Drumroll please.... what else but a zuke LOL! This is still pretty cool to me as the zuke was the one thing I planted from seed instead of a start, so it feels so "from scratch".
The corn plants are doing corny things. The eggplant flowers are so pretty! And appropriately purple. There have been a few ladybugs every time I have visited. Thanks for hanging around little buddies! My whole box. You can't really see the smaller plants, but you can clearly see the butternut is taking up like half the box and will hopefully keep growing out the side if it needs to. Long view of all the gardens and the parish house in the distance. It is so cool to think this was just flat, empty space not that long ago.
...one of your baby's first words is "poopoo". Akasha loves to say this now. She says it whenever she sees a toilet, whenever anybody sits down on the toilet and the best part, when she actually goes! I have no luck with teaching her that "peepee" is a different word. Apparently, like "boof", this is going to be another all purpose word. She also says it when she passes gas, and I have just started realizing in the last few days she is saying it when she pees also! She has no interest in sitting on the potty these days as she is much too busy practicing walking, but it is great that the communication part is still happening, which means I can get the diapers off her quickly when she is wet.
And that might raise odds for diabetes, asthma later on, researchers say
THURSDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Babies delivered by cesarean section experience changes to the DNA of white blood cells, which might explain why they're at increased risk for immunological diseases such as diabetes and asthma later in life, Swedish researchers say.
"Delivery by C-section has been associated with increased allergy, diabetes and leukemia risks," Dr. Mikael Norman, a pediatric specialist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said in a news release from Wiley-Blackwell publishers. "Although the underlying cause is unknown, our theory is that altered birth conditions could cause a genetic imprint in the immune cells that could play a role later in life."
Norman and his colleagues analyzed blood samples from 37 infants taken just after delivery and samples taken three to five days after birth. The blood was analyzed to assess the degree of DNA-methylation in the white blood cells, which are a key part of the immune system. In DNA-methylation, DNA is chemically modified to activate or turn off genes in response to changes in the external environment.
The 16 infants born by C-section had higher DNA-methylation rates immediately after delivery than the 21 infants born by vaginal delivery, according to the report, in the July issue of Acta Paediatrica. Three to five days after birth, both groups of infants had similar levels of DNA-methylation.
Further research is needed to determine why infants born by C-section have higher DNA-methylation rates after delivery, the researchers said.
"Animal studies have shown that negative stress around birth affects methylation of the genes, and therefore it is reasonable to believe that the differences in DNA-methylation that we found in human infants are linked to differences in birth stress," the researchers wrote.
"We know that the stress of being born is fundamentally different after planned C-section compared to normal vaginal delivery," they explained. "When babies are delivered by C-section, they are unprepared for the birth and can become more stressed after delivery than before. This is different [from] a normal vaginal delivery, where the stress gradually builds up before the actual birth, helping the baby to start breathing and quickly adapt to the new environment outside the womb."
Had a couple paintings of Orion's from a bit ago I never posted.
This was described to me as "me and you with lots of balls on our heads". This one was a boy playing soccer. I really need to get the paints out more often!
This is the paper I made at camp! It was so fun and easy! You take about five or six feet of toilet paper and put it in a jar, then add bits of grass, petals, etc. You can also use other small scraps of colorful paper. Then add water, put a lid on and shake, shake, shake. Poor it out onto a screen over something else water can run through. We were using tennis rackets! Then put another screen on top and use a sponge to get out as much water as you can. Then flip it onto a flat surface to dry. Voila.
They also had materials out for collages, and Orion made his first collage of almost all dogs. Oh yeah, and speaking of Orion firsts, I can't believe I forgot to mention he did an entire circle dance with me when the live band was playing on the Fourth. I never thought I would see the day!
