Food matters.

Food has kind of taken over my life lately. We are all about it. We are learning to eat more nourishing, healthy foods, whether we like them or not. And we like it. It is extremely satisfying to see Jude gulp up a wholy healthy drink with a smile on his face. Earlier today I made him a juice that consisted of (all organic):

Frozen peaches

Fresh-pressed apple juice

Hemp hearts

Parsley

Kale

Olive oil

Carrot

Sauerkraut

Ginger root

We don't have a juicer but we use our Blendtec and it works! It feels good to just drink up many of the healthy things you need for the day in one glass. 

Anyone else gotten into juicing/green smoothies?

I love a good trip to Whole Foods. I went to Wal-Mart the other day while on a road trip and could scarcely find anything to eat/anything I considered real food. My desire to eat chicken, beef, pork, eggs, or milk that is not organic is low. Have you seen Food, Inc? You should! You will understand why I say what I say! Jude's diagnosis has been an ongoing struggle, but it is definitely a blessing in disguise as I have learned so much out of necessity and an incredible desire to help my child. I am grateful that we are going through this with our first so we have been able to make these changes now. I will feed Abraham and our other children very similar to how I feed Jude (with obvious differences, I will feed them raw dairy and many other things Jude can't have... but no wheat or other junky milk products/processed foods). 

We introduced hemp into Jude's diet as the last food in this phase of his food reintroduction. He seems to be tolerating it well as far as we can tell. Let's hope and pray for a clear EGD come September. It's never too early to start praying so please join the forces and start praying for him!

Our visit to Las Vegas has been so nice. We spent a few days here then went to a family reunion in Durango, Colorado for a week. Have you ever been there? It is GORGEOUS beyond gorgeous. 

Jude has been enjoying storytime with Mimi, swimming with Papa, tummy tickles with Tubby, and play time with Abraham. Abraham has been enjoying grabbing everything in sight and putting it in his mouth. Abraham is the most content, pleasant little child on Earth. It's a little ridiculous to tell you the truth. He never complains. He just smiles and laughs and gives big hugs to whoever is holding him.

Summer vaca is treating us well. More to come.

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swimming and sausage

I have fallen so behind on my blog. My goal over this time hanging out in Las Vegas was to get all caught up on my blog. But I could not bring my computer out due to space constraints, so I can not blog because all my photos are on my computer! So I'm starting now and will catch up on the last few months another time.

We are spending a week with my parents at their house before we head to Colorado for our family reunion. It has been such a relaxing week! Mimi and Papa are thrilled beyond thrilled to have their two little boys here with them and have been loving reading them stories, swimming with them, and cuddling.

Dan is done with his job (for the most part, besides some exciting new developments to be shared at a later date) and enjoying 2-4 swims a day and cable. I am enjoying seeing my family so happy and seeing my parents love on my babes and being able to run any errand at any time due to the plethora of babysitters. Jude is in a constant state of elation related to Tubby and the pool. And Abraham is as content as any baby ever in existence with his new surroundings and constant affection.

Back to Jude and the pool, he learned how to swim in about five minutes. The life jacket we used to have for him was the infant kind with the behind-the-head flap and it didn't allow him to swim very easily. He now has a puddle jumper thing and boy can he do just that. He literally swims from one side of the pool to the other, goes down the slide into the pool, and jumps in the pool OFF THE ROCKS!! He goes way down under too and when he pops back up he has a big smile on his face. He loves the little scrub brush that my parents used to scrub the tile and he will carry that around with him on his across the pool swim. When he first started swimming on his own, he would have a nervous laugh but before long was saying, "Let me go, Daddy!" He thinks his Daddy is probably the coolest Dad on the planet because he starts on the other side of the lawn, runs across, jumps on the boogie board, and surfs the entire distance of the pool. And Mommy's pretty cool too (jumping off the high rocks). Jude will be shivering and his teeth will be chattering but he has no intention or desire to get out. He is just like his daddy!

Abraham is just the love of all of our lives. He is honestly the most content baby I have ever known. I will literally forget he is over there (in the living room, or wherever) sometimes because he will just lay there quietly playing and examining his surroundings. But whenever someone does decide to come over and give him a little attention, he is absolutely elated and full of smiles and giggles and hugs and kisses to share. When Jude was Abraham's age, he always wanted to be turned away from whoever was holding him so he could see everything that was going on. But Abraham is more than content to nuzzle in and put both arms around your neck. Endearing... to say the least. He also loves to swim! We will dip him down in that, sometimes pretty chilly, water and he barely even seems to notice. He takes everything with ease and rarely looses his calm, cool, and collected attitude.

Uncle Garry was here for the first couple days we were down and it was so wonderful to spend time with him. He is such a loving guy and was so cute with the kids. We have missed swimming with him and hearing all his great stories. :)

Besides the fact that I'm having carb withdrawals, life couldn't be better. We are truly blessed!