18 Months with Molly Pop

18 months? Who said that you get to be 18 months old? That sounds so grown up!



You are gearing up for the terrible twos and I'm not sure that I'm ready for them. They are going to be ROUGH but I think they are also going to fun.



This past month was one of ADVENTURE! It started with a fun trip to the Zoo to check out their new exhibit



We took Grandma with us and the both of you had a grand time. You even conned her into getting you a new stuffed animal, a penguin!



In early May, we headed up to Vancouver, BC so Mama could run her 1/2 marathon. You and Daddy cheered your little hearts out! It was fun seeing you along the course.



You also made a new friend in Vancouver, OT! He was very smitten with you and you were fascinated by him.







After a few days in Vancouver, we headed up to the Sunshine Coast to enjoy a few relaxing days of fun before ending our trip in Whistler. You did OK with all the driving but we were quite thankful that we decided to hold off on a trip to Banff until you are much older.



We swam in a glacially cold pool which you loved. I did not enjoy the experience. It was too cold!



We took you on a fun hike where you actually hiked most of the way! You sure do have a lot of energy.



On our way back, we stopped in Bellingham and you got to hang with Cousin Katie! The two of you are so cute together.



You have become quite the fearless child this month. You have always been without fear but now you are jumping off the side of the swimming pool without making sure that I'm there to catch you, climbing onto tables and dancing like a fool and running as fast as you can. I both like and dislike this fearless thing. I'm not sure if I could encourage it or not!



We had a few visits to the Zoo this month and we even took Daddy on one of them. I love going to the Zoo with the both of you.



We have your 18 month well check next week so we'll find out exactly how big you are then and get your final vaccination shots until you turn 4. Now that is awesome!

Your vocabulary is really exploding and you are really engaging with people. You say Hi to everyone and Bye Bye when we leave. You are still such a little social butterfly and love engaging with new people.

As always, I'm thrilled to have you as my Molly Pop! You are such a wonderful, full of energy, drives my nuts child. I couldn't have asked for a better one, even when you break me. We love you, Molly Pop! Keep up the excitement!

Happy Birthday Scott!

Today is Scott's Birthday and I thought it would be fun to make a Top 10 Great Things about Scott List! 

Top 10 Great Things about Scott!

1. He is a WAY better Dad than I could have ever dreamed. Molly is lucky to have him as her Pop Pop!

2. He's wicked smart!

3. He's hilariously funny (especially when woken up earlier in the morning)

4. He works hard so that I can stay home with Molly and he thanks me for staying home.

5.  He's very supportive of those he loves. One recent example: He watched Molly every Sunday morning for the past four and half months so I could go do my long run. He never complained. He drove up to Canada so I could do my race and cheered with Molly as loud as he could. 

6. He's always thinking of a better, more efficient way to do things. 

7. He can tell you the name of any actor/actress and what films they've be in. 

8. He's easy going. He'll go along with just about any plan that I come up with though he does draw the line at some of my crazier ones. 

9. He's crazy creative!

10. He is the best husband! Long ago, my Mom made me make a list of what I wanted in a husband. When I met Scott, I knew he was the one because he was everything on my list and more. 

Pinterest Thursday - DIY Tent

This might be the coolest thing I've made from Pinterest! I even got to purchase a drill bit which made this extra cool because I felt super handy. Interesting fact, drill bits are cheap!

I started by gathering my materials. My Home Depot didn't have 48" long dowels and mouldings (or at least I couldn't find them) so I purchased the 36" ones. I figure Molly is still little so she doesn't need a tall tent. I also found some great fabric in my stash that was perfect for this project. I had purchased it years ago intending on making a cat pillow cover. Well I never did it and now this fabric was perfect for my project. 

Drilling the holes in the square dowels was easy-peasy. It was harder making sure I was centered before I started drilling. The round dowels fit into the holes I made on the square dowels like a charm. 

I then hemmed the fabric for the tent and sewed elastic onto each corner. I, unfortunately made the tent fabric a little long so I need to hem it again. I'm hoping to find some time over the long weekend. 

Molly loves her new little tent and I've even found the cats sleeping in it. I had intended on keeping it in the living room but the wood floor does not make a grippy surface for the tent legs and it keeps collapsing on Molly. I think it will be fun in her bedroom. 

A friend suggested that I include how much Pinterest Thursday costs me so I'll be including a break-down of the costs at the end of each post from now on. I'm excited to see how the costs of some of these projects compare to just buying them at the store. 

Total Price for this Pin: $23.17

Breakdown of Costs:

Oak Dowel $3.98
Square Dowel (4) $13.40 ($3.35 each)
Spade Drill Bit $4.19
Elastic $1.57
Fabric Free

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 5.22.2013 Edition

This Kid Just Died. What He Left Behind Is Wondtacular!

Mind Your Sushi Manners

RIP "Professional Photographers" - Such Bullshit!

The New Flickr - What it all means

(Knitted) Elephants for Oklahoma - all you need is an hour and some scrap yarn! Get knitting!

