Ready, Set, RUN

This little man is on the move.

Our house has become an obstacle course, for both the baby and us. Lots of crawling around, and weaving through discarded toys and still-unpacked boxes.

We moved. Again. Our new little place is great! For a few years each new move took us to a house was a little bigger than the last. Our last two moves have been just the opposite and we have downsized quite dramatically from the house we were in just a year ago. When I was young I used to dream of a big house with a big yard. Now I am an adult, with a child. I am the one that has to clean the house and take care of the yard...at this point, smaller is better. Much, MUCH better. 

 

"Love grows best in little houses, with fewer walls to separate. Where you eat and sleep so close together, you can't help but communicate. If we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss. Love grows best in houses just like this."

The Mister and I have been moving around for the past 11 years. We've gotten pretty good at it. But no matter how well a move goes, the challenge always comes in finding a place that really feels like home. Our last two places did not. It makes daily life that much harder when you never really settle in. This little apartment feels *right*. And while we have only been here for a month and we still have a lot of settling to do... the feel of home has already set in. We are comfortable here, and our attitudes and energy are better for it. 

These chubby cheeks and the handsome little fellow they are attached to are loving the new place as well. He is busy exploring his new world and trying out all of his new skills. He loves to spend  evenings chasing the cats while mom and dad chase him from room to room.

I get to see this happy little face every day. What more could anyone ask for.

Growing and Growing

It’s amazing how quickly time passes. My little guy will be nine months old in a few short days. At this point, being pregnant seems like it was a lifetime ago, some days like it never happened at all. His birth a distant memory. And yet, it has been less than a year. In a world where change and growth happen on a daily basis, I feel as if time moves both at a snail's pace, and at hyperspeed all at the same time.

Being a mom has humbled me. I am not wonder woman, I cannot do all the things I thought I could do, or wanted to do. I have not done a million crafts with baby hand and foot prints (but they have at daycare). I do not keep a spotless house (then again, I never have). I feel distracted most of the time and have trouble staying in the moment (I continually work on this). I sometimes worry about the things I am not doing. But at the end of the day I have a perfect little family. I have a husband whom I love, and who makes my life better and I have a son who is curious, happy, and healthy. They love me for who I am, not who I wish I was.

One of the things I wish I did better was document this handsome little guy’s growth. Before I went back to work (yes I am making excuses), I was keeping up pretty well with monthly progress reports and pictures. Now that I am a working parent, the time I have with my family is too precious and too little to spend posing for photoshoots or fussing over the perfect words for a blogpost. But, a couple weeks ago, when met with some beautiful spring weather, we all got outside for some fresh air, and we took the camera with us.

Month Five

“Whats this? It doesn't matter, I’ll just put it in my mouth”

This little porkchop is five months old! At his last check up he weighed in at 16 pounds and 8 ounces. Woah baby! And at 26.5 inches, he is in the 80th percentile for height. I am not sure where this tall baby came from, but I am thrilled at his progress, and a little bit proud that all of his gains have come from nursing exclusively so far.

January brought us:

Stability - he is learning to balance on his own while sitting and getting much less wobbly on his feet.

Hand to mouth coordination - its amazing to watch as this little one grabs onto his toys and leads them directly to his mouth. Not long ago, said toys took a much longer route that included a stop at the forehead followed by being dragged down the nose before finally reaching the mouth.

Reaching - he has started to stretch out his hands for objects beyond his reach instead of just grabbing the things that are close to him. He reaches for his favorite toys and increasingly the cats as they walk by. Which leads us to...

Kittens - he has become much more aware of the fuzzy little creatures that roam the house. He loves to grab onto their soft, warm fur and “pet” them when they snuggle next to us.

High chair - I’ll admit it, we eat dinner on the couch. It is home cooked and usually healthy, but we don’t eat at the table. Even if we wanted to the “cozy” little house we currently live in does not have room for a table. That being said, the little guy was introduced to his high chair this month. He loves it sit in it while I make dinner and see how many of the toys he throws will magically reappear when mom comes over. One day, in the hopefully near future, he will be able to put these skills to use while we all eat dinner gathered around the table.

Giggles - it is getting much easier to get these heart warming sounds out of my ticklish little cutie. Every once and a while these giggles are accompanied by a snort and I can’t help but laugh. Baby giggles (and snorts) can melt any bad day away.

Month Four

 

Our four month well baby visit is right around the corner (closer to five months, than four actually) and I can’t wait to see how much my man has grown. He seems to get bigger every day! This month has been filled with milestones and excitement for us as new parents. Our baby is turning into a tiny little human. He is developing his personality and learning new skills and tricks by the day. It is so much fun to watch him learn and grow.

