Vacation time practice

One thing the boy has to do everyday at school is trace his name.  I thought with two weeks off, he'd need to practice not to lose it.

Christmas was a bit overwhelming for the little one.  So many presents, and he wanted to open more and more.

He's becoming quite the domestic

Family game

one the the boy's favorite phrases.

After a half hour running up and down a hill after a pine cone, the boy's legs no longer worked.

We went to see Santa

and while we waited he got to play with some toys the store was flogging.  He's not quite old enough for a remote control car, but he enjoyed it anyway.

And his Christmas dream already came true, and he got to ride in a bunch of ATVs.

Little Helper

He was very insistent on carrying the laundry up the stairs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, a little late. He had a Fall Feast for Thanksgiving.  I made a bunch of tiny pumpkin pies, which only the adults ate, and baby only at the whipped cream off of.

His whole class did a little Turkey themed dance that I taped, but it's two minutes of the kid standing still while the rest of the class dances the hokey pokey. 

Fall random stuff

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Handing out treats to other kids.

Playing with Daddy in the leaves soon to be composted.

Looking a bit like Granddad in cowboy boots.

Replacing boots with a box his new toy/shampoo came in.

Trunk or Treat or Further proof that our kid might be a cat

Our ward had a trunk or treat and chili pot luck.  We'd gotten baby a batman costume and he actually wore it!  Afterwards, people were cleaning up with baby's "help".

And later that night, we were playing with a favorite toy: foam puzzles pieces. They can make a mat, or cubes, or towers. or just matching one piece to another.  Baby found a new way to play with them.

Fall Festival 2018

We went to the same fall festival/pumpkin patch we went to last year, and had almost as much fun.  There wasn't the same bouncy obstacle course that baby loved some much, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Here's baby in the petting zoo with a very friendly goat.  It would stick it's head out of the grid for the kids to pet, and sometimes stretch it's neck backwards in a crazy cartoon fashion. 

First snow fall

He just gets me with that damned bear peeking out of his back pack.

He helped daddy clean off our cars and then wanted to help the community by cleaning off our neighboor's cars. 

A giant pile of steaming...

arborist wood chips

We signed up with a website that coordinates with local arborists to bring their woodchips to people like me that want to use them in the garden.  Supposedly, chips make great compost, slowly releasing nutrients into the soil while making a good home for good bugs and suppressing weeds.

It took a couple weeks for the load to come, but when it did, the truck filled my driveway.  I moved some of it myself to the back yard, but there was still a pile at least the size of my car left over.  Andrew hired some of our favorite teenagers to come by and help move the rest.  

I think baby bear looks like an 80's preteen scifi movie boy, with the outfit, backpack, and face mask.  So cute.  Watching him bustle around make me smile for the first time in a long time.

Apple picking

I went onto a neighborhood website to see if anyone had any fruit trees they were willing to have a stranger denude, and found two.  The first house had little green apples, and I got two giant buckets.  Later in the week, baby, hubby and I went to another home and picked 4 giant buckets.

So I've been canning like crazy to prepare for the coming apocalypse. 

I'm cute!!

Arch and I went to a giant consignment sale over the weekend.  They had people dressed as his favorite cartoon characters, so naturally we had to invite a few friends along.  Yes, they all had costumes, we did not.  But we got to borrow a lab coat, like one of the villains in the cartoon has, and he also wore his little hat and carried around one of the cars.  When it came to see the people, however, he became a whirling dirvish of panic.

We got a back pack that was actually his size at the sale, and he has decided it is a perfect toy holder. 

Here he is, saying "Cute!" I got it on video but have no clue how to download it.

A childhood milestone.

two skinned knees.

5 years and chicken

Together five years this week.  the celebration came in two waves: a little dinner and fun times at home, and then on the Saturday:

A hike in a Jefferson County open space.

Baby insisted on taking turns pushing the stroller, both fun and frustrating for us.

We went to dinner at a local hot spot for fried chicken.  They have a fun play area in the front with a tree house, a jungle gyms, a picture you can join in on, and best of all a digging machine.

