First Day of Autumn

Ahh - the Autumn Equinox arrived. My favorite time of year is Fall. It is a time when I feel most balanced and grounded. Maybe it's because I'm a Libra and everything in the universe is lined up in perfect harmony for me this time of year. It is pure bliss and the months ahead are welcomed and cherished!

Some of the things I love about Fall; the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, falling asleep to the sound of rain, the colors of the leaves as they slowly change, it's a time to relax after a busy summer, sweaters and scarves, being able to go to the park or hiking without a ton of other people there, the longer nights and more time to 'dream', curling up in a blanket on the sofa with a book in the middle of the day, the undeniable urge to bake sweet unhealthy treats, and of course the wonderful selection of seasonal beers that come out this time of year (Pumkin Ale - Yay!). Of course, with Esperanza literally running circles around me these days, I'm not sure how much relaxing I'll get done this time of year...but I'm looking forward to her showing me many new things to love about Fall.

I won't dwell on it at the moment, but there is one day during this time of year that I do not look forward to - my birthday. Not becasue of the getting older thing - I honestly don't mind that. It is not just my birthday but my sister Naomi's birthday as well. I was born on her 5th birthday. She has been missing for several years now and each year when our birthdays approach, I am saddened more so about all the unknowns than at any other time.

Oh and one other thing I don't like about fall...cold season is here. Last night Esperanza went to bed with runny nose and we were up most of the night since she couldn't breathe laying down. Reluctantly, by about 2 in the morning I decided enough was enough and got up with her. I made some tea for both of us as well as some cough/throat lozenges with honey and slippery elm powder, ate a necterine and hung out for a bit as if it was in the middle of the day. Not sure if the lozenges helped Esperanza or not but just being up in the middle of the night with the assumption that I was okay with it made her feel better. We spent our first day of Fall indoors mostly with the ac on sipping garlic lemonade, sucking snot out of Esperanza's nose and having a pretty rough day to say the least. It was a reminder to stock up on some herbs and also get a dehumidifier (any one have recommendations on what kind/brand??)

Dang-it...one last thing that is beginning to bother me about fall...global warming has made fall feel like summer. Though the wind was blowing and the noticable distance of the suns glow, it was so hot and hummid today! Certainly not sweater and scarf time yet.

Back to the good stuff about fall -I also love the beginning of fall because it is harvest time!!! Yesterday, on the Eve of the Equinox, Esperanza and I were invited up to my friends farm to gather some produce and eggs. I forgot to take pictures of the garden, but it is beautiful. It has been over a month I think since we were last there, and this was what it looked like then

Before we picked veggies we strolled through the pastures where the goats, llamas, horse, and hens roam and got some fresh eggs. One of the baby goats is very people friendly and Esperanza got to pet her for awhile. Same with the horse. Unfortunately he is very old, otherwise I'd have put her on him. They have a ton of chickens with more eggs than the two of them need. Lucky me! I'm in heaven cause they have offered me eggs whenever I need them for a very cheap price. Yay! No more grocery store eggs for us. Then we went to the garden and picked green beens, carrots, beets, swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, summer squash, and I think thats it. Corn and other squash still aren't ready...Look at these eggs! And notice that beautiful heirloom tomatoe they gave me as well

Before we left, Esperanza managed to topple over face first into the concrete and scratched her nose up pretty good. Poor thing, now that she's walking she falls down and hurts herself ALL the time.

Happy Autumn Equinox!

The Endless Scarf

Though it is probably of no real interest to others, I figured if I posted pictures and a brief story about my knitting project, it would inspire and guilt me into finishing it soon.
A couple of years ago a dear friend of mine introduced me to knitting and actually went out and bought me all the supplies I needed to get this new hobby started, then spent several hours teaching me how to knit. For a few weeks I was really into it and made some progress on my first project, a 100% wool burnt orange colored scarf. Then I got a little bored with it, realizing it was going to take a lot of time to get it done, so I put it away. I've taken it out only a few times since then and made very little progress. Now, with the crisp evening air reminding me that the Autumn Equinox is just days away I'm really determined to have this scarf done and available to wear before the weather gets cold this year. The past few days I've spent at least part of nap time each day knitting (sadly, Esperanza only takes one nap a day now) and some time in the evenings knitting. It isn't being put away at all - it's getting done this fall!

The first picture is a way better representation of the color - still working on those photography skills...Now I'm not one to brag, but for a beginning knitter - and aside from being slow - I'm a really good knitter! It is turning out so beautiful with tight stitching and a fun ruffle edge (hopefully I can remember how to do the other ends edge when I get there). I'm on my third ball of yarn and have decided that once that ball is gone, I'm done! That is how I am going to put an end to the tough decision of how long I want it. The pattern I used shows the scarf really short, and I want it super long...otherwise it would have been done a long time ago I suppose.

My next knitting project will be smaller, probably a dish cloth. Okay, off the computer and back to knitting...

