Tire Sandbox

A friend made one of these for her son and she inspired me to do the same. 

We had an old large tire at the end of our field and we turned it into a sandbox! 

I am so glad that this tire has a new purpose now and the girls absolutely love it. 

and I recently found out that my friend Leah has a blog! check her out: http://www.crunchyfarmbaby.com/

Earth Day Placenta Tree

We planted Alexandra's placenta under a pear tree on Earth Day.

Just like Juan Carlos' grandfather did for each of his six children on their family farm.

We continue the tradition...

 

My birth affirmation

Joyous Present

We had a giggle fest this lazy Sunday afternoon. Emma and Alexandra piled up pillows around their tent and I jumped around tickling them and acting silly for their amusement. Their laughter brings so much joy and love to my heart. For me it is the sweetest sound ever. I love them so much and they continuously amaze me with the things they do and say. One of my favorite quotes from Emma this week: "mama, you are the queen of children" which I thought she said: "you are the clean of children" and then she clarified to me that I am the queen not the clean! I figured my subconscious probably heard it that way because I worry a lot about cleaning which is a never ending task once you have kids. However, there are some days that I am just more relaxed about it and actually those are the best days were I completely enjoy being in the moment with them. Time goes my so quickly, Alexandra is 15 months and Emma 4 years old now. Life has been very busy for us with amazing learning experiences, opportunities, and change, some good, some sad. I look forward to our journey of life together and soon will be posting all of our adventures.

Joyous Nursing

Happy World Breastfeeding week! 

August 1-7

Nursing Children

Sometimes when I am nursing baby Alexandra, big sister Emma will find a comfy spot to relax and nurse her dolls. I've never used bottles or pacifiers with either of them, so the concept of nursing a baby to nourish and provide comfort to them is just natural to them. I was surprised and happy to see Emma teach her baby sister how to nurse a doll. It was so cute to watch her position the baby correctly and make sure that they were both comfortable, she reminded me of the lactation consultants I saw working at the hospital teaching new mamas while I was in nursing school. Lactation consultants are wonderful providing teaching and support to breastfeeding mothers. There is no doubt that we need them in society to encourage new mamas to keep on providing the best and most natural nourishment for babies and children. However, it would be wonderful for children to learn and model this natural behavior from an early age by watching their mamas and others mamas nursing their babies. They observe and copy everything we do, I realize this more each day by observing my daughters' behaviors and choices they make. 

I am glad my mom nursed my brother and I and I am sure that this registered in my mind as something that mommies just do. I also spent part of my childhood years in a country that nursing on demand anywhere and with no need of covering up was the norm. With my first born, I made the mistake of thinking that I needed to cover while nursing her. We both felt so uncomfortable doing so that instead I would search for secluded quiet places to nurse her if we were in public. I wish I would have realized then that it was her right to nurse and who cares if someone is looking because it is the most natural thing to do and if it bothers them it is their own psychological and emotional problem and our quality of life should not be affected by their hang-ups.

I nurse Alexandra on demand and I do not cover up because breastfeeding is a normal nourishing act of love. I will look for a secluded quiet spot for her to nurse if she is distracted by others and cannot concentrate or relax fully, not to hide from others. Children grow up so quickly that I wholeheartedly cherish every second that I am able to cuddle, nurse, caress and look into those sweet baby eyes. It is just pure joy and I pray that many more mothers embrace this sublime act of love while teaching future generations that it is the best, normal, natural and most loving act that a mama and baby can experience together. 

Baby's Firsts

This joyous summer month has been full of new experiences for Alexandra. She went to her first lavender festival, first sleepover, first concert, first drum circle, first berry picking, first hiking adventure, first canoe ride, first carousel ride, and first beach trip. 

The scent of the lavender festival was marvelous, it was sunny and hot, Alexandra took some sips from Emma's lavender lemonade as we watched bees zooming around the lavender fields and listened to some great live Appalachian mandolin music. We slept on some crispy fresh comfy sheets on my mom's bed on a little weekend out-of-state getaway. It was the first time we've spent the night away from home since her birth day. When Alexandra turned seven months, we celebrated by going to a Krishna Das concert. I love that man, he brings so much love, light and inspiration to this world.  

Drumming is one of my passions and Alexandra got to experience her first drum circle with over 100 people in attendance. She even had her little hand drums and joyously moved to the beat of the drums, bringing smiles to many. Almost every evening we go out berry picking around our property and Alexandra pretty much demands that we give her some blackberries, she just loves them! She loves being taken into nature, picking berries, hiking and canoeing. Nature makes us peaceful. 

We took a family trip to an amusement park and to the beach. Alexandra was excited to ride the carousel, with the music, colors, lights and kids. At the beach, she was relaxed playing in the sand, enjoying the soft caressing breeze, the sunshine and listening to the ocean waves roll by. 

We are having fun experiencing this amazing world and I am so looking forward to continue through this journey of life together. May we continue to share our sweet love alongside Emma and Juan Carlos. They are the loves of my life.