This is the last part of four! Check out parts one, two, and three!
Last, but not least, we went to Grandpa David (my father), Great-Grandpa Ed, and Great-Grandma Jo’s house.
Are you sure these aren’t my gifts?
Peanut surrounded by lots of men! Luckily, they’re all family. 
Are we so sure we should be giving Daddy sharp tools?
Fascinated with the shapes!
Thanks for joining us with our birthday celebration. I hope that you had fun!
Happy birthday to Peanut!
Just joining us? Check up on part one and two!
The next day was Sunday and while it wasn’t technically Peanut’s birthday anymore, we kept celebrating. We went to my parent’s house for lunch with Grandma Fay, Grandpa Randy, Great-Aunt Barbara, Uncle Andy, Uncle Cody, Auntie Rebekah, Daddy, Peanut, and me.
Peanut doing the “applause” sign while covered in gifts.
Violet the puppy is supposed to say Dea, but calls her Peanut instead.
Flapper on the beach?
A dress for every era? This one is definitely 70′s.
Enough with the pictures Mom, give me the camera!
You don’t have to show this one twice how to eat cake!
Catch up on part one here!
After getting home from the zoo, we did dinner with my in-laws. We always do a Sunday lunch, but they were going out of town the next day so we did a Saturday dinner instead. Just like every week, it was: Grandma Debbie, Grandpa Jim, Uncle Jason, Auntie Sabrina, Daddy, Peanut, and me. We had sloppy joes.
Peanut really liked them—especially the macaroni salad.
Peanut with her new toys. Don’t you love the elephant?
Peanut in her new cupcake pajamas.
Peanut wanting the camera in her new flower pajamas.
Daddy being angry at Grandma that she accidentally blew out the candle while he was trying to show Peanut how to do it.
We have an extended “immediate family.” People such as my aunt and grandparents wouldn’t be counted in “immediate family” in normal circumstances, but because of living situations they are. So we decided to do a total of four celebrations of Peanut’s birthday. They weren’t big celebrations and it was only the “immediate family,” but it meant two very busy days for us.
Everyone has been asking for pictures from Peanut’s birthday (and my blog is a faux-baby book of sorts), but I figured four celebrations over two days would be one reeeeeeally long post. So I decided to do each celebration separate and have four total days of birthday photos. Yay? I hope so.
So here we go.
It’s a Peanut on a Peanut!
Daddy, Peanut, and I went to the zoo to celebrate her birthday. I wanted to do something to celebrate for our little family, but it’s kind of difficult to not include the in-laws when they’re right upstairs, so we decided to go to the zoo. There is no cake in this “party” and only one present that was bought right then and there, but we had a great time. We also bought a zoo membership so we can go back!
ZOMG Giraffe!
Scary Peanut!
Peanut ready to go home with her birthday gift she picked out herself.
Check back for part two tomorrow at noon!
I always love it when I find cute little “adult” shirts for Peanut. I love making her look like a mini-adult!
Look at that concentration!
When I was looking for a Christmas gift for my friend Kevin, I stumbled upon the Babble Tees shop on Etsy. Not only did they have awesome shirts, but they worked with me to send the t-shirt to Kevin (who lives in Canada) even though PayPal didn’t want to. So when I was looking for shirts for Peanut, I went straight back to them!
They have tons of awesome geeky shirts like one that has all of the organs of the torso with lables. They also have one with the pi symbol (I wish they had an adult version because my husband loves the pi symbol). And look at this cool vintage squid!
So go to their store now and get 30% off your whole order until March 31st with the code “cheaptees” with no limit! ZOMG I think I’m going to go use the code myself right now!
Don’t forget to buy T-rex wearing bunny slippers!
Last Saturday was Peanut’s first birthday (Yay Peanut!) and I wanted to make her a cake. I’ve always loved those pictures of a baby diving into their first birthday cake, but I didn’t like the idea of giving Peanut all of that processed sugar—not to mention the other unhealthy ingredients in store-bought cake and frosting.
It seems like every Baby-led Weaning parent has a different philosophy on sweets. I know some that only give their blw-ers fruits as sweets. I know some that let their kids have anything. Personally, we do the “tastes” method. Basically, anything that I’m eating or drinking (so long as it’s not entirely out of the question like soda, alcohol, and really processed food) I’ll give Peanut at least a taste of what I’m eating. So yes, she’s had that overly-processed, make-my-teeth-hurt, give-me-a-headache store-bought cake and believe me, the little tastes she had she loooooved and would scream when I stopped giving it to her. She’s also had tastes of cookies, brownies, muffins, ice cream (well, more than a taste of ice cream) and many other sweets because her mama has a sweet tooth.
