Tag + Thumb = Baby Bliss

Baby "K" started sucking his thumb around three months of age.  Mr. Fixit and I were quite ok with this, because a thumb in a baby's mouth means quiet, or more importantly - no crying.  We were both quite thankful for that fact, and a thumb can not be lost, unlike the pacifier.

The newest development in the thumb sucking department has been the addition of a tag.  Baby "K" wears a bib nearly all day, due to the large amounts of drool associated with teething.  So, he has discovered that his bib usually has a tag on the left side.  He sucks his left thumb, so this is perfect.  Baby "K" will grab the tag with his left hand and stick it in his mouth.  It is an interesting sight!  So, here is a pic of the tag and thumb together.

My Mentors

The career that I have is always interesting, and a dull moment simply does not exist.  We deal with some difficult stuff, and as the only professional of my type in my county, sometimes it can get a bit lonely.  When I entered this profession, I was assigned several mentors.  One of my assigned mentors is in the left of this photo.

I have also selected some additional mentors, and one of my picks is in the photo, on the right.  The fact is this: I could not be successful without mentors to offer advice and assistance. Thanks ladies for making a positive difference in my life!

Tasty Table

Getting teeth must be quite the painful process, I have decided.  Drool is constant, along with a runny nose, swollen gums and well, lots of other things that just make sleeping, playing and eating without fussing next to impossible!

Baby "K" really likes the Oak coffee table in our living room.  He has started to pull himself up, by grabbing onto the table.  First before he pulls himself to a standing position, he takes a little gnaw to make sure the table is sturdy.  I hold my breath, because I am not really certain that I am ready for the tooth-mark finish that is likely inevitable!  Mr. Fixit says that we can sand it and refinish it some day - with Baby "K," helping, of course, since he designed that now permanent engravings =)

Corn Mash

Our KARL class had quite the adventure, as we trekked through the Ethanol plant, located in Garden City, Kansas.  Did you know that ethanol can be created from Milo or Corn?  The plant has two silos, one to hold milo and one for corn.  However, corn was in action the day we visited.

Grain trucks deliver the dry (or mostly dry) grain.  The grain is unloaded into storage silos.  The ethanol process begins when grain and water are added to a mash machine.  The mixture is heated and mixed to begin the fermentation process.  The plant definitely has a very yeasty smell, due to the fermentation process.

The mixture moves from mash mixers to fermentators and eventually out of the plant.  The ethanol is extracted, and a very, bright, hot, moldable mixture remains.  This is referred to as distillers grain.  This photo shows a close up shot of the grain.  It looks almost like Play-Doh!  This bi-product is hauled, by another truck, to some very hungry cattle.  Tasty?

On the Move

Baby "K" is officially part of the moving world - he started crawling across the daycare living room floor around November 10!  All the kids at daycare, were quite the cheering fans.  They would continue to move toys farther away from him, to get "K" to crawl further.  I told Mr. Fixit that the tv remote is no longer safe!  For some reason, this is his favorite!

Hay Wall

Running a dairy operation with 14,000 mouths to feed takes a lot of hay.  Let me say it again, A LOT of hay!  This is just one row of hay.  I called it a "Hay Wall."  The hay is part of the feed rations for cows at Royal Farms Dairy.  Lots of roughage = lots of good producing milk cows.

The bales are larger than the hay bales that we had on our farm growing up.  We just had the traditional round bales, and Dad would move them with the tractor fork.  I am not exactly sure how these are moved.  I did not get to witness the action, but I am sure the cows run right up to the bale when it arrives in their lot!  I think the commodities location was my favorite part of my tour to Royal Farms.  It was such fun to see the different types of foodstuffs for the bovines!

Last Call

Last call was announced at about seven months, and Baby "K" was the "Last Call" designator!  We gradually went from about five feedings a day down to one, and eventually, none.  So, this is the last remaining drink of milk.  Baby "K" drank it quickly, and then enjoyed a snack of some applesauce!

