Updates?!

What has happened to the Spahr family!? My goodness, it has been a while since I have posted any updates! Check back soon - lots going on and tons of pictures to share!

Saying Good-bye to Case...

Our good friend (and Jerra's Godfather) Case has moved to Brazil. He left last Monday for a 2 year committment to teach math at a private high school in Bahia, Brazil. While we are sure proud of him and excited for him, we will sure miss him and we are not quite sure how Jerra is going to deal with not seeing him. (she adores him). We can talk through Skype and he gets a couple weeks off around Christmas, so we are hoping he will be back to visit then. The weekend before he left we went up to the D/FW area and spent some time with him at his going away party at his brother's house in Frisco. Then that Monday he went with Geoff, Jerra and me to the local water park, called NRH20. Jerra had a BLAST and we had a good day with our friend.









the following weekend, he had to go to Houston to pick up his travel visa's, so he spent the night/day with us and we had a final goodbye.





We wish you the best of luck Case - just make sure you come back to Texas when your 2 years are up!!!

Happy Birthday Jorja Lynn!

Jorja turned 1 on July 9th and we held a birthday party for her at our neighborhood clubhouse/pool and invited all the street's kids to come play and swim.

Jerra came up with the "ladybug" theme and our neighbor Brandi made the amazing cake!
Jerra had to wear her ladybug dress - for about 5 mins then it was time for swimsuit and the pool!


Camyrn and Lilli making Jorja laugh

my sweet girl and me

It's my party!

another view of the rockin' cake!


love these shoes!!!
\
daddy and me

singing "happy birthday...."

mmmm.....cake!

yep, I think I like this stuff! (so funny, cause Jerra did NOT like the cake at her 1st bday)

Llano, Texas

We spent the 4th of July weekend at the Walden Plantation in Llano, Texas....more on that to come in a future post -- but I had to share this series of photos....

what do you suppose she is doing?

trying to give us golf pointers?

going to measure the distance b/w the hole and the ball?

just being a silly 3.5 year old?

well, if you know Jerra you have probably already guessed.....

yep - she is marching around the green with the golf club in hand pretending she is the head drum major for the Aggie Band. Singing aloud and everything! She knows the entire War Hymn by heart....

This girl makes me laugh so many times a day!

Happy 1st Birthday Ms Jorja Lynn!

I can't believe that a year ago I was in the hospital holding my newborn. Where has the time gone!?
Happy Birthday my sweet baby....we love you more than words!


photo by Sarah Giles (www.butterflychasherphotography.com)

"Dad Life" by church on the move

Hilarious!!!! (mute song at the bottom of the page first)

Pool time at the Grandparents house

We headed to my parents house a couple weekends ago to hit the pool for the 1st time this summer. Jerra we knew would love it and it looks like Jorja is taking after her sister in the swimming department. She had the best time, she just wanted to splash, splash, splash. Jerra has gotten really good with her swimming - she holds her head under water for a good amount of time and can float on her back. Geoff has been taking her to our neighborhood pool often and they practice a lot. Both of the girls are water babies!




We also made a stop at the park near their house- they have a very cool park with lots of fun things for Jerra to play on, and its within walking distance, so Jerra always wants to go. Jorja loves the swings, it 'tickles her belly' as Jerra would say.

My favorite things...

Jorja's favorite thing.....to eat! The girl can eat - and eat - and eat! She is so funny too, when you put her in her high chair, you better have the food ready - cause otherwise the screams are coming! As soon as the food hits the tray she is ready. She doesn't eat much baby food anymore, I give her a jar here and there and applesauce or yogurt. But for the most part she feeds herself. I could list out what she likes, but so far I haven't given her anything she didn't like! She loves mac n cheese, which is good since that is one of the foods my picky 3 year old will eat and she got some of dad's lasagna tonight. Fruit and veggies are her fav's and she gets blueberry waffles every morning for breakfast. She LOVES cereal bars and when she sees it coming she can barely contain herself....as soon as I put it down, she pushed my hand out of the way so she can get to it! She recently discovered Goldfish (thanks to Jerra) and she goes crazy for those too! She makes us laugh!

mmmm.....peaches!

Happy Birthday Hailey!