My barely started collage. Between Akasha in the carrier and keeping an eye on Orion, I didn't make much progress. Now I can't decide if I should keep working on it, or leave it in this minimalist state as a testimony to motherhood. But this has to be my favorite thing that Orion has ever made: According to Ron, he spent ages going though magazines to find just these exact pictures! What does this say about me?! ROFL I am not even eating potatoes right now, but I guess I am frequently involved with food. But am I full of bull or what? I really should ask him to tell me about it.
We went to a Unitarian Universalist Family Camp for Fourth of July weekend. I went up on Thursday with just the kids. Not sure what I was thinking LOL, but we survived.
One thing the camp is known for is their giant slip n slide. It wasn't open the first night, but there were some puddles at the bottom a bunch of kids were playing in... ...until they got told they weren't supposed to be on it unless it was officially open. Oops. At least they had a good time before they got busted:
Really cool moth we found hanging out on a bathroom door. I have never seen a moth so green! There was a bunch of programming, but Orion was pretty much not interested in any of it. This was one of the very rare moments where he actually went around a group of people, and I think it was only because some folks had discovered a little snail crawling around on some moss. Said snail! He was also totally fascinated with watching this other mama add beads to her necklace. He spent alot of time around these baby trees. Not sure why... Another random "Orion needs a haircut" picture. Best camp buddy! They were camped right near us, and they are just two peas in a pod. At one point, they were flinging huge handfuls of sand at each other and just cracking up about it. By the last day, whenever they saw each other, they would run into a long embrace. So cute! Random wrestling silliness on the cot. Orion up top with a very specific face he asked me to take a picture of. The biggest sandbox ever!!!! Or so it seemed to the kids. This is where Orion spent most of his time. Going down to the creek was also a hit. And looking for rocks to... ...throw in, over and over and over. I swear the boy could throw rocks in water all day long! Although, sometimes if you throw rocks too long, you almost miss out on the candy hand out! Phew, just it time. Akasha made lots of new friends! Still working on her social skills... In her Fourth of July dress! I think this is the first red, white and blue article of clothing I have ever liked! I might even put her in it again. The scene at the pool. Ron decided to brave the slip n slide for one trip down with Orion even though he could barely walk after a night on a thin mattress.
Loooong walk back up the hill. Baby pool time for Akasha. It was a good time, despite stepping on a bee on my birthday, and neat to meet lots of UUs from other congregations. I think my favorite new thing from the weekend was this grace song:
Give thanks to Mother Earth
Give thanks to Father Sun,
Give thanks to the plants in the garden,
Where The Mother and the Father are One.
Oh, and the birthday card Orion made me, which I will take a picture of and post later.
I have been wanting to pay a visit to this place ever since hearing about it from Zoe. Too bad today turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year! I just wasn't in much of a mood to take pictures or pick fruit, but I did manage to get a few blueberries.
I bet this was the same kid that took Zoe and fam on the tour. His name was Kenneth, and he was quite helpful. We did have one shocking and sad moment, though, when he picked up a big stick and whacked a pig with it because it was fighting with another pig, hard. It was just so unexpected. I am sad to think that is the norm on many farms, but it probably is.
These little nursing piggies were more my speed. Some sort of toy graveyard it looked like to me. Kenneth was telling us this old beast still runs, so they are thinking about donating it to a demolition derby! Then it was time to rush home and get ready to leave for family camp...!
Akasha LOVES to dance. So when my friend Matt sent me the latest raw version of a new song, I figured it was a great chance to get some video action of her moves and promote his music a bit at the same time!
This is still pretty cool to me as the zuke was the one thing I planted from seed instead of a start, so it feels so "from scratch".
The eggplant flowers are so pretty! And appropriately purple.
There have been a few ladybugs every time I have visited. Thanks for hanging around little buddies!
My whole box. You can't really see the smaller plants, but you can clearly see the butternut is taking up like half the box and will hopefully keep growing out the side if it needs to.
Long view of all the gardens and the parish house in the distance.
It is so cool to think this was just flat, empty space not that long ago.
