A Journal of November 3, 2011: In Pictures

homemade baby food

I do a lot of cooking, and I really enjoy the whole process! I love food blogs, cooking magazines, figuring out how to make a meal out of the random things in my kitchen that need to be used up, etc....but there isn't a meal I can think of that has brought me as much satisfaction as making my own baby food.

I love it! Like thrifting, or getting something for a great bargain, I guess it feels a little bit like cheating! I came super close to buying a 24-pack of jarred organic baby food at Costco tonight, but I'm so glad I changed my mind. Instead, I bought huge bags of carrots, pears and plums to make for Drew at a fraction of the cost!

I drove home put the kids to bed, and got busy making carrots, peas, potatoes and sweet potatoes. I'll save the pears, plums and some apples for another day. Its so fun!

Drew has never tasted jarred baby food. Everything she's had to eat, besides some packaged rice biscuits and the recent switch from breastmilk to formula, I have made myself. The ironic thing is, Addison ate only jarred baby foods. I think I tried to make sweet potatoes for him once, he hated it, and I never bothered to try again! What can I say, motherhood was a whole different ballgame for me then.

If you've never tried to make your own, I highly recommend it! If you can steam veggies and fruits and have a blender or a food processor, you can make it in a snap! There are lots of great websites that tell you how to make different things and what foods to introduce at which ages. Just google "homemade baby food" lots of options will pop up.

Happy cooking!

homemade salsa

I love fresh salsa. I'll buy it if I have to, but never NEVER the kind that you find unrefrigerated, sitting in a jar, all dark red colored and tomat0 saucey tasting. Ew. That stuff isn't REAL salsa.

My college roommate, Joe, used to make huge quantities of homemade salsa, and we would devour it all before it could even be put away in the fridge for later. He lives in South Korea now and when he came to visit a few months ago, one of the first things on his agenda was to make this salsa! (He had a hard time getting the ingredients over there)

So here's how to make the best salsa at home... and for cheap! If you have any of the ingredients in your garden - even better!!! I had an onion and some jalapenos for mine.



Joe's Homemade Salsa

1 14 oz can Italian style stewed tomatoes (yes, I actually prefer canned over fresh. It gives it better flavor), drained (retain just a little liquid) and chopped
1/4 cup sweet onion, minced
1-2 jalapenos (depending on how hot they are and how hot you like your salsa)
a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine all the ingredients, and serve with tortilla chips or serve with your favorite burritos, tacos, quesadillas, eggs, salads... anything!

This recipe makes enough to fit perfectly in an empty salsa container from the store.



You might want to make a double or triple batch, because this stuff disappears fast!

Summer garden into Sunday dinner

I'm trying to keep up with this blog, I really am.

The weekend was a good lesson in how wonderful and difficult it can be juggling two children. Saturday was a total mess of a day, filled with toddler tantrums, baby crying followed by ungodly amounts of spit-up (how is it possible that ALL THAT came out of her?!?), and parental meltdowns. It was not pretty.

Sunday fully redeemed itself with long naps, quality time with each of my little munchkins, alone time, and a fantastic dinner straight from our garden in its' prime.






First I chopped all of these delicious items (walla walla sweet onion, sungold cherry tomatoes, and lemon cucumber) and tossed them in a bowl with feta. This has quickly turned into my favorite summer salad.



Next, I browned sweet Italian sausage from Trader Joe's, added more walla wallas, yellow pattypan squash,

red bell peppers (not from our garden) and fresh basil and simmered it all and served it on top of some cute stripey bowtie pasta my mother-in-law brought us from her trip to Italy.


Sprinkled some freshly grated parmesan on top and it was divine!

I could eat like this every day. I love meals with lots and lots of fresh vegetables, and a little protein on top of some type of pasta, grain or bread. A bottle of Viognier made the perfect finish, and this mama was feeling happy and satisfied!

Sweet children make life nice too....

...because she sleeps. all. day.

We picked cherries this weekend in the orchards surrounding my dad's house in Hood River. When cherries are free, and you can pick them by the handful, its easy to come home with 10, 20, 30 pounds of cherries.



