crazy is in my blood. oh and fudge too!

my mom, lorilee, and i have always had a difficult relationship, to say the least. i praise the Lord that after all we've been through, He is helping to heal us both and build a healthier connection as mother and daughter. i see His grace and love at work all the time in this, and in particular this time at christmas, my mom presented me with an old wooden box with some delicious, dark chocolate homemade fudge/candy inside.

she told me it was a special box to her, because her father, lawrence, (who was killed when she was a baby) had saved up his pennies as a young boy and bought it for his mama (her beloved 'grandma welleye') who gave it to her as a teenager. i want to say it came with some chocolate candies inside, and after they had been eaten up, grandma welleye would make her own and put it in this box. now the box is on my dresser and i use it to put my supplements in, that way i can enjoy using it everyday.

my mom now wanted to pass down the family recipe to me, so we donned our aprons and got to work in the kitchen as she taught me how to carefully make the fudge. along the way, i asked her lots of questions about grandma welleye and that side of the family that lived in mississippi that i have never known. the stories she told were of scandal and hardships, some that would make a really great drama! my mom said that her grandma was very sweet to her, but that she had quite a temper and would get easily frustrated and throw tantrums. she said that welleye was teased a lot as a child for being heavyset ('well-eee, well-eee, big fat belly!' the kids would chant), that she had been sexually abused at some point, and that she was just kinda emotionally disturbed. wow. the apples really don't fall far from the tree! (for my mom AND me!)

welleye's father (last name dunn) had been in prison for charges of killing the sherrif (not sure if he was truly guilty or not, but knowing my family, it probably was!) and his buddies helped bust him out of jail and had a plane waiting to escape to mexico. his wife drove their car to the meeting spot at the plane to join her rebel husband, leaving her kids, including welleye, behind. on the way there, welleye's mom was in a terrible crash, and she was taken back to their log cabin where she died soon after. her husband skipped the plane ride to be at home with his dying wife, when the police surrounded their log cabin home. they began shooting at the house with tommy guns, so welleye's dad ran out of the house and was shot and killed before his children's eyes. welleye and her siblings were then taken in by relatives down the road. no wonder she was a little disturbed.

she later went on to marry 'grandpa lewis' who was a pastor and a gentle, calm man. they had a yin-yang sort of marriage, where he was a rock to her storm. they had trouble having kids and only had lawrence, (my mom's dad), who died young in a bar fight in pasadena, tx shortly after marrying my grandma sandy and having my mom. when my mom was a teenager, she went to go live with them for a couple of years, and fondly remembers those times in Mississippi.

i do remember meeting my great grandpa lewis a couple of times at their mississippi home near philadelphia on dunn road, and remember him being a nice man, but he was very old at that time and i was too young to remember much. funny thing is, i do remember that we opened one of the drawers in his kitchen to find a long molting of snake scales! no one could sleep that night! when he died, kristy and i went with my mom to his funeral, but we didn't know anyone else in the family. apparently my mom was not well liked by those family members and she doesn't have many nice things to say about them either. but that's all a story i haven't heard yet.

oh yeah so back to the fudgy candy. ours turned out good, but not as great as the batch she made for me. i have a lot to learn in candy making i guess! this recipe is not healthy as it is, but maybe one day i'll try and experiment with healthier substitutions. but it's meant to be a treat enjoyed once a year, so i'll just eat the sugar and not complain about it. instead i'll eat it and think of my crazy great grandma welleye and how even though my mom and i may have her same fury running through our veins, we can overcome through Christ our Healer.

-2 cups sugar

-4 tbsp dark cocoa powder

-2 tbsp flour

-1 cup milk

-1tbsp corn syrup

find a container that is wide enough to set your skillet flat in. maybe a wide sink, pan or bucket. fill an inch or two with ice water that is more ice than water. that will later be used to quickly cool the hot skillet of fudge.

also prepare a glass of ice cold water to test the fudge for readiness towards the end.

butter your skillet and a platter or pan to roll your fudge out on when its all said and done.

put your skillet on medium heat. mix the dry ingredients together in the skillet with wooden spoon, then add the wet. you want to keep scraping the sides and bottom, stirring constantly. keep at it until it boils for a little bit. as sugar crystals stay or form on the edge, wipe them off with a paper towel so that you don't get sugar chunks in your fudge.

