Yandles in search of local food!

Before the hunting details, I wanted to show off recent pictures of the family!! We are so blessed - thank you, God! There's more at our web album!



Just wanted to pass along a special at Whole Foods...grass-fed beef for $3.99 this Friday, Sept. 3 only!
http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2010/08/sale-on-grass-fed-ground-beef-93-only/

If you're curious about my inspiration...read on...

I'm not much of an activist but I'm compelled to make some changes after watching the movie "Food Inc." this past weekend!! Join me and let's demand safer foods for our family by buying local meats, dairy, and produce!! Heck, start a small garden by your back door or window and try your hand at growing your own! We started this summer with our very first garden...just three small tomato plants, several herbs, and two bell pepper plants!! Man, God has blessed our little seeds and created a bountiful harvest...wish I had pictures to attest to our 7 foot tall tomatoes and they're still producing!!

Shamus and I are discussing how we can start buying more local or organic foods but still stay within our small budget for groceries...we're gonna get creative and see what happens!! :-)

Ideas...
1 - subscribe to mailing lists for coupons/discounts of organic grocers, and local farmers/markets
2 - buy one extra-large roast/ham/poultry that's local/organic and let that be our only meat for the week; you can even boil down the carcass to freeze stock for soups in the winter...yum!!!! talk about saving money...broth/stock can get expensive not to mention processed!
3 - keep encouraging my parents/grandparents to keep their chickens, gardens, and livestock and partake in their bounty...even help out with the process of planting/harvesting as an incentive! We'll be learning too!! Heck, Shamus even is inspired to really hunt this fall/winter to bring home a deer for the freezer...yay!!!
4 - shop at weekly farmer's markets in the area*
5 - buy direct from farms within 30-50 miles*
6 - join a food co-op*

*lists found at Harry's (in store) or at http://www.locallygrown.net/ , http://www.localharvest.org/

Join me in striving for a more healthy family...i'd love to see more homesteads in our generation!!!

Jana

It's a girl! Joanna Canady Yandle

Shamus and I are proud to announce the birth of our beautiful baby girl - surprise!! Joanna Canady Yandle born on Thursday, May 20 at 2:28 in the afternoon at Atlanta Medical Center downtown. She weighed 7lbs 10 oz and was 20 in long. Mom and baby are doing great! We returned home Friday night from the hospital. Since I haven't shared our new home address, it's
2261 Goodrum Lane
Marietta, GA 30066

Pictures, praises and birth story are below!! Feel free to pass along!

Love ya'll and thanks so much for your prayers!!

Link to online pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/janayandle/JoannaCanadyYandle

Praise God for:
healthy baby
smooth and uncomplicated labor and delivery
perfect timing to allow grandparents to arrive all with a good night's rest
less stressful waterbirth - yep she was born in the water!! :-)
renewed strength from the Lord
great nurser already!! :-) :-)
very strong and alert baby girl
shamus jr has loved her immensely and has been very gentle and helpful with her

Birth Story:
Mom woke up Thursday morning at 4:30am with contractions and vivid dreams of having a baby boy with very alert and captivating dark eyes. By 5am, Mom knew these contractions were the real deal and told Dad that today would be the day! We laid in bed and timed the contractions for 30 minutes just to be sure - they were already 8 minutes apart. At 5:30 we called Jana's parents so they would have time to drive from Millen and help us with Shamus Jr. We were thrilled that God timed the labor so that we all had a chance to get a good night's rest!!
By 6am we were both up cooking breakfast and cleaning to pass the time. Mom decided it was time to clean the ceiling fan blades so that was her second labor project after pressing a patch into a pair of Dad's favorite shorts. Shamus Jr. greeted us around 7:30 and we spent the morning watching Thomas the Train while folding clothes, doing more cleaning, and counting contractions all the while. We noticed the contractions times would change with my activity level so we were wondering if this labor would be very different from Shamus Jr. and last much longer.
By 9am the intensity started to increase and I was wondering if it were a good idea to wait for my parents before leaving for the hospital but we decided I was more comfortable at home so we continued with our plan. Gammy and Papa arrived at 10:30 and we spent an hour enjoying Shamus open his new Thomas the train set and other goodies for him and Baby Joanna.
At 11:30 we kissed everyone goodbye and drove to the hospital with a pit stop at Planet Smoothie. The contractions were very uncomfortable and I realized I needed to concentrate better on my breathing. We arrived at the hospital at 12:30 - yep traffic was pretty bad midday so we had to bypass the interstate for a bit. Once checked in at the hosptial, we were excited to hear that we were already 7cm. Mom then waited patiently as they setup our labor room with birthing pool. After laboring for an hour in the tub, Jana quietly prayed that she was ready to push, hoping that the end of labor would come real soon. To her surprise, the next contraction she had the urge to push and her midwife encouraged her to go with the feelings. So on her knees and leaning on the side of the tub, mom pushed through 3 more contractions and Joanna was gently born. She was very active and wiggling around. Daddy was the first one to see the sex and announce out loud "It's a girl! It's a girl!" Daddy was excited to have a little girl and mommy was surprised since she thought it was a boy toward the end of the 9 months. Praise God for another healthy blessing from above and the strength to experience a natural childbirth.

