start - this house has been so good to us and I was such a brat.

The big backyard allowed Bella to run freely and make friends with the neighboring dogs: Jasmine, a sweet German Shepherd and Oscar, a yappy weenie dog. She got to know our letter carrier who delivered the mail on foot right up to our door and even carried dog treats in his pocket. The front porch swing was the best place to sit with Paul when it was still warm outside and he was just a little bitty thing. The back deck made a great “patio” for impromptu happy hours after we got home from work. This generous house gave up an entire room where I spread out all my fabrics and paints and random craft supplies and also acted as an office for my business and sewing lessons. The kitchen ended up playing a far more important role once I went gluten-free and started cooking in it every day. It was also a blessing to some of my friends and their kiddos because I was able to cook allergen-free for them as well. The front room made the perfect spot for our Friday night dates. We’d turn off the TV and play Scrabble, Monopoly (Blake goes bankrupt every time!) or Dominoes. That might sound lame to you, but of all the dates Blake has taken me on, I sincerely think I’ve enjoyed our at-home dates the most. This house also allowed us to maintain and grow our treasured friendships through Super-Bowl parties, season finales, dinners, pot-lucks, play groups, showers, parties, game nights, 4x4s, knit-nites, BBQs, and pit-stops. ;) We also LOVED being so close to our family for random drop-ins, dinners, hang-outs and visits. It meant that much more to us after Paul was born. This house welcomed our little boy home along with us and gave him a quiet place to nap and a big room to hold all his stuff.

So yeah, I’m sad to leave now.

But we both are thrilled to have the opportunity to become homeowners and start the next phase of our life together somewhere new. It’s a super clean house in a quiet neighborhood with lots of little kids that safely play basketball and ride their bikes outside. It's near an elementary school and the floor plan is perfect for the way that we live. I’m looking forward to giving my washer and dryer a room of their own that doesn’t share space with our vehicles. I’m excited about sharing a master bathroom and a closet with my husband again and I can’t wait to take a bath in that big ‘ol tub! The kitchen is big and bright and I’m also very excited about actually having a dining room. It will be such a joy to cook and host holiday dinners and all kinds of family gatherings and birthdays and hopefully more showers, parties and get-togethers with new friends as well as old.


The new house is about a 30 minute drive from where we live right now. Just keep going south on 360 until the highway ends and you see cattle, then turn right. ;) It’s in Arlington city-limits, but within the Mansfield school district. It was built in 2003 and looks like it has hardly been lived in at all. The rumor is that the owner bought the home for his daughter so she had a place to stay while going to college at UTA. I think there are only two holes in the wall where she hung a mirror!

Assuming all goes well, we will close on the house Friday the 29th. Despite moving a little bit farther away from family and friends, Blake and I really feel like this is where we belong and that it’s the right thing for us to do. We both are super giddy about it and are looking forward to creating some fresh memories, establishing our own family traditions and opening our door for guests to visit! We’d love to have you. Please come.

We're sure John Vernon will treat the new renters as well as it treated us. :)

Five Months!

This time last year we were excitedly announcing that we were expecting. I’ll never forget my mom repeating, “My baby is having a baby? My baby is having a baby!” and Blake’s dad dropped his jaw and stared speechless for a bit. Such a fun moment.

It’s so weird how much difference a year can make! Now Paul is 5 months old and we think he’s as cute as ever. He flirts with all the ladies by giving coy smiles and likes having little giggle fits with his daddy for no good reason at all. Blake and I think he’s going to be a “talker” since he’s always making so many noises now. He likes to hear himself “leak air” as Grandma Holt calls it. The ladies in the church nursery say he’s their “Curious George”. He likes to skip his naps while he’s in there and look around, listen to everyone else and watch what’s going on. He’s extremely observant right now and is taking a LOT more interest in Bella. ;)

My New Etsy Shop

I’m pretty sure all of you who follow this blog already know that I love to make stuff. I especially love to knit and sew. I used to keep up with a blog and Etsy shop called Angel Droppings which was dedicated to all my handmade items. While I was on “maternity leave” I became inspired to open up a new shop under a different name and sell some fresh items. That’s how Navy Mango was born. I say “maternity leave” with quotes because I was actually downsized from my “real” job when I was 5 months pregnant. Since I was already teaching sewing lessons at night and on weekends as well as being hired out for custom projects, I just upped my hours doing those things and it kept me pretty busy. I was actually on maternity leave from MYSELF and my own projects. So now that our little guy is a bit older, I’ve started the sewing lessons back up and work on projects while he’s napping.

