{p,h,f,r}: Spring flowers, little babies, and big troublemakers

Because I’ve got a ton of pictures to post, time to post them, and it happens to be Thursday!

{pretty}

I’m not sure I ever appreciated rose bushes until this spring.  We have several well-established bushes outside our front door, and it seems like every day there are twice as many blooms as the day before.  They’re not wimpy, either; it’s hard to get a sense of scale from the photos, but most of them are bigger across than my hand.  I’m finding myself outside taking photos of them pretty often, and an important part of Maddy’s morning ritual is to go look at the blue sky and the pink flowers.

 

{happy]

After some lengthy scheduling delays, we got to take a peek at Baby Spike (so named thanks to all the people who have told us that our first child was so good that our second is destined to be a terror).  Our last ultrasound was a pretty disappointing experience, with a tech who wouldn’t let me look at the screen until the last 10 seconds or so.  This time, we got to go to the fancy imaging department at the children’s hospital, where the whole thing was broadcast on a big HD screen for our viewing pleasure.

Everything looks great, but Johnny was once again unable to determine the gender, try as he might.  He leans toward wanting to find out, and I do not, so our deal is that if he can tell by himself without professional help, he can know.  It’s amazing how the resolution is so good that they could count every individual finger bone, but the two of us totally had no idea if we saw anything or a lack of anything in the gender department.

 

{funny}

The new morning calisthenics routine never fails to amuse us (and that ponytail doesn’t hurt, either!).

{real}

In case I ever doubted it, it has become abundantly clear that Johnny and I do not dictate all the activity of this house anymore.  Just yesterday, Maddy realized that she could suddenly reach both Johnny’s guitar and the coveted (and full) coffee mug on its formerly-safe shelf.  With the help of those admittedly-cute tiptoes she’s demonstrating above, she can pretty much reach any flat surface in the house, and it’s time to do round two of baby proofing*.

*The lazy kind, where I pretty much just make sure there are no knives near the edges of the counters.

 

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {pretty,happy,funny,real}

7 Quick Takes: Easter Octave Edition

Happy Friday!  Here I am blogging instead of watching the just-released-for-home-viewing Star Wars movie, so…you’re welcome.  We have big plans to watch it after Maddy goes to bed tonight, so I should need to make a popcorn and wine run this afternoon.

{1}

We had a lovely Easter.  The Triduum looks a little different when you’ve got a toddler and no really stellar Mass options, but we made it work.  There’s a Ukrainian Catholic option in town, so we went to some of their services and really enjoyed the change.  Plus, the congregation is very small (as in, under 10 most days) and child-friendly.

On Holy Thursday, every Mass option was bilingual, which meant things took about twice as long as they would have at an English Mass, but Maddy was a trooper past her bedtime.  I don’t think I’ve ever been to an authentic Spanish Mass (no, I don’t count my Midwestern university’s attempts).  The enthusiasm of the musicians was really something to see.

On Friday, we went to the Ukrainian Mass, which was celebrated for the Feast of the Annunciation.  Maddy was good for the first hour or so, and then lost interest and needed to sit in the car eating Cheerios.  She enjoyed climbing freely around the backseat.

Happy as a clam and totally stuck.  She just politely said, “Hey, mama?”

We laid low at home on Holy Saturday; our bedtime disruption capital had all been spent on Thursday night.  On Sunday, we woke up bright and early and went to Easter Matins, again at the Ukrainian church.  There was a procession involved, and the priest’s wife gave Maddy a set of bells to ring whenever we said, “Christ is risen!”

Hard to get a picture while carrying her and processing through the bushes, but you get the idea.

Johnny was conscripted into leading the procession, which ended with Father knocking on the closed church doors with a crucifix and announcing three times, “Christ is risen!”  It was great.

Maddy is enamored by his hat and the bells on the thurible.  The Roman Rite is pretty dull in comparison.

{2}

We didn’t manage to get a family photo because (ahem) someone changed out of his church clothes too early.  I may make everyone wear the same thing this weekend for a staged picture.  Pretend it’s real.

