Before Ian was a twinkle...

...in his daddy's eye, Mommy took this picture:
which was originally posted on October 16, 2008, in this blog, a few weeks before Daddy developed said twinkle.

These photos were taken on October 10, 2009:The twinkle now weighs upwards of 13 pounds and makes a rather cute scarecrow, I think.

He also looks rather charming peeking out from the hole in a tree.
Oh, and that Daddy holding him is rather cute, too.

As you can see, we have really enjoyed the farmers' market again this year. Yesterday's purchases ended up in a lovely chicken vegetable soup and a caprese salad. I never knew how much I would enjoy just having the leisure to cook something from scratch. That's what Daniel provided me yesterday after we got home. I had cut the legs, thighs and breasts off of a whole chicken to make another dinner, so I wanted to use the carcass. Stock seemed to be just the thing. That, and I really wanted to make something that would use all of the wonderful produce on offer at the market stands so inexpensively. We made this recipe up as we went along by buying more and more fresh vegetables that seemed like nice additions to the pot.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup
Serves approximately 12 (We froze some for later!)

Stock:
1 chicken carcass
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 ribs of celery with leaves, coarsely chopped
2 small onions, coarsely chopped
2 whole cloves garlic
whole pepper corns
salt
about 14 cups of water

Cook all of the ingredients together at a boil for an hour or more, reducing the liquid to the desired intensity of flavor. I used a pot with a pasta insert, putting all of the chicken and vegetables into the pasta insert so that they could be lifted out when the stock was ready. Discard the chicken and vegetables. They will have served their purpose and lost most of their flavor into the stock.

Meat and Vegetables:
Chicken pieces (I used some frozen thighs), diced
Olive oil
Paprika
Salt & Pepper

2 small potatoes, diced
3 small turnips, with greens, diced
6 okra, sliced
1 cup of green beans, cut into 1-inch segments
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1 ear of corn, kernels only
2 shallots, finely sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 ribs of celery, sliced
1 bouquet garni, composed of fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley and basil tied up in cheesecloth.
2 bay leaves

Cook up the chicken with some salt, pepper and paprika in the olive oil. Add the chicken, vegetables and bouquet garni to the hot stock and boil gently for about 40 minutes or until the root vegetables are just tender.

Finishing Touches:
Remove the bouquet garni and bay leaves. Add vinegar (we used rice vinegar), salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve with a nice crusty bread.

And maybe a nice salad.

Good times, good boys and good eats! Who could ask for anything more?

Soup and Suspense

The report is mixed today...

First, the fun stuff: We went to the Greek festival on Saturday. The weather has been nice - crisp in the evenings and warm enough for comfort during the day, with showers (and the occasional torrent) from time to time. We chose to eat at the festival and bring home some goodies for later. Everything has been very yummy so far! We also spent a few dollars on a priced-to-sell place mat for Ian that has the Greek alphabet on it. It's never too soon to start him on his classical education, right?

We also went to the farmers market on Saturday, making it a big day from start to finish. Our visit to the market was quick, knowing that we'd be headed to the festival later. The highlight of the market was happening by one vendor at the close of day. She gave us free shiitake mushrooms - as many as we wanted - since they wouldn't keep until her next sale day. We took home about a pound, along with a few veggies and some fabulous fresh bread that we bought.

Life handed us mushrooms and the sky rained down water, so we made soup (but not from rain water). We have a great cookbook we bought at Mission San Luis Rey a few years back featuring simple soups made from seasonal ingredients. We made a mushroom soup finished with sour cream that was quite delightful. We also bought turnips and made a lovely creamy turnip soup. I'm saving up some leeks for a leek soup later this week. I love soup weather!

In the also great column, Ian has largely started sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at night, with an additional quiet time of 4-5 hours after breakfast, at which point Mommy catches a few more winks.

I also have two small contract work possibilities that may materialize in the next few weeks (the sort of thing I can do on my own time that won't be lucrative), and I am able to continue doing a little bit of volunteer work by offering editing that I can do at home when Ian is sleeping or Daddy is watching him. All of this gives me an excuse to talk with other adults and to keep my mind interested in things other than baby poop. I still think of poop plenty - don't worry!

In the not so great news column, we'd appreciate prayers for God's provision, because one of the most obvious sources of what we need has been slashed rather significantly. Dan's pay has been cut. How drastically this will change our lives remains to be seen, but we are certain it will force some decisions we wouldn't have had to make otherwise. Prayers for wisdom in the face of those decisions are also coveted. Here's where the suspense comes in. How our needs will be met is a bit of a question...

That's it for now. I'll try to upload some pictures later on!

Like Mommy, Like Son

Just few quick words by way of update.