So, I did the smart thing and bought a cherry pitter (same one the chicken's got. You can see her cute girls using it on a video here.) and have spent the better part of the last 24 hours pitting and freezing cherries and making a cobbler.





After all, what else is a mother to do when the baby sleeps all day?

we made butter

We joined the ranks of bloggers who made homemade butter a couple weeks ago... This phenomenon seemed to sweep the blog world like wildfire!



here,
here, and
here... just to name a few.

updated: and here! and here! got any more for me?

I was eager to try this myself since it seemed so easy, and somehow, almost magical. How does it turn yellow all by itself? Amazing!

The butter was amazing, though sadly, turned out to be more than we could eat before it went bad. If I do this again I will probably make half as much, or be much more diligent about "washing" the butter so it lasts longer.

But it was quite fun. We used the old fashioned shake-it-up-in-a-mason-jar method, which left my husband's and my arms nicely tired. I think Addison was a little weirded out by the whole thing, but he gave it a good shake or two in the end.

I used the buttermilk to make blueberry muffins (I have been craving anything with hot, plump, juicy fruit in it for weeks now) which was the perfect place to place a dollop of creamy butter and devour.



If you still haven't tried this, I do recommend it.

enjoying the now

Thanks for the support about the child care situation, everyone. It was a rough day between awaiting news on the school (which hasn't been solidified yet, but is looking promising) and anxiously anticipating an ultrasound to see if our little baby girl is doing alright. I'm so happy and relieved to say, she looks perfect!

Because I can't help myself, here's a picture of her little lips, nose and chin. (look at it sideways)

I'm amazed at how much more detailed the ultrasounds are, even compared with those we had 3 1/2 years ago!

I'm really looking forward to meeting this new little one, but also enjoying now as much as I can. I realize that the days I have one-on-one with Addison are numbered precious. I expect as much as I will embrace the new family dynamic of there being four of us, I will miss the undivided attention I'm able to devote to Addison right now.

So, when I have the chance, I'm trying to pour my energy into our quality time. We took a trip to the library a few weeks ago, which is something we do frequently, but this time I wanted it to be a lesson in using the library to find out about anything you want to know about. Addison chose books on cars, clocks, and stop signs. And, he chose a cookbook dedicated to making all kinds of cookies. (of course!)

We checked out our books, chose a recipe for Chocolate Cat Cookies and went to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients we were missing at the house. We brought them home and got right to work.


I have to admit, they weren't the tastiest cookies I've ever had, but seemed to satiate our sweet tooths and went down easily with a cold glass of milk. Plus, they were just the right kind of cookies to make with a toddler that loves to help.







He loved making the ears, putting the chocolate candies on and using the fork tines to make whiskers. We snuck a couple of dogs, an owl and some other unnamed creatures in there too. :)

Oh, these good times...

Spring Soba Noodle Salad

This winter, I think I beat my all time record for how many pots of soup I made. It sounded good nearly every night-- all that warm, cozy goodness with some crusty bread and a salad.

But with spring peeking its head around the corner, just one week from now, I was ready for something different. I still wanted the hearty goodness and the veggies and the flavor, and in a one-dish meal...and I found it.

Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce


This was so very very satisfying, and even satisfied my toddler since he was able to add all his own ingredients one by one.

Now let me just say, this is no ordinary peanut sauce. I have tried a number of recipes trying to find what I craved when my mouth and stomach would both yell "PEANUT SAUCE!". I was always disappointed when they turned out too watery, too spicy, too tart, when all I wanted was something rich and slightly sweet, gooey and delicious. I'd had it at restaurants, but could never seem to make it at home. I'm happy to announce that the search is over!!!

Here are the recipes for the Peanut Sauce, and the Soba Noodle Salad, which would also make a great dish for a potluck or barbecue (I am totally jonesing for summer!)

Peanut Sauce:
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used the fresh ground kind, but any would work)
1 1/2 cup coconut milk, unsweetened
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated (I use the bottled stuff from Trader Joe')
4 garlic cloves, minced (again, bottled from TJ's)

Mix it all up and simmer until thickness resembles heavy cream.

Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
(recipe adapted from here)

Cook 12 oz. of soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.

