The Rest of Our Week

Today is our last day in Cincinnati. It has been a tiring week for Zach--there have been activities and concerts going on from 8AM to after midnight every day--but he has made a lot of great professional contacts and heard some great performances. We are certainly glad we came.

Mom left yesterday afternoon. On Wednesday and Thursday we did some shopping and some relaxing at the hotel with Austin. Thanks for suggesting the Gap/Old Navy outlet, Miranda! I got some shirts for myself and some 6-12 month stuff for Austin. I got at least 10 items and I spent under $40. Wow!

Austin has learned some new skills in the past week or so. Right before we left for Cincy he figured out how to grasp stuff like these keys. Or rather, we figured out how to stick the keys in his hand and sometimes he doesn't drop them! So far he will only hold things in his right hand. Perhaps an early sign of right-handedness? (Sorry for the poor video quality--Zach has the nice camera with him at the conference today.)

Then just yesterday, Austin figured out how to suck his hand. I hope it can maybe become his preferred way to self-soothe so he doesn't get too dependent on a paci. But we'll see. So far today he definitely did not use it to soothe himself to sleep--he stayed awake almost all morning because he was only happy in my arms and was fussy when I even got near the pack n play! But isn't he cute?

Zoo Day

Mom and I took Austin to the zoo yesterday. He slept 90% of the day (the heat, probably) so I was not able to get adorable "Austin with the animals" pictures like I'd hoped. This is the best we could do--he was awake just long enough to take a picture...but no animals in sight. (We're outside a restroom just after changing his diaper.) Doesn't he look excited to be there?


But Austin's sleepiness didn't stop Mom and me from having fun. The Cincinnati Zoo is pretty cool. They have lots of primates, which are generally my favorite animals to watch. If I could only see one animal at a zoo, it would probably be the gorillas. Here's the big silverback male of Cincinnati's collection. (Tribe? Pack? Whatever you call a group of gorillas.)

Road Trip

Zach and I drove to Cincinnati today because ITEC (the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference) starts tomorrow. Austin did great in the car--he slept a lot and hardly fussed at all about being in his carseat for the better part of seven hours. It feels like we moved half of his nursery into our hotel room (you cannot pack too many burp cloths for this child) but I think we'll be pretty comfortable here for the next week. The best part is that Grandma Susan met us here this afternoon. She hasn't seen Austin since he was ten days old! So while Daddy is busy at the conference, Grandma, Mommy, and Austin will dedicate themselves to having fun. Anybody know of cool stuff to do in Cincinnati?

Yummy

Do you have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe? I have been searching for years, trying plenty, never 100% satisfied with my results. Well, I found a pretty good one today. And it's super-easy because it's made with "buttermilk baking mix." (If you're not sure, that means Bisquick or something like it.) I was really happy with the texture and the flavor, and my official taster (Zach) heartily approved. So I thought I'd share. This came from allrecipes.com, by the way, and I added a teaspoon of vanilla as several reviewers recommended.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups buttermilk baking mix
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I never use nuts; I like my chocolate pure.)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Mix butter or margarine, sugar and egg together. Stir in baking mix, nuts, and chocolate chips.
Drop teaspoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Two Month Checkup

Austin went to the doctor today for his two month checkup. For all interested parties (Grandma and Gran!), he weighs 13 pounds 1 ounce, and is 22.5 inches long. That's a gain of almost 3 pounds from last month! So again, no doubt our little guy is eating well. He got four shots, which naturally has made him a little unhappy this afternoon, but otherwise is in great health.

Playtime

Zach put Austin down on his playmat a few days ago while we were getting ourselves ready for church. Somewhat to our surprise, he happily entertained himself for at least five minutes. Although he still isn't very coordinated, he seems to be finally understanding what to do with all the animals hanging in his face! Funny how he doesn't actually look at them, though.

By the way, we have now purchased editing software for our video camera which we are learning how to use. (Zach quickly, me slowly.) So hopefully we will be able to post videos of Austin's adorable-ness more often.

Drive-In

Zach and I found yet one more thing to love about Indiana, PA this weekend: we have a drive-in movie theater. We went to see the new Indiana Jones movie last night. Besides being baby-friendly, going to our local drive-in was just a cool experience. It has been open since 1950 and I don't think it's changed much in the intervening 58 years. They show double features, there was a playground at the front, and they played old ads for popcorn, hot dogs, and hamburgers over the speakers before the show. ("Enjoy a full-flavored soft drink right now! Come to the snack bar and be sure to buy enough for the whole family!" That sort of thing.) We only stayed for the first show; the second, Baby Mama, did not appeal to us much, certainly not enough to stay out until 2 or 3 in the morning. But we had a great time and hope some more good shows will play there this summer.