Ian was very good at church today for his second Sunday. He was very popular, too. At one point his godmother-to-be was holding him and said she thought he was trying to sing, because she could feel a sort of growl coming from him. Whether or not that is true, he did fuss just a little - and pretty much always when the choir was not singing. He'd give us about 15 seconds to start singing again before he'd voice his disapproval. It is fortunate that the choir doesn't quit singing very often or for very long in Orthodox services, because it makes for a happy baby. He also waved his hands around quit a lot and really enjoyed watching a couple of the sopranos singing. My theory is that when he does the staring and hand waving, he's thinking about what it would be like to conduct the sopranos himself. He does, at least, have the advantage of drawing the eye, which is at least half of the battle for any conductor.

We've started doing infant massage as part of our nightly ritual. Ian seems to love it. He has also added sleeping longer stretches to his routine. We love that. While it may not count as sleeping through the night, sleep of 5 or 6 hours at a stretch is fabulous!

Aside, and just for fun... people often ask who he resembles. I submit that he looks like his mommy. The top photos were taken in 2009. The bottom photos in 1974.

Yep... he's mine!

A Big Day

Ian went several places with Mommy today:
1. To see Dr. Henley, who was responsible for the medical portion of Ian's safe arrival in the world.
2. To get weighed at his doctor's office (Mommy had a suspicion that he had outgrown the newborn insert part of his car seat, but, since it is a question of weight, wanted to be sure).
3. To visit Daddy's office so as to be admired by Daddy's coworkers.
4. Out to dinner with Mommy and Daddy (before the dinner rush).

He slept most of the time, so we're hopeful he has some sleep left for tonight.

Speaking of sleep, last night he was especially good. I think he has figured out that when he is in his co-sleeper and the lights are out, he is expected to be sleeping, or at least quiet. I actually fell asleep before Ian did, and he was simply lying quietly in the co-sleeper when I drifted off -- this after he lost the pacifier, so it wasn't just because his mouth was full. Then, he slept for almost 6 hours at a stretch. That was fabulous. We'd like to see more of that! He also went back to sleep after his early morning feeding, allowing me to be in bed about 8 hours, spending several of them asleep.

Back to today...

Ian and Dr. Henley posed for a picture.

And another, when it seemed Ian was less than properly appreciative in demeanor in the first picture.

Ian then went to be weighed. He already weighs 11 pounds 7 ounces! I'm waiting for the pediatrician to tell us to feed him less. Hasn't happened yet, though! In the meantime, we have removed the newborn insert. *sigh* He's growing so quickly!

And Ian decided to show off his work clothes and his intellectual bent (notice the Rodinesque thinker pose) when he went to see Daddy's work. The outfit (a button-down striped shirt - not tucked, for that casual flair - brown cords and white Keds) was a huge hit, and Ian was better dressed for business than Daddy was!

As I said, all of this activity called for lots of sleep for Ian... and it wore me out, as I didn't have the option of sleeping myself while someone pushed me around in a stroller.

So, with that, I sign off from our busy day.

Catching up!

First off... please notice that this is the second post today. Don't miss the previous one if you want to know about the churching ceremony for Ian and his mommy.

This post is all about long overdue photos. The first several are from Grandma Johnson's visit. We didn't take many photos while she was here, but these precious few were taken toward the end of the visit. We went to the park for a picnic and to feed the ducks (but not the geese formerly known as Canada Geese).
But we also took a few pictures of the Johnson generations.We think she kinda liked Ian. A little.We all enjoyed the visit, but Ian most of all. He was rather spoiled, I think. Almost every morning he got to be snuggled while he took a nap. He seems to really like that sort of thing, and now he expects mommy to follow suit. Mommy obliges him sometimes. He's too cute not to try to please.

Grandma was also helpful around the house - especially when it came to making dinner. We appreciated that more than we can say. She also left a lasting impression on our bedroom... in the form of a big red rocking recliner. It gets a lot of use - especially in the middle of the night when a little cutie requires some cuddling and feeding. The big red chair is perfect in many ways, including the fact that it coordinates so well with another gift from Ian's other grandma - the Hurricanes quilt!Did we mention that hockey season starts in a matter of days?!

Back to the subject at hand... Thank God for Grandmas!

Oh, and thank God for yummy sweet treats. These are the two I have made in recent weeks. The German chocolate cake was a thank-you for Grandma Johnson for all of her help. The coconut cream pie was from scratch and was a belated 40th birthday treat for Ian's Daddy. Yep. We like coconut. Most of all, though... we like a certain super-sweet little boy.
Finally, a random photo I just had to take when I saw it. *grin*

We've been Churched!

Ian and Mommy got to go back to church today. Ian was perfectly behaved. I mean it -- I don't say it just because I am his Mommy.

