Play Date & Another New Walker

On Sunday after nap time, Sophie and I went to visit the Rethman girls and their mommy and daddy. Sophie wasn't happy about my attempted photo op here, but Stella and Mya look cute!
One second after we got them seated...

During our play time, Stella was watching Sophie very closely with a look that said "What IS this new move you've got going on?" [walking] And then, in the blink of an eye, Stella pushed herself up off the ground and started walking independently too!!! Wow! How exciting! Just days after Sophie finally figured it out, the twins are ready to follow suit. Mya is just on the brink herself. Look how excited Casey is in the background of this picture. ;)

A smooth recovery.

Watching her daddy's soccer game.

Woo hoo! Go, Stella! Go!

And here are my sister and brother-in-law, just being the awesome parents that they are.

What's For Dinner? Week 5

On the menu this week:
1) Saturday - burgers on the grill. I dressed mine up with lettuce, sliced pepper jack cheese and a generous dollop of homemade guacamole. Yep, I made another batch 'cause it was just so good. We also finished off the watermelon and I made one of Craig's favorite salads. We've always just called it Bob's Salad after it's original maker, but it's basically chunks of tomato, green pepper and red onion with a garlic vinegarette dressing.

2) Sunday - family reunion for a big lunch. Leftovers for dinner.

3) Monday - Caprese quesadillas (per a recommendation from my sister). I used whole wheat tortillas and I cooked them in my quesadilla maker. BIG mistake! Seriously, Casey, how did that work for you? It was a huge mess to clean up. But they were delicious, so next time I'm just going to make them in a skillet. We also had a green salad and some fresh fruit to go with.

4) Tuesday - Craig is begging for hotdogs. I know, I know. Not the healthiest meal, but I did make a big green salad with strawberries, walnuts, red onion and raspberry vinegarette dressing to go with. Will loves those. And actually, the kids didn't really eat the hot dogs all that well and I didn't eat them at all.

5) Wednesday - turkey pesto meatballs (per a recommendation from my friend, Lisa). They were super easy to make and very tasty. I also made the Weelicious tomato sauce to go with it and just used up some random pastas I had on hand. Add in some peach slices, peas (for the kids), salads (for Craig and I), and homemade bread... and you've got yourself a yummy meal!

6) Thursday - we had a dinner picnic in the park: cheese, crackers, thin salami slices, green peppers, grapes, apples, pretzels, cottage cheese (for Soph) and cookies for dessert. A very fun evening.

7) Friday will be leftovers. I love it when my fridge looks pretty much empty at the end of a week. :)

This week, Sophie practiced using a spoon on her own. Avocado and banana mash is nice and sticky since the spoon will inevitably enter the mouth side ways at best.

But fingers work well also. ;)

Sophie is always such a mess at the end of a meal. She goes straight to the tub right after dinner. Haha!

What We're Reading This Week...

It's been another great week of reading! This week, Sophie even came along with us to the library since we went in the afternoon due to our raspberry picking in the morning. She wasn't in the best mood after missing morning nap so she just hung out on my back and we kept it brief.

This month, Will has decided that he needs an extra book incorporated into bedtime routine now that he's "older". We read enough at other times, that we usually keep bedtime reading to just two books. But Will's argument was that "I need three books because I'm three". It was just too cute to argue with so we now include three books as often as possible at bedtime.

Another cute note: on our way out to the raspberry farm, Will started to recite last week's book "When the Leaf Blew In". It goes something like this: "When the leaf blew in... the cow sneezed 'ah-choo'!... And when the cow sneezed 'ah-choo', the spider [did something that I can't remember] on the owl... And when the spider [...] on the owl, the owl swooped out of the barn, etc." I didn't even remember what was coming next but I repeated whatever he said and then he'd recite the next line. And he nailed every verb exactly: swooped, leaped, hopped, chased, buzzed, etc. It's amazing how children can just retain all that from memory.

This week's library books are spotlighting two really great authors: Cynthia Rylant and Patricia Polacco. They are awesome. But first, here are a few books by other authors.

1) The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss was one I'd requested as part of our nutrition week but it didn't come in in time. It was pretty dull anyway and I've returned it already.2) The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett. Another non-favorite that's been returned early. We check out anywhere from 7-12 books per week plus a few extra on occasion for Tot School, so I often stop by the library mid-week to pick up requested holds as they become available. This week, I took a couple books back that we weren't crazy about just so we would have less to keep track of. This book topic is similar to Flap Your Wings by P.D. Eastman and it has some staggered pages in it like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But... just not that exciting.3) Words... Clever title. This was Will's pick and I thought it'd be good for Sophie. But it turns out, this was a great reading tool for Will. He is really improving his phonics skills and is now able to read/sound out lots of words! It's hard to gauge how quickly these things progress, but I think he's going to be reading some beginner level stuff independently by this fall or for sure by year's end. Right now, we work mostly with recognizing words within the text or sounding out simple CVC words. I'll ask him to find a word and he starts sounding out the first letter to help him locate it. It's really exciting. We also like to play a phonics twist on "I Spy" while we're driving, i.e. I spy, with my little eye, something that starts with a /b/ sound. Barn!Okay, onto Cynthia Rylant. She's got a ton of titles available, but seems to be best known (I think?) for her Henry and Mudge series. I could see this being a great first series that Will would love to get into.

