Happy October

I loves loves loves me some pumpkin. Luckily last week our veggie box gave us a Pie Pumpkin. I couldn't bring myself to bake a pie this week, and I'm trying really hard not to bake anything too rediculous since the salty chocolate caramel cookies fiasco (howsweeteats.com),but I couldn't bring myself to let the pumpkin go to waste. I mean look at that tastiness, sweating away in the steamer. I think he (she?) knew I was going to devour it (her/him). Almost every single recipe I could find called for canned pumpkin so I had to make a puree first. Good thing I have a left over eating machine (aka Stella), cause one pumpkin makes way more than 1/2 a cup of puree.

This pumpkin turned into 16 delicious pumpkin scones (joyofbaking.com). Joy of Baking has the best scone recipes in the whole world. These are almost like the amazing pumpkin scones I devoured when I was pregant with Stella from Starbucks, those were the only thing that helped my nausea. They needed a little something so I cheated and used the leftover cream cheese icing I had in the freezer from when I made oreo truffles for Erin's bachelorette weekend (bakerella.com). I whipped in some milk to thin it out a bit (too much, so I had to add some icing sugar) and drizzled over the scones. Only drizzled so they don't contribute to the caloric intake. See, so much healthier than pie.

Jeff has been mocking my inability to waste anything, so the seeds had to be put to good use. And these I tried to keep vaguely healthy. They're seeds right? Look how trim birds are, practically vegetables. A little olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, sugar and garlic powder. Have I mentioned my obsession with cinnamon? More antioxidants than blueberries. So that totally cancels out the cream cheese icing right?

I've got the joy joy joy....

to quote the Flanders....




This was our post lunch conversation today. Then the little pick pocket snuck up on me and stole my home depot list out of my back pocket!

And time ticks on....

Life keeps ticking by! It's sometimes hard to keep up, and I keep thinking I have to write that in the blog so I don't forget! This weekend we blitzed the house with the baby proofing to keep up with Stella. The doors in the kitchen are now a pain in the ass to get open and we installed the baby gate. Just in time, she has taken off this week. She's even started "wandering", not just crawling to get something in particular, but just to go for a little stroll. All this crawling is playing a little bit of havec with our sleep and napping has been a challenge. Why sleep when there's so much more to do!

Jeff and I have kicked it into gear trying to finish up the attic before Stella's birthday. Jeff patched up the last spots on the walls and I started working on cleaning up the plaster and taking all the screws out of the stairs. Hopefully this weekend we'll get some primer on the walls, and maybe even a coat of paint! Next will be getting some carpet down, and I heard there's a sale at home depot!

The nanny hunt has begun as well, which is another reason why the baby proofing is in overdrive; Stella and Henry will be spending Tuesdays and Wednesdays here.

It all sounds so boring, but it's life and it's going too fast! Before we know it, Christmas will be here!

Babygate 2010

No, it's not newest political scandal.

Today, we are officially baby-gated. And strangely, it's the first day we really needed. This kid has taken off. Not only is she mobile, but she wants to get at so many things. For ages I kept saying: "She's a content baby, she's just not driven to move". No more. Maybe all this time she was just plotting her first moves.

As we were putting up the gate today we had her playing in our bedroom on the floor, if you turned your back for a second she was right at our elbows, trying to get the tools and eat the instructions. Ironically, she managed to pull the baby gate on to her head as we were figuring out how to bolt it to a portion of non-existant wall.

Installing this baby gate was a bit of a MacGyver operation. We tried various different solutions which didn't leave us feeling as comfortable with the safety. In the end, we have a Franken-gate, or maybe Mad Max Gate; two pieces of wood bolted with a piece of plastic in between to accomodate for the baseboard. It's sturdy and it takes me 30 seconds to get through it. I can see a lot of stuff getting piled at the bottom of the stairs.

To reinforce our baby-proofing, Jeff and I have a started a contest to help us a remember to do all the little things. There's a chart on the wipeboard on the fridge. Not sure yet what the prize is going to be.... thoughts?

So crafty.....

Yeah, I made that:



This is the first article of clothes that I've made myself since middle school


And this:



Remember that glorious packet of material squares? Well, I fell in love with this quilt from the blog www.honeybearlane.com. I still have to finish the edging. But don't you love it??

And We're Off!

Goodbye Summer.

Goodbye hot hot days and swimming in the afternoon.

Goodbye teeny tiny sundresses and barefeet all the time.

Goodbye watermelon parties and beach outings.

We'll miss you!


To celebrate the last day of summer, Stella decided to crawl. She's slow and a little timid and wobbly, but there's definite arm and leg forward movements. It started on Saturday when she got on to her bum once. Then she did it all day on Sunday. Then Monday morning we woke up to a big girl sitting in the corner of her crib. Yesterday afternoon it was warm and we were catching the last bits of afternoon sun in the backgarden. Slow and steady she made her way across her mats. This morning, she even made it across the kitchen floor to grab my pant leg. She's a woman on the move.

