pumpkin head number two.

i knitted a lot of pumpkin hats this fall. a LOT. twelve, i think. however, all twelve were destined for other cute little heads...my poor children were pumpkin hat-less. anticipating some good photo opportunities at the pumpkin patch, i decided to remedy that situation. elijah's hat was knitted up in about an hour as i used the same pattern i'd used for all the other hats (i had it memorized). with some super bulky yarn, it knitted up FAST (you can see a picture of his in my "october festivities" post). lucy's hat took a bit longer since i used a lighter weight yarn and a different pattern (actually, the pattern i used for elijah's first pumpkin hat which is too stretched out for lucy's head). i found myself frantically knitting at 11pm the night before we were scheduled to go to the pumpkin patch. i finished it in time, thankfully, and i'm so glad i did. it is so cute on her! i wasn't really able to get any fantastic pictures of the two of them in their semi-matching hats...but i got a ton of super cute ones of lucy. i just plopped her down into a bin full of pumpkins and shot away. i was interrupted several times by onlookers announcing her extreme cuteness and also curious if i had knitted her hat myself. i wish i had brought some business cards along with me! anyways...without further ado: my little pumpkin head...

(this one ^^ is not so much cute as it is funny...and very appropriate...as she's putting anything and everything in her mouth right now. we took that pumpkin home with us...)

pretty mama.

i love maternity shoots. there's so much anticipation built into those last few weeks of pregnancy. this beautiful belly belongs to my dear friend, shannon. i love shooting her because she's so relaxed in front of the camera...that, and she'll do pretty much anything i ask her to do! ;o) i love the way these turned out...they're so much different than the ones i did with her first, noah (who was featured in a post a few weeks ago). can't wait to meet little jacob...

october festivities...

october is just the beginning of the holiday madness. we didn't do much leading up to halloween...mainly because i'm not a huge fan of the day. however, we did make a trek over to the pumpkin patch and the kiddos went trick o' treating on saturday evening (well, lucy went to one house before she decided she was done). i had prepped elijah a bit beforehand, coaching him in what to say once he got up to the door. he had a very articulate "trick o' treat" followed by "thank you! happy halloween!". as we walked around the neighborhood, i could hear his sweet little voice saying it just right. i was a proud mama... ;o)

kylie poo.

poor kylie. cutting a tooth and still we made her pose for the camera. such a cutie regardless!

life around these parts...

you know life is busy around here when the blog posts are few and far between. i hope to get caught up soon but for now, here's a peek in pictures at what's been going on in the anaya household:

elijah rode his motorcycle BY HIMSELF.

 

lucy traveled with john and i to florida.

lucy got a highchair finally...

we went to the pumpkin patch!

halloween! (excuse the horrible noise on this picture...my camera settings were WAY off...and this was the best shot of the night)

i did a maternity shoot with my friends bryan and shannon (and their little boy noah...he was featured in his own post a few weeks ago).

i hope to do individual posts on each of the pictures but we'll see if it actually gets done. my intentions are good though!

the girls next door.

we love our neighbors. couldn't ask for better people to live next door to us! these are their little girls. they have frequented this blog several times but this is the first time i got to do an official session with them. they are such happy little girls and i love them to pieces.
steph - i'm in love with how these turned out...and there's a ton more really fun ones. i got more good ones of kymber than i thought! hope you love these few as much as i do...i'll get the rest to you when i get back...xxoo

look out ladies...here comes noah!

can someone say heartbreaker? 'cause that's what this little guy is. noah is one of elijah's little buddies...can't believe he's three already! i remember taking pictures of him in the hospital. that means my little man isn't far behind...crazy. hope you love them shannon. i'll have the rest done when i get back...

little miss macie - a second look

sometimes when i first look through my shots from a shoot, i overlook some real keepers. this shoot with miss macie is an excellent example of that. how could i miss these? so so sweet...

on my mind...

it has been quiet around here on the blog front. only because it has NOT been quiet around here in reality. this blog is first and foremost a place where i can jot down (type down?) my thoughts while i can so i can remember what life was like for me right now when "someday" comes. so...with that in mind...here's some things running through my brain at the moment. they are scattered, true to life.

