Fantastic Four (Months)

 The rumor is out that Josiah celebrated his 4 month-a-versary with a trip to the doc. It's true. Our doctor said she thought Josiah and Michaela looked alike, which kind of surprised me, but she amended it by saying at least you can tell they're brother and sister.



Vital stats:
14 lbs., 14 ozs
26.25 inches long
several immunizations,
  which this tough guy took like a champ


His weight gain has calmed down a little, as he's now back in the 50th percentile. However they had the nurse remeasure him because he measured at the 93rd percentile for height. They only adjusted him a slight 1/4 inch so he really just is tall. All other systems are go.


Likes: at 4 months, Josiah is getting the hang of bouncing in the Jumparoo. He can really get going. He likes being held, having his diaper changed, his sister, being tickled before he gets his jammies on at bedtime, watching TV (obviously we try to not let him), and watching water come out of the faucet (or in a glass).

Dislikes: being put down, being put in his carseat, vitamin D, socks


Take it or leave it: baths, tummy time, having fingernails clipped

Cake, Upside Down

Some people have wish lists on Amazon.com.  I have a different kind of wish list. It's more of a wish pile, actually.  It's made up of recipes I have ripped out of newspapers, magazines, and taken from the free display stands at Williams Sonoma. The various dishes (homemade pork empanadas, bread that is a rip-off from Macaroni Grill, Bourbon Caramel Banana Creme Pie, seared haddock with citrus and avocado oil) embody the hopes and dreams I have for, mostly, more time.  Some take more time to create, others promise they'll be so simple and delicious to prepare, I will be given more time as a result.  I also see a desire to expose my family to more ethnic tastes, indulge myself in sweets, and alternatively, eat more healthily. Like many wish lists, these recipes have remained largely in the realm of the imagined.

Today, though, I finally made the cake that I have been really planning to make since we had my father-in-law in town on Monday. Turns out every day ran out of time. But today, Michaela was napping, and I thought that I could do most of it (ha, ha) while holding Josiah in the crook of my left arm. A little drool in the glaze never hurt anyone.  Well, the cake is still in the oven so I can't describe the results (possibly a good thing), but one thing I know for sure. This ripped out page won't stay in the wish pile, nor will it migrate to the recipe box. It may be absolutely delicious (I hope so) but it is heading directly for the trash.  At this stage of my life, any recipe that requires 3 mixing bowls, a saucepan, various whisks, electric beaters, pastry brush and vegetable peeler, making my own caramel (what? I thought it came out of a squeeze bottle!), cutting a circle of parchment paper on which I have traced the bottom of the pan, is just too much!! I had decided this before I got to the part about folding in the egg whites. And I just realized I forgot to set the timer to tell me when to "rotate the cake halfway through the baking time."  Really?  So, on second thought, after all this work the results had better be tasty - though I'm haunted by the fact that my caramel sauce became hardened the minute I poured it in the cake pan. It may be a crunchy pear upside down cake.

But I'll just chalk it up to the school of life, and enjoy another item on my wish list. Josiah is contentedly cooing on his play mat and talking to Mr. Cow, and Michaela is reading to herself from the Little House toddler book series. At the same time. Miracles do happen.