Emma: 31 Months

This girl! I really like her. She's a riot!

We were in Bellingham recently and she made sure her uncles were by her side at every waking moment, particularly at mealtimes when she arranged the seating assignments.

Emma's taken a new interest in babies lately. She loves "helping" Jack (and others!) roll over. She's also got a knack for keeping said babies happy and entertained by handing them toys or binkies.

She would much rather walk herself than ride in the stroller these days. She loves pushing the dolly stroller or shopping cart to Safeway.

She is such a character, always joking, teasing or being goofy like pretending to eat a flower as she is doing here.

She's silly but she's also super sweet and sensitive too - such a lovely mix! She's talking tons now and says the most hilarious things.

Her food loves right now include hummus (by the spoonful), bagels and cream cheese from Starbucks, cucumbers and granola.

She put her green thumb to the test this month too and we're waiting to see if any of the veggies she planted pop up. She's pretty good and picking the petals off my flowers and bringing them to me too. 

Emma's style speaks for itself! Sometimes she wears sunglasses to bed. Or puts her swimsuit on under her pajamas. She's almost always wandering the house in a much-too-small leotard. Other times, she's pairing her puppy rain boots with her Easter dress. Rarely are her shoes on the right feet (when should a mother get concerned?)

She remains none too interested in potty training, though we've had a couple successes every week or so.

She is shy and timid in some ways and daring and adventurous in others. It goes absolutely without saying that she would ride her bike straight through this mud puddle. 

She's always full of surprises and there's never a dull moment with Emma!

Rosemary Flatbread with Blue Cheese, Grapes and Honey

I remember the first time we had this bread. It was about 4:30 PM and we were having dinner guests. I don't even recall what I was making other than that I was elbow deep in some sort of intricate prep work and that we were going to be lucky if anything was going to be ready to go on the table when the company arrived. Out of nowhere, my dear husband says "I want to make bread for tonight." Say what? "Like with yeast?" I said. "Uh huh," he replied.

Those of you who have ever made yeast bread from scratch know it usually isn't something done on a whim when guest are expected to arrive in 90 minutes. Except when you're Graham. And then rules don't apply and anything is possible. And I'll be darned, usually anything is possible with him and he somehow Pulls. It. Off. It drives me bonkers because logic (and I) tell him it can't happen and then he just makes it happen. And makes it look easy. So this guy, who had never made yeast bread in all his life, just whips this one up and it's perfect. Perfect. And hot and ready when our dinner guests arrive. Go figure! If you're new to bread baking and looking for a yeast bread recipe to break you in, apparently this one is it. It is so totally delicious and makes a great appetizer while you're scrambling to get the rest of dinner ready (but that never happens here...right....)

Rosemary Flatbread with Blue Cheese, Grapes and Honey
(From Food and Wine Magazine)

1 envelope (or 2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling

3/4 cup warm water

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound red grapes (1 ½ cups)

Coarse sea salt

3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon snipped chives

In a large bowl, whisk the yeast and sugar with 1/4 cup of the flour. Stir in 1/4 cup of the warm water and let stand until slightly foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, fine salt, pepper and the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of water; stir until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a draft-free spot until billowy and doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°. Place a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven, and preheat for at least 30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press and stretch the dough into a 13-inch round, then transfer to a lightly floured pizza peel. Press the grapes into the dough and sprinkle with sea salt.

Slide the flatbread onto the hot stone and bake for about 12 minutes, until the crust is golden and the grapes have begun to release some of their juices. Sprinkle the blue cheese on top and bake for about 2 minutes longer, until the cheese melts. Slide the flatbread onto a work surface and drizzle with the honey and sprinkle with the chives. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 1 (13-inch) flatbread

Isla: 55 Months

Why yes, that is my 4 1/2 year old wearing a shorts jumpsuit. And rocking it, might I add!

Our eldest is growing up and boy is she looking forward to spring. Mostly because with it comes freedom in footwear, I think. After countless battles and finally a sit-down family meeting (I'm not kidding), we came to the following agreement: leggings and tights are optional but socks MUST be worn with boots to keep them from stinking. We threw her a bone though and told her once spring arrived, she could wear "spring shoes" without socks. Enter a renewed love of spring.  

We've had a couple completely delightful days of sunshine and Isla has jumped at the chance to help me plant our garden. So far we've checked beets, carrots, romaine, arugula, mixed greens, swiss chard and summer squash off our list. We also transplanted some strawberries and purple cauliflower (new this year!) I let her pick out packets of flower seeds on a couple occasions so either we'll have some nasturtiums and petunias or a girl with a pretty broken heart. She always asks to buy more flower seeds when we are out and about. 

