Saturday, December 25, 2010

christmas pacific beach 2010






let it RAIN let it RAIN let it RAIN. we did an unconventional christmas and headed up to the coast of WA to be with richards little bro steven. we rented a beach house and it rained like crazy. but that didn't keep us and anna from having a great time. merry christmas we love you!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Friday, December 10, 2010

outgrown her tubber the blubber!

SUP MOM?
just chilln in the tub
OOOKAY!
snuggity bug.
Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 9, 2010

annas friends

Lately thursday is party time at anna's house.
We walk to baby time at the library. Anna actually hates that part but sometimes she puts up with it. I guess its supposed to be good to babies to sing rhymes to them and read to them, but she really hates it. her friends like it though!
Afterwards we come over to my house and make lunch together and then sit in the front room and watch the babies play. Annas the youngest and least talented in the movement department, but she has a great time learning how to move from her friends.
thanks for coming over to plan avrie and zach!
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Merry Christmas Amy, love Anna



My sister made me this sweet baby outfit and my sis in law made the bow. We are blessed with creative family that love us!
Anna is starting to be a bit of a goof ball. She likes to make funny faces and she jabbers and jabbers all the time. She likes to play hide and seek with herself in her crib. last night at 1am I heard her in there jabbering and laughing - and I knew what she was doing.......pulling the covers off and on her head. silly girl.
Doesn't she have pretty eyes? Even though she sort of looks like a bird here.
Posted by Picasa

Friday, December 3, 2010

vitamin D

Last summer I commented to a stranger neighbor that her yard was beautiful. She came off her porch and started chatting with me. After about 5 minutes of talking, somehow the conversation led to the fact that she KNOWS that almost everyone in oregon is vitamin D deficient and that everyone SHOULD take a 1000 IU supplement because it's impossible to get enough vitamin D in oregon.

Vitamin D is the new buzzword. Everyone thinks that they are so smart because they know that they should be taking vitamin D. I can't tell you how many people have encouraged me to take it not knowing that I am a dietitian. "Oh really"....is what I often say........

It is true that oregonians don't make vitamin D in the winter. On my commute to salem I pass the 45th parallel - above that line you certainly don't get a full blast of the suns rays in the winter and thus aren't able to make vitamin D. But that doesn't mean that you need to be super supplementing - which is something that a lot of people have been recommending recently.

The institute of medicine recently updated the recommended intake of vitamin D. http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13050 They suggest that 600 IU is enough for most people and warn that over supplementing can be dangerous. I like this level headed recommendation because people tend to overdo it when they hear that this or that vitamin is important. There is just so much research out there that proves something and then disproves something that I think it's important to stick somewhere in the middle - which is what this recommendation does.

but it should be known that vitamin D is tricky. They are different recommendations on what the appropriate blood levels of the vitamin should be. Some scientists suggest the previous normal was sufficient, but not optimal - thus the squabble in recent news that you should be taking loads of vitamin D to make sure your level is OPTIMAL. I don't know how I feel about that. I try to avoid taking supplements at all costs. I think that god created the earth and our bodies and as long as we are consuming the things god created for us we should be just fine. But the problem is that most of the times we consume more man-made food than god-made food. And in vitamin D's case, we also use sunscreen which limits our natural ability to make vitamin D....

So what do I do to make sure I'm getting enough vitamin D? I would prefer to eat salmon 3 days a week (~450 IU per 3 oz) - but that doesn't fit in the budget - so I drink at least 4 cups of milk every day (100 IU each cup), eat 1/2 cup of yogurt (~100 IU each serving), eat at least 2 and sometimes 3 cans of tuna per week (~200 IU each) and I eat a wide variety of other foods that likely contain little bits of vitamin D here and there. I take a prenatal vitamin year round because of Anna and my usual limited in take of iron - but there is 400 IU of vitamin D in there - which is a bonus. Next summer when i am free from breast feeding and pregnany I won't take a supplement because I'll get plenty of vitamin D from the sun - all other vitamins and minerals from the garden - and won't need that extra Iron for anna.

so what should you do? Well do you drink milk? do you eat fish? Do you live where the sun shines? If you answered no to those questions, then you should probably take a supplement when you don't see the sun - and I would keep it to 600-800 IU - unless you doc. tells you otherwise.

But I am just another opinion in the crowd. I didn't read all the research, I didn't do any of the research and I am by no means an expert. Like I said before, I think we need to eat what god meant for us to eat - there are many more benefits to eating fish than vitamin D- like the omega threes and other god created components that we simply don't know about! - so when you can, get it from food (or the sun) - otherwise you can try to patch up your diet with vitamin supplements (and fortified foods like milk and yogurt) and pray that it works......

Thursday, December 2, 2010

blog is not abandoned

Don't worry, you didn't send your cameras in vain.
Here is the answer to your question......
They fit tightly on the stomach but are about 3 months away from being the right length.
She sure is cute in them anyways
thanks pa pa paul



Posted by Picasa

oh what do you do in the winter time.....



when all the leaves are gone? Well I was worried about being cooped up all day and prayed that we would work something out. My prayer was answered and while I was jogging about a month ago a woman stopped me and asked if I wanted a cover for my stroller. She gave it to me for free! I can take anna running in the rain and the cold cold because of this cover. She loves the bob! Best purchase ever.
Posted by Picasa

good morning anna!

what a cute little chunker (:
her favorite face as of late. its mostly because her nose is running like crazy.
anna in front of the christmas tree.
no the best pic of anna here - she looks like that cubby accountant on the office.
Posted by Picasa