Sister Time

We just had one day in Denver, where I got to do the thing I love to do when visiting my sister - go shopping! And generally just hang out with no one else around. Thank you Mark for the kid watching that made that happen. I wish I had a picture of us from our trip (how do I forget that??) But, I can tell you about a couple of places we went. At the Savory Spice Shop I stocked up on cinnamon, it is seriously good (and I hear they are opening one in Austin soon?!) and we learned about the Peruvian Lime Chile seasoning - seriously good for fish tacos, nice on chicken, and generally good right out of the bag. Then we perused Fancy Tiger, where we looked at fabric and cool jewlery (my favorite necklace from my sister came from there). It is just good to hang out with her. The rest of the week was good family time with her - and I love that our kids are close in age and that we can all journey that part together. But I really treasure time with her on our own.

Day at the Park

We had a day in Denver with my sister, before driving to the mountains, and we took the kids to the park. They hunted bugs with Mark, and played. And it was really wonderful to see my niece Olivia, walking and climbing all over the playground!

Road Trip

We set off to drive to Colorado last weekend - to visit family for a week and then take a family vacation the second week. With a 4 year old and 6 month old, we decided to break up the trip, and start the vacation.

We camped in Palo Duro Canyon, which was so beautiful! And a nice place to find ourselves after 9 hours in the car. Within the first hour, we had mosquitos, a horny toad, heard of a rattlesnake in the campground, and saw a tarantula ourselves! Definitely a good start to our camping trip. We got to try out our new tent that actually sleeps all four of us (perfect size -- I am glad that Micah can roll around in there - I am convinced that at some point Micah's teething and learning to crawl are all going to converge somewhere in the middle of northern New Mexico). The stars could not have been better! The next morning, we thought we might go for a hike before our next stretch of driving, but the mosquitos were a bit too much for us. But we did stop and check out the replica dugout. Very cool, especially since we've been reading some Little House on the Prairie books with Naomi. Remember when the cow stepped through their roof? No? Well, now we saw why that could totally happen!

Contract

This was all Naomi's idea. I just asked to get it on record.

Summer Suash, Sweet Potatoes

Micah's first vegetable to eat was summer squash from our garden. Naomi helped plant it with Mark, then helped me cook it. She was especially excited to push the button on the food processor and then help feed Micah! Naomi actually asked to try the sweet potatoes we made tonight. I really love that baby food is so easy to make.

Summer Squash
Slice 2-3 summer squash, steam for 7-9 minutes. Puree in food processor

Sweet Potatoes
Heat oven to 425. Pierce potatoes with a fork, roast for about an hour. Let cool, then peel and puree in food processor.

Both can be frozen in ice cube trays then stored in freezer. Take out a cube or two at a time for each meal.

Micah, 6 Months, Loves Food

On the heels of Naomi's 4th birthday, Micah turned 6 months. In the last week I've seen his personality come through more and more, he's on the verge of crawling, is sitting up more, and he's started eating real food!

I suppose its not a surprise, given his size, but Micah is like his mama, and loves food. His first meal, he took two bites of cereal, and ate them, contemplated them a bit...and then started opening his mouth for it. His second meal he leaned forward towards Mark and wanted it a bit faster.So far he has tried, liked, and eaten healthy portions of: rice cereal, summer squash, and sweet potatoes.

Naomi, 4 Year-Old

Last week, Naomi turned 4!! I suppose at this point its a given, but WOW, my girl is growing up. We celebrated sufficiently - with a trip to the children's museum and lunch on her actual birthday, and then encouraging she and her friends to hit a butterfly (pinata) with a stick and fed them all breakfast and cake. She had a blast, and loved seeing family and friends.

So, her cake. This year, she wanted face-painting at her party (thank you Sunny!!) and "a face painting cake". At first, we thought we'd let the kids decorate cupcakes...but soon realized Naomi had a different idea: "I want a mama painting the face of a child." On the cake. What Naomi dreams, Mark executes!! Actually, they worked on it together, and it turned out pretty amazing.

(Here Naomi and Mark are decorating her cake the night before -- Carrot Cake, by the way)

To think about all that has gone on in the last year for Naomi is pretty big - she has gone from full time school, to two mornings a week, to home full time. She has aquired a brother. A year ago we were dealing with sleep issues (as in sleeping on our floor for 5 months), but she has been back in her own room for over 6 months now. Her thoughts and questions and problem solving are becoming more and more complex. And she is learning so much, and so much of it seems spontaneous. A few days ago she was sitting at her table, looked up at me and held up a hand, "this is left!", then she held up the other hand, "This is right!" And she was right! Tonight she asked us if we wanted to see "a new letter" she'd been learning in her room, and then wrote a "P". Her current love is Playmobil, and she will play that for a long time on her own. She wants to help with everything from mopping to cooking to gardening to feeding Micah (more on that later). She makes up songs and dances and stories all day. Happy Birthday Naomi!! Your mama and daddy love you so much!!

The Many Faces of Naomi

Between me and the blog...

I have been negligent lately, its true. So there is some updating to do, but I swear I have had good, obsessive, creative reasons...

There is more - including my favorite bag ever, that is the perfect messenger bag. It holds all the things I need - diapers and wipes, wallet, water bottle, a stray toy, and even has a pocket for my phone.

I heard that someone out there heard I was sewing and said, "no, not Kristen..." Don't worry, I'm sure the craziness will die down soon. But I really, secretly hope not.

Basket!

Its hard to believe that he is old enough for this, but he took a ride in the basket today and LOVED it!
This opens up a world of basket rides and high chairs in restaurants.