Born Free.....

The Iddle reminds us all that we are....


Born free, as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Born free to follow your heart

Live free and beauty surrounds you
The world still astounds you
Each time you look at a star

Stay free, where no walls divide you
You're free as the roaring tide
So there's no need to hide

Born free, and life is worth living
But only worth living
'cause you're born free

(Stay free, where no walls divide you)
You're free as the roaring tide
So there's no need to hide

Born free, and life is worth living
But only worth living
'cause you're born free


hahaha--in all seriousness, he didn't really run off nekkid! Just a little post bathtime cruising around!

Pablo Hiatt

Today I was painting some fan blades and Charlie Mac was bored. I took my paintbrush and made a smudge on the dog food can in the kitchen. I wasn't expecting him to love it because the Crayola "wonder" finger paints had been met with such indifference a couple of weeks ago. WELL--apparently Charlie Mac prefers more classic materials because our little Picasso was taken by the muse and was off on a hunt for more things to bestow with his own brand of beauty....


What to do today.....

what to do....



This is GREATNESS!!!


What else....what else?!?!?

These cabinets could sure use some color....

and this old flower bucket could
definitely use some sprucing up!!

Just hanging around the house

As you can see, Charlie Mac's cabinet holds many wonders....


And he loves turning things like this Brita lid into...

musical instruments!!!

a boy and his dog


walking and chewing his finger...at the same time!!!

Happy Boy

Our trip to Indiana

We went to Indiana right after Christmas (thanks Daddy!) to visit the Hiatt clan up thataway. We had such a great time and I really loved my first real visit to the Midwest. Here are some pics from that trip!


Someone is really enjoying his first grilled cheese at the Chocolate Moose!


Charlie Mac and his Peep


Bathtime!


With his second cousins Amanda and Missy


Bradley and me with Hash and Peep at the Chocolate Moose--I love marshmallow diet coke!

Sweet boy

Some of you may know that Sandy has been ill as of late (she's a lot more comfortable now). A few days ago all she felt like doing was lying on her bed. I guess Charlie Mac sensed that she didn't feel very good. I noticed he was crawling across the room using fists instead of his palms which couldn't have been very comfortable. I watched him beeline for Sandy's bed and thinking that she didn't need to be bothered I walked over to redirect him. Well, he wasn't there to bother, but to help--inside each of his little fists was a marble-sized piece of kibble that he deposited next to her head. I am so thankful that they got to know and love each other.

Toddler granola...

Warning--this post is about making baby food and may be very boring if that's not up your alley...if this is the case, just scroll on down to the picture of our son drooling over his yummy snack.
I am way too excited about this. I was making Charlie Mac some peanut butter balls to have for a snack here and there and I

a) was dismayed that all of the recipes call for a lot of honey to use as a binder and
b) only had half of the honey that was called for.

So--I was feeling good about only using half of the honey (less sugar), but they weren't rolling up right and I was facing a peanut butter ball crisis.
I went a hunting in the fridge thinking I might have some pancake syrup to sub in and really didn't want to (WAY too much sugar and there would go my semi-healthy snack!) when what did I spy with my little eye but good ol applesauce, just waiting to lend a hand. It worked PERFECTLY and next time I am going to use it in place of honey rather than just as a supplement.

It's got nuts, whole grains and fruit AND it's great finger food--not messy and it's smushes for easy swallowing. Woo hoo! It's toddler safe granola!

Here's the original recipe

3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup dry milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 honey
1 tsp. vanilla

mix the dry, add the rest and roll away! I don't know how much applesauce to use, but I would start with 1/4 cup and continue until the consistancy is right. Store in the fridge.
This would be great with older kids who can help or get creative with the stuff. You could make peanut butter bugs and decorate them with raisens and stuff for instance. I also bet any fruit puree would work. I'd rather not use jelly because again, just so much sugar.


"yumyum! I love this so much I'm drooling!"

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Bob Wilson is a very faithful observer of Valentine's Day--nary a year has passed since a 4 year old Augusta admonished him to "go back to the store cause you 'posed to have canny on Ballumtime's" without our receiving sugary goodness in mid-February. This Year Charlie Mac got his own box of chocolates from his grandaddy Bob, and let me tell you--it was a hit! He very meticulously gnawed on each piece to get a good sense of its flavor before returning it to its spot and moving onto the next flavor....





meticulous gnawing....is that really possible? I think this pic proves it....