1. florida. don't know if this trip is going to pan out or not. john was awarded this trip for his amazing work last year. he was one of the top twenty mortgage advisers in his company (which just happens to be the fourth largest mortgage company in the country). go him. we had originally planned to go, john, lucy and i, while elijah stayed home with john's parents. we decided to do this primarily because we would have had to pay for e's airline ticket (lucy flies free because she's under two). however, we just found out that john's mom can't get the time off from work. kind of frustrating because she's known about this for several MONTHS. (i'm trying so hard not be annoyed) after realizing that my mom couldn't feasibly come down to hang out with elijah, we considered taking him with us. which would be fine, except that it would cost around $1500. um...we just don't have that kind of money. so. current thinking? i get to stay home with the kids while john goes to florida and schmoozes his boss. *sigh*

2. lucy is crazy. she's hilarious. seriously hilarious. sitting up, giggling, rolling all over the house...i'm gonna have my hands full with this one. she's also in the midst of a growth spurt...waking up every three hours at night again. can't wait until she's back to sleeping six-seven hours at a time...

3. what's for dinner? the perpetual question.

4. knitting. i have four outstanding knitting orders that i really should be working on...can i get them done before this weekend?

5. looking for a milk delivery service and trying to think of a way to explain the necessity of it to my husband.

6. why do i always feel behind? failing? utterly under appreciated? i'm drowning in the daily, the mundane. this isn't what i signed up for, is it?

7. elijah. oh, how i love that boy...but how he irks me! so sweet one minute, hitting me and talking back the next (one reason i don't want to leave him with a sitter to go to florida). is this a delayed reaction to lucy's arrival? how can i nip this disrespect? what haven't i tried yet? how can i increase my patience stores with him?

8. halloween costumes.  elijah changes his mind every day. today he said he wants to be a dinosaur (complete with the roar). yesterday he wanted to be an owl. the day before? a crocodile. the day before that? woody from toy story (only because connor is going to be woody). he has a pirate costume that he refuses to wear...and i found an astronaut costume that would work. do i just buy it an hope for the best? and what about lucy? old navy has a cute skeleton bodysuit in her size. decisions. decisions.

9. come on, lucy! go back to sleep!

10. christmas is only twelve weeks away. what? ooph.

11. what to do with all the zucchini, yellow squash, apples and green beans i have in my fridge. time to start the dehydrator up again i suppose. and maybe make lots of zucchini bread?  i saw a recipe for zucchini cookies...i might have to try that.

12. i love simple mom. i just read an article on there entitled, "how to live dangerous in marriage". fantastic stuff. one of the points it brought up was about when one partner grows and changes without involving their spouse. i wonder if i've been doing that with john. i'm reading and growing passionate about "greening up" our lifestyle...moving away from him in that area. perhaps his reluctance to change is due to an feeling of intimidation? hmm...might be something we need to talk about...

13. (a baker's dozen) i know there are a zillion more things i could write about. but i should probably stop here. because there are a zillion more things i need to be doing right now...responsibility calls.

the rios/hernandez familia

what a beautiful family! four generations...what a blessing.

so privileged to be able to capture them...

little miss macie

little miss macie is one!

i got to spend a fun hour with her and her parents this past weekend.

she is full of energy and joy!

santa cruz loves the reedy's!

i got to spend a fun afternoon in santa cruz with these five yesterday. these are just a few of the shots that caught my eye as i was uploading their images. tons of sunshine on these happy faces!

family hawk (that's for you alyssa)

doesn't it look like a nice, cool fall day?

no one would ever guess that it was nudging 100*.

the hawkinson's and i got together here in ripon sunday afternoon to document their family before their youngest daughter flies away to spain.

we shared lots of laughs while we sweated through these fun pictures.

alyssa, you will be missed!

an update on life.