I did think to take photos of Maddy.  “We have lilies and a stuffed lamb!” I thought.  “How hard could a photo be?”

This hard.

 

{3}

Fittingly for Easter week, our kitchen is full of various baked goods.  But they were all made under duress!  Really!  We couldn’t not have Easter brunch, and the pound cake was my contribution to Easter dinner.  And the cookies were because I thought Johnny was going on a business trip.  And the bread is there to go with the ham.  In short: I should’ve bought butter and flour shares.

 

{4}

We totally skipped an Easter basket for Maddy this year, because she still thinks raisins are candy, but her grandparents and great-grandparents came to the rescue.  My mom sent her the Our Lady of Czestochowa Shining Light Doll, and she’s been carrying it around everywhere asking, “Who’sis?”  She’s currently fascinated by all depictions of Mary and Baby Jesus, so having a portable version is fun.

Johnny’s grandpa made her this rocking fish, which she likes but isn’t quite sure how to approach.  In a month or two, she’s going to be a rocking fool on it.

 

{5}

The weather has been great this week, and Maddy has been begging to spend every moment outside.  It’s tough, because every surface is covered with pollen, and all three of us have allergies.  I’m trying to bite the bullet, though, so we’ve been to the playground a few times.

Just practicing for Baby.  Given that she flipped it immediately after I took this photo, I think we’ll keep practicing.

 

{6}

We have a lot of time to spend outside because she went down to one nap pretty much every day.  It’s great that we can count on her to sleep through the night now, but I’m missing the time I used to have to myself during the day.

All I need to do is figure out how to eat in the shower while making phone calls, without anyone on the other end getting suspicious.  I can do this.

 

{7}

We spent the last month dealing with a ridiculous car repair situation that resulted in finally getting a loaner car from the dealership for a couple weeks.  Any excitement I may have had about driving a cute Fiat was quickly squashed by the fact that it was electric and had a range of 74 miles.  Ever forget to plug your phone in at night?  Yeah, now imagine being stuck at home the next day while the car charges.  Needless to say, I’m not planning on a purchase anytime soon.  Once my car came back (two weeks later), I sent the list of repairs to my dad and asked how long it would take him.  Response: “Two hours including lunch.”  Awesome.

 

I’ve typed away a pretty fair portion of naptime, so it’s time for me to go do some adulting.  Enjoy your weekend – we’ll be going to something called Big Hat Days!

Linking up with Kelly, because of course.

7 Quick Takes, mostly about food

Geez, two posts in one day! If you're thinking that I must have lots of spare time…well, you'd be totally wrong. I have a lengthy to-do list, and this is my chosen means of avoidance.

1:

Yes, so much food. Why? Because being pregnant (not to mention living with a ravenous toddler), it's a major theme of my life right now. I can't say I have any cravings, per se, but I'm very suggestible. Watching Food Network becomes a constant litany of, “Oh, I'd eat that…” Sure, the rest of the house is slowly declining into a huge mess, but now that I'm not averse to most everything, I'm cooking like crazy.

 

2:

It doesn't happen to me too often, but yesterday I had the most spectacular baking failure. A loaf of bread from an America's Test Kitchen recipe looked promising going into the oven, and then went downhill from there. Down, and down….and down. Even after it came out of the oven, the top just kept sinking. I was looking forward to the easy sandwich bread they promised, but I think I'll keep looking. But hey! At least I knocked the bread knife off the counter and reflexively reached to grab it, so I've got a bandaid souvenir.

3:

I went to a tea party last night, so in addition to the ill-fated bread, I whipped up some lemon bars. I've been baking significantly less during Lent (and no desserts at all), so I seized the opportunity to use up some sugar on an all-Protestant crowd. I should really know better than to try a new recipe when I'm on a deadline and have a new audience, but I was looking for a way to showcase some beautiful fresh lemons we got from a friend, and this recipe seemed like just the ticket. A stick and a half of butter, six eggs, a cup and a half of sugar, and three lemons? What could go wrong?

I'll spoil the ending and say that they did turn out fantastic – the flavor is amazing, and the shortbread crust has great texture. However…I baked them for 4 times longer than the recipe called for, and I still wasn't convinced they were set. After some refrigeration, they were fine but still gooey. Next time, they need to be in a bigger pan so they can cook a little faster.