A Day in the Life 5.19.2013

A few weeks ago, one of my favorite Twitter Mamas suggested that we do A Day in the Life Photo Challenge. I jumped immediately on board because I LOVE documenting my day and I LOVE seeing everyone else's days. I'm nosy like that. 

The photo challenge was this past Sunday and I have to say I had so much fun doing it! I had even more fun checking out everyone's photos and seeing what they were up to in the Flickr group pool.

Francesca is already ramping up for another challenge and I am excited for it. She's thinking of making it even more challenging by only photographing her day in black and white. I love this idea! It adds a great dynamic to the challenge. 

You can see all of my photos in my Flickr Set.

1. 7:24 am Wake-up Time!, 2. 7:51 am COFFEE, 3. 8:48 am Doing Molly's hair, 4. 8:50 am Molly rummages in the diaper bag, 5. 8:55 am We're heading out so I have to get Molly's stuff together., 6. 9:10 am Getting myself ready, 7. 9:22 am Heading out to breakfast!, 8. 9:30 Breakfast at our new favorite restaurant, 9. 9:30 Breakfast at our new favorite restaurant, 10. 10:45 am Zoooooo, 11. 11:05 am Sleeping Jaguar, 12. 11:15 am Gorillas! Nina and Pete (the old ones), 13. 11:25 am Zoomasium!, 14. 11:58 am Swinging at the park, 15. 12:26 pm Picking up more yarn for Molly's sweater, 16. 12:45 pm Lunch!, 17. 1:34 pm Knitting while the non-napper plays. Molly took a nap on the ride home from the Zoo and the transfer did not take., 18. 2:15 pm Off on an adventure!, 19. 2:45 pm exchanging of yarn for proper dye lot!, 20. 3:15 pm Pit Stop at Fred Meyer, 21. 4:00 pm Making mini frittata muffins for breakfasts, 22. 4:15 pm Snack Time! Molly finally fell asleep so I'm going to enjoy my snack and knit., 23. 6:40 pm Dinner!, 24. 7:15 pm After dinner and bath, it is time for some playing and reading., 25. 7:15 pm After dinner and bath, it is time for some playing and reading., 26. 8:09 pm Time for Hobbits!, 27. 8:36 pm Dessert! Strawberries with whipped cream., 28. 9:05 pm Finished the jacket for Molly's birthday doll (which still needs to be made). This jacket is a smaller version of the one I'm making for Molly's 2nd birthday. I'm hoping this small version can help me figure out the sizing on the big one., 29. 11:02 pm Time for sleep! Goodnight!

Toddler Lifejackets

Molly is a true water baby. She loves being in the water more than anything else in life. We attend swimming lessons once a week (and starting in June, twice a week), visit the beach as much as possible and take lots of baths. 



As the weather begins to hopefully warm up, I plan to spend even more time at the beach and lake. I've been concerned though as Molly is fearless with water and I don't want her to drown. Last week a friend sent me information about life jacket sales through Seattle Parks & Rec.



On Saturday, we headed over to Greenlake to get Molly her very own life jacket  The people selling the life jackets were great! They weighed Molly and then fitted her for a life jacket  We ended up getting one that was slightly too big with the directions to really tighten it up when she wears it because she was on the cusp of sizes. 



I'm looking forward to playing with Molly this summer in the water and I feel better knowing that she'll being wearing a life jacket that will help prevent accidents. 

FUTURE LIFE JACKET SALES: Seattle Parks and Recreation will hold sales of low cost life jackets on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Evans Pool at Greenlake on the following dates: June 15th, July 20th, August 17th and September 21st. Life jackets are $20 for infant and youth sizes and $30 for adults. 

Sunday Favorites

This is a Sunday in a very long time that I'm not out running. It feels weird but also good to sleep in and not worry about my mileage.

My favorites this week are a bit crafty. I think I'm feeling the crafty mojo even after my sweater debacle. Enjoy!

1. reds, 2. blues, 3. 1,280 one-inch hexagons, 4. Horses, 5. Some deliciousness from a beautiful shoot day with the dream team @jossherd73 & @schonnemann, 6. Food Revolution Day! These beauties are courtesy of the Meringue Girls #FRD2013, 7. Molly's Sketchbook: Simple Four Square Quilt, 8. i sorted the stars by color and realized that i made two stars with the same fabric, so i got to make one more., 9. Hamburger at home. #hammayburgers @nathangale testing the new #ABeautifulMess iPhone app too!, 10. linen doilies!, 11. Brown Butter, Sweet Potato Blondies with White Chocolate, Dried Cranberries, and Pepitas. blogged!, 12. Cauchy calls again, 13. More of this, please, 14. _MG_5211, 15. Missing the ox. Missing the burger. Missing our friend. Missing what was. #latergram, 16. Breathtaking Oahu. #Hawaii, 17. in progress :: Narragansett, 18. in progress :: Narragansett, 19. Sleeveless On A Beauty, 20. week two hundred & five, 21. Hello, there! #pigeon #Waikiki, 22. Our beautiful, strong, loyal boys., 23. shop till your bike drops, 24. HipstaPrint, 25. Spring

Riiiiiiiiiipppppppp.....

