corn awareness

For a long time now, I've suspected that there are some gaping flaws in the modern American diet. For one, we eat way too much fast food. Mind you, I'm not immune or innocent of this. I've been known to stop at Wendy's late at night to satisfy my hunger or to eat more than my share of fried chicken. We also drink way too much soda. Again, I know that a Coca-Cola Classic tastes good. And we eat an enormous amount of junk food. Hey, I love a bag of Doritos or Cold Stone Creamery as much as anyone. We're all guilty.

What is the common denominator among all of those poor eating habits above? Corn. Corn is in everything, and most of us don't even know it. According to Wikipedia, the US alone produces 280 million metric tons of it every year. Where does all of corn end up? It's impossible to track exactly, but I'd wager a good guess that we consume most of it. Newsweek printed that, "Americans consumed a staggering 62.6 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per person in 2001, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture." It's not just HFCS that's killing us, because our entire food ecosystem is setup around corn.

I heard about this movie called King Corn, an independently-made documentary about two guys who go to Iowa and try to find out where all of the corn is going. Watch the trailer here.

Since Kai was born I've been a notorious label-reader, although I've tried not to preach about it. I've been consciously avoiding foods made with HFCS whenever possible. The stuff is everywhere, under a variety of names. HFCS, crystalline fructose, maltodextrin. Erin and I eat in as much as possible, and we try to eat whole foods at every meal. It's challenging, but rewarding. Our meals are delicious, and Erin and I are in the best shape of our lives.

There's even a movement to take the "King Corn" challenge, to avoid foods that contain corn or any corn derivatives for one month. It sounds hard. I don't think that it's necessary to go that extreme, but a little awareness and exercising the power of our wallets is a step in the right direction.

thanks

We've made it to another Thanksgiving holiday here, and this year it seems that the holiday decorations, commercials, and music have started even earlier. This year, we have a split celebration, which started last night at our house. Grandma Marsha, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Eric came over to celebrate by frying a turkey. And then at the last minute, I found out that my good friend George who I haven't seen in a couple years was in town for the night, so he came by and we all had a great time.

And then today, we are heading to Bill and Janet's home to celebrate. As it turns out, Janet's son Tim and his wife Shay will be joining us with Everett, their newborn boy. We haven't seen Tim and Shay since Erin was just a few weeks pregnant. Not that we were ever that close with them, but it's nice to commiserate with another young couple. It's always neat to be around other younger babies, because it reminds me of how Kai was back then and helps me to be present with him and appreciate him now.

There's nothing like a baby to wake you up to the present.

bicycle diaries

Today was the first day of the bicycle era. As you can see, Kai was, shall we say, less than enthused regarding his new helmet. I may have traumatized him for life.

After a few minutes of riding, he did manage to calm down and quietly rode behind me and took in the sights and fresh air. Riding with him on back is like toting a 30-pound sack of water. Everytime he moves his little head from side to side I can feel it tug at my center of gravity. It's going to take some getting used to for both of us.

On another note, congratulations to Isaac for making the Winter Park High School varsity basketball team, as a sophomore! The next five months will be a whirlwind of activity for him, between schoolwork, daily practices and at least 24 games. Last year's team made it to the final four in the state championship tournament, so let's hope that they do well again this year.

how far we've come

So I decided to feature a photo of me and Kai from almost exactly one year ago. My how we've grown. Since this photo was taken, Kai has gained about 9 pounds and is about 5 inches taller. At that point, Kai was barely sitting up and was in fact quite helpless. Today, he's a walking, talking (albeit mostly not in our language) little boy.

As of today, he says about 15 words. It's so cute because he usually doesn't say the entire word, just a part of it, usually the beginning. It really requires us to be present to him to understand what he's saying. Words that he has said include daddy, mama, Isaac, ball, shoes, banana, apple, nipple, diaper, milk, moo, bah, meow, and spoon. Yes, the animal sounds aren't technically words, but he does say them when asked what sound a sheep makes, for example. I'm counting it.

It was nice for me to look back and see how far we've come. I looked at some photos of when Erin and I first started dating, and it just seems like it was so long ago, when it really was just three and half years ago. Then to see Kai as a newborn, and to see how he is now, is so amazing and inspiring. Where will we go next? What will he be like a year from now? Our neighbor saw Kai today as Erin and I took him for a walk, and when he politely mentioned how big Kai is getting and how time flies, I thought to myself, you have no idea.

soul of the earth

One of Kai's favorite places is the playground near our house, and today was a perfect day to be outside. The thermometer read in the upper 60's, and the sky was an empty blue canvas. He has figured out exactly climb up to the slide, where we ride down together. He absolutely loves it.

Today he picked up a bunch of wild violet-colored flowers off of the ground and tried to put them back on the bush from where they came. It was the sweetest thing ever. And he actually sat on the ground and played with the dirt for quite awhile. In our hyper-sterilized world, I think it's more important than ever to get out there and dip your fingers in the soul of the earth.

I posted photos from today's activities here.

15 month checkup

Yes, we have indeed made it to the fifteen-month mark. Kai just participated in his second Halloween, although for his first one he wasn't doing much besides nursing every hour and a half. Just ask Erin. At his checkup, the doc confirmed again that Kai is in fact, the best baby on the planet. He now weighs in at 24.1 pounds, and 32 inches tall. His gigantic noggin in 49 centimeters around, which proves unequivocably that he is a genius. Right? Right.

As soon as I take my bike to get a new tire or tube or something like that, I'm going to hook up Kai's newest gadget, the toddler bike seat. And we'll begin a new chapter in the life of Kai, the bicycle years. I'm looking forward to it.