Cook 1 lb of cubed firm tofu (or chicken or other protein) in 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil until golden.

Put an assortment of vegetables (julienned red bell peppers, carrots, cucumber, or snow peas, scallions, etc) each in their own bowl.

Chop some honey roasted peanuts (or dry roasted) and place in its own bowl.

Get your bowl and heap with noodles, tofu, veggies, chopped peanuts and peanut sauce! Yum.

-----
Happy Spring!

treats for the day

I'm 29!

I managed to successfully complete the majority of the things on my list, while others will have to roll forward to a new list, which I'll post soon. :) And that's okay, because that's just how I roll these days.

Until then, here are some little treats from my birthday weekend:

I toasted my own coconut and made some delish cupcakes!






As you can probably imagine, they've all been devoured by now...



Yum!

And I was lucky enough to have a cute, fun birthday party with my favorite people. Here was my favorite part of the night:



You know you have good friends when the party lasts til 3am, even on a night when we lose an hour.

And now, I'm off to have a birthday lunch with my hubby and do some shopping! :)

I want to make my own butter

Nicole over at the habit of being posted this lovely how-to a couple weeks ago.

I think this would be a great weekend project for us to do with our 3 year old. I can already imagine the giggles coming out of him as mom and dad take turns shake shake shaking the jar for 20 minutes, and him getting excited and asking for a turn to shake it too. :)

Plus, it would be great to follow it up with some biscuit-makin' (Ben's favorite pastime) with the buttermilk, and topped with the fresh butter. I might even want to mix some herbs in there. Oh yum!!!

Pasta and a Poem for you

My blog has been sort of quiet these days. Our laptop is in the shop so, unfortunately, any photos I have to share will have to wait.

Like the one of the delicious summer pasta salad I made for dinner tonight. It was the perfect escape into the warm summer months. I could almost convince myself I was at a friend's backyard barbecue with Bob Marley turned up, varieties of beer filling up the coolers, and that sweet lighter-fluid-on-charcoal smell that only summer can play host to.

Here's the recipe I made up:

Southwest Summer Pasta Salad

4 cups cooked penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
half a green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup sliced black olives
1 can cooked chicken in broth, drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup frozen sweet corn
half a can of black beans, drained

Combine the ingredients in a large bowl.

1/2 cup bottled salsa (I used Trader Joe's Double Roasted)
A couple of glugs of red wine vinegar
A couple of glugs of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
dash of red pepper

Mix these ingredients in a small bowl to create a dressing. Toss with the salad and add salt and pepper to taste.

I wish I could show you the photo of how pretty it was with all those colors mixed in the bowl. It was really delicious.

After my dinner, I had some rare time alone, and with no computer in sight, I grabbed my Rumi book off the shelf and randomly flipped to this poem:

My Worst Habit

My worst habit is I get so tired of winter
I become a torture to those I'm with.

If you're not here, nothing grows.
I lack clarity. My words
tangle and knot up.

How to cure bad water? Send it back to the river.
How to cure bad habits? Send me back to you.

When water gets caught in habitual whirlpools,
dig a way out through the bottom
to the ocean. There is a secret medicine
given only to those who hurt so hard
they can't hope.

The hopers would feel slighted if they knew.

Look as long as you can at the friend you love,
no matter whether that friend is moving away from you
or coming back toward you.

**

Don't let your throat tighten
with fear. Take sips of breath
all day and night, before death
closes your mouth.

--Rumi




I had forgotten how much I enjoy this book of simple spiritual poetry, and how sometimes opening a book at random can send just the right message to help wake me out of a zombie-like state.

puff pastry for the groundlings: my obsession grows

I have a serious new-found affinity for puff pastry. Since my adventures in making blueberry peach tartlets with puff pastry, I have purchased two more packages of the stuff and proceeded to make ham and cheese turnovers for breakfast, which were divine. Each time I make something with it, it feels like cheating. The end product seems fancy, tastes and smells delicious, and gives the impression that a lot of work went into it, when in reality, its one of the simplest things made in my kitchen all week!