December brought us:

 

Teeth! - my fears were well founded. This poor little guy has been battling tooth pain for about a month now. Some days are worse than others. Daddy has made a number of emergency trips to the store to try a new type of teether that might help with the discomfort. No teeth have broken through yet, but the way he is chewing it could be any day now

Voice - his cute little wonderful voice. It seemed that just overnight he decided that he was going to start talking to us. He is currently focusing on the volume bit, sometimes whispering, sometimes yelling. He is also very curious about the sounds we make as well, listening carefully and watching our mouths move.

Rolling - tummy time is one of baby’s least favorite activities. He always does really well, but he gets fed up easily. This month he showed us that even the small amount of time spent on his tummy was enough to learn the tricks. He rolled over about six times one night while mommy and daddy proudly cheered him on.

Sitting - laying down is for babies! my little one seemed to say. He tries to do crunches anytime he is on his back now. With the smallest amount of assistance from mom or dad he can pull himself right up to sitting. He is still a little wobbly at the top, but his strength and balance are coming in strides.

Standing - this little boy has some strong little legs and he loves to use them. The only things that makes him smile more frequently than standing is flying!

Grabbing - he has got hands and knows how to use them! Play time now involves an assortment of toys in all shapes and sizes. A squeaky rubber cow, wooden blocks, a stuffed elephant rattle just to name a few. He loves to grab on and try to fit each one into his mouth. His success rate on that still varies.

Friends - playdates with his girlfriend and holidays galore found little man surrounded by friends and family of all different ages. For an only child that stays at home with mommy most days, he did surprisingly well around so many people. I'd say he probably handled the crowds better than his parents.

Dealing with tooth pain and the cold that I so generously passed to him after the holidays have made December a month of crab-itude. I feel bad for the little guy. He doesn't know why he is uncomfortable and I can't help him. But, amidst all of his cranking and crabbing he still finds time to sneak in some smiles and giggles to warm my heart and brighten the mood. He is such a wonderful little man, I am so thankful he is mine!!

Month Three

It is  simply amazing to watch this little man grow. Every day is a new adventure! I am in awe of the life that we have created and how perfect he is.

November brought us:

Normalcy - to some extent. The little guy and I have settled into a routine that works for both of us. Some days are better than others, but for the most part we've got it down. This stability helps him almost as much as it helps me. With at least some normalcy back in my life I am able to feel like a human most days.   

Snuggles - Part of this routine includes our mid-morning nap. After he eats his second breakfast of the day, him and I are usually able to catch some ZZZs on the couch. I love snuggle time with this bundle. It warms my soul.

A New Rattle - These little hands are loosening their tightly gripped fists and grabbing onto anything that comes within reach. We decided the step in the direction of motor control warranted a new toy...the ever popular rattle! This one lets him wind his fingers through the ends for easy grabbing and shaking.

The Library - The last time I went to the library was in Grad School. After moving back to my hometown and becoming a stay-at-home mom (at least temporarily), I decided it was time to head to the local library and get myself a card. We made it a family trip, hopefully the first of many. When the boy gets a little older we can take him for story time and to pick out new books to read. The Mister and I love reading and love buying books, we always have. I am hoping the library will be a good way for us to try out new books (especially for the little one) before we buy them.

Thanksgiving - This was the first year in a decade that neither myself nor the Mister had to work. My entire little family got to spend four whole days together for the holiday! I have always loved gathering at my Grandmother's for the feast and this year was the first in many that we have been able to attend, so my heart was happy. I got to work and crafted my little guy an adorable vest. Obviously I forgot to take any good pictures of it, so this one from my phone will have to suffice. But trust me, he was a dapper little baby!

On the plus side, I managed to snag this picture of me with my little man and my dad. Pictures of my dad are almost as hard to get as pictures of my husband!

To top it all off, the following conversation took place between my grandmother and cousin before we all ate dinner...  

G "We're going to be a little cramped" 

J "That just means our family is growing" 

G "Well the rest of you girls better take your pills!" 

My grandma has never been one mince her words!

and finally...

Teeth?!? - I thought we had a few more months before his little chompers started coming in...but it seems I might have been mistaken. He is exhibiting some tell-tale signs of teething. Hopefully we will know soon if that is whats really going on

 

Happy Halloween

As I am sure I have mentioned a number of times, we love Halloween in this house! I decorate the inside, the Mister decorates the outside, and we both decorate ourselves. This year we got to add a baby to the mix! And let me tell you...dressing up a little one is amazing! I loved every minute of planning and crafting. 