A Special Day

Zach and I dedicated Austin to the Lord this morning at church. Although the service is called a baby dedication, our pastor pointed out that it's really more of a parent dedication. Zach and I dedicated ourselves to teaching Austin God's Word and His ways, and our pastor prayed for us as we undertake that task. It is so humbling to know that Austin's future is entirely in God's hands. We can't save him--we can only teach him who God is and pray that God will open his heart to receive the gift of salvation.

And although I spent a good part of the morning hoping he wouldn't be the baby who cried throughout the dedication service, it gave me opportunity to reflect on how as parents we can't allow ourselves to be too wrapped up in his outward behavior; it's what in his heart that counts. It's hard to believe it when we look at his cute little face, but he, like all of us, was born a sinner and has no hope apart from Christ. He could be the most outwardly obedient child in the world and have a heart that rebels against God. I know that's how I was for many years. So we need to teach him that although obedience is important, being "good" is not what saves us. Only faith in Christ's blood shed for us can make him right before God.

We are so thankful to be part of a church that will help us teach him these most critical lessons.

Fresh From the Farm Part Two

This week's delivery from our CSA included more arugula and the cabbage you see below. Isn't it enormous? The cabbage posed a bit of a challenge to my meal planning; I have never thought of myself as a cabbage fan. But this cabbage had a pretty mild flavor, and I found some good recipes on allrecipes.com that used it as an accent rather than a main ingredient.

The first cabbage-based meal was Baked Pork Spring Rolls. Very yummy, and not as guilt-inducing as the usual fried variety. (They are brown and crispy because they have vegetable oil brushed on the top.) I even made a second batch to freeze so we will enjoy these again in a few weeks.

Then tonight we made bierocks, which are pieces of dough filled with onion, cabbage, and ground beef. It's a German dish. (Boy, I was international this week!) The recipe said to fry them but I baked them instead and they were plenty tasty. Kind of a like a hamburger. Or maybe more like a cheeseburger since we ate them with extra cheese sauce that I made for the kohlrabi. (Steamed kohlrabi is the stuff at the bottom of the plate.) Again, I had enough ingredients to make an extra batch to freeze.

So I still wouldn't call cabbage a favorite food, but it's not so bad. I'm glad I added yet another vegetable to my recipe repertoire.

Six Years

Today is our six year anniversary. Zach and I celebrated by going to lunch by ourselves--our friend Ashley kindly agreed to watch Austin for us. We ate great food (Luigi's, our favorite Italian place) and had some great conversation. We reflected on how thankful we are that Austin was born nearly six years into our marriage, even though the wait was tough. We feel like our marriage, and hence our ability to be good parents together, is so much stronger because we had a relatively long period of marriage without children. We had plenty of time to figure each other out before a baby was in the picture. And of course we're thankful that Zach was able to get a full-time job in his chosen field before Austin's arrival. God's timing has been perfect.

Just a few pictures

Austin wore this outfit with a frog on the bottom for the first time yesterday. I thought it is pretty funny how he likes to sleep on his daddy's chest with his legs bent out just like a little frog!


Zach picked out this onesie for Austin to wear this morning. It has turned out to be very appropriate--I don't know if it's the heat or what, but Austin has not wanted to do much but sleep today.

You Know We're Not in LA Anymore...

Just wanted to inject a little local flavor into my blog. This picture appeared in yesterday's Indiana Gazette, our local paper. In case you can't read the caption, this is a group of seniors who celebrated their last day of high school by riding their tractors to school. Yep, their tractors. Now I want to make it clear: they are not from the district we live in, but it's not too far away. Boy, life has changed...

At Last

Austin's room has a bookcase at last! I have been wanting to buy this particular bookcase since January, but not having a large vehicle has prevented it from happening. Finally this past weekend one of Zach's students was able to help us buy it and bring it home from the store. Then Zach and I spent the weekend priming and painting it, Monday we hauled it up the stairs, and yesterday I joyfully arranged all the books that have been sitting around Austin's room in boxes for the past eight months. As you can see, it is pretty full already. I have been buying children's books for years. One thing I appreciate so much about my mom is that when we were kids she bought us as many books as we could wish for. I hope Austin grows to love reading like I do, so I want to surround him with good books from an early age.


And now for some bonus pictures of Austin, just because.

Ready for church in a cute new outfit

Finally caught his beautiful smile on camera!

First Smile

Austin gave us his first real smiles today. I'd been told it would be a great moment, but I underestimated just how special it would feel. It brought tears to my eyes! It really does make all the hard work and sleep deprivation feel worth it--our little boy knows and loves us!

Unfortunately we didn't manage to capture a smile on camera today but you can be sure we'll keep trying!