During the churching, he was quiet and let Fr. Thomas take him without a peep. He started to fuss a tiny bit at the point that we were finished and posing for photos, but he calmed down immediately when I talked to him and bounced him a little.

He was awake for about half of the service, and didn't fuss to speak of. He sat contentedly in my lap and looked around. The few times he did make noise, the choir was usually singing loudly, so the music covered the baby noises. We're afraid Kevin had a harder time than he usually does keeping eyes on him while directing. It seems someone else was pulling focus. Barb held him for about half of the service and gave him is bottle when it came time for him to eat, and he was quiet for her as well. At the end of the liturgy, we had a prayer service for those who were killed on 9/11. Ian was quiet for that as well. When all of the praying was finally done, Kevin and the choir sang "God Grant You Many Years" to the servant of God Ian and his family. I tried not to cry (too much).

Church people admired Ian plenty, and we came home with more gifts. We stayed for coffee hour, and among Ian's biggest admirers was Fr. Thomas' eight-year-old daughter, who played with him (poking at him and touching him) for quite a while, asked several questions, including "when do I get to come see where you live?" and then announced to Daniel that she wanted to take Ian home with her.

I don't dare hope that every Sunday will be so peaceful, but we could not have asked for a better return to church. It was a blessed morning.

Seen and Heard at Our House

Here's a sight I saw on Wednesday night when Daniel was giving me a break from baby duty so I could wash Ian's bottles, etc. I thought this was worth committing to digital image:



Other milestones and notes:
-Ian cried his first tears Tuesday after weeks of dry eyes.
-We also had our first visit to the pediatrician due to an "oops" on Tuesday - Mommy misjudged the distance between Ian's head and the floor mat when putting him down to play so that his head bumped the floor harder than intended. He was more startled than anything and calmed down quickly, but Mommy called the doctor just to be safe and we took him in for examination. The doctor said he looked fine, but Mommy felt rather badly, to say the least.
-Ian managed to gain 7 ounces between Friday and Tuesday, weighing in at 10 pounds, 8 ounces. The doctor asked what we've been feeding him. I replied, "Breast milk." Daniel added, "Of course, we threw in some Miracle Grow." The doctor's verdict is that we must have caught him during a growth spurt. He seems to be filling out and adding on a healthy layer of baby fat. Mommy's back has noticed!
- Ian has a very strong neck and likes to exercise it for short periods of tummy time. He holds his own head up when being snuggled on a shoulder or held upright on a lap.

By the way, I must mention how sweet Ian is. He's really not very fussy at all, and he seems content to just survey his world and enjoy a snuggle about 95% of the time when he isn't asleep. I feel incredibly blessed, because this rather gentle introduction to motherhood has been a wonderful gift after a rather challenging pregnancy. Of course, we hope he stays that way, but we'd love him fussy or not! :D

Footnote: the tears and the head bump didn't coincide... otherwise Mommy would have felt even worse!

A New Friend for Ian

Ian had his first visit with his new friend Oliver yesterday. Oliver was just 11 days old for the big event, compared with Ian's much more mature 34 days. Oliver was over 10 pounds when he was born, so even though he has lost some of his weight, he and Ian are very close to the same size now. Consensus was that Ian is heavier, which I suppose he had a right to be, since he is more than 3 whole weeks older.

Oliver and his family live in their newly-purchased house about 2 hours away from us, so it was a bit of an adventure getting to their house and back now that Ian isn't riding in my tummy. I think we must have packed about half of Ian's belongings, and everything required more thought - including figuring out where and when to try to feed him (we settled on a picnic area outside a McDonalds that we knew about before) and how to manage a trip to Trader Joe's without waking him and dragging him inside (we took turns going in and made two separate purchases).

It was fun meeting Oliver, who is a really cute little guy, and seeing his new house. Since his mommy and I were pregnant at the same time, we had been comparing notes, ultrasound picture and pregnancy woes for months. It was fun to get the products of our labor together in one room. It was also fun for me to realize how individual their cries and noises and behaviors are. Ian and Oliver have crying and fussing in common, but they are each their own little people. It was easy for Daniel and I to pick out which baby was saying what from the another room. Ian stayed awake and alert for most of our visit there.

We got home around 10 pm and were all pretty well wiped out. The best thing that came from that fact was the relatively good night's sleep we got afterward. Ian allowed us to sleep twice in 3-4 hour stretches. We're all still a bit bleary-eyed, but we figure it was worth it. :D

I didn't take any pictures, but I got these three from Oliver's daddy:Comparing Ian's and Oliver's long feet


Ian and Daddy chilling on the couch with Oliver and his mommy.


The two little guys together.

Ian is 1/12 of a year old!

