Baby Pictures

This morning I had an in-depth ultra sound and got to spend about an hour looking at our baby. And can I just say, he is adorable! At one point he stretched his leg straight up and out and then tucked it back down, crossing his feet at the ankles. (Cedric and Zach also tend to sit with their feet crossed at the ankles.)

Everything looks great - he as all the appropriate limbs, digits, organs, and in the correct quantities. I just couldn't wait to show off some pictures!

He is sucking his thumb in this one.

So Guess What

We are expecting! Our next baby boy will be making his appearance in mid-May, hopefully after commencement. I've obviously been sitting on this information for awhile and though several times I've almost shared it, I just didn't have the courage until now.

I thought I would after the CVS results came back negative (good thing) basically showing that there were no chromosome abnormalities.

Then I thought I would after my last appointment when I started the second trimester, but I couldn't overcome my anxieties then either.

But after hearing the heartbeat today and feeling him move for several weeks and knowing that I will have an in-depth ultra sound on Thursday has pushed me over the edge. I'm ready to share the news with the interwebs!

Being pregnant this fall has been the reason for the utter lack of food related posts of late. With this pregnancy the nausea has been worse than the other two and my taste buds have reverted to something akin to a pre-teen. Doritos, skittles, ramen, grilled cheese, and the occasional sushi have been the highlights of my diet for months. I made an amazing lasagna but didn't take pictures (next time I will - promise!). We also hosted both my family and Zach's family for Thanksgiving where my inner-Italian grandmother pulled out all the stops. Sadly when you're cooking for 15+ you don't have time to take many pictures (like zero). Hopefully my taste buds will go back to their old likes and cravings and I'll have recipes that I feel are blog worthy.

Our Dinosaur

Friends of mine have a daughter whose birthday is October 30th and for a few years now they have celebrated her birthday on Halloween with an evening party that ends in trick-or-treating. What a fun birthday! Cedric was very excited about the birthday party + trick-or-treating. He was ready to put his costume on and go as soon as he woke up from his nap.

By the way, he ended up being a dinosaur because in his words "Dinosaurs have bery loud teeth and go 'ROAR'!"

He had a great time at the party even though most of the children were older. They played a game where the kids popped balloons that were filled with pencils, tattoos, etc with a tack and Cedric was both fascinated and freaked out. My gentle giant still does not like load noises.

He did really well trick-or-treating too. I think next year we will work on a joke to tell. Its tradition here that after you say "trick-or-treat" you proceed to tell a joke before getting candy. A good joke should be handsomely rewarded. Its a St Louis thing and even though when we first moved here I thought it was odd, its really grown on me. Now I think its pretty cute.

Carving a Pumpkin

I honestly can't remember if we carved pumpkins on Cedric's first Halloween. I know Zach and I spent hours decorating spooky cupcakes for a party but honestly I was getting such little sleep then, its impressive I can remember that.

Last year we were more focused on teaching Cedric proper trick-or-treating technique. He wanted to go into every house. Going from house to house was exhausting and he only sort of understood that he was getting candy. It wasn't until we were home and opened some for him that he was really excited.

But this year he was much more aware of Halloween. He would get so excited when he saw a jack-o-lantern or notice the decorations at homes around the neighborhood. He was also really, really excited about getting candy. The conversation about what he wanted to dress up as for Halloween went something like this:

Me: Cedric what do you want to dress up as for Halloween?
C: Dress up?
Me: Yes, you dress up as something like a dinosaur and say "trick-or-treat" and people give you candy.
C: Candy!
Me: So what do you want to dress up as?
C: Candy.

We also carved a pumpkin this year. Husband is actually quite good at this. In our first few years together we would carve some elaborate pumpkins. This year we decided for a simpler, more classic pumpkin design.

Its important to be properly hydrated before carving.

Cedric wanted his dad to be very careful with the knife.


In his words "They are bery sharp and could take your hand right off!"
We take knife safety very seriously in this house.

He did not want to touch the insides of the pumpkin. But with the spoon did help clean it out.

Here is the finished product! The middle section was not structurally sound so it had to be reinforced with tooth picks, but I thought it turned out quite nice.

In case you can't tell, its a crescent moon with three bats.

A Summer Dream Come True

Ever since the Cardinal's season began last Spring, Cedric has been really into baseball and The Cardinals. He loves the Cardinal books at his school. He has 4 Cardinals shirts that he wears constantly. On the rare occasion when all 4 have been dirty, it is with a sad and heavy heart Cedric must pick out a different shirt to wear. The disappointments which this young boy has been made to endure!