Mentee & Mentor

The best thing about my career is the people - families that we interact with, and witness the growth of so many young people.  It is very magical!  Another good people benefit, is the connection that is established between us agents.  We have each other's back, and support one another through rough stuff.

This picture is pretty cool for several reasons.  We all are ready to celebrate the accomplishments of our peers, and this picture has two mentees and two mentors.  Marvelous!  One of the most meaningful things we do is develop people, and let me tell you, these three ladies next to me are superb leaders and dynamite people.  Thanks for being excellent co-workers, and friends!

Eight Months

Can you believe it has been 8 months?  It seems like the days just fly by, and I often wonder what I will miss on my next work trek out of town.  This month was also marked with some new tricks, but mostly, Baby "K" is getting more practiced at some of the "old" tricks.  Here are some highlights:

*Crawling!  This began the day before his eighth month officially started.
*Transferring toys from one hand to another.
*Babbling with you, and trying to answer your question with a babble.
*Sitting up in bed.
*Bathtime in the big bathtub.
*New food tastes.
*Sleeping through the night -- on most nights. =)

100,000

I am amazed at how fast the miles seem to fly by on the odometer!  It seemed like just yesterday that I walked to the small car lot near my city house, and drove my new-to-me used car home --- with almost 50,000 miles.  That was about 4 years ago, and look at where we are now!

This car has seen me through lots of life changes including dating, marriage, moving, friendships and a baby.  Who knew four years ago, that this would all happen.  Life is full of surprises!  I thought I would share this mile marker, and I pray that mile markers are also blessing your life!

Ladies Parlour

A milking parlor built for 60?  Hard to believe - but check it out.  Sixty ladies enter this parallel parlor - thirty on each side.  Each cow has her section to stand, while five busy gentlemen bustle through the parlor below.  The 60 girls are milked in under 5 minutes - that means there is no time to chat!

My KARL class took a tour of Royal Farms Dairy, located in rural area outside of Garden City.  This dairy milks 6,000 cows per day.  This means that about 14,000 cows call this location home, as not all are wet cows.  The dairy operation milks 24 hours per day, and the milkers work a 12 hour shift.  Three milk tankers are filled per day.  That is lots of dairy, folks!

Not only is there action in the parlor, but there is lots of action in the pens too.  As each pen of 500 girls heads to the parlor, other farm workers clean pens, harrow, haul hay, feed and countless other necessary tasks.  All so America can have a delicious glass of milk, ice cream, tasty cheese and countless other dairy products!

Baby Cousin "H"

Baby "K" has yet to meet this little guy, but I did get a chance to run home to become acquainted with my newest nephew.  He is already one month old -- where did the time go??  He is still quite teeny, and super laid back.  My Sis has to work hard to keep him awake to eat!  Quite different from my little guy!

I am curious to see what will happen when Baby "K" does meet his new cousin.  Thanksgiving will certainly be a time for connecting and being thankful for all these blessings we have received this year!

Electrical Energy

My first official session with KARL was held in Garden City, Kansas.  This bustling metropolis is located approximately five hours from my home.  A number of my classmates and I made the trek with two vehicles across the state.  One of our stops was Sunflower Electric - located in Holcomb, Kansas.

This is a coal fire plant.  In a simplified description, the plant converts dry coal into electricity for a vast portion of the central and western portions of Kansas.  The plant is immaculately clean -- not a spec of dust could be found on the floors (all 12, mind you) nor any of the equipment pieces either.  The company is quite cognizant of taking care of the environment.  The only emissions to come from the tall stack? -- water vapor.  Amazing!

This photo is a peek into one of the generators, through a special welding glass.  The internal temp is at about 2,500 degrees.  The process is absolutely incredible, and this company is determined to provide safe, reliable energy for years to come.

Celebrate!

Once a year, we have the opportunity to congratulate our peers for fantastic work.  I love that night!  We provide flowers, cake and dress up in honor of our co-workers.  The banquet is exquisite, and this year's did not disappoint -- the decorations were magnificent, and the food was splendid.

