Sunrise

Our schedule goes something like this:  I go to bed around 10pm and Dan takes care of feeding Samuel until about 2am or so (napping in between feedings).  Then he goes to bed.  Then when Samuel wakes the next time, I get up and tend to him for the next two feedings so Dan can sleep without interruption.  This way we both get at least 5-6 hours of solid sleep - sometimes more if we're lucky!  I used to lay down between the first two feedings of the day since it's pretty darn early, but I've found that if I stay up, I'm not really any worse for wear and I can get some quiet things done around the house, such as updating blogs.  =) 

This particular morning, I was updating this very blog and looked out the window to see one of the prettiest sunrises I've ever seen.  Perhaps that's because anyone who knows me knows that I've seen very few sunrises.  Anyway, I decided to snap a couple pictures as the sun was coming up...

View out the back windows of house.

View of driveway out the front door.

Cloth diapers!

Initially we were going to use disposable diapers for convenience.  But then I started checking into the "new" cloth diapers.  Mostly because of cost savings, but also since they are so much better for the environment.  Our first concern was "do they work well"?  Then our next concern was "how gross will it be to wash poopy diapers"?  The products touts that they work with as small as 8 lb babies, but the sales folks said they recommend 10 lbs.  We waited until he was about 11 lbs.  We used disposables while Samuel was little and still keep them on hand while we are out and about. 

I have to say... we've been very happy with them so far!  We've only had one leak and that was my fault... we finished an early morning feeding and he went right back to sleep, so I opted to let him go instead of changing him.  By the time he woke up again, he'd wet through the diaper.  Also, he's had no diaper rash since we've started using them, which is another benefit the product boasts.  The biggest draw is that the diapers go on like disposables with Velcro closures.  The only difference is that you have to pull a liner out (that is what soaks up the urine) and wash them every few days.  Oh yeah, and rinse a poopy diaper sometimes.  Then when they're washed, I sit down and reinsert all the liners at once and we're ready to go for a few more days.  We figure over the 3 years or so that he'll wear diapers, we'll save roughly $1500 and put about 5000 less diapers into a landfill.  Not to shabby! 



Sporting a yellow cloth diaper.  He also has orange, blue, light green and dark green.



Bluebirds

Our real estate agent gave us a bird bath as a housewarming gift shortly after we closed on the farm.  It didn't take long for it to get some use!  Birds love splashing around in it.  Here is a pic of two bluebirds in it at the same time.  There were up to four at one point, but I couldn't get a good picture of them.

Lunch time

Take a hike!

Here are pics from a walk Dan, Samuel and I took recently through our property:

Our pond behind the barn...

The side of our house from the pasture right behind the yard...

Leaves turning red during fall...

A funny looking tree and our closest neighbor.  This is about half way back of our property...

Dan and Samuel in front of a fall tree...

One of the prettiest fall trees I've ever seen!...

The "lower" pasture...

An inquisitive cow as we were walking though the pasture...

Cows on pasture...

1-month check up

Samuel had his 1-month check up today with his pediatrician.  Her first comment when she came into the room was "He's a BIG boy!".  He's 23 1/2 inches long now and weighs 11 lbs, 14 oz.  She said his height is "off the charts".  When I asked if his weight in proportion to his height was ok, she said it was perfect and that he's definitely not a chubby baby.  Hard to believe since he's been eating 4oz at every feeding for the past two weeks already.  He's going to eat us out of house and home already.  I thought that didn't start until teenage years?!?

Building a coop

One of the first building projects here on the farm was to get a new chicken coop set up. Dan decided to build a lean-to attached to the existing barn. He and Danny completed the structure, but it still had no roof and the coop still needed to be painted. While his Mom and Dad were visiting at the end of September/beginning of October, they got the roof structure mostly done and the coop painted.

Here's Dan giving his dad a ride in the hay wagon. The reason for the tractor ride was to go to the back of the property where the previous owners left a pile of metal roofing sheets. Dan, being the Yankee he is, reused these old metal sheets for the coop roof.

Amby bed

Samuel loves his Amby bed that our friend Kim gave us.  It's more or less a baby hammock.  I think he likes it because he sits up a little versus laying flat in a crib and he feels more cocooned.

Big yawn!!!

More cows...

1 month old

Samuel's 1-month old pictures:

Cows

Our "neighbor" has about 30+ head of cattle and about 100 acres.  Since we don't have sheep yet, he runs his cattle on our property to help keep the grass down.  Our pasture comes pretty close up to the house... here are his cattle from our back window.

Time with Daddy

All clean and swaddled after bath time.

Feeding time.

Waiting for Samuel to settle down.

Baby Samuel

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few weeks.  Baby Samuel arrived on 9-10-10 and has been the center of attention lately.  Now that things have 'somewhat' settled down, I'm hoping I can get back to regular posts.  I plan on wandering around our property this week to snap some photos to show you the new farm.  In the meantime, here is Samuel Richard shortly after he was born...