COCONUT MILK :D

I am very excited to have recently discovered the wonders of coconut milk! :D Coconut milk is made by grating the white flesh of the coconut, soaking it in boiling water and squeezing it through cheese cloth - not to be confused with coconut water which is the thin liquid found in the middle of the coconut when you open it up.

Anyways....Isaiah has had dry skin since birth and recently I've been noticing large dry scaly patches to the backs of his arms, knees and thighs. Turns out they are classic eczema patches. Eczema symptoms are often accompanied by asthma and food allergies and from what I've read, a dairy sensitivity or allergy is a very common cause of eczema. I consume A LOT of dairy - we easily polish off 2 gallons of milk a week, love cheese, yogurt, cream gravies, butter, whipping cream, sour cream, cream cheese...you get the picture. I would say that at my diet is 90% grains, dairy, and chocolate with some peanut butter mixed in at times. (Not balanced I know!) So, the decision to be dairy free for the next 6 weeks feels like a major life change.

My choices for milk: soy...has made me feel sick in the past and is also a common allergen; rice...I hear from friends that rice milk is quite gritty; almond...in the nut family and I've been encouraged to avoid nuts as well; and hemp milk - makes the most satiny delicious cooked chocolate pudding but has a strong aftertaste when just drunk. :( Then I discovered coconut milk - dairy free and oh so healthy!

Summarizing what I've read on-line:

Coconut milk is very high in saturated fat but because it is made up of short and medium chain fatty acids, it is easily metabolized by the body and converted into quick energy and can aid in weight loss. Plus it has a high content of lauric acid (50%) which is also found in breast milk and has potent anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties.

"Because the short-and medium-chain fatty acids of extra virgin coconut oil and coconut milk are easily and quickly assimilated by the body, they are not stored as fat in the body like the long chain triglycerides of animal products."

"While coconut milk is high in saturated fat, it is much healthier than other saturated fat products, and the fat is easily metabolized by the body. Coconut milk also offers some particular healthbenefits. It is anti-carcinogenic, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral. The main saturated fat that it contains, lauric acid, is also found in mother's milk and has been shown to promote brain development and bone health. Some hope that coconut milk, with its powerful anti-viral properties, can one day be used in the fight against AIDS."

Here's what I do:

1 can of Thai Kitchen's coconut milk

2 cups of water

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Mix together and serve.

It's pretty good (I don't mind the taste of coconut)....goes good with cookies and cereal and yesterday I used the coconut milk cream in my banana muffins and they turned out so yummy (no coconut flavor at all). I do feel it gives me quick energy - I took a small amount to work my past two shifts. Plus, it makes me feel full so I don't consume nearly as much as I used to with cow's milk. It's been 3 days and with no other intervention, Isaiah's dry skin is resolving so it looks like I'll be dairy free for as long as I continue to nurse him. I'm so happy to have found a dairy alternative that is yummy and healthy!

Myra's adventures

So I guess we're supposed to post pic's of both kids now, but this one is all about Myra. Sorry.

Anyway, we picked up a toddler bed, second hand, for Myra now. Here she is right after we set it up. This also allowed us to finally set up the crib for Isaiah, since we picked up a new mattress for Myra's bed.

Tim & Myra also had a few adventures in the snow this week. We finally bought Myra some snow boots for this season (now that they're all on sale). Here she is making a snow angel.

Later, Myra and Tim built a snowman. Actually they built two. After building the first one, Tim figured they should build one in front of our window's so that we could see it from our apartment. Here is Myra touching up the snow.

Then they used a baby carrot, and chocolate chips to give him a face.

And here is a cute one of Myra giving him a kiss.

These are just some more pics of their adventures walking around.

And here is Myra trying to catch the snow flakes.

Anyway, that's all for now. I guess we'll have to post all about Isaiah next time. :-)

So many new activities!

Myra has been having a lot of fun with her straws & connectors these days. Here is a lovely little house that she made with Daddy.

Isaiah has finally started to notice the toys hanging above his head on the mat.

We tried him out in the bumbo chair the other day too. He doesn't seem to sure about it yet, and I think we probably agree. Maybe in a few more weeks :-)

We did bring up the exersaucer though - and he sure seems to like this.