While the baby sleeps and the repairman replaces our water heater (that's a long story involving blisteringly hot water and then no hot water at all...), I'll take a few minutes to try to update you all on Ian's progress and anything interesting about his parents that happens to come to mind.

First, a few words about the parents, so we can get the drudgery out of the way and get on to the baby. We've just reached the end of a series of longer visits from special folks, including both of Ian's grandmas and Heather and Jeff. We also had shorter visits from Erik and Robyn (who are now enjoying getting to know their own little guy who was born just over a week ago) and from Kevin and Barbara.

We've passed a few milestones in the lives of Ian's parents, including a 7th wedding anniversary and a 40th birthday (Daddy's). Jeff and Heather helped us celebrate the latter, and the former was celebrated quietly at home on the day of the occasion with lovely take-out food from Cucina Bravo.

Now, on to the good stuff!

Ian weighed in this morning at 10 pounds 1 ounce, putting him in the 50th-75th percentile in weight. His height (21.25 in.) is around the 25th percentile, and his head circumference is in the 10th-25th percentile. For those of us who are unfamiliar with what this all means, the doctor was pleased with all of the numbers and said we just want Ian to stay in the same categories relative to himself. In other words, if his head suddenly measures in the 95th percentile, we would be needing to ask why, but being on the low end of the percentile ranking now or having weight and height and head circumference in different percentiles does not cause worry.

Ian got his first Hepatitis B immunization today. He didn't like it. He also didn't like the taste of the wood tongue depressor the doctor used to check out his mouth, but I think it is safe to say that he liked the shot less. Also less than fun was the cauterization of his navel; he has had minor bleeding there, so the doctor removed his scab and applied silver nitrate to the area to prevent further bleeds.

Some of the best news of the morning is that Ian is gaining weight well enough that we no longer need to wake him up in the night to feed him. We can let him sleep, which we hope will mean more sleep for us! He's eating between 25 and 30 ounces of expressed milk per day, and he nurses occasionally with the help of a little silicone shield that helps him to latch. Nursing is still a hit-or-miss proposition, but he has the opportunity offered at least a few times per day.

Ian has been trying out his smile, which his mommy finds very charming indeed. He also has become much more aware of his surroundings over the past week or so, and is starting to enjoy looking at toys, such as the little pull-down bee toy that is hanging over his pack-n-play. He spends some awake time contentedly looking around his surroundings. We also try to give him plenty of time on his tummy. His neck seems to be very strong, and he moves his head around quite a lot to see what he wants to see. He also enjoys "standing" when someone holds him up by his chest. He coos and says something that sounds like "obey" - we think it is an all-purpose command for the adults in his life - and he has quite the range of facial expressions. I find it challenging to capture them all on film, but I do try. He also has a rather amusing habit of opening his hands in the Vulcan "live long and prosper" gesture (with the largest spread between the middle and ring fingers), so we think he may be a born Trekkie. He's got a bit of what the doctor called male pattern baldness developing, so the hair in the front of is head is thinning. We hope it will be a long time before his more permanent baldness kicks in, but he's got a pretty wicked widow's peak at present.

Ian has outgrown his cute little newborn clothes, but that has given us the opportunity to try out his also cute 0-3 months clothes. Most of them fit him well, except that the sleeves all seem a little short. It would appear that he has rather long arms, fingers, feet and toes.

Ian has started sleeping in a co-sleeper at night rather than the bassinet he was using to begin with. Ashleigh was kind enough to send it to us, and it has been great so far. Basically, it is like a bassinet or pack-n-play with one low wall that butts up next to the grown-ups' bed. It is strapped to our mattress so that it won't move, and it gives something of the effect of sleeping together without the dangers of baby in the adult bed. He actually sleeps about 5 or 6 inches below me and just inches away. I like to have him so close to me, because I can simply look over at him to reassure myself that he is still breathing and that all is well and just roll back over and go to sleep without getting out of bed or even craning my neck to speak of. He can look up at me when he is falling asleep, which is helpful, especially considering that he has been known to cry when I leave his sight.

I have been using a Maya wrap to keep him near me while I do things around the house the last few days. In fact, he's sleeping in it now. It's a cozy set-up that makes me feel a bit like a kangaroo. We quite regularly walk as a family in the evenings, and Ian also seems to love the motion of the stroller.

I have several photos that need to go up here, but since I don't have time now and the cable I need in order to download them is upstairs, I will have to add them to another post later. I will, however, try to share a short video in the meantime for Ian's adoring public.

By Popular Demand...

...a smattering of images from days 3-8 of Ian's life, including his first car ride, walk in the park, bottle from daddy, sponge bath at home, encounter with the feline kind, meeting with his godmother-to-be and some additional cuteness, such as the scrunchy face below.