One lever pulls the bucket up and down, while the other pulls the whole arm up.  The second arm turned out to be the favorite part.  Arch cried out with amazement when he realized it.  He was very upset when, after he'd walked away to play with Daddy, another small boy took a turn.

GBBO lowdown 2018 - a self indulgent post

The latest season of GBBO is now over.  Will it come back next year?  Only the BBC and PBS know for sure.  I had a great time baking along with the contest.  Thanks to the internets and PBS website, I knew basically what they would make for the three challenges per episode.  Then Andrew and I, or a couple friends and I would enjoy the bake while we watch the bake.

Week one: Cake - peach and cherry

Week two: Bread - 4 strand challah braid

Week three: Tarts - creme pat with cherry curd

Week four: Dessert - meringue with whipped cream and berries




Week five: Pies - Cherry, plum, and apricot pie

Week six: Pudding - pear strudel

Week seven: Sweet dough - cinnamon rolls  (I didn't get a picture)

Week eight: Biscuit - cream biscuits

Week nine: Patisserie - Gateau St. Honore

Week ten: Finale - Pithivier with chocolate creme pat and frangipan

He's no longer all mine

We've been waiting all summer for preschool.  I had thought that baby would go to a local preschool run by a local church, or private person a couple days a week once he was old enough.  But his speech delay means he needs extra attention.  Fortunately, our school district offers free preschool for children that need that extra attention.

It took until the second day for me to realize the commitment I'm in for.  EVERYDAY (well, four days a week) i gotta load this kid in the car and schlep him the 3 miles each way.  There is an elementary school just two blocks from our home, but they didn't have a spot for baby, alas.

Because Andrew took the day off from work, we had sometime in the afternoon, too.

Andrew and baby built a giant compost bin out of pallets.  After all this, I had to go out and get baby his own set of power "tools".  

Three years in

It’s our little guy’s birthday.  I have been thinking all day about that day, what happened Mindy by minute.  For example, it’s now 8:10pm.  I was laying in the recovery area, supervised by a nurse, being spoon fed watery ice.

He’s almost a big kid now and it blows my mind.

First, we had cupcakes for just the three of us.

Baby helped me clean up the garden a little.

And the next morning, we invited some of the kids from his nursery at church to join us (me and baby) at the park for cupcakes, and popsicles. 

Since he didn't express any particular interest in a theme, I chose a favorite cartoon.  Notice the cheesy hat, and napkins i'm holding.

Andrew made a little game, a box with cups embedded.  Each cup is filled with toys (in this case, they were from the same cartoon) and then covered with tissue paper.  The little kids thought punching the tissue paper was the best part.  I realized that it was just a smaller version of a pinata, a great party favorite in our house.

When I was handing out the popsicles, when the sun finally came out and it warmed up dramatically, some random kids came along asking for popsicles as well.  I don't think they realized that we were having a party, but luckily i'd brought plenty.  Since temporary tattoos are also a favorite, I gave one to each kid, even the kids that didn't know the cartoon.  Baby loves to show off his tattoos to anyone and everyone.

Summer in the city and paztry in the country

Our town has a series of mini carnivals throughout the summer.  Baby and i went to the one by us.  Here he is learning to hit a golf "ball".

On GBBO, it was pie week.  I did make a pie to share with friends, stone fruits, even though the Brits think American pies are digusting (they belabored that point- eye roll).  I was going to make a beef wellington, but Andrew has been sick.  Here's baby helping me make the puff pastry.

Merry meringue

Firstly, it was dessert week.  I'd had a lot of custard this week in tart form, so opted not to make cream caramel.  So i made single serve meringues, as a simplified version of the layered meringue cake the bakers made.

They're light, very sweet, creamy especially with whipped cream on top.

Our little guy has a speech delay.  While i carry a heavy weight of guilt because of it, I've tried to take advantage of the tools available.  He's had speech therapy through a federal program (thanks, fellow tax payers) for 18 months, and here's hoping it's not a program to be cut from the federal budget. 

Now that he's almost 3, he will be entering school district territory. I can't believe it's already time to start preschool.