Birthday Girl

October Avery, does and ducks

Downloaded some recent photos, and feeling the need to get a post out there, but not much in the talking, or writing mood, so: above = ducks. Note heated green water tub on right. Roof netting to keep owls and ravens out.

We have a new feature to our doe stall this winter; the back door, which allows us to divide up the does and all have access to waters, feeders and are able to come in and out as they please. Key for weaning doelings and separating pregnant does from spunky adolescent does. I've been leaving the doors open so that the goats climatize while the temperatures are mild. The doors are insulated, but only the front door has a door flap.Once the temperatures start dipping down to zero and colder, I'll start leaving the doors closed. Eventually whoever is on the far side will be locked in for the night. We decided not to make a flap on that door so that the structure stays warmer. We'll see how it goes...

Avery's turns two today

Today is Avery's birthday. She is two years old. She is still more or less oblivious to birthdays and what goes along with them. So it is more of a special day for Dustin and I. The day outside is very much like the morning Avery was born; September blue sky, Birch trees swathed in gold, leaves dotting the ground, the air crisp and cool, almost frosty. I remember her birth and the hours before and after with clarity and I hope I always do. I was only in labor for a few hours. The house was cold so Dustin started a wood fire and lit candles all over the house. My mom came and picked up Noah to take him home with her. The house was peaceful and still, the woodstove crackling, and I knew this labor was going to be so much easier than my first.

By the time the midwives showed up I'd already almost had an urge to push, Dustin was worried that we'd called them to late, to which I replied, "don't worry, it'll be fine, I know what to do". Ha. I was only in intense labor for a brief time before I climbed into the tub and pushed Avery out. It was a good thing the midwives were here because she was pretty blue and I thought, how nice, she's not making a bunch or racket, but that is because she hadn't breathed yet. We got out of the tub and layed down on a makeshift bed in the living room.I just layed on the bed with a naked Avery on my bare chest. Eventually she scooched herself up and started bopping around to nurse.

Dustin wanted to watch football and I thought the TV was too noisy for a new baby. He made the midwives and I breakfast, bacon, eggs and toast. We laid around all day, just staring at her and enjoying being in our own home with our new baby.

These days Avery is always on the go. She loves to go for walks. She has spent her summer eating peas and cherry tomatoes out of the garden, helping collect eggs and playing in the dirt. Just recently she has gotten into helping in the kitchen. She insists on stirring anything that needs stirred. She also insists on using the big potty, not her little potties. She speaks in full sentences, although strangers would have a hard time deciphering her toddler pronounciations.

Today the kids and I are going to make cupcakes with frosting. Yesterday we crystalized calendula petals and violets for decorating the cupcakes with. We are also making homemade goat milk ice-cream. When Avery naps, Noah and I are going to wrap presents and make a card. We got her some new boots, mittens and some swim suits for our winter vacation, and she just likes to dress up in things. We got some new art supplies and she is getting a trike from her grandparents. We are having my folks and brother and sister-in-law up for dinner tonight. A simple night with family, and it is a good thing because I've been preoccupied with pig and have gotten behind on house work.

I'm feeling so blessed to have a healthy son and daughter, what more could a mom ask for?

Evening walk

I took these pictures about a week before Solstice. The guys had driven south in search of hay. Avery and I enjoyed an evening stroll about the place. It was between nine and ten p.m. and you can see the sun is hours from setting. We have been having spectacular summer evenings. Even on days like today that start out rainy and overcast, it usually seems to clear up by afternoon, ending in blue sky nights. The temperatures have been in the sixties and seventies, some nights cooler with a breeze, but at least clear and sunny. Below are pictures of four Broad Breasted White Turkeys in their movable hoop-house.

On the left are shallots and peas, to the right are carrots. I'll have to take some new garden pictures, as they have grown so much in the last week. Last week we put up new supports for the peas. They've been flowering - today I spotted the first pea pod.

Avery, pretending to eat an egg. I usually keep a stack of egg cartons near the hen house, but when they run out, I often end up carrying eggs down in pockets, hats, gloves and in this case, a feed bucket. Note, Avery's goggles around her neck.