In other news, this was the first time I've left home after Maddy's bedtime, and she (and Johnny) missed me so little I may have to do it more often. She slept through the entire night for only the second time in her life. Of course, I still woke up every few hours in a panic that she was still quiet. I managed not to go check on her at all, because I didn't want to have to explain to Johnny that I had woken her up.

 

4:

After months of waiting (yes, I need another hobby), I was really excited for the opening of a new grocery store near our house – a sort of Whole Foods Lite, where most of the produce is local, and it's all cheaper than anywhere else. I managed to go to the big opening all by myself – Maddy was with Johnny's mom, so circle the bulk section repeatedly while ogling the granola variety like the very very cool person I am.

I texted Johnny a picture of my cart and told him, “I think we have to become salad people now!” One whole week later, and we haven't let anything languish in the fridge yet, so I'm counting it as a win.

We've been back a few times, and Maddy found a barrel of dried cranberries bigger than her, so I think she's a fan too.

 

5:

Not to brag, but I'm doing pretty well at Lenten Fridays so far. We eat meatless on Friday all year round, so it really shouldn't be any different, but for some reason I've been putting a little more thought into dinner the last few weeks. I learned recently that Johnny doesn't actually hate shrimp like I thought he did; he just hates overcooked shrimp. Fair enough. I've always been a seafood lover, so I'm happy to have this territory opened up for exploration. Last week, we had this lemon shrimp pasta, which was certainly one of the more photogenic dishes I've cooked in a while.

 

6:

Okay, enough about food (she writes, while pondering leftover lemon bars and a cup of tea). We recently got a chance to try a free trial of Google Express, and I'm afraid I might be hooked. With a pretty low minimum purchase, they'll deliver my order from Costco, Target, and other stores the next day. It's a very first-world service, but I had one Costco order delivered, and I can see myself getting used to it. We're at the point when a shopping trip can't be spur-of-the-moment, and once we have two kids under two, I may never leave the house again. Time will tell if I actually pay for the service ($10 a month) once my trial runs out, but I'm keeping my options open.

 

7:

On the agenda this weekend: the usual housekeeping catch-up and a little adulting (gotta get the cars registered in this state, among other things). Hopefully we'll balance that out with a trip to the zoo with the membership Maddy got as a birthday gift. It's supposed to be 80 and sunny, so it would be a shame to waste the nice weather.

Enjoy your weekend and Leap Day!

Linking up with 7 Quick Takes at This Ain't the Lyceum.

 

Maddy’s First Birthday!

We did it!  A whole year of living for Maddy and parenthood for us.  I may have missed the last several months of updates about her, but darn it, I can snap my 3-month non-blogging streak long enough to commemorate her birthday in the correct month.

We had a pretty low-key dinner celebration (our family and Johnny’s), and then cake and gifts.  Maddy “helped” me “decorate” her cake (see above), which was just banana bread with frosting.  The adult cake was a flourless chocolate cake that was absolutely fantastic on it’s own, with the added bonus of being gluten-free (important for one or two of us).

 

Maddy was pretty much totally uninterested in the candle or singing, but fascinated by Daddy holding the video camera.  Here’s the other angle of this photo.

Cake eating montage:

Yes, I did get all the chocolate out of her tutu.  Thanks, Zout!

We had have a few decorations up at our house still: a banner of monthly photos – which is a project I’m sure I’ll never do for any subsequent birthdays – and a sign, courtesy of Maddy’s cousins.

 

Maddy is running headlong into her second year of life.  In the space of an hour earlier this week, she learned how to open the container of wipes and scatter them, pop the lid off a full cup of milk, smash a plate against the tile floor, and say, “NOT DIS!”

On the other hand, she’s also figuring out how to go play by herself, reading board books voraciously, and adding new words to her vocabulary every day (“breakfast” and “outside” are the ones I’m most impressed with).  She greets everyone with either a high-pitched “HIIIIIIIII!” or a very solemn “Hewwo.”  Her favorite things include string cheese, Daddy, and the stand mixer.