The Mister and I like to think of the perfect costumes throughout the year, modifying and changing our ideas right up until craft time. This year we cheated a little and reused our pirate costumes. But can you blame us? Having a two month old doesn't allow for a lot of time at the sewing machine

On Halloween, we all answered the door together. Because aside from dressing my own family, I love seeing all the little ghouls and goblins that venture out. Living in this small town, we don't get nearly as many as we did in the city, but they are adorable just the same. I love listening to moms as they explain the steps to newbie trick-or-treaters and hearing the little ones mumble our "trick-or-treat" as they hold out their little pumpkin buckets.

However you spent your Halloween, I hope you had as much fun as we did! Now it's time for this family to eat too much candy as we start planning next year's costumes and decorations =)

 

Is that not the cutest little tail feather you've ever seen?

A is for Apple Picking

Yesterday was the first day of fall and my first in the beautiful foliage of Northern New York in ten years. This time around I have a wonderful husband and beautiful baby boy to enjoy it with.

The little man will be a month old in two days. He and I have been more or less cooped up for the last four weeks. Apple picking was our first family adventure. We grabbed grandma and went to a little orchard nearby. This was also our first use of the Moby...it was a little confusing at first, but worked out well for our wandering. The mister and my mom were able to get some good pictures in the lovely fall sunshine as well as a couple pecks of apples to turn into delicious baked goods. The weather was amazing, it was warm and sunny, with exceptional blue skies. It was a wonderful day spent with my perfect little family. 

The Man of My Dreams

At the end of January I married the man of my dreams. We had a very simple ceremony at City Hall.

The mister and I have been a couple for nearly ten years, and friends for even longer. This wedding was more a confirmation of the vows we have been living all along. We wanted to keep it simple because that is how we live. No big show, no fancy party, just close friends and family members to celebrate the love that we share.

For us, our love and our life is what constitutes a marriage and we have had that for ten years. I am proud to now call Ryan my husband, he has been that in my heart all along.

Tree to Table

When I was younger my mom and I used to make a three hour drive south every fall to gather apples for the holiday baking season. When the Mister and I moved back to NY last summer I was disappointed to learn that due to the early thaw followed by a cold spell, there were fewer apples available and no local orchards were letting people pick their own. Luckily, this summer was better for apples and all the orchards were back open for picking! So, off we went.

We came home with an entire bushel of apples, close to 30 pounds, which looks like a lot more in my pantry than it did when we were standing in the middle of the orchard.

For my first apple dish I went with the ever popular apple pie. I love making it and the Mister loves eating it!

Next up is a nod to my German heritage with some apfelpfannkuchen, followed eventually by some baked apple oatmeal, and then probably another pie. Not to mention the apple a day that each of us are eating. I'm thinking that 30 pounds may have been too many apples for two people...anyone interested in some delicious baked goods?

As an aside, I'll share this photo to hopefully put a smile on your face. A while back someone that lives in this house and is not me got in a small fight with the container and then put it back in the drawer like nothing happened. Each time I grab for the cling wrap I have to giggle just a little as I imagine how the box came to look this way. Enjoy =)

Game Night

Some of my fondest memories are of friends and family gathered around a table playing games. From huddling at the neighbor's during the ice storm of 1998 for warmth and what felt like hundreds of games of Phase 10, to the first Thanksgiving I spent with the Mister's family. When we played SNL Trivial Pursuit and I learned that his sister cheats at Uno. I also learned that she likes to confess to cheating several turns past when any consequences can be doled out. Let's not forget winning Gestures and stunning my host family when I guessed modelleisenbahn correctly, or visiting friends from my hometown and playing Creationary while enjoying margaritas.

For a while the Mister and I had a regular game night scheduled. We had amassed quite the collection of games during our decade together branching out beyond your run of the mill Milton Bradley or Parker Brother's games (not that we don't enjoy these as well). We discovered Euro games and fell instantly in love. These games are often much more complicated than traditional board games, but they are always worth the effort. (I suggest you look into Dominion or Pandemic if you're interested). We kept our game night up for nearly a year, but then life seemed to place itself squarely in the way and we ended up making excuses and finding reasons for why we didn't have the time.

Recently we decided to reenact our game night. We did some rearranging of the rooms after the purchase of our new couch and we took this opportunity to create a game room. As we added a little bit of normalcy to our home with new living room furniture, we balanced it out with a reminder of the geekery that our relationship is built upon. 

Game nights got away from us in the past, so we have renewed our efforts to make the space for them this time around. Finding a couple hours on a Sunday night not only allows us to meet the new week with our energies refueled, but it also lets us reconnect with each other at the end of every week.

