A recipe for you

[Matthew writing] The boys helped Ruthie make muffins the other afternoon, and after, Jackson asked to do his own baking. So Ruthie set them up with bowls, flour, sugar, and water, and they went to town all over the kitchen table. They actually baked and ate their creations and have been telling everyone that they now know how to cook. Jackson had me transcribe his recipe that night (see below, I suggested the name). Ruthie let them have another "baking day" yesterday--a very sweet thing since it absolutely destroys the kitchen.

Harry is very creative. The first time he added bananas in his, and then yesterday he came up with a special drink containing water, sugar, flour, kiwi, and strawberries. He walks around sipping it like it's the elixir of life--and offering us drinks. It's like sipping high viscosity sugar water with chunks of fruit lodged throughout. Actually, that is what it is. Jackson is more detailed, making sure to crimp edges and artfully arranging fruit on the top. Here's one of his creations. I had a variation of panopache, baked with strawberries in the middle, for breakfast this morning.

Jackson's Panopache:

1/4 c. flour

2 Tbs. sugar

Mix up.

Add 1/8 cup water. Stir and Bake.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Fields Forever

Mary Clement's current words:

uh-oh

shoes (oooooooosh), which she wants put on first thing in the morning

Mama

Daddy

ball (she points at oranges and asks to eat them by saying, "ball?")

more

down

done

go

squirrel (which sounds nothing like squirrel)

nose

eyes

ears

mouth

baby

book

cheese ("eeeeeeees")

water (wawa)

The days have gotten beautiful here and late afternoons are spent playing a variation of dodge ball. Yes, Harry is wearing a dragon costume.

Hangin' Out On a Saturday Afternoon

Impromtu S'Mores party

Will miss student housing like crazy. . . Lord willing we'll be missing it very soon. Please, Lord, please, let us miss student housing VERY soon!

That's Claire-Ellen and Joshua in the front. Joshua's parents, Yong and Jessica, are from China, & tasted their very first s'mores!

18 months

This blog is an acceptable place for bragging on our kids, right? Get ready.

Gracie has a peaches-and-cream complexion with a mass of curls. There is a particular one in the back which when pulled, boings back into place. When she walks quickly (tummy leading, left arm pumping), her little curls bounce with her. A friend from church calls her a cherub.

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Her favorite things to do include bird watching. We take pictures of the birds and categorize them (her daddy is becoming a regular ornithologist). We have dozens of sparrows, chickadees and cardinals. "Our Yard is Full of Birds" is one of Grace's favorite books, and she can identify the robin ("rah-rah") and the cardinal ("car-car"). I just bought 40lbs of birdseed from Costco, because apparently our birds are ravenous.

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She is also an avid tea drinker. "TEA!" When we first got the set, we had a tea party every morning when she woke up. (I thought 6:30 was a little early for parties, but Gracie was unconvinced.) Now we have them outside on the porch.

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She also enjoys playing with Maria. Usually. "Ree-Ree" is what she calls her.

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She likes to help unload the dishwasher (I rearranged our stuff so that she can put her plastic bowls away--genius!) She likes music (a CD will ward off tears in the car seat) and singing (she has joined in on the "doodles" refrain in "I Love You".) She has dozens of words, some of which are recognizable to other people. And she's a cuddler. She even lets us brush her teeth.

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I love you, Baby Girl!

Zilker Kite Festival

Went to the Zilker Kite Festival today. Here's my favorite kite, a superhero:

Here are the "Pizza Triplets" (they saw The Great Muppet Caper for the first time today!)

This next one was supposed to give you an idea of how many kites there were. It's hard to see, I realize, but the sky was full of kites wherever you looked:

Love you all!