Food

Our cousins from afar have practically turned their blog into a cooking blog. Darn Olivia and her creativity and talent in the kitchen. I'm going to have to visit and take some lessons from her. Then, Dan can have the luxury of coming home from work to an ever so delectable meal...

SO, in the meantime, this is my post - one and only - sampling my attempt at cuisine. I baked chicken in olive oil with a touch of saffron. I then made some basmati rice focusing on the ever so tasty tah-dig (or crispy rice from the bottom of the pan that's a real art - http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/diningtravel/goingglobal/persian_batmanglij/recipes/food/views/231919 along with some edamame for the veggie since that's what I had on hand.

Even Nickolas enjoyed a little.


Or did he?


Liv - here's my contribution to your cookbook - you know, the one you're going to put together for me that I can understand and follow.

Fun with Grandma Julie

Nickolas had fun with his Grandma Julie this past week. She left this morning to head back to Wisconsin, so Nickolas lost his bunk buddy. We think she had a fun time and enjoyed the Spring-like weather versus the blizzard clean-up back home. In addition to the White House Easter Egg Roll, we had a fun time at a sing-a-long, a nice stroll in Old Town Alexandria, a good time shopping, good food, and quality grandma/grandson time.

Below are pictures from the sing-a-long and of grandma tricking Nickolas to walk with goldfish crackers. His squealing of delight was not picked up by the photos, but be assured he enjoyed the game of goldfish fetch.

White House Easter Egg Roll

The Easter festivities continued for Nickolas on Monday on the White House south lawn for the annual East Egg Roll. http://www.whitehouse.gov/easter/2008/index.html

Nickolas, Grandma Julie, Dan, and Aimee had a fun afternoon watching all of the children and strolling around the White House grounds. The weather was mild and dry, so we were very lucky compared to other years where it was cold and rainy. We enjoyed warm egg and cheese wraps in the hospitality area as we waited for our ticketed time. For the thousands of people who had the privilege to be there throughout the day, many activities were available for the kids including music, story telling, various cartoon characters, face painting, rolling egg races, coloring and crafts, and Nickolas's favorite - rolling around the grass, playing peek-a-boo through Aimee's coat, and climbing through the legs of a table.

White House Easter Egg Roll

More Easter Egg Roll pictures:

Our co-worker Rob and his son Kai made the front of the Washington Post AND the White House website with their lucky spots in line for the egg race!!! They are on the right and Kai has a little red hat on. I love the little boy who stopped to turn around and look at the President. (photo from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/images/20080324-1_p032408sc-0292-515h.html)

Peek a boo







It was a good time had by all!

Happy Easter

Nickolas had a nice 2nd Easter this past Sunday. Unfortunately, it took Grandma Julie nearly 3 days to finally arrive from Milwaukee after the Great Blizzard of Good Friday where they received 15 inches of snow. She finally made it for some Easter ham and all of the delicious fixings at Sue and Wayne's late in the afternoon so it finally felt like Easter to us (Grandma Julie comes to experience Spring each year during her Easter break). Aimee forgot her camera, so here's a picture from one year ago and one of Nickolas with his best buddy Wayne stacking cat food cans. Who knew the pantry was so fun?

Fun in the pantry


Nickolas and Dan one year ago on Easter.


Still Fits (barely for Easter) - Nickolas's Halloween Chicken Costume


Full Chicken Suit - Nickolas has grown since October so it no longer snaps. It was worth one last shot. Who can resist a cute little chick?

Erin Go Bragh - Scottish Style

Our wee Leprechaun

Today is Saint Patrick's Day. Aimee is not Irish and in the past had not done much to celebrate it (unless green beer was involved). It just so happened we put a wee green jogging suit (that was a gift from our boss when he was born) on Nickolas this morning that fit-in perfectly for the day. We failed to buy green food coloring for his milk, but he was quite festive and full of glee, nonetheless.