This is our Khaki Campbell pair from last year. We recently tried moving them in with the new ducks, but the male is a menace. For now they are in the outer pen without netting over the top. They sleep in the kennel, and I find an egg in there every couple days. I've been putting them in the kennel during the day for a few hours and letting the rest of the ducks out into the grassy area. There are areas where the fencing is too high and they can sneak under, so I only let them out when I'm around to gather them back up.

A couple Saxonies on the left along with a Pekin. On the right a couple runners.

A Welsh Harlequin takes a drink. We have two regular poultry waterers, this lid to a garbage can which gets emptied and filled daily. There is also a child size wading pool that we empty and fill about once a week, although we should try for twice weekly. They absolutely love the fresh water. Before getting ducks we said we'd wait until we had property with a river, creek or pond on it. Well, impatient and determined as always, we couldn't wait. We are talking about digging a five to six foot mini pond in their yard. The nice thing about the pool is I can dump and rinse it. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the ducks are thriving. I cannot believe how much hardier and faster growing they are than the chickens. I find them enchanting. They are graceful to watch, delightful to listen to and just plain beautiful!

Avery, I and Xoe's babies

Naked bottom baby

Noah is watching Sesame Street and eating a blueberry muffin. Avery had just pushed a chair up to the sink, climbed up on it and was looking for something to get into on the counter. When I told her I saw her, she squealed with her success and climbed down and came hurrying over for some attention. Now she is trying to get her spinning top to work. I love watching her play and explore her world. She is quite entertaining. I'm often torn, because if she is playing happily I should be taking advantage of the moment to make some food or sneak dishes out of the dishwasher before she notices and wants to help, but really, nothing is more important than taking time to savor my children.

When Avery was born, Noah was two and a half years old. For quite some time, taking care of my son had come with ease. I remembered how much work a newborn was and thought I was prepared for her. What I wasn't prepared for was how having a baby affected my son, and our relationship. Avery is almost one and a half and the kids are starting to play pretty well together. I finally feel like I'm getting back on top of things. I can't say how much more challenging raising two children is than I anticipated. Infinitely more.

I've been having lots of moments lately that I wish I could capture. We have a video camera and I need to start using it. I often think I will remember all the silly or crazy things that the kids do, but I can hardly even separate one image from the mess of cute or silly things that the kids have said or done this week. Noah at almost four has been asking in all sincerity, who we think he should marry. We've been having lots of matter of fact conversations about marriage and husbands and wives etc.

Avery spends most of her time around the house without pants or a diaper on. She uses her potty several times a day, with encouragement and sometimes on her own. She says "poo" for poop or pee...or if she has a wet diaper that she wants off, or if she just wants to run around with a bare bottom.  How many accidents Avery has are related to whether I'm paying attention or not. Often we can get on a schedule and I'll remind her every half hour or so to use her potty and if she has to go she will, unless she is cranky and needing  a nap or something and if that is the case then it isn't an appropriate time for her to be diaperless. The most elaborate misses (accidents) usually come when I'm cooking dinner, frying something, or taking something out of the oven (something is going to burn if I leave for a minute) and then I look over and Avery is pointing and telling me "poo, poo, poo". Immediate intervention is essential and goes something like this:

1.  First, stop child and inspect for poo smears. Make sure there is no poo on her legs or feet getting tracked anywhere. Pick up child and carry to sink if necessary.
2. Step two is getting her to her potty, because more poop or pee often follows. 
3. While she sits on her potty I run to the sink for a warm rag or two or three while looking around to assess damage. Is there a pile , a trail? Were there toys or clothes in the way?
4. Once Avery is off the potty and cleaned up, I try to clean up the mess without her help and then return to dinner or whats left of it, turn off the timer that has been going off.
5. Finally, a diaper at this point is always nice so a repeated incident does not follow. 

You might think I'm crazy for letting my toddler go diaper-less. I think it is crazy that I know three, four and five year old kids still wearing diapers. Kids that when they have to go pee ask for a diaper and refuse to go on the potty even though they are perfectly capable.  In our society we train our babies from a very early age to pee in their diaper.We train them so well that it takes a lot of retraining when we are ready for them to use a potty.

