2 months

9 lbs 9.5 oz.

kidneys functioning well!
allergic to dairy.
loves to be swaddled.

the men in my life

how did a gal like me get so lucky?

happy to be a mother day

ben hooked it up this year. mother's day gifts were bountiful. i love my klean kanteen, this awesome stainless steel food container, and gift certificate to the quilt shop. what a rockin' hubby!

three great things

i love getting mail that is not crappy ads or credit card offers (aka. JUNK) and the not to be forgotten BILLS, and lets face it - bills just aren't fun. so yesterday was a pretty awesome day as far as mail gettings go. because mixed in with the usual junk, three great things came along.

great thing #1: PUL from neptune fabrics.
the high country mommies (oh i love these ladies) next charity event is the goods4girls project. our goal is to make at least 50 reusable pads, all from donated and recycled materials. they will hopefully done and sent out mid-summer for the use of young girls in africa. neptune fabrics was kind enough to donate nearly 3 yards of this PUL (will give the pads a waterproof barrier) to the cause. SO GENEROUS!! thank you neptune fabrics!

great thing #2: my donor test kit for the international breastmilk project.
breastmilk, in my opinion, is the most amazing substance on the planet. i feel so proud that i can produce and feed my babies with this powerfully nutritious goodness, and i want to spread that goodness further. the IBMP makes it so easy to donate breastmilk to infants in africa who are orphaned by AIDS/HIV (and the other good bit of my milk will stay in the states and become human milk fortifier for premature babies). i am about halfway through the application process and this kit is the next step. in it are the goods i need to collect my DNA ID and blood sample. it will be a few weeks yet before all the tests are completed, but seeing that i'm not a drug addict and fairly healthy i should be good to go.

great thing #3: oh amazon, how i love thee, and your free shipping.
my latest order arrived which includes 2 Born Free bottles (oh please let this baby take a bottle) and a copy of The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule (aka. soulemama). we will be trying out the bottle this weekend, so wish us luck!

just sharing some photos

maple and her new sandbox

one of alaska's many faces


there's a sweet shot


livin' it up at the hospital

alaska, daddy, and one tired maple

what's so great about having two kids?

how about matching pj's!!!!!

gramzee picked these up for the kiddos at green mother goods last month. they are a super sweet hippo print on 100% organic cotton, not to mention fair-trade made by under the nile, my new favorite kids clothing company. i had to get some pictures of my precious little ones looking so adorable in their matching outfits. this is so cute, it could become addictive.

maple, alaska, and gramzee

2 years old

well, its official. i have a 2 year old.

maple had her 2nd birthday this week. i had all intentions of doing NOTHING special, i mean she's only two. she doesn't need all that and a bag of chips. but somehow i got the birthday bug and one thing led to another. we ended up with a backyardigan themed party and more presents than a little girl of any age really needs. i guess thats what happens when grandma comes to spend three weeks with the family and tells you again and again, "she only turns two once."

ben's parents came up for the occasion. we had a nice lunch, fruit juice sweetened carrot cake, and rice dream (maple's favorite). oh yeah, and lots and lots of presents.