Happy birthday, Maddy C!  We think you’re pretty great.

Yes…she got a ball pit for her birthday. What else are bachelor “uncles” for?

Maddy at Eight Months

 

 

Two-thirds of a year! Time is flying! This month's quick update brought to you by photos from my phone, and mobile blogging from the midst of our moving-box maze.

Maddy had a big month of mobility, perfecting her crawling and learning how to pull up to standing on everything. She's going to be standing independently in no time, I'm afraid, and walking won't be far behind.

 

Besides calling me “mama,” it seems that “dada” is beyond her grasp. It sounds more and more like she's calling Johnny “Bubba,” which I find pretty hilarious. At our prompting, she said, “bye bye” – clear as day- to a cat; neither of us would've believed it if the other hadn't been there.

 

The day we left California, it was 94 degrees. Last Sunday in Massachusetts, it snowed. True to her Minnesota ancestry, Maddy enjoyed it (though she's still confused by precipitation in general).

She's been spending a lot of time exploring the very small territory of our non-childproofed apartment, reading books to herself, and conducting in-depth studies of her own toes. Real troublemaking is just around the corner!

 

 

{p,h,f,r} County Fair Edition

Yesterday was the opening day of the local fair, and since we can't pass up a good time, we headed over as a family after Johnny got home from work. Admission was $1, which meant that even if we had a baby meltdown in short order, we weren't losing much.

{pretty}

I'm still not really used to the variety of produce that grows around here. The garden variety produce (literally) I can understand, but it's weird to go to the farmers' market and see homegrown grapes and avocados. So it follows that the produce competition at the fair was a little different from usual, including this beautiful variety of grape colors.

 

Bonus pretty: The best of the quilt competition. It was a pretty great selection!

{happy}

Maddy enjoyed the fair a lot more than we expected, especially since we were there close to (and then past) her bedtime. She's turning out to be a real extrovert, so anytime she gets to be around a lot of people (kids, in particular), she's very excited. She babbled at no one in particular, and then loved the parakeets in the Floriculture building.

{funny}

We didn't go too crazy with the fair food (mostly because it was a last-minute trip and we didn't have a chance to get more cash), but the splurge of the night was a cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting and bacon. Yes, it totally looked like a baked potato. And yes, it was awesome. The stand was selling one for $6, or a value pack of 5 for $30. Super value.

 

{real}

Just to keep us from having too much fun, we ended up with three very flat stroller tires. We discovered on our way back to the car that we had parked in a field full of sand burrs, and Johnny has his suspicions that they were to blame. I'm holding out hope that they're just mysteriously flat but not injured; wish me luck.

 

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {Pretty, happy, funny, real}!

 

7 Quick Takes: Linkin’ Around

Linking up with Kelly et al. to share a few things that are catching my attention or coming to mind (aka, clearing out the tabs I’ve got open on my browser).

{1}

This new photo (and video) of the moon passing over the earth is incredible. I love seeing their scale and movement.

{2}

Apparently it’s World Breastfeeding Week, and that’s great, but how about no one goes crazy? Here’s my photo contribution to the week, but no worries, skittish ones – we’re all covered up.

 

{3}

I’m rereading some Harry Potter lately, and every time I come back to it, I’m surprised at just how much I enjoy it (even book #5, which is by far my least favorite). With that in mind, I’ve been pondering Why Your Kids Need to Read Harry Potter, and on a lighter note, 8 Reasons Molly Weasley Is a Great Literary Mama (both via Carrots for Michaelmas)

{4}

I know this is an advertising campaign, but darnit, handwriting is awesome (science agrees). Unsurprisingly, back to school ads are making me nostalgic for the days when I had an excuse to buy new pens and paper every semester.

{5}

In what is possibly the most spot-on targeted advertising I’ve ever seen, Facebook “suggested” the following ad for me:

I’m not endorsing this company, because this was the first I’d ever heard of them. $8 is just a leetle steep for a onesie, but I am partial to the idea of baby clothes without logos or phrases. Maybe when Miss Maddy slows down her growing a little bit, I’ll give them a try. If I do, you’ll be the first to know.