Today his own daddy brought me flowers and a valentine. He also brought Charlie Mac his own flower and card...how cute!!!


I tried really hard to get him to pose for a precious Valentine's picture, but the next two pictures will make it clear that he hasn't yet discovered his genetic predisposition for the holiday....


OK, well he does look precious here, but look closely and you can see that he's not too impressed...in the next pic he shows his feelings for all this picture posing nonsense...

Happy Valentine's Day and much meticulous gnawing of chocolates to all of you!

Plumage, Bathtime and Caddyshack....

Charlie Mac may have gotten his cowlicks from both sides of his human family, but I've realized that he has inherited "le plume" from our Sandy. See here:





Bathtime yesterday was especially fun because Daddy got into the shampoo fun....






And I will leave you with this amazing impression he does of Caddyshack's Carl Spackler. I tried to catch a good shot, but he's usually very into his impression and won't pose for the camera....

Busy busy boy

Well, it seems that walking has trumped crawling in the order of preference for Master Hiatt. If he is on a mission he may drop down before bolting, but it seems that he'd like to be looking straight ahead for most of those these days as well.
He's also gotten a great grasp of english--at least on the listening end. His great grandparents Charles and Rosalie share with us a great family secret for childhood fun---give over one kitchen cabinet to the babies. This is the best idea ever. If Charlie Mac starts to open the recycle cabinet or tries to open one of the childproofed cabinets, I jsut say "now that's not your cabinet--close it and go to yours" and god bless him he takes his fat little hand and closes the forbidden cabinets and heads for "his" cabinet with absolute glee and triumph! I clap a lot when he does this which I'm sure helps--but it's sincere applause because I know it's got to be hard to pass up the temptation of the recycling bins when your just over a year and a month old! His cabinet is a treasure trove of tupperware, plastic cups, a bin of receipts (his important papers), a giant plastic collander and other delights. When we are finished with our time in the kitchen we "clean up" together and I have to say he is very good at helping put everything away. Of course, he likes to take things out and put them back again and again--but it's a great start!
I've gotten my camera working again and so here a few pics I took tonight of a PB&J supper. Note his new cup witha straw that he loves.
Take care!
love, elizabeth

story time

The Iddle is quite the talker these days...just not in English (or any other previously heard language). The lyrical linguistics of Iddlese range from the gutteral to the chirping, with many varied hand getures peppered throughout. I can't wait for the moments where he starts rolling on a subject that will forever remain unknown save for it's nature. He will be very serious with his little brow furrowed, or laugh in between rasberries and "mumumus" to convey a more lighthearted scene. Once he even twirled his hands continuously from above his head to his "waist" while making very musical sounds and I want to swear it was interpretive dance....I wonder where he gets this from....I'll have to get his dad to show him some of his more creative moves from "back in the day." I truly hope mine remain in fuzzy memory.
He's walking so well these days---crossing rooms with a look of giddy triumph on his little face---and we feel like he's won the Olympics every time.
I am being summoned with something that sounds like "dwa hop dup hoo" so, until next time, hip hip dwa doo to you!

Old Posts from MySpace

I've gone through and found some old posts from my myspace blog to get the ball rolling on this one. There are a lot more on that page, but these are the ones relating to Charlie Mac.



Friday, July 21, 2006


I am a feeble and moronic monster, yet....
Current mood: ditzy
Category: Life

I have apparently gone deaf, except I seem to be able to hear the slightest sound from my baby. I am constantly saying "what?" and sometimes a sleepy "huh?" constantly to any adults, yet when he merely murmers, my heart speeds up, my ears perk and my muscles tense--ready for action ("cat-like" you might say).

I have apparently become challenged, except I can expertly translate a language that I have never taken a single class in, that in fact has no translation book available: Babynese. I can't compute what I want to eat, wear, bathe or say, yet I know that what sounds like babble, gasps, facial expressions, giggles, and piercing wails are actually quite complex descriptions of physical and psychological events.

