Archive for November, 2009

Party!

Published November 29, 2009 baby 5 Comments
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As you can see from the photos, Chloe’s first birthday party was quite an occasion! The partygoers included Chloe’s friends Lorenzo and Ava. Besides the toys, the toddlers enjoyed a baby snack bar of peach and strawberry yogurt melts (to match the orange and pink theme, naturellement!), apple puffs, and animal crackers, and for the adults we had a gourmet cheese plate including my new favorite bucheron. We also hung crepe paper streamers in a doorway which I thought would only survive a few minutes, but instead actually stayed intact the entire time. Maybe the rip-and-destroy technique is more for the two-to-three year-olds? It was a lot of fun watching them plow through and laugh, and having the paper fluttering out behind.

Chloe’s cupcakes were tahitian vanilla bean with cream cheese frosting and meringue toppers. I even tried spelling out her name with some success. Despite my fears, she didn’t get sick from eating/playing with her cupcake, although it probably helped that most of it fell to the floor after a short time. And, thanks to the ‘net, we also took advantage of this free birthday hat download (see top photo) and a tutorial on how to make-your-own scratch-its so we could give out party prizes/favors (who thought that adding dish soap to metallic paint could be so fun?!).

I keep going around in my head how Chloe won’t have a single memory of this important event. But, of course, David and I will. Perhaps someday she will look back at photos of her childhood and see how much fun she had. But most of all, I’ll just want her to know how much she means to us, and that she is wholly and truly loved.

Dear Chloe, 1 year old

Published November 24, 2009 baby 7 Comments
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Dear Chloe,

You are one year old today! Happy birthday my love! What a journey it’s been, especially for you!

As of today, you have two bottom teeth plus a pearly sliver of a top left tooth. Your eyes have lightened just a bit from previous months, but are still that smoky grey that is unique to you. Although active crawling is your main form of transportation, just this week you’ve begun to amaze us by briefly standing up on your own, and even taking a few tentative steps. You love to walk holding onto one of our hands, and will reach out in an unmistakable way to let us know that is your intention. You point at things, you babble, and your smiles never fail to make me smile, too.

Some things you enjoy in particular right now: feeding yourself, bath time, opening drawers, going outside to play, unrolling the toilet paper, petting Barkley, watching the fascinating antics of other babies and kids, and exploring anything new that you haven’t been able to play with previously.

Another big change this week is that I think you are beginning to wean yourself. At bedtime and during the night you are fine to nurse, but during the day you are usually not interested. Since you are underweight and small for your age, it concerns me a little. You drink very little and barely take a sip of formula or whole milk whenever I offer it. You are beginning to eat better though, so I’m trying to be as smart as I can with what you’ll eat.

To celebrate your birthday today we went to the zoo.  You were a little tired because we got a late start, but you really liked the trout exhibit, the playful otter, the lorikeets and especially the baby elephant swimming and splashing in his pool. Lucky for you we got a family pass with some of your birthday money so that we can come back again and again.

Thank you, my dearest little Chloe, for bringing me joy, teaching me patience, and giving me the miraculous experience of motherhood. I love you SO much, and just know that the upcoming year will be full of adventure for all of us.

Love,
Mom

Chloe Stats at 1 year: Height 2’4″ (15%) Weight: 17lb 6oz (3%) HC: 17.52″ (31%)

The Most Amazing Buttermilk Chocolate Cake *Update*

Published November 19, 2009 Cooking , recipes 16 Comments
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I made this buttermilk chocolate cake again this past week. A perfectly wet and dreary week called for a little bit of baking to cheer the place up. Although, not wanting too much of a good thing, I decided to halve the recipe this time and used a 9×13 glass pan at 330 degrees instead. Then I sliced it in half and squared the edges for a double-layer cake. The ganache frosting got poured directly over the top with just a little smoothing at the end. Nothing too fussy, just simple, chocolatey goodness.

Here are the two layers after cooling and squaring the edges:

Here are the slices that were removed and ready to nibble:

The final cake, after dripping the chocolate ganache frosting down the sides and smoothing the top:

The very first slice – dark, gorgeous, and utterly delicious!