{6}

Rosie linked to this article about buying maternity clothes, and it had me in stitches. I’d call it a must-read for anyone who’s experienced the indignity of maternity shopping. When I went to buy jeans while pregnant, the tag helpfully advised me to “Buy the same size you would normally choose (XS, S, M, L, XL).” Ah yes, because my normal jeans come in lettered sizes. Never again, Motherhood!

{7}

I’ve got a few sewing patterns on my wishful list right now, including the Geranium dress for Maddy. It looks simple and versatile enough that I could sew it over and over again. For myself, I think this sundress pattern – in the right fabric – could be made nursing-friendly. I’m doubtful that I’ll get one made up while it’s still sundress weather, but hope springs eternal (as does, well, spring).

It’s Friday! Yay! Visit the happenest place on the internet for more takes.

Maddy at Five Months

Here we are, almost half a year in!  Maddy’s stuck in a middle ground of seeing lots of things she’d like to do, and not quite being able to do them yet.  She’s really mastered all kinds of rolling and can scoot backwards, but hasn’t figured out the forward crawl yet.  She seems to know what she’s missing, though – lots of frustrating grunts come out when there’s a toy in front of her.  Luckily, she responds very well to excited “Yay!!!”s from us, so at least we have one motivator in our bag of tricks.

Big day! Having to use both hands to steady her eliminates any possible efficiency from this development.

The walker has really been a lifesaver for me, because she’s totally happy to run small laps around the kitchen while I do things.  She’s equally happy to follow right on my heels while I’m cooking.  We’ve started wearing shoes all the time to avoid mangled toes.

Miss Maddy still seems to be big for her age: here she’s wearing a 6 month top and 12-18 month shorts.  The cloth diapers certainly don’t help, but even on her smallest days, she’s a 9 on the bottom.

With the warm weather, we’ve been trying to spend some time outside every day.  Our house is more or less surrounded by wasps, so usually we take the stroller out and walk around for a few miles.  The other day, we sat outside on a blanket on our little strip of “yard.”  Maddy did not appreciate the grass.

All things considered, she’s still a really happy baby, always willing to smile (for Daddy, at least).

Scrape courtesy of a sippy cup that was not child-friendly.

Over the last week or so, she’s started making a lot more noise.  I can’t say I’ll be sorry to see the shrieking phase end, but there is a sense of justice when she starts screaming at 7AM, mere hours after the neighbors have ended a raucous party downstairs.  I’m sure the dogs of the neighborhood have been enjoying the concerts, too.  There are lots of frustrated grunts when she doesn’t get what she wants, and the occasional loud, teenage sigh.

Favorite pastime: licking the condensation off any cup, bottle, or glass she can get her hands on.  As I type, she’s napping and I’m drinking a very wet glass of iced tea in peace.  She’s eaten a little food when she really wants to – strawberries and bread, mostly – but isn’t really crazy about any of it yet.

Right of first licking

We dressed up for Cow Appreciation Day earlier this week, and she was named the unofficial cutest baby they had seen all day.  Not bad for a spotted onesie and headband I whipped up during naptime.

Miss Maddy Moo

Keep it classy, Maddy C.

Halfway There?

Here we are, at (a little past) the halfway point of this year!  Today I’m going back over my New Years Resolutions to see where things stand six months (and one baby) later.  Since I conveniently made seven resolutions, I’m linking up with 7 Quick Takes as well.

1 – Have a baby

As predicted, this one happened.  It wasn’t even so bad!

2 – Establish a good housekeeping routine

As it turns out, I was right to have very low standards for this one.  I’m just starting to get back into a post-baby routine, and it’s true that getting one room tidied, plus making dinner, is about enough for one day.

3 – Read at least 15 books

I have a whopping 13 books on my 2015 Goodreads shelf, but some of them were started long ago, and others have been abandoned permanently.  Of those 13, I’m counting 9, plus 2 that are still in progress.  I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting to 15.

