Father's Day

For Father's Day Rick got buttermilk waffles for breakfast and a dinner of ham, au gratin potatoes, rolls, and coffee cake. Piper made him a cute card, a daddy-themed puzzle, and we bought him a new pair of slippers and pajama pants (he was in desperate need of new slippers).

Piper and I also made him these bingo cards that had pictures of things that he loves. We made two variants too, one for Piper and one for me, so that we could all play together. We had themes going. The first column is for foods/drinks he likes, second for pastimes, third for the things he loves the most, fourth for luxuries, and fifth for travel. They were a big hit and Piper loves playing because it's easy for her to mark off the squares. We're still teaching her how to recognize when she has won.

Strawberries and Adventures in Domesticity

The full-swing strawberry season is quickly winding down. We've got strawberries just starting to grow in our little garden but we've had other sources of strawberries lately.

We got these heavenly beauties from our organic farm share. I don't think I've ever tasted better quality strawberries before. They were perfectly ripe, juicy, tender, and red through and through. Piper and I gorged on them.

Piper and I decided to go strawberry picking one day. I had found a farm not too far from us. We were taken on a tractor with some other pickers to rows of strawberries. The rain had done a bit of damage and they were nearing the end of the season. However, we picked eight quarts.


Child labor


My helpful picker. She was pretty good and picking only the red berries.


Now what do you do when you have eight quarts of berries and not enough time or stomach capacity to eat them all before they rot?! Make jam, of course. My parents routinely made jam when I was growing up. I had assisted in making jam once before with my step-sister Kym but that was over 15 years ago. Above is the result (minus one jar I gave away) of two hours of labor. I was very concerned about them sealing well so I consulted three recipes and methods simultaneously. I was very pleased with the results.

So, so good.

Rick in Beijing

Two weeks ago Rick had the opportunity to go to Beijing for work. He went a few days early to get in some sightseeing and to get over any jet lag before the meeting. He went with our friend Chris Musso and he was able to see our friend Hwee-Hong who we knew from New York. Here are some pictures from his travels.

Rick at the Great Wall

Musso looking cool


The Olympic "Bird's Nest"

Getting foot massages

The Forbidden City

New outfit

This is one of the many new outfits Piper got for her birthday. The one featured below is courtesy of Grandma Ann.

Random pics

My mom and a very pregnant me

Piper saying "Yar" after attending the Lakewood Library's How to Be a Pirate party

We didn't have time to get Piper's face painted at the party so I told her that I would give her a mustache and beard when we got home. She replied, "Ahoy mateys!"

TV Viewing

Rick and I finally watched the season finale of House. It was quite exciting and can’t wait for the new season. At least I have the new season of Burn Notice to tide me over for the summer. A new favorite on Discovery Healthy is Deliver Me. It’s about three women who run an OB practice in L.A. It’s really interesting; I’d watch it even if I wasn’t pregnant.

Summer is here!

A few weeks ago Piper and I went to the Rocky River spray park. This week we got a pool pass and went to an opening ice cream social. We’ve also signed up Piper for swim lessons. It’s a group class with parent participation. It will be good to get some good pool time in, what with my belly getting so heavy and everything.

Coming up in July Rocky River hosts a family day called River Days. It will have a kid’s bike parade, basketball tournament, food, crafts, inflatables, and clowns.

A local movie theater is also hosting free movie days for kids. Every Tuesday and Wednesday they show G-rated and PG-rated movies. We’ll probably go see Horton Hears a Who and maybe Happy Feet. Piper’s never been to movie so I figure that by going to a movie that she’s seen before, then she’ll be more likely to pay attention.

For the next six months we’re splitting a share of organic produce from a local farm with some friends. We’ve had two loads so far and we’ve had beets, rhubarb, green leaf lettuce, kale, strawberries, eggs, bread, and maple syrup. I made a fantastic strawberry rhubarb crumb cake. It was so, so good. This is in addition to the herbs, tomatoes, carrot seeds and strawberries we planted three weeks ago.

We’re looking forward to the summer. How about you?

