I apple new york.

Happy Easter and happy birthday to Grandpa Wilson!  Wish we could be in NY for your birthday this year.  Aunt Sara made sure Benjamin had some NY gear, and it finally fits.  I hope he'll look back at these pictures and remember where half of his family is.

Appropriately, I believe the spit-up on his shirt here includes the applesauce that he had for lunch today.

While we're talking about apples, I made five apple pies for a fundraiser last weekend, and have vowed never again to make that many in one day again.  Oh but the one we ate was so good.  I love that Benjamin was born in NY apple season.  Maybe he'll get to visit one day for his birthday and go apple picking.

6 month Benny

Over the last six months it has become clear to us that we have an easy-going baby.  He has his needs and makes sure we know about them, but otherwise, he is playful and curious, but not very fussy or particular.  This was bad when I was trying to breastfeed exclusively:  he was most likely still hungry after some feedings, but decided, "Oh well, I can wait.  She'll feed me again later."  

Benjamin's easy-going nature makes starting solid foods fun.  Rice cereal?  Yes please!  Carrots and beets?  Sure!  Pears?  My favorite!  Applesauce?  Also my favorite!   I have also discovered that making baby food is easy and sort-of fun.  Just cook, add water, and puree it to death in the food processor.   

I don't know why these pictures came out kind of fuzzy.  

Benjamin is patient  

Benjamin wants to do it himself 

In other news, Benjamin had his six month doctor's appointment yesterday, and his weight is back up to where it should be.  And his height is what you would expect for a baby with tall parents.   Ok, I just want to get these pictures posted.  I have more from last weekend when we had some visitors, but that will have to wait.  Those visitors can speak up if they would prefer not to have pictures of themselves posted here!  I've got some good ones...

Sitting up 

Not for long...

The grass is a soft landing. 

Our asparagus bud

 Oh, asparagus season.  One of my favorite times of the year.  The delicate shoots pushing up fully formed from the ground.  They always make me think of Athena emerging from Zeus's head fully formed and ready to do battle.

We had Benjamin dedicated in church on Sunday.  I can't wait to show him the video some day of all the blessings he received from his church family on his dedication day.  I was reminded of one reason we decided to stay in Waco last year:  we wanted Benjamin to grow up (at least for a while) with people who already love him and support me and JB as we try to raise him.

A friend from Mexico (and father of three) came up to me after church with some additional words of encouragement that really spoke to me.  He has noticed that more than in Mexico, we seem to live, paradoxically, in a culture of scarcity:  a culture that reinforces the doubts that parents have about how they are raising children and leads to uncertainty and doubts that we don't always have the support structures to combat.  Some of you heard me criticize the pregnancy book What to Expect for preying on this kind of fear.  It fosters doubts about mothering by addressing itself to an audience it assumes has ONLY fears and trepidation about pregnancy instead of excitement, hope, and great joy.  And it communicates information by pretending to relieve fears that every mother has.

Anyway, my friend was trying to encourage me that we live lives of abundance, not scarcity, with God's help and surrounded by friends and family who really care for us.

How true.  And even so, even living as we do within a great support structure, we have to really TRY to allow ourselves to be dependent on each other. It's all too easy to be, superficially at least, independent.  When our pediatrician told us a few months ago that Benjamin needed supplemental formula to gain more weight, my instincts told me this was not the only way.  What did women do before formula was around if they weren't producing enough milk?  Other mothers nursed them.  I don't live in a place where this would be convenient enough to do (another mother to nurse Benjamin every two hours?), but it makes me long for the structures of dependence that would make that possible.  And I have been encouraged by a friend who produces plenty of milk who gave me some that she had frozen.

So for now Benjamin is drinking some supplemental formula, and I am just happy he is back at a healthy weight.  He'll start solids in a week or so, and I hope by then the asparagus is still in season.