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Baring It All: The Barefoot Running Trend

I love Running and can't wait to get back into it, hopefully in a few months when it cools down a bit outside... But I don't think I can go this far:


http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/baring-it-all-the-barefoot-running-trend-2337336/

Avery 6 Months

I am SOOO late at posting this!! It's been a crazy few weeks. The day after she turned 6 months, we left for Florida for a week and then the day we got back, which was last Saturday, she came down with some kind of stomach virus. Well, we think its just a virus, but it could be salmonella... We find out later this week what the test results are. Please pray that she starts getting better. She is already doing much better, but there are still a few symptoms that she needs to push through. It breaks my heart when my baby is sick! :(

Anyways... Back to her 6 month update.
Here's a few pictures that I took on the 5th:



I know I am biased, but if you ask me, she is really blossoming into a beautiful little girl! :)
Here is a sneak peak at some of the pictures that Kelley took during her 6 month session:


I can't wait to see them all. It's going to be hard to pick!
She is sitting pretty stably now. I still like to put pillows around her because she still has some spills and when there's not a soft landing she will hit her head, then, it's a rough few hours after.
She wants to lean forward on her hands but she isn't strong enough to support her weight so she often face plants, lol.
She is very talkative now and jabbers a lot! Why do adults feel the need to repeat every sound a baby makes? I know I am guilty of it! lol
We've started baby food but it's been pretty difficult to get her interested. She hates the rice and oatmeal cereal and has not taken to any fruits. (I actually got her to take a few bites of apple sauce over the vacation). She will eat carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash if she is in the mood to eat that day. Hopefully she starts catching on soon. We have to wait on solid food until she gets better so maybe a few extra weeks will be enough time for her to mature a bit more.
She loves it when I read to her and is really into her Sesame Street board books. They are short and simple and very colorful. She also really likes Barney now. I know I have said a million times that I hoped she wouldn't like him.... I am convinced there's some brainwashing going on... ;)
Other than that, we just keep getting bigger and bigger. She weighed in at 17 lbs 5 oz and 26.75 inches long. That makes her in the 90% for her length and 70-75% for her weight. She is getting chunky but I think its cute and it's in all the right places! :)

Look at This!

Avery is the last baby on the right...

Taken by Kelley Cook!

We're Officially Sitting!

At 5 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days old, Avery woke up Friday morning and decided "I think I'm going to sit up on my own now." It was just in time for Kelley to come take her 6 month pictures. She was able to some amazing and adorable shots! I can't wait to see them in a few weeks.

Where's Avery?

How To Fold A Fitted Sheet

My friend and fellow blogger, Melissa, mentioned that she did not know how to fold a fitted sheet... So, I thought I would find the instructions to how I do it and share since this is one of those word wide phenomenon that no one can really figure out; most fitted sheets end up in a ball rolled up and stuffed in the linen closet. lol

I got these instructions a while back on Martha Stewart's website. Can't go wrong there (with anything for the home, anyways)

These instructions are for a right-handed person; just reverse them if you're left-handed.

1. Stand holding the sheet by the two adjacent corners of one of the shorter edges. With the sheet inside out, place one hand in each of these two corners.

2. Bring your right hand to your left, and fold the corner in your right hand over the one in your left, enveloping it. Next, reach down and pick up the corner that is hanging in front; bring it up, and fold it over the two corners in your left hand; the corner that's showing will be inside out.

3. Bring the last corner up, and fold it over the others; with its right side showing, it should envelop the other three corners.

4. Lay the folded sheet on a flat surface and straighten it into the shape shown.

5. Fold the two edges in so all the elastic is hidden.

6. Fold the sheet into a rectangle.

7. Continue folding until the rectangle is the size you want it to be.

**P.S. It helps tremendously if the sheet is ironed!!

Cain 2012?

This man looks very promising! I can't wait to follow him to see what he has to offer in the future!
Read this article. You will be impressed:

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=181961

Homemade Cheese

Since Jeff decided he was going to get into making beer, we saw that the website that he orders his ingredients from also sells cool things like kits for homemade cheese. So, of course, how could we pass up trying something like that out?! We chose the Mozzarella kit since it seemed the easiest.

Reading the instructions, it sounded pretty complicated, but after doing it, it was so easy. (I have to say that I pretty much just watched my dad and Jeff do all of the work. I was the photographer ;]. )

Here are a few pictures:

Preparing the ingredients

Heating 1 Gallon of Whole Milk

Watching the Curds and Whey separate

Pressing the Whey

Straining the Curds out of the pot

This is what Whey looks like... weird!

Pressing as much Whey out of the Curds as possible

Kneading the curds into a "dough" like consistancy. Alternating Kneading and heating to get it to the texture of Mozzarella Cheese.

Giving the Cheese an ice bath

Time to eat! It's already about 1/4 gone by the time I got a picture. This made a block of cheese about 4" x 4"... Can you believe that this is all you get from a whole gallon of milk?! I can now understand why good cheese is so expensive. It's really yummy on some salami and crackers. :)

Did You Know?

Disney celebrates it's 55th birthday tomorrow?