She's been showing increased interest in helping in the kitchen which I love and is often disappointed when I do the meal prep work ahead of time. We had a blast "eating green" on St Patty's Day (below). Her food loves lately include celery, smoothies, salami, fruit-on-the-bottom Greek yogurt and granola (these of course are in addition to the never-ending adoration of pasta, bread and rice). Whenever we have something she likes, she immediately asks "can we please have this again sometime!!?" as if I will deprive her of it for the rest of her life. 

Isla loves to pretend and her latest stint is being a teacher. She has numerous classes and kids and sometimes I have a hard time keeping the reality straight with the make-believe. She often spends her quiet times "teaching all her kids." In real life, she loves writing her letters and frequently asks us how to spell words so she can write them down. She's getting better and better at sounding out short words too. Every time I pick her up from preschool, she asks if I "have a special surprise for her" by which she means is there someone cool waiting for her to play with at home. I guess Emma and Jack and I are chopped liver.

I never cease to be impressed with her memory. She is filing away Bible stories like candy (yay!) The other day she created this masterpiece (below). She brought it over to me, looking a little overwhelmed and said "I'm gonna need some help here drawing some faces on the 5000!" Love her!

Other favorite activities include riding her new bike (she's gaining speed and distance), pretending our house is a train or airplane, playing with Emma, making Jack laugh, having play dates, asking questions, going grocery shopping, waking up early and taking care of her babies. She's a busy, busy girl!

Canlis

Do you think he had ANY idea that marrying me would mean he'd be blowing the wad at Canlis 7 years later? Absolutely not. I was a pretty cheap date back then when we were young and clueless but I guess he should have known, choosing someone majoring in food and all...  Can I just say that I married a gem? I mean, let's get this straight: he took me to CANLIS!

 Our anniversary this year sort of snuck up on us amidst a busy season with Graham starting his new job and me still breastfeeding an infant. Ordinarily, we like to plan weekends away which I have love, love, LOVED. It was really hard to come to terms with the fact that a night (let alone a weekend!) was not going to work this year given the state of affairs with our not-really-sleeping-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination infant. We were both bound and determined that this be the ONLY year we don't get away alone as these times have been crucial for us.

Anyway, since we were "saving" money by keeping our celebration to a mere five hours, we decided we could liberalize our dinner budget and go all out (yessssssssssssss!!) 

PS - I blow-dried my hair for the 2nd time (maybe 3rd?) since Jack was born. Thankfully, I had the forethought to take a picture since it probably won't happen again in 2014. 

We began our evening in Fremont, sampling some chocolate at Theos and tasting some bourbon/vodka at a random distillery before we made our way to Cafe Diablo on Queen Anne, one of our dating stomping grounds.

Then we were off to Canlis! Our evening was so wonderful and the service impeccable. We sort of had an "in" as Graham sings with one of the hostesses there. Even though she was not working, she made sure we got top notch treatment, including glasses of complimentary bubbles, appetizers and a hand-written card.

Pardon the picture quality, please. I felt ballsy enough pulling out my phone to snap pictures of our plates, let alone a "real" camera with mega-flash. Our appetizers were divine. From left to right: a truffled mushroom tart, edamame in a rice crisp and the most gourmet tater tot that has ever touched my lips. All paired amazingly well with our bubbly.

Our waiter was hysterical, though surely it was not his intention. He seemed to pride himself on his thirty-word sentences that left us with more puzzle than clarity. "If you favor the finer flavors of a more substantial composition, or if your appetite allows a more satiable variety of complex layering, might I recommend the roast duck..." and on and on. Each time after he stopped at our table to share a new tidbit, we'd look at each other, totally baffled and wonder is he for real? He was wonderful, really, but we're dying to know if he is this serious outside of work!

For our next course, we ordered Steak Tartare. It was yummy but hands down I would take the beef tartare at Joule Restaurant over this one. Next came the infamous, I mean famous, Canlis Salad which was tasty, but just a salad after all. Our next course was one of the highlights for me: a terrine of foie gras with roasted rhubarb, nettle puree and black pepper brioche. It was delicious and melted in the mouth, as it should.

As if 3 starters weren't enough, we also got the prawns which were sauteed in dry vermouth with garlic and lime. They were good but again we both agreed our favorite prawn dish was served elsewhere (The Barking Frog's Grand Marnier Prawns). Our main course was amazing as well: Muscovy duck, roasted with a honey sesame crust, croquette, orange marmalade and a green fennel puree. The duck was first presented to us whole before it was whisked away to be plated as you see below.

For dessert (as if we had room!), I had mille-feuille milk chocolate, peanut butter, bananas and caramel. Graham had the souffle and both came with a candle and "Happy Anniversary" written across the plate.

