keeping busy

Despite an absolutely glorious Easter weekend, the weather for the past few months has been typically wet and cold.  While we're certainly not above going for a puddle walk or visiting the playground when it's sprinkling, we do end up spending a lot more time indoors trying to entertain ourselves.  Lucky for us, Jonas is really good at playing independently with his cars and trains, which helps when you need to get some chores done.  For the other times, we've been trying to encourage more creative play with art, playdough and other hands-on crafts. He is semi-enthusiastic about these projects as long as he doesn't have to get his hands too dirty :)  We also take the sun-breaks when we get them and go out for a little digging in the garden (Jonas is helping with 'mole-holes' in the pictures here).

As someone who loves cooking and baking, I've been patiently waiting for Jonas to get old enough to help out.  A recent rainy morning, we decided so make soft pretzels since they combine the worlds of cooking and crafting (and sounded really good for a snack).  I used a recipe from a favorite cooking blog, and was a little disappointed that mine didn't come out looking as pretty, but Jonas and I had a lot of fun playing with real dough. 

He also got the hang of rolling dough (when he says the word "roll" he puts a lot of emphasis on the end of the word so it sounds more like "rololo") and was happy to eat as many pretzels as I would give him.  We spread them with peanut butter and it was a satisfying lunch. 

 Jonas has definitely gotten the hang of saying phrases now and can pretty easily imitate a phrase you say yourself (now is when we get more prudent about our own speaking, I suppose).   The other day, he and Nick were out playing with a ball by tossing it up in the tree and letting it bounce back down to the ground.  Jonas had been playing this game with our babysitter, Hazel, and had been lots of fun for the whole afternoon.  However, when Dad was playing, the ball got stuck.  After a minute of contemplation, Jonas remarked "Cut Down!"  Nick asked if he meant they should cut the tree down to get the ball back and Jonas confirmed "Oh!" (Still can't quite say a "yuh" sound so Yes is "Oh" for the time being, which is confusing to others since it sounds so similar to No -- Fortunately, we are fluent in Jonas-speak).  Nick was resourceful and got the rogue ball back with the tent pole so no trees were harmed. 

We have some fun trips planned and hope to make lots of visits to the farmer's market to enjoy the early spring offerings.  In fact, it's rhubarb season and I just made my crisp the other night.  A bright reminder that good things are on the way. 

turning two

There is something sitting in my freezer that I can't seem to part with. It's not an expensive cut of meat that was forgotten and suffered the wrath of freezer-burn.  Nor is it a saved slice of wedding cake (we had delicious raspberry custard tarts).  It's a lonely bottle of frozen breast milk.  Jonas has been weaned for a long time now and yet the bottle is still there.  I've given all of our bottle supplies away to other friends having babies, and yet the one bottle remains.  Maybe when he goes to kindergarten I'll be able to thaw it out and pour it away.  For now it is a last vestage of his infancy, which we have left far behind. 

Our toddler is now 2 (two!!) and will tell everyone who asks his age.  (For the record, Nick and my dad's birthdays were right after his and he thought they were turning two as well.)  We had a small party to celebrate and Jonas really loved it all.  It was a huge change from his party last year where tears were shed and the whole ordeal was overwhelming.

We were bummed to learn that our niece (who had come up from Oregon for the party) had come down with a fever on the day of the party, so we put her and everyone in contact with her in quarantine. So our party dramatically shrank in size before it even got started.  Really, it was more of a play date with some friends and their kids that involved dinner and cake.  The cake I made was a banana monkey cake and I managed to keep Jonas from seeing it until the big moment arrived with the candles and singing.  The expression of joy on his face when we revealed the cake was very memorable.  (My friend took a video of the cake experience on my phone and Jonas now knows how to find the video himself and will watch it ad naseum.  He even pretends to blow out the candles again.)

Jonas got a few little presents from friends and the biggest hit was a box of 4 puzzles which he will put together himself now.  It is the perfect distraction if one of us ever needs 15 minutes of free time.  A present for everyone!

While it is hard for me to accept that our baby is getting to be such a big guy, we've really enjoyed his development over the past few months and we completely adore him and his little personality.  Plus the upside of the freezer milk days being over is that we're all sleeping better, having more fun and don't ever have to wash bottles or pump milk at work again.  Here's to a great year of being two and being a kid.

opinions

Everybody has them, as the saying goes, and no one more so than a toddler.  Jonas uttered "no" several months ago and has in that time mastered the word's pitch and timbre.  It has become the perfect, defiant utterance.  "NoooO!"  No to foods he once liked, or even loved.  No to going outside.  No to staying inside.  No to just about everything, except for ice cream, hugs or dogs.  We are finally moving away from the ubiquitous "no" as his language develops and he can better express what he does want.  "Hand" meaning either a hand to hold for getting down the stairs or needing to wash his hands.  "Two" meaning either more (as in "I'd like to see two trains please") or the actual number two.  "Bye-bye" meaning either goodbye (complete with a little wave) or "I've had quite enough of this, thank you" (best exemplified by a recent visit to the Seattle Art Museum where he was telling all the artworks "bye-bye"). 