Shamus Jr celebrates Easter and turning 2!

Lots of changes have occurred for the Yandle family since the beginning of 2010! We've managed to move from our apartment in Smyrna to a beautiful home in Marietta...a wonderful, unexpected blessing from God! Another unexpected blessing came out of Shamus' car wreck (he didn't get hurt) when his car was totaled out and allowed us to upgrade to a...minivan! Woohoo! Baby Yandle #2 we're ready for you!!
Shamus Jr. turned 2 on April 3 and we celebrated with pizza at our new favorite restaurant in Atlanta, Antico!! Shamus really enjoyed blowing out his candles atop strawberry shortcake made with love by Mommy, Gammy and Daddy!
Easter was a special day with Shamus' grandmother joining us for church and celebrating Shamus Jr's birthday with the extended Yandle family at the Marietta Diner. Yummy!
Check out all the pics online!
We're patiently awaiting arrival of Baby Yandle #2...due May 19th! We'll keep you posted!

Recent videos of Shamus Jr

Stunt man Shamus Jr! He was having a fun time jumping off his chair so we grabbed the camera to capture it.


Here is another video we took of Shamus Jr right before Christmas. We were baking a birthday cake for Jesus.

Merry Christmas from The Yandles

Shamus Jr is officially a walker now

Well, Shamus Jr is officially walking now! He is getting the hang of it and can walk and turn around and walk back. He is so excited that he can walk. He smiles and laughs while he is doing it. Check out the video below

Shamus' 1st Birthday!

Well, this past Friday was Shamus Jr's 1st birthday. We had a great time. We grilled out and some other really good food. I made a big cake for everyone and then a little smash cake for Shamus. Here is a video of him eating it.




Here is another funny video of Shamus Jr after he opened all of his presents. He got a little too excited. :-)

One more day until Jr's first birthday!

Well, tomorrow will be Shamus Jr's first birthday. Whoa how time has flied by. We will be celebrating his birthday with both of his grandparents and one great grandparent. And of course he will have some yummy homemade cake which he will enjoy whether in his mouth or on his face. Pictures and possibly a video of his messiness will be uploaded soon. :)

Shamus Jr and his tractor

Shamus Jr is getting bigger with every day! He is crawling all over the place. He is doing the army crawl where it drags his legs behind. Its so cute. He is standing up on his own and will be walking soon. His personality is really starting to show now. He is only two weeks from being a year old! Wow how the time flies. Check out this video of him on his tractor. (Thanks Uncle Jason!)

Shamus Jr's First Christmas

Thanks to Shamus having the week off for Thanksgiving, we actually had time to get our tree up early this year! That is a first! ;-) This is a sweet picture of us I thought. Shamus Jr is exploring - looking and grabbing for the next object to teethe on. Merry 1st Christmas Shamus Jr.!

