Adventures in Baby Food Making

When Austin started solids, we just went out and bought his babyfood. I had heard of making your own, but didn't really think twice about it. We just went with Gerber and never looked back.

4 years later and there is a lot of stuff on the internet about how to make your own baby food. It's not only easy, but so much cheaper! Cheap is good, people!

So, I went out and bought some fresh produce (not organic, but we don't exactly have the best selection when it comes to organic). We already have a great blender, so I wanted to try that out before buying a food processor. I am so glad I did! It worked great!

So far, I have done sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, and pears. Of course, I have been smashing avacados for a while now as well as bananas. Tomorrow, I want to bake some apples and do those as well. Everything has been pretty easy and it's not too much work.

When I have it blended, I dish the food out into ice cube trays and freeze it. After it's frozen, I dump it into freezer bags and there it stays until I need it. I have been saving jars and plastic containers from the baby food we had been buying and that's what I'll put the frozen cubes in to thaw in the fridge. The best part is that I know what Colten is eating and when it was made!

And did I mention that it was CHEAP!?!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Razorback Football, that is!

On Saturday, the Razorbacks were having a practice scrimmage and the public was invited to come out and see the players in action. Naturally, we went. It was free and Brian is getting pumped for football season.

We all got dressed that morning in Razorback shirts...naturally! Austin LOVES his Razorback jersey and wears it at least twice a week. The only time he doesn't is when I'm behind on his laundry and he has to pick something else to wear!

Colten did really well and just crawled around at our feet and ate some puffs. He looks pretty happy, doesn't he!

Afterwards, we went to Hog Heaven to look for some Razorback apparel. Brian's shirts are all really old and the only one I have is one that Brian gave me because it was too short for him. We saw some things we liked, but didn't exactly like the price, so we left and went to lunch. Of course, Austin couldn't leave the store without trying on almost every single football helmet they have!

After eating at Chick-Fil-A, we went over to Big Reds and found some really great deals. Brian ended up getting three items...they didn't have the assortment of women's clothes, so I ended up not getting anything. Same with Colten and Austin got a football. Overall, it was a good day with the Razorbacks!

Our Fishy

Can you believe this? Austin is JUMPING into the water...and LOVING it!

We went to the pool today and got Austin a life jacket. He's been getting braver and braver everytime we go swimming (lake or pool) and today has just been the biggest accomplishment he has done so far! We are just so proud of him for trying it and so glad he's loving it!

Here are some pictures as well!

A BIG splash!

Daddy helping him back up on the wall. He may look like he's crying, but it's actually a water-logged smile.

So PROUD of this boy!

He took off his life jacket so he could go under without jumping in.

Jumping back and forth between the wall and Daddy.

Going under....

And UNDER! He just kept going and going. Life might start to get a little harder during the summer from now on! We no longer get to sit back and watch him happily splash in the water...now we have to diligently stand watch as he pushes the limits!

The Whole Steele Family

It's not often that the whole Steele Family gets to be in one place at a time. Maybe once or twice a year does this happen. So, when we heard Matt and Paula were going to be in Little Rock AND John had the weekend off as well, we decided to go against what we had planned (remember, no more travelling for a while?) and drive the 3 hours down to visit with everyone.

Austin loves his cousins. Ever since we visited them in Alabama, he has been asking when we get to go back to their house (uh, not anytime soon since it was a 10 HOUR drive!). He always asks if we can go there TOMORROW. :-) So, we figured the more time we can allow for him and Nate and Anna to be together, the better! Besides, it's only a matter of time when Nathan is too cool to hang with his younger cousin and before Anna figures that boys and makeup are more important than playing Battleship with Austin! :-) Of course, I know they'll always love him, it's just the way things are when you become a teenager!

By the way, if you wonder why there are more picture of Colten than Austin...it's because Austin was off playing with Nathan and Anna and not easily accesible like Colten!

Colten "eating" a teething biscuit in the highchair that has been used by John, Nathan, Anna and Austin.

Bill, Brian and Lucas looking at the Mantauk Monster.

The cousins beating up on Matt.

Anna loving on Colten.

Grandmother, Colten and Anna visiting.

Granddad checking out how big Colten has gotten.

Aunt Paula loving on Colten.

Yaya and Austin in the pool...he was in the deeper end floating with his life jacket! This is BIG for Austin!

