The Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Yes, that is the face of one sleepy Rex. I love his little sleep face. His lips, which are nice and full, get all loose and crazy. His cheeks get a little more pink. His little hand is poised for ideal twiddling should he begin to stir. But today, it is not the face that causes me to post. No, today it is the full body shot that you need to see.



I was in the kitchen one evening (about 4:30, which is evening here and fully dark) getting dinner ready. Rex was bored and asking to paint. I kept delaying his request because, well, who wants their two-and-a-half-year-old to paint right before Daddy comes home? Certainly not me. Anyway, it soon got disturbingly quiet. I thought perhaps Rex had gone upstairs to the office (his new obsession is playing with the computer). As I walked out of the kitchen to chase him down, I found he had fallen asleep. Like this:



He stayed asleep like this until Chris got home, so he could witness the moment. Look at his little toes helping to support his weight. Shortly after Chris got home he slid off the ottoman, which I did not photograph. He kind of woke up and went back to sleep on the couch. How tired do you have to be to fall asleep on an ottoman? Tired like a little boy who gets up at 6:00, plays all day, and refuses to take a nap.

Oven Spring

I have been baking the bread for our family since we moved to our new house (February 2008). I grind the wheat to flour and make 100% whole grain bread. The bread is usually good to the taste, and it has slowly been getting more and more visually appealing. This week when I baked my loaves I think I acheived a real milestone: oven spring.

Oven spring refers to the final rising of the bread when placed in the hot oven for baking. Yes, all bread with properly functioning yeast will rise in the oven, but oven spring is more than that. Oven spring is a lofty acheivement that surprises you when you look in the oven. Oven spring is when loaves that rose only to mediocrity in the proof exceed their expected potential while baking. Oven spring makes you feel like you accomplished something beyond the hearty, homespun, brown loaf that you usualy create.

Can you tell I am pleased? I admit that I do sound like something of a gushing parent. I have some photos to share here, so I can refrain from walking around with them in my wallet.

See how nicely everything puffed up? The two smaller loaves on the bottom have a cinnamin/sugar swirl through them, hence the oozing. The small loaves on top rose so high they actually hit the top of the oven. I had some difficulty getting them out. They came out with a flat, brown circle on top from hitting the oven top.

Anyway, these are my brown beauties for the week. I hope you will enjoy your bread as much as I enjoy mine.

Guy Turns One

Look at big, handsome Guy! This great photo by my father-in-law, Paul, makes that easy to do. Guy turned one on Sunday, November 9, and we celebrated with a family dinner. Mommy and Daddy and Rex were there. Grandma Jean and Grandpa Paul were also in attendance, as was Grandma Cheryl. Uncle Nick and cousins, Justin, Jacob, and James also came to celebrate.

We had Guy's favorite foods for dinner: Creamy Italian Chicken with Pasta, Broccoli, and Homemade Rolls. He really got into it while he was eating.

After dinner and a brief play break, we had ice cream and cake, but not before we sang happy birthday with a stoplight cupcake. Fortunately, Guy did not ever touch the flame.

Guy was eager to dive into the cupcake once the candle was blown out by Rex. He did a pretty good job eating it, too. What a big boy!
Guy had a good time with his grandparents, uncle, and cousins. He was excited about the toys and books that he received as gifts from his kind family, so was Rex. Maybe one day Guy will get to play with them, too!

Disneyland Trip with Grandma Cheryl

Grandma Cheryl came to visit this last week, November 5-10, for Guy's birthday. While she was here we had the opportunity to spend part of the day at Disneyland. We have taken the boys to Disneyland a couple of times, but we never seem to take very many pictures, and when we do, they never turn out quite right.

Fortunately, one of our favorite rides has solved this problem by taking pictures and emailing them to us. Buzz Lightyear to the rescue, indeed! If you have never been on this ride, you should immediately book your trip to D-land to play it. You sit in a little rotating spaceship with your own blasting gun and help save the martians from the robot invaders. You get a score and a rank. It is a lot of fun. The first time I played it, Rex was a baby and sitting on my lap. By the end of the ride, he was on the floor because I stopped holding on to him and he slid down and I was too involved to get him back up.
In this photo of mom and me, you can see that I am equally involved this time. And so is she. Guy is actually in the car with us, but you can't see him. I promise, he is on the seat, not the floor.

Chris and Rex were in their own car. Yes, that is Rex's tiny blond head peaking out. At least he is not on the floor this time. His score on this ride was zero, but in the past he has been able to score a few hundred points.

Anyway, this is our favorite ride. Also a big hit with our family is the Jungle Cruise (although Rex got a little scared of the headhunters), as well as Winnie the Pooh. Rex also gets a big kick out of the characters. I think he has developed his first crush- on Minnie! Guy just enjoys all the fun things to look at and being out in the fresh air.

Bath Time, Splash Time!

In keeping with the title of this blog, a posting here must be related to a newsworthy event . The news of this post is primarily that we exist. Secondarily, the news is that little Guy is becoming quite his own person. These bath time photos really brought that into focus for me. He used to just sit in awe of his big brother and watch the fun. Now he really adds his antics to the mix. Today, Rex was even copying him! I sense that the next few years are going to be full of energy.

I don't know how well it comes through, but both the boys have looks of pure pleasure. And yes, my bathroom is white-on-white-on-white, and no I don't like it.

Below we will review the many moods of Guy in the bathtub. You will see that it is quite a frenzied experience for him, but one that he really enjoys.

Too much fun!

No, really, too much fun!

Rapture, rapture!

Here is Rex, amused by the actions of little Guy. It seems we have come full circle, Guy used to watch Rex in awe and now Rex is equally enamored of his brother.