Whoa, Santa!

This Christmas, we planned on having a low-key affair focused on enjoying some quality time as family. Well, Santa didn't get the memo.

I don't know what happened. Arlo must have learned how to work the Christmas system. Of course, we have explained the benefits of prioritizing one or two things to Arlo, and Ryan and I have also talked about planning future holidays around experiences rather than presents. Lesson learned.

Sigh...

With that said, the pictures and videos below summarize our wonderful but excessive Christmas. We missed our family and friends, but we hope everyone had a memorable and relaxing holiday!

Arlo was so excited about Santa's visit that he wished the big night would come already. To cope with the long wait, he played the blues on his harmonica.

Arlo went to Madison, WI, for a few days where he learned how to dance to the Nutcracker. Arlo's cousins, Lucy and Amelia, are not only talented ballet performers, but they were in the Madison Ballet's rendition of the holiday classic.

Ryan and Arlo enjoying a fully decked out Christmas House on our traditional Christmas Eve walk through Olympic Manor.

Christmas morning cinnamon rolls - yum!

Legos!

Arlo is just starting to figure out how to unwrap presents.

Now we have an official play room complete with little table and chairs,

a "Secret Garden" tent with toadstool pillow, a tunnel, and a basketball hoop (see Arlo's demo below).

Ryan and Arlo opening presents. So ridiculously cute.

A playroom that is now ready for action!

Decking the Halls

On the day after Thanksgiving, we have a tradition of getting our Christmas tree with our good friends, Amy and Byron. This year was the first year we had both of our kids in tow. We are looking forward to continuing the tradition as the kids grow up, but this year the parents had the most fun selecting the perfect tree.

I don't know what it is about a Christmas tree. Perhaps it's the fact that we load it up with twinkling lights during the darkest time of year. Maybe it's the familiar smell that you forget about until you get the tree in your house. Whatever it is, I love it. 

Now that Arlo is a toddler (how did that happen?!), we debated whether or not we should fully decorate the tree with ornaments. At the end of the day, we decided we could risk it if we exercised the right amount of caution. We put breakable ornaments up high, made sure there were no choking hazards within reach, and tied the tree to prevent it from falling over. I'm so glad we decorating the whole thing. It seems like a shame to pay money for a tree only to use part of it for its intended purpose.

Byron and Wyatt scoping the selection. 

Wyatt did a great job choosing his first Christmas tree!

 

Jack Frost nipped at our noses.

Arlo thought Ryan could use a little help getting the tree in the stand. 

 

Let the Nonerick family Christmas begin!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed a fantastic Thanksgiving with good friends and good food. Wonder what a bunch of vegetarians do for a holiday centered on turkey?

The Main Course

Fake turkey sliced into discs make a perfect turkey with stuffing taco! De-lish! 

A Full Table = Excessively Full Bellies

We devoured Amy's sweet potatoes with ginger and orange juice, two types of stuffing (yes!), mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, a yummy salad and many more tasty treats. 

 

Wyatt was perfectly content after a wonderful meal.

Arlo, on the other hand, was so full he had to take off his pants. 

Buddies playing

I'm so sad that I only captured the last of what was an adorable moment of love between friends. 

Barely Keeping Up

Arlo is walking like a maniac. We are barely keeping up with him, which may be evident based on the messy room in this video. Despite the fact that we have to be even more on our game with a toddler, we are loving the walking phase. For one thing, he sleeps more at night. Perhaps he is wearing himself out more?

 

Happy Halloween!

My favorite holiday is... wait for it... Halloween!

Every year, I go a little nuts, and having a child only makes my obsession worse. Sadly, Arlo was sick this year with a fever, congestion, and a full body rash, so we had to cancel all of our celebration plans, including trick-or-treating! Don't worry, though, we made the best of it!

The front porch by day.

Arlo and Shelob welcome you!

 

A garden that is slowly going to sleep for the winter reveals a terrifying secret tombstone. 

 

Yes, we did force a sick little boy to wear his garden gnome costume for 5 minutes while we took pictures. Poor baby!

The front porch by night.

Hope everyone had a fantastic and frightening Halloween!

And we have liftoff!

Arlo is walking! He's also doing his best Frankenstein impersonation for Halloween week. Something tells me it's time to batten down the hatches.

It would be scary if he wasn't so darn cute.

Helping Papa unpack after his bike commute home.