Dress Up

This past Sunday we got Esperanza's pictures taken by Polkadot Photography as a fundraising event for baby Nicholas. At first I was thinking I'd just dress her casual and leave her hair down so it could blow in the wind...maybe even get some naked shots. Then, I thought about dresses and pig tails. I got so excited about dresses and pigtails the days leading up to the event that I tried several dresses on Esperanza to find the 'right one' and did her hair a couple of times to practice (pigtails aren't easy).

As a sidenote, I have to mention that I had bought a couple of summer dresses for Esperanza way before she had started crawling, and didn't think anything about it. This was a mistake. Since she's my first and only baby, let alone first baby girl, I hadn't even given a thought to the fact that she would be crawling at the time those dresses would fit her, and that babies can't crawl in dresses. I don't even think I could easily. Sad! Really sad, at least for me because dresses are so stinkin' cute on little girls. I have two dresses that are short and snug enough that they hike up when she crawls making it possible. But really, two dresses are just not enough (I'm still working on getting rid of the afluenza bug).

So, now that Esperanza is walking you can imagine how giddy I am about the whole dress factor. Yesterday and today she has actually been walking more than crawling. We played dress up the night before we got her pictures taken, and thankfully the 12 month old sized dresses still fit - Yay! We even got to choose from a couple of dresses she got as birthday gifts earlier this summer. Without further ado, here's the fashion show...

Maybe we could wear a head band...

Or slicked back pigtailsWe could do naked baby picturesOr wear this cute dress with the hair down Or this pretty dressHmm, this dress is nice Look, I can still kinda crawl in it too

So that was the dress we went with, the one she could crawlk (crawl/walk) in. The photography session went really well with only a few crying spells from Esperanza. She seemed intrigued by Jenifers big camera and I'm looking forward to seeing the looks captured on Esperanza's face. The fundraiser itself was a huge success as well and the day brought in almost $1600 all donated to Unite For The Cure. We are so blessed and thankful to have had the opportunity to get professional pictures done. Thank you so much Jenifer for donating your time and talent. And while we couldn't donate as much as my heart wished we could, it felt good to give even a little bit toward such a wonderful cause. It was also nice to see some girls I hadn't talked to since high school and also to finally meet baby Nicholas. He is such a precious baby and it was amazing to see that his physical limitations have absolutely no impact on his sweet personality, as he was oozing with the pure joy of being here.

When we got home, Esperanza was desperate to get out of the dress and back to crawling (crawlking takes much more effort). Before I gave in though, I got in a short photo session of my own...

Photo Sharing

I've taken way too many pictures over the past month. Rather than just hoarding them on my computer and/or taking the dreaded time I don't have to upload them onto hotmail and email them to different people, I'll share them through my blog...Enjoy!

Esperanza figured out how to pick her nose

Oh look, we match!

Off for a walk through some trails Mary and Esperanza walking in the water. Antonio, Anycia, Mary, Esperanza and I treaded through some overgrown brush/grass, mud, bamboo, spider webs and blackberry bushes to get to this spot...and then found an actual trail on the way back. Anycia and Antonio in the bamboo during our walkAnycia and my super obnoxious neighbor girl Lily. Lily leaves Anycia love letters on my front door! Me, Esperanza, Cyndi, Roman and George Roman & Esperanza Mary's black bracelet was a big hit among both of them and Esperanza kept taking it away from Her cousin Roman. She's kind of a bully already and sweet Roman is such a ladies man and puts up with it - sometimes with his feelings getting hurt.
Tony playing with his baby Roman Geneva and her lifelong BFF Jacob Esperanza's first intentional and supervised coloring experience. Just for the record, it didn't go well - we'll try again in a couple of months. Mary blowing out her birthday candle on her birthday
Esperanza sitting on the kitchen counter eating grapes off of one of the many bunches of grapes we picked from the overgrown grapevines at my parents house.
Nursing Here is Antonio squeezing the juice out of marrionberries. My mom convinced me to do seedless jam this time around. As you can see, it was messy work that Antonio thoroughly enjoyed. A big thank you to Antonio also for getting up at the crack of dawn to go berry picking with Armando!

And while we're in the mind set and visual interest of pictures there is something I want to share with my readers - a girl I went to high school with is having a photography fund raising event this weekend to raise money for a cure for SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrothy). Her baby boy was diagnosed with this life threatening disease when he was under a year old. If you live in the Portland/Vancouver area, have free time on Sunday, want to get some beautiful photos taken of your kids, and want to help donate to a great cause - click HERE to visit Jessica's blog for more info on the event, SMA, her beautiful family and their amazing journey.

