Who Needs a Dog?

I have my own newspaper-fetcher. The only problem is that he sometimes drops half of it out of the bag before it gets inside. ;)

More Park Fun

These are from last weekend, but since we're gearing up for this trip, I'm out of juice on new photos. I'm going to take all the cords and my laptop with me, so hopefully I can upload some photos while we're away. But we're going to see most of you, so maybe you won't miss the photos! xoxo

Fair Warning...

For those of you who are going to see Freddy this weekend/next week, I should warn you that his hair is no longer curly and adorable...in fact, I'm not sure about this latest haircut. I guess it's hard to criticize a stylist for doing his best cutting a squirmy, crying 17-month-old's hair. Hmm.

Swingin'

Freddy loves these swings at the big park near our old house. He actually really likes pushing the swing, preferably from the front, so that it comes back and hits him and knocks him down. Luckily he laughs.

Time for Another Haircut

For some reason, Freddy's hair took a turn for the curly last weekend. We'll see if I manage to get him a haircut before we leave on our trip, because this crazy hair is making him look like a girl again...the too-small shirt probably doesn't help. :)

Boys and their Trucks

I didn't even entertain the idea of letting him climb on these tractors. Does that make me a bad mom?

Fun at th Farm

On Saturday, Freddy and I cruised out to Wheeler Farm, a working farm south of town where there's a lot of 4-H stuff happening. I actually have no idea what else they do there, or how it stays in business (it's free except for special events). Freddy saw baby lambs - which were SO cute - cows, horses, goats, pigs, and his favorite: geese. Of course, we could have just gone to the pond at the park to see geese, but what the heck. You can see from one of these that one big sheep was trying really, really hard to get his attention, but he just kind of ignored him.

Freddy Discovers Ketchup

He will kill me one day for this photo...and I, like a good parent, will make it part of his wedding day slide show. For a while I tried to keep the trains away from the dinner table. After the 5th or 10th meltdown followed by a refusal to eat, I decided there were more important battles to fight. (sigh)

We're Back!

Well, with the help of a little anti-nausea medicine for me, and some long naps and nights' sleep for Freddy, I think we're back in the game (more or less). Not sure why I even need the anti-nausea stuff, but I can't seem to quite kick this feeling...and no, I'm not pregnant, for those who are wondering.

Bill left Friday for a week+ in Romania! I got a short e-mail from him, which I think he must have sent from his guide's cell phone. It said "arrived safely...skis did not...no worries, borrowed some gear from a guide" (or something like that). Oh brother! Billy was so prepared for this trip - gear, etc. - I hope he's having a good time and got what he needed there.

Freddy and I leave the day before Bill returns for a 1/2 week in DC, where I'll do some arts lobbying, and 1/2 week in New Jersey, where hopefully I'll do some cooking and cleaning, and Freddy will get to hang out with his cousins Caitlin and new baby Lloyd! Freddy sure will be glad to see his daddy when we get back on April 5. :)

Ok, enough of an update...more photos coming in the morning! Love to everyone.

GEESE

Freddy calls them ducks, and I can't decide whether to correct him or not....

Baby Bush stats

9 lbs, 4 oz
19 1/2 inches
lots of dark hair! Gotta imagine it'll fall out.

Apologies

I'm sorry I haven't posted any new photos lately - Freddy and I have both been really sick (he with a bad cold/fever and me with some kind of stomach bug). Thank goodness Bill has off on Tuesdays and was able to stay home with both of us yesterday!

The great news is that Steph had a baby boy last night!! Lloyd Harrison Bush III (after Rip). They haven't decided what they're going to call him yet (probably not Lloyd or Harry). Mommy and baby are doing well, and I think Caitlin gets to meet him today. Hooray!

No, It's a BALL

Apparently this is half of the kind of ball that the huge tigers play with. Freddy thought it was cool. I thought it was a pumpkin.

Bad Influence

Blame Julie and Greg when our kid starts climbing up fences an launching himself into pens of pecking birds....