More neat things I can live without

Published November 16, 2009 Pretty Things 1 Comment

I just opened a Design Within Reach mailer (who knows how long it’s been sitting on my desk), and I was struck by a few things that really wowed me. Now, I am a practical person, so none of these things are going to make my Christmas list (unless there exists a parallel universe in which I am rich and already have everything else I really want), but I thought I’d share them here. Because it’s free to do that.


Hakutan Coal Air Purifier – According to the web site, this is “white charcoal”, made from Korean oak, that is clean to the touch and naturally purifies the air without the use of chemicals. Can you believe that? After it stops working you can crush it and add it to planting soil. I love that it looks like a wood sculpture. I’d keep it on my desk. Also shown are the Chikutan Coal Water Purifiers which are also white charcoal, but made from Japanese bamboo, which “absorbs impurities from beverages.” You can stir a glass-like stick “in tea, water or alcohol to give it a cleaner taste.”


These Wax Crayons in a Box appeal to me in every way. They are beautiful, useful, natural (pure beeswax and pigments), foster creativity in a multitude of ways (from drawing, layering, and etching to even melting!) and come in a sweet wooden box. I’m guessing they don’t break as easily as Crayolas do, either. These would be seriously cool if I was a true artiste.


Japanese Masking Tape and dispenser. How fun are these? And how do the Japanese make everything so darn cute? I’d buy these if I saw them at Ikea, because that is probably the only place where I could afford them. There, or at the dollar store!

Baby shoe shopping

Published November 15, 2009 baby 3 Comments
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I think I may have mentioned this before, but Chloe has little feet. They are short lengthwise, but tall heightwise, which makes them difficult to fit into shoes. We were handed down several nice pairs (including the ones above), but almost none fit her. Since we think she may be on the cusp of walking, and with winter coming up, we wanted to get her at least one good pair. I guess we had no idea how expensive baby shoes were, because we were shocked at some of the price tags. In the end, we chose this pair from See Kai Run. They fit her really well, and will go with 99% of her wardrobe. Plus, both David and I could actually agree. As for the pair in the photo (which David says looks like little pig feet in shoes), as adorable as they are, they just aren’t meant for cold weather, or our hardwood floors. That is the thing with baby wear. So often you’ll love an outfit and she’ll outgrow it after only a few times, or it will be for the wrong season once she is finally big enough to wear it. But we’ve been very lucky to have so much given to us, so a little shoe shopping is nothing to complain about!

Here are two good guides to buying baby’s first pair of shoes from BabyCenter and Parenting.

Maternity Session

Published November 14, 2009 Life , Photos 1 Comment
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Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph a maternity session for a friend of a friend (see more photos). I tried to capture her gorgeous shape the best I could, but I know I have a lot to learn. On top of my list is focus, photo-editing, and how to better use my speedlite. This past week I attended a Canon Intermediate Discovery presentation and am excited to practice all I’ve learned. Sadly, it has already been several days and I haven’t once cracked open the workbook. Just where does all the time go?

Bias-tape Baby Bib Tutorial and Template

Published November 14, 2009 baby , Crafts & Sewing , tutorials 4 Comments
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You can download this bib template or just freehand one

Another project that I tried while visiting Chloe’s Grandma Sandy was how to make a bias tape bib. Back when I was pregnant I had read that bibs with ties were a choking hazard, so when we were yard-saling we mostly picked up velcro versions. Turns out the ties are SO much better because you can get a custom fit around the neck, and baby can’t pull it off like she can with the velcro. Two of my favorite bibs were ones I won from Quilt Baby (now called The Modern Baby Co.), so Grandma Sandy showed me how to make something similar, while also giving me an introduction to bias tape. Here’s what I learned:

Materials for Bib
fabric piece for the cover (approx 8″x8″)
terry cloth for backing (approx 8″x8″)
bias tape (approx 54″)

1. Cut out the desired shape from a piece of cover fabric (front) and a piece of terry cloth (back). This is an ideal project for scraps. The one in the photo is about 7.75 x 8 inches. You can download, print and trace this bib template, or just freehand one.