Zach and I had planned to take him to a game when tickets came up on Groupon, but sadly Cedric got sick and Zach ended up going with his brother. But the week of his birthday, Zach and I decided to try the $5.50 ticket promotion through a local radio station and take Mr Cedric to an afternoon game.

To say he was excited is an understatement.

Right after we walked through the gates into the stadium we saw Fredbird. Cedric recognized him and ran right up to him. This is not typical Cedric behavior! He showed Fredbird his Cardinal's hat and shirt and was so busy talking, I never could get him to turn around for a picture with him and Fredbird facing me.

Here we are at our $11 seats - which turned out to be great seats. We were in the outfield near the first base foul poll and best of all, in the shade. Afternoons in August can be a tad uncomfortable in St Louis.

Some action shots! Pretty sure this is Pujols up to bat.

These guys have amazing reflexes. He pulled up to avoid being hit with a 90 mph pitch. No way could I do that.

Here's the reason why I love a baseball game. The uniforms. They are Great. If Zach ever plays in a baseball or softball league again I may have to insist that he wear some baseball pants.

A New Bike

We are really blessed to live near family. Understatement of the year. Cedric's Uncle Brad and Aunt Sylvia got him a bike, complete with a helmet for his birthday. Cedric has been asking for a "big bike" with a "helmet hat" for a while. So last week at our earliest convenience, we crashed Aunt Stephanie's birthday to go to a park and try out the big boy bike. He did great! Even rode at least 0.5 miles before I called it quits - it was time for lunch and he was really hot.

He started out going slow and cautiously staying with Aunt Steph and Eden.

But before long his confidence was up and he was zooming away.

Eden: "Say-gook! Come back!" And then "Momma, push faster!"

What a hot tired boy but he was so proud to ridden so far all by himself. I can't believe it. Not bad for a newly turned 3 year old. I still have plans to try and convert the bike into a balance bike like this one but for now even riding with training wheels is pretty fun.

3 Years Old

This time three years ago I weighed in at almost 180lbs. I waddled to the operating room and felt an overwhelming sense of relief when my baby was delivered, weighing in at 10lbs 9oz. It seem so long ago and yet not that long ago. I've been looking through old pictures and it just boggles my mind how much he has grown and changed in just 3 short years. I thought it would be fun to take you on a photo journey too.

This shot was taken on Wednesday at the Cardinal's game. FYI this is the face that I struggle to say no to. Wouldn't you?

Here he is almost exactly a year earlier at the Botanical Gardens. He is big enough to play in the fountains and not be overwhelmed by the water. I remember he was very pleased with himself. I can also see a patch of eczema on his check. Did I ever battle eczema! I am relieved that he has basically out grown it.

This is him at age 1. He didn't learn to crawl until the middle of August. By the end of August he was climbing stairs. But he wouldn't be able to walk until November! It is hard work to coordinate and move around all those fat rolls!

This picture is when he is just 6 weeks old! What a face. Those checks! That belly! He was such a big baby. It makes me laugh to remember it. It also makes me laugh when I remember how much I loved dressing him like a miniature old man.

This is Cedric at 11 days old. The full lips and big eyes he still has at 3 years but that is about it. I look at this picture and I can remember the newness of being a mom, how sweet he smelled, and how clueless and sleep deprived I was.

It just makes my head spin to see how fast he has grown. I feel truly amazed and truly blessed.

The Big 3

Mr Cedric is turning 3 on Friday. When I look back over the last 3 years or even just the last year, I am amazed at how much he has grown. Things things he can do that he couldn't do before; this year he learned to jump, skip, run with speed and agility, use utensils (including a butter knife!), pour liquids unassisted, use the potty, and the list goes on and on. (There is a growth and development post in the near future.)

Saturday, August 14 we celebrated his birthday (early) with his cousin Eden who turned 2 on August 1. My sister-in-law and I thought we would save money and time by combining the parties. We were either laboring under delusions or our love of themed parties with lots of food crowded our our love of frugality.

Except I don't have a love of frugality. Hmm, maybe that was part of the problem....

Anywho, we threw a really fun party for our kids. The grownups stayed up late decorating with Super Grover, Curious George, Elmo, and balloons. Zach and Uncle Peter set up Cedric's big present from us, a train table and wooden train set. It was all ready to go when he woke up and came downstairs. He loved it! You wouldn't know it from the expression on his face but he played with it for 3 hours straight.