Then I discovered a new use for puff pastry, which isn't fancy at all, but certainly tasy and easy to make: hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry (or if you still want to sound just a little bit fancy: pigs in a blanket). I am convinced that these are the absolute best thing to make with a toddler, since it is straightforward and they will gobble it all up. These would also be the perfect item to serve at a child's birthday party. Easy to pick up and no mess!














image from vegetariansrecipes.org

Here's how to make them:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Cut the hot dogs in half (I had 4 left in a package at my house).
   
3. Cut 1 sheet of puff pastry into 8 rectangles (1 horizontal cut, 3 vertical cuts)
4. Roll each hot dog in a strip of puff pastry and place on a lightly greased baking sheet, being sure that the end of the puff pastry strip is facing down to prevent it from unrolling during baking. (great step to let the kids do!)
   
5. Lightly beat 1 egg yolk in a small bowl.
6. Using a pastry brush, dip the brush into the egg and brush onto the tops of each rolled hot dog. (Addison loved this part!)
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Yum yum yum!
Addison ate two of these, saying "mmmmmmm!" with each bite. And Ben and I didn't even mind that we were having hot dogs for dinner when they were dressed up like this and dipped in a little mustard. We'll be doing this one again!

Toddlers and Tartlets

My husband, Ben is out of town today and tomorrow, and after a difficult "no-nap" day with Addison yesterday, an entire weekend of single parenting sounded like too much to handle. I sort of had a tantrum about it when I woke up this morning, apparently completely emotionally unprepared for the day ahead.

So, what to do when you start the day off on the wrong foot? Number one, apologize for being such a ridiculously moody and difficult pregnant wife. Number two? Bake something delicious.



I give you: Blueberry Peach Tartlets.

This was hands-down, one of the best breakfasts I've ever had at home. Flaky, fruity, not to sweet, and so very, very delicious! I have never used puff pastry before, but after today it will immediately become a staple in this household!

Here's how to make these divine and amazingly easy little pieces of heaven:

I used one sheet of puff pastry dough (I used Pepperidge Farm) and cut into 4 squares. Fold the edges of each one over to make a little crust, or a ridge to keep the filling from going all over the place.

Next I used about 1 cup of frozen blueberries and about 1/2 a cup of frozen peaches, put them in the microwave on defrost with few teaspoons of sugar and a squirt of lemon juice, and arranged them in the little tartlets. Since even the folded over puff pastry didn't create much of a ridge, I reinforced it with the peach slices around the edges to keep the blueberries from rolling out.

Sprinkle a little more sugar on top, and put them in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Devour.



These tartlets must have really worked some magic, because after breakfast, everything was coming up roses (well, Mr. Addison tried the no-nap thing again today, but finally settled in after a while, thank goodness!). My mom and sister came by to keep us company for a bit, and then Addison and I went on a special dinner date--just the two of us. He sure knows how to treat a lady...He told me he thought I was pretty, said he loved me, and I even got a kiss goodnight! I'm a lucky girl.

a weekend of good things

I've been uber-domestic all weekend, and really loving it. I put up new curtains, switched up the throw pillows and put in a new lamp in the living room, rotated all Addison's toys to spark new interest in playing with them (always works like a charm), did waaaay too much housework, and cooked, cooked, cooked.

The cooking was especially rewarding because I made a couple of really delicious meals from scratch, and without so much as glancing at a recipe.

Last night I made up some mushroom-rice soup with vegetables on the spot, which was a surprisingly flavorful and satisfying dinner. If only I'd had a loaf of crusty bread to go with it... But I'm trying really hard not to go grocery shopping unless we absolutely need to. We had grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato instead, and they were rich, crispy and golden brown.

Today, I was feeling particularly inspired, and sauteed a few strips of bacon, caramelized a whole onion in the drippings, added some mixed mushrooms and fresh sage, and served it on top of polenta with sharp cheddar. I made a side salad with arugula, chopped apples, pecans, golden raisins, and blue cheese dressing. It was so very, very yummy and I ate up every bite.


I started reading In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto yesterday, and its really interesting. The overall concept of eating natural, minimally packaged and altered foods is not new to me. I generally eat that way anyway, but it helps bring it to my consciousness again, and its eye-opening to read the social, political and legal history of how we as a society came to eat the way we do.