I have developed amnesia, except I can remember with alarming detail the digestive diary of a certain 6.5 month old from beginning to end. I know this because I can't seem to EVER remember what I was "about to say" or why I have entered a different room, yet....wait, I'll spare you that part.

I have lost my personality, except I am apparently the most charming, funny, clairvoyant, brilliant and in fact omnipotent person in the world according to my child. I stand/sit/lie still often with a blank look on my face, yet I seem to be endlessly entertaining to this not-yet-quadraped.

I have become emotionally weak, except I have the patience of Job. I cry, snap, stomp, crack up, "fall apart" at the slightest hint of tonal change in my sweet husband's voice, yet I can come up with an endless assortment of animals in Old MacDonald's barnyard despite of (and in fact because of) an accompanyment of piercing wails (which, depending upon tone, can mean frustration, boredom, sleepyness or hunger) with a smile on my face and wipey in hand.

I have no physical strength, yet I seem to require no sleep. I cannot make myself get up to go for a walk, yet when there's noise at night (be it baby, husband, cat or dog) I seem to be able to float from my bed to solve whatever may be causing it.

I am as selfish as they get, except I give of myself with joy. I entertain thoughts of changing the locks or even physical violence when I find my longed-for leftovers eaten by someone else, yet I am in fact happy to send quite a large portion of my caloric and nutritional intake in a time and strength consuming process to provide for a growing 21.8 pound precious.

I am a feeble and moronic monster, except I'm a mom.

Please add to this with your own Mom "I am _____, except_____" experiences--be they yours or someone elses!

Love,
Lizzie, LP, DB, Bee, Elizabeth, Wait--who am I?

p.s. I can't believe I wanted twins!
p.p.s. and we want to have 4!


Monday, October 30, 2006


self feeding, iddle style
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Food and Restaurants

Charlie Mac is reaching the point where if he isn't feeding himself, he's ticked about it. Since I'm a bit psycho scared of him choking, I want to be sure that he is eating smushy stuff--but healthy.
WELL--I came up with this today and I want to share it with any other mamas or friends of babies out there--

Fruit and Rice Bites

Make rice cereal (I grind organic brown rice in a coffee grinder and add it to boiling water), but boil it in 1/2 water, 1/2 fruit juice instead of all water, using a little less liquid than usual to make it thicker.

Then refridgerate it.

Once it's cool you can put out little pieces that the baby can pick up and feed themselves while you get bites of pureed whatever in between.

I'm going to try it with sodium free veggie stock too and I bet it would work with chicken stock (sodium free) too, but we're holding off on the meat for now. This might work with grits too--haven't tried it though--to save you the whole grinding business.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006


another baby recipe
Category: Food and Restaurants

same as before with the rice or grits--but make them in ALL apple juice with no water--then mix in some vanilla yogurt. Charlie Mac acted like it was the best thing he'd ever eaten in his whole little life.

Friday, November 10, 2006


great podcast
Category: Podcast

I can't tell you how much I reccommend the Pediacast podcast. I love it as much as I love the Manic Mommies podcast (http://www.manicmommies.com/) It is full of great information that is all very well backed up with studies, statistics, etc. Dr. Mike himself is very pleasant to listen to and if we didn't love our Dr. Ramsey so much I would wish he lived here. The episode I listened to today cleared up any questions I personally had about immunizations....no fear mongering here!
So, if you have children in your life, head on over to http://www.pediascribe.com/ or iTunes and have a listen...it's free and SO informative! Also--they are all about an hour long, so it's a great way to make a nap time walk fly by!