Piper was seriously flirting with this kid. She would stare at him and try to get him to wave or smile at her. Oh no, it begins.

Piper and Ellie at the pool enjoying ice cream

Potty training update

After almost three months of potty training Piper is now exclusively wearing underwear and this week we started her on wearing underwear to bed too. No bed wetting to report yet. She’d been dry at night for a long, long time but we just needed to get a waterproof cover for the mattress before switching her out of the pull-ups. She still has accidents now and then but we had a two week stretch accident-free. In fact, the other day was the first pee accident she’s had in over a month. Unfortunately she had another one the next day too.

Feeling blessed

The other night I watched The Pursuit of Happyness on TV. I had seen it before but it made me start thinking about how it would feel to be a parent struggling so much to just provide the basic necessities for your child. Then I was reading some information about food storage that essentially said that if you don’t have food storage or financial savings then you don’t have the means to help those in need. Later I saw a very moving commercial for HelpPlan which sponsors children in foreign countries. They featured a kid that was around ten or twelve who was caring for his four younger brothers after his parents had died. It was heartbreaking to see how much he sacrificed for his brothers. These three things in such quick succession made me really realize how blessed I am, that I need to show my gratitude more, and that I could do more to help others.

Quiet, we're hunting wabbits

Last week we had plenty of sightings of rabbits in our neighborhood. We even saw two in the backyard fighting for territory. I’d never seen anything like that.

Pregnancy update

I’m currently 29 weeks into my pregnancy. The boy moves around a lot which is good but I’m slowing down which is frustrating. I never have the energy to do everything I want to do. I’m having trouble sleeping because of breathlessness, heartburn, and sciatic pain. It’s all par for the course. I’ve already washed and folded all of Piper’s clothes that were boy-appropriate. We have plenty of blankets, with some adorable new ones and burp rags from my mom.

Beijing

Rick is in China this week for work. We explained to Piper that he was going where Kung Fu Panda lives. She asked for dumplings for dinner one night, because that’s what Kung Fun Panda likes. He’s there with our friend Chris Musso and they were able to see our friend Hwee-Hong. Piper’s most excited about getting a present.

Our girl Piper's birthday

My mom came out last week to visit us and to celebrate Piper’s birthday. It was a very full weekend of celebration. We had a barbecue with friends on Saturday for Piper’s birthday. She and I made a pink princess castle cake. (BTW, the cake looked like it was going to topple over because of its height so my mom and I performed cake surgery to take out a layer before we served it.) We played pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, opened presents, including a great dolly from Papa Allen, and rode Piper’s new tricycle. We all had a wonderful time.

On Sunday we had chocolate chip pancakes. Piper wore a new outfit and sandals to church. After dinner, she opened more gifts: clothes, dresses, games, and two movies Bolt and Shrek. Grandma’s visit was far too short and for days after she left Piper would wake up and ask if Grandma was still there. Luckily she’s coming back soon.

Some stats on our girl:
Height: 38.5 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 31.5 lbs (50th percentile)

Some recent sayings:

• At breakfast Piper was eating a bowl of cereal. She was talking to her spoon and said, “Cereal goes in the mouth. Come aboard cereal.”
• Piper was trying to get Rick to come play with her: “Daddy, will you play with me please? Every kid needs a person to play with.”
• Apropos of nothing Piper says, “Of course I’m serious.”
• Before Piper's party an extra can of frosting goes missing. This was the conversation that ensued:
  Me: “Piper, do you know where it is?”
  Piper: “No.”
  Me: “Okay.”
  Piper: “A naughty little girl took it.”
  It was later found stashed behind the bedroom door on her bookshelf.
• Rick and Piper were singing together the other day. She likes a song by Pink called “Rockstar” so Rick was singing it. Piper told Rick, “Daddy, I’m sorry. You can’t be a rockstart [rockstar], you have to be a daddy.”
• “Mom, I’m not going to do bad things at our house anymore…because I listen to you now.”

The cake (pre-surgery)

Waiting to open presents


Riding the new wheels


The birthday girl and Grandma

More presents

Before church

My two sweeties sharing a slow dance and a moment