now when it gets to the boiling point, you want to put a drop of the chocolate into the glass of ice water and see what happens. if it forms a more fudgy, harder mass, then it's done. if it stays pretty liquid like, then keep heating and stirring. modern day chefs would probably say use a candy thermometer but that's not grandma welleye's way!

when it's done, put the skillet on top of the icy water. now use your muscles and keep stirring cause it's about to harden up quick. it helps to have a partner when you need to tap out cause your arm is burning.

when its thickened up into a ball like form, put it on the buttered platter and flatten out with wax paper and a rolling pin. you want it to be about a quarter inch thick. cut into squares.

eat and think of grandma welleye.

fudgy chocolate truffles, raw vegan style!

this is another gem i got from kristy p. she is really cool and makes yummy food. we made these together and used pecans a few drops of spearmint oil for a mint chocolate treat and they were amazing! the next time i made them, i used an assortment of nuts and mix ins. (combo ideas at the bottom)

1 cup coconut oil (at room temp/soft)

1/3 cup raw honey

1/4 cup organic cocoa powder

1/2 cup chopped nut of choice

a few heavy shakes of sea salt

mix in of choice

stir it up. little darlin', stir it up.

quickly mold into bite sized balls before the warm of your hands melts them. spread them out on parchment paper lined pans and cool in the fridge. these look great as gifts in a paper egg carton. i cut 2 inch squares of parchment paper and lined each of the 12 egg cradles, then covered the text on the box with pretty paper and labeled them. once they are cooled, place a truffle in each opening and you've got a decadent, shabby chic gift for a friend! i totally forgot to take pictures before i gave them as gifts. maybe next time!

combo ideas:

-Almond Joy to the World! coconut shreds with chopped almonds (like a raw almond joy, oh my word, these were my fav!)

-Mexi Cocoa! cayenne pepper, vanilla powder, and cinnamon with chopped pecans (these were most people's favorites!)

-Chocolate Covered Cherry! fresh cherries, pitted and chopped with chopped almonds (delish but dont last as long in the fridge bc of the fresh fruit mixed in. eat within a few days. the others last a long time. if you do fresh fruit, which holds juices, i would add a little more cocoa powder to make up for the extra liquid.)

-Mint Chocolate - peppermint oil works best, but spearmint was also good! i think a little vanilla powder sprinkled in complements it well.

get your chocolate fix on and feel good about it! :)

yeast free whole wheat bread

my friend kristy p and i made this bread together and had a lot of fun doing it, as well as eating the fruits of our labor! someday soon im going to try to make a wheat free version for chris and see what he thinks. i'll let ya know!

preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease up a loaf pan.

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar (or honey)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1tsp salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (i soured my own milk by letting it sit in a couple tbsp of vinegar)

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 oil (i melted coconut oil)

stir until just mixed, careful not to over do it. pour into pan and bake for 40-50 min.

mmm...warm bread!

grandma libby's texas-sized cookies

my grandma libby makes really good food, but usually it tastes so good because it's soooo bad! haha! she made these huge delicious cookies for my cousin's baby shower and i just had to get the recipe and try to make them wheat free and with as wholesome ingredients as possible for christopher. the original recipe is out of the houston paper and they are called 'texas governor's mansion cowboy cookies.' oh my stars, that's too many words for me, so i just call them 'grandma's cookies.' haha! these treats' ingredients are as diverse as texas' landscape, so feel free to get creative with the mix-ins and substitute for craisins, white chocolate, peanut butter morsels, currants, or whatever you have in your pantry.

i want to go ahead and post the original recipe, but i'll put my additions/changes out to the side. that way if you don't care about health and just want to make some party pleasing cookies, you'll know what to do. saddle up, partner, here we go!

1 1/2 cups butter, room temp (or half butter, half coconut oil)

1 1/2 cups sugar (palm sugar = lower glycemic)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar (only 1 cup of brown sugar.)

