Saturday, May 30, 2009

More sweetness from the garden...

Today we ate our first strawberries of the season! They were quite small, definitely from immature plants, but they were very sweet and a hit with the boys!

Here is a photo of a few:

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Seedling Progression...

Well, the boys killed half my plants when I was getting them started, so we have quite a bit less than I had anticipated... They knocked the starts off the counter and killed all the lettuce and tomatoes. We did have our first produce of the year come from our garden today though! Check out these babies:



Monday, May 25, 2009

Yogi in the Smokies...

We had an awesome weekend with Grammy and DadDad in Cherokee; you can't get anymore exciting than Yogi Bear, 200ft waterfalls, and 18inch trout!

We started the weekend hanging out in our campsite, which was right on the Raven Fork River. There was a lot more water than there was last year, so the river was noisier, but it helped keep the sounds around us down. I have to say, I loved it. Here is a shot of the river running by the site at night:


Here is the CanMan hanging with his Grammy:


Another really cool thing about the Yogi Campground is the fishing access. We were able to fish from the campsite, and actually caught some really nice sized trout! I caught the first one, which was around 18inches:




Then a few minutes later, Carl caught another nice rainbow trout... not as nice as mine, but I guess it was still ok... ;o) I mean 16inches or so isn't that bad...


Oh, did I mention that my son learned to ride his bike this weekend? AND he learned to swim this past week... yup, Rory actually rode his bike to the pool, went swimming, and rode it home! I can't believe how big he has gotten!



We got Arden into the pool too! He and Grammy had a blast!


Arden didn't want to do anything the whole weekend other than ride his bike! He is actually running, picking up his feet, and coasting without touching the ground! I am totally amazed at how fast he has picked this up... he will be riding a bike in no time at all.


After our bike ride and swimming, we decided to hike out to Mingo Falls, which is a little over 2 miles in each direction. It was a beautiful walk, but the end result was amazing, a 200ft waterfall that cascaded down to a little bridge.







The ride home was nice, the weather was pretty clear, and I had to stop and take a photo:


As we drove into the neighborhood, I noticed my neighbor trying to catch a HUGE snapping turtle and get it out of his garden... This guy was amazing; he was big, mean, and cranky:


I can't wait for our next trip to the Smokies... the mountains there really seem to call me; it seems like I want to return before we even leave...

Friday, May 15, 2009

Bike Riding Camera Hams...

Yup. I have 2 boys who are total camera hams.

Arden went from not wanting to be in a photo at all yesterday, to wanting to be in EVERY SINGLE shot today! Crazy little bugger!

Arden got his first bike this week and is doing awesome, he loves it... almost as much as he loves posing for the camera!



It is a Strider Balance Bike that we picked up at YoungBlood Bikes here in Asheville. The bike has no pedals and is easy for kids to learn to balance! In 2 days, Arden has gone from having to walk the bike with little tiny steps, to taking gliding strides while he is sitting on it! I bet he is coasting down hills in a few weeks!


Rory did great today too; he went 20feet or so before crashing! Here are a few photos of his progress, note Arden is trying to be in the photos too, lol.



He ate something!


So I was in the mood for a snack, and we really don't have much to snack on around the house... I found a bag of snacks and Canyon acted like he wanted to hold one... well to my surprise he ATE IT! He was putting it in and out of his mouth, tasting it and finally let it dissolve in his mouth~ Maybe this is a start?!


So what was it? Veggie Booty! A rice/corn puff snack with a kale/veggie coating on it.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Some photos and updates.

Canyon is now a year old (which if you look at the blog, you might have figured out, lol).

We took him to the pediatrician a few weeks ago b/c I decided that something was off, that he was too small. We found out some disturbing news. He is only 14lbs, and just barely that. He was 9lbs at birth, and 12 at 3 months. So that means in 9 months, he has gained 2 lbs.

His height is great, which is encouraging, but we need to find out what is wrong. He is too skinny. I know skinny. I have two other little boys who were skinny, like below the curve/chart skinny. Canyon is even skinny compared to them.

We have been seeing the breastfeeding center at the hospital, the hospital feeding specialists, nutritionists, and will see the GI doctors this coming week. One real concern with his symptoms (which are more than just weight) has been Cystic Fibrosis. We went in today for a CF test, and thank God it was negative. He does not have it! This means that we have ruled out one of the worst case scenarios and can breathe again. I think I stopped breathing about a week ago when we found out it was a real possibility.

Here is a photo of the little champ during the lab test. It really was a fairly simple test that was non-invasive. The worst part was holding him still long enough to wrap his little arms with gauze.


So, it seems like all things are pointing to gastro-intestinal issues that need figure out... I just figured everyone would like to know what we are doing and where we are going with everything. I just wish this guy would start gaining some weight.

On another note, Grammy and DadDad sent this wickedly awesome water table to Can-man for his birthday, and I got around to setting it up this evening, I think we are safe to say that it was a hit, with all 3 boys!



And here is a random photo of the Rory-meister:


Arden wasn't in the mood for photos, so maybe we can get a few of him tomorrow...

Monday, May 11, 2009

Check It Out...

Rory is learning to ride his bike, we took off the training wheels today, and it wasn't too bad... We fell some, decided that we were never going to learn to ride, and that it is too hard... but as soon as mom bribed with some Italian Ice, things looked up... (yeah, I'm not above bribing my kids!)



More from the Birthday Boy!

Ok, here are a few more photos from the Birthday Boy. I wanted to try to get a few nice ones today, but so far the weather is not cooperating.

Canyon's awesome tie-dye shirt was made by an awesome company in Hawaii called Mother Sunshine we love her work! You should check it out.


His cake (and some of the cupcakes) were from Short Street Cakes. Jodi and the girls there ROCK and did some delicious vegan/gluten free yummies for us. Thanks again Jodi; you guys rock my socks! (Don't tell anyone, but Canyon didn't eat his cupcake that you see in yesterday's post... mama did, LOL.)


Check out the drool in this one! It is almost like he knew how awesome these bars taste! (Yeah, mom ate one for breakfast, but we aren't telling anyone that either!)




And here is my "baby" (really, my "not such a baby") sleeping on his mama after being worn out by all the fun!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Birthday Baby!

My baby is officially one-year-old today! I cannot believe it!

We had an awesome turn out for his celebration, and we all had a great time!

Here are a few photos of the birthday boy from his party, I'm too pooped to get more up.

But I promise more photos of the Can-man over the next few days :O)


Saturday, May 9, 2009

Almost One...

Yup, that is right, Canyon turns one-year-old tomorrow! Just a fair warning, there are a TON of photos on this blog post...

I cannot believe it. My little baby is not-so-little any more... where has it gone?

Here are some photos of his first year... Some of these are mine, and the better ones are by Sonya Stone(Thank You Sonya for the photos by you!) Official one-year-old shots will be taken tomorrow or Monday... so stay tuned!

First Moments:




First Week:


First 10 days:





One Month:




Two Months:





Three Months:


Four Months:

Five Months:



6 months:



7 Months:


8 months:


9 Months:


10 Months:

11 Months:


And just last week: