Random Pics

Here are some random pictures since I have been so bad lately! They are from both of our phones and are from a few different months, but nonetheless, they show life as we know it with our 2 1/2 year old!

Working on his bike like Daddy.

Flying airplanes with Daddy.

On a hike at Howarth Park walking the track ~ shh…I highly doubt it's allowed. 

Tractors are his life!!

Loved carving, but did NOT want to touch it ~ Hahaha! 

Halloween school parade. We were both Pete the Cat along with Jenna and Jaime. It's our classroom theme and one of Noah's favorite book characters. 

We snuck away to Hawaii for a few days in early November on Justin's work shuttle. It was lovely, although it felt very strange to be having fun on vacation without Noah…almost like we weren't allowed. 

Having fun with trains on a rainy day. He played with them for hours!

Blog, what blog?

Tradition!

Every year we go to Moon Mountain to cut down our Christmas Tree and make year-long memories. This year was no exception. Noah had so much fun hiding and look for us amongst the trees. Sticks and dirt. Enough said.

Every Year! Murray pushes my mom (and usually me too) into the trees as I am trying to take a picture. I think he gave me a break this year due to Baby Girl.

Nonni and Pa's tree

Nonni and myself at about 27 weeks

On the ground in the dirt = heaven

In other news…

We have been trying to pick a name for Baby Girl and we are almost there.

Noah is a non-stop talking machine and understands way more than I give him credit for.

He plays soccer every Saturday with some friends and absolutely loves it. See some pictures here on my friends blog! She is way better at taking pictures of our kiddos than I am and I am ever so grateful!! 

Our house is decorated for Christmas and Noah digs it. We are doing Elf on the Shelf this year and taking lots of walks in the evenings to look at Christmas lights. 

Noah rode on a carriage ride the other night at the Healdsburg Downtown Holiday Stroll and was all smiles. 

Noah's becoming obsessed with letters more and more each day, which is so fun!

Going back in time

I took my first belly picture of baby girl when I was 18 weeks and it was one of those things where I wanted to do one earlier, but it just never worked out. Justin wasn't home, but I really wanted to take one, so I just used Noah and a mirror to make it work! So here it is...her first belly pic at 18 weeks and Noah at almost 2 1/2. 

It's a...

Girl!

We are thrilled to announce that Noah will have a little sister come February. We had our 19 week Ultrasound last week and we found out that Baby Girl is growing as she should. We are starting to talk about it more and more with Noah. It's always hard to know how much they really get, but the other day there was a sweet moment in a baby store...

I was in front of the girl section and I had his stroller facing the pink clothes :) After a few moments of looking at them he said, "that is for baby sister." It was so sweet and I realized that he does understand more than I give him credit for sometimes :) Then he said, "the doctor told you that it's a girl." It's so cute to hear him talk about her!

Some days I still don't quite believe that we are having a girl, but we are very excited and I look forward to planning her room and coming up with her name.  

It's Canning Time!!

Jalapeño Jelly:

Recipe taken from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving:

6 1/2 pint sterilized jars, lids and rings 
3/4 lb jalapenos, seeded and chopped
2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
2 pouches (1 box) liquid pectin

Puree jalapenos with one cup vinegar in food processor. In a medium pot, add puree to the remaining cup of vinegar and sugar and bring to a simmer for ten minutes. Add pectin and bring to a rolling boil for one minute. Ladle into jars, wipe rims, attach lids and rings and process for ten minutes.

We love our jalapeño jelly and it's great to bring as any easy appetizer with cheese and crackers!

Cowboy Candy: 
You can find the recipe we use here. Justin loves these spicy/sweet beauties :)

Here we go! It's kind of a lot of work, but we love having them. Soon we will be attempting to can some of our tomatoes. 

Big Bed!

As Noah has gotten older, I've had this desire to snuggle with him in a bed before he goes to sleep. We typically snuggle in his rocking chair after reading stories, which he loves, but I was wanting to change it up. All summer long I wanted to transition him to a big bed, but with how I was feeling it just didn't happen until yesterday. I am happy to report that his big bed went in without a hitch and he loves it. We were going to go with a double, but we decided to go with a twin bed instead (long story). When we were at Costco we found this cute twin bed with storage (did you hear me...STORAGE!!!) underneath, and it wouldn't take up too much room in his room. 

Last night was night one and I don't have anything adventurous to tell!! He didn't try and get out, and he even slept in an extra 30 minutes. So far the big bed is a huge success, and I got to snuggle with my little man in his big bed!! It was a moment I will never forget. 

Here are a few not so great iphone photos...;)

I look forward to the day when it won't need to be against the wall, and then I can maximize on the storage!! 

It's Happening

We will be a family of four come February! Justin and I are thrilled to rock Noah's little world ;)

You see...the blog and "morning" sickness don't really mesh well. Side note: I would love to know who coined the phrase morning sickness. Mine sure stretches into ALL of the day-suck! This summer has been all about resting and snacking and a lifesaving drug called Zofran. At 7 weeks pregnant the nausea hit full throttle and I couldn't keep a thing down (this was very different from Noah mind you). It was then that I went begging and pleading to the doctor for help. Anyways, you get the picture. Our summer has been drastically different with how I have been feeling. I am getting a little more used to it and thankfully it's not quite as severe. I am still on the Zofran and have really yucky evenings, but I am so grateful for what this sickness means for our family. 

I am thirteen weeks pregnant and beginning to show just a little bit. Noah knows there is a baby in my belly, but other than that he has no clue what is to come...haha! 

Adios for now!