Blue happens to be my favorite color and mangoes are my least favorite fruit, but the name Navy Mango was born mainly because the URL was available along with usernames on Etsy, Zibbet, ArtFire, gmail, blogger.com, twitter and facebook! ;)

I am SUPER excited about this new little shop. I keep thinking of new ideas and now that I finally loaded everything to my shop and the other marketing sites are set up … hopefully I can spend more of my time SEWING! ;)

I created a blog just for Navy Mango where I keep a photo journal of the things I make and announce shop updates and promotions. I also opened up a new Etsy shop. I added a tab to my personal Facebook page and you can also find Navy Mango on twitter. I’m still learning how all the social networking sites will work for this, but I figured I’d at least set them up. If you also have a blog, Etsy shop, are on Twitter or Facebook, I'd love to follow you - just drop me a note and say hello. Thanks in advance for your support and encouragement. :) ~Lisa

*1/24/10 edit: I cancelled the blog and closed my twitter account. That was just too much stuff to keep up with. :)

Friends

Us girls got together again before Christmas for a gift exchange and brunch. Kirsi took this photo and Paul was napping at the time, so neither of them are in it. I love how Sophie is giving Bella a kiss in this picture, though...

Friends Forever!

Kirsi and Taryn were already back home, but Niki paid us a surprise visit, so us girls got together one more time. The girls found the dirtiest corner of my kitchen and decided to play "fort" with the high chair. ;) Oh to be young again...

Cute Pic Post

Thanks for putting up with my wordy post last time. I know you really only care to see the cute photos of Paul, so here ya go... ;)

Kirsi snapped these two last week when she was in town...
Christmas Eve with Grandma Pedersen

Christmas at the Holt's
Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Holt

Sammy had to sniff him...
Then Abby had to check him out...

My Friends and My Forks

I recently had the privilege to hear Jen Hatmaker speak at my MOPS group and at certain points during her lecture, I was moved to tears. She explained that friends are not a luxury in life. I always thought they were. They are necessary, required; it’s a calling - a mandate from God to be in unity with others. It’s not optional.

Since I usually judge a day as being "good" or "bad" by how many things I can check off my list and how productive I think I was, I found it really refreshing to hear her say that spending time with friends, simply sharing space with them - is never considered a waste of time. It's through that time of "doing nothing together" that these friendship bonds are formed. I needed to hear that because unfortunately, I have made the choice not to hang out all day with my friends since I felt like I could get "so much more done" at home. The next time that thought crosses my mind ... I'll know what I need to do instead.

She also reminded all of us that Ephesians 4:4 says “you were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly.” I took notes as she spoke and couldn't help but think about what she said for a few days. Hearing her speak on this topic helped me realize that I am blessed to know - really KNOW - so many different women in my life. This is how I remember her explaining three things as to what an authentic friendship should look like:

1.) Do you know me? No – really. Do you KNOW me? Not the facade I put on every day with makeup, but do you know my neuroses, my children’s middle names and could you order for me when we’re out to lunch? Do you know my wedding anniversary, what perfume I like and where my forks are?

2.) Will you be there? Not just when I need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen, but when things are going GREAT for me and it causes a twinge of jealousy in you. Will you be there to jump for joy along with me and share in my excitement without wondering “what about me, Lord?”

3.) Will you point me to Christ? Instead of giving me your advice and personal suggestions, will you ask me what the Lord is showing me and teaching me? Will you ask me what I have learned from Him this week? Will you help me stay in His Word instead of allowing me to lean too much on you?

So to those of you who know where my forks are and can order for me at lunch (that’s a hard one!) … I love you and I’m so grateful to God for our friendship. You know who you are. ;) I’m gonna borrow something else that Jen said and tell you specific ladies that “I know HIM better because I traveled with you.” So thank you. :)

4 Month Well-Visit

Today we visited with Dr. Robert again for his 4 month (and three weeks...) check-up. Paul is rolling over from front to back (but not back to front yet), babbling lots, grabbing everything he can, putting everything into his mouth, and he's giggling more now too.

