Nature Nature All Around!

Well, it's been a while yet again! We've just been so busy and the next few weeks are going to be super busy as well. The boys and I have been keeping busy with our nature filled back yard! We have baby bunnies that are living under the boy's fort and our shed. They're so funny and very brave. They run all around our backyard, which we enjoy so much, but Zoe has come to believe that they are leaving her little cocoa puffs all throughout the yard! YUCK!
I bought the boys a butterfly house, and ordered some caterpillars a while ago. We got these super teeny tiny caterpillars, that turned into fat caterpillars within a week. Then they formed their cocoons. It was an amazing site to experience, and truly makes you appreciate how much God paid attention to the little things in His wonderful creation! After a week our butterflies started coming out of their cocoons! It was so beautiful watching them flap their wings for the first time, and begin to fly! We had to buy flowers for the habitat and feed them sugar water! So fun! After a week and a half we decided to let the butterflies go (on Father's Day). It was the greatest part of the whole adventure. The butterflies were very friendly, and let the boys hold them. We got some great pictures and a video of one little butterfly, who, for some reason, was very attracted to the boys. It kept landing on poor Parker who wasn't all that sure of the whole thing to begin with! We're happy to say though that all 5 of our caterpillars flew away that day!
Our garden is going great! We are shocked at how well everything is going! We found out what we thought were white onions, were truly green onions! :) We've harvested all the green onions, most of the radishes, some parsley and basil. The day I harvested some parsley I noticed some little black and yellow caterpillars. They were beautiful, and when I went to look them up I found out they are "Black Swallowtail" caterpillars, and they are very attracted to parsley. For the next week we watched those little guys get super fat and turn into a green and black color! They were so so beautiful! I found out the hard way that before they go into the pupal stage, they migrate and travel around. One morning when I went to check on them, one was missing. :( Then I decided that I would bring in the other one, and we'd watch him from the inside. By the next morning, it was hanging in its position on the underside of the stick ready to molt for the last time and become his cocoon! Within a day he was hard and now is in the process of becoming a beautiful butterfly! :)

We also have a morning dove nest! That has been an adventure! In the spring a pair of robins kept attempting to make themselves a nest, to no avail. We had this pesky little finch, Steve, who would not let them be. He would sit on my fan on my patio and squawk and squawk and squawk! It was truly a beautiful song though. I loved waking up to his chirps, and would leave all the window's open just to hear him. He was so naughty though. As soon as the robins would leave the nest, you would find Steve up there demolishing what they had just put together! This went on for weeks, until finally the robins just gave up. The nest sat empty for about a week, but Steve still came by to sing for me in the mornings! I loved it!
 One day I noticed a morning dove on my patio, just walking around and plopping him/herself down on the concrete! It was strange! A few days later I noticed the bird up in the nest! It was a pair of morning doves doing their best to fix the broken home! It is the perfect location for a nest, covered and shielded from the elements in all directions! Prime nest property, I guess! Steve was still around, singing, and doing his demolishing. However, the persistence of the morning doves paid off, or Steve got tired of singing to me! Steve left and the morning doves remained. We watched them take turns sitting on the nest, and find new and creative ways to get into the nest when we were on the patio. They really aren't as skittish as any other bird, and get pretty close to you! About 5 days ago, I noticed that mama bird was sitting pretty high up in the nest, and thought that she had just laid the eggs. A little further investigating proved that the babies had indeed hatched! There are 2 little babies in the nest! I find ways almost every day to get my camera up there to snap a picture of their growing progress! The boys named the birds Parker's bird is a girl and her name is Girl. Peyton's bird is a boy and his name is Pocklet Wocklet! :)
I think that's all I have as far as our educational backyard is concerned!!! God, thank you so much for providing these wonderful miracles in our own backyard for us to enjoy! You so know my boys and I and our love for nature and Your beautiful creations!!
CDing is going well! :) Josh is a happy fluffy butt, and I'm a happy fluffy butt providing mommy! I'll update this all later!

Happy Father's Day!!

Our Father's Day gift to daddy was tickets to the second day of the CWS! They took Papa, and had a great time! Here is Peyton's post game interview after his time in the cage! I'm such a proud mommy!! :) Peyton you're a superstar!

MSPI and Me

* Warning~Poop Content* :) Since Joshua was born he's never had what I would consider a normal poo. Around 2 months he started getting green poo, and then flecks of blood. After some research on my own I narrowed it down to some type of allergy, most likely milk.

In the beginning I decided I would just cut out all milk and soy, but that was super overwhelming. I was getting so frustrated and more upset then anything. I would spend hours in the health food aisles reading label after label after label. There's also a hundred different names for milk and soy. Argh! After talking with some moms from a MSPI board, I decided it would be okay and better for me to just start with milk and dairy.

We had a bonfire over Memorial Day weekend, and, of course, the Smores were brought out! I was super bummed to find out that I wouldnt' be able to partake in the ooey-gooey goodness that is the staple of bonfires. I ended up finding that there's certain brands of chocolate chips that contain no dairy! SCORE!

Things are going better, I think. He's still super fussy, but his stools have become less frequent and the amount has decreased. However, he is still having mucousy, runny stools. :( I'm pretty sure that means that I need to cut out soy now too. Keep posted on our overcoming of this darn MSPI! Here's to real butter and a cold glass of milk...eventually.