4 – Go to Confession at least once a month

I think I’m on track with this one, but I have to admit that I don’t remember much of March and only a little more of April, so I may have missed.  Of course, if I don’t remember what happened, am I really culpable for anything that happened?  (I kid, I kid)

5 – Improve my food photography skills

This one took an unexpected hit, because I didn’t consider the fact that to have food photography, one must first make food.  Maddy has thrown a bit of a wrench into my ability to plan, make, serve, and eat dinner without someone crying (sometimes, it’s even her!).  We’re also stuck in a bit of a rut, and while there’s dinner on the table every night, it’s the same rotation of five meals (and one of those five may rhyme with Schmostco Schmizza).

In any case, when I do take photos, I’m being a little more deliberate with the setup, and pretty pleased with the results.  I’m hoping to step up my game in the second half of the year.

Look forward to more wins like this rice.

6 – Run a 5K

Being too cold is no longer a concern.

Well…we’re still running, Maddy and me.  I don’t know that we’re making swift progress, but there’s a long time between now and Turkey Trots.  We’ve been getting out 2 or 3 times a week to run, but it’s harder to find a good time as it gets hotter.  I’ve been saving my podcasts for run-time listening.  Thanks for keeping me company Fountains of Carrots and This American Life (and the last couple weeks, Little House Mothering)!  It’s like running with smart, interesting friends who don’t expect me to answer when I’m out of breath.

7 – Write at least 50 blog posts

If I’m counting correctly, this post makes #28, so gosh, I’m right on schedule!  A baby really does make the best content fodder.

Visit Kelly for more Quick Takes – her summer bucket list is positively ambitious compared to mine!

Maddy at Four Months

Four months! A third of a year!  Despite feeling like I don’t *do* much every day, the ridiculous length of this post is evidence that at least something is happening.  Photo overload ahead.

This is a funny age: we’re struck one moment by how big she is now, and the next moment, she’s still just a little baby. Every day brings a new skill (yesterday, she started noticeable reaching when she wants to be picked up), but then again, she still can’t really sit up on her own, and rolling over is hit or miss.

She’s still a chill baby, as evidenced by this incident from a couple weeks ago when she did this to herself. I was sitting right next to her reading, but she didn’t make a peep, and I didn’t notice until Johnny walked in and pointed it out.

Our road trip included Maddy’s first trip to Notre Dame, although it’d probably be more accurate to call it a “trip,” since we literally left the car running while we snapped this quick photo. She’ll look more impressed when we actually show her around.

She picked up lots of new skills on our trip, some of them thanks to her grandpa and his well-known baby whispering skills.

He was the patient chaperone as she worked her way to the edge of the couch (which took about ten minutes), and then fearlessly peered over. We were all a little curious to see just how far over she’d have to look before she tumbled off. The answer is, pretty darn far; her butt is a pretty effective counterweight.

She also got to help change oil, so hopefully she can start pulling her weight around here soon.

We got a little visit from Johnny’s parents, and Maddy liked the extra attention and another opportunity to be charming.

She started to get interested in watching people eat, and every time she sees someone drinking from a cup, she stares until you let her suck on/lick it.

After months of shunning the pacifier (which we haven’t pushed too aggressively), she’s suddenly very into it.  I think she’s transitioning from sucking to gnawing, and she’s also better at holding it in her mouth.

Her current favorite toy – and my favorite, for the freedom it gives me – is this walker.  She’s really good at walking backwards, but is still working on coming forward.

She’s still losing her “baby” hair, and I’m pretty sure the new stuff is coming in very blonde.  I can’t wait to see if that holds true; that and her height are the most concrete contributions from my side of the gene pool.

She’s started babbling a lot, often in response to being talked to or when she gets excited by a song (The Beatles are her new discovery).  It’s hard to capture, since she clams up around the camera, but here’s a sample:

Maddy’s a girl after my own heart: her favorite part of the day is whenever Daddy comes home, and she’s a big fan of his guitar.

I’ll update with her official measurements when we get them, but I unofficially weighed her at 16 pounds recently, and a few weeks ago, she was 26″ inches tall.

Official measurements: 16lb 10oz (90th percentile) and 25″ (75th).

Love you, Smiles!