Milestones for the boys

Shiny new super cub
Papa Paul and crew hauled the wings and fuselage down to Lake Hood and assembled the new cub last weekend! She's now tied down next to the rest of the fleet. Our garage feels like an empty skating rink after years of this airplane (and associated accessories) clogging things up. Finishing up the fabric on the flaps and ailerons this weekend, with a possible test flight by next weekend! (Ski for women girls: if you look closely you can see some of our sunflower glitter in the paint job!)


End of the boob and the binky
As of Coal's 15 month birthday (6 April) we officially weaned from breastfeeding and a week later banned the pacifier. Honestly, the 'pacifier before bed-time' seemed to be the hardest part to give up. We usually only let him have a binky to get to sleep, then went in and took it out after he had gone down. But, I didn't like having him dependent on anything. So, after a couple of initial rough nights, he now seems to have largely forgotten about it. It takes him a little longer to get himself to sleep, but it's worth it. Overall, the transition has resulted in increased cuddling time with mama (hurray!) and that seems to have taken the place of pre- and post-sleeping breastfeeding and pacifier needs.

The old days...

The new days...

Another coincident change that added in the transition came over the past 2 months, when we started the weaning process by increasing the quantities of non-breastmilk (and solid food options). Luckily, this happened to be about the time I connected with a local goat-milk producer and started buying a gallon a week of fresh goat milk, feta, and cheddar. "Lunachick Mountain Goat Shares" has teamed up with our local organic food co-op to provide a great alternative to cows milk. Coal seems to love the milk and feta, I feel good about supporting local ag (plus the goat business is owned by another new mom), and I get to avoid experimenting with cow's milk and whether or not Coal is allergic to dairy (as I am). Below are Lunachick's newest additions, which she brings to the co-op pick-ups to share with member's kids (no pun intended).
Coal's not the only one experiencing milestones. Over the past couple weeks, we've also gotten a little time in with friends Harlan and mom Karen Loso. Great to see the boys both walking (congrats Harlan!) and actually interacting together. They're growing up so fast!...as are their mom's!