Saltwater Air

Have you had moments with your family which make you think to yourself, I am going to look back on this-- years from now-- and I will desperately miss this time?  I've been lucky enough to have a few of those moments this weekend. 

The easy smiles on my children's sun-kissed faces and the laughter between my husband and me as we dug our toes into the sand and admired the mountains across the Sound. . . I wish I could bottle that kind of happiness.

Henry: Thirteen Months

At thirteen months, Henry can successfully climb any step he encounters and most ladders, too.  Though his upward mobility, so to speak, is improving everyday, his main mode of transport is still crawling-- at lightening speed.  He can stand on his own.  He's been crusing for months.  He walks if he has a hand to hold, but that's where he's drawn the line.  It seems that Henry realizes he can get from point A to point B very quickly and very reliably when he crawls and this is satisfactory. 

Henry has just recently learned to twist tops off of bottles and jars.  He has opened my mascara, foundation, most of our markers, our dot paints, and an empty vitamin bottle in the recycling.  Sometimes it feels like we have a little pick-pocket in our midst as Henry rifles through the drawers and bins around the house.  Fortunately, we keep all of the dangerous things high out of reach.  Unfortunately, toy stores do not always follow this protocal.  Henry opened a tiny lincoln logs jar and was seconds away from dumping its contents all over the shop floor when I noticed what he was about to do. 

Henry has also built upon some of his vocabulary.  He'll now say simple sentences such as "Go walk" or "Go out."  Also, I have no video proof, but I swear he's tried to say "I love you."  If so, right back at you, Henry!

Snapshot: Summer "Harvest"

This is the second year we've planted peas behind the house and Evelyn is enjoying them again!  Fortunately, there are still plenty of flowers on the plants so we should see more pea pods soon. 

Mama Cooks: Seasonally Inappropriate Dinner

It was a balmy 61 degrees here in the Pacific Northwest today.  There wasn't a stitch of blue in the sky this afternoon while I prepared dinner, so I opted to make something I typically save for the cooler months:  a whole baked chicken.  I like my chicken tender (who doesn't?) and flavorful.  I use a simple "recipe" and it always turns out well.

one free-range, organic whole chicken
one cup organic olive oil
three large organic yams, sliced into "rings" (peeled, if you like)
one organic onion, diced
four organic carrots, chopped
kosher salt, pepper

Pour a little olive oil into glass baking dish, placing yam circles and half of the chopped onion on the bottom of the dish.  Rinse the chicken and place into baking dish.  Next, pour the remaining oil over the bird and sprinkle the rest of the onion and carrots into the dish.  The chicken should be fairly covered with onion.  Add a healthy dose of salt and pepper.  Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees for about two hours.  Enjoy!

Evelyn Turns Three!

Evelyn at five months.  This is one of my favorite photos.

Make a wish!

Full of life, spark, giggles, curiosity. . . I hope that "three" is a great year for her.

Give Him a Break

Today marked 3.75 days of a miserably high fever for Henry.  He has a double ear infection and he's just completely uncomfortable.  This means he isn't sleeping well at night-- or during the day, for that matter.  This evening, Chris pushed him in the swing while I finished cooking dinner.  The swing offered a nice reprieve from the heat and it lulled Henry to sleep.  Unfortunately, he woke up crying every time we tried to move him from the swing.  Chris finally held Henry's head while he slept in the swing for a little while.  My poor baby; I hope tonight bring some sleep and relief to him!

Officially Summer!

While some parts of the country have been in full summer mode for at least a couple of weeks, the season isn't officially ushered into the Pacific Northwest until the fourth of July.  Sweaters and jackets are still fair game throughout June here.  This took some time to get used to but I certainly do appreicate the beautiful summer weather and crystal clear mountain views now that they're making their annual appearances.  The collective happiness of our neighbors and fellow PNW-ers was palpable at the beach this weekend.

We were lucky enough to spend time this weekend with friends and still manage to create something pretty cool for Evelyn's upcoming birthday party/ family potluck extravaganza.  Mum's the word, for now.  I hope you had a spectacular long weekend as well!