Other highlights from my weekend included a very small birthday party for a girlfriend, complete with tea and cheesecake, lovely, decadent naps (oh I could have used about 3 more, but they were nice), and a spontaneous trip to the library where our timing was rewarded with free apples and a very charming singer/storyteller.



I even managed to take a photography walk this morning, all by myself. It was so fun to window shop, watch all the people lining up outside their favorite breakfast spots and take my sweet time. I'm lookign forward to sharing some of my snapshots with you throughout the week, since I'm participating in Leya's Color Week.

bits and pieces for the making of an afternoon

As a mother who works part-time, the afternoons I spend with my son are sometimes a battle between spending quality time with him and getting the house things done that I want/need to be done. Like most things, its a delicate balancing act, and I often wonder if I'm getting it right.

The best afternoons together strike that perfect balance when he either finds a few happy minutes of playing alone while I unload the dishwasher, or even better, if he can be involved in what I'm doing somehow.

Today, you all are inspiring me, and I am so thankful to have some ideas up my sleeve!

First, I visited Curious Bird this morning, and was completely smitten by the article she posted from the New York Times. I want to study and study this article until I am an expert on using the ingredients in my pantry to their fullest potential. Its got me drooling and thinking up a million ideas for dinners! Maybe if I can cook like that I can even pretend I am the woman in this delicious book I read this summer.

Anyway, between that article and the post over at poppytalk today with those lovely labels, I got to thinking about the messy state my spice rack is in, and the little jars of spices in the back that haven't been used in a good.long.while. Plus, all the labels I made about 4 years ago are starting to peel off, so I think we'll get out my antique typewriter and make some new ones together. Addison should get a kick out of spelling his name on it. Maybe we can make some stickers for learning spanish words for things around the house too.... oooh. good one.

Then, I popped on over to maya*made, where she always has some fantastic project for kids going on, and saw her lovely seashells and beachcombings. I have a nice collection of things from the Oregon Coast and elsewhere, and they haven't been taken out of their jar and handled and examined in far too long. It will be a great chance for Addison and I to explore nature inside.



I say it all too often, but you all inspire me daily and I'm so happy to be a part of your blogging world!

Quick and Easy Chicken Pho

Ahhhh. Now that my pregnancy is all out in the open, I can tell you about all the cravings I've been having. The drama of it all has subsided a bit, but a few weeks ago, it was like "I MUST EAT PEACH PIE! I MUST HAVE IT NOW!"......2 hours later.... "I NEED PROTEIN! LET'S GO OUT FOR CHEESESTEAK SANDWICHES!" It's been a little nuts, but at least its been fun to follow my stomach into culinary heaven.

Last night I was dying for Pho, the delicious and healthy Vietnamese noodle soup that is simply to die for. But, since we're trying so hard not to eat out right now, I thought, how hard can it be to make? And I picked up all the things I thought I'd need at the store: basil, bean sprouts, limes, and lemongrass. I did pretty well, but when I got home and googled a gazillion recipes trying to find one that would match all my existing pantry supplies, I quickly realized I was still missing some obscure, but key ingredients. So, off I trekked to the store again to pick up fresh cilantro, star anise and whole cloves (Hey, when you've got a craving, there is no limit to the number of times one will run to the store to satisfy it.)

Technically, this is a "Faux Pho" recipe. I guess there was a limit to what I would do, since I wasn't about to roast a whole chicken for this, as is traditionally done. But, the results of this modified "faux" recipe were surprisingly comparable to the restaurant varieties I've tried, and it was even better for lunch the next day!

Here's the goods:

"Faux" Chicken Pho (Vietnamese Ginger Noodle Soup)

image via steamykitchen.com

Ingredients

• 10 cups chicken broth
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 1/4 ounces fresh ginger, 4 1/2 inch thick slices
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, halved
• 2 star anise
• 10 whole cloves
• 1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast, trimmed
• 8 ounces fresh bean sprouts
• 12 small carrots, sliced diagonally
• 8 ounces rice stick noodles or udon noodles
  
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1 or 2 limes, cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to the directions on the package, then drain and set aside in a large serving bowl.