Twas a leisurely and lovely evening of delicious food, wine (we finished our first bottle ever - thanks to the long, slow meal, and, let's be honest, having three kids....) and good conversation. We even had our own personal serenade from the amazing piano player in the bar. Cheers to 7 years and cheers to a man who is willing to pull on his fancy pants and take his lady to a place that calls for diamonds! And blow-dried hair, which is about as rare a diamonds these days.

7 Years

 Today we celebrate 7 years as husband and wife! I love this picture (above) because it summarizes "us" in so many ways. I'm the go-go-goer and I'll do-do-do until I'm blue in the face. Graham knows to sit me down, tell me to take a deep breath and remind me it's all going to be ok. We used to laugh about how opposite we are (truly we are!) but now I see these differences as something so much better. We complement each other. 

 Our road has not been easy but it certainly has been rich. I am so in love with this man and life with him keeps getting better as we learn to live deep, lean hard and laugh together in it all. We are best friends. We ENJOY spending time with each other. We are different and yet we are so similar. 

 We are so grateful we serve a mighty God who has had his hand of protection over our relationship. Marriage these days seems more like a thing you do rather than a life you live. Thank you Jesus for keeping us humble, for teaching us to admit our mistakes and to be quick to offer forgiveness. 

 May we continue to grow together, may we never tire of serving. May we always seek to know one another better and to love in word and in deed. 

And may we continue to have fun! That'd just be icing on the cake. 

Jack: 5 Months

This kid just keeps getting cuter! Here are some highlight from this month:

-Sucking and drooling like there's no tomorrow

-Puts his binky in and pulls it back out all by himself

-Lays on the floor for more extended periods of time, watching his sisters play around him

-Favorite toy is his wooden ball web 

-Pulls to standing position when you hold his hands

-Beginning to hold himself up (sort of) in tripod sitting position 

-Wearing size 6 month

-Likes being outside (hadn't really experienced the outdoors prior to these past couple sunny days)

-Has a mostly well-established morning nap now 

-Goes to the nursery at church now!

-Very smiley and giggly with faces

-Grabs and pulls fists of others' hair (and he has 3 great targets around here!!)

-Trying (and usually failing!) to put him down drowsy but still awake so can fall asleep on own

-Finally developed a bedtime (~7 PM)....and then lost it

-Sleep is a bear

-Like really awful, total regression to newborn-type waking patterns kind of bear

-And so we began sleep training (and it too is awful but necessary right now) 

-Has made it 12 hours between feeds at night but has never ever sleeps that long without waking

-No longer sleeps on the go

-Finally rolled over TODAY (front to back - 3/14)

-Getting some rough patches on his skin (our kids and their skin!!)

-Hair is falling out like crazy and he has a mighty bald spot in the back (I spared him a photo!)

-Has had a couple colds this month

-Hates poopy diapers

-Typically rather quiet but gets chatty when excited

-Feeds himself the bottle (or so I am told)

-Literally hugged me after my first shift back at work

I just the way he smiles with his whole body! He's my little man and I adore him so.

Jack 5 Months

This kid just keeps getting cuter! Here are some highlight from this month:

-Sucking and drooling like there's no tomorrow

-Puts his binky in and pulls it back out all by himself

-Lays on the floor for more extended periods of time, watching his sisters play around him

-Favorite toy is his wooden ball web 

-Pulls to standing position when you hold his hands

-Beginning to hold himself up (sort of) in tripod sitting position 

-Wearing size 6 month

-Likes being outside (hadn't really experienced the outdoors prior to these past couple sunny days)

-Has a mostly well-established morning nap now 

-Goes to the nursery at church now!

-Very smiley and giggly with faces

-Grabs and pulls fists of others' hair (and he has 3 great targets around here!!)

-Trying (and usually failing!) to put him down drowsy but still awake so can fall asleep on own

-Finally developed a bedtime (~7 PM)....and then lost it

-Sleep is a bear

-Like really awful, total regression to newborn-type waking patterns kind of bear

-And so we began sleep training (and it too is awful but necessary right now) 

-Has made it 12 hours between feeds at night but has never ever sleeps that long without waking

-No longer sleeps on the go

-Finally rolled over TODAY (front to back - 3/14)

-Getting some rough patches on his skin (our kids and their skin!!)

-Hair is falling out like crazy and he has a mighty bald spot in the back (I spared him a photo!)

-Has had a couple colds this month

-Hates poopy diapers

-Typically rather quiet but gets chatty when excited

-Feeds himself the bottle (or so I am told)

-Literally hugged me after my first shift back at work

I just the way he smiles with his whole body! He's my little man and I adore him so.

Almond Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

I'm on a clean-out-the-pantry kick. And by "pantry" I mean that one cupboard with a few shelves that we cram full of everything from dry goods to kitchen equipment to vitamins. We do live in a townhouse after all. These clear-the-shelves kicks really should happen more than they do based on the number of times I get nailed with something sliding of my - ahem- perfectly organized piles of food in there. I've learned to open the cupboard cautiously. Death from above!

