Mr. Independent

Hayden is just 2 months shy of his first birthday.  Looking back, I cannot believe it has gone so quickly, and yet there are times I feel every day of those 10 months and wonder how we made it.  As far as babies go, Hayden has been pretty good to us.

The first month was a little rough.  We had an alarmist nurse in the hospital who was so afraid he was spitting up all of his medicine (he was on AZT for the first 6 weeks as a prophylactic measure) and having them tell us to only give Hayden a half ounce of food at a time and then only one-two times a day.... sooooo for the first day and a half we were basically starving him.  Rob stayed up with him one night and fed him as much as he'd eat.  Hayden pretty much puked most of it back up but he also puked up the mucus in his stomach that was making him sick to begin with.

Hayden did great for a few days, but after we got him home and started giving him bottles, he started spitting up a lot again.  This went on for about two weeks until I realized that we were using the nipples that came with our relatively cheap bottles and he was getting too much at once.  We got slower rate nipples, and again he was fine. As soon as we threw out the baby books and trusted our instinct and a little trial and error things were golden.  

He started sleeping through the night at 2 months (6 hrs at first and now he sleeps 9-11 hrs at night). 
I was away on a business trip one weekend when Hayden was around 4 1/2 months and Rob stopped giving Hayden a pacifier to soothe his crying.  By the end of the weekend Hayden didn't even want a pacifier.  We still keep them in his toy baskets so he has access to them.  He'll sometimes pull one out and put it in his mouth (usually upside down or hanging out the side of his mouth) but it's more of a teething toy now, than a pacifier. 

He's a great kid, but so very busy.  He is very curious about everything around him and acts like he doesn't have time to sit in one place when there are so many places to go and explore.  Cuddling is almost completely out of the question.  He's always glad to see you after a nap though!

Last month he took his first couple of steps.  Now, he'll take Rob and I on walks through out the house.  He doesn't like to hold both of your hands though, he only wants to hold one.  Sometimes he'd rather not hold any and will shake you off so he can go walk on his own.  

We're so proud of our little guy and try to encourage him every step of the way.  Rob and I really wanted to raise a child that was independent and wasn't afraid to adventure, but I never thought that it'd start so soon!

Why "A Lifetime of Thanks"

"We are the sum total of all of our experiences"

I'm not sure who said it first.  It is a quote that has been reshaped and said by many, and yet it is one that I find resonates so true to my own life.  I could tell you a tale of woe to pluck your heartstrings and gain your sympathy or God forbid, pity.  I've faced enough adversity and certainly my share of personal tragedies for you to feel sorry for me.

If I were to do that though, it would certainly be a disservice to those people that have helped me along the way.  For even though I survived a childhood some would call a hot mess, I did survive and I have come so far from that darkness to stand where I am today.  As a child I knew there were people around me that were good, I was thankful for the kindnesses they showed me.

However, as we grow older one of our many rewards of age is perspective.  Looking back, I see now that were it not for the efforts put forth by so many people, I would not be sitting here, enjoying my life and writing this today. 

This book is about more than just the journeys my life has taken me on.  It is about thanking the people that have helped me along the way.  It is about the words that were left unsaid.  Thank you.

Waste not, want not...

About 2-3 times a month I'll cook a roast chicken.  We buy a two pack of little fryers at Costco and the birds are all natural, hormone free, vegetarian diet only, free range birds.  Really, for the price they can't be beat.  I will usually make the chicken for a Friday night dinner.  It's something a little fancy to celebrate the end of Rob's work week and there's always plenty of left overs to snack on over the weekend.  Even after a weekend of snacking, there's still tons of chicken left to pick from the carcass and not to mention all of the other things we keep at first but usually end up throwing away - skin, wings, insides etc.

Even though he's been gone for over 2 years now, every time I throw chicken away a little part of me thinks about my dad lecturing me about not wasting food because there are starving kids in Ethiopia.  That is why last weekend when planning out our dinners for the week, I decided to go ahead and make chicken soup our Monday night dinner.

I've made chicken soup before but never have I boiled down parts and skin to make my own broth.  I've always made my broth using better than bullion.  (Another homage to my dad since he used chicken base to start his soups when I was growing up.)

I threw the chicken carcass, left over carved meat, and all the other chicken scraps into the pot and let it boil for about 3 hours.  After I decided my broth tasted as "chickeny" as it was going to get I poured it into another pot through a strainer.  I let the strained chicken sit and cool off before I picked the carcass clean and cut up the large pieces of meat.  I returned the broth to the stove and added some more water.  The broth tasted a little lighter than I would have liked so I added a touch of chicken base.  I only used about a teaspoon compared to the many tablespoons I usually use when making soup.  I added the rest of my ingredients to the soup and let it all cook together for another hour. 

It turned out pretty well.  I think my dad would be proud :)  I served it with some home made bread and butter and we had enough left over to freeze about a gallon!