2. Pin the two pieces together, pretty sides out.

3. Starting from the top corner, sandwich the raw edges of the fabric between a first piece of bias-tape, from one side to the other, pinning as you go. Keep in mind that the longer side of the bias-tape goes on the back so that it will “catch” when you sew it down (see this great bias-tape tutorial and video). We’re using pre-made bias tape that is 1/2″ wide folded, but you can learn to make your own from this video .

4. Cut the bias tape on both ends so that it is flush with the fabric, or just slightly longer. Sew this piece of tape down with a straight stitch, close to the edge of where the tape meets the fabric, but being careful not to fall off the edge of the tape. If it is important to you, match the top thread to the top fabric and the bottom thread to the terrycloth.

4. Next, sandwich and pin a second piece of bias-tape around the remaining outside perimeter, being sure to leave enough tape on both ends (about 11-12″) to form the strings for tying. Fold under the raw edge tips of the tape ties and tuck inside itself for a neat appearance.

5. Starting on one end of the tape, sew the tape together, all the way around until you get to the other side. Now just snip the threads and your done!

Replacement Sigg Bottles & Funny Story

Published November 12, 2009 Life 4 Comments

If you read this post, you know that we sent our old BPA-included bottles back to take advantage of Sigg’s voluntary exchange program. They emailed us a gift certificate code that we used to choose our replacements, a 1.5L to hold extra water for short trips and a 0.3L kids bottle for Chloe. The funny thing that I really wanted to share was the gift certificate amount shown during check out. I am not making this up, nor did I photoshop any of this clipping except to highlight the amount, but it said that the gift certificate was worth $27,168.87! You can believe that took me by surprise – and yes, for a moment I considered adding to my order. The temptation passed quickly, although I can’t help but wonder whether anyone else decided to work the system!

Barkley Update

Published November 10, 2009 Barkley 3 Comments
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Poor Barkley. He’s had a hard year. Not only did he have to adjust to a new baby in the house, but he also had leg surgery which put him out of commision for months. I’m afraid that nothing will be quite the same for him again. This past Sunday we make it Barkley Day to give him a little extra love including a special walk, gentle game of fetch, and a trip to PetSmart. He would have preferred we left it at that, but when we returned home he also got a good brushing and scrub down in the backyard (see below). Chloe was very amused. Barkley not so much.

My Little Tinkerbell

Published November 8, 2009 baby , holiday 6 Comments
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Chloe finally got to wear her hand-me-down Tinkerbell outfit to a baby costume party today. So adorable. My little Tinkerbell.

A good kind of sting

Published November 6, 2009 baby , Life Closed
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Despite hearing stories of long lines and hours of wait, we decided that our daughter’s health and well-being was worth the effort of trying to procure for her the H1N1 vaccine. We were out of the house within minutes of confirming that yes, our provider finally received a shipment at our local clinic.

When we arrived, the line was out the door, but the check-in station was just around the corner. There was a security officer there, presumably to keep the peace should anyone choose to get rowdy, but he was very nice and even gave Chloe a sticker. It goes to show how very protective of Chloe I was being, because I did not want her touching that sticker, or anything else (even though the clinic was also offering free hot chocolate). I even chose to carry her in the Beco. I did not want to risk her getting sick from anything or anybody there.

The wait was surprisingly short, maybe 25 minutes before Chloe was screened as a priority candidate. After signing a short form the nurse asked if David and if we were also wanting to be vaccinated. We answered yes. And so all three of us got the H1N1 vaccine (whew!).

FYI: Often there is a choice between the spray and the shot. Pediatric doses are only given as shots. If you have asthma, you cannot choose the spray version. And even though David has a different insurance provider, he was still able to get a dose, because these were paid for by the government.

Laughter and Swings

Published November 3, 2009 baby 3 Comments
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My dad recorded this little video. Although I would say that Chloe is  generally a happy baby, she is not given to fits of laughter. This was one of the first times Chloe was placed in a swing. At the beginning she seemed rather undecided if it was fun or not, so she was given a little help from mom.

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