Even with all the tastes, I wanted to make a cake that I would feel okay with giving her an entire piece of because it’s her birthday. So I went in search of a cake that was made of whole food and sweet without the use of processed sugar. After literally months of searching on the internet, I was ready to give up. Then a friend of mine suggested Feast Without Yeast. While I can’t see myself actually trying to do any sort of plan like this, I love a lot of the recipes in it. So I made a Honey Cake for Peanut for her birthday.
Honey Cake
Preheat oven to 325F. Oil two loaf pans (see below) and set aside. Separate the eggs, placing yolks in a large bowl and the whites in a medium bowl (let the whites warm to room temperature). Using an electric mixer, beat the yolks with honey until creamy. Add oil and water; beat. Sift the dry ingredients, then gradually add to the honey mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then carefully fold them into the batter. Pour into oiled loaf pans. Bake at 325F for 45-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out dry. Allow cake to cool, then wrap in foil and place in a plastic bag.
I didn’t do two loaf pans. When I tested it a week beforehand, I did a big round pan. Then when I made her real birthday cake, I decided to do two square pans because the party plans had changed. With both sizes, I cooked it for 25 minutes and checked with a toothpick, then checked every 5 minutes with a toothpick. I believe they both took about 30-35 minutes. For frosting (or really a glaze) I used equal parts honey and butter.
The cake was actually good. It certainly tasted like a “healthy cake,” but my sister-in-law said it was the best “healthy cake” she had ever had. People compared it to bran muffins and you could definitely taste the wheat, but I like it. I will definitely be making it again.
I also felt happy giving Peanut a full slice of it—twice! We didn’t get the baby-smushing-frosting-all-over-her-face pictures, but honestly I don’t think that would have happened even with a store-bought cake. That’s the whole point of Baby-led Weaning—she knows how to eat food. She got not-so-surprising sticky from the honey, but other than that it was a relatively clean food experiment. The important part is that she was able to enjoy her birthday cake and I was able to give it to her guilt-free.
Honey (even cooked) isn’t recommended for babies under one because of the risk of botulism.
Welcome to the Carnival of Breastfeeding! This month is about the joys of breastfeeding. Please read the other blogs in the carnival (listed at the bottom of this post).
Peanut,
You turned one on March 20, 2010. My original goal was to breastfeed you until you turned one and now that we’re here, I have no plans on stopping. There were so many joyous things about breastfeeding you and now there are more new joyous things about breastfeeding you as a toddler. Some of these things make life easier and some of them just make life that much happier. I truly do not know what I would do without breastfeeding.
Emotionally. I breastfeed you to get you to sit calmly when all you want to do is chase the dog. I breastfeed you to make you stop crying when you fall down the stairs. I breastfeed you when I want to relax on the couch for five minutes because I’ve been chasing you all day. I breastfeed you when you’re teething and whiny and I want to pull my hair out.
Physically. I breastfeed you so I can put your hair in pigtails without you trying to run away. I breastfeed you when you’re hungry and I forgot to bring snacks (as if you can ever forget to bring snacks when breastfeeding!). I breastfeed you when you wake up in the middle of the night. I breastfeed you so I can do homework or write my blog (like right now).
Bonding. I breastfeed you to make you laugh because tickling, funny faces, and especially chomping on your arm are that much funnier with a boob in your mouth. I breastfeed you when you want some mommy time. I breastfeed you so you’ll play with (and sometimes hit) my face, chest, and hair. I breastfeed you so you’ll stick your hand down my shirt because we both think it’s hilarious. I breastfeed you so I can see your face light up when I ask and sign “milk?”.
I’m so thankful that we’ve gotten through our rough spots and have the ability to continue this wonderful relationship. I mean, who would want this?
Here are more post by Carnival of Breastfeeding participants! More will be added throughout the day.
Happy birthday Peanut,
I can’t believe you’re one year old already. It feels like the time has flown by, but I also can’t recall what life was like without you in it.
This past month has been full of missed deadlines for the blog and school because I’m chasing you around, a messy house because you follow me around un-cleaning everything I clean, and missed classes because even when you’re driving me nuts I still can’t seem to pull myself away from you.
You started signing back this month. You’ve done “more” a handful of times and you’ve also done “milk” and “all done” a couple times. Your favorite words are “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma” when you’re angry and you call Kerri “dough”. You also say “mum-mum-mum-mum” when I ask you if you want a Mum Mum. You often make sounds that I’m sure you think are words, but you’ve obviously talking over my head. Is it Mama’s fault if she can’t understand quantum physics?