Times, they are a changin'

Arlo is turning into a toddler. Someone once told me that every new phase with a baby comes with its own pros and cons. In my experience, this is very true. If it wasn't, parenting would be fairly straight forward and easy to figure out after some period of adjustment.

In Arlo's case, he's throwing temper tantrums over every little thing -- diaper changes, picking up toys, eating. At this stage in the game, I have a hard time feeling confident about what to do. Our pediatrician suggests that we don't respond because a reaction will only feed the behavior. Who knew sweet little babies could turn into master manipulators so young?

Ignoring a screaming, flailing baby is really hard. My gut reaction is to say, "Arlo, stop it. Enough of that nonsense. Let's do something else." Ok, it's more than a gut reaction, it's something I've tried but it doesn't work. For some reason, engaging with him just makes it worse, and he is not cognitively developed enough to respond to rationalization.

 

What did I do? 

On the plus side, Arlo is getting more and more curious and and fun to interact with. We've been trying to get him to use sign language to communicate, and he can sign for "milk" and "finished/all done" but we're still working on "more", "change" (as in diaper change), and a lot of other practical signs. 

I have to admit that I want to give up on the sign language thing. It seems to work well for some people and not as well for others. We've been trying for months and months, and while we don't sign as constantly or consistently as we probably should, Arlo doesn't seem too rushed to communicate (beyond screaming, of course).

Anyway, back to the fun department. Arlo is walking! He can walk between Ryan and I when we sit 6 or so feet apart. He can walk to us from a piece of furniture. One unexpected part of this walking thing is how important confidence is to a baby. I really believe that Arlo could walk all the time if he wanted to, but he gets nervous, looks for a hand or something to hold onto, and sits down. 

I didn't realize how psychology is just as important as physiology. I always assumed a baby had an instinct to walk and decided to give it a try based on some natural urge. That's only part of the picture. It's exciting but terrifying at the same time because it means the stakes are increasing. We need to be more aware of what Arlo needs, provide what we can, and leave the rest up to him. For a neurotic control freak like me, that's really hard.

Circus Scholarship?

I will post a more up-to-date video within the next week, but this is a video from last week when Arlo was more unsure of his walking skills. Crazy!

4:1

If there is one thing I've learned after a year of parenting, it's that the more help the better. I have nothing but respect for single parents because there is NO WAY I could ever do it alone. In fact, I think the ideal scenario is more like a 4:1 ratio of competent adults to young child.

A couple of weeks ago, Ryan's parents came to visit, which gave us the perfect 4:1 capacity ratio. Of course we love catching up with them, but the real treat is that Patty and John want to take care of Arlo all the time, and they are eager to babysit so Ryan and I can enjoy a night out. After the Patricks leave, we realize how spoiled we are to have them. Sigh...

 Must have been a tense moment during a Sounders game.

 Grandma Patty blowing bubbles with Arlo.

A sunny day at Woodland Park Zoo with friends, Amy and Wyatt. 

My favorite picture from the trip!

Grandpa John showing Arlo the elephants.

During their visit, Patty and John bought Arlo a walker for his birthday and started a training regime to help Arlo learn how to walk. If this video is any indication, it won't be long until Arlo is running around the house like a maniac.

   

Enjoying freedom while it lasts...

Trick and Seasonal Treats

First the trick part of today's post. Arlo is getting more fun by the day. We officially entered the phase where we make him do tricks for entertainment purposes. He can high five, wave, shake his head (incidentally, we can't tell if it also means no or is for dancing purposes only), clap, and show us how big he is. Needless to say, it's the cutest thing we've ever seen.

 

"How big is Arlo?"

And now, the seasonal treats. Summer arrived late in Seattle this year, but we are thrilled it's sticking around for a little while. Today, it was a perfect 83 degrees with no humidity. Awww...

Since we were going to eat on our deck, I felt a little inspired to cook a meal with parts influenced by an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. Now, I know what you may be thinking, "Anthony Bourdain is a d-bag." Well, you're probably right. I don't know the guy, but he does flaunt a rough around the edges personality (or persona?) on his travel/food show. He also called Paula Deen "the worst, most dangerous person to America." 

The truth is, Bourdain makes part of his living by saying extreme things that have a grain of truth, and as an opinionated person, I respect that. Paul Deen does embody a lot of what's wrong with us, myself included. She eats too much. She cooks food in fat, fat, and more fat. She has created a food empire with a wholesome down-home face, all the while completely disregarding or ignoring the corporate machine that supports her "brand" and makes our food, something we all need to survive, fundamentally unhealthy and unsustainable. 