Wednesday, November 29, 2006


growing pains
Current mood: thankful

As I find myself dicing instead of pureeing, rocking more than nursing, following more than holding, talking instead of cooing I realize that we are leaving babyhood. Gradual as everything in Nature--it's slipping up fast on me. I look so forward to his growth; discovering his sense of humor, what he'll be into, etc. but oh how I will miss this! Sweet baby breath, toothless gums, barely there hair, the sighs of a baby's voice that fade into memories with the laughter and opinions of a toddler.
I treasure these moments --taking a little extra time to hold him after he falls asleep before he doesn't need me to rock him to sleep anymore, considering his weight a happy burden when I carry him before he won't let me anymore, smile while brushing his little gums and teeth for him before he takes the brush and does more than rub it on his little lips in an attempt to be "so big."
There is so much joy in Charlie Mac's discovery of this world and I am happy to be riding shotgun as "navigator" with Bradley right now. I know we will be relegated to the role of "backseat driver" before we know it. His new questioning look to one of us as he sees something he hasn't before blows my mind, and someday soon he's going to answer those questions on his own--I hope he does anyway.
He'll always be The Iddle to me though.

Friday, December 15, 2006


babies and peanut butter
Current mood: relieved
Category: Food and Restaurants

Am I the only new mama out there who has had a fear of peanuts-or anything that has ever touched anything that has ever touched peanuts---firmly planted into her mind? I am so glad that I finally researched a little more about when he CAN have peanut butter instead of what will happen to him if I jumped the gun. He can have both peanut butter AND honey after his first birthday since there is no history of food allergy in either of his parents' families. Bring on the PB and J!!!! Woo hoo!

That said--I'm still going to be holding my breath listening to his the first few times he has it.

Saturday, January 06, 2007


What a difference a year makes...
Current mood: happy
Category: Life

When The Idlle was 6 months old, a friend (Kim) very correctly said that was the age where babies really turn "from pet to person." Now I am trying to figure out how to describe the explosion that happens at around a year. It is nothing short of fantastic to see this little fella's personality really start to develop. I wonder if "super nova" is going overboard...

He is now striving and succeeding to be a force to be reckoned with in this world. His efforts to express himself are obvious--as can be his frustration whn nobody seems to get what he's trying to say. We've started teaching him some signs to help and he seems to be getting them. We also started looking for the ones that he's seemed to make up himself--I say that like it's rocket science, but they are pretty obvious and the difference is that we are now noticing and responding to them For example--now when he raises his arms up for a moment when he wants to be lifted out of his high chair, I lift mine too and say "want to get out?" So he's learning to do that for more than a moment instead of hollering in frustration. We'll see how it works out.

Now for the "gag me" moment:

Today he did the cutest thing--Bradley went to work and Charlie Mac wasn't too thrilled about his leaving--this is normal, but it was about 15 minutes later that he went over to the door and was trying to open it by reaching with all his might to the door knob looking over at me with his eyebrows raised saying "Da?" SO FLIPPING SWEET. I think I'll pack him into his stroller with some blankets and walk over to the restaurant for some coffee in a while.

Saturday, January 06, 2007


FIRST STEPS!!!!
Current mood: indescribable
Category: Life

Charlie Mac took his first steps tonight!!!! Bradley and I were watching the Cowboys game and I was sitting on the couch, Bradley in his chair and Charlie Mac was standing holding my knee--he just let go and took two steps to his daddy and then turned around and took two steps back to me! We were just stunned looking at him, then each other, then at him, then at each other. The Iddle was unphased by this momentous moment and began to play his toy piano.
:grin:

By the second half he had tried a few more times and made it up to 4 steps!

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Easy and Yummy Baby Food Recipe--Butternut Squash
Current mood: happy
Category: Food and Restaurants

I would serve this as a side dish to grown ups with a little salt!

1 Butternut Squash
1 Tbs Butter
1/4 c plain yogurt (+/- depending upon your own taste)
1/4 c chopped pecans or walnuts if your baby is old enough (1 year +)

Preheat the oven to 350
Split the squash and place cut side up in a baking dish
Coat with butter
Bake for 30-45 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork

Scoop out the squash into a mixing bowl and add your yogurt and pecans
I mash it a little with a potato masher first and then use a handheld blender until it's smooth.

I just made about 20 ounces with no added water--that's at least 30 ounces of jarred baby food and it cost me under 5 dollars. If it were jarred, he would get hungrier faster, it wouldn't taste as good or be as fresh and would have cost me over 10 with tax.

February 1, 2007

Well, to update on those posts, Charlie Mac is officially a lover of all things relating to peanut butter, proving that he did inherit something from me. Oh, and I still love pediacast and manic mommies!