We are definitely skating around on a icy pond that will soon give way to the dark, cold waters of the terrible twos.  This is no infant on our hands anymore; Jonas is a vibrant, opinionated kid.  However, for every tantrum or difficulty, there are hours of enjoyment and fun.  How lovely it is to see him start to recognize letters and be able to name a few, to have him be able to name his favorite people and toys, to watch the tremendous excitement that a real, live locomotive can bring (only to be countered with immense frustration when there is not a second train to watch "Two!!"), and to have him be the perfect fit for your lap.  I remind myself (sometimes daily) that these hard times will pass and that the difficulties are also shaping him as a person.

I've peppered this post with some favorite pictures from the year.  This year seemed a little difficult for many, and for us there were many changes and some sad times.  With the New Year we look forward to a new job for me, Jonas turning 2 (Two!!), some fun getaways and lots of puddle splashing until our beloved sun returns.  This will also be the year of the toddler bed (not anytime soon!), potty training and the verbal explosion.  I also hope to do more cooking (and writing about cooking), writing (fiction) and pottery.  The last is a bit of a wild card, I know, but I got a big bag of porcelain clay for a present.  So the year will be filled with lots of doing, making and deep breathing.  Salud!

wintercraft

If there is anything to like about the Northwest winter, it is having many hours of dark and dreary time in which you can bury yourself in a project without once thinking that you should be getting outside more.  I've been working on several knitting projects over the last month.  Two are bigger, more complex works that might not be complete until well into the soggy days of spring.  However, I did quickly knit Jonas a new sweater that will hopefully fit the rest of the season as well (its a superwash wool, which tends towards the stretchy side which can accomodate his Budda belly).

Jonas is getting a little more opinionated about the clothes he wears (often insisting upon mismatched socks or several of his favorite t-shirts at once) and has only worn the sweater once or twice.  It is a nice fit though (minus the hood, which is mostly decorative rather than functional due to a gigantic toddler head) and the simple style fits his personality.  The yarn is a superwash by Madeleinetosh and I really loved knitting with it.  Plus I used up a bit of the contrast yarn to make arm warmers as a present for my sister in law. 

I also wanted to make him a nice little reading nest and this Roly Poly cushion looked perfect.  The pattern was simple and fun and I put it together in less than a week.  Stuffing the little bugger was the most challenging part, what with bits of polyfill clinging to everything in sight, but not too difficult overall.  The penguin fabric is a slipcover, which is handy for the messy toddler lifestyle.  It was fun to get to make something personal and practical.  Hopefully it will see many cozy afternoons of reading this winter. 

Now that Christmas is said and done, we have many more winter days to endure.  However, we are always watchful for the sunbreaks and willing to hunker down with a good book and a warm sweater.  

just the thing

As much as I love a good pie, much more often I find myself putting together a crisp of one kind or another.  The oaty, nutty goodness of the topping makes it feel (slightly) wholesome and it's nice not to have to bother with rolling and shaping a crust.  While making a rhubarb-raspberry version the other day, I realized that I've actually created my own crisp topping recipe.  I've borrowed from a few different sources and found a balance of oats, nuts and butter that sings for me.  I don't often make my own recipes, so I thought I better share.  It might be just the thing for your crisps too. 

Fruit Crisp For all Seasons

The best crisps used dense fruit (think apples, pears, stone fruit) and maybe a handful of berries.  Personally, I love a rhubarb crisp.  This topping will go well with just about anything you want to bake up and top with ice cream.  Use varying amounts of sugar and starch with the fruit to adjust for sweetness and thickness.  Hey, even if it ends up a bit on the watery side, it's still going to be delicious. 

1/2 cup nuts, chopped (I use either pecans or walnuts, depending on my mood)
2 T white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional, kind of depends on what fruit you're using)
5 T butter, melted
1/4 cup rolled oats (not the quick variety)

6 cups fruit (stone fruit, rhubarb, pears) *can add in a cup or so of berries if you wish
1 tsp corn starch (plus or minus, also depending on the wateryness of the fruit)
1/2 cup white sugar

Get the oven going at 375 degrees. 

In a food processor, pulse the nuts, sugars, flour, salt and cinnamon (if using) for 6-8 seconds.  Pour in the melted butter and pulse another 5-7 seconds until the mixture starts to clump and looks like wet sand.  Transfer mixture to bowl and stir in oats. 

Toss fruit with sugar and starch and place in 8 x 8 inch baking dish.  Place topping over fruit, clumping the topping with your fingers as you go. 

Bake crisp for 25 minutes, or until nicely bubbling at the edges. (You can bake the fruit for 10 or so minutes without the topping on if you want to make sure the fruit gets fully cooked.  I usually find this is necessary with rhubarb.)