Maybe it's the uptight northerner in me, but I'm a Bourdain fan. He is a jerk, but he can also admit when he's wrong and make fun of himself easily. He doesn't seem to appreciate vegetarianism, but I respect the way he treats meat and food on his show, which is to say that he seems to connect to places where people, either because of need or culinary training, use every part of an animal and know where their food comes from.

But enough of that little tangent and back to the food. Bourdain went to Rome, and in an early scene of the episode, sat down at an outdoor table in a little restaurant to have a local pasta dish. He briefly described the dish, which was a simple spaghetti pasta with a sauce of pasta water, olive oil, salt and pepper and was served in a parmesan "cup." It looked amazing and the scene has stayed with me for months. 

Cut to today when I was appreciating all the fresh tomatoes in the garden and (late) summer bounty. I knew I wanted to make a simple Caprese salad with tomatoes, fresh basil, good mozzarella, olive oil, salt and pepper. However, I didn't want to make a heavy entree since it was warm outside. So, I decided to take a crack at the dish Bourdain chowed down in Rome. It was so simple and so good. I highly recommend it. 

Making parmesan cups was as easy as 1...

2...

3.

I took a block of parmesan and shredded it with a microplane (if you don't have one in your kitchen, you really need one) into two thin piles, about 6 inches in diameter is best, on a baking sheet. I suggest using parchment paper or something to keep it from sticking like mine did. The, I baked the cheese at 400 degrees until it was bubbling and was just starting to brown. Immediately after taking the sheet out of the oven, I used a spatula to form the cheese into a cup shape by putting it in a muffin tin. I don't recommend this for two reasons: 1. the cup is pretty small for a serving of spaghetti (I lean more toward a Paula Deen serving than a normal serving), and 2. you can get the right size up by putting a large-ish ladle on top of the cheese and curling the edges up. No need to dirty a muffin tin.

 Tomatoes from the garden with basil, mozzarella, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Beautiful and delicious.

Finished product (just add wine)

 For the spaghetti, I used a few ladles of the pasta water (always cook your pasta in salted water, by the way), olive oil, salt, pepper, shredded parmesan, a little leftover basil, and a squeeze of lemon juice. It was divine!

Proof it was good.

5 Years of Wedded Bliss

For the annual "Happy Anniversary" post, I like to share photos from our wedding. We look so young and fit and well-rested. It's a funny thing when you've been married long enough to notice the difference between then and now.


I am so lucky to have such a wonderful man in my life. Love you, Ryan!

Happy Birthday, Arlo!

As the cliche goes, time flies when you're having fun. Arlo is officially 1-year old. Ryan and I can't believe it.

I don't know why it seems like time evaporates as we get older. Apparently, the phenomenon of feeling like time goes by faster as we age is a common belief shared by humans regardless of culture or nationality. One theory is that when you are experiencing a "first" of something, then your memory of those new experiences goes in slow motion.

While this theory probably has more nuances, I don't think the memories of my first year as a parent, which has been chock-full of new experiences, can honestly be described as "slow motion." On the contrary, they seem more like a series of flashes much like a strobe light: Arlo's birth, the first week (a.k.a. hell week), his first bath, sitting up, eating solid food for the first time, laughing and crying, crawling, soccer practice, my first day back at work, his first Halloween and Christmas, his first plane ride, long road trips, meeting friends and family for the first time.

I wish I could remember every detail forever, but I guess that's why living in the present is the only way to reach enlightenment.

We didn't want to do much for his first birthday for a couple of reasons: 1. we're lazy, 2. Arlo will have no recollection of his first birthday, and 3. we didn't want to set a high bar for future birthday parties. How lame would it be if your first birthday was you best birthday?

So we bypassed much of the fuss and had a small group of friends and family over for dinner. Since we weren't going nuts with balloons, a petting zoo, or a bouncy castle thing, we decided to have some good food. We made grilled pizzas, a fresh salad, and homemade S'mores cupcakes.

S'mores Cupcake
Yeah, that is my A-game.

Graham cracker crust, thin layer of dark chocolate, chocolate cupcake and marshmallow frosting.

I think the cupcakes were a hit. At least Xander liked them...

... and Ava too!

Arlo didn't really know what to do with the cupcake at first.

But he quickly figured it out.

Arlo has a sweet tooth like his Mama.

Although he wanted to shove the entire thing in his mouth at once, Arlo quickly learned the benefits of taking your time and making a mess.

The party scene.