8/29/09 Birth Weight: 8lbs 10oz
9/10/09 Circumcision: 8lbs 11oz
9/17/09 Two Week Check: 9lbs 8oz
11/5/09 Two Month Check: 12lbs

1/15/10 Four Month Check:
Weight: 14lbs 4oz
Length: 25.75
Head: 17.75

Despite gaining weight, he still dropped into the 25th percentile with his weight. I was slightly concerned until Dr. Robert said it was just what he expected from a breast-fed baby. he told me that all the charts pediatricians use are actually geared to formula-fed babies. (I wonder why there isn't a chart for the breast-fed babies and a chart for the formula-fed babies?) Anyway, he's in the 50th percentile with height and his big 'ol noggin puts him in the 85th percentile for head size! I keep telling myself he has to make room for that big brain. ;) Although, I'm not really surprised about that size since his uncle Joe and his father have pretty large heads too. They never could fit right into cowboy hats or the fitted caps.

Dr. Robert gave us the green light to introduce rice cereal and unsweetened diluted apple juice anytime now. He also gave us the okay to start him on pureed vegetables in two more weeks. That should be fun! We'll take video and pictures and post anything that's worth sharing. I'm not sure we're ready to get spit up on with all the green and orange stuff, but Bella sure is looking forward to the dribbles and spills. ;)

This time I think he knew what he was in for! He became a little irritated before the doctor came in the room and then cried for a while after the shot. He received one oral vaccine and one prick in his little leg. He calmed down when I snuggled him up and gave him his pacifer...then the minute I hit the highway, he fell fast asleep. The next time we see Dr. Robert will be at the end of February when Paul is six months old.

Thanks Terri for the cute teddy bear overalls! Thanks Penni and Bode for the warm puppy dog hat! :)

Four Months!

Thanks Whittney and Baby Drew for letting us borrow your cute clothes for a while!

Snow White

I always hope for a white Christmas, but it really happened this year! Snow (yes, REAL snow!) actually started falling on Christmas Eve night and it STUCK. We all bundled up and thoroughly enjoyed our drive to church as we admired the clean, blanketed lawns and rooftops.

We watched as the flakes became bigger and fluffier and then after the service was over, we walked out to see the snow blowing sideways. Our usual 20 minute drive home from church instantly became a 45 minute commute, but at least we didn't slip and slide. Blake built a fire and then my parents came over to open gifts and eat dinner. It was a perfect Christmas Eve!

Our house on Christmas morning.

Cute Pic Post

I know I haven’t posted many photos of Paul in a while, but it’s been busy around here lately! We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. Paul did very well going back and forth from one grandparent’s house to the other and even made himself skip naps just so he wouldn’t miss anything. We all are definitely enjoying the slower pace now that things are getting back to “normal” again, but here are just a few random photos and a video from the last few weeks that I happen to think are pretty cute. ;) I really do need to remember to snap more photos, though. I'm sad to have missed the opportunity to capture Paul meeting Eva, being held by Kelly and getting together with all of my girlfriends and their babies for an updated photo. Oh well. What can ya do?

Just chillin' on the couch. Watchin' the game...
Shoes off at the door, Paul!



Play the video - Paul rolls over now. :)

Merry Christmas!

Bobble-Head

Thanks Aunt Nay Nay and Uncle Joe for my early Christmas gift. I love my Bumbo! (He has pretty good neck control, but after sitting too long in the Bumbo, he becomes a bobble-head baby. The above pic caught him mid-bobble.)


And since I’ve got them on again, thanks Great Aunt Sue for my footie pajamas! Mommy and Daddy like to make the hippos (and the frogs) on my feet talk to each other. I guess they think I am amused by it.


Oh yeah – and thanks again Melanie and Mary for my awesome toy. I play with it a lot now. The ribbons taste pretty good too.

Boy do I have a lot of thoughtful and generous friends and family in my life. I must really be loved.

'Tis the Season...

Paul visited Santa yesterday morning for the very first time! :)

Thanks Katie for the tip on Bass Pro! And Thanks Sherley and Grandma Roxanne for his "ho ho ho" socks. ;)

Thanksgiving

Well, better late than never, right? Sorry it took me so long to post about Thanksgiving! Thanks for taking all the pics, Roxanne!

