The Veggie Experiment

Today begins an adventure in our household. We are going to try to be vegetarians for one month. Why? 

Well, there was D.'s post about this on his birthday almost a year ago. 

But there is also the truth that over the last few years, I have been learning a lot about being healthier. I have IBS. I figured this out about 8 years ago; I went to the doctor, and he prescribed medication for me. I soon realized that the medication had side effects: mainly dizziness and headaches. I learned that if I changed my diet the symptoms diminished without the weird side effects. This was really the beginning of my journey. 

A few summers ago, I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and I started to think about some of the other impacts my food choices might have--on my community, on the environment, and on my health. Since then, I have had the joy of forcing approximately 120 college freshmen to read this book (or at least to pretend that they read it). 

I also watched Food, Inc. and I was challenged to think even more about the impact my choices have on the environment, but also on the people who produce this food. I'll confess to you that I never really felt bad about an animal being killed to fill my stomach, but when I saw the images of how many animals are crammed into very small spaces and the unhealthy working environment this creates for farmers and meat-packers, it had an impact on me. 

So we are not planning on becoming full-time, official vegetarians, but we want to be healthier, and to depend more on fruits and vegetables for our nutritional needs rather than meat. Hopefully, one month's worth of vegetarian dishes and experiments will help us on this journey. 

**Note: I'll be cooking vegetarian meals for D. and I, but we will not be super-strict on Isaiah's diet, and we will definitely be giving Ezra some meat. He is allergic to milk and eggs, and that eliminates a lot of sources of protein from his diet. I don't want to load him up too much on soy products, so we'll be buying a little bit of meat just for him. 

18 Months

And this little boy turned 18 months old on July 26th. He is really hilarious. It is so fun to see his personality develop and to learn how different he is from his brother. Let me tell you: this boy fights back! Isaiah can be rough sometimes, but Ezra is definitely going to survive! We do have to work on promoting harmony in the home sometimes, but the boys do love each other so much. In fact, Isaiah often asks, "Ezra, give me a hug!" and Ezra runs over and hugs his brother. So sweet.

Ezra loves to make us laugh. He especially loves to make his brother laugh. I think he might grow up to be a performer!

He is walking, running, and is quite independent. He is a little shy in new social situations, but he loves to explore when he feels comfortable. He is learning to use the potty. (Hallelujah!) He can follow directions that include several steps: "Ezra, go to your room and get your shoes." He feels so proud when he does it! He also loves to help clean up. We'll see how long that will last.

His language is exploding! His favorite word, by far is "dog." His second favorite word is "ball." But he is learning to use other words too.  Just this week he said "shoe," "bowl," and "backpack." He knows lots of other words, including body parts. He can point to his hair, feet, hands, etc. when asked, and he can say "Daddy," and "Mommy" but he's still working on "Isaiah."

We are so thankful for this boy and for the blessing it is to see him grow.

Three and a Half

This boy turned three and a half on July 5th. He is getting so grown up. He makes me laugh every day with his jokes and funny stories, and he also frustrates me every day. He has quite an independent spirit and a strong will--which I like to call leadership ability but D. calls "bossy."

Lately, he is really into trains. He loves to build train tracks all by himself. He pushes Thomas and his freight cars around on the tracks and uses his very active imagination to make all the cars talk to each other. We have been wishing Christmas would come sooner so he could ask for more Thomas cars and characters. He also asks for cars to be "coupled" as he plays train outside. He asks D. to tie different things to a little car we have in the back yard--for example, a car in front, a wagon tied behind it, and his little wiggle car behind that. He asked me to ride in the wagon behind him yesterday, but I told him I thought I might be a little too heavy for him to pull! Ezra rode instead, which worked out better.

He will be starting preschool five days a week in a few weeks, which is hard to believe. He is pretty excited and alternately a little nervous about it. He'll be going from 9 am to noon. He continues to be quite athletic, impressing us with his abilities. He likes to hit the ball off of the T, and he likes to wear his baseball glove.

Another new interest is Dora the Explorer--he is only allowed to watch a little TV each day (usually 30 minutes or less) so he has just been introduced to Dora. He likes it a lot, and he's been saying a few Spanish words, which makes me happy.

We are so thankful for this "big boy" as he calls himself.

Quote of the Day

"When I'm an acrobat, I feel nervous." --Isaiah

Quote of the Day

"You guys play with these train tracks, but be careful. I don't want to see the house destroyed." --Anna, 5 years old (my niece speaking to her little brother and little cousin)

Summer=Baseball

What? You didn't know?

Enjoying an Afternoon Thunderstorm

On Belovedness

"The greatest gift my friendship can give to you is the gift of your Belovedness. I can give that gift only insofar as I have claimed it for myself." --Henri Nouwen

One of my greatest desires for my boys is that they know that they are loved--deeply and fully--both by God and by D. and I. I tell them often that I love them no matter what, and I practice reminding them that they are loved by God daily. One of my favorite ways is by singing our "special song" as Isaiah calls it. Each night when I put them to bed I sing these words: 

You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song

You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song

You are my strong melody

You are my dancing rhythm

You are my perfect rhyme 

And I want to sing forever. 

Of course, you might recognize these lyrics by Waterdeep of Enter the Worship Circle. I know it's a worship song, written with Jesus in mind, but I think it fits perfectly for our purpose as well. And I think Jesus delights in sharing his belovedness with us.

So recently, sometimes Isaiah likes to "help" me put Ezra to bed when D. is not home. We read a little book, and Isaiah says that HE wants to sing Ezra his special song. He sings the same words for his brother. It makes me so, so happy. As we live in a world that tells us daily that we are only valued when we achieve or when we are attractive, I pray that I can learn to claim my belovedness every day so my boys can do the same. 

The Poop

If you are one of those people in the world who is too modest or polite to talk about poop, then please don't read this. I warned you. You also might not want to come over to my house or possibly have a conversation with me, ever. Just sayin'. 

Around late August/September of last year, we decided that Isaiah was probably ready to potty train. We entered the process cautiously. We were a little nervous. We used many of the tricks you might have heard about, and Isaiah did great. With peeing on the potty. He really picked it up quickly. The problem was with the poop. We waited patiently for him to figure that one out. Then we waited not-so-patiently.  Then we got frustrated. Then we reminded ourselves that surely, surely he would go on the potty before kindergarten, or at least before he went away to college. So I will spare you the details and let you know that as of three weeks ago Isaiah has figured it all out and is completely potty-trained! Woo hoo! Yes, you read that correctly. The potty-training process took approximately nine months. And really, in the end, it was nothing we did to help him along. He just sort of decided that it was time. 

So you might understand my skepticism regarding last week: Ezra wanted to sit on the potty. Isn't that cute? He wants to be like his brother. So I let him. He insisted again the next day, and it was before bath so he was diaper-free. Surprise! He pooped on the potty! Cautious excitement? Not really. But the next day he did it again. And the next day. The kid knows how to go on the potty. So three times a day, he does. But he is only seventeen months old! I am thinking that it won't last. Or maybe he is some kind of potty prodigy? If you have advice on how I can avoid messing up the prodigy, let me know. For now, we are just letting him go on the potty several times a day and still wear diapers. 

Don't worry, I'll be sure to remove this information from the internet before Isaiah turns 12 so as to avoid any kind of embarrassment or mockery from his peers. 

Where I've Been...for the past year

So I totally fell off the blog wagon for a long time. Please forgive me. In the past year I adjusted to life with two children, potty trained one (stories to come), dealt with the evil winter of illness, passed my comprehensive exams, wrote and successfully defended my dissertation prospectus, prayed with my husband about our future, discerned with him through the job interview process, and packed up and moved my family two states from our Mississippi home (not necessarily in that order.)

But I really value having a little journal about my family's story, and let's be honest: there is no scrapbook-making going on around here. In fact, I have two lovely baby albums gifted to use by D.'s sweet grandmother and I have not finished the first nor have I started working on the second. Sorry, Nanny!

So I want to keep recording our family's stories and adventures for the twelve people who might be interested, but mainly for myself. So put the new address in your google reader. Or not.