3 eggs (i ran out of eggs, so i used vegan egg replacer)

1 tbsp vanilla

+

3 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups whole spelt, 1 cup brown rice flour)

1 tbsp baking powder (aluminum free)

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tsp salt (sea salt)

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut (i used unsweetened)

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups chopped pecans

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips --my grandma made an awesome version with half reg. and then half white chocolate chips. they were awesome! i used dark chocolate covered cacao nibs)

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

beat butter on medium speed about 1 minute. add sugars, beat until fluffy (about 3 minutes).

add eggs one at a time. add vanilla. stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until combined. add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.

everything's bigger in texas

for each cookie, drop 1/2 cups dough on creased cookie sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. bake 17-20 minutes, until lightly golden. you can make smaller cookies, but adjust your cooking time accordingly. i made mine smaller and they turned out great, but not as good as grandma's. :)

grab a mug of milk and get to dunkin'.

spelt pancakes

good morning!

this is the day that the Lord has made!

have fun and keep a happy heart today!

now that you are chipper and wearing your cute apron, it's time to get to work to feed those hungry bellies!

this makes a big ol batch of pancakes, perfect for a big family or to save for another morning. i have subbed other flours for the spelt in the past, or done a mixture of spelt + buckwheat or rice flour and it has turned out great. similarly, you can sub cow milk for almond milk, butter for coconut oil, or just forget the flax meal and add some more flour. just use what you have on hand and what suits your tastes. that's the crazykaye way to cook!

4 cups whole spelt flour

2 tbsp aluminum free baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp golden flax meal

2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

+

3 cups almond milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

4 tbsp melted/soft coconut oil

4 tsp vanilla (optional)

sometimes i'll mix in chopped pecans &/or fruit like blueberries or apples. anyway you can sneak in more nutrition into the kids diet's the better. that can be true with some mamas and daddies too! ;) fresh or thawed berries make great toppings, as does yacon syrup and pure maple syrup. sometimes i get crazy and use jam and or peanut butter. but im just wacky like that.

my awesome milly (mother in law) got me a griddle that helps me to make 5 big pancakes at a time. i heat up that bad boy to 325 degrees and go to town! no pancake breakfast is complete without scrambled eggs and maybe a little turkey bacon or sausage. we go through so many eggs its ridiculous, like at least 2 dozen a week. we are going to try and make a coop once we get a house in a couple of years. but until then, costco is our supplier of organic eggs!

elijah 15-16 months

playing in the sandbox with pepaw

New words:
Blue
Mail
Hat
Grandpa
Oma
Nanny
Pepaw
Memaw
Off
On
Light
Truck
Car
Bear
Panda
Knee
Nor nor for nori paper
Bottle
Broc broc for broccoli
Quinoa
Latke
Nana for banana
Ladder
Joo for juice
Block
Davy, as in crockett
Broom
Jah jah
Beard
Med Med for medicine
Mitt mitt for mittens
Boots
Door
Bible
Down
Star
knock knock
thank you

elijah signing his version of 'uncle'

New signs:
Green
Yellow
Red
Uncle
Aunt
Bear
Bath
Brush teeth
Rainbow
Hat
Sorry
Please (makes all the difference!)
Thank you
Duck
Bird
Hot
Cold
Love
Cracker
Cheese
Light
Shoes
Socks
Stars
Dirty
No
Yes
Down
Happy
Bike
Banana
Water
Flower
Boat
Moon
Down
Pear
Seal
Boots
Elephant

signing 'hat' and saying 'hoo-hoo' like an owl

Animal sounds:
Moo
Baa
Neigh
Ruff
Meow
arr-arr-arr! (rooster)
Hoo for owl
Elephant sounds
Ribbit
Rah! (really quietly!) for lion
Arr-arr for seal

Dog-Dog?
i cant tell you how obsessed my boy is with dogs. i mean, we have never been the ones to push the 'boy and his dog' stereotype on our son, when in fact we are more cat people. and while he does LOVE kitties and other animals, he is just crazy about dogs. every time we go outside or look out a window, he asks, 'dog dog??' like, where is he? isn't there always a dog outside?? same thing with going to other people's houses. they must have a dog, right?? it's hilarious! he is very gentle with dogs and other animals and just loves the way dogs get up in his face and lick him and pant. i think its gross but just go with it. he's on cloud nine!