There are many places in the world where diapers are not the norm. There are numerous societies where it is normal and expected that toddlers and even babies communicate their need with their parents.  Parents read their child. They anticipate and expect when their child needs to eliminate; this is called Elimination Communication.  We have practiced this method part time with both of children. They have used the potty with help before they could sit and on their own as soon as they were able to sit on something without assistance. We use cloth diapers at night, when we leave the house and when we have company. 

The best thing about diaperless kids is that they are familiar and comfortable with their bodies and understand what is going on much earlier than full time diapered kids. Avery knows where poop and pee comes from. When she feels the need to pee or poop she anticipates what comes next (she looks down and is starting to make a beeline to her potty). She is not ashamed, embarassed or frightened by her bodily functions. This is success. Besides my days would be much less lively were it not for this naked bottom baby.
 

Avery's First Birthday

A year ago today I was in active labor and getting ready to push Avery into this world. My labor was as quick and peaceful as it could be. It was a cool misty fall morning. The wood stove heated the house. We had candles lit all around. I was in active labor for about two hours before climbing into our tub to have her. The midwives showed up just as I was beginning to feel the urge to push. I had Avery at about eleven in the morning. I remember smiling and feeling exhilarated in the midst of labor, as I could tell that it wasn't going to take long. I remember looking at the clock and thinking I'd be in bed with my baby by noon, and I was. When Avery first came out she was very blue and covered in a thick white greasy coating of vernix. After we got into bed Dustin made us all breakfast. The bed was set up on the floor in the living room. It was a Sunday and Dustin had the t.v. on to see some of the footbal games. After the midwives left, the baby slept. I rested, but was too excited to sleep. I laid in bed and just stared at my beautiful new baby.

This picture is of Avery just a couple hours old. Before I'd put her first clothes on her. We keep our house pretty toasty, so neither of my children wore many clothes when they were new babies. We mostly just laid around in bed with them, lots of skin to skin contact and soft blankets. My parents brought Noah over for a visit to meet his new baby sister Sunday evening. He spent the night at their house so the three of us could have a peaceful night together.
Here are some pictures of Avery during her first few days of life. She was born one week early, although she was late according to her due date. She weighed seven pounds. I was blessed to have enjoyable easy pregnancies. Never got sick or too uncomfortably heavy. My labors were a lot of work but I had natural deliveries as I had planned. Most importantly I gave birth to two healthy children who were delightful and easy going babies.





This final picture if of Avery at about six months old. She was just a jolly little thing. Chubby, drooly and happy. Noah and Avery and I are having a nice day around the homestead. We are about to get out for farm chores. We might make some applesauce and chicken soup. I think we'll pull out the photo album of this last year and look at it together. Tonight we are having friends over who also have a daughter who just turned one year old. We are having roast chicken and a baked cauliflower head. Maybe some apple pie made with apples I bought at the market. Should be a special day of memories and a celebration of Avery's first year of life.

Expressions

Here are a few photos I took of the kids this week. We've been spending lots of time outside enjoying the fabulous weather. I guess in some places people may be lounging inside in their air conditioned homes, but not in Alaska - fortunately it never gets that hot. Although we've been coming close. The nights have been too warm for covers and that is a bit warm for me. Yesterday we had to keep the windows closed because it was so smokey outside. Which made for a muggy house.

I think most the pictures of Noah and Avery speak for themselves. Although I have to point out that the photo above is a classic Avery expression. A few months back she started wrinkling up her nose and snorting. She does it when she is in a playful mood. When I told my mom what new thing her granddaughter was doing she said that I use to do the same thing. I don't think Avery looks much like myself so it is nice to see other characteristics of mine showing through, ha ha. Now Avery does this all the time and all you have to do is wrinkle up your nose and snort at her and she does it right back.

For the Grandparents

Avery Jane, nine months old and in the garden. Thrilled to be on the ground and in reach of grass, rocks, dirt and sticks.

Noah and Avery being pulled up to the garden in Noah's wagon.

Avery enjoying a warm summer evening.

And all together now- say cheese!