is it bad if...

when i feed them a messy breakfast, i call it a "special picnic" and we head outside?

(it's just so much easier to clean!)

::the chief::

our sweet guy. excitement is always palpable with him... and i love it!

and lily getting more and more confident with each passing day.

don't you remember the thrill of learning to ride a bike?

i will never forget my dad taking me to sugarbush to really learn how to ride a two wheeler.

i was learning on a fancy-hand-me-down-three-speed from my bestie, sarah. it was such a cool bike. and my dad took me down a hill that was larger than life (at least in my mind). i remember rushing down the hill so fast that i thought for sure i would have a terrible wreck. my handlebars were shaking and i was almost out of control...but not quite. because i came to the end of the hill and was able to regain composure and start to pedal again. and i remember being so proud of myself in that moment.

i LOVE that we are starting to create moments like that with our own children.

what a thrill parenting is.

::garden::

we made some additions to the garden yesterday.
i am hoping i remember to water them.

this is the most excited i have been about our gardening endeavors and i think lily is even more excited than i.

last year, ry brought home some prized plants for us to grow that one of his attendings had bestowed upon him. it was very generous, but along with the plants, came a huge responsibility of keeping her updated on their progress and not killing them in the meantime. mind you, i was weeks away from delivering finn and i was worried about my ability to keep another human alive... the thought of ensuring these additional plants didn't die almost made me cry! so, this year, i approach the garden with much less trepidation!

here's to hoping for gardening success in our backyard!





and a sad sign of the times... we have had this birdhouse for years with very little activity. this year, it is bustling with birds but it seems they have built their next inside with litter. sad.

while i was drying my hair...

lily hosted a party. and sadly, neither i nor "special girl" (her beloved imaginary friend) were invited!

but oh how it warms my heart to see her imagination soar...

Untitled from courtney smith on Vimeo.

dirty dozen...

i just spent my nap time pureeing ice cube trays full of every fruit and veggie i could think of for finn. one huge advantage of making baby food is that it is a lot cheaper to feed him organic food than if i bought the baby food jars of organic foods. and as much as i strive to feed both he and lily organic produce, sometimes it just gets too expensive.

i just read a recent post at simple organic explaining that the environmental working group just released it's updated list for 2010 of the most contaminated fruits and veggies in terms of pesticides. and they say that if we buy organic when it comes to the 12 most contaminated, we can reduce our pesticide exposure by up to 80%!

the dirty dozen

these are the fruits and veggies that are most contaminated in terms of pesticides, starting with the most contaminated...

1. celery

2. peaches

3. strawberries

4. apples

5. blueberries

6. nectarines

7. bell peppers

8. spinach

9. kale

10. cherries

11. potatoes

12. grapes (imported)

the clean fifteen

these are the cleanest fruits and vegetables, so if your budget doesn't afford organic you don't have to fret too much about these. they are listed in order beginning with the cleanest...

1. onions

2. avocados

3. sweet corn

4. pineapple

5. mango

6. sweet peas

7. asparagus

8. kiwi

9. cabbage

10. eggplant

11. cantaloupe

12. watermelon

13. grapefruit

14. sweet potato

15. honeydew melon

it's always good t o have a little guidance, right?