Milestone alert!

This weekend Stella rolled from her back to front and pushed herself up on to her bum FOUR TIMES! I think that officially means she's mastered it! The crawling is still coming along, but she's kind of got her own version...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good.

Erin got maw-ried this weekend. She was gorgeous, the day was gorgeous, we were all gorgeous. We had a blast doing a ton of photographs with their photographer and I can't wait to see the results. And maybe if I can save my pennies, get a session for Stella, Jeff and I. I'd love to have someone take pictures of us and make us look stunning. Stella had a fantastic time at her Grandparents. Which leads to something gooder..... the chance at 5 days away somewhere warm and sunny for us this winter.

The Bad....

This week was the Toronto Film Festival, and Bruce Springsteen was screening his documentary "Darkness on the Edge of Town". On Sunday a rumour started that he might play a secret show at the Horseshoe Tavern and we scooped up tickets. So did my parents, who unfortunately wouldn't be able to make it in afterall. We scalped their tickets for $100 for a nice $70 profit. It was great to get a night out downtown in our old neighbourhood, eat some pulled pork, drink some PBR and hang out with friends, but the Boss broke our heart and was a no shoe. Some days you win, somedays you lose.

The Ugly....

This kid has got to be pushing out some teeth. Please, let it be teeth. Sleep has fallen apart the last 2 nights, she's mom-mom-mom-ing all day and the littlest thing sends the little Drama Queen over the top. Today her nose started running and she's a little snorting machine while she nurses. This is the same thing that happened with her bottem teeth so hopefully we're making some progress.

And this is where the Lewis' are this week.....

The Art of the Self Portrait

It's hard being beautiful. It's even harder being beautiful and trying to get a portrait of yourselves while you're #1 photographer and admirer isn't home from work yet. Yesterday we got all prettied up to go to the rehearsal dinner for Erin and Brad's wedding. I rehearsed walking and Stella ate beet greens and apple sauce with Jeff and cheered me on.



Not a bad shot... but what the heck does she have in her mouth?



Maybe let go of my face?



Um... where did Stella go?





Love Love


I definitely need to stop taking pictures with my phone, and use my big expensive camera more.

A perfect kind of day

This holiday weekend was a whirlwind! Saturday and Sunday were spent celebrating Erin's end of single like with her bachelorette festivities. The old woman in me enjoyed the limo ride to the wineries and picnic, while the party girl still hiding somewhere had a blast singing at the top of her lungs and shaking her booty to the band.

Luckily, this weekend came with an extra day. Phew. A well deserved, long awaited extra family day. Monday was our second wedding anniversary, our cotton anniversary. While we had hoped to do some geocaching (yes, big nerd over here, and I must admit, it's all me and very (very) little of Jeff's desire to Geocache), it was a bit too rainy looking outside. But somehow the stars were aligned and the Jays were playing an afternoon game. When we lived on Portland street we went to the games almost every week. Beer at the stadium just tastes better, especially when it's got a side of a hotdog. And popcorn. And maybe some nachos. And an icecream. This was our first time taking Stella and it was a success! She had such a good time checking out the field and all the people. She must have done a good job cheering, cause they won 7-2 against the Texas Rangers.


When we got home, Stella and I took a quick nap and Jeff started dinner. My husband spoiled me this year; diamond earrings and a delicious steak dinner. The man knows the way too my heart! He even made ceasar salad dressing from scratch. That, plus, the blue cheese twice baked potato, I might have to be rolled down the aisle next weekend at Erin and Brad's wedding!

We have a 10 month old people!

Yes, it's true. We have a crazy, almost crawling, jabbering, sleeping through the night 10 month old over here.

Stella, everyday you bring so much more joy into our lives. I can see it in your eyes and in that big giant two tooth smile. Your face lights up about ten thousand times a day; when you catch the other baby's eye in the reflection in the expresso machine at the coffee shop and wave hello, when you wave at a stranger and they notice you and stop to say hello, with every wake-up from naps and discovery of a new skill.

You have so many new talents this month, making kisses noises at Momma and Daddy, scootching across the floor on your tummy and getting stuck under everything, talking to yourself and laughing at all your jokes. You're the peekaboo champion at our house and are always up for an "extreme" game. Bathtime has become a splashfest and Momma gets soaked every night! You love all kinds of food, this month we started eating yogurt, cheese, eggs and meat!

You spend your days playing with your two buddies Rush and Lily, visiting the park and you love the grocery store. So many people to charm! I see can you becoming more of a social baby, you love engaging with people, but you're also so content to play by yourself and find so many ways to amuse yourself.

Stella, the other mommies in the neighbourhood have started calling you Zen baby with your relaxed and happy disposition. But you still keep Momma on her toes when you're tired!

We love you so much and like Daddy says, you get funner everyday!

Love, Momma and Daddy.

Dinner Conversation

Stella and I have long chats over dinner.
Well, she talks to her whole wheat blueberry waffle.



And then she tries to feed me her waffle and thinks it's the funniest thing in the world.