First fear of discipline

Even Christian radio can adversely affect your peace of mind. Let me explain (please, finish the post before getting worried for lil' Shamus...there is a happy ending.)
We have friends who stopped listening to their Christian radio station b/c of the negative thoughts and ideas it conjured up in their minds . Well, I wasn't so convinced until this week. Shamus Jr. has started a new habit during some of his feedings. He'll pull off quite aggressively and thrust his head back, arching his body into a stiff position - sometimes accompanied by a shrilling scream and sometimes quietly with a few babbles just enjoying the position for a bit before wanting more to eat. After the episodes with shrilling screams, he'd sometimes want to feed more and others he'd finally be consoled with a new diaper or just going to sleep. I couldn't determine a set pattern so that I could understand what Shamus Jr. was trying to tell me he wanted. I remember telling Shamus Sr., should I allow him to act this way, and if so, are we teaching him it's okay to play during meal time.
Well, after a few days of this, I was convinced that my perfect little four month old was beginning to demonstrate a very strong-willed personality and throwing temper tantrums. I had reconciled too that he was tired of nursing and wanting more food - I felt like all kind of drastic measures were in order. Those thoughts worsened after hearing my favorite radio station interview a child psychologist who discussed kids with emotional disorders causing disruptive behavior. This sealed the deal for me. I was convinced that if at four months old Shamus Jr. could throw fits like this, then he was as described showing signs that somethings was neurologically wrong with him - such that an everyday event was causing him to react in a state of panic using his fight or flight responses - as eloquently described by the psychologist. So, there I was with my diagnosis - completely feeling guilty that I had caused it!
A few more days of this went on before we attended our church's night of worship and I spent some serious time in prayer asking God to heal Shamus, Jr. and give him a contented spirit. God was my last resort, my only hope - after all, I had tried everything it seemed.
Well, the very next evening when Shamus' fits happened two feeding in a row...I was devastated. I picked up the phone to call two Moms I trust...no one answered. I was about to go online and do a desparate Google search to find the solution. Well, thankfully, I continued to trust my Mom instict and trust that God would help me determine Shamus' want. And as always, God answers prayer! I started thinking about how Shamus would nurse for 45 minutes or more and how now, his nursing it's down to 10, 20 minutes max...maybe, just maybe he's wanting to suck and not feed. So, in the middle of his screaming, I put my knuckle in his mouth and suck he did!! I've never seen him suck so hard! So, I went and found his pacy (not handy, b/c he rarely takes a pacy - never seemed to like it)...and he didn't skip a beat sucking. He even used his hands to hold it in his mouth!! Well, I was wanting to see how much of a learning moment this could extend to and do you know, that our lil' man took hold of his pacy and stuck it right in his mouth!! It was so fun watching him perform his new trick....even with a few attempts of the pacy missing his mouth!

Seeing the world from a new angle!

Well, Shamus, Jr. is four months old now (on August 3)! I can't believe it! He's finally passed the newborn stage where those first three months were spent keeping him close for feeding, comfort, and napping. Now, he much rather pefers to be on the floor on his belly seeing the world from a new angle! He enjoys tummy time now that he's able to keep his head up and he's working on pushing up with his arms. Right now, he rests himself on his hands and forearms - so cute! He enjoys watching himself in his mirror and rolling over all on his own. This all came to be on the weekend of his four month birthday! Around the same time, we were sure he was about to cut his first tooth - Shamus even could see it poking through (top left of his gums). But a week and a half later and still no tooth. He is drooling alot but his chewing on his fingers and irritability has seemed to subsided for now. So, I guess that's just the beginning of his teething stage.

Haynes Wedding

The Yandle family enjoyed gathering for Kyrsten and Brad's wedding on a beautiful July morning. We were so excited for them and glad that they're finally husband and wife! :-) God has so much in store for them and we wish them love and prosperity in their new life together!

Thanks to Jenifer and Henry for letting us borrow such an adorable outfit for Jr. He looked so handsome. Mommy can't help but mention that strapless never looked so good 'til lil' Jr. came! :-)

Shamus Sr. enjoyed capturing special moments of the day through his lenses - check em' out at http://picasaweb.google.com/janayandle/Hayneswedding
Here's the link to the professional photographs:
http://www.pictage.com/client/eventPhotos.do?event=467067&category=7&page=51
http://www.pictage.com/client/eventPhotos.do?event=467067&category=7&page=57

Catchin' Up

At almost four months old, Shamus Jr. continues to settle into his comfortable routine such that Mommy and Daddy are attempting all kinds of new adventures with baby in tow. Every three hours about, Jr. will eat, poop, play, and sleep and the cycle continues throughout the day. This may seem like an ordinary baby, but to Mommy who was feeding almost every hour until week 10 - it's a miracle!! :-)

Jr. is most alert in the morning and late night such that Mommy and Daddy have tons of fun playing with him - singing songs, having him hold on to rattles or our fingers, learning to roll over and touch his toes. We have the most fun hearing him talk - his favorite word is gah and the occasional ah-gah!

We made the most of our Fourth of July - a road trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan for a Quixtar leadership seminar. Jr. did great! He enjoyed the view of Lake Michigan, slept through the fireworks show, and entertained himself during the 18 hour drive with his new Sunshine toy - it was perfect as he's just learning to grasp with his hands!


