First bath

Paul is 10 days old now.  His umbilica cord fell off a few days ago...I think he was actually 5 days old.  Today he had his first bath.  I love how he looks at me.

A little fresh air and ready to get dressed.

Sisters

 Booties from Aunt Mary and family...

Plenty of kisses for Paul.  Today it seems he is developing a rash on his cheeks...I may have to watch my diet.

Less than 24 hours old

Meet our new little boy...Robert Paul, named after both of his grandfathers, that's how it is on his birth certificate.  My husband is Rob, his father is Robert and so was his father, but they all have different middle names, here they are 3 generations:

 My dad, who was named Paul, passed away in May.  We've decided we're going to call him Paul. ♥

He was born at home, yesterday, Friday Sept. 18th, 2015 at 4:26pm.  He is 8 pounds 3 ounces and is 21 inches long. We think his hair is red, like his big sister, Hannah.

 Both of his grandmas adoring him.

 Uncle Nathan loves him.  He said he wanted to take him home. 

Rob cutting the umbilica cord.  We let it stay attached to him for about an hour after he was born, letting all the good blood go to Paul.  The placenta is in the bowl...it's now in our freezer.

These photos were taking right after he was born and cleaned up.  The midwife, measured and weighed him on our bed.   My mom came to our house while I was in labor and brought food. 

 Aunt Susanna came over with more food and brought over 4 cousins to meet this wee one.

How much longer?

 My due date was August 16th, but that was according to my cycle notes that I keep and apparently I was wrong.  We've determined that the due date is Sept. 11th...and that has come and past.  We are ready to meet this wee one. ♥  One of the things I've been working on to pass the time is making cards to sell at our church festival which is this coming weekend.

The Jerusalem artichoke flowers are beautiful right now.  The plants are about 8-10 feet tall and have grown to the top of the little wall around our deck and made a jungle of the path to our chicken coop.

I made "syrniki," which is Russian for little cheese pancakes.  I have here about a pound of tvorog, which is a type of quark cheese, you can make it using buttermilk, or get it in a tub in the store, often it's called farmer's cheese (not to be confused with a block of cheese, that is also labelled the same).  Here's what you'll need to make these:

• 1 # tvorog
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Mix all ingredients well and form into 2-3 inch patties about 1/2 inch thick.

Fry them in a little butter, for about a minute on each side.  Sometimes, I put a little honey on top, but we often just eat them as they are...

Apple orchard

We went to the apple orchard yesterday afternoon...these are some of the early apples available.  We did sample some off the trees where they're not yet ripe, and yes, they were hard.

Rob has been researching how to make an apple press.  We love apple cider.  He is planning to do something with our log splitter to make cider...in the meantime we're using our Jack Lalanne juicer.
We used the cider to make this for lunch today:

Now I just need to make some coleslaw with green and purple cabbage and carrots! http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/slow-cooker-apple-cider-pulled-pork/

 Our friend's kiddos...so cute!

Bright yellow Jerusalem artichoke flowers from our backyard, which I brought to church yesterday morning...

Goji berry scones

We made these goji berry scones today. The recipe was on the back of the package:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (I didn't add, b/c I used salted butter)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup dried goji berries
1/2 cup dried soy nuts
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 425.  In a large bowl stir together flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut in butter, stir in berries and nuts.  Whisk together egg and milk, add to flour mixture, stirring just until well-combined (over mixed and the dough won't be fluffy).  Pat into a pan so that it's about 1/2 inch thick, sprinkle with sugar and bake for 18-22 minutes.  Makes 8 scones.
*I omitted the soy nuts, next time I may add chopped pecans, I think it would be nice.

Also, I'm sure this recipe would be good if you wanted to substitute dried black currants or chopped dried apricots for the goji berries.  I ♥ experimenting in the kitchen.

This morning I had an appointment at the hospital to check on baby.   They did a NST (non-stress test), which involved me being hooked up to 2 belts, one monitoring the baby's heart rate, the other my contractions.  I was having some contractions, but couldn't feel them.  It may be because I've been taking an herbal supplement, "Gentle Birth" for 7 weeks now and my uterus has been working its muscles because of it.

The doctor also did a BPP (biophysical profile), which she did using the ultrasound.  I hadn't had an ultrasound yet, so she asked if I wanted to know if baby was a boy or girl, Rob and I decided we've waited this long we can wait a little longer.  The main things they were looking for were baby's breathing, body movement, muscle tone and amniotic fluid in all 4 quadrants.  There is enough fluid, I could tell, because I can feel baby moving a lot.  So, baby passed and we will continue to wait, no need to be induced at this point.  We were very happy.