Here's a video of Audia doing her "army crawl". In the matter of about two days, she's gone from doing it once or twice a day to doing it CONSTANTLY when she's on the floor.....there's no stopping her once she's figured something out! She is definitely a "willfull". (My Uncle Bob refers to my parents and I as "the willfulls" (-: )
Well, Audia and I are sick again. :-( We both are pretty congested, sneezing and sniffling and coughing, and I have a killer headache. I must say that while she is definitely having a hard time with sleeping, she is in much better spirits than I. The past few days, she has been so extremely vocal, squealing and babbling a TON, and giggling at everything, even seemingly at nothing (she must have some inside jokes that we're not privy to.) Everyone always says she seems like such a happy baby, and she really is. I feel so lucky to have a baby that smiles and laughs as much as she does; even when she's feeling crabby, she still has a smile and a giggle for me. I only hope her happy-go-lucky nature will carry through her teens ;-)
My mom and dad are coming out here to visit for a week on Sunday so hopefully we will be better by then!
Audia is finally sitting on her own for longer than 2 seconds, which is exciting! It is pretty funny because she skipped over the whole sitting using her arms to prop her up and went straight to sitting without needing her hands. And she has figured out how to move forward on her belly, doing the 'army crawl' (although she hasn't totally mastered this, she has done it quite a few times). I am hoping that she will hold off on the crawling thing until we are moved to MN and have babyproofed out there.....
Attached is a video of her playing with daddy earlier today. Enjoy!
Audia turned 6 months old yesterday. Half a year!! I can't believe it. Actually, yes, I can. Our little munchkin is growing so fast that we are forced to recognize how long it's been since her birth! You can never truly understand how fast time goes when you have a child until you've had one. It is insane how much faster time is going this year than it did last year at this time.
So a while back I posted a blog about Mercury being found in HFCS.
Since then, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has done its own study on this discovery, and the results aren't good. Half of commercial High Fructose Corn Syrup was found to have mercury in it. And 1/3 of products where HFCS is the first or second ingredient were found to be contaminated with mercury as well. Some of the brands included in that 1/3 of products are Quaker, Hunt’s, Manwich, Hershey’s, Smucker’s, Kraft, Nutri-Grain and Yoplait......just to name a few.
The IATP study can be found here. I realize that we're all busy people, and it's hard sometimes to get a second to pee let alone read some long ass study. But do yourself a favor and at least read the executive summary. It is pretty scary that the FDA knows about this previously unknown source of mercury and has done absolutely nothing so far to change anything. The FDA is "supposed" to keep us, the consumers, safe. But it's pretty obvious that the only thing they care about is making "the man" (and themselves, I'm sure) a pretty penny. Damn the man.
As a side thought, perhaps mercury is part of, or the entire cause for autism? A lot of food marketed at kids is on the list.
*WARNING: this blog is going to get into my religious beliefs. This blog is meant for my child(ren), in case, for some reason, I should not be around to explain my beliefs to them. Others are welcome to read it, but do not feel the need to defend yourself or your beliefs if yours differ from mine. I respect your right to your beliefs and expect you to respect mine in return.
I am not an atheist, though I am sure quite a few people peg me as one. I use the term 'agnostic' although I do not feel that quite fits me either. I believe in the possibility of a higher power. I think it would be stupid not to accept that there is a possibility of something greater than us. But I also think it's naive to think that we know everything and that there is for sure a higher power. My religion is questioning everything, I guess you could say. I do believe in karma; what goes around comes around. I also believe that you make your own happiness. It is up to you and no one else to create peace and harmony in your own life. Your choices (and their consequences) are yours and yours alone. There is no use or excuse for blaming others for your state of affairs. It is up to you to make the best of your circumstances, and also to make educated, smart choices.
Grandma and Grandpa never raised me to be affiliated with any religious group, though they did encourage me to join my friends in going to Sunday school to learn about different religions. I did, and it was interesting, but I never really locked in to any one set of beliefs. We learned about the different schools of religious thought in my AP Language Arts class in 9th grade, and I took a class on religion in college (although I dropped out after about a month because my professor was so totally biased that I didn't feel I could learn anything). I do not claim to be an expert on religion by any means, but I do feel educated enough to make the decision I have, which is to not affiliate myself with any particular religion. My reason for this is that I have yet to find a 'church' (or mosque or temple) which accepts and encourages questioning, challenging, and differences of opinion. These are three things that I feel are extremely important in all aspects of life; to follow something blindly without questioning it (this includes 'scientific proof') is to dig your own grave. We cannot grow and evolve without questioning everything, even things that seem 'obvious'.
This is not to say that I think religion is inherently bad; there are a lot of good morals that organized religions teach and follow that are important for humanity. However, in my experience, many people I've known who do subscribe to a certain set of religious beliefs seem to think that religion is the only way that these morals can exist. This is false. A person can be good and righteous without being religious. And in my opinion, these morals existed long before religion did or we wouldn't be here today. I think that it is generally instinct (nature) for humans to help one-another out. My biggest issue with religion is the fact that most religions believe in one absolute supreme being who created everything and who, by the way, is typically a "he" and looks like a human in depictions of "him". It is, in my opinion, ridiculously narcissistic to think that a human-like, male being created everything that exists. It is very obvious that men wrote the bible.
There is a very interesting article, which can be found here about a man who studied Scandinavian (specifically Danish and Swedish) religious beliefs (or lack there of) and how regardless of their lack of interest in religion and god, these societies are some of the most prolific, happiest, and safest in the world. He wrote a book about it, which I intend to read. It is no secret that I think the Swedes really have their stuff together when it comes to priorities and way of life. I would think this even if they were the most religious country in the world. (Although I'm sure that if they were, their way of life and priorities would be affected, so maybe that's not entirely true)
On the flip side of this coin, while I may not agree with a lot of the beliefs that various churches and mosques and temples tout, I absolutely do respect those that do believe these things. I balk at intolerance and thus do my best to tolerate even the most intolerant people. It is important to embrace difference and individuality. Just think of how boring the world would be if everyone agreed with everyone else. In the same instant that I do not understand blind following of religion, I admire those who are filled with faith (as long as they do not attempt to force it on others).
Bottom line is, dear Audia (and any future children I may have), educate yourself. Listen with an open mind to what different religions have to say, and follow your heart. Don't feel bullied into believing something just because someone else does (this includes me and your father). Question everything, but be true to your convictions as well. I will support you in whatever you choose. You have every right to believe in whatever you do, and so does everyone else.
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