sweeping oma's porch

'clean up, clean up!'
i was so pleasantly surprised when elijah started to help me do things around the house and followed simple instructions! i've been trying to teach him to put his toys inside the chest and books where they go, and one day, he actually did it! granted, he didn't do it perfectly, but it was progress! i was so proud of him! by 16 months he had it down, but we still have to help him out a little. sometimes he gets defiant and says no, but a little swat on the thigh helps remind him to be obedient. one of the cutest things is he started 'helping me' with the laundry by putting socks and other things i dropped on transit from the washer into the dryer. when we go out on the porch, he goes to the closet and says please and does his hands in a sweeping motion and says, 'broom!' despite how big and heavy it is, he actually handles the large wooden broom pretty well! he loves to sweep for me, and the best thing is, when you are outside of our apartment, looking at our closed in porch, it looks like i am mary poppins or in fantasia with a dancing broom controlled by my magic powers or something! haha i always get weird looks and smiles, so i try to be sure to look down every now and then and say 'good job sweeping elijah' so they dont think im a witch or something. :)
have i mentioned elijah loves vacuuming?? he begs to use the upright and the handheld, although the handheld shark is much more to his proportions. he's actually not bad with it! :) it will be great when he is older and can help and actually be helping. but for now, i love his sweet efforts to help and make me proud. he looks up at me with that, 'look mom! im doing it!' smile and my heart just melts!

this month he has been trying his hand at climbing more than ever, and anything low lying is fair game. the couch, ottoman, suitcase, laundry baskets, boxes, stools, etc. he has finally mastered getting down safely, feet and bottom first and is proving to be a very cautious boy and not much one for taking risks. so far!



i have them all memorized
my boy is a veracious 'reader' and spends so much of his time just looking at books. while he is still giddy for anything with noah, animals, and rainbows, i noticed he was particularly enthralled with these books:
-'the Jesus storybook Bible' by sally lloyd jones (THE best kids Bible!)
-'little blue truck' by alice schertle (great for learning animal sounds and helping others)
-'the very busy spider' by eric carle (i dont really care for this book)
-'the foolish tortoise' by eric carle (this book book is okay and teaches to be yourself and appreciate the special way God made you)
-'thank you pooh' by ronne randall (this book is great for teaching thank you as well as ingenuity and recycling!)
-mother goose nursery rhymes
-'little gorilla' (we had lost his original and thankfully oma saved the day and bought another! i love this book.)

No!
And so it begun, early in his 15th month. My sweet little baby turned into a defiant, boundaries testing boy whose default answer is no, even when he really means yes. on the bright side, he says it in a really polite, high pitched voice. But despite his tone, he is practicing his independence & testing authority. So I give him what he wants and needs: a loving parent who is in control & acts consistently. I don't flip out or yell at him, or spank him angrily or without warning. He responds very well to our discipline and happily obeys the next time! Overall, elijah is a very sweet & obedient boy and behaves well as long as he is fed & rested. I'm thankful for older friends & mentors who have set such a great example of living their children through training them and showing the gospel & grace through their parenting.

elijah's first time to celebrate chanukah

will i ever sleep again?
elijah is still a delicate sleeper that we wish would cuddle with us, but despite our attempts to co sleep in the same room, much less the same bed, he just has to sleep alone. we have had hellish nights in hotels & family's houses trying to sleep in the same room with him, and I'd rather give him the room & sleep on the living room couch or floor than listen to him scream & be woken up every couple of hours. we are hoping & praying that our next child doesn't have such sleep issues & that they can share the spare room in our cramped apartment. Please God!

going to town on mama's raw avocado chocolate pudding

baby gets his greens!
On a, lighter note, elijah is still a healthy eater, who has yet to eat goldfish crackers or sweets, although they are offered by people everywhere! Haha! In addition to getting his 'mama milk' 3-4 times a day, elijah loves freshly pressed cucumber, celery, ginger & apple juice which we do as an occasional family treat, any green vegetable including salad, eggs, fish, chicken, lamb, and all fruits. he doesn't like potatoes, cheese, pasta, or bread and we are okay with that, since they aren't the most nutritious foods anyway. One thing we wish he'd warm up to are beans since they are healthy, vegetarian, and inexpensive. Maybe one day I'll get a bean in that boy, but for now I'm thankful he likes to snack on seaweed, begs for more fish oil, and washes down his broccoli with goat milk.