We had a very relaxing and restful trip to Rockport over Thanksgiving to visit with Blake’s family. Rockport is about 8 hours south of Dallas on the coast – near Corpus Christi. It’s where Blake proposed to me during a 4th of July vacation and where we usually meet up with all of the Houston Holts. This year was different because it was the first Thanksgiving at Spike and Sherley's new home on the golf course.

Blake actually got to golf this time and he also went fishing. I did a lot of reading, caught up a bit on some sleep, spent some quality time with family and did some shopping. Paul did really well on the drive there and back home, was entertaining all of us during the day and he slept like a rock at night in the closet. I don't know what we were so worried about. He's a dream!

Blake and his father. Spike in the background.


Paul fell asleep in the stroller when all of us ladies took a walk to the driving range. Thank you Aunt Sherley, Gala, Mendie and Jessica for the softest blanket I've ever felt. Paul obviously loves it too.

I was sitting in this tree watching the family fry turkeys not too far away and it created a photo op. Very high school senior-ish, no?


We hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones also.
I know Blake and I feel blessed beyond belief.

Three Months!

Dear Paul,

I love being your mommy. You are such a joy to be around. Your daddy and I can't believe you are already THREE months old today. Time is going by way too fast sweet little boy. It seems like it was just yesterday that I got to meet you for the very first time.

Your daddy tries to take a day off work every once in a while just to be home with us because we enjoy you so much. I try to reserve at least one day each week for us to lounge around in our pajamas, dance to the radio, swing on the front porch and watch Bella chase squirrels in the back yard. Those are my favorite days.

I love rubbing my cheek and my chin on the top of your fuzzy head to feel your soft blonde hair that is growing in. I love when your socks match your outfit. I love it when you make noises and coo at strangers that peep in to look at you while we're grocery shopping. As if on cue, you once tooted right as a friendly elderly man touched your toes through your blanket. :) He said you "made his day" and gave us both a good laugh.

Your daddy loves taking you to the "deep end" of the baby tub during bath time because you like to push against the side of the tub with your little legs and are just starting to get the hang of splashing. We try not to let you watch it, but you will turn your head and wiggle around on the floor as best you can just to see the TV. You are starting to take an interest in your furry sister now too. You rarely spit up, but when you do...you like to wait until you are dressed and ready to go or when it is difficult for us to change or clean up. Thanks buddy.

You haven't discovered your thumb just yet, but you really like your first finger and occasionally your entire fist. You also really like sucking on your pacifiers. As much as you LOVE to be swaddled at night, you end up breaking free every morning so we get to wake up to the sound of your happy babbles. When we bend over your crib, you greet us every morning with an ear-to-ear grin and some explosive kicks and punches to the air. We love that!

Thank you Paul for adding such joy and wonder to our lives. Your daddy and I love you so much. Although we didn't think it was possible, we love each other more now too. We started dating when we were only 16 and 17 so we've been through a few of life's transitions together. We've both been able to watch the Lord change our hearts and draw us both closer to Him and neither of us are quite the same as we were when we first met. We've both watched each other change and grow into different people and the Lord has given us both new things to love about the other. With your arrival into the world, though - you have brought out qualities and perspectives in both of us that we never understood before. This world looks different now. The unseen eternal things mean so much more to us now. Although I'm still vain and materialistic at times, we really do care less about superficial things because of you. We care more about instilling values, creating new traditions and upholding certain morals as best we can while parenting - in whatever way the Lord leads us to do it. We care less about whether people agree with our opinions now or not. You have also helped us both realize that neither one of us can do this parenting thing without the other. We're in it forever and we'll be here for always. Thank you son.
We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Memory Lane

Blake's parents invited us to a football game at the new Cowboy's Stadium. Not just a Cowboy's game, though – a GHS game.

Grapevine High School made it to the playoffs this year and the last playoff game that we both went to was about 11 years ago in Lubbock, TX. Blake was on the field playing and I was cheering him on from the front row of the student section.


I was surprised to see that Blake had actually dusted off one of his state championship rings (he has two ya know…) and we both broke out the red and blue to support our alma mater. Even Paul found some red, white and blue to wear.