July 11 was my 27th birthday - and was such a treat as a Mom! I guess you could say that Jr. gave me the best gift in the world - his first full night sleep!! :-) He actually slept through the night two nights in a row! 8 hours b/t feedings and six hours of sweet dreams!
We started at sixteen weeks introducing a few signs to Shamus, Jr. We're teaching him every day words like milk, change diaper, and mommy/daddy. So far, he's been very interested in watching our hands as we speak to him. We'll keep you posted on his progress!

Steep Learning Curve

Wow, where do I start for the month of June! Let's just say we've had a steep learning curve! By week 11, Shamus Jr. and Mommy finally were getting the swing of things and settling into a manageable routine. As you can see Jr. is a very happy boy! We're enjoying his smiles and coos.

Memorial Day Weekend in Millen

We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Millen, GA to celebrate both Shamus Jr's birth and mine and Shamus' one year anniversary.

In Millen, our family gathered for a baby shower at the Williams Farm. There were lots of aunts and cousins to love on Jr. We had a great time seeing everyone and showing off Jr!

Shamus and I were brave and left Jr. with Gammy and Papa for Memorial Day while we drove to Savannah and Tybee Island to celebrate our one year anniversary! Man, it's hard to believe it's already been a year. We enjoyed relaxing on the beach and eating seafood overlooking the marsh. Shamus Jr. did a great job staying with his grandparents for the day and we were excited that he didn't drink up all his milk before we returned home!

We settled back at home in Smyrna before we left again on Wednesday for a free trip to Nashville, thanks to Shamus' hobby with maxima.org. He won a Maxima enthusiast contest which gave us a few nights stay at the Gaylord Opryland hotel and Shamus got to tour the Nissan plant and drive the 2009 Maxima - while Jr. and I toured the massive hotel and layed by the pool. It was a great ending to our week!

Motherlore Finale!

Today was Mommy and Shamus, Jr's last day of Motherlore class. We enjoyed hanging out with the other Mommies and Babies and learning infant massage from Monette. Jr. was either sleeping or eating most of the class but Mom enjoyed learning by watching the other Moms.

These past few days have been eventful for Shamus and Jana - we were able to entertain Shamus, Jr. enough to have him smile at us. He did it for the first time on Saturday and then again on Sunday. It was very exciting!! He has dimples like his Mom and Dad! :-)

First Blog Ever!

Hi Friends and Family - this is my first blog of hopefully many more to come. I envision this to become my documentary of my family, health and fitness research, and business developments.

The pic is of Shamus Jr. at his very first party! It was Katy and Andy's baby shower on April 19 - he was only two weeks old!

Since my life right now is spent taking care of Shamus, Jr. then my first blog will have to be a tribute to him! There's so much I want to capture in words about the daily fun adventures with Shamus Jr. but for now (since it's midnight and he's asleep for just a few hours) I'll give the highlights of today...

Today we had planned a visit to OIE at GA Tech to visit my previous coworkers...so as soon as I woke up, I was preparing for our trip downtown. After a few feedings, a poop spray on the changing table, and Mom calling Dad to learn how to reassemble the car seat pad, we were off to visit friends despite the rain. We were only 30 minutes late for our lunch date - not too bad considering! Of course, everyone loved him and thought he looked just like his Dad - I agree! We enjoyed the visit - the whole gang was crowded around Sheila's desk enjoying watching Shamus Jr. sleep.

Back at home, Shamus Jr. went down for a nap so I decided to give the manual pump another try since I have a hair appt. tomorrow. I was amazed - much more successful on the second attempt - I got 2 ounces, even with feeding him at the same time!

Shamus got home and we played with Jr. for a bit since he was in a very playful mood after his nap and feeding. Since Saturday, Shamus Jr. has been able to focus on our hand and follow it from side to side...so that along with Pattycake and conversations in Parentese are the gist of our playtime. We're still working on the smiles - for now they're just spontaneous.

The highlight of my day was coming home from a quick trip to the grocery to find Shamus holding a very content baby. To my surprise, Shamus had fed him the pumped milk from a bottle - this was a first!! I wanted to see it but was so proud of Shamus for taking the initiative and figuring it out for himself. He warmed the milk and tested it on his wrist "as he'd seen on T.V." and Shamus Jr. drank it down fast!

So tomorrow brings another busy day...but as I told Shamus in the hospital after Shamus Jr. was born, I have finally found my calling and it feels great!

Happy Birthday Shamus Jr. - today you're six weeks old!