I can't believe how much has changed this year, and I'm sure there will just as many, if not more, changes in the year to come. As always, we will keep you (blog) posted!

The Swedish Ballard Babies are 1!

When I was pregnant, we went to a "Centering Pregnancy" group at our local hospital midwifery group (Swedish Ballard). The group was composed of parents-to-be who shared a due date in the same month. In the case of our group, everyone was due in August of 2010.

I affectionately call our Centering group the "Hippie Vagina Love Circle" because I suspect many people who are unfamiliar with the Centering Pregnancy model think it's a little weird. The fact that we are all Seattle progressives who chose midwives over an OB/GYN for our prenatal care is just icing on the HVLC cake.

Since having our babies, we've gotten together regularly to catch up and have a few drinks. You may remember the Halloween party we posted about last October.

Last weekend, we celebrated the 1 year mark at a garden party hosted by one of the families in our group. Before you get distracted by the adorable babies, I have to tell you that I made homemade Hostess cupcakes (gluten-free and glutenous, of course) for the party, and they were di-vine.

YUM!

It's funny to see Arlo's personality emerge a little more everyday. He's shy and observant, like his father. Goofy and stubborn, like his mother. He's also curious and very loving toward people he knows. At the party, he was a little reserved around the kids he doesn't know well, but when he saw Vivian (the little girl he hangs out with 4 days per week due to our nanny share), he was positively giddy.

Arlo with dirt on his face (yes, he was eating dirt, it isn't chocolate) and Miss Vivian.

Arlo, Jude, and Milo.
I wonder what they are looking at.

The baby line up.
From left, Jude, Vivian, Lucy, Milo, August, and Arlo.

August performing for Arlo.

The families one year later!

Sun, Family, and Bears

The Nonericks just returned from a fun week in Montana visiting family and introducing Arlo to his cousins for the first time. It was a great trip! We went on a hike in the Jewel Basin in the Swan Mountain Range and just north of Flathead Lake. Arlo got up to his highest elevation yet at between 6500 to 7000 feet above sea level. The record snowfall from the 2010-2011 winter left patches of the white stuff that blocked some of the trails, which was incredible for early/mid August.

Arlo gets some assistance from a binkie when at altitude.

The view over the Flathead Valley.

We need to work on taking pictures of ourselves (ok, I need to work on taking pictures of us).
I love this picture because Arlo put his hand on my shoulder as if he knew it was a warm gesture for a photograph. In reality, he was probably saying, "Mom, I'm here. Pay attention to me."

Arlo didn't like the sun shade on his backpack. He's too big for such baby-ish things.

Arlo and his sun shade.

In addition to hiking, we took the family on a float trip on the Middle Fork Flathead River right outside Glacier National Park. We did the same reach of the river a couple of years ago when my brother, John, and sister-in-law, Ellie, got married.

This time, we left Soma at home and brought a bunch of kids and adults. It was a great afternoon, and we saw loads of wildlife including a black bear on the shore, a bald eagle, trout, ducks, and the list goes on.

Amelia saying, "Cheese!"

Mike and Mama Nonemacher = The Motor/Paddlers

We forgot Arlo's hat so Ryan generously let him wear his grimy old thing.

Amelia and Her Mom, Emily

My co-guide, Lucy. I put her to work!

Lucy taking a break to enjoy the view and smile for the camera.

Finally, we spent a lot of time hanging out around the farm feeding my parent's cows, pigs, and chickens and visiting Arlo's great-grandma. I was adamant that we put Arlo in my favorite childhood bathtub in my grandmother's house. I loved this tub. It had fancy wallpaper and curtains and the best smelling soaps ever. Funny how you get very nostalgic after you become a parent.

Arlo in the world's best bathtub.

Of course, Arlo spent a lot of time with his cousins: Lucy, Amelia, Ingrid, and Lucas. The big kids taught him a lot.

Amelia teaching Arlo the finer points of avant-garde hat wear.

Lucas is deeply troubled that we're the other half of his family.
Well, he's either deeply troubled or smarter than us and casting judgment on our antics.

Cousin Lineup

Amelia feeding the pigs some corn stalks.

Lucy makes sure the cows have full bellies.

Let's just say we aren't going to show this picture to Grandpa Tom.

Very busy.

Arlo thinks feeding the cows is the best (and funniest) thing ever!

I took a video of Arlo feeding the cows with help from Papa, Lucy, and Amelia. Uncle Matt has a little offensive commentary in the background, so consider yourself warned.