Video

I'm not sure if you can see the video in the e-mails of the post I put up last night (if you're subscribed to the e-mail feed), so if you want to watch it, try clicking on the link at the bottom of the e-mail to take you to the actual blog page!

Dance Party

Dancing with Daddy...not very coordinated yet. And no, this is not our dog (we were dog-sitting for our neighbors). But I hope they give us Ruby in their will, because she is an AWESOME dog.

This is a movie - hopefully you'll be able to see it. If you mouse over it, you should see a play button (a sideways arrow), if it doesn't start playing automatically. Sorry it's sideways! I can't figure out how to rotate it.

Fun at the Zoo

We're missing daddy this weekend - Bill is in Philadelphia for a long weekend, and Freddy has me all to himself! Good and bad, as you can imagine. This fun photo is from last weekend at the zoo with Papa and Grandma Julie. Today, Freddy and I took 2 walks and he got to spend some fun time with one of his favorite babysitters while I had a work event. :( Come home soon, Dad!

A few more...

Ok, I think this is the last of the Doug and Christine photos - sorry, Dad - still not sure how I didn't get more photos of your visit! We had some great weather with everyone, and are really spoiled now. What are we going to do without everybody?

Lucky Billy is going to Philadelphia for a conference this weekend and staying a little extra to see Steph, Rip, and Caitlin, so he gets to continue the fun family times. I get Freddy solo for a long Fri-Tues weekend, and then Bill goes away again on the 20th for his trip to Romania!

Books

Anyone have any suggestions for good new children's books? Freddy is LOVING reading these days (we love it too!), filling in the blanks if you let him, requesting specific books, and sometimes trying to read them by himself. I love that he now knows if a book is upside-down and will flip it if it is. He likes to make the noises (like "chicka chicka boom boom") and thinks it's funny if you say them out of context. We need to figure out how to get a bookshelf in the den!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Upon request, I'm posting my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Don't skimp on the size - they're best when they're big (3-4" across). You can do the fancy shaping, or do like I do - just grab a big rough clump of dough with your hands and plop it on the parchment paper. This recipe is easily doubled! And I don't think it matters what kind of baking sheet you use.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 1 1/2 dozen 3-inch cookies.

These truly chewy chocolate chip cookies are delicious served warm from the oven or cooled. To ensure a chewy texture, leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool. You can substitute white, milk chocolate, or peanut butter chips for the semi- or bittersweet chips called for in the recipe. In addition to chips, you can flavor the dough with one cup of nuts, raisins, or shredded coconut.

Ingredients
2 1/8 cups bleached all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 t table salt
1/2 t baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 - 2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi, dark or bittersweet)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

3. Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined 20-by-14-inch lipless cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.

Visit with Papa and Grandma Julie!

Well, I'm not sure how we got through a great, long visit and only took about 8 pictures, but here are a few of the ones that represent what we did! Freddy had fun chasing a peacock at the Aviary, checking out birds and giraffes at the zoo, and reading books with Julie and Dad. He's really getting good at saying everyone's names (Ju-yee, Papa, Gammy, Dug, 'Steen, etc.). It's so fun!

We took a short stop at a playground on the way home today and Freddy got to slide down the slide (which, strangely, he pronounces as "sh*t") and run around. Then, of course, we came home and played with Thomas trains. Story of our lives.

Catching up on Doug & Christine's trip

I just realized I had more photos from Doug & Christine's visit last weekend! Hope you enjoy these - I especially like the one of Doug & Christine skiing. They are so cute together.

We had a great visit with my dad and Julie this weekend! They arrived on Thursday night and left Monday morning. Apparently, somehow the weather here and on the east coast switched...they flew back into a snowstorm, but still managed to land on time. Long drive back from Baltimore, but they arrived safe and probably just a little cold. I'll upload some photos from their visit later this week! We went to the aviary, zoo, took walks, and generally had a nice time. We love having visitors! (hint hint)