Grandma and Grandpa showed up with spirit stickers for under Paul’s eyes, noise makers and Blake’s old game day shirt that the team wore on Fridays to the pep rallies. As dorky as it might sound, being back at a GHS football game brought back lots of fond memories for us.

Sadly, GHS lost to Marcus. It was still a fun time, though. Oh yeah – and the Cowboy stadium is awesome!

Misfire!

Finally caught it on camera! :)

Cute Pic Post

Blake said he had to hand over his "man card" for wearing the baby carrier to the game. He secretly loved it, though.

Papa Dale and Grandma Roxanne (or maybe MamaRox? or RoRo?) with Paul at the BU vs. Nebraska game on Halloween.

Here are the pics to go with what I already mentioned about meeting William and Wanda:

Clean and Cuddly! I love bath time!

This is from when we first started to notice his attempts at a "giggle". Right now it's just a short 'heh...heh' noise but it's clearly his way of trying to giggle or laugh - not coo. Blake seems to be the only one who can get him to do it, too. Paul loves his daddy!

2 Month Well-Visit

Last Thursday we visited with Dr. Robert, our awesome pediatrician, for Paul’s two month check up and first vaccines. All is well. Paul is kicking and punching the air, wiggling around on his back a lot and cooing and smiling to anyone who is willing ot act ridiculous in front of his face now. He also really loves a fist sandwich.

8/29/09 Birth Weight: 8lbs 10oz
9/10/09 Circumcision: 8lbs 11oz
9/17/09 Two Week Check: 9lbs 8oz

11/5/09 Two Month Check:
Weight: 12 lbs
Height: 24.25
Head: 16.25

He’s still in the 55th percentile with weight but now he's in the 75th percentile with height. He's two feet (and a quarter inch) tall now! Dr. Robert says he's a "lean, mean fist-eating machine". :)

He received one oral vaccine and one prick in his little leg from a needle. He did great! He cried loudly for about 10 seconds until Blake picked him up. Then he was a happy camper. His next visit to Dr. Robert is when he's four months old.

Go Bears!

On Halloween morning we drove to Waco and met Blake’s parents, his Uncle Spike, cousin Riley and some family friends for the Baylor vs. Nebraska game. Baylor lost (no surprise) but we had fun tailgating and the weather was wonderful.

Paul wore his skeleton onesie underneath his bear suit with a BU hat and Halloween socks. We had to strip him down at the stadium though because it got much warmer than we were expecting. Last year it was COLD.

After the game we visited Roxanne’s Uncle William and Aunt Wanda that live in Waco. Uncle William is Roxanne’s father’s brother and he is 88 years old. I’m waiting for the good photos that Roxanne took, but I did manage to sneak one of Paul napping on Wanda’s lap. He totally zonked out! We got home from Waco at about 8:00p and then headed (foolishly, we know…) to a friend’s Halloween party. We had our cowboy boots, hats, pearl snap shirts and Texas-sized belt buckles all ready to go, but Blake and I were so exhausted that we decided to skip the western wear and join Paul by wearing our pajamas as costumes instead.


Paul met Blake's best friends Chad (above) and Jeff (below) soon after he was born but this time we got pictures. I'm sure Jeff will regret taking a picture in his Reno 911 costume choice twenty years from now....


After Paul made the rounds, he went down for the night in the guest bedroom and slept straight through the transition from pack ‘n play to car seat and then from car seat to crib. He must have been exhausted after such a full day! He slept until 6am the next morning and I thought it would be difficult for him to adjust to the one hour time change…!

Happy Halloween!

We're not horses...

My Aunt Karen (Lisa's dad's sister) and Uncle Larry come to Fort Worth about this same time every year for the World Championship Appaloosa Show and we always try to go visit them. This year we got to bring Great Grandpa George along and we also got to introduce Paul to them.

Since they are professional horse photographers, it has become a tradition to take a family photo in front of their horse backdrops. This year was no different.

FOUR GENERATIONS OF BOYS
My Grandpa, My Dad, My Husband and My Son

ALL OF US

Family Dinner

My Grandpa came to town this week from Chicago to visit the Pedersen family. It was an extra special visit for us because he had not met my brother’s wife or his great grandson yet. He treated us all to dinner at Ama Lur at the Gaylord Hotel. It was the perfect place for our whole family; gluten-free for me, vegetarian for Renee, lots of fish choices for Grandpa and some really good desserts!

