Work Week in Review

That's right. I have a job. / vb as
d/x,
Sorry about that. Will wanted to type a message too. Looks like some kind of code.
From 9-5 I take care of Will solo. I have to admit it's a pretty sweet job. Allow me to answer the question so often asked me, "What do you do all day?"

Monday was a triple play because I watched my friend's two kids in addition to Will.
Basically we did park, lunch, nap, backyard. Coordinating eveyone's diaper bag, car seats, bathroom breaks, nap times and food times kept me BUSY!

(Cute Note: My friend's son was cracking me up all day.
After the other two kids went down for naps he suggested that I vacuum! Then he pointed out the spots that I had missed. Lucky for me he likes a clean house because someone was coming over after the kids left and I wanted to keep the house decently clean.
Later we watched a few minutes of Nanny McFee, and he turned to me and said, "I tried this movie, and I don't think I like it. Can we watch this one instead?" He tried it like it was food or something...cute!
THEN he said he wanted to say a prayer before he opened up the case of the next DVD! So I let him go ahead and say a prayer. It was pretty long.

Later, another mom came over for a language exchange. She wanted to practice her English, and I wanted to practice my Japanese. It was a good deal for both of us. (Speaking of Japanese stuff, I explored the local Daiso (Japanese dollar) store and it was like stepping into Japan for a few minutes.)

Tuesday Will played with toys on the ground while my neighbor and I did POWER YOGA... I learned to be happy with where I'm at because it's who I am or something like that.
Later that afternoon we joined a group called stroller hikes, explored a nearby trail, and met two donkeys.

Wednesday we zipped over to Munchkin Music in the morning. This is a class where the moms and kids sing songs, play instruments, and play with one of those parachute things. I used to LOVE that when I was little. Will loves to see all the kids, and participate in all the noise! He mostly eats the instruments though.
According to my camera we tried out the cars in the backyard.
And then...Will figured out how to turn the pages in his books all by himself!
Thursday we took a walk with the New Mom Group on campus to the cactus garden, mausoleum, and Rodin sculpture garden.
I'm sure we did some other stuff that day too.

Friday Will enjoyed his time in the spotlight. I took him with me to an appointment in San Jose and everyone gave him so much attention.
On the way home we stopped by Target, and I was holding him because he refused to be in either his car seat or the shopping cart. This lady came down our aisle and said, "Are you flirting with me?" That could have been awkward, but I can safely assume that random strangers talk to William instead of me now. She said he looked right at her, waited until he had her attention, and then gave her a big toothless smile. Will has way more friends than I do.
It was supposed to be "family Friday" where we go visit Britton on campus, but after our long morning trip I didn't feel like treking up to Britton's office. So we took a walk to the market, bank, and library instead and ran into a friend on the way home.

So that's pretty much my workweek besides cleaning, checking my email a million times, and making some really really ridiculously yummy food.

6 Month Beverage of Choice

This baby is 6 months old now and venturing out into the world of adult foods. He's tried all the basics like apples, pears, carrots, peas, and prunes, but what is his favorite?

That's right. *Diet Coke. Like father like son. Britton drinks one every morning after the gym. Gross eh? I think it's gross anyway. Way to reward your freshly energized body with fake sugar + junk.

The other 6 month news is that...He's slimming down! That's right, contrary to appearances Will is actually losing some chunk.
His 6 month appointment revealed:

All that milk has gone to his head. 45.5 cm (89%) up from 50 or 60
He is not yet blessed in the height category. 26 in. (30%)
He really is slimming down! 19 lbs. 14 oz. (84%) down from 96 or something.

Maybe getting really sick recently and puking all over the carpet helped contribute to the slimming factor.

*Photo is taken for effect and Will has never actually tasted Diet Coke. Right Britton?! He's always trying to sneak new things into Will's mouth.

Fa(s)t Sunday

It was more like Fat Sunday this last weekend. I've had this homemade pumpkin puree taking up space in the freezer since last fall so I've been trying to think of ways to use it. Let the fatness begin.

Chef Britton whipped up some fabulous Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies. No pictures of these so you'll have to use your best imagination.

Chef Renee spent Saturday night preparing a Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger-Graham Crust. We had a busy day checking out an apartment in Berkeley and then touring campus with friends so I was happy to be home Saturday night. It turned out GREAT! (In my totally unbiased opinion anyway.) Instead of being a heavy cheesecake, but it was very creamy and light.

Crust:

1 cup (100 grams) graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cups (50 grams) finely ground ginger cookies, homemade or store bought

1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar

4 - 5 tablespoons (56 - 60 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:

2/3 cup (145 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pound (454 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup pure pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)

Topping:

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick spray) an 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan.

For Crust: In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, finely ground ginger snap cookies, sugar, and melted butter. Press the mixture onto the bottom of the prepared spring form pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the cheesecake filling.

For Cheesecake: In a separate bowl, stir to combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), on low speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth (about 2 minutes). Gradually add the sugar mixture and beat until creamy and smooth (1 to 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree.