Blackberry Pie

I had never made a pie, until Friday. The whole thought of the homemade crust kept me from trying it. I love baking, but I have always been more of a cookie, cupcake, crisp...kind of gal.  I had always wanted to give it a try, so when Justin suggested we go blackberry picking in our neighborhood I figured this was my chance. He was beyond thrilled at the thought of a pie so I couldn't say no...:)

I searched the internet for tips, read many different recipes, and chatted with my mom about how she made her pies. After reading this pie tutorial and looking at a few different recipes I decided to give it a go! The one decision I kept going back and forth about was the lard/butter ratio. In the end I decided to do a 50/50 mix for some flavor as well as flakiness.

Below is the recipe I completed after picking and choosing what I liked from a few different ones:

The Crust (for a nine inch, two crust pie)

2 ½ cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon sugar (for a fruit pie. Omit sugar for a savory pie.)
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks

1/2 cup cold leaf lard, cut into chunks

1/4 cup cold water

I used the food processor for ease and it worked out really well. I rolled out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, which was really helpful. I refrigerated the dough for about 30 minutes before rolling it out. I followed the tips from the above tutorial for the crust and it worked out really well.

The Filling

6 cups blackberries
3/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of tapioca for thickening
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

After I assembled the pie I dotted the top of the filling with a few tablespoons of butter and splashed a little lemon juice over the top (about half a lemon). I brushed the top with an egg/water wash and then it was ready to go!

There are a few other tips I followed about the cooking time, etc. and they can all be found on the tutorial link above. I found it really helpful! Then again, I am new to all of this :)

Here are a few pictures of the pie! It was really yummy and we already went out and picked more berries to freeze so I can make another one in the near future! At some point I may try a varied crust with a little more lard...I never said this was a healthy pie!! I am the type of dessert person where I go all in and just enjoy! Everything in moderation right?!?!

PS. In the next week or so I will really try to get better about blogging. Check back soon for another post :)

Here are a few pictures of Noah!

Working with Daddy. I love the filthy face!

Blackberry picking

We let it keep growing just for kicks!

Listening to music in the park with Nonni

The Boat

The other day Noah, Murray, and I were able to join Uncle Steve on his boat. Noah was on a boat a year ago, but he was pretty young, so I don't think he remembered.  Ali was there, along with a friend of hers. Noah adores Ali and loves to play with her and just watch her :) 

Being on the boat so fun because Noah was back and forth, hot and cold, about the way he felt about the boat. He was very excited about it at first, and didn't even make a peep about the life jacket. All was good at first, with just a little extra tight hand grip! Then we went fast. At first he was asking me if we could go slower, and when that didn't work, he asked me if we could go home. Is it bad that I was chuckling to myself?!?! 

As the day went on he became more comfortable, but never fully relaxed. He loved sitting on the back of the boat kicking his legs, but wouldn't jump to me in the water. He floated on a tube with Pa and the girls for a little bit. 

It was so adorable watching Noah interact with Ali and her friend. The way they spoke to him was cracking me up!! It was as if they could reason with him and convince him...no way Jose! In true toddler form Noah would say yes sometimes and no at other times, and really confuse them ~ Ha! The girls would jump in the water and he would say things like, "Do it again girwls?" "Good job girls!" 

The boat is my happy place and it was so nice to be out there!

Ya know how I said Noah adores her...the feeling is mutual. I think she would play with him all day long over her 4th grade buddies. She is such a sweetie. She wanted to sit with Noah, and when he wouldn't sit on her lap (on account of the fear ;) she sat next to him. When he wanted a chip with dip, she got up to get him one... You get the idea ~ a true sweetie!

The squished face makes me giggle :)

Playing is More Fun!

Oh, poor  blog...and to all of you (maybe 5 readers...wink wink :)

I haven't felt super motivated to blog and most of that is due to all the fun we've been having with Noah. So really, I blame him! Well, and the fact that I'm not usually willing to stay up late and do it. It's so fun to play outside and be in the garden with him. If he could, I think he would live outside. There hasn't been anything super exiting going on, just normal everyday fun :) Here are some iphone snapshots of what we have been up to:

Having fun on one of our many morning walks. Justin is doing Noah's "excited" face. The eyebrows go up, the arms go out to the side...it just kills me :) He loves to walk to the fountain near Safeway and throw pennies in it. I am thankful that he still enjoys going for walks in the stroller.

Produce from our garden! We are getting lots of blueberries this year.

These next photos are from the Healdsburg FFA Parade BBQ at my parents house. We look forward to  it every year. Justin couldn't make it because he was flying, but Noah and I had a blast. He even had a sucker and a cookie...very rare for him ;)

Fun times had by all! 

Excuse the food in his mouth, but this was our first zucchini! We planted MANY of these as they are Noah's favorite.

Howarth park fun!

My mom and I at a retirement dinner for Murray. He is retired!! So happy for him and all the adventures to come :)

A Mother's Day craft Noah brought home from church...with a rose. Melted my heart!

Here are a few videos of life lately:

Having some fun in one of his "big books," as he calls them. Mommy and Daddy are WAY over them, but he still loves to bring them out. Noah will sit for a few stories back to back now and we love reading with him. I feel like it took him a little longer than some to sit still for a story...his poor teachers...ha!! Curious George, Pete the Cat, Owl Babies, and Charlie the Ranch Dog are some of his favorites. 

Noah gets a big kick these days out of jumping. This day he was jumping and then landing on his knees, as well as describing the jump before he went. It was cracking me up.

He can hardly contain himself when we let him pick blueberries (or strawberries). 

The boy, The Pictures, The Friend

There really are no words to describe my feelings about these pictures! 

I love the boy more than anything I could have ever imagined, and I cherish the friend who took these photos for Noah's second birthday. 

Here are some of my favorites from the session :)

Cheers to our 2 year old, and cheers to Melissa Morelli Photography and my dear friend for these priceless and memorable photos!