Random cute photos

Oh, by the way, weaning seems to be complete. Though I may miss it more than Davey at this point. The most he bugs me about it now is to put his hand down my shirt from time to time, but he's just playing, and sometimes when he's thirsty, he slaps my upper chest. I bring him some soy milk and he's happy. Hmm.

And now, some cute photos taken within the last week:

One more vaccine down

Stunt baby, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

I won't lie -- this vaccine appointment made me nervous in the past few days. In order to get the Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR) vaccine, because it's egg based, we had to take the Davey and a couple doses of the vaccine to Davey's allergist. Even though I want Davey to have vaccinations and I don't buy in to the scare of MMR causing Autism, that creepy thought was still in the back of my mind. That, on top of knowing we were having the allergist give the vaccine because of the worry of an allergic reaction was wearing on my worry nerve.

In the end, it all went fine. We went to the allergist's with Davey and the vaccine. They put us in an exam room with toys for Davey to play with for the duration of the long visit. First they did a skin test with 3 scratches: distilled water, histamine and a diluted vaccine. Then we waited for half an hour to see if he reacted. Nope -- the only reaction was to the histamine (a control) and not to the diluted vaccine. Then, on the other arm, they did a very small injection of the full-strength vaccine just under the skin and waited for half an hour. Again, no allergic reaction. Then, after the doctor checked him out, the nurse gave him the full dose of vaccine in his upper thigh. Ouch, that was a lot of fluid to inject. Poor Davey.

After the first pricks with the skin test, Davey shied away from the nurse. By the second shot, he shook his head, "no," when she went towards his other arm. By the time it came to the real vaccine, there were two (very nice) nurses and he was struggling to get away from them. Poor little guy. That said, he didn't cry very long at all after each ordeal and was a total trooper.

On the way home, he was asleep really quickly, as he'd missed his nap earlier in the day and it was 3:30. Mark and I needed coffee, so we stopped for a few minutes to get coffee for ourselves and I picked up a small tablet of dark (80% cacao) chocolate for a post-ordeal treat for Davey. He loved it, of course.

He seemed a bit cranky by the time we got home. We think he's also teething, based on more drool and sticking his fingers in his mouth the past couple days. So just in case, I gave him some baby Motrin (which he loves) and he got much happier within 15 minutes. Then he ate a big dinner of pasta e fagioli, a tangerine, half a container of soy yogurt with cereal and a bunch of soy milk. Then he ran around the house dancing, playing with us and laughing. That's our boy!

Phew, I'm glad THAT'S over!

What's thiiis?

What's thiiis?, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

"Okay, Mom, I ate two servings of fish and two servings of GABA brown rice. I'll keep eating that stuff all night long. But what is this stuff you've been trying to sneak in?"

Red chard. Quite tasty, actually.

Can't blame a mom for trying...

Getting better all the time

Wow, today marked a new milestone: David awoke and didn't cry to get our attention! Plus, it was 7am!

Mark has been putting David to bed since last Wednesday night and it seems to have been getting a bit easier each night. Mark said that they played and read together last night until Davey pointed to the light, which means, "Okay, please turn off the light; I'm ready to go to sleep." Once Mark turned off the light, Davey was asleep, snuggled against Mark, very quickly. So fast, in fact, that Mark didn't have time to dress David in his Sleep Sack.

Around 10, I went in and David was so sound asleep that I was able to dress him in his sleep sack without disturbing even his breathing rhythm.

Beyond that, he simply slept all through the night!

At 6am, I heard him fuss for less than a minute and then quiet. I closed my eyes again and the next time I opened my eyes it was after 7 and I could hear Davey babbling to himself, happily, in his crib. That was the first time he's woken in his crib and not cried. He's in the best mood today, too.

smile

Davey safe blueberry lemon muffins

Blueberry lemon muffins, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

I finally found a vegan baking book that looks worth the money! It's called "The Joy of Vegan Baking" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Yesterday morning I made my first experimental recipe from the book: blueberry lemon muffins, and I must say, they're pretty tasty! Rather than eggs, the recipe calls for baking soda and vinegar for leavening and instead of butter the recipe calls for canola oil.

Of course they'd likely taste better made with butter, but these rose high, taste good, Davey can eat them without breaking out with hives and he likes 'em. Yeah!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Zest of 2 lemons
3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup nondairy milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tb white distilled vinegar
1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over to remove stems

Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly grease your muffin tins

In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, milk, oil, lemon extract and vinegar. Mix will. Add the flour mixture, stirring until the ingredients are just blended. Gently fold in the berries, using a rubber spatula.

Fill greased or nonstick muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake until the muffins are lightly browned and a wooden skewer inserted in to the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. While the muffins are baking, lick the bowl clean -- no eggs means you can!

Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tins and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 12 muffins

Sniffing flowers

Sniffing flowers, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

We had a little family outing today to Bolinas, where Mark purchased a VW bus. After the rain of the past couple weeks, today was a beautiful reprieve. Out at the coast, there was nary a breeze nor a cloud in the sky. It was in the high sixties, most likely, and the hills were green with flowers beginning to pop up. It was nearly spring-like!



While Mark inspected the bus and talked with the (now former) owner, Davey and I walked up and down the dirt road, looking at flowers statues, dogs, with me doing my best to keep Davey from dancing in the mud-puddles. I felt badly to keep him from splashing in the puddles, but I hadn't thought to bring a change of clothes for him and I couldn't let him get completely soaked and muddy so far from home. Soon, Davey, soon... your time in a mud-puddle will come!

After Mark bought the bus, Mark drove the bus and Davey and I followed behind in the truck. We stopped at Stinson Beach for lunch at the Parkside Cafe. Sadly, the Parkside Cafe, once one of the best breakfast joints around, was very disappointing and over-priced. Oh well -- all good things come to an end.

After the disappointing lunch, we stopped at the playground in the park for Davey to burn off some energy. He had fun on the slide, playing in the sand and meeting a 10-month-old boy. Davey and the other boy tentatively touched each other and sniffed flowers. It was very sweet!



On the way home, Davey and I stopped in Mill Valley to visit my uncle Jon Dreyer and check out his latest home rennovations. The new kitchen and redone floors look great!

And the weaning is going pretty well. So far we haven't nursed since he woke last Wednesday morning. He's been going to sleep a little easier each night and last night he woke at his usual 4am but went back to sleep pretty quickly and was up for the day about 6:20. I'm happy this is working, but it still makes me a bit sad. sigh

A good mood day

P1160257, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

All in all, it was a lovely day and Davey was in a great mood. Okay, so he had a two hour nap this morning because he slept to poorly the night before. But after the nap he was a smiling bundle of energy with a big appetite.

After Marina left, Davey and I ventured out to Costco where, in between bites of fruit leather and dried fruit, Davey charmed surrounding patrons. What with the gray and drizzly weather, there wasn't much more we could do outside the home, so we went back in to our cozy abode. Davey played while I cooked up one of his favorite meals: pasta with meat and veggie tomato sauce.

At one point I looked in to the living room and Love Shack had just come on the radio. Davey was standing in front of the speakers, twisting his body, waving his hands in the air, doing squats and doing his general style of dance and smiling. He was absolutely adorable!

All in all, he was just Mr. Smiley all day long and a joy to be around.

When Mark got home from work, Davey was ready for bed, so Mark did the honors. So far so good!

Weaning update: Day 1

Well, nobody slept all that well last night! When Davey doesn't sleep, we don't sleep well either (duh).

Mark got Davey down to sleep fairly quickly, with Davey drinking a big cup of soy-milk, reading a book and then falling asleep in Mark's arms while Mark rubbed his back. Throughout the evening, however, Davey would wake and cry and eventually go back to sleep. He slept soundly, or at least quietly, from about 11 until 4. Then he awoke at 4 and fussed and fussed and fussed. We didn't go and get him, we just lay in bed, willing Davey to go back to sleep. I dozed off and on, so I'm not sure if Davey got any more sleep or not. Eventually we all got up a little before 7. Mark got Davey out of bed, took him to the kitchen where Davey downed half a cup of soy-milk in one big gulp... and so far so good since then.

He's obviously tired and destined for an early nap today. He's tried to lie down in my lap to nurse a couple times, and my reaction was to snuggle and hug him, tell him I loved him and offer him a cup of soy-milk.

I think I've gone up at least a cup size since last night.

Ow.

Oops -- I almost forgot

One more big piece of news: I've been weaning David for the past couple months, gradually taking our nursing sessions down to bedtime and at 5am when he wakes and we bring him to bed with us to sleep for a couple more hours.

Well, tonight I didn't nurse David and Mark put him to sleep. We'll endeavor to not nurse him when he wakes between 4 and 5 and just let him "cry it out" and put himself back to sleep.

This is very bittersweet.

sniff sniff

15 Month Update

Today Davey had his 15 month well-baby visit (he turned 15 months old on Monday) and got a nice, clean bill of health. While he's still light enough to not be on the weight chart, he has continued to grow along an acceptable curve. He's still too light to sit in a forward-facing car seat though. D'oh! So much for that Christmas present I gave Davey, huh? We'll have to wait for a bit longer.



Here are his official stats!

Weight: 18lbs-14oz (+1lb-4oz in 3 months)
Length: 30-1/2" (+1" in 3 months ~45th percentile)
Head circum: 19" (+1/2" in 3 months ~75th percentile)

I've been concerned that he's not getting enough fat in his diet so I brought that up. What with being allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts and being told to stay away from shellfish, just in case, it's not as though there are a lot of high fat foods that we can feed David. When I read the nutrition labels on the full-fat soy milk a week ago, it turns out there's 1g less fat in whole-fat soy milk than in low-fat cow's milk. If David could drink cow's milk, he'd be drinking whole milk because babies need the fat for brain and nerve development. Ack! I found that Silk makes a variety of organic soy milk that contains extra Omega-3 fatty acids, which increases the fat to 5 grams per serving (as opposed to 4 for the regular soy milk). Even so, the lack of fat in his diet worries me. Dr. Lee could understand my concerns and gave us a referral to a pediatric nutritionist so we can find ways to get more calories and fat in to Davey. I've since called and left a message to make an appointment.

Then it was time for his 15 month vaccinations. He was due to get the MMR and Chicken Pox vaccines. However, because of his egg allergies, they wouldn't do the MMR vaccine. Instead, the vaccination will be done by Davey's allergist, at the allergist's office. The way it will work is that we will pick up two doses of the MMR vaccine from the pediatrician, take it with us to the allergist's office, the allergist will use some of the 1st dose for a skin test and, if Davey doesn't react badly to the skin test, the allergist will administer the 2nd dose. FUN (not!).

He cried when he got his Chicken Pox vaccine, but got over it quickly. Then, because he didn't sleep well last night and, I think, combined with the vaccination excitement of the morning, he took a 2 hour long, exhausted, nap in the late morning. Then ate two bowls of his new favorite dish: pasta e fagiole. Late in the afternoon Mark, David and I went to the Northgate mall so David could run free in large, dry, warm open spaces.

Last but not least -- we found out yesterday that our wonderful nanny, Marina, is going to stop working for us in a couple weeks. She's going to be taking courses at College of Marin starting the week of January 21 and from that point on will only be able to work (maybe) on Mondays and Thursdays. I'm so sad about losing her, but I understand. We're going to miss her... And now we have to find another nanny. God I hate having to find a nanny.

Hm. This is a little bit of a downer post, isn't it? I'll endeavor to write something more upbeat in the next day or two.

No dairy, no eggs, no nuts. But...

Mm, melted chocolate from a piping bag!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

...nobody said nuthin' about no chocolate!

Davey likes dark chocolate, so that makes a dandy special treat for him. Today he got to experience warm, melted, dark Belgian chocolate, straight from the piping bag. Mmmm.

Davey loves jazz

I popped in "Dance of the Drunken Master" by Groove Collective this morning and Davey's been dancing and smiling like crazy. He keeps going to the coffee table, where the CD is playing in my laptop, and dancing and laughing. Davey loves acid jazz. That's our boy!

Oh my gosh...

Yayyyyy!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

...I'm giving David his first time out right now. He's throwing a complete tantrum right now because a) he's tired and b) he wants me to give him a package of dark chocolate. I gave him a small piece of chocolate after giving in initially but he absolutely flipped out when I put the package back in its place on the counter and walked away from it.

I know I can't give in to this type of behavior and he wants nothing to do with cuddling, reasoning or distraction with other toys and/or activities. So I calmly put him down on the floor of his room, told him I loved him, that he needed to calm down and that I would be back in five minutes.

He's still angry and crying, but he's got another two minutes to go...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

You wouldn't know it by this photo...

Not happy about the nose, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

...but we did have a lovely Christmas. Davey just wasn't fond of wearing his blinking Rudolph nose. Great shot tho, eh? :-)

Dave and Dee came over for supper on the 23rd but, unfortunately Mark started coming down with a stomach virus an hour or two before they arrived. By the time they got here, Mark warned them to not get close and we could see him getting more and more ill.



We quickly did a gift exchange, I packed up a big container of dinner to go and they headed back home, hopefully before contracting what Mark had.



Now, likely, Mark came down with the same stomach bug that Davey started having symptoms of on Thursday afternoon. By Christmas Eve, Davey was eating a little big again and was still a bit clingy, but on the upswing. Mark, unfortunately, was hit hard. He spent a lot of time in the bathroom and was so so weak. At one point he was lying on the hallway floor, next to the heater, cold, cold, cold. I brought him a pillow, a glass of water and two blankets, and he lay there until the next trip to the bathroom. He's said he's never felt so sick in his life. Poor guy!

By the next morning he wasn't having to hug the toilet anymore, but he was still under the weather. By lunchtime, however, he was at least sitting up on the sofa and reading his email. I figured if he read email, he had to be doing a bit better.

Bonnie came over on the afternoon of Christmas-Eve and played with Davey while I wrapped some gifts, made a pear/apple (papple) pie and got our dinner in the oven. She stayed for supper with us, though Mark ate only a tiny bit, and we had a gift exchange. Davey was again doing better, a little clingy, eating a little more than the day before, but still had less appetite than normal.

By Christmas morning, Mark was feeling a bit better and Davey a bit better as well. And I was still feeling well. Phew -- looks like I dodged that bullet!

Davey woke to find that Santa had visited and filled up his stocking, left him a pile of gifts, a new big-boy car seat and a TRICYCLE!



Weeee! Of course, we had to help him open gifts, but by the end of the day he started getting the hang of it.



Mom, Michael and Jack came by around 1 on Christmas day to hang out a bit and exchange gifts. Santa left a stocking for Davey at their house too -- they were nice enough to deliver it to Davey on behalf of Santa. That's where Davey found the flashing Rudolph nose. Believe me that he does like the nose when it's blinking on someone else's face. LOL

THEN, Mark, Dave and I headed to Polly's house for a Freiberg family gathering. Jon made bbq ribs that nobody could resist, Laureen made delicious cranberry relish, Polly roasted a beautiful turkey, Linda made luscious mashed potatoes and I made braised fennel bulbs. And, of course, Polly made berry and cherry pies, chocolate crinkle cookies and fudge, Gregg made poppyseed bread and I brought papple pie. *urp*

Then today, Boxing Day, Mark was feeling considerably better and Davey finally was back in his usual fine form. Davey's appetite was back with a vengeance and he ate a BIG breakfast. Then we played all together through the morning and, after Davey ate a BIG lunch, we went to the Northgate mall to exchange some shoes I received for a different size, pick up some tree ornaments for next year (on big sale, of course), get a gift for Linda's birthday (January 2nd, people -- don't forget!) and let Davey run around. And boy, run around, he did! Back was his energy and joyful attitude. He walked and ran and walked and ran and walked... wow, boy did he walk!! Plus he downed a full bottle of soy milk and, when Mark and I got Thai food for our late lunch at 3, Davey ate a very large portion of my chicken and carrots as well as most of the baggie I'd brought, filled with his favorite dried fruits. The boy ATE.

Then, we came home and Davey ate a bunch of cookies (his cookies -- they're actually quite nutritious) and a bunch more soy milk, and a lot more play. Heck, the boy only napped for 15 minutes today. He had energy bursting out of his ears!

6:30 and it was time for a bath:


You can see by the look on his face: Sick boy was banished and happy, healthy boy was back in the game.

After a good bath, lots of fun with bubbles and bath toys and reading one book, Davey was out like a light, ready to rest up for what I can only expect will be another fun-filled and happy day tomorrow.

This year we all got a lot of great gifts -- Santa and family were all really generous this year. I feel really lucky to have such great family and good fortune. And, it must be said, my favorite gift I received this Christmas was from Mark -- an iPhone!

Absolute elfy-silliness

Way too funny!

I love this time of year!

P1150847, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

We've celebrated Hanukkah, I've got all my Christmas shopping done, Davey's getting to experience the small living tree on the dining table and the fake, fiber-optic, tree in the living room. We've got Christmas cards hung across the mantle, the stocking hangers up... but where are those darned stockings?

Anyway, it's warm and cozy inside and cool and wintry outside.

It's a time to make cozy, wintry, home-food and Davey's appreciative.

Davey's walking gets better and better every day, and his personality cracks us up. Yesterday he was in hysterics while watching Mark pull on his jacket, hat and getting ready to go outside. Why he was laughing, we don't know, but it was adorable and contagious.

Vacation starts in two days. Woo hoo!

21 Performers, 2 Minutes, 1 Christmas Saved.

21 Performers, 2 Minutes, 1 Christmas Saved.

The last night of Hanukkah with Grandpa

The last night of Hanukkah with Grandpa, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Grandpa lighting the menorah on the last night of Hanukka

Grandpa lighting the menorah on the last night of Hanukka, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Afternoon at the front door

Afternoon at the front door, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

And now, a moment of cuteness

Firstgiving - Menu for Hope 4

It's that time of year -- time for the Menu For Hope charity event. This year 100% of the funds raised will go directly to food programs in the tiny African nation of Lesotho. It's a marvelous cause and the prizes are tempting. I hope you'll find a spare $10 or more to help!

Happy 14 months!

Hee hee hee, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Today was Davey's 14 month birthday. Strangely enough, we didn't really do anything to celebrate. Bad mommy!

We went to Kindermuzik, where Davey had a lot of fun singing, dancing and shaking bells and rattles. Then he played with Marina for a few hours and, when I was done working and Marina left, we went grocery shopping. Big day, huh? We did read a bunch of books together, played ball and snuggled a lot tho.

Love that boy!

In and out

Putting things away - the new coolest thing, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Putting things in to containers and taking them out is so in for Davey now. Today Davey was thrilled to take every one of his books and methodically put them in to his hamper. As Dad said, when I told them about this: Dirty books!

Later, David felt the need to pick up as many rocks as possible from around the fish pond and throw them in, all the while laughing with gusto.

At dinner he took handfuls of pasta from his bowl and made a big pile of pasta on the placemat beside the bowl. Then he ate a couple bites from the pile and placed the pasta back in the bowl.

Once I'd taken the books out of his hamper, he felt the urge to put a few back in to the hamper, just for good measure.

Then, lastly, while bathing he caught sight of the bath toy bag. I could see the twinkle in his eye and he clearly communicated his desire. So down went the bag, to a level that he could reach. Oh, happy day! You could hear the joy in his voice! All the toys went in to the bag before the bath was done.

What a fun and wonderful boy he's turning out to be. Not that I'm surprised, of course...

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

The holiday season is upon us and Davey's old enough to form some memories. We'll do our best to give him some happy memories this month. Tonight was the first night of Hanukkah, and what a treat to light some pretty candles for him. Soon, of course, we'll also get a tree and put up some lights.

Happy holidays!

Meeting Santa

davey_santa1, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Last weekend, after getting his hair cut, Davey got to meet Santa Claus. He wasn't thrilled with the prospect on sitting on Santa's lap, but he was content to sit on my lap, next to Santa. They had a little discussion and the elves took photos. This one turned out rather nicely.

I wonder what Santa will bring Davey this year!

Davey getting his first hair cut

Davey getting his first hair cut, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Yep, today was the day... we took Davey to the Panda Room for his first hair cut. Gina, his stylist, was sweet, good and plenty experienced. Davey hardly fussed and quickly had the hair trimmed up. Now his bangs won't get in his eyes, his hair doesn't tickle his ears and it's trimmed up in back. Our handsome boy!

Aw NUTS!

It's official: Davey's allergic to dairy, eggs and peanuts. We took him to Dr. German at the Marin Asthma and Allergy Clinic this morning and ran the tests to see to what extent he was allergic to things. After discussing the reactions he's had thus far to eggs and dairy, Dr. German decided to first test with very dilute solutions of the dairy, egg and peanut solutions. If those tests were negative, he'd try tests with full-strength solutions.

Well, within seconds of the allergens being applied to his back, Davey was attempting to scratch the itches. Sure enough, he got big old welts for the dairy, egg and peanut allergens. No reaction to the soy, wheat, fish nor shellfish, thankfully. Dr. German says it's entirely possible Davey will outgrow the dairy and egg allergies by the time he's six years old or so. However, the peanut allergy is more concerning in that 85% of kids that are allergic will continue to be so throughout their lives. Here's hoping (HARD) that he's one of those 15% that outgrow that!

So, for the meantime, no dairy, eggs or nuts of any kind. Dr. German also said to avoid any kind of shellfish, as it's a very common allergen.

We'll go back when Davey's three for another round of testing and, at that time, we'll test for other kinds of nuts and, I guess, other allergens.

Break out more vegan recipes!

Come on, let's walk!

Come on, let's walk!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Yes, earlier today I posted about David walking to me. Afterwards Davey, Mark and I went shopping at Heller's where Davey enjoyed crawling, exploring toys and furniture and pushing around a toy stroller. We picked up a new high chair, a Stokke Tripp Trapp, which I'd been thinking about since before he was born. He sat well in the sample, and we really liked the way it looks, will perform and that he'll be able to sit at the table with us. Say good-bye to the high chair tray!

Next we went to the Northgate Mall, where Davey could play in the indoor playground and burn off some energy. He only felt like being in there for a few minutes, instead wanting to push his stroller all around the mall. He walked and walked and walked. Then we went to get some lunch -- I got a gyro, which I shared with Davey. He really loved the lamb and ate lots of it!

Once we got home, Rozzie, Prescott and Polly came over to deliver some Girl Scout goodies we'd ordered from Rozzie. They hung out and played with us for a while and then headed home.

After they left, I went grocery shopping and, while I was away, Davey walked across the living room without support. Mark was so excited!!

Once I got home and after Davey had a hearty dinner, Davey decided it was time to do some more walking around the living room. He walked, unaided a couple more times. We got him on video a couple times, but the best times were, of course, when we didn't have the camera handy.