Pour the filling over the chilled ginger crust and place the spring form pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Place a cake pan, filled halfway with hot water, on the bottom shelf of your oven to moisten the air. Bake the cheesecake for 30 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees C (165 degrees C) and continue to bake the cheesecake for another 10 - 20 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake are puffed but the center is still wet and jiggles when you gently shake the pan.

Meanwhile whisk together the sour cream, vanilla extract and sugar. Pour the sour cream mixture over the top of the baked cheesecake and rotate the pan slightly to evenly distribute the topping. Return the cheesecake to the oven and bake about 8 minutes to set the topping. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Loosen the cake from the pan by running a sharp knife around the inside edge (this will help prevent the cake from cracking). Then place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the pan so the cheesecake will cool slowly. When completely cooled, cover and refrigerate at least eight hours, preferably overnight, before serving.

Serves 10-12 people.

Waiting

Will has been taking his sweet time deciding what color his eyes will be. They have been a dark blue color for a long time, and just recently they got a little brown in the center. It would be kind of fun if they stayed the blue/brown combo. What would he put on his driver's license? Hazel? I've been trying to figure out this hazel thing for a while and it seems like that's just what they call eyes when they don't fit in any other category. Eye mutts if you will. According to Wikipedia there have also been cases of violet eyes, eyes without irises (look completely black), and blue/brown eyes. So there's a chance Will could keep his crazy combo.

Make it stop!

Will woke up FIVE times during the night! I am entering zombie mode for the day.

Vision of Valentines

Thanks for Will's first Valentine card Grandma! He really loved it as you can see. He is in to anything paper, plastic bags, and wooden spoons these days. (I don't give him plastic bags...his little grabby hands are so fast though.) As you can see from the picture, he is kind of sitting by himself now. He ends up folding his body in half.

Valentine's Day 2009 started off with a sweetheart French toast breakfast. Yummm.

Our morning was spent here at the Oakland temple. Don't get too jealous. This picture was not taken today. But what better way to spend Valentine's Day than in a place of pure joy and peace? I wish we had a picture taken there today. The cherry blossoms were blooming and petals were falling, and it was perfect!

We did a babysitting exchange twice with our neighbors today, and so we were able to go out to dinner alone! And we found the BEST Mexican restaurant that I have been to in the United States! It's called The Oaxacan Kitchen, and it's not too far away from us. I found out that Oaxaca is the "land of the seven moles." (mole is a sauce not the animal) Which I didn't really care about because I can't stand mole. You think I'd be a fan because of the chocolate part, but it's just way too thick and sweet and it just hangs out in the bottom of my stomach like a brick. When my order came it had mole on it instead of the sauce I was expecting. I decided to try it anyway, and it was GREAT! Not too thick or sweet, and with a hint of some herb maybe epazote. I could tell everything was made with high quality ingredients, and it was pretty authentic with a hint of American yuppie. So if you're in the area TRY IT! I checked their website and they also teach cooking classes. Interesting...
Just like me to talk about food more than anything else. So far, not too bad for our first V-day with a kid:) I better stop blogging though and take advantage of the rest of the day.

Keeping Busy

My goal was to plan more things to do on the weekends, and it's been going well. We might be a little more cranky and tired by the end of Saturday, but it's better than cranky/tired because I sat in front of the computer all Saturday. Or in Britton's case, cranky/tired from shopping too much for non-electronic things.
Two weekends ago we decided to go to Golden Gate Park. It was a last minute plan, but I thought I'd invite some people we know in case they wanted to go. Lesson learned! Inviting people to do stuff last minute is for singles. It doesn't work for people with kids! We ended up going to...The newly remodeled Academy of Sciences! It was crowded, but not as bad as usual I think. My only disappointments with the place was that there was only one changing table in a very busy women's bathroom, and no place for me to feed the boy except on these wimpy chairs in the eatery which resembled a fish bowl.
Still, it is definitely worth a visit for anyone who finds themselves in San Francisco.
Here are my favorite sea creatures.
The weird looking sea horse.
Engineer fish! Fish can be nerdy. So is that guy.

This is a chocolate chip starfish!

My #1 favorite sea creature of all time...the SEA PEN! I've been a fan since elementary school.

Fast Forward to the next weekend.
Activity: Hiking in Wunderlich Park.
It was a decent hike. It starts out at a horse barn, and then there are traces of horse along the rest of the trails. Why is it that dog owners are required to pick up their dog's poop, but horse owners have no qualms about leaving it in the middle of the trail for others to try to avoid. It would probably be a big load to carry around, but at least they could shove it to the side of the trail or something. Besides that, we enjoyed our walk. We found one great view of the Stanford-ish area.
A GIANT tree. Possibly redwood. Not sure.
...and believe it or not, a portal into another world. Right in the middle of that circle of trees. It was amazing, but that's a story for another post.

This weekend we are continuing Britton's birthday celebration in Brentwood!

Big Boy

Big boy has more than one meaning in this picture. He looks like he's having the time of his life on that bike! I take him out to the playground almost everyday so he can get used to the toys. I don't want him to grow up and go to the playground without knowing how to do anything.