To continue with the festive spirit, we looked up the phrase "Erin Go Bragh" on the trusted Wikipedia website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Go_Bragh) since it's one often used on this day. We found it funny that none other than a Scottish lad coined the Gaelic phrase that apparently means "Ireland the Beautiful" or "Ireland Forever". It just so happens there is a song about a man by the name of Campbell who hails from the Scottish Highlands (Argyll), which is perhaps the location of a Campbell family castle we once visited. With that, I think we found an excuse to celebrate Saint Patty's Day once and for all since Nickolas can trace his roots to the real origin of the phrase (or, at least the one I'm giving it), the lush and scenic Scottish Highlands (thanks to Nana Jean).


Passed out from too much St. Patty cheer


Dan and Aimee in Inveraray, Argyll with a few Highland Cows (pronounced Coos) on the grounds of the Inveraray Castle (http://www.inveraray-castle.com/Pages/content.asp)

First Haircut!

Actually, it was more of a first trim. Dan and Aimee had haircut appointments today with Dan's dear friend Cherie. The front tuft of hair - original from when Nickolas was born and also known as his 'comb over' - has grown well past his eyes and was a magnet for food. We kept everything else as-is since it's growing in nicely and curls are beginning to form in the back. In a month or two he'll likely get more of a summer haircut. Cherie was very impressed with how well Nickolas sat for his haircut and now he has a much more clear view of the world.

Future Architect? A Visit to the National Building Museum

Nickolas ventured to the National Building Museum today for a fun day of crawling in the vast atrium (see large photo above of him crawling next to Dan) and playing with large blocks. We attempted to build an arch, but Nickolas was more interested in going uncomfortably close to the water fountain. Mommy turned into the keystone of the arch and we; therefore, did not complete it (below). We were so close.

In addition to the exhibits, the museum is now more kid-friendly than ever before. The museum also offers birthday parties for children ages 3 and up. I think it's safe to say we know where Nickolas's 3rd birthday party will be. It's his mommy's all-time favorite museum. Even more fun is the gift shop/book store, which is one of the best in the city. http://www.nbm.org/

Arch of Triumph?

Where shall I crawl to next?

The Building Zone! http://www.nbm.org/Exhibits/current/building_zone.html

Perhaps I should learn to walk first before I begin to design and build.

Sick Pup

Wee Nickolas had his first fever over the weekend. After awaking several times on Thursday, he spent much of Friday morning whimpering and wanting to cuddle. From that, we knew something was not right and made a doctor appointment for later that day. Of course, for the doctor, he was smiley and had appeared just fine and was told it was likely a teething episode. We were happy to hear that, until later in the day, we were both on the couch and Nickolas couldn't keep his head up. He actually fell asleep on me, which he has not done since he was about 6 weeks old on top of Dan.

Later that night, he woke up several times and felt very warm. I never knew I had the capability to, by touch, determine whether someone had a fever -- must be one of those things that kicks-in as a mom. Nickolas indeed had a fever of 101 degrees and literally passed out sitting up leaning against us. He felt a little better on Saturday, but still felt slightly feverish that night. He was more sleepy than usual the next couple of days and developed what we think may be a heat rash, which is now fading. Nickolas had a couple of baths, which rejuvenated him a bit and is now getting close to normal. Poor wee boy -- it was a first for us all.

Sleepy head


Last time he passed out on one of us at about 6 weeks old.

Back on the Farm

Nickolas ventured to the hills of eastern Kentucky last weekend and had a lot of fun with all of the space to roam, dogs to pet, and food to eat. We had beautiful weather and enjoyed quite a bit of it outside. Nickolas stayed on his sleep schedule taking in all of the fresh Kentucky air.

We discovered that he now knows how to walk up stairs. He also figured out how to go down them on his bum. We were quite impressed since he does not have stairs to practice on at home. At first, he crawled up them, but then he began to stand facing the banister and took one step at a time holding on to each individual baluster.

Thank you for a wonderful weekend Nana Jean and Manoo!