Myra likes to kiss Isaiah and bring him toys when he's in the exersaucer.

and this was just a lovely picture of Myra, all ready for bed, and looking fresh and clean after her bath.

Anyway, that's all for now...

Sunday Morning Photo Shoot

a few things

So here are a couple picks of us just before, and on our way to BC for Christmas.

Here is Isaiah having fun on his play mate:

We took the Amtrak from South Bend to Chicago. Myra loves trains, so here she is cheering with mommy to be on the train:

Isaiah seemed pretty happy as well:

Myra had a nice snack with Daddy on the train:

And this was the view from our hotel in Chicago! We had a free night with Holiday Inn. When we arrived they upgraded us to a nice room with a view, and I must say, we were quite pleased!

Anyway, we caught a flight out to BC, and we'll update with more pics from here sometime soon.

HAPPINESS

I am loving not being pregnant! The contrast this time around is even greater than it was with Myra. Pregnancy hormones are great in that they keep baby alive and healthy but they have a very negative effect on me in general. I feel like a whole new woman these days - depression and apathy replaced with joy and motivation, irritability replaced with patience, nausea gone, able to sleep, .... and the list goes on. :-D



Isaiah is adorable. I've been enjoying many post nursing cuddles where he lies with his head on my chest and just sleeps so contentedly. :D His hair is soooo soft and he makes such cute little squeaks and noises. He is still sleeping 90% of the time. I wake him up every 2.5 - 3 hours during the day to nurse and at night he wakes me up around 2 0r 3 am and then again around 6. His most alert times are in the evenings between 5:30ish till 8 pm. We had a well baby check-up today and he weighs 8 lbs 4 oz - way to go little man!





Myra is adjusting to life as a sibling. She loves "baby brother" and likes to hold him and kiss him and touch him, but, of course, he's not really a playmate yet. Our most frequent conversation regarding Isaiah is something like this...

"Where baby brother go?"
"Baby brother is sleeping in his bed?"
"Why?"
"Cause baby brother is so little and he needs lots of sleep."
"Why?"
"Cause that's how he grows."



Luckily for Myra, Grandma and Grandpa Froese are here for a few more weeks and they have been showering her with attention - which is great! A favorite activity is to role play and pretend. During any given day and multiple times a day, Myra will announce: "I ______" (sheep, kangaroo, "ocatupus", rhinoceros, baby brother, Minnie Mouse, person, cat, baby cat, puppy, baby, mommy, ....) Anything and everything can be made into a swimming pool: wash cloths, blankets, and puzzle pieces laid out in a circle. She has a very active imagination and is happy to invite us to join in with her, though it comes out more as a command: "Come with me" (as she pulls your hand) "I mommy, you baby".... or whatever the game is at the moment. It's a fun stage to be in.



Another favorite activity is playing "hide and seek". Myra will almost always hide behind a curtain either in the living room or in her room. She will start behind a curtain and count "One, two, three...ready or not here I come" and then run looking for whomever is hiding with her. Once found, that person has to stay where they were found to count, while Myra runs back to the original curtain and hides there. No matter how many times she's hidden in the same exact spot it's still a favorite game.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa Froese...





Isaiah's first walk outside....





Myra trying on "mommy's eyes"....



Hope you enjoyed the pictures!
TTFN!

Introducing Iain Isaiah Froese

Iain Isaiah Froese was born October 24, 2009 at 8:33pm EST at Goshen Hospital in Goshen Indiana. 7lbs 10oz, 20 1/2 inches long. (sorry everyone who I told 7.14 - that's what is written on his crib card, but apparently all his official documents say 7.10, oh well)

So here is Isaiah, lying in bed with Char, shortly after being born. I had to take this photo with my cell phone camera, because we had left the real camera at home - thought we were just going in for a check up. I guess Isaiah had other ideas :-)

And here they are again a little while later.

Myra got to come the next morning to meet her baby brother.

She sometimes likes to give him kisses - it's pretty cute.

And here he is today. I think he's a handsome little guy. We're super excited he's here!