But let's mark down today, November 17 -- when Davey's 13 months, 10 days old -- as the day he really began to walk.

Go Davey, Go!!

You can see Davey walking in the YouTube box in the upper right corner of the blog.

Did I tell you he's walking?

Soy yogurt is an excellent hair styling product, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Over the past couple of weeks, David will take one or two steps without holding on to anything. This morning, however, he took a full ten steps before slowly lowering to his knees.

Goooo Davey!

As high as an elephants eye

As high as an elephants eye, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Forgive me, I'm woefully behind on blogging what's been going on in our lives! Time to post a little about Halloween.

We wanted to go to a pumpkin patch to help us get in the mood of the season. But not just some big ol' commercialized patch by the side of the freeway. I wanted Davey's first pumpkin patch to be authentic, rural and not all hyped-up. Through Marin Mommies I found Peterson's Pumpking Patch in Petaluma. It was exactly what I had in mind so Mark, Davey and I headed up and met Bonnie there. We were all really happy with what we found there and it was perfect.

There were Scottish Highland cows, all furry and friendly, hens, roosters, rabbits, geese, horses, a cat and a dog. There were bees as well, as the Peterson's keep bees and sell their honey. There was a huge patch full of pumpkins -- Cinderella style as well as sugar pie and tiny little gourds.

We got to wander around, feed the animals, explore the pumpkin patch. It was all great. Plus we left with one Cinderella, one regular and three little gourds for less than $10.

I expect we'll be going back again next year and for years to come.

Look in the mirror

Look in the mirror, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Last Saturday we all went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum to see what we thought about it. It was their monthly free Saturday which meant the place was packed and a bit chaotic. On top of that, it was raining so it wasn't possible for us to play outside much. Just the same, Davey definitely enjoyed the toys and activities in the Toddler area and enjoyed the outdoor area for the brief bit that we explored. So we went ahead and got a family membership for the year. This will be a great place for Davey to go when it's too wet or cold out this Winter and when we happen to be visiting Sausalito.

Davey and his first creme filled cookie

Davey and his first creme filled cookie, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

While shopping this afternoon I ran across Organic Vanilla Bean with Green Tea Sandwich Cookies. Organic ingredients, no trans-fats, no high fructose corn syrup nor did it contain any dairy or eggs. And they looked tasty. So I picked up a box and, once home, Davey got an afternoon snack. As you can see, he liked 'em. Who can blame him? I had a couple as well and can say they're delicious!

Playing on his Radio Flyer - thanks Simon!

Playing on his Radio Flyer - thanks Simon!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Time for a quiet, lunch-time nap

Time for a quiet, lunch-time nap, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

After a long morning of a new gymnastics class and playing with Dad, it's hard to wait for lunch to be over for a lunch-time nap.

The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z!

Oh yes, this book is quickly going to join our kid library. Davey already enjoys books, picking out books for us to read each afternoon and evening. This one is likely too tearable to let him play with unattended at this point, but I can see reading it to him, as he likes interesting rhythms, sounds and pictures. And who doesn't enjoy Steve Martin's writing?

The 3rd Annual Mom's Night Out

If Mark's not working Tuesday, I know what I'm doing Tuesday night -- terrific!

The 3rd Annual Mom's Night Out | Marin Mommies

Listen Up!!

David's first recording session

David's first recording session, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Hangin' at The Plant with Mom, Michael and Joe Satriani's crew. Mom and Mick went to the studio with Davey for a bit yesterday and he was so comfortable hanging out on the sofa, they all decided to let him play piano. He's got the right stance, hm?

I'm a pumpkin! Say it loud, say it proud!

I'm a pumpkin! Say it loud, say it proud!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Grape stomp!

Grape stomp!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

I'm a bit behind on my blogging due to David getting a nasty stomach bug last weekend and then, as he was on the upswing, I came down with it and was semi-comatose for two days.

So I apologize for being brief, but I fear I'll never get around to blogging about our activities if I wait until I have the time and/or energy!

So -- on October 21, Mom and Mick had a little "gleaning party," where we picked grapes that were left over on their Cabernet grape vines. The official harvest for their Owl Ridge wine was about a week prior and there were still plenty of grapes left that were ripe and ready to eat or process for food or drink.



Davey started feeling sick first thing that morning but, as Mom pointed out, he could just as easily feel sick in the vineyard as he could at home. So in between feeling sick and puking, he enjoyed going up and down the rows and tasting the grapes.



While at Mom's we helped make some grape jelly. I haven't tasted it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately, just as we were all about to sit down and have a hearty lunch, Davey decided to puke all over us both so we had to take a nice, warm shower and change clothes.