our little boy has been sick, sick, sick, sick. so very sick.
it all started last friday afternoon (the 18th).
john was out of town for work...and e was driving me crazy.
so i put him down for a nap early and noticed he felt warm.
took his temp...103. dang.
i rarely give my kiddos tylenol or motrin or any of that stuff.
usually if they have a fever, it's a low grade one so i just let the fever do its thing. (low grade fevers are usually a good thing...high fevers, like e's was, aren't so good)
i canceled our evening plans and hoped he'd feel better in the morning.
i ended up calling the after hours doctor at 11.30pm because e's fever had now reached 104.7 and the tylenol wasn't doing a thing to lower it.
after some kindly words from the on-call pediatrician, i pulled him into bed with me (john wouldn't be home until the morning) and tried to sleep.
of course, i couldn't sleep.
around five am, i felt his head and in my delirium, it felt cool. only then was i able to sleep until lucy woke up at eight to nurse.
i honestly think God made elijah's head feel cool to me so i could get some sleep because when i woke up in the morning, he was as hot as ever.
we waited for john to get home, then took him in to the saturday clinic.
after an initial exam, the ped really didn't see any huge problem until i told her how high his fever had gotten the night before. she ordered blood work (not fun when the nurse couldn't find his poor little vein!) and it looked like he was getting a bacterial infection.
antibiotics for elijah-man.
fast forward to midnight saturday night/sunday morning. john and i are startled out of sleep by deep, hacking coughs between shallow, labored breaths. scary. and really not cool.
he was still running a super high fever (though the motrin helped some) and now he couldn't breathe? we decided to take him to the e.r.
john took him while i waited at home with lucy. (we didn't want to expose her to whatever nasties were waiting in the emergency room. but it was torture for me staying at home. another sleepless, prayer-filled night.)
john and elijah got home around 2.30am with the news that elijah most likely had the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as the swine flu. we had a prescription for tamiflu, an anti-viral medication.
he took that along with the broad spectrum antibiotic prescribed to him at the clinic until wednesday when i called his pediatrician because he STILL had a fairly high fever (101-102) and that lovely, hacking cough.
she got him an appointment that morning. the pediatrician that saw him (his usual one was called out) was so very helpful. she ordered a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia and just really listened to our concerns. so refreshing in a pediatrician!
e got the x-rays done (much less traumatizing than the blood draw!) and we waited for the results.
we took him in on thursday morning and received the diagnosis that he most likely had the H1N1 virus with a secondary infection of walking pneumonia. fun, right? poor guy.
so...he was prescribed a different antibiotic to help rid his body of the pneumonia. friday morning (the 25), a full week after his first signs of illness, he was fever-free. we had a fairly normal weekend, except he was a bit more tired than usual, still coughing and still hadn't quite got his appetite back. then sunday night (last night), lucy woke up to nurse burning up with fever. i was in tears, simply because i was so exhausted from the previous week's drama and interrupted nights. but, since we caught it early, she's already on the medication. her fever is controlled by infant tylenol (something that elijah's wasn't) and her cough doesn't interfere with her breathing like elijah's did. she's mostly her normal happy self; just a bit more cranky around naptime than usual. as long as she keeps nursing, i'm not too worried about her...she'll pull through!
now...i've just got to get caught up on some sleep and some housework. poor john hasn't had a home cooked meal in ten days! but not to worry, i've got seafood chowder simmering downstairs as i type.
throughout this whole ordeal, i've been so blessed and amazed by the power of prayer. God is so good, even when you're holding your baby, wondering why this is happening to your little one. He is good, all the time, ALL the time.

sweet lucy girl.

here's lucy at four and a half months.

so so so pretty!

riding around.

this little honda has been john's since he was four years old. his dad bought it for him when, after trying to complete a jump with his little battery powered three wheeler and failing miserably (complete with a scar on his chin to prove it), john insisted that he needed a faster motorized bike. apparently, his dad agreed and came home with this little fifty. it's solid as a tank, and weighs almost as much. it's much too heavy for elijah to ride by himself (thankfully) so john sits on the back to keep it balanced and to help if needed. this was the first time lucy got to ride on it though and while she wasn't squealing with delight, she wasn't shrieking with fear either. the jury's still out on her, i guess. i don't love that they do this, but elijah loves it and as long as they stay safe, i don't mind too much. john finally went out and bought elijah a motorcycle helmet this weekend, so that eases my mind a bit more.

my water baby.

elijah hasn't always loved the water...but this summer, he's become much more comfortable in and around it. he still prefers small amounts of it; these pictures are an excellent example of that. he's still a bit tentative with pools but is getting better. we haven't been around the ocean this summer at all, so i don't know what he'd do with that...maybe next summer he'll be ready for his first dip in the pacific.

who needs a double stroller?

we've avoided getting a double stroller so far into this two kid business, simply because a new stroller isn't really in the budget and i haven't found any used ones that i like. actually...i haven't found any used ones. so...the other day when we were walking home from the park, elijah asked me to carry him. it was getting close to both lunch and naptime, and he was pooped from playing hard on the play structure. i didn't have the energy to carry him, so i plopped him down on the little fabric piece that connects the stroller seat to the stroller frame. it worked beautifully. i will still continue to look for that illusive double stroller but for now, this works.

buddies.

elijah and his buddy noah.

matching swim trunks and little round bum cheeks.

fun day at the park.

scenes from daily life

enjoying an early cup of coffee, the book of LIFE, and my sweet girl.

more fun times in alaska...

these pictures were taken at lake lucille in wasilla. the kiddos and i met up with fantastic friends of ours to let the kids play together. sam has three kids...not featured in any of these photos, unfortunately, but her middle child, kellan, is about a week younger than elijah. whenever we're up there, we try to get together.
elijah surprised me by actually going in the lake. he is usually timid around water, especially bigger bodies of water like the ocean or lakes. but he was brave and played alongside his friends for a few hours. the visit wasn't long enough, of course, but it was a blessing nonetheless.