This work we do is hard to explain.  Sometimes gratitude is not present, and glory is seeing kids achieve and make a difference.  So, in honor of all the agents and specialists out there - thanks for what you do, and most of all congrats Kansas winners!  I am proud of you!!

Man and Little Man at Work

The time has come to construct some baby gates for the custom built openings in our living room because Baby "K" will soon be crawling!  Right now he has become quite adept at rolling around, but the speed is about to pick up.  I am sure of it!  In the meantime, he is intently learning how to use a drill. =)

Mr. Fixit is building some plywood barriers to keep Baby "K" in our living room.  They will be quite cool, because they will slide in and out of the tracks that he is constructing in this photo.  So, I could not resist taking a picture of our little guy watching his Daddy engineer some gates to keep him in!

Corn Harvest

Recently we went for a visit to see Mr. Fixit's brother - a farmer!  One of the crops that he grows is corn.  My family farms too, but it is way too dry for corn - so this was quite the treat.  I rode on the combine to collect a binful of corn.  We made it around the field only once.  The process was quite breathtaking!

Mr. Fixit's brother said that this is his favorite crop to harvest.  I would have to agree because you can see the ears going into the thresher, and you can see the corn pouring out into the bin behind the driver's seat.  I love all the action!  This year the corn was yielding about 130 bushels per acre -- and that was for dryland corn.  Amazing!

Lions & Tigers & Bears -- Oh My!

The weather was absolutely perfect for Halloween 2011 - "unbelievable" as Mr. Fixit would say!  The temps were in the 50's-60's, and the night was calm and still.  Perfect for all the cute kiddos to tour around the city in search of delicious treats!

I dressed up as a candy corn - thank you very much Sis #2 for all your costume construction magic - and I dressed Baby "K" as a little lion.  Also, thank you Sis #2 for your craftsmanship on that costume!  We hung out with my good friends "D" and "W" and handed out candy corn.  I couldn't resist!!

Here is a pic of the ensemble.  We had a wonderful night!  Thank you for letting us borrow your house, and hand out treats to about 40 some kids!

Roooaaarrrr!

While Halloween, has come, and gone -- I have been a bit busy, so blog posts have sorta been on the back burner.  This was a week of three nights of work, and the weekend is a busy one too - in the work arena.  So, Happy Halloween - a bit late!  We did not go trick-or-treating, but did enjoy dressing up!

Baby "K's" daycare look included a halloween shirt - complete with orange and white stripes AND glow in the dark picture of a baby, wrapped up like a mummy.  The shirt, appropriately, read: "I love my Mummy!  It was quite the store bargain, for only a couple of bucks, and I do believe - we will wear it again.  The look was completed with a pair of black pants and orange, green and white socks.  Perfect!

Speaking of socks, I so think someone should develop more baby socks that actually stay on the baby's feet.  Lots of feet kicking and pulling of socks results in barefoot babies!  Well, that is a whole other post. Enjoy this beautiful fall weather!

Little Pumpkin

Baby "K" got an early Halloween gift - Halloween JAMMIES!!!!  He received two pair from our good friend BH, and boy, they sure are super cute!  I couldn't resist posing him with a small pumpkin on pajama day for daycare.  Baby "K" got to hang out in his new, super soft and very cute Halloween jammies for the day.  He even took a very good nap that afternoon.  I think we are going to wear his other pair this week.  After all, the whole month is in preparation of Halloween, so we will celebrate by dressing up in warm jammies!

Cousin & Baby "K"

I love going to visit family!  We are blessed to have wonderful family members on both sides.  Recently our "Seven Summer Guests," aka, heifers were collected by Mr. Fixit's brother.  His youngest daughter came along for the ride.  We had decided to head north to visit Grandma for the day, so she decided to travel with us too!

We enjoyed having another passenger, and Baby "K" enjoyed having a face to play with in the backseat on the drive too.  Grandma made a delicious lunch, and we all caught up on the latest happenings back home.  I can't think of a more perfect Sunday afternoon!