First time playing with a hose

We had the hose giving the cherry and peach trees a good soaking this afternoon, when Davey stumbled across it. It was the first time he'd seen the hose in use without a nozzle of some kind. Oh boy, but he certainly enjoyed playing with it! I know, big surprise.





Later, not too long before bedtime, we had the TV on and David switched the channel to HBO-Family, where Curious George was playing. This was the second time I'd let him watch a "movie," and he really loved it. We watched maybe 20 minutes, but in those 20 minutes he had a GREAT time. We won't make a habit of letting him watch TV but this was a nice treat for him.

Blueberry coffee cake makes Davey happy

Blueberry coffee cake makes Davey happy, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Davey was quite happy last night, getting one of his favorite dishes for dinner: pasta e fagioli and then blueberry/ginger/cinnamon coffee cake for dessert.

He ate 1-1/2 bowls of the soup. Devoured is a more apt word. Then he tore in to a slice of the coffee cake.

All smiles at the dinner table!



Later he was full of energy, running around in his new sandals that Grandma Julia bought for him the other day, bouncing off the furniture, reading books, riding Pinto (his rocking horse), building with blocks. Happy Davey!

Oh -- videos on Youtube of tonight's culinary exploits.

Dairy? That Davey can eat?

Dary? That Davey can eat?, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Oh my gosh... I think I may have found a dairy that Davey can have!!

I stopped at the Bellwether Farms stand at the farmer's market this morning and their sheep's milk yogurt container said that it was a delicious alternative for people who are allergic to cow milk based yogurt! They gave out tastings (very good, by the way) and a dab on Davey's cheek did not result in hives on his face!

I bought a container of their vanilla flavor (hey, vanilla bean specks in it and it's organic, too) to try at home. I gave him a spoonful after lunch and he had no signs of allergy. A while later he ate a few more bites and still no rash!

Oh my goodness... If this works out we'll have to source sheep milk, yogurt and gosh... cheese? Could it be possible?!

Oh, and on a language note: As I brought him in to the living room after changing his diaper, he pointed at the TV, which had the Giants vs Marlins game on, and said, "BASEBALL!"

That's our boy!

A banner day

Davey, Grandma and the chicks
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

On Thursday, when Mom came to take care of Davey for the afternoon, she brought along a few surprise guests: chicks! She's raising four new chicks and they're too young to go in to the coop with the grown girls. Like human babies, they need food and water every couple of hours, and they need warmth. So Mom brought them to our house for the afternoon, while she was Davey's care giver. Oh boy, you can imagine how much Davey enjoyed them! Here's a little video of when he got to pet one. The rest of the time he ran around and laid atop the cage, squealing with delight.

Also on Thursday, Marina told me that Davey was "playing with a beautiful little two year old girl" at the playground that morning. Apparently he and a little girl were chasing each other back and forth. That was lovely news to hear as that was the first time he'd played with another child, rather than playing near another child. Then, later that day Mom took him to a different playground and he played chase with another beautiful little girl. What do you know about that?

Playing with other children. Pretty girls.

That's our boy!!

A very fun weekend

Well, what a hell of a weekend! My cousin, Jocelyn, and her friend, Jill, came out for a visit from Minnesota this past weekend. They arrived late Thursday night and headed up to Polly's house to stay for the weekend. Ostensibly they were here for a friend's wedding, but they spent a whole lot of time wine tasting and playing with Freibergs when they weren't at the actual wedding.

Friday afternoon Davey and I headed up to Polly's house to have dinner with Polly, Prescott, Rozzie, Jocelyn and Jill (Mark was working at the store that night). Being so hot, nobody felt like cooking, so we had a dinner of cold cuts, cheese and other assorted cold things, nibbling the evening away.

Saturday Joc and Jill went wine tasting while Davey and I headed up to Bonnie's house on the Russian River. We got there around lunch time.

Then, a few hours later, Polly and the kids arrived. A couple hours after that, Joc and Jill arrived, a little tired but happy from a day of wine tasting in Napa. Mark arrived a couple hours after them, after he finished working. Bonnie was an amazing hostess as she housed and fed all 10 of us guests!