well...hello there.

i was just perusing my blog and i realized i never posted any (many) pictures from my alaska trip this summer. i posted quite a few from the wedding i shot while i was there...but not really any of the personal stuff (i did post one of my favorite pictures and a pretty photo heavy post from the 4th of july...but other than that...nada.). so...for nostalgia's sake...i'd like to post some now while the memories are still fairly fresh. tonight's offering? a classic tale of boy meets dirt. i came home from shooting ben and anita's wedding to this scene:





and oh my...he was having the best time. obviously. i guess my dad was doing some yard work (i use the word "yard" fairly liberally since their "yard" consists mainly of rocks and dirt...they just moved in in january) and elijah was "helping". sweet. i let my dad give him a bath that night...and those shoes will never quite be the same.

my loves.

love lazy mornings with these three.
bliss.

lovin' life.

wish i knew what she was thinking...

is organic food healthier?

it is probably no secret that i'm an advocate of the organic movement. i buy organic products and produce whenever possible, despite the extra cost. i don't LIKE paying more for it, but i feel strongly that it's worth it not only for the sake of my family and their health and well being, but also for the health and well being of our planet. however, my husband is not of one mind with me on this; he simply sees the extra cost. but after showing him this article (below), he's a bit more understanding. the article really articulates well what "organic" really means and why it's important to buy organic products whenever possible. it was written by by Dr. Ayala Laufer-Cahana; you can read her credentials here.

I support the organic movement and started buying organic food as soon as organic alternatives were available to me. I will gladly pay more for an organically produced food item.

For the sake of full disclosure--I’m involved with an organic product that recently earned the organic seal. The long process made me even more respectful of the certifying agencies and the seal.

As I studied the subject more carefully, I became more and more convinced that eating and buying organic isn’t just about maintaining your own health; it’s about political change and doing something for the greater good.

I think that the first, selfish motivation is quite clear. Conventional food is grown using a multitude of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. We now know that these remain in the food, and are absorbed by and present in our body. Although conventional growers and food producers make every effort to convince us that these chemicals are safe and harmless in these amounts, common sense says that they definitely add nothing good to our health, and we’re probably better off without them.

Personally, I don’t want to be part of this experiment. We live in an environment that has hundreds of new, man-made chemicals. It will be very hard to prove that any single one of them is a direct cause of disease, as they probably do not have very high toxicity, but overall, this experiment is not going well so far. Despite major advancements in medical care, the rates of many chronic diseases are on the rise, and there is some concern that chronic, repeated chemical exposure contributes to that. While it’s impossible to avoid exposure altogether, I think that directly ingesting contaminants on a regular basis isn’t a good idea.

Organic farming practices

In order to look at the bigger picture of what “choosing organic” means, we have to understand organic practices. The certified organic label on a food means that the producers of the food followed several rules:

o They do not use synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers to grow crops.

o They do not fertilize with sewage sludge.

o Food is not irradiated or genetically modified.

o Organic farmers are required by the National Organic Standards to minimize soil erosion.

o Soil fertility is maintained through practices such as crop rotation, cover crops, and use of composted material (which is basically recycling farm waste into soil nutrients).

o Animals cannot be fed the byproducts of other animals.

o Animals are given access to the outdoors and treated more humanely (I read several reports that make me believe that the humane treatment of animals is an aspect that needs more attention).

We can easily see how important these practices are to the environment:

o An organic farm doesn’t contribute to the growing problem of chemical fertilizers’ run-off contaminating our rivers, lakes, oceans and drinking water. This contamination is persistent, and affects us -- as well as wildlife.

o An organic farm doesn’t contribute to our worrying dependence on foreign dwindling oil supplies (fertilizers are fossil fuel products).

o Farm workers on organic farms aren’t subjected to a work environment heavily contaminated by pesticides.

o Soil fertility is maintained for future generations.

o An organic farm recycles its waste, and doesn’t fill landfills with hazardous waste.

o An organic farm promotes biodiversity.

o Organic practices lead to crops that are more resistant to drought and pests, and probably are more complex in phytochemical composition. (Phytochemicals are chemical compounds derived from plants and fruits; there is evidence from epidemiological studies that phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of disease.)

And as defined by the USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB):

"Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.”

What does the organic seal mean?

The organic seal was introduced in 2002, and assures that products labeled as organic meet stringent standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the USDA regulations, In order for a product to be labeled as “organic” and gain the organic seal it must contain a minimum of 95% organic ingredients.