matching hats

brusha, brusha, brusha!
my boy must have the cleanest toddler teeth, (he's got 8 with 4 on the way) because he loves to brush his teeth! several times a day he goes to the drawer with his brush and asks please and does the sign for 'brush teeth.' i tell him no a lot, but we end up actually brushing about 3 times daily. he has always used the same tooth powder we do, which is fluoride free & anise / licorice flavored. just this past month we've gotten into flossing with the disposable flossers and he doesnt mind that too much. i've only recently gotten into flossing nightly and want to make it a normal healthy thing we do in our family. when you don't have insurance (and even when you do) you need to do as much preventative care as possible.

favorite toys right now:
a chopstick that he uses to dig and stir up dirt with, anything from the kitchen, his eco fire truck from daddy, his toothbrush, he's got a frog toy really similar to this one that he loves to have 'chase him', this poor puppy gets dragged around behind him, a calculator, tape measure, see-and-say, and this last one pains me:the discovery house by leapfrog. the discovery house by leapfrog. he got that last one as a gift and even though it's plastic and electronic, i keep it because he just loves it and it really buys me some time when im cooking or doing a task.

the cousins as christmas. yep, that's my boy with the tape measure.

Music Man:
he's still very musical and loves to open his box of instruments and play a diddy here and there, complete with bouncing dance moves. sometimes we get a twirl or marching in place! he's recently pretty interested in playing the harmonica, drum, bells, and recorder, sometimes 2 instruments at once. he's a one man band!

having a blast wrestling with and tickling daddy!

M-A-I-L:
so i guess we are already at that stage where we have to spell things out because elijah just gets too excited about the word mail. it is probably one of his favorite parts of the day. we get all suited up in shoes, jackets, hats, and 'mitt-mitts' and go on the trek to the apartment mailbox area. once we made the mistake of going there and there was no mail. wow, he let us know he was not happy. now we always carry a piece of junk mail in our pockets so that in the unlikely chance it is empty, we hand it to him and he carries it back home with such pride.

so far his interests point to him being a mailman, dog walker, chef, musician, or Bible scholar.

we'll see!

elijah from 12-14 months

I have always loved my son, but I think that I am enjoying him more & more as he gets older. the first 6 months were beyond rough and something I hope to never experience again! Lord have mercy! since that time he has gradually lightened up from being so serious and fussy all of the time, shown more pleasant sides of his personality, and has been able to interact, play & have more fun. although we had used sign language with elijah since birth, it wasn't until a few months ago that he really started using then himself. we had noticed he was understanding our signs around 8/9 months, but it has made a world of difference for him to use them to communicate. you can see this flicker of light & joy in his eyes when he signs & we understand, meet his needs, or verbalize what he signs. while I still don't always understand what he wants or needs, signing has been a huge blessing in reducing frustration on both ends!

words he says so far :
-mama-daddy-hi (in a long drawn out southern style like mama)
-more
-ball
-dog-ruff ruff-kitty-meow-tiger
-no touch
-baby
-amen
-uh oh
-diaper
-hat
-bella (his friend)
-no (says to himself when not supposed to do something)
-noah (sorry Jesus!)
-dolphin
-poo poo
-water
-night night
-bar bar (bearded brothers bar)
-buckle
-truck
-dump (as in truck)
-rainbow
-kristy
-chop chop (in his play kitchen)
-bat (as in baseball)
-roll (as in 'roll your dough, throw it in the pan')

his signs:
-milk
-hi
-bye bye
-eat
-all done
-more
-water
-book
-kitty
-dog
-potty
-wash hands
-eat
-apple
-blue (in reference to blueberries)
-car
-help

he is comprehending so much of what we say & sign! I think I don't even really realize his understanding & intelligence because he wows me everyday and I think to myself, ' I need to step it up & challenge him more!' the other day, I was talking to his oma & said, 'the soup is ready.' he looked up from his book & signed 'eat!' so amazed!

here's a video of elijah playing his piano

during this time period he sang his first song: after I sing 'who built the ark?', he sings, ' noah, noah' :) right now anything with noah & rainbows is his favorite thing. :) maybe I should get a fun bon all about Jesus! he also sings 'roll, roll, roll' & does the motions during patty cake. oma taught him that one awhile back & when he saw her again after a couple of months, he started ' rolling the dough!' what a memory!elijah still loves to listen to music or my singing & he 'sings along' in a ' nah nahnah, la la' kind of way. he loves to make music on his piano, drum, pots, and also a recorder, choo choo whistle, bells & percussion shakers. all the while 'singing' and dancing. unfortunately neither of us have great skills to pass along so his dancing is endearing! its more of a squatting at the knees & light bouncing. hilarious! so far he enjoys all kinds of music, from classical, soul, reggae, to holy hip hop, folk & worship. and unfortunately, kids singing. (I can only handle a few songs a day!!

