Development

Have I mentioned that Layla is crawling? Well, she is. Sort of.

She drags her lower body by her hands, and sometimes flails her legs about in an effort to hurl herself in a forward direction. Nonetheless she has become quite adept at traveling to and from power cords and flip flops--her favorite toys to chew on.

Her little (big) personality emerges more and more each day. She is a delightful, fiesty, loving, sassy, determined, adorable, sweet, beautiful, strong-willed, cuddly, smart, curious, alert, knowing, playful, giggly, talkative, hilarious little girl. She is so much fun, so much energy, so much a part of our lives.

The other day she choked on something--still not sure if it was the sand she swallowed at the beach, the leaf she chewed on in the yard, or something I didn't even see her get into her mouth. That was scary. I was glad I took an infant CPR class (although thankfully it didn't get to the point where she stopped breathing) so I knew what position to hold her in to help dislodge whatever it was that was making it hard for her to breathe. Scary.

Well she's up from her nap. Gotta go.

Friends visit!

Our dear friends came and visited from Colorado! It was simply wonderful to see them and meet their baby girl. What a cutie! Jonny and Emily are some of the sweetest most loving people and truly delightful to hang out with. We enjoyed showing them little Carpinteria and we discovered this amazing collectibles shop. So fun. :-)

Emily and I decided it is unfair that these little girls always feel obligated to do their worst to their mommies and let their daddies off the hook. For example, both of us have been peed on, pooed on, spat up on, et cetera--while their fathers never experience anything of the sort! :-) Speaking of which, Layla spat up directly in my eyeball yesterday. I could not believe it. And what's worse is the spit up was mixed with sand (since she had managed to get some sand from the beach in her mouth earlier in the day...). Yuck.

Be Ethical, get Educated

Lately I have been thinking a lot about ethical buying. It's easy to just look for the cheapest prices and forget that someone somewhere had to grow that, make that, sew that. And often the cheapest prices are cheap because that someone somewhere has subsidized the cost by receiving a poverty wage. And really, my choice to buy from a producer who is impoverishing working women in order to sell me clothing for dirt cheap prices--well this is really just modern slavery in a way. It allows me to grow wealthy but at the expense of a sister in a far off land. Am I okay with slavery? NO.

I want to do more research and learn about which companies are employing ethical standards in who they purchase from. I am not okay with buying an article of clothing that a teenage girl slaved away on. I want to put pressure on retailers, on brands, to say that I will pay more for things so that the workers in Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, China will get paid more.

If you're with me, check out this website. And read this research article. Here in the USA, Walmart is definitely the biggest culprit. Check out this website for more on Walmart and for what YOU can do to help.

Firsts...

Layla loves playing in the sand...

....and I do too. :-)

Other firsts in the past few days: first time in the shopping cart baby-seat, first time in a Target, first time in the nursery at church, first time having oatmeal, first time in a high chair, and first beginnings of crawling! Seems like she's the same for a few weeks and then boom-you get a whole slew (slough?) of firsts all at once.

So much fun lately. We love this little one.

Cooking!

I'm starting a cooking blog, just for fun. If you find yourself (like me) wanting more inspiration, more variety in your meals, feel free to check it out for some things I'm trying. :-)

http://805kitchen.blogspot.com

Baby Gear

Did I already mention the sleep sheep? Let me mention it again. Sleep Sheep.

You must have this thing if your child is anything like mine. For the active, fun-loving child who does not want to stop socializing and sleep, this thing is essential. I don't know how we got by without it. Oh yeah, with lots of screaming. I remember.

This is way better!

And if anyone wants to get me something, here is the latest item of baby gear. I want it! So cool! Introducing the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light. It is super light, easy to assemble...perfect for traveling, essentially. Let me know if you want to give it to me. :-)

Breastfeeding

We are back! Back from our trip away. It is wonderful to be home.

Today we started solids with Layla! I would like to commend myself for being the sole source of nourishment for another human being for over 15 months. Yay me! :-) Breastfeeding has definitely not always been easy or enjoyable, but I am full of deep joy that I was able to give my daughter this gift. And I'm not done with breastfeeding, but from here on out, other food will also be part of her diet.

All research shows the benefits of breastfeeding, and studies are now finding that it is best to wait until the baby is six months or older before introducing solids. This is the recommendation of the WHO as well, but some American doctors are a bit behind. At any rate, I am glad to have given this to Layla and yeah, that's all for now. :-)