Now that it’s reasonably warm, you can’t get enough of the outdoors. Even on days when it’s not reasonably warm, you whine at the window wanting to go out. Grandpa and Grandma have some lovely looking—but not edible—berries in their backyard that I am constantly steering you away from. It is amazing how difficult it is to reason with a toddler—who knew?!
Grandpa’s gardening bench is apparently yours.
You are a dancing fiend. Also, your hair is long enough that it gets in your eyes so we have to put it in pigtails—which are darling.
Happy birthday “you little pill” (as Grandpa likes to call you when you’re causing trouble). Daddy and I are constantly in awe of how awesome you are. We are lucky to have you in our lives—no matter how tired it makes me.
Love,
Mama
Healthcare is one of the big topics on people’s minds with The House of Representatives voting on the bill this week. I decided that it was time to write my Representative even though he has stated that he will be voting against the bill. It is difficult living in a state that is so red that it feels like your vote doesn’t matter, but I refuse the believe that I can’t make a difference. While many of my peers choose to stay home on election day because they feel it is futile to even vote, I still go out and cast my ballot because I feel that if enough of us do it, we will eventually not be one of the most republican states. We could even one day become one the swing states that the democrat candidates feel worth while to visit on their speaking tours. I know that it’s a long shot, but I refuse to believe that my opinion doesn’t matter just because I’m part of the minority.
I also wrote Congressman Jim Matheson. He is not my Representative, but he is still deciding which way to vote on the bill. I hope that my letter to him will help him decide—even though I don’t vote on whether or not he makes it back into The House.
Here is my letter to Congressman Bishop:
Congressman Bishop,
First off, I know that you have already stated that you’re going to vote “no” on the healthcare bill. I also realize that one constituent is not likely going to change your mind. Still, I want your conscious to know what you’re voting against.
I am 21 years old, married, and I have a daughter who is turning one this week. I was lucky enough to grow up with great insurance. I never knew what it was like to not go to the doctor when I had a cough or to deal with aliments because it costs too much money to do otherwise.
That all changed when I got married. Since we were both students and it would cost more than tuition each semester to get the mediocre and supposedly inexpensive health coverage our schools offered, we had to go without insurance. Luckily, when I was pregnant I qualified for Medicaid, but two months after my daughter was born I no longer did.
Without Medicaid, I wouldn’t have been able to afford going to the doctor for my prenatal care. I would have never found out that I was Strep B positive (a common condition in pregnant women) and my daughter wouldn’t have been able to be monitored after birth to make sure she hadn’t been exposed to the bacteria—which is often life-threatening in newborns. One year later, I still suffer from pregnancy and birth related ailments. Sadly, none of these conditions became a problem until after I was no longer covered by Medicaid. I’m not going to get into the gory details, but I shouldn’t have to cry every time I make a bowel movement.
My husband has been without health insurance for over two years. I am happy to say that he is a healthy man, but when he was ill and vomited five times within 24 hours, we didn’t take him to the doctor. It wasn’t until three weeks after that when he still felt so nauseous every day that he couldn’t even move that we took him in. It turned out that his body couldn’t quite recover from such a bad stomach illness and he needed to take medicine for a few weeks. Even with the doctor being mindful of our lack of insurance (which I was very grateful for), it still cost us over 100 dollars to get him treated. I realize that 100 dollars probably doesn’t seem like much to you, but when you’re living off of student loans, it’s devastating.
We are very lucky that our daughter qualifies for Medicaid—which I might add is by definition socialized healthcare. Without Medicaid, I have no idea how we would have afforded all of the check-ups that are required for a baby within the first year of their life. While trying to figure out my daughter’s vaccine schedule, I was amazed to find out that Medicaid patients at our pediatrician’s office get a different set of vaccine brands than non-Medicaid patients. While they are the same vaccines, the ones allowed by Medicaid have higher levels of aluminum and therefore—in my mind—are less safe. The reasoning behind the different vaccines? They’re cheaper.
My husband graduated last semester and got a job a few weeks ago. Once he has been working there for three months, he will have the chance to sign on for medical insurance. I guess we’re considered some of the “lucky ones” to even get that chance at all. With our Medicaid review up at the end of this month, I am almost sure that the 30,000 dollars a year gross that my husband is making is too much for my daughter to qualify. This means that we will likely go two months where my daughter also does not have insurance.