2. Combine chicken broth, onion slices, fish sauce, sliced baby carrots and chicken in a soup pot; bring to a simmer.

3. In a tea infuser, add the whole cloves, sliced ginger, garlic, star anise and place in the soup pot with the chicken.

4. Simmer the chicken, vegetables and spice mixture for about 30 minutes, until chicken is tender and cooked through.

5. Remove chicken and cool it until you can cut into small pieces, then place back into the simmering soup pot.

6. Remove the tea infuser, discard ingredients inside.

7. Ladle the soup into the large serving bowl with the noodles.

8. Add the bean sprouts, green onions, cilantro and basil leaves to the serving bowl.

9. Serve with fresh lime wedges.

Enjoy this on any cold day, or a hot one for that matter... I think its better for a common cold than traditional Chicken Noodle Soup!

food food food

One of the best uses of the internet, in my opinion, is the immense collection of fantastic recipes at your fingertips, complete with pictures, search engines that can help you find a recipe when you need to use up the broccoli in your crisper, a half package of spaghetti, some stewed tomatoes, and you feel like chicken tonight. It is a cook's dream come true!

I love real cookbooks too. Its nice to flip thorugh something in alphabetical order, make notes, see the pictures, and get to know what's in there after a few years so you can come back those favorite recipes.

I also adore Cooking Light magazine. I have subscribed to their magazine for a full year a few times. I also love thumbing through these and looking at the hundreds of no-fail recipes these guys have to offer, not to mention great articles. But at the end of receiving 12 issues, it just takes up so much space in my tiny little half of a duplex that I end up recycling them in an effort to save my sanity around the house.

But, the internet-as-cookbook is still the most amazing. Especially when there are amazing blogs out there with delicious recipes. Like CityMama -- her Spaghetti con burro e pomodori is simply to die for in all its rich tomato and butter simplicity. Dang, I love this stuff.
And like Bread & Honey: A Food Blog and their constant updates with delicious recipes and pictures of all the amazing things they've made. My favorite I've made is Alicia's Butternut Squash Soup. Totally to die for.

Today I found the motherload of recipe inspiration: TasteSpotting.
Yum and yum. I'm going to spend some serious time perusing here.



Last night, I made Green Chile-Chicken Casserole which you can find here at Cooking Light. My mom used to make something similar when I was a kid, and I've come back to this recipe at least ten times, but was always short a key ingredient or two. This recipe uses pre-made shredded chicken, but I opted to make my own. This was a first for me, and I'm so glad I did! Here's how you do it:

Shredded Chicken

In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, 1 1/2 cups water, 2 large sliced garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Partly cover and simmer until center of thickest chicken piece registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and juices run clear, 15 - 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature in the broth. Remove chicken and simmer broth until reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove and discard bay leaf. Tear meat into shreds about 1/4" to 1/2" wide and place in a bowl. Add the reduced broth and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and ground black pepper. Toss to mix.


This was so easy, I will definitely be making it again. Enjoy!

the stuff of life

I'm so behind! I've been busy being out and about taking pictures of the changing colors,





attending weddings, putting the finishing touches on my Halloween costume, carving pumpkins, and cooking, cooking, cooking.

My poor family. I think they've about had it with my soups. Seriously, in the past week or two, I have made Mushroom Barley Soup, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (thank you Alicia, it was so delicious!), Vegetarian Chili, Creamy Potato and Kielbasa Soup, and Lentil Soup (ok, ok that was from a can, but I still subjected my family to it!). But, to my credit, they have each been cozy, yummy, and satisfying... in my opinion, all the things an autumn meal should be!

Tonight I couldn't bear to cook another meal. I was totally spent, so we went out here for a slice instead, which was great. A band was playing in the lounge, and Addison was completely enthralled by the music. He always is when we see someone playing live, particularly if there is a guitar. In fact, it has been his focus and obsession as of late.



A friend of ours gave us this toy ukelele and every day Addison puts music in his stereo -- usually his favorite, John Mayer-- and rocks out.

Then I brought out the big guns.



He was ecstatic.



And Addison, I couldn't be prouder of you, because I know you are going to make it big someday. In whatever you choose to do.