The certification is a very arduous process.

Growers seeking certification have to study the organic standards. Farm facilities and production methods must comply with the standards. Extensive paperwork must document farm history and current practices, and usually must include results of soil and water tests. A written annual production plan must be submitted, detailing every aspect of farming: Seed sources, field and crop locations, fertilization and pest control activities, harvest methods, storage locations, etc.

Annual on-farm inspections are part of the certification process, with a physical tour, examination of records, and an oral interview. Also, short-notice or surprise inspections can be made, and specific tests (e.g., soil, water, plant tissue) may be requested. For first-time farm certification, the soil must meet basic requirements of being free from use of prohibited substances (synthetic chemicals, etc.) for three years.

Certification for food producers is similar. Every aspect of the production, including ingredients, transport, processing and packaging are examined and need to adhere to strict standards.

The organic seal is earned with a lot of effort. The certifiers take their job very seriously, and for that, they have gained the public’s trust.

Do our choices matter?

By choosing organic food, consumers send the message to food growers and manufacturers that organic practices are important. The growth of the organic segment has been so dramatic because more and more people are demanding these products. And whether producers sign on to organic practices for ideological or financial and marketing reasons, the result is the same -- less degradation to our environment and a healthier planet.

So, yes, our choices matter a great deal.

If organic produce seems expensive, bear in mind that conventional foods have many hidden costs; the expenses associated with personal health and environmental degradation, for example, just weren't factored in when you bought them. We (and our children) will pay those costs later. With the prices of fossil fuels rising, we’ll also see conventional crops costing more (remember, conventional foods use fertilizers that are made from fossil fuels).

When you consider all the issues from a broad perspective, non-organic food is really just too expensive to even consider.

Is organic food always healthy food?

Organic doesn’t automatically mean “ready to eat now” or even necessarily “good for you”.

A common misconception I’ve encountered is that organic produce doesn’t need to be washed. Organic produce does need to be washed – and washed thoroughly. While organic food isn't sprayed with chemicals, microbial life is teeming between the leaves. Wildlife visit the fields and can contaminate produce in any number of ways. All produce is handled by many human hands that aren’t necessarily free of harmful bacteria and it’s more than likely that produce has been in contact with many surfaces that aren’t designed to be free of disease-causing germs.

Organic candy, organic soda or organic French fries, while still a tiny bit better because they’re free of pesticides, are still (organic) junk food, and should be eaten infrequently. So you do need to read the labels on organic foods carefully. If the food is full of sugars, fats, salt or calories, it’s a dessert, and shouldn’t be viewed as a “health food” (whatever that means).

“Organic” is not a panacea for all of life’s ills. While it would be nice if organic food folded the laundry and grew hair on bald spots, all kidding aside, it’s vitally important that we understand and apply the limits of what can be expected from organic food.

The organic seal promises that the food has been farmed according to the organic standards -- which are better for you and for the environment. But it doesn’t mean the food itself can’t be junk.

Dr. Ayala

fun with noah.

playdates with noah are always fun.
"wanna race?"

siblings.

i haven't talked much about how e has been adjusting to life with a sister. mainly because the transition has been virtually seamless. he loves lucy...no doubt there. he always wants to be next to her, hugging her, kissing her. soon he'll be able to play with her too as she gets older. he's the first to jump up and give her back her paci when she spits it out. and any time she's fussy, you can hear him say (sometimes shouting it from the other room), "it's ok, lucy kate!" i can't wait to watch them grow together...to watch them become friends and playmates. sweetness.

those eyes get me EVERY time...

can't get enough.

fun in the dirt.

love these shots of the e-man playing in the dirt the other day. i was working in the garden and happened to look over at this scene. love it...

views from the garden.

now, that's what i call a snack!

finally...a sunflower! e has been waiting for these for a long time.

a little critter.
we have lots of these guys roaming around...this is the tiniest one i've ever seen though!

my lucy girl is three months old!

"lucy kate! lucy kate! lucy, goosey, moosey kate!"

that's a little jingle i like to sing to my sweet girl...

i did a mini photo shoot to chronicle her amazing sweetness at three months.

can't imagine life without her sparkle.

craft time at the anaya house.

been trying to keep my little man busy inside with the temperatures hovering around the century mark. today's activity? fun with popsicle sticks.

showing his sister his "E". notice her tongue? see previous post.

three months ago...

...this one was born.

"hello. aren't i pretty?"

the cutest tongue i've ever seen...

so...apparently...lucy likes to stick out her tongue.