Technology and the Digital Abyss

It's no secret that Lil' D is a well photographed little boy. In fact, Lil' D has his own blog. The boy currently has 6 photo books made especially for him and 3 family books that have been made (also mostly about him) since he was born. We have taken roughly 20,000 photos of Lil' D that comprise 45 GB on my external hard drive. My external hard drive that is on the verge of crashing.

I am dreadfully behind in blogging. We have visited New Mexico and attended a wedding, and I haven't blogged about either of those big events or all the other "little" events that Lil' D experiences everyday. In fact, I just blogged about Lil' D being 7 months old...8 days before he turns 8 months old!

I have spent a good portion of my limited free time the past two weeks attempting to move those 20,000 photos of Lil' D to another location since I have been too busy taking care of, taking photos of, blogging about, and just plain enjoying Lil' D to have backed them up, yet. *Sigh*

Rest assured that I will catch up on picture uploading, picture editing, and blogging in due time. And I will get most of those pictures moved and backed up. Technology is a wonderful thing, and I am grateful that I have the access and ability to scrapbook Lil' D on the Internet for all our friends and family to see. Sometimes it's like a 4th job (you know, behind being a Mommy and Wife, my actual job, and my almost full-time job volunteering at church). I do love it, and despite the frustration I have had the past couple weeks grasping at the photos of my little boy in the digital abyss, it has been wonderful to look back upon all his happenings these past 7.5 months. Goodness how he has grown and changed!

In the Kitchen--Tacos Al Pastor with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Nicholas often orders tacos al pastor when we are eating out, so I couldn't pass up trying this recipe when I saw it in our Cooking Light August issue. This was a delicious recipe!

In the Kitchen--Fish and Vegetable Packets

I made this recipe about a month ago. I had some fish but I struggle with cooking fish, and I didn't want to put it on the grill. Then I found this article on 7 Simple Steps for Cooking in Packets. While the weather is still summery here, it was well over 108 when I turned on the oven for this dinner. I am adamantly against using the oven in the summer because it heats up the house so much. This recipe was perfect! I had the oven on for a total of 20 minutes, and we had an amazing dinner!

I cut a heart out of parchment paper, and placed the salmon on one side.

I topped the salmon with a little butter and sliced carrots, bell pepper, and green onions.

Then I sealed the packets and put them in the oven for about 15 minutes.

DELICIOUS!

Mt. Mommy

Lil' D learns about 15 new things everyday. One of his current favorite things to do is climb. He has been pulling up to stand for 15 days. I feel that doing that was just like climbing for him.
Do you know that exercise called the Mountain Climber? Let me illustrate. Put your feet hip width apart. Now place your hands on the ground in front of you and walk them out so your back arches. At this point someone looking at you would see a bell curve shape to your body. Bend your elbows a little bit and pull your left foot to your hands. Now switch your feet. The beginner version of this exericse stays at this pace. For all you advanced people (read that: those of you who did not just birth a baby and lose all of your core muscles), jump your feet back and forth. This is exactly what moutain climbers look like when they climb mountains, right? Okay, no, but this exercise is called the mountain climber because it works the same muscles as when you climb a mountain.
Now that you know what the "Mountain Climber" is--picture Lil' D doing that...while nursing. The boy is OUT OF CONTROL! Since I am talking about nursing, when he is finished, he works his obliques by lifting his head and his leg in an attempt to go somewhere else. Oh, and he also likes to roll over (thankfully delatching himself), sit up and smile a big smile. Today he did that and immediately started crying (after the smile). I suppose he realized he was no longer nursing and seemed to think I had something to do that!
Back to the climbing. I believe his #1 goal in life is to climb Mommy. If I dain to sit on the floor to play with him he automatically crawls over to me and uses my [insert any body part not to exclude hair, finger, toes, and clothing] to stand up. Sometimes he lets go and falls on another part of my body. In the process he is probably reaching for my hair so he can pull it. He likes to use his toes to grasp onto anything so he can get where he thinks he wants to go. It is especially painful when I am wearing a nightgown, and he pinches my inner thigh with his toes. And being held does not stop his climbing instinct. He would leave any boot camp trainee in the dust climbing over the wall since he practices that all the time when we are holding him.
I am his favorite climbing apparatus, but he has no problem climbing other people. I think he really enjoyed trying to climb over Uncle Jeremy's shoulder while being held. Clearly Lil' D has no fear! He also enjoyed grabbing Uncle Jeremy's nose, chin and mouth.
I am sure this climbing phase will quickly be replaced by another equally entertaining behavior, because babies are adorable!

Another Day

My Facebook homepage is replete with comments about today, the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Many have posted with remembrance of where they were on that fateful day. Nicholas and I have spent the day at church celebrating the beginning of a new church year and Sunday School. I have been formulating this post in my head all day. What exactly do you write?
On September 11, 2001, I was 20 years old; a junior in college. I didn't have class that day, and I was working at the daycare I worked at all through college. In the morning, I wasn't assigned a class, so I remember listening on the radio to news of what was happening thousands of miles away. I had a 7pm class that wasn't cancelled. It was a three hour class, but we only met for about an hour before we were released to attend a candlelight vigil at the UT Tower. It was a powerful experience. I don't remember anything else about that day. What I remember is everything that has happened since that day.
9/11 will never just be another day. At the time, I was not effected personally by the events of 9/11. I did not have any friends or family in any of the areas that the planes hit, nor did I know people traveling. Since then I have flown on a plane probably 50 times, an experience that has forever changed. I have celebrated the return of my oldest sister and brother-in-law from the War in Iraq. I have celebrated the return of another sister and brother-in-law from tours of duty in Iraq. I have celebrated the return of my oldest sister from her second tour of duty in Kuwait in time to attend our wedding. I have mourned the loss of a dear friend who joined the Marines because of 9/11 and lost his life in Iraq.  I have lived in the northeast and visited New York City on numerous occasions. I have stood at Ground Zero and watched as people continued to mourn 6, 7, and 8 years after the horrific loss of our nation's sense of security.
Nicholas stated earlier that September 11th is the defining event of our generation. On this, the tenth anniversary, I bow down and count my blessings. I am thankful for all the family and friends that surround me and my family and give unending love to Lil' D. I am thankful for our military and those who sacrifice time with their families, some more than others. Most importantly, I am thankful that I will wake up in the morning with no fear because I truly do live in the land of the free. I pray that our generation never forgets this freedom isn't free.