1 Year Check-Up

On Wednesday I took Esperanza in to Catherine for her 1 year check up (it's never too late right?). Our appointment was at 9:00 am and I had to wake Esperanza up at 8:20 so we could leave. She is a night owl and will sleep in until 9 or even 10! Keep in mind though, she really doesn't sleep at night. I won't vent in this particular post about our continued sleep issues...Anyways, she was in a zone the whole drive to Portland and then was fussy during the entire check-up. I did manage to ask all of my questions, chat a bit with Catherine as well as get the routine checks done on Esperanza without too many problems. She calmed down long enough to play on the floor with some blocks and other toys. As she was playing, Catherine was observing her, as it was part of the 'check-up' I guess cause Catherine made notes and said that she was just where she is supposed to be. Esperanza also got her second DTaP shot (ugh - I HATE everything about vaccines but this is the only one I can slightly justify giving her). In the end, Esperanza is healthy - she weighed in at 18.2 pounds, 72 cm in length and a 45 cm head. Yes, a petite little thing...looks like the car seat will continue to face backwards for awhile.

Esperanza giving our cat Lucy a big hug later that day

And there is a sad part to the story...now that Esperanza is on state health rather than the employer paid expensive health care we had when I worked for the City of Vancouver, this was our last visit with Catherine. Sad. I love Catherine and Nora. I love A Gentle Beginning. I love how supportive they are in all my parenting decisions. I love their clinic - which is the beautiful, cozy, warm and comfy house in the picture at the top. I love all the people who work for them and all that they do and represent. And of course, I loved having a home birth with them. And now, I'm actually terrified of going to see a conventional nurse practitioner or pediatrician because I don't know what to expect. I had a horrid expereince with a conventional clinic in the past...but even besides that, it's all foreign to me and I have what is probably an unfair judgement of the whole system now. I can't help but wonder if they will question rather than support my choice to not vaccinate and try push me to do them and make me feel guilty for not. And I'm not looking forward to whatever drugs and antibiotics they might tell me to give Epseranza when she is sick or has an infection. I'm used to being given brilliant natural home remedies or homeopathic options. Fortunately, Catherine is of course still open to my phone calls for advice and will continue to be a resource to me and my family. I'll have to just find a balance I suppose. If any of my readers use a primary pediatrician for their child in the Vancouver area (I think the Vancouver Clinic is where I have to go) that they would recommend and that might fit my needs and family, please leave a comment. Thank You!

Catherine (left) and Nora (right)

Baby Steps

Esperanza's walking! She started off a few weeks ago by just putting one foot forward then sitting down after realizing she would soon fall if she picked up the other foot to take another step (she's very caution and doesn't like to fall down, because that hurts). Two nights ago, Mary and I were on my porch and she took a few small, slow steps without holding on to anything. And then she sat down, got back up and took a few more steps. Ever since then, she has been gaining balance and confidence with taking baby steps. She's so happy about it too. She'll crack up laughing sometimes when she is walking. When she falls, it's usually because she is trying to run rather than walk yet obviously is not quite ready for that...though it won't be long.

Below is a video I was finally able to capture of her walking. After she falls the first time and gets back up she is really unstable, yet continues with determination and giggles to walk...it's so funny!

Oregon Coast

When I went back to Geneva's last week to get my car, Esperanza and I stayed with them again for a few days. Geneva's two older kids had their birthdays while I was there and they were told they could do whatever they wanted for their birthday (within reason of course). Angelica wanted to go to the beach! Nobody could complain with that request. We packed up the kids, the dog, some food and headed out in the mini-van. On the way, we stopped by a friends house on a farm Geneva has gotten to know where one of the people who lives and works there gave us directions to a 'secret' and secluded spot on the beach. After a beautiful drive along the Umpqua River then a few miles down a logging road, we reached our destination. It was beyond perfect! When we arrived, it was very chilly and cloudy. Yet, after just minutes of being on the beach, the clouds began to part and we soon had a warm sunny beach all to ourselves.

The kids had such a great time. Geneva and her kids have been in Ohio and haven't seen the ocean since Anycia was 6 months old (7 years ago). I haven't made it to the beach for a couple of years now either, so Esperanza hadn't seen it before at all. The day trip was a treat for all of us. Anycia got buried in the sand, Esperanza discovered she liked the taste and tecture of sand and ate a ton of it, the older kids played in the freezing cold ocean water, everyone at some point ran along the beach barefoot and we took so many pictures of it all. We've decided that a picture with the ocean as the background always turns out great.

Oh good, I was beginning to worry about her not eating anything - thank goodness for sand
Vehicles should be banned from the beach Antonio running in the oceanAntonio cold after running in the ocean - I should have gotten a picture of him wearing Angelica's pants on the drive home!

What the heck is this?

A Jelly Fish!? They were everywhere!

Esperanza absolutely LOVED the beach, the ocean and especially all the sand

Geneva and Mestizo running along the beach
Angelica and Esperanza
Anycia and Mestizo running along the beach
Esperanza didn't really want to 'walk' along the beach, she wanted to sit and play in the sand

One big happy family on the Oregon Coast

The birthday girl laying in the sand