Gourmet FAIL

So there's still one parfait in the fridge, because Cayden was more interested in playing with his, than eating it. He got a few bites down, but Mama ate most of this one after scraping it off the tray and highchair.




But he really enjoyed all the other new recipes from this weekend!

A new phase of baby food

I gotta tell ya: cooking for a nine month old is way, way more exciting than cooking for a six month old.

Where we used to simply roast and puree to a silky-smooth texture appealing to new a palate, now we actually season, experiment and cook.

This afternoon I made some meals for Cayden so delicious sounding, Dad and I are actually eating baby food tonight. Or at least food made from recipes in Cooking for Baby, my new favorite cookbook.

Doesn't toasted barley with mushrooms and garlic, creamy asparagus risotto and potato-squash stew sound wonderful? We're having the barley with mushrooms alongside our pork and spinach tonight, after Chicken goes to bed; the three of us will share the asparagus risotto on Sunday. Mmmmm.

(Now Cayden has had a tiny bit of asparagus before, but I must admit I'm very curious to see if a dinner with a lot of asparagus will make his diaper smell like asparagus pee. Who knew having your own baby could be a personal science experiment at times?)

At nine months a whole new world of possibilities opens up, as we can now introduce cheese and yogurt into the mix. So dinners that used to be simply a pureed veggie with some ground turkey as finger food, now become more gourmet meals involving things like edamame-yogurt-parsley spread, goat cheese and roasted red pepper dip and all sorts of new ideas using beans!

Oh, and for dessert tonight? Cayden will try a ricotta-blackberry parfait, infused with a little cinnamon and nutmeg. And Mama will enjoy the other one. And how perfect do our little three-ounce Brewfest mugs work for baby parfaits?! Considering they've been collecting dust in our cabinet for almost two years, I'm glad to have discovered a new purpose for them.

Nine Months

Can't wait for group tomorrow (it's been way too long), to chat with the girls and Mary, and to see how much Chicken weighs at nine months old.

Only major news at this birthday is that we're packing up the swing this weekend. Monday morning Mama strapped the Chicken in the swing for a few minutes while she got dressed, and Daddy discovered the boy moments later, hanging forward out of the swing, the straps holding on for dear life not to tear out of the apparatus and release the baby headfirst onto the floor. Cayden was reaching for a toy below the swing, and apparently threw the balance completely off, thereby dangling himself from the nearly inverted seat for a minute or two. One scare was enough for us, so into the attic goes the swing.

A couple of photos from today, and a video from earlier this week...

Showing off the new, rocker hair-do we discovered works so well for the boy:


And showing off the sock/shoes Grammy got him for his nine-month birthday:


And here is Mr. Grabby hands, who now gets a real kick out of squeezing parts of your face as hard as he can, to get an "owie" reaction. I'm sure this is exactly what we're NOT supposed to be doing (encouraging him to squeeze, hurt, entertain himself through rough play), but his laughs get us every time, and we can't help but play along.

Mini Super Hero

I'm feeling just a little bit super-hero today, after not just making it through the past week and a half, but actually scoring some pretty satisfying personal and professional achievements along the way.

First, the professional ones: I made it through an extremely busy, full week of work last week, planning 'til my head hurt and cranking out pages and pages of PR work. Felt fantastic to be valued as an integral member of the team. All that work culminated in three successful events yesterday (hello, media blitz!), and a personal wish from the Governor to have a safe trip home from Philly. Nice touch.

On a personal level, not only did I succeed each day last week in pumping enough milk for Chicken's following day, but I raised the pumping bar on Monday. Two pumps at work before departing for Philly, then two pumps in the car on the turnpike. My hooter hider (super hero cape for the nursing mom?) covered up the hands-free arrangement beautifully, and although output was a little lower yesterday afternoon (since I couldn't massage the girls while pumping), I made it home safe and sound with a cooler of milk for the following day.