So we went home and just had a mellow rest of the day together. Poor little guy. Once he was asleep for the night I made some grape sorbet from a recipe of, as usual, the amazing David Lebovitz and his book The Perfect Scoop. Most tasty!

The next day we went to the doctor who said it was a bug going around and to just make sure he got lots of fluids. By that afternoon his appetite was back and he was in a chipper mood. And then... that night... it hit me. Ugh.

But we're all better now in Merzville. Happy and healthy!

North African Inspired Slow Cooked Chicken

North African Inspired Slow Cooked Chicken, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

This morning I woke up thinking I wanted to find a slow-cooker recipe for a whole organic chicken I had in the fridge. I looked through my cookbooks and found one I'd totally forgotten about: Ready and Waiting by Rick Rodgers. Wow, how long had it been since I'd looked through there?

Inside I found a recipe that sounded right -- not exactly what I had on hand, but close enough for rock 'n' roll. So I took his recipe for Moroccan Chicken and Vegetable Stew and Moroccan Hot Sauce and made some modifications. We all, including Davey, enjoyed it!

Davey decided, for the first time, to have a napless day. Ugh!! At the end of the day, it's a good thing I'd chosen to do a slow-cook recipe!

North African Inspired Chicken Stew
1 acorn squash (~1lb)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp (a few good twists) freshly ground black pepper
3 carrots, cut in to 1/2 inch rounds
3 celery stalks, cut in to 1/2 inch pieces
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 chicken, cut up in to the usual pieces
1-3/4 cup chicken stock
1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup raisins

1. Cut the acorn squash crosswise in to 3/4 inch thick rings and scoop out the seeds. Cut the rings in to quarters and pare off the skin.

2. In a small bowl, combine the spices.

3. In a 3-1/2 quart slow cooker, combine the acorn squash, carrots, onions and garlic. Sprinkle half the spice mixture over the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining spice mixture over the chicken pieces and arrange the chicken over the vegetables. Pour in the chicken broth, cover and slow-cook until the chicken shows no sign of pink at the pone when prodded with the tip of a sharp knife, 5 to 6 hours on low (200 degrees F). During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the garbanzo beans and raisins.

Serve the chicken and vegetables over rice or couscous (we enjoy brown basmati rice) with broth spooned over it all. Serve Moroccan hot sauce on the side.

Moroccan Hot Sauce
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/3 cup reserved cooking liquid from the stew
1 tb crushed hot red pepper
1 tsp lemon juice

1. Sprinkle the garlic with salt. Using a sharp knife, chop and then mash the salted garlic to make a paste. Scrape the garlic in to a small bowl. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid, the crushed hot red pepper and lemon juice.

2. Use a small spoon to drizzle the sauce over the stew.

More ice cream sandwiches!

Molasses crinkle cookie and cinnamon ice cream sandwich, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Yep, another week, another reason for a gathering and another ice cream delicacy.



Jackie Sapir came stopped by our home for a couple days on her way back to Australia. After ten years living in the U.S., seven of which were in San Francisco and the last three in Boston, she's decided to head back to Sydney. We were lucky enough that she stopped in the Bay Area and stayed at our home for a couple days before leaving the country. In fact, as I type this, she's sitting next to me on our sofa, however she flies to Sydney tomorrow.

At any rate, in her honor we held a small dinner gathering last night. Just a simple and casual affair: A giant recipe of pasta with red meat sauce, lots of garlic bread made on Acme Sourdough Battards, green salad and red wine (including a bottle of 2003 Owl Ridge Cabernet). Bonnie made chocolate chip cookies (mmm) , Polly made Molasses crinkle cookies and I made cinnamon ice cream.

Yes, of course the cinnamon ice cream was from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. Any of you that read this blog could have guessed that. ;-)

Doesn't it sound like the Molasses Crinkle Cookies are just begging to be paired with the Cinnamon Ice Cream? Um. YES.

Anyone want the recipes for the cookies and/or the ice cream?

*slurp*

A new year, a new photo album

Wet laughter, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

So in the first year (and the months leading up to his birth), we uploaded well over 2500 photos in to David's first photo album. It's time to start a new photo album for his second year of life. As with the first one, we'll keep the newest pictures at the beginning of the photo album. So for those of you that bookmarked the original photo album (you know who you are), you can go ahead and bookmark this new photo album now: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicafm/sets/72157602359967344/

One year well-baby visit

Yes, I'm a handsome boy, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Hi all! This morning David had his one-year well-baby visit with Dr. Lee. Aside from having a cold and still having allergies to eggs and dairy, Dr. Lee pronounced Davey as perfect. Who didn't know that? Ha!

In terms of the cold, Dr. Lee checked David's ears to check to see if any ear infections have started. His ears are perfect.