Plus, the Mister just bought a Pound-o-dice, so we are looking for any and every reason to use them!

Honey Bourbon Cupcakes

Sometimes hobbies can be conflicting. In the past couple of years I have fallen in love with being more active. I also love to bake, and have since I was small. These two hobbies don't generally go hand in hand. Last summer I baked something nearly every weekend, this year I have focused more on fitness and have hardly baked at all. Last week I decided that I would whip up a batch of cupcakes over the weekend. No reason, just to bake.

The Mister and I sat down to decide what kind I should make, him on tapiture, me on pinterest (This, just one more example of how geeky our love is). He came upon these tasty little treats at Creative Culinary. So, off to the store we went to retrieve some Honey Burbon.

Both the Mister and myself are night owls, we always have been. We decided to bake these cupcakes at midnight on a Saturday. Baking is usually my thing, but this time the Mister played the role of my Sous Chef and measured out all the ingredients so all I had to do was combine them. He also took on the bourbon drizzle because he is in charge of sauces in this household. It was a wonderful evening!

The recipe we used made delicious cupcakes, but there are a few edits that might make the process a bit easier for the next time. Primarily much smaller batches of bourbon drizzle and buttercream.

For the Cupcakes:

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp Honey Bourbon (there are a number of options to choose from)
3 Tbsp Milk

For the Bourbon Drizzle:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Honey Bourbon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the Buttercream Frosting:
3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract 1 Tbsp Honey Bourbon

Heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix just to incorporate.

Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add to the wet mixture and beat until just combined.

Add the whiskey and milk until just combined.

Divide batter evenly into cups filling each approximately 2/3 full.

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes; test with a toothpick; the top will be firm so make sure the inside is cooked through.

Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

To Make the Bourbon Drizzle

Add all ingredients together in a small pan, bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before drizzling on cupcakes.

To Make the Buttercream Frosting

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar.

Add the vanilla and Honey Bourbon and combine thoroughly.

Add the cream 1 Tbsp at a time until your frosting is very light and fluffy and the correct consistency, continue to beat on high for 3-5 minutes until very fluffy.

Pipe the frosting onto cupcakes. Garnish with the Bourbon Drizzle. 

Enjoy =)

Porch Paradise Project

One of my favorite parts of this house is the screened in back porch. In this century old house, with no central cooling, it is often the coolest place to spend time. And although I remember summers rarely breaking 90 in upstate NY, the last couple have been hitting those numbers pretty regularly. This year it has been pushing 90 already and its not even June! So with high numbers expected again, the porch is where me and the Mister can be found.

Since we spend so much time out there, I decided I would spruce it up just a tad. Not too mention, we had some small lighting concerns. With my porch paradise project, both issues were addressed.

 

I've had the last few days off, so I made it my mission to get the porch in ship shape before I had to head back to work on Monday.

 

Lights! As I mentioned there weren't really any lights out here. I work until midnight, so during the week the Mister and I are out here well into the night. Our makeshift solution had been the Mister's halogen garage lights. Great for garage work, great even for photography projects. A little too harsh for unwinding after work. The new solution, white string lights. These are perfect! They are bright enough to see whatever it is you are doing, but warm enough to allow for some relaxation.

Then I found a tutorial for fabric garland at Sew, Mamma, Sew!  Many of my projects use a combination of green and brown fabrics and leave me with small scraps that I keep around, but never know what to do with. Plus, the chairs I bought last summer were green and brown. I knew that this garland was the perfect project for all those scraps I had hanging around.

Throw in a focal piece complete with felt pomanders, tissue puffs, and origami cranes and you have yourself a summer oasis.

And let's not forget a fully stocked beer fridge, with a wonderful selection of summer craft brews and seating for six. So, who wants to come visit?

Cinco de Mayo and the First Grilling

I just recently moved to a Monday through Friday workweek. Its amazing. I used to have Wednesday and Thursday off, which didn't leave a lot of time for enjoying the Mister's company or doing other weekend things like festivals and going out for drinks. The new schedule came just in time for warm weather, festival season, and the end of the Mister's semester.

This weekend the Mister and I enjoyed not only Cinco de Mayo on Sunday, but also May the Fourth (alert Nerd!). 

We decided Cinco de Mayo would be a good time to break out the grill for the first meal of the season. What better than grilled flank steak for fajitas. We also picked up some lovely looking serrano peppers to grill.

While the mister was playing with his new grill toy (we recently picked up a chimney starter for his charcoal), I was enjoying the fresh cut grass and snapping some pictures of the beautiful lilac tree in our back yard.

I could really get used to this weekend thing.