4) We checked out Henry and Mudge: The First Book and were introduced to these lovable characters. I'll plan to get more each week to follow the series.5) Puppy Mudge Takes a Bath is a "pre-level 1" book so it's a really good practice read for Will right now. Not too much text and easy to sound out.6) All In A Day - I love this one and definitely plan to buy it. Will was more interested in spotting all the animals in the illustrations than in listening to the inspirational text. But it's a great message about seizing the day.And now onto Patricia Polacco. It's obvious this author has a rich family history as her traditions and roots are exuded in each and every story. I love her illustrations and I love how important it seems to her to pass on traditions.

7) Thunder Cake is pretty well known, I think. It's one of Will's favorites this week. A little girl is afraid of a thunderstorm and her grandmother distracts her and helps her overcome her fears by baking a "thunder cake". By the end of the story the little girl realizes how brave she is and happily eats her cake while the thunder rolls through. There's a fun counting element to the story and some new vocabulary words too, i.e. the little girl climbs a trellis to reach the secret ingredient for their cake - tomatoes! 8) Babushka's Doll wasn't requested as often by Will but I enjoyed it. "Babushka" is in most of Patricia's stories and, in this one, Babushka has a special doll that helps her little granddaughter realize her ornery behavior.9) When Lightning Comes in a Jar was a good one to read right before attending our family reunion. It makes me want to catch lightning bugs again like we did when we were kids. Again, lots of family rituals and traditions take place at the family reunion.10) Mommies Say Shhh! is another of Will's favorites this week, likely because of all the animals in it. This is a short enough book to hold Sophie's attention too, but it's not a board book, so we have to be careful. It goes through what each animal "says" and at the end... "Mommies say shhh! Bunnies say nothing at all." This has been a really good group of books for the week. We have a few more for our Tot School topic coming up soon.

Sweetest Words

This just can't wait for the next Will-isms post. My boy has the power to take my breath away sometimes and tonight I started crying the instant I realized I'd heard him right.

For the past week or so, I've occasionally laid down with Will after bedtime stories and prayers just for a few minutes of cuddle time and to whisper sweet nothings to each other. :) He wraps his arms around my neck and, with his eyes squinted closed like he's "trying" to sleep, he'll tell me he loves me over and over. He is the sweetest boy I've ever known and he holds my heart in his hands.

Well, tonight I went for a run while Craig put him to bed and when I came home, I went in to kiss him goodnight and tuck him in again. He told me he loved me as usual, but as I was walking out of the room he whispered "Mommy, you make my heart feel super happy."

Even as I type those words I'm breaking down in a fit of tears again. I cried immediately after he said it and he looked a bit concerned like he'd said something wrong. I told him that was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard and smiled so he knew I was happy too. He opened his arms to hug me and I squeezed him for a long time and told him I loved him too.

Then I kissed him goodnight and went to tell Craig and broke down in tears again. :)

How? How did I get so lucky? I must have done a lot of things right in my life to be so blessed with these sweet, sweet children. I am a lucky woman.

Fun With Great Grandma

I've said this before and I'll say it again: our kids are so lucky to have great grandparents.

I had a living great grandfather (William Wasserman - our Will's namesake) when I was very young that I barely remember. And also a great grandmother (Hazel Skees) who lived in Defiance, Ohio and whom I diligently wrote letters to up until her death at the age of 93 when I was maybe in junior high(?). (I had a very thorough stationary kit when I was young and I LOVED writing and receiving letters. So I would try to make pen pals with anyone who would write me back. :) And she did!)

Will and Sophia are lucky enough to have FOUR living great grandparents! Three live in our area (in fact, Craig's Grandpa King is actually living with Craig's parents) and one lives out of state. We visited my Grandpa Korn at his home in Arizona for Thanksgiving in 2008 and I'm so glad we made that trip because it's not very often that we see him.

The other set of great grandparents is my Grandpa & Grandma Konesky. I've always had a special relationship with my grandma and I look up to her in so many ways. Countless memories come to mind of special time spent with my grandma. Many of them are rituals that grandma likes to keep up such as baking Christmas cookies and annual weekends at Maumee Bay (which have turned into Thanksgivings at Maumee Bay). But grandma also came over to our house on every "first day of school" for pictures in the morning and to wish us luck, called or came over for every birthday we've ever had, attended nearly every extracurricular event we've ever participated in, and even cooked Craig and I dinner every Wednesday evening during my freshman year in college. She helped me clean my house when we first moved in, came over to do my laundry after our babies were born, and would drop just about anything to be their for our family. She's a special woman and a family member that I cherish so much. And I want our kids to know how great she is too.

Having "roots" is truly a blessing for any child and both Craig's and my family have long histories of multiple generations in this area. I love that Craig's dad is the "family historian" for all of the Riedeman family tree. I love that my sister-in-law rebuilt her home on the exact spot that her great grandparents lived and farmed two generations ago. I love that our kids have older family names. I love hearing stories of how Grandpa King "courted" Grandma King and told her he would marry her on their first date. I love having Great Grandma Wasserman's sugar cookie recipe and I'm determined to learn and know my grandma's sweet roll recipe to continue that highly-expected tradition at all family gatherings.