In terms of the allergies, I described what happened when I put dots of raw egg white, egg yolk and liquid milk on Davey's skin. He said he'd like us to take David to an allergist to do real allergy testing to see what, exactly, he's allergic to, and to what degree. It's possible he's only got a topical allergic reaction, and that he could eat dairy or eggs with only a rash as a problem. Or we could find that he's highly allergic to something and that we should keep an Epi-pen on hand. The allergists he recommended, Dr. Tam and Dr. German, are the doctors I already go to for my asthma. I also went to school with Dr. German's son, Donald Jr. It's a small world! Drs. Tam and German are both very busy men, apparently. We'll take David to see Dr. German at his next available appointment: November 27! Until that visit, we'll continue to avoid eggs and dairy in David's diet.

Dr. Lee went on to say that he'd like to see David drink a lot more soy milk than we're currently giving him, as now that he's in his second year we need to increase his calcium intake. He also said that he's a proponent of weaning off breast feeding after one year. Though he admitted that La Leche League would kill him for saying that. His view is that there are obvious benefits to breast feeding for the first year, but beyond the first year breast feeding becomes more of a pacifier and that David should be getting the majority of his caloric intake from solid food at this point.

I'm not sure how I feel about weaning him just yet, so I'm taking that advice under consideration. However I've asked Marina to start giving Davey soy milk instead of my breast milk when they go to the park or I'm otherwise not available to nurse him. Maybe we'll start slowly weaning him now, mostly to ensure he's getting soy milk to ensure he's getting the calcium he needs.

And, finally, to his stats:
Length/height: 29-1/2"
Weight: 17lbs-10oz
Head: 18-1/2"

And, lastly, David got some vaccinations: HIB and Hep-B. The nurse was going to also give him a flu vaccine, but I told her that he was allergic to eggs, so no flu shot for him. Now it's ultra-important that Mark and I get our flu shots. Heck, we should pay for Marina to get her flu shot too, if her insurance doesn't cover it.

Chocolate ice cream sandwich

Chocolate ice cream sandwich, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Um, YUM?!

For David's first birthday party, I made a couple of ice creams from David Lebovitz's, The Perfect Scoop: Cinnamon and Philadelphia Style Chocolate. In an unprecedented move, I served up all the cinnamon ice cream at the party without taking photographs! The cinnamon ice cream went lickity-split, as we were also serving apple pie and you know that combination couldn't be beat. The chocolate ice cream was very good, as well, but it was not completely finished by the end of the party.

Tonight I decided that I needed to make an ice cream sandwich with the chocolate ice cream and a couple of Safeway's "chewy chocolate" cookies. The cookies are actually cocoa meringues with walnuts. While the photo is enticing and the flavors individually delicious, the combo didn't quite work. The cookies tasted much sweeter than the ice cream and they were too crispy to really work well. But it had to be done. ;-)

Now, in case you'd like to make the ice cream, here's the recipe. I highly recommend it! For this batch I used Scharfenberger cocoa powder and Ghiradelli unsweetened chocolate.

Chocolate Ice Cream, Philadelphia Style
2-1/4 cups heavy cream
6 tb unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
1 c sugar
pinch of salt
6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 c whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the cream, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, roiling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until it's completely melted, then whisk in the milk and vanilla. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend for 30 seconds, until very smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator and then freeze it in your ice cream maer according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The First Cold

Another first for the beginning of his second year of life: A cold. As bedtime neared on his birthday, Davey started showing the telltale signs of a cold. Oh, my sweet boy. Sneezing, congested coughing, crankiness. Needless to say, nobody slept well that night! He was awake and squealing, screaming, coughing, sneezing and crying at least once an hour all night long.

Yesterday was spent trying to rest up and eating homemade chicken soup (my Jewish mother genes kicked right in at the first sign of the cold). Thankfully he liked the soup (heck, so did we). Mark went out and got a humidifier and some Vick’s Baby Rub. It was a cranky day, but by the time dinner was over, Davey had a warm bath with California Baby Cold & Flu Bubble Bath, warm pajamas and slippers, Baby Rub on his chest and back and the humidifier on. He slept quite well through the night, waking at 12:30am and 4:30am for nursing, but going back to sleep easily until he arose for good at 7am.



Today he’s doing a lot better, though he’s still got a crusty nose and a slightly cranky personality. That could be just as much from the cold as the fact that the weather’s funky and he’s had to stay in the house all day instead of going for a long walk and an hour at the playground.

Oh, and now I’VE got the cold, too. At least that means I’m making appropriate antibodies to pass along to him through my milk. There’s always a bright side.

Somebody please pass the Kleenex.