Chef Jonas

Jonas' interest in cooking has intensified over the past few weeks.  He regularly quotes Ina Garten and asks what the ingredients are in things.

When we were in Seattle Grandma Kimmy patiently worked with him on an orange cake and let him use about 10 different spatulas.

First Snowday in Pittsburgh

Sleepless in Seattle

Okay, okay it wasn't too bad.  After the first 4:30 am morning the kids eventually went on a decent schedule waking up around 6:00 am and going to bed about 7:00 pm.

We had a wonderful week spending a few days in Magnolia (Northwest Seattle) with Kimmy and Nick.  Marcus and Summer live around the corner and popped by for a few visits; we also saw their darling new house.  Then we descended on Dana adding two to her brood of three, plus Clyde the new bunny.  Of course Jonas loved visiting both his cousins and their toys never wanting to leave.  He also mentioned that Dana has "much better food than we have at home mommy."

On Friday night Kimmy hosted a wonderful Hanukkah celebration including homemade latkes, designer jelly doughnuts, jonas' homemade menorah and dredel.  (Grandma Dinny in the photo above is a gorgeous 87.)

Grandpop Andy Comes to Town

It's been a busy few weeks and I'm running behind!  After a wonderful thanksgiving in Philadelphia we returned to Pittsburgh for a fun visit from Grandpop Andy.  He started Hanukkah season early hitting up three toy stores and Borders for the boys...

Sun Bathers

Today our first snow flurries in Pittsburgh are falling so I'm inspired to post photos celebrating sunshine.  Only two weeks ago our home was so warm the boys hung out in their underwear/diapers and

worked on their tans- in our laundry basket.  Jonas sang "rub a dub dub, two boys in a tub..."

Casting On

Having now done this twice there seems to be a pattern: extreme nesting from about 3 months pregnant to delivery.  Then the day after the baby is born all unfinished projects just lie there day after day.
Somewhere around 7-8 months the urge to complete them miraculously comes over me.  So here is not-so-little Caleb in a new hat for winter (which may come someday) and I'm also finishing up a few sweaters and staring some socks.

Celebration for Grammie

Instead of a sign welcoming Grammie, Jonas wanted to make a "celebration" for her upcoming visit.  He worked on it for 2 days including table settings, multiple courses and special linens.  This pot is cranberry spinach.  Grammie bonded with her boys and prior to leaving she created a delicious (and real) pot of beef barley soup for her peepies.

Caleb on the Move

In the last few weeks Caleb went from scooching a few inches to fully crawling: the style that involves mostly arms and dragging of the legs, a.k.a. comando crawl.  He can now cross a room to pull over his toy bin and climb inside or treat the coffee table like an obstacle course.

Boo... Happy Halloween

Katy and Jason brought their pupkin (Julien) to join the

halloween festivities.

Caleb was Max from Where the Wild Things Are.  I think it was over most peoples' heads and he looked more like a baby king.

Jonas as a shark- the red lollipop created a nice effect!  All of the photos can be found here.

I'm Going to Eat You Up!

We're warming up for halloween and great white shark Jonas is eating people this morning (sometimes he prefers to eat only plants). Certainly we are getting our $16 worth out of this halloween costume!

Anytime is Bath Time

Typically blow-outs (a.k.a. Code Brown, Two-Parent Change) are a thing of less than 4 month old babies. We have no idea why at 7 months Caleb seems to go through two or three outfits a day. Yes, we have tried larger diapers, eliminating prunes, it just seems our man cannot be contained by a pamper, onesy or pants for that matter necessitating a mid-day bath.

We've Lost Our Poppy-A

Sadly last week Michael's grandfather (Andy's dad) passed away. He was a lovely man and Lisa and Michael made some beautiful remarks at his funeral. We spent the weekend with family in Philadelphia where the weather was appropriately somber to match our mood.

This photo is from my nephew Luke's bris in December of 2006.

Fallingwater

Grandma Kimmy is in town and we visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in Bear Run, PA. It's an hour an half from Pittsburgh and well worth the trip. We were both really impressed and it was especially fun to see the home's furnishings and learn a bit more about the commissioning family: the Kaufmanns.

More information: Fallingwater

You Wash My Back, I'll Wash Yours

Grandpa Yosh Visits Pittsburgh

Grandpa Yosh came out from Seattle to spend some time with his kids (big and little). He also got to catch up with a friend from high school, Steve, who moved out to Pittsburgh almost 20 years ago. Lucky for us Steve's daughter is now our favorite babysitter!

Beyond catching up with everyone, dad got to attend a traditional Yom Kippur break fast at our friends' home, see the t-rex'es at the Carnegie Museum (he was more interested in the foliage choices in the display than the actual fossils) and some modern art.

We did our best to keep dad in familiar surroundings: low-sugar diet, rigorous daily workouts and customary weather pattern of a cloudy skies, a constant drizzle with an occasional afternoon sunbreak.

It's a Wrap

Jonas used to just have rice and beans on a plate. But now he wants a full-sized buritto like his dad. Hold the guacamole please.