Happy Birthday to Hailey Kate Lux who was born yesterday in the early hours of the morning. And Congrats to her proud mommy and daddy - April and Jeff. My little brother is a daddy! wow! We can't wait to meet her!

I only have 2 pictures so far of her, Jeff said he will send more on soon!

The nurses just told her she is a "Lux"! LOL!

10 months

Jorja turned 10 months on May 9th. She is so much fun. She laughs and laughs at us, especially at her big sister. She will watch Jerra and be entertained for so long. She loves to blow raspberries. She eats most of her food by herself now, we still occassionally give her 'baby food' - mostly yogurt, applesauce and sweet potatoes...but she has mostly finger foods for her meals. She loves beans, carrots, cheese, green beans, peas, toast, waffles, pears and peaches. She has mastered the sippy cup and we are almost completely done with bottles. She only gets one a day, when I am at work anyway, and she doesn't really drink it all, so I am thinking we will stop the bottles by monday. She still sleeps good - going down around 7pm and sleeping til 7am with 1-2 wakings for feedings at night. She has been crawling all over the place for a while now and she is pulling up on everything she can. She 'dances' to music when its playing and gets super excited to see the dogs.

She is just such a joy and we feel so completely blessed to have her.

Chef Jerra

Jerra went to one of her little school friends birthday parties this past weekend. They made their own pizzas at the party and check out the super cool party favor that went with it! We made cupcakes the next day and she wore it again.

Why should I choose organic foods for my child?

Why should I choose organic foods for my child?

Organic fruits and vegetables are grown without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Organic packaged foods, like HAPPYBABY meals, are made with organic ingredients and are packaged in facilities that are certified to meet strict USDA organic standards.

Reason #1: It's the best for Baby
The long-term health effects of pesticide exposure are not fully known. What we do know is that children who eat organically grown foods are exposed to fewer pesticides than children who do not. And children are small, so even low levels of pesticides will concentrate more highly in their bodies than in adults. Many experts therefore agree that children are among those who benefit most from eating organic foods.

Certain fruits and vegetables are consistently shown to be more contaminated with pesticides than other produce. This list is sometimes referred to as the Dirty Dozen. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research organization, recommends buying only organic:

The Dirty Dozen
• Apples • Grapes • Potatoes
• Bell peppers • Nectarines • Raspberries
• Celery • Peaches • Spinach
• Cherries • Pears • Strawberries

Not only do organically grown foods provide the benefit of ingesting fewer pesticides, they may even be more nutritious! Several studies have shown that organic fruits and vegetables have higher levels of antioxidants than conventionally grown produce. In some cases, organic samples had 2 to 3 times more antioxidants or vitamins.

If the safety and nutritional value of organic foods isn't enough, consider this: organic foods taste better! We know that taste preferences are mostly learned, and begin forming in early childhood. Giving your child fresh and delicious unadulterated foods will help baby learn to enjoy healthy eating now and in the future.

Reason #2: It's the best for our environment
To many people, the main reason to eat organically grown and processed food is to support sustainable farming methods that are more friendly to the earth. Organic methods include crop rotation, composting, and use of insects and natural substances to control pests that may otherwise damage crops. Organic farms have less top-soil loss and generate less pollution than conventional farms.

Our Michigan trip

Back in February we flew up to Novi, Michigan to visit with Geoff's sister and family - Tim, Gavin and Murphy. (Gavin is 7 weeks older than Jorja and Murphy is their Golden Retriever.) Jerra was so excited to go and visit Aunt "Bebe." When our plane landed and we were taxing into the gate she yelled out - "I'm coming to you aunt bebe!" It was so funny and most everyone on the plane got a laugh out of it. We had a great visit with them - it snowed and we played everyday in the snow, we went ice skating, sledding, and had a great time just being with them. We always wish we lived closer, but since we don't we just have to make the most of our visits....

I love this picture - Gavin is looking at Jorja's bow like "what the heck is on your head!?"

The family together!

Jerra's 1st time ice skating! Gavin got a new hair style!
the girls watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together
Gavin was baptised

Cute cousins!

Sledding!


making a snow man with Uncle Tim and Murphy
all bundled up for the snow!
Murphy
loves the bouncer!

playing in the snow for the 1st time!