The Zoo

All she was interested in was sucking her thumb and eating her bib, she could care less about the animals

Oh my gosh, she is actually looking at the cheetah

Dustin looking annoyed at me, probably thinking just take the picture crazy lady, ha!

She is more interested in looking at the bushes than the animals

My poor baby was beat after all the excitement

Harlowe and I have been reading books about different animals so it was my bright idea to expose her to some of the animals we have been reading about. Although, she is only five months old and really couldn't see the animals all to well because they are really far away. Plus I forgot it was spring break week so it was extremely crowded, but we had a good time. I think Dustin is a great husband for entertaining all my bright ideas, what can I say, he is so good to me. Well I guess cognitively you never know what children process at this age so maybe, just maybe she learned something new that day.

The spring time and fall are my favorite times of the year, the weather is so nice and cool and it is fun to be outside. We had a good time this spring doing different things outside but we missed out on the pictures with the bluebonnets, typical Texas thing. And I really wanted to see the spring flowers in bloom, but my Dad passed away around Easter time so we didn't get a chance to do that. I really miss my father and think about him everyday, I still cannot believe he is gone.

Okay, now it is full blown summer and it so HOT outside. Recently, our air conditioner went out which totally stunk, but we made the most out of it and stayed at the hotel ZaZa in the medical center. My mother was in town because all this month she has been helping us with Harlowe, since Dustin's schedule changed suddenly. He was picked to head one of the real estate offices on Wednesday's which he could not pass up the offer. Anyway, the hotel is really nice and we had a great time.l We had a great meal on Wednesday and on Wednesday's they have 1/2 price meals which was nice and we even hit the happy hour. Not me of course but the rest of the alcoholics, just kidding, Dustin and my mom said the drinks were really good too.

The hotel is right across from Rice so my mother went walking everyday which was nice. I love Rice because the trees are mature and huge so it provides nice shade. But even at 0800 when I went running with Harlowe it was HOT. Soon it will be to hot to run with her I think, her little legs are looking like sausage links because they are getting so tan, ha. Dustin and I would love to live in this area but we are short a million dollars or so, ha.
 
We love you Harlowe, you are the light of our lives. We are having so much fun with you are you are turning into quite a character these days.

Rodeo - FIve Months

This was Harlowe's first rodeo and I thought it would be a great idea to take her so she could see all the different animals. Of course it would be an educational experience to get out and see new things. Although, she didn't seem interested and as you can see in some of the pictures Dustin wasn't really interested either. All in all we had a good time, I know I had a great time because I tried a fried cheesecake with a chocolate drizzle and it was delicious. Of course, I really went for the food, not really food but all the goodies.

Harlowe got to see some unusual animals, which I mostly felt sorry for because you can see the poor caged kangaroo and the poor little goats had their horns sawed off. I am such a sucker for the animals. Dustin actually felt sorry for the animals too. I was disappointed we couldn't go on any rides, not even the carousel but hopefully next year she will be tall enough to join in on the festivities. I have never been in the children's area before and they have a lot of activities to participate in. It was so cute they had little kids ride the sheep and I think they even had roping. Dustin looked at me and he knew what I was thinking, the poor sheep, I couldn't stand it. He always makes fun of me but what can I say, I am a softy when it comes to animals. Although, I do eat the heck out of some fish so what does that tell you? Dustin thinks I am completely crazy.

We also went to see the Ag part, where the high school's present their animals for sale. The cows were so beautiful, I have never seen such good looking cows before. Even the pigs were sparkling and clean, the baby pigs were so cute. They also had different vendors selling good old country stuff, but they had great boots. They were really expensive but gorgeous, Dustin really wanted a pair but he has the most expensive taste so the eel skin boots were out, ha. I really can't remember which ones he wanted but it was some type of exotic skin.

Six Months

Once again I am so far behind on the blogging, I thought I could catch up by combining the fourth and fifth month but no such luck. I have pictures from the rodeo and zoo I still haven't posted. Anyway, I accidentally posted the pictures backwards again, we feed Harlowe her first meal of bananas, took a bath and then put her to bed.


I did not have any rhyme or reason on how I started Harlowe on baby food, Dustin was itching to feed her, so of course bananas were all we had on hand that day. And yes, poor Dustin couldn't wait until her six month b-day, so we started her on food a week early, ouch (ha!). She loves bananas, I think they are her fave but as you can see her tongue reflex kept on shooting the food back out.


It took her awhile to warm up to eating food, probably two weeks where she would just arch her back and cry when she got into her Bumbo chair for meal time. What can I say, my precious baby loves the boob, ha. Let me tell you Dustin and I was a little worried about the eating thing because it seemed like a battle at meal time and I didn't want to force her. But who said patience is a virtue is absolutely right with this little girl, and boy does Dustin have to have great patience (she is still fussy in the evenings when I am at work, although I am digressing). After working with her every day, finally she sat in her Bumbo without fussing and chowed down, relief.


She is a great eater now that we are in the seventh month, can you believe it, our little girl is growing so fast. She has eaten a variety of foods and likes most foods we have given her, here is a run down:

1. bananas - loves

2. avocado - not at all unless it is mixed with something else

3. butternut squash - didn't love at first but likes now

4. oatmeal - likes when mixed with fruit but not so much by itself

5. apples - loves and now I add cinnamon which she really likes

6. sweet potato - likes, sometimes I add cinnamon and nutmeg which she likes, I think I add cinnamon to just about everything.

7. pears - loves

8. carrots - likes, I tried adding ginger but I don't think she liked it so much but will try again.

9. blueberries - not so much, they were a little tart that day. When I say not so much, she eats it but I think she likes other fruit better.

10. peas - loves


11. mango's - likes


12. green beans - loves


13. peaches - likes even when they are a little tart


14. salmon - hated it the first time but tried again the second time and now likes


I have been doing pretty good on making homemade, organic baby food. I am obsessed about organic now for our baby and most times I will choose the organic for Dustin and I over the regular produce. Although I am not as diligent when it comes to Dustin and I, anyway I read an article about organic food for babies and I thought I was doing so well but since I don't eat all organic myself, my breast milk is falling short. Hey what will you do, I am trying so doesn't that count, ha.


I have been roasting and steaming most of her baby food and it is pretty easy. I have even experimented with some spices. Everyone knows how obsessed I am with the Food Network and I just happened to find these great little meals, organic of course, by Tyler Florence (he is one of the chef's on the Food Network). You can buy them at HEB, I guess they are a little pricey but well worth it, she seems to really like the baby food.

Sorry about the whole organic obsession, proof reading the blog, I am kinda getting sick of myself. Bear with my craziness, we love you Harlowe and you are such a joy to be around. We love you to pieces, you are our little angel.