Okay, moving on to "fun with great grandma". A couple of the food items we can always count on at grandma's house are strawberry freezer jam and homemade applesauce. She keeps a huge stock of both in her deep freeze for all the kids and grandkids to take home with them as needed. I've never actually made either of these things with her (that I know of... maybe applesauce when I was little?) and thought it would be fun to have her show Will and me how she makes her jam. My original plan was to visit another strawberry farm and pick our own to make the jam. But I didn't come up with this idea until just last week and we're too late in the season for strawberry picking now. So... Plan B! Go pick red raspberries instead and then just buy strawberries at the store for jam. The strawberries coming from California have been pretty good this year anyway.

So onto another berry farm we went! Pullins is a raspberry only farm (both black & red) in Haskins, Ohio. (Scroll down to Wood County on that u-pick link.) I loaded the kids up early Saturday morning, picked grandma up and made it out to Pullins shortly after they opened.
We met Alan, the farm owner, and set to work picking just three pints of raspberries.
Will learned to look for the darker red berries and that they should pull off very easily when they were ready.

When you pull raspberries off the bush, the "stem" stays put and leaves behind a small, white cone that was the core of the fruit.

Seeing how foods are grown, especially something so intricate-looking as a raspberry, just makes them seem almost miraculous. Like how does that actually come to be? It's pretty neat.

Sophie was on my back for the beginning of our picking until I noticed a little pull to one side and looked over my shoulder to find this:

After that, I let her down to check out the raspberry bushes for herself. :) Now that she's standing independently, it makes life a whole lot easier for me to set her down in a public place where I don't have to worry about her crawling on the ground.

Some of our efforts:

Before leaving, Will got to meet the two farm dogs, Shotsie (sp?) and Yaeger (sp?). Both are German names meaning "sweetheart" and "hunter". Alan called them over and they sat still for Will to pet them - the highlight of his visit, for sure. I didn't get a picture though. And I forgot to mention that there was a nice dog name Lola (or Lulu?) at Polter's Farm too.

Oh, and Pullins is very accommodating to their guests with a Port-o-potty, water cooler, sun screen and bug spray available as needed. Very nice.

The price for our raspberries was really good! Just $5.80 for three pints.

Back at grandma and grandpa's house, grandma showed Will the huge strawberries she bought and cleaned for our jam.

After pulsing to a chunky blend, we measured two cups of strawberries and added... umm... a lot of sugar. (Guess that's why we like it!)

Will got to stir.

Grandma dissolved/cooked the pectin into water on the stove top...

...and then poured that into the strawberry mixture.

All weekend long, Sophie continued to work on and perfect her walking skills.

While Will, despite the face, had way more interest in grandma's toys than in making jam.

The "fruits" of our labor (hehe!)... Now these will sit at room temperature for 24 hours before putting in the freezer until needed. We got to take four jars home for the deep freeze plus that small plastic tub for immediate use in the fridge.

And boy did it taste good on my honey wheat bread!

On Sunday, despite the mid-90's heat, we all gathered at a beautiful park in Perrysburg for the Wasserman reunion. There are two reunions each year. The Christmas reunion is much larger with over 300 people in attendance! We even wear name tags to that one. Our summer reunion is smaller, but very nice. Both are potluck style and it's fun to see all the extended cousins (and their children!) that we don't see often. Grandma loves having us there - it's very important to her to keep this tradition going. And truly, it's amazing to see how many people call themselves family all because of just two people: William & Marie Wasserman. That's pretty amazing. My grandma is the youngest of 12 children.

Before eating, we all bow our heads to pray. And I am so proud to say that our very own son said the blessing on his own while everyone listened quietly. Way to go, Will!

Once again, Sophie continued to show off her walking skills.

Nice recovery, baby!

I LOVE this little Osh Kosh jumper from Grandma Riedeman. It looks like something my mom would have put me in as a child (she agreed) and Sophie looks so cute in it!

Papa fed Sophie some yogurt and sweet potatoes while we got plates for both kids and then ourselves.

She loves to give kisses!

LOL - this is NOT a good picture of the kids. Wow - Will looks terrible! Blah. But he just finished playing on the awesome playground with my cousin Bryan and we were nearing 1:30 at this point. Sophie is much more flexible with nap schedule and her behavior does not usually decline that significantly (as Will's does) when we have to delay nap time a bit. Anyway, Will is NOT sun burned. Just very, very overheated. He was playing hard. So after this picture we got the kids into the air-conditioned car, encouraged Will to chug a ton of water, and got them both home for a nap. :) It is important to me to get pictures of our grandparents with the kids though, so I didn't want to miss this opportunity. Good thing my albums all have memo spaces so I can "explain" this one. Haha!

So we had a great time with some special people this weekend and I really enjoyed it.

Grandma, I know you read and appreciate my blog on a very regular basis (LOL) and I just want you to know that I (we) love you so much! Thanks for a fun weekend!