Colten and Uncle John in the pool.

A sleeping Colten on his Daddy's chest.

Colten just about asleep on Yaya's chest. The water just tired him out!

Love this picture!

Ok, this picture too!

In awe...I think he was looking at Nathan.

The family, minus us! Austin threw this big, huge fit and had to be taken inside. I guess they took the picture anyway! Maybe a family picture will be taken next time!

After Naptime

This is what I get to see when I walk in the room.

We had to lower the mattress on the crib the other day because he was pulling up on the sides all the time! Now, he's walking around the crib holding on. What is this boy trying to do!?!

Camping on Beaver Lake

When we moved here in November, we knew we were pretty close to Beaver Lake. We never imagined we were literally 15 minutes from the lake! Much less a great camping area that also has a lot of day use area as well!

After planning with my Dad to go camping/boating, we looked in to campsites and picked Hickory Creek since it was close to our house and we knew we'd be taking the dogs back to the house during the day when we were out on the boat or off swimming, etc.

We arrived at the campsite around 4pm on Wednesday and started setting up. Our plan was to stay until Sunday morning (with me being flexible in case the kids were getting cranky and needed a nights sleep at home...which was never needed). Here's what our site looked like when we got our tent up. Dad's tent is behind me and I don't have a picture.

Here's Austin happy that we were set up!

Thursday mornings sunrise. YES, I was up at sunrise everyday! Brian and Dad went out to fish every morning and somehow, Colten thought it was a perfect time to get up as well.

Happy Baby. Really, he was so good while camping. There were a couple of rough nights trying to get him to sleep, but other than that he was great!

He was trying to get out of the tent to get to the grass. This kid LOVES to pull grass and try to eat it!

One of the fun things of camping is the food and drink that you normally don't get that much of. Soda galore, plus marshmellows every night! Of course, you have to notice the carrots I did bring along to provide a LITTLE bit of healthy nourishment for my family!

Checking out the map of the lake for the best fishing spots. We caught a few fish here and there, but they were all too small until Saturday morning. They caught a few fish that could be kept and those were fried up for breakfast. We heard that the fish were a little confused about the water level dropping (they were letting water out of the damn consistently).

Another sunrise...this time with fog on the water. I told you I was up for every sunrise!

Some Daddy and Colten time.

Austin loving the water. He got a life jacket and loved being able to float. In fact, we got him out in deeper water where he couldn't touch. This wouldn't have happened just a few weeks ago! He's definitely growing up and getting braver!

A rare picture of me...with Colten. My hair isn't fixed and I don't have makeup on. Your lucky I even let you see it, but it is a pretty cute picture.

Papa and Colten. Giving Mommy's arms a much needed rest!

Daddy and Austin in the water. Austin was working on floating on his stomach, he would kick his feet up and lean forward. Again, would NOT have happened just a few weeks ago! Don't be decieved by how the water looks. It was REALLY gross. We were so spoiled by the ocean in Hawaii! Because of the dropping water level, the bank was muddy and the water was mucky. But we had fun in the water anyway!

Love this picture of Austin as he was being carried up the bank by his Daddy. He has such a great smile!

Papa's sidekick. Austin had to sit by Papa anytime they were sitting. Oh, and he had to have one of the green chairs. Austin fished like a pro, but for some reason I don't have a single picture of this! He was casting great, but never caught a fish. He had fun anyway!

The packing up to go home.

We had a lot of fun, but camping is exhausting! It was great to get out of the house for a while and get outside! We had some great days (despite an afternoon of rain that showed us that our tent leaked!) The nights were nice and cool and most of the days were warm enough to swim, but not too bad when we were just sitting around. The kids did great, even with staying up late and getting up early. We had a few cranky moments on Saturday, but nothing too bad. I think they really enjoyed being outside a lot and getting dirty!

We will definitely be camping again...soon!

Running Some Numbers

6

18 and 14

27

44

1

6 Months

18 pounds, 14 ounces

27 inches tall

44 cm head

1 vaccination

Let me assure you that he is not as happy today as he was when this picture was taken!

He's more like this!
I cannot imagine the mood he would be in if we weren't spacing out his shots! I know he is MUCH worse when he gets two. We just hate seeing him like this, knowing we can't do much else than tylenol and holding him.