Thanks to all our friends and family who came and celebrated with us!

A Birthday Shout Out

I want to send a shout out to my niece Eden who turns 2 years old today! Happy birthday sweet girl! We are looking forward to celebrating with you at your shared birthday party with Cedric in a few days.

Today is also special because Husband is celebrating his 400th month. It sounds like quite the milestone...to be alive for 400 months. He was more impressed that he even realized it. He is celebrating by taking a Sunday afternoon nap and watching an old Godzilla movie on Netflix.

Me? Well I've got some planting to do and I picked up a large bunch of basil at the farmer's market which means I'll be making pesto today. Recipe to come...

What a Duck is Thinking

The sign may say "Please do not walk on dry gravel garden" but that does not apply to ducks. In fact, most rules of civility do not apply to ducks. They are wild, thrill seeking ruffians.

Let me interpret this look for you. It means "What are you looking at!? The sign says nothing about sleeping on the dry gravel garden. You humans are so legalistic."

"Quick! Every duck to the water. A small human has been spotted at the food temple!"


"In the water, out of the water. All day long. Its exhausting being a duck.

Oh and look here's Mr Slow-Poke Turtle come to get food from the Little Human . . . in his dreams!

Mr Slow-Poke Turtle: "I may have a hard shell, but these insults hurt my feelings. Ducks are bullies. Please feed me Small Human."

"Ducks rule! Turtles drool! When will they ever learn?

Now some light preening and back to sleep."

Remember what I said about ducks being thrill seekers? Its hard to see from the picture above but there is a young duck right in the middle looking out at me.

I just know that duck is thinking about swimming as fast as it can and at the last second, taking to flight as the water plummets beneath him. Or her. I can't tell gender from this picture.

Grandma June's Pickles

This Sunday afternoon Cedric and I took a trip to Hermann so that I could sit at the feet of Grandma June and learn more of her craft. This woman takes being a domestic goddess to the next level and when I am her age, I hope that I can be like her.

On this day, Grandma June was making pickles and I brought along my camera in order to document the entire process. Dear Readers, if you like dill pickles you are in for a treat.

Yes there were distractions during the day. Every time Miss Riley June fussed or did something amazing we had to stop, drool, fawn, and "bless ourselves" as necessary. Babies must be respected in this way.

Mr Cedric was very curious about the process and in a few years when he's better at handling hot liquids and knives he will actually get to help. As opposed to sneaking off with spears of raw cucumber.

Here she is, my baby Sis-tah! Its because her that I even know Grandma June exists. Sorry Sister - your last picture was too beautiful, I had to post this one because it puts the Force in balance.

Alright - let's make some pickles!

First you must wash and scrub the cucumbers. Clean cucumbers make good pickles.

Next you need to peel about two heads of garlic into cloves. I love garlic!

You also need copious amounts of fresh dill. Grandma June uses the dill once its bloomed, which is why it looks differently in the photos than when its young and fern-y like in this post.

Once the cucumbers are cleaned, separate them into two bowls, one for whole pickles and one that will be pickle spears. FYI we packed both sizes together.

I love this shot of Grandma June. She's a woman of charm and grace.

Once you have your cucumbers separated and cut. Grab a clean jar and place one sprig of dill and one garlic clove in the bottom. Then start putting in cucumbers. We started with the spears and added the smaller cucumbers to pack the jars tightly.

Once the jar is full of cucumbers add another sprig of dill and another garlic clove on top.

Next sprinkle the tops with black pepper. Grandma June did this and I'm guessing its about 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper.

Then ladle the hot broth into each jar, filling up to the neck. The broth consists of 2 Cups of water, 1 Cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 Cup of sugar, and 1 Tablespoon of canning salt. Dissolve the broth in a pot over medium heat and let come to a boil.

Once the jars are full, wipe the tops with a clean towel and screw on the lids.

Place the jars in a canner and fill with water up to the neck of the jars. Put the lid on and let the water come to a full boil. Boil for one minute and then place the jars on a towel to dry and cool.

And that folks is what Grandma June calls "cold packing." I don't know why because the whole process involves heat, but what I do know is that once these jars cool off your pickles are ready.

Put one jar in the fridge to get nice and cold and store the rest.

I love pickles! I feel so domestically empowered to know how to make these.

P.S. On the family farm the plum tree was ripe and my sister's FIL let me take home two bags full of plums. I think I'm going to take a stab at spiced plum butter. Stay tuned...