A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a video, well, I can't even count that high.
So the beef thing is starting to get big! We always thought we would have mostly local business, but we have been shipping all across the country! Washington, California, Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, southern Virginia. We had a lot to learn about the shipping process and packaging, but thanks to some family guinea pigs, we are streamlined and can ship any time. We have given samples to our local restaurants (you know, that little spot called The Inn at Little Washington) and they said the flavor was incredible! High praise for grass fed beef, I can tell you that!
In other news, James is doing amazing in school. He absolutely loves it and we are already starting to notice changes in him. For instance, he was never a climber. He would have never climbed out of his crib, onto a chair or bed or ladder. Before we knew what we were in for, we just thought that was part of his personality. Now we know that he had low muscle tone and his vestibular system was out of whack (this would be the workings of the inner ear that help the body to balance, speaking very simply as there is still much I don't understand). After about 3 days of school, James climbed right up on our dining room chairs (which are bar height--not the most brilliant idea when it comes to easiness with kids, btw), grabbed a toy and his water and climbed down. Not only that, he looked perfectly capable of doing it! Maybe it has been instinct, but it used to make me so nervous to leave James anywhere on a raised surface, stairs, chairs, etc. Now I realize that it's because he wasn't stable and capable of controlling his body in those circumstances. Fascinating stuff. If you go to www.gmskids.com you can see some of their explanations of the sensory systems broken down into simple terms and it's really interesting. We are so proud of all James is doing and the strength he is gaining. He's always been so tough and now he's able to put it into action! He is eating very well (though since he has started drinking milk I think he is drinking a lot of his calories.....but in that case, I think I do too. I mean, not milk, but...anyway) but still battling GI issues. We will be getting some lab tests done here pretty soon so I will keep you posted.
Eve is a superstar. She has had a couple of nights where she's slept through the night entirely, but even when she gets up it's not too bad, except for the week where she had a cold. That's just misery. But I imagine being stuck on your back in a Woombie with snot in your nose is no picnic either. She is a delight to be around, until she's not, but she's more of a delight then not, so we'll keep her around. She's being SUCH a trooper taking James to school and sitting around or running errands with me 3 days a week. I have a feeling she's going to be a groovy kiddo as she gets older.
Our family had one of the best Christmases ever and here are a few pics to show off!
This, I think, is what Eve should just get used to.
I know, it's not fair to others.
I can't believe I have a GIRL!!!
I love this attempt to wrangle a family picture.
Easy to see why she has everyone wrapped around her finger.