BLAKE, LISA and PAULGRANDMA & GRANDPA PEDERSEN
(mom didn't approve this picture, sorry!)

FOUR GENERATIONS!
(mom didn't approve this picture either, sorry!)

AUNT NAY NAY & UNCLE JOE
ALL OF US
Joe is borrowing Renee's hair to make a Trump toupee for Paul's bald head. ;)
Paul's favorite Aunt!

Me and My Baby

My friend Katie snapped this picture when she stopped by the other morning to drop something off. Finally - a pic of me with my baby!! I'm always the one taking pics and half the time I'm not showered or it's at the end of the day when I'm lookin' all ragged...so this one means a lot to me. I think I'll frame it. Thanks Katie. :) Oh yeah - and thanks for planting the jealousy seed. I'm adding "dSLR camera" to my pie in the sky wish-list! I want one just like yours now...

Two months!

Paul is 8 weeks old (two months) today!

BIRTH

ONE MONTH
TWO MONTHS

Jammies

We had dinner at Blake's parent's house on Sunday night after we visited the pumpkin patch. Paul showed up wearing his drivers cap and stayed late enough to leave in his jammies. :)

Gluten Free - 1 Year

One year ago today I got results back from the lab that verified my gluten intolerance. I learned that I have one gluten-sensitive gene and one celiac gene. Evidently, one or both of my genes had been triggered at some point in my life and had been causing damage to my intestines and had been weakening my immune system. I was not aware of my immune system breaking down nor did I realize I had damage to my intestines. All I knew was that it took me forever to get over a simple cold, nearly three weeks to get over the flu, and I had extremely painful stomach cramps along with really bad cases of diarrhea and constipation, vomiting, body aches, headaches, night sweats, award-winning belches and pretty horrible flatulence. I was actually setting my alarm clock an hour early each morning to allow myself “toilet time” just in case I needed it. I also knew that this was supposed to be “normal” for having what my GI specialist diagnosed as a “severe case of IBS”. Thanks to a genetic test and stool test, I finally had verification that my pain was NOT stress-related or imaginary. It was real and there WAS something I could do about it – remove gluten from my diet.

On October 23 of last year I officially went gluten-free for good. I lost about fifteen pounds and I didn’t need to be losing any weight. I probably LOOKED really sick too – even though I was actually healing. My head throbbed, I was VERY tired, I had bizarre shakes, my entire body broke out with gross pimple-like bumps and I felt nauseous. After that one-week “withdrawal” period was over, it was like a light switch went off. I felt a bazillion times better and I had never felt so good before in my life. People who hadn’t seen me in a while were noticing the outward differences too.

I began reading everything I could get my hands on about food; food intolerances, vegetarianism, production, subsidization , marketing, etc…and learned how harmful high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, MSG, artificial sweeteners and genetically modified ingredients are to our bodies. So I decided to remove them from my diet as well.

For the last year I’ve pretty successfully eaten gluten-free and avoided all the other crap as well. The few times I accidentally glutened myself, I had different reactions. One time my tongue became swollen and I had to *run* to the restroom when I got to work. My stomach also rumbled and cramped all day and I had night sweats that night. I can tell when I accidentally consume high fructose corn syrup because I’ll immediately get a headache and I seem to have the same reaction to MSG as I do to gluten. Even though I don’t notice any symptoms when I eat some of the other crappy stuff, I still try to avoid them. They seem to do more harm than good. So why bother?

With one year down of eating gluten-free, I know I’ll never go back again. No way. I’ve experienced a dramatic change in my overall health and you couldn’t pay me to eat a regular pizza or regular cupcake ever again. I sincerely hope and pray that anyone else struggling with "IBS"-like symptoms will consider getting tested for a food intolerance. Life is SO MUCH better for me without gluten in it.

Drivers Caps

Paul got to meet his Great-Grandpa George (Lisa's mom's father) this weekend.

Pumpkin Patch

The weather on Sunday was absolutely beautiful! We dressed Paul up in his overalls and cowboy boots (thanks Aunt Deb!) and took Paul to the pumpkin patch. We picked out one pumpkin for each family member – even Bella.