The Little Man

My Baby Boy has become a Little Man.

Do you see a common theme in these pictures?

Running

If Not Running, Then Climbing

More Running

Constant Motion. That's right. He Never Stops Moving!

Here are the Big Things (that I can remember) that have happened since I wrote last:

• Little Man started walking (around 18 months old)....and then running and climbing, and he hasn't stopped since.
• We sold our house, bought a new house, and moved (I hope we never do any of this again.)
• My Grandpa now resides (permanently) in a dementia unit of a local nursing home. This is hard to accept but it is the safest place for him.
• My sister and her son came home, after living in another state for 12 years, and not seeing them for over a year.
• Little Man started talking, just after his 2nd birthday.
• I am obsessed with food blogs and have been experimenting with a plant-based diet (ever since watching Forks Over Knives when I was on maternity leave. FYI ~ FOK is available on Netflix streaming). 
• I started a new job a year ago as an Instructional Designer and have done a fair amount of traveling, including a trip to Boston this summer.
• Hubby and I took our first solo trip post-Baby Boy, to Santa Cruz, CA to attend my friend A's wedding.

That is everything I can remember for now.

I feel like I remember specifically when Baby Boy became a toddler, if that is possible. He had been working on crawling/standing/walking for a few months, and then suddenly, one weekend he was all over the place, digging through the kitchen cabinets. After that he was everywhere, and signs of him were everywhere. I would open a kitchen cabinet to get a pan and find several colored stacking cups, or a half full sippy cup.

Best Smile Ever

The other day I once again felt that Baby Boy had made another shift. I was sitting at a stoplight when I looked to my left and saw two girls in a truck next to me, looking my way and laughing and giggling. Do I look funny, I thought? Is there something on my face? Then I looked in the rear view mirror and saw Little Man playing "peek" with these ladies, flashing them his biggest smile, and then turning his head to hide from them, and repeating the process.

Two years have passed and Little Man has become a gentle, loving soul who likes to give hugs, make funny faces, run, and climb. (He can also be a very spirited and stubborn 2-year-old, but I won't tell those stories right now!) Here is a typical conversation with the Little Man, when he wakes up in the morning:

"Winnow." (window), he says pointing at the window.

"Open. Button. Goge." (soft "g," like "mirage") (I want to open the garage door).

"I wanna go home."

"We are home," I tell him. We have lived in our new house for six weeks, and he still asks to go home. "Where is home?" I ask him.

"I wanna go shopping," he replies. "Go Boppy's."

I start to respond but he cuts me off. "Nose," he says, placing his index finger on my nose. "Eyes," he says. I shut my eyes as I see his finger approaching....

It occurs to me that I have always been so focused on getting to the next stage: sitting up, rolling, crawling, standing up, walking, talking...It's mind boggling that all these amazing accomplishments happen within two years. I always want to move ahead, yet I don't ever want to forget any of this.

I have have made a little slideshow to commemorate the Summer of 2013 (also below).

Homemade Pizza, Wheatberry Salad, and Jam

One reason I love summer so much is the abundance of fresh, home-grown ingredients available for cooking. Here are a few recipes for things I've made recently.

Bread maker Pizza Crust

I got this recipe from my sister when we visited her in Rochester, and she got it from a co-worker. It's funny how good recipes make their way around...

¾ C warm water from faucet
1 T oil
1T sugar
1 T dried milk
½ t salt
2 ¼ C bread flour
1 t dried yeast

Use the dough cycle in your bread maker (mine took about an hour and 24 minutes).

I added fresh pesto, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan, cherry tomatoes, and sweet pepper.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until crust is brown.

Wheat Berry-Black Bean-Edamame Salad

My mom found this recipe in a magazine and she thought it was delicious.

Serves 6 (3/4 cup servings)

4 C water
½ C dry wheat berries
½ of a 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 C frozen, shelled edamame, thawed
1 C chopped tomato
½ C chopped red onion
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine water and wheat berries in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 55 minutes or until wheat berries are tender. Place in a fine mesh strainer, run under cold water to cool quickly, drain. Combine the wheat berries with the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours in advance.




Jam

The harvest season has begun! I used the following recipes to make about 20 jars of jam. These recipes are from Aunt Dee's Caldwell Family Cookbook, which was given to us when we visited Colorado for a family reunion.

Rhubarb Jam

4 cups finely cut rhubarb 4 cups sugar
1 package Strawberry-flavored Jello

Mix sugar with washed rhubarb in a bowl and let stand overnight. Put in a heavy kettle and cook until rhubarb is tender (about 10 minutes). At this point I like to add about 2 cups of fresh berries. I’ve even substituted raspberries for the strawberries and used Raspberry-flavored Jello in place of the Strawberry Jello. Add flavored Jello; stir until mixed and Jello is dissolved. Pour into hot sterilized jelly glasses or jars. Seal with covers or pour hot paraffin over top of hot jam.

AMISH RHUBARB JELLY
5 cups cut-up rhubarb 1 cup crushed pineapple (canned)
4 cups sugar 3 oz pkg Jello (Raspberry, Strawberry or Orange)
Stir together first three ingredients. Put on heat and stir till all juicy. Boil 15 minutes. Add Jello and mix in. Seal in jelly jars with paraffin. Refrigerate if desired.