Even after those three months are up, we’re expecting to pay at least 200 dollars a month to get medical coverage for all three of us. Once again, I don’t know if you would consider 200 dollars a month to be much, but for a single-income family that is quite a bit. That 200 dollars a month prevents us from moving out of my in-laws’ basement. That 200 dollars a month causes us to go in the deficit every month when I do our budget. Yet, without that 200 dollars a month, we are one major illness away from bankruptcy—and that’s assuming that 200 dollars a month actually covers enough of the costs of that major illness to prevent our financial ruin.
Once again, I realize these words are unlikely to change your mind. I don’t know if you’ve ever had to live without medical insurance, but I’m hoping that this gives you a small insight into what it’s like to have the constant fear of getting sick and having it ruin you financially. I also understand that you probably don’t support this bill because of the extra money it will tack onto our country’s deficit. If you don’t think my health is worth that money, so be it, but I thought you should know what you are voting against when you vote “no” this week.
Sincerely,
Claire Lindstrom
And my letter to Congressman Matheson:
Congressman Matheson,
I am not a constituent in your district. I am in the First District of Utah and my Representative is Congressman Rob Bishop. That said, I know that you are still on the fence about whether to vote “yes” or “no” to the healthcare bill this week. I have attached a copy of my letter I wrote to Congressman Bishop in hopes that it helps you make your decision. While I do not live in your district, I am still a Utahn without health insurance. I am sure that many of your constituents are in a similar position to mine and I know that many people don’t choose to write their Congressman. I hope that my story helps you to make a your decision.
Sincerely,
Claire Lindstrom
Go write your Congressman. Be passionate about your opinions—even if it’s futile—because one day it won’t be.
In just over a week, Peanut will be one year old. Wow… that’s crazy.
Of course, being a type A personality—as you all know I am—I love to plan everything and am very goal-oriented. When I was pregnant, I made a goal to breastfeed for one year. I figured I would breastfeed for one year, “have my body back” for at least one year, then give it away to another fetus in my belly, then breastfeed some more. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least one year (though the World Health Organization recommends at least two). It seemed very logical to me and I figured that once she was able to drink cows milk that there was no reason to do it anyway.
Boy, was I wrong.
Approaching her first birthday, I very quickly decided that I was no where near ready to stop. I’m very happy to have met another goal, but that doesn’t mean it ends here. I know many IRL friends and family read my blog and I’m sure all of you are starting to think I’m crazy (ha! Like you didn’t already?). When I was pregnant I remember specifically saying “Once they can ask for it, it’s time to stop.” So I know exactly what you’re thinking.
Why would you want to breastfeed a toddler? Let me break it down for you.
1. I have worked my ass off for this. Pardon the language, but there’s really no polite way to say that and still keep the meaning it needs. Breastfeeding in the beginning sucks. I know that everyone wants to pretend that it’s all butterflies and bubbles and it’s so natural of course they’ll just pop out and latch on, but really it’s hard work. I had cracked nipples, we battled thrush for over the first month of her life, and she had reflux so bad (nothing to do with the breastfeeding, just a reflux-y baby) that she ate at least every hour for the first six months. If we’ve worked so hard to get where we are, why would we suddenly stop just because we’ve hit the age limit?
2. I don’t know what I’d do without it. I know, I know, one day I’m going to have to learn how to parent sans boob. Does it have to be right now? No. When I did Peanut’s hair today, I fed her so she’d stay still. When she was really grouchy yesterday, I fed her on the couch for a full half hour (which we haven’t done in some time). Every night when she goes to bed I feed her to sleep. I don’t know how to parent without breastfeeding and I don’t feel the need to learn just yet.
3. I don’t care about your comfort. This post is so delicate and polite, don’t you think? I realize that breastfeeding a toddler gives some people the hee-bee-gee-bees, but I don’t care. I feel that every time that I nurse Peanut in public, I’m giving some more people the experience of seeing breastfeeding in a positive light. Look over there at that mommy and her beautiful little girl. They’re so happy. I want to be a happy mommy with a happy little girl when I’m older. I can affect other little girls in a way they won’t even remember when they become mothers, but showing them breastfeeding positively will help them get that never-ending determination to breastfeed that I had.
4. Oh, the benefits. It is the most well-rounded nutrition that she will ever experience. It continues to give her antibodies that protect her against illness and when she does get sick, it will be for less time and less severe. Breastfeeding longer helps prevent allergies and asthma (something I am personally plagued with). The longer I breastfeed, the higher her IQ is likely to be. I am meeting her emotional needs which helps her to be well adjusted. Giving her emotional security fosters independence because she feels safe to be independent. Breastfeeding longer will give me a decreased risk of reproductive cancers, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
There are many reasons I will continue breastfeeding Peanut, but the most important one is I love her and it’s what works for us.