And, knock on wood, we may be out of the biting woods. Last week was tough, because Cayden bit me just about every time I offered him the boob: when I got home from work, before bed, first thing in the morning. I tried a number of tricks: reacting, not reacting; walking away from him, sternly scolding him. Never resorted to nose flicking, but I gave it my all otherwise. I started to doubt myself and became very frustrated with Cayden, knowing he couldn't understand the pressure and stress he put on me, but resenting him a little bit for it, nonetheless. I mean, here I was, trying everything under the sun to make pumping easier for me so I can continue to provide for him. Then when I got home and could take advantage of the beautiful and natural way nursing is supposed to happen, my son's repeated bites just made me sad and angry.

I don't know what happened, but suddenly Saturday morning, Cayden stopped biting. Hasn't bit me since Friday, and oh how I love nursing him again. Win-win, here.

We also loved our weekend away, which brought its own small victories. Planning and packing mindfully enough that we didn't forget anything we couldn't fix on the fly. OK, so we forgot Chicken's ENTIRE COOLER OF FOOD, but we found a supermarket and resorted to organic store-bought jars in a pinch. I succeeded in holding it together as the only Mama to bring her baby to Erin's baby shower on Saturday, perhaps even looking graceful doing it, at times.

Balancing on five-inch heels while bouncing a 24-pound baby slung to my hip? You bet I can.

Lactivist I am not, but we did opt to enjoy the entire shower using the Hooter Hider, rather than sneak away to another room to nurse. That was the first time I breastfed in front of a group of people that included gals I didn't know (outside BF group, where support is kind of inherent) and that could have included some people uncomfortable with nursing in public. But Erin is planning to breastfeed, so I figured I'd go ahead and make my mini-statement. My baby was fed, and I got to explain my present as Erin opened it. Double score.

We also celebrated the small victory of travelling just over two hours in a car, without so much as a single cry on the way to D.C. Cayden's patience ran out sooner on the way home, but it's amazing what a calming effect Mama moving to the back seat and plying the baby with apple pieces and mango puffs has.

So there it is, the past week-plus that inspired some gratifying "yeah, I can juggle it all" confidence.

OK, so my floors did NOT get cleaned this past week, but I'm ok with that. Because a full, rich life is all about striking a balance among work, family and friends. And sometimes chores have to be put on the back burner to enjoy the important stuff.

Now, if only I could convince Chicken to sleep in past 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, so I could perhaps catch up on sleep myself.

Puppy Love

Someone here sure likes puppies. Or at least the gentle Mr. Bixby, the first little dog Cayden has had opportunity to meet.




We had a wonderful overnight trip to Alexandria to celebrate Mike and Erin's baby-to-be. Chicken was a lamb at the shower (after one meltdown I thought would ruin bringing him to adult parties in the future; until I realized he had somehow jammed an entire container of Cheerios in his mouth at one time, then topped that off with an animal cracker, all of which sucked up his saliva like a sponge, leaving the poor unhappy kid with a mouthful of cement he couldn't move in or out), and he napped and slept in the pack-n-play like a champ. It was wonderful to spend the afternoon and evening with friends, reminiscing over the joys and minor annoynaces of pregnancy and sharing our experiences as new parents. Much needed laughter with friends we don't see enough. We're so excited to welcome the newest member of our Nittany Lion family of friends at the end of June!

A few more before & after pics

The deck when we moved in:


The deck now:



Our "yard" last week:


Our yard-in-the-making:

Money well spent

Before: The front of our house included an overgrown rock garden, a mess of a lawn that was half-regular grass and half soiza grass, truckloads of rocks lining the sidewalk, two half-dead butterfly bushes of some kind, dead pine trees intertwined in the cable and phone wires and a goofy, overgrown terrace garden built out of 4x4s.

We spent a weekend moving, transplanting and giving away all the rocks, flowers and plants worth salvaging, which left us with this on Sunday afternoon.



Fast forward to today, and here is the beautiful landscape we have now: a regular, blessed lawn in the making. And a perfect first sledding hill for a 1.5 year old next winter.



The far side of the driveway is even more impressive of a change, but Blouch's hadn't finished seeding that when I snapped a few pics. In fact, they're just wrapping up now, at quarter after 8. More pics of the destruction and evacuation turned manageable yardwork to come.