Boys Will Be Boys

After all the festivities (and about 4 rounds of dessert) both boys needed a good scrubbing. It's fun to see Luke and Jonas play so well together. Jonas his considering lending out a few trains to his younger cousin...

Ringing in the New Year

We had a lovely Rosh Hashana in Philadelphia with our family. First Judy (aka mom, grammie, tiger) hosted everyone for a beautiful dinner on Friday night with food for those in attendance multiplied by 3. I believe she is still eating the leftover chicken.

After services on Saturday Nanny and Poppy had everyone over for a late lunch and an equally plentiful spread. Caleb had on his holiday best for about 5 minutes before deciding he would like to be more comfortable.

A healthy and happy new year everyone...

First Day of Preschool!

Jonas had his first day of preschool on Monday. He was a bit nervous staying by himself for the first time but was excited to see Mr. Salinetro (his favorite teacher) and the sandbox.

There were a few tears at drop off, but by the end of the day he told me that he likes "the school that grammie picked out for him." His clothes were also covered with evidence of great fun: pink marker, playground dirt and a mystery sticky substance.

Jonas About to Pounce

Soft Blanket

Jonas used to have a few important blankets and stuffed animals (warm blanket, quilt, soft blanket, pig and bunny) but now it's all about Soft Blanket. We wouldn't think of travelling without it, strictly carry-on of course, and not only does he sleep with it, but it's brought down to breakfast and several times snuck outside.

The holes all have names: Large Hole, Medium Hole, Small Hole 1 and Small Hole 2. At night Jonas puts his finger through a specific hole and then snuggles the blanket next to his face. Washing this blanket requires NASA precision since it can only be retrieved in the morning and needs to be dry by nap time.

Lovingly knit by Aunt Lisa, no one could have anticipated it would rise to such stature.

How Sweet It Is...

My love of chocolate is hardly a secret but there is a particular chocolate from the Jersey Shore that Nanny and Poppy introduced me to called Jagielky's that's a favorite. The pieces are big and not too perfect. The Dark Chocolate Marshmallows and Wynnewoods are pretty much impossible to resist.

When we had to miss the last weekend of the summer our thoughtful grandparents sent us some sweetness in the mail. Jonas and I couldn't help having a piece (or two) for breakfast. Thank you Nanny and Poppy!

Quilting Bees

They always say that the first born receives the most gifts (especially handmade ones) and the subsequent children get less and less fanfare. Not so for this family. Jonas received quite a few wonderful hand knit sweaters and blankets, but in the past month Caleb has received not one, but two amazingly beautiful quilts. Perhaps quilting is the new knitting?

The first is from my best childhood friend Devon. I had no idea it was even in the works and was moved to tears when she gave it to us. Caleb likes to roll around on it every morning as part of his tummytime. It's got fun prints of monkeys, bananas, balls, and plenty of red and polka dots. We have already done the "does it survive the spit up test?" and it passed with flying colors emerging from the washer/dryer fresh and cuddly as ever.

The second is sort of the first too because shortly after becoming pregnant I started harassing my dear college friend Rhea to make me a quilt. We picked out some fabrics together in New York and traded emails and ideas. I think in my enthusiasm I gave her a bit of anxiety about coming up with something chic. It's so much fun to talk about a creative project and not actually have to do it :) Somehow between being a mother, corporate lawyer, wife, friend and knitter, she completed this exquisite quilt. What I find so fun is how different the two are. I'm letting the boys play with this one then hanging it above Caleb's crib to admire it a bit more.

Thank you so much ladies!

I'll Cry if I Want To

I know I know. No one likes to see him upset. But even our sweet Caleb lets us know every once in a while that he is not pleased. Typically because a meal is overdue, it's nap time or he simply wants to be held (every night from about 6:20 pm on).

Our darling boy is 6 months old today and it's hard to remember what life was like before this blessing. It certainly included a lot more sleep, but not as much laughter or cuddles. We really had no idea what the juggle was before having two.

Oh and another upside of the frown, check out those two teeth! He's drooling so much we expect companions any day, but they haven't surfaced.

Dressed for Action at the Carnegie Museum

Roar! We had a third "boy" this weekend with our friend Evan in town. We checked out the T-Rex's at the Carnegie Museum (really cool) and of course the fossils and minerals as well. He was in town to go to a friend's wedding whose reception was at the museum later that evening.

Below are photos of both boys ready for action.

Grammie Takes in Pittsburgh

Grammie came to visit last week. We road the Monongahela Incline up for a great view of downtown Pittsburgh. Jonas now asks every morning if we can ride it again and lists who he would like to join us.

Morning Glory

Caleb is such a sweetheart in the morning. He's typically all smiles and likes to roll around and giggle. He seems to be a morning person like his mom. Let's see if that sticks...

In the Kitchen with Jonas

Jonas is emerging as a bit of picky eater. We are trying to prepare food and cook with him a bit to encourage him to try new things and peak his curiosity in foods beyond white carbohydrates and all things sweet. He helped make salmon and coconut rice this week. In the end the rice was a hit and the salmon will live to swim another day.

Caleb on the Mean Streets of Seattle

Great Grandma Dinny and Caleb

Our family's oldest member and

youngest meet for the first time.