Anyway, back on topic. QUINOA! 

This was the ingredient of the week to get kicked out of my cupboard. I cooked up a large batch earlier in the week to serve with a Black bean, Roasted Corn and Avocado Salad, reserving a cup of it for this breakfast cookie recipe. Ever since Isla started preschool, I'm always in the market for more quick breakfast items I can just pull out of the freezer. I have the best of intentions of waking up earlier someday to nourish her with hot breakfasts but let's be honest, that just isn't happening right now. So enter breakfast cookies. These puppies are so versatile and can be packed with protein and fiber and yummy goodies. I'm collecting a few favorites over here and this here is one of them. The original recipe came from Bon Appetit Magazine, but then I made the absolutely substitution of some of the dried cranberries for chocolate chips. And then I added another secret ingredient, sort of by accident. Ok totally by accident. 

Let's just say when I made the big batch of cooked quinoa from my black bean salad recipe, I was super careful to reserve some for these cookies before adding the olive oil and salt and pepper to the rest. What I didn't remember until this morning when I was mixing up the cookie dough was what I used to cook the quinoa.... Yep, my quinoa was cooked in none other than chicken broth. CHICKEN BROTH! Lol. Some of us aren't getting enough sleep over here! I thought twice about using it (for like 3 seconds) before I decided Oh heck, let's just throw it in there and see how they taste! And to be honest, they actually turned out. They maybe a smidge saltier than the first time I made them but they are still mighty tasty for a reasonably healthful breakfast treat. I think the almond extract saved my bacon. So chicken broth or not, enjoy!

Almond Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375°. Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and extracts; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir in quinoa, oats, cranberries, chocolate chip, and almonds. Spoon dough in 2-tablespoon portions onto baking sheets greased with cooking spray, spacing 1” apart. Bake cookies until golden, 12–15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. DO AHEAD: Store cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for 1 day, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Makes ~24 cookies

Tears

And so it begins.

Our journey to better sleep.

And hopefully more patience and an all-around better outlook on life too! We finally bit the bullet last night and started some sleep training with Jack. He's been waking more and more over the past month and I haven't been able to fall back asleep after feeding him so have been spending more of my nights awake than asleep. And since I went back to work on Saturday and Graham is ear-deep in his new job, we have decided sleep is absolutely essential for our family right now. And so THINGS. MUST. CHANGE.

I thought I was going to be so much more hard core with baby #3. I thought it wouldn't even phase me letting him cry it out some. It turns out I was all talk. Just because it's my third time going through it doesn't make the process any easier. I forget - who's supposed to be the one crying? The baby or the mom? 

But I love our doctor. I don't know if she brings this up with all her patients or if she could just see it in my eyes (this girl needs sleep!) but at Jack's 4 month appointment, she told me now was the time to teach him to self soothe if we were interested in doing so. Everyone has strong opinion on babies and sleep, I know, and you can find an argument to back up whatever side you fall on. What I say is to each their own and you do what you gotta do. Our doctor said she always told herself with her own kids and what she now tells her patients is that it isn't fair NOT teach our kids to fall asleep on their own. That was the final nudge I needed. Doctor's "orders."

I'll spare you the details but let's just say night #1 nearly broke my heart in two. I kept telling myself we're doing this for his own good, we're doing this for his own good. It worked for a half a second and then I was ready to barrel into his room and scoop him up and smother him with kisses. Instead, I put on the headphones and watched a middle-of-the-night show, taking one ear bud out every 3 seconds to see if it over. He did finally put himself to sleep, a lovely deep sleep. I immediately went in there and, while he slept, gave him his binky and swaddled him snugly, whispering promises that I would hold him ALL day today if he wanted. And wouldn't you know it, when he woke this morning, he was all grins. 

Gah. This parenting thing can be so hard. I couldn't help but think of this whole crying it out process as a metaphor to life. Sometimes we have to go through pain and tears to reach the bigger and better (or at least richer and deeper) thing on the other side (like in this case, well-rested bodies for everyone). Learned habits usually require discipline and discipline usually involves some sort of pain or discomfort. How often do we shy away from the hard simply because it's just that: HARD? How often do we grow angry at God when the going gets tough and life feels heavy and burdensome? 

This morning Jack awoke beaming. He bore no grudge. I can't read minds, but his eyes told all. He still thinks I'm the best thing that ever happened to him. His whole body smiled, communicating absolutely unconditional love for me. Oh how I long to learn to emerge from the challenging, growth-inducing seasons of my life with the same knee-jerk response to absolutely beam with adoration for my Savior. I have a thing or two to learn!