My local yarn store recently had their yearly yarn sale and so I decided to pick up yarn for Molly's 2 year sweater. Molly even selected the color, purple. Once I got the yarn, I decided that I should just knit the sweater now so that I wasn't rushing when her birthday neared. I started the sweater on our ride up to Vancouver.

I carefully swatched, nailed the gauge and measured Molly's chest (21"). With all the details on my side, I cast on for the 2 year old size which should come out at 25" so perfect! room to grow! I knit on the sweater for most of the trip. I got all the way to the shoulders! I felt victorious! Only the sleeves and hood to go! This was going very well!

I decided to try the sweater on Molly. And that is when the sad trombone sang its song. The sweater was already tight on Molly's shoulders. I checked my gauge again and I was spot on. I checked Molly's measurements again, yep, still 21" chest. I look at the directions. Hmmmmm.....so I decided to rip. I'm going to make the 4 year old size and hopefully it won't be huge. But if it is, that means there will be room to grow!  Now of course I  need to go and buy more yarn.

Kale Basil Pesto

We recently visited some friends in Canada. The wife is a fantastic cook and always has great ideas for getting more super foods into our diets. She made dinner for us one night and made a special meal for Molly and her son. It looked simple enough, some pasta with some pesto sauce on it. 



Molly inhaled it and tried to eat all of her friend's food too. I asked my friend what she had put into it because I was sooooo making this when we got home. She said that she buys pesto at the store and adds some kale and walnuts to it before freezing it in small batches. 



I pondered this recipe for the rest of the week, we were on vacation. One of my former co-workers used to make HUGE batches of pesto every summer and then give out jars at Christmas. These were coveted jars of pesto. My parents used to steal my jar if they saw it in my fridge. The pesto is that good. 



 When we got home, I poured through my email and found her recipe. I knew that I wanted to change it though so I could add in the kale and walnuts. I made a few other tweaks to the recipe and I have to say that it is GOOOOD! Molly and I enjoyed the pesto in our eggs this morning and I can't wait to have some fresh pasta with pesto for dinner. 



I was thrown back a bit to Molly's puree days as I froze the pesto in the Tovolo Perfect Cube Silicone Ice Cube Trays. I forgot how useful these trays can be though. I think I'll be using them to freeze fresh herbs from my herb garden, chicken broth, concentrated syrups, etc.  




Kale Basil Pesto
makes 4 cups

Ingredients
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 cups packed fresh basil
1/4 cup parsley
2 cups steamed Kale
2 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup walnuts
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups olive oil (more or less)

Directions
1. Toss the garlic into your food processor and pulse it for a few seconds. 
2. Add the basil, parley, kale, cheese, pine nuts, walnuts and salt to the garlic and pulse the food processor again. 
3. Slowly add your olive oil through the spout until the pesto is smooth. Scrape down the sides and run again for about 15 seconds. 
4. You can either spoon your pesto into clean canning jars or into ice cube trays to freeze. I bought out my silicon ice cube trays from when I made Molly's baby food and used those. I spooned the pesto into the trays and then thumped them on the counter to level them out. Then I wrapped them in foil overnight. Once the pesto was frozen, I took the cubes out of the trays and put them into ziplock bags. Now I have 1 ounce cubes of pesto ready for pasta, chicken, pizza or eggs! 

Pinterest Thursday - Knitted Bunny

Thank you so much for all the great advice last Thursday. I will be making your suggested pins starting next week. I have some materials to gather first!

This week I decided to tackle the Bunny from a Knitted Square. I figured it couldn't be too hard. Ha! Those were my famous last words. Note: I've seen this pinned all over with a link to a Japanese site. I decided to Google and found the original source. I've cleaned up my pins to direct to the proper site. 

I started with a knitted square out of some leftover angora. I cast on 28 stitches on size 6 needles and knit until my square was as long as it was wide; about 5" x 5". I watched Call the Midwife while knitting the square which made everything more delightful. I love that show. If you are not watching it, you need to start. 

I then sewed a running stitch of matching yarn through the middle of the square. I folded the square in half to find the center, rather than guessing. I tied a knot in the end of one side of the yarn.

Then I completed sewing a triangle, using running stitch, through the top of the square.

Next I tugged on the yarn and started pulling the square together. Like magic, it started looking like a bunny!

See the ears?

I next stuffed the head before using mattress stitch to sew up the body. I stuffed the body before sewing it all up with some poly-fil. I feel like I either over-stuffed or under-stuffed because I'm not 100% in love with my bunny. He needs something but I'm not sure what. 

I added a ribbon to give him some flair and I may re-do the tail but all in all a fun project! This is going to be part of a baby shower gift that I'm putting together. The baby won't care at all that the bunny isn't perfect! 

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 5.15.2013 Edition

Best Gas Station Fill-up Ever!

Angelina's Medical Choice

A Message to Abercrombie

Capital T truth on being an adult

The Mother is REVEALED!