elijah points to pictures in books & things around us & says the name of the object. personal favorite: pointing to my breast & saying ' mama!' with a huge grin. :) he loves to point out 'dog dog' & 'kitty kitty' in books & outdoors.

points to animals we ask him to find, ie: where's the zebra?)

giving more hugs & kisses to mama & daddy.

reading is his favorite activity, and he is content to pull every book & look at them all by himself while I'm cleaning. occasionally I'll crouch down & read one to him or point out things. his favorite books during the past 2 months have been: everywhere babies, the abc bible verse book, the very hungry caterpillar, the little blue truck, noah's ark, & cuddly bears. I like all of these books too, and naturally, have them all memorized!

his favorite toys besides books & instruments are things that make noise & sing. I told myself I wouldn't have any battery operated toys, but the grandparents got some for his first birthday he loves them!! (even still, I do limit them.) he likes anything that is like a stick: wooden spoons, cinnamon sticks, my hairbrush, etc. he likes to rip apart his wooden play food & say 'chop chop' and to do equations on the calculator.

here's a video of elijah's early walking

about a week after his first birthday, elijah started taking his first steps! they quickly became 4 steps, then 10 steps, then suddenly he was a wobbly walker! we love the way he walked in a marching fashion with his steps slightly out to the side as if he just got off a horse! haha by the end of the 14th month he was walking (and fast!) like a pro! you can always tell when he's tired & ready for a nap because he starts walking like he's drunk & runs into things.

elijah eats his oatmeal with a spoon with assistance and is working on drinking out of a cup. he started getting pickier about foods. some old favorites he snubs, like yogurt & squash. still loves chicken, lamb, broccoli, green beans, peas, smoothie, fish, & flax crackers . still hates beans, pasta, cheese, mango & tomato anything.

here's a link to a video of him with the very hungry caterpillar flags, so funny

elijah loves playing peek a boo, hide & seek, wrestling, tickling, & chasing. (especially with daddy!) i am so glad that christopher and elijah have such a close relationship, despite the fact that they see each other so little. he thinks daddy hung the moon! i feel like a good mom if elijah has had at least one fit of hysterical laughter each day. :) he loves to feel different & soft textures & will lay down & rub his body on a soft rug or blanket. one of his favorite things is to 'help me' fold the laundry, so I put different soft cloths on his head & he giggles up a storm. sheets are his favorite! speaking of helping, he loves vacuums, both the upright & handheld. he follows me around &, when not in use, the handheld is a toy to him as he says ' vroom!' and moves it back & forth. it will be nice when he can actually help!

elijah still loves animals, especially cats & dogs. he likes it when dogs lick his face & let him pet them. he's pretty sweet with animals.

so far elijah is pretty obedient & quick to learn rules & boundaries. hopefully he will continue on this path. (please Lord??)

typically, he wakes up by 7am, takes 2 naps a day, about an hour or more each, and goes to bed by 8. we love the way he moans himself to sleep, sleeps on his belly with his knees tucked in with his bum in the air, and wakes up happy talking & saying dada & mama over & over! :) nowadays we are able to sneak into his room more without waking him and adore his cuteness!

we have been trying to slowly introduce him to the concepts of potty training. he loves his 'all aboard the potty train' book & is becoming more communicative about when he needs a diaper change. now if only we can get him to tell us beforehand! it's very typical for him to save pooping for naptime. something about relaxing in his bed after getting some warm mama milk just makes him go! so he'll seem quiet for a few minutes, then will suddenly seem really fussy or talkative. we go check him & 9 times out of 10, it's a poopy. kinda frustrating to get him up & change him, then put him back down again for naptime. he is a stinker! ;)

he started nursing less & started drinking more goat & almond milk. he typically nurses about 4-5 times a day for around 10 min each time. in some ways it's cool because less nursing stimulates my body to ovulate again & we've love to have another baby soon. but in another way, it's like an end of an era & our special cuddle times. I love nursing & am so grateful I'm able to still nourish him. overall, im glad my baby is growing up into a big boy! he has really been a blessing to my soul.