Friday, May 30, 2008

Attached hiking partner!

Well, I'm thoroughly enjoying this little boy! He may be little, but he's got brains, big brains! So big that this hat barely fit him! Yesterday Eli and I enjoyed a beautiful hike up Rock Canyon. Eli slept on the way up and observed the trees rushing by him on the way down. The weather was perfect and the stream was in full force, providing a mesmerizing hum to accompany our hike.


Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Unfinished, Finished

These pillows have been in the works for over a year now. I seem to be finishing many unfinished projects as of late. Maybe it's a lack of energy and brain function to start new projects, so I use my bits of time to finish off the old ones.

Monday, May 19, 2008

TALKING!


I love these baby noises!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

French lentil salad


This recipe was a winner! I used my coffee grinder to grind the fennel seeds so it has fresh fennel flavor! Also,  a little lemon zest makes a tasty addition. Recipe below.

Monday, May 12, 2008

WILD WIND

More then just Eli kept me up last night. The wind attacked one of our trees last night and took one of it's massive branches down to the ground! 

Sunday, May 11, 2008

My First Mother's day.


Eli wants me (Brian) to help him post a blog this morning devoted to his mother.  But right now he is occupied with breakfast.  So in the mean time I will add a note.

My mom and dad joined us for a Mother's Day meal yesterday.  I am negligent in celebrating Mother's Day, and most other "Appreciation Days," but Ashley isn't.  She actually suggested that we invite my parents over for the occasion and put the most effort into making the meal special.  That's just one example of what makes Ashley wonderful.   

Yesterday, while contemplating my mother, the thought occurred to me that she and Ashley share many similar, great qualities.   I am fortunate to to have grown up under the care of one marvelous woman and to be the spouse to another.   It may be, and probably is, that I so quickly recognized Ashley's fine traits  because I had grown up with them in my home.  They are recognizable now because my mother taught them to me in both word and deed.
My mother is the greatest mom in the universe.

Alright, Eli is done feeding. His turn.

And my mom is the greatest mom in ALL the universes.  Do you know how great my mom is?My mom is so great she could fly through all the universes, like Suuuper Mom!  I really love my mommy because she is so nice to me.  She feeds me, she changes my diaper when I mess it--like twenty times a day.  She feeds me like twenty times a day, too.  And the milk is so yummy! It's so sweet.  I don't want to eat anything else for as long as I live.  But I never tasted anything else, either. Maybe I would like some other things. My daddy held something in front of my nose once that smelled really good.  And Grandpa Knudsen put something on my lips one time that tasted really good once, too.  But my mommy's milk is the best.  And you know what else?  I really like it when my mommy plays with me.  Sometimes when I'm sad, and when I'm not sad too, she holds me and puts me in her lap and tickles me and smiles at me and makes funny faces and makes funny sounds with her mouth.  Yeah.  My mommy loves me.

And--Brian here--Ashley feeds and burps Eli at all hours of the day or night. I don't know how she does it, but Ashley has been a natural.  She has learned well from her mother and sisters.  Being a mother is a big job-- a BIG, FULL TIME job.  I enjoy watching Ashley take care of Eli because I can tell that she enjoys taking care of Eli. 

Mothers are the greatest.  Thanks Mom!  Thanks Ashley!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Stretching Eli!



I wrap Eli up tight when he sleeps so he won't wake himself up with his flailing arms. But I love unwrapping him at the end of a goodnights sleep and watching him 
S T R E T C H!