Well, everyone brought something to share, but Bonnie provided the lionshare of dinner and had boundless energy and love. Thank you Bonnie! Mark, Polly and the kids even got to sit around a camp fire that night, make s'mores and tell ghost stories.



Sunday we all spend pretty much lazing around the house, spending time in or on the shores of the river, playing badminton, nibbling on goodies lying about, talking... it was very relaxing. Eventually, Jocelyn and Jill dolled up and went to their friend's wedding. Then Polly and the kids filtered out. Then Davey and I headed home to get there in time for me to make him some dinner. Mark stayed behind to watch a movie with Bonnie and came home once it was over.



Monday, most people had to work, except Jocelyn and Jill who had one more day of vacation. They headed out to Tomales Bay and picked up 100 oysters! Then they headed back to Napa for more wine tasting before meeting all of us again, this time at Dad's house for an oyster barbecue. Dad bought chicken to barbecue and made a delicious Thai prawn curry over brown basmati rice. Gregg did the honors in terms of grilling the chicken and Polly was the oyster shucking queen!



I made a barbecue sauce and a spicy garlic butter for the oysters and spent much of the evening applying sauces to the oysters on the grill and putting the cooked oysters on a platter. Those were damned fine oysters, let me tell ya!



There were three bottles of champagne, a few bottles of wine, great food, dancing, singing and a lot of love. It was a great evening and a terrific way to send Jocelyn and Jill back home, on their 12:30am flight back to Minnesota.



You're welcome to come back anytime and we love you!

Doggie Joy

Doggie Joy
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

David most absolutely loves animals. Especially this dog, Cosmo.

Smart little punk!

Davey at the Oysterfest, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

I just went to put Mark's bag of sunflower seeds back in to the pantry when Davey snaked in front of me and pulled out the big tub of animal crackers. I thought, "No big deal. The lid is screwed on." Well, he sat in front of the container and very decisively used both hands to quickly unscrew the lid. Then he held the lid in his left hand, grabbed a handful of cookies with his right hand and put the lid back on with his left.

Damn.

Amazement

Smiley and clean, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Every day Davey amazes me just a little bit, or sometimes a lot, more. Yes, he's sweet and silly and smart and loving... all the things every parent says and that I've gotten so familiar with. But sometimes he just does things that strike me. Wow.

Such as yesterday he was playing in the wading pool and had three things he was playing with: a rubber duck, a ball and a water bottle. He wanted to hold all things and he very, very quickly, in one try, figured out how to hold the duck and the ball in one hand. He figured out what he needed to do instantly and had the coordination to do it. So cool!

There are a few signs that he regularly uses to communicate with us, and has for a long time: eat, drink, finished/done, hi/bye. A few days ago when he obviously wanted more of something I showed him the sign for "more" and he immediately mimicked it back to me. Ever since then he's been using that sign consistently when he wants more of whatever he's eating or playing with.

Brag, brag, brag, I know.

But then there's the spontaneous hugs he gives... and such hugs. sigh

Plus he figured out how to kiss (sort of) recently. First it was when I'd say, "Can I have a kiss?" He'd climb up and put his open mouth on my lips. Now he spontaneously goes up to Mark and I and kisses us.

Love!

Attaaaaack!

Wrestling, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Davey gives me a kiss

Davey gives me a kiss, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

What a nice mother's day present!

Our newest car

Our newest car, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Yep, it's official. Mark sold our Porsche Cabriolet and bought this 1958 Porsche Speedster. He brought it home yesterday to show to Davey and I for the first time. It IS a beauty! Mark took me for a quick spin, and it drives nicely. I need to get behind the wheel now. :-)

Now the car is back up at his Dad's, who's going to do a bit more work on it to make it run top-notch. Then it'll come back to live with us.

Not sure when Davey will get his first ride in this beauty. I think his car seat is too tall to fit in it with the top up! And, of course, there isn't a back seat in a Speedster, so... wait, come to think of it, I don't think there are even seat belts anyway.