Advice from an Expert.

Most people who know me realize I am an unsung, yet strongly opinionated, expert in many unexpected topics. Well, add another hash mark to the tally; I am now an expert in stinky things that befoul your fridge. Here is my main piece of advice: If something is stinking up my fridge, it is leftover beans and rice in a Nancy-ware container shoved to the back row. It could also be refried beans (use up the whole can when you open it, or your fridge will stink in 3 weeks.) I'm not sure if the bane of your refrigerator's freshness is beans, but I would wager that it is usually the same substance over and over again.

Another obvious piece of advice: Purge your fridge of its offensive lingerers the day of, or the day before, garbage pickup. If you have any questions concerning kitchen odors, or anything related at all, take advantage of your acquaintance with an Expert in such matters any time, absolutely free of charge.

Merry Christmas

I swear, we heard a thump! I thought it was Boa, since she's always jumping up and knocking stuff over, but turns out she was in the bathroom with Todd when the thump occurred. Trevor was nestled all snug in his bed, but he doesn't know what a sugarplum is (come to think of it, neither do I, really.) Could've been a big limb crushing our roof; then again, maybe it was a slightly overweight man in a red suit landing on the roof. I blamed Boa on the missing cookies, but maybe I was wrong about that too.

Oh boy, I'm going to milk the Santa thing (shameless, ludicrous lie) as long as possible.

Oh Christmas Tree

We went to find a tree yesterday. Trevor and I went on a hayride while Todd walked around looking for the One. It was cold! We had so much fun on the hayride, because there was a family of six kids with us just whooping and cheering about how much fun it was. Goes to show, attitude really is everything. It would have been just a tractor pulling a wagon without those kids talking it up.
See, that's the problem with our tree right now. We have lights (maybe not quite enough) and ornaments, but no skirt and no sparkle. We need garland, by golly, and tinsel!
Trevor has his own ideas about the uses of a Christmas tree. Today he was throwing a hacky sack at it. I had to retrieve it from the inner branches when it got stuck, and I didn't have quite the energy level (before morning coffee) to teach him that we don't throw things at the tree. I finally threatened to put the tree outside...hey, it's not an empty threat, I will put it on the porch if I have to say ridiculous things like "we look with our eyes" all day. Try saying that in a normal voice, it's impossible
Both sets of grandparents sent Trevor an advent calendar (thank you!) and it is a fun activity every morning. He is very excited about the one with chocolate in it. Trevor's usual manner of eating is to stuff as much food in his mouth as possible, and then ask for more with his mouth full; He savors the chocolate, cradling it carefully in his hand almost to the point of melting and taking tiny bites.
I've been torturing myself by listening to the radio station that plays the same twelve holiday favorites over and over. I could listen to Jingle Bell rock about eighty more times, but if I have to hear the Little Drummer Boy again, I might say something rude.

More!

This little boy cannot get enough of many things in life. Dried apples, raisins, being chased around the house, Christmas lights, trains, trucks, the car in front of kmart that goes up and down, Jingle Bell Rock. Sparkling apple cider, playing in water, stomping in puddles in his frog boots. His sign for "more" (which loosely resembles the official baby sign for more), now accompanied by the word delivered as a command, is so frequently used that his young friend Anna now uses it as a sign to mean Trevor!

Rainy Day Blogging

Ahhh, I love naptime. I really should be cleaning the floor or at least working on some knitting, but I'm going to do this first. It is a very rainy day, the kind when I don't even want to go outside. I'm soliciting you readers (c'mon, even if you're anonymous readers who don't ever comment) for toddler-friendly activity ideas for rainy days BESIDES shopping and spending money. Todd cleaned out the garage (or at least shoved everything to one side) and we now call it our private indoor play park. That's the latest fun activity. There's also the bathroom sink, at which Trevor will stand on a chair and play for an hour, getting himself and everything else soaking wet. What else, guys? We've got a few more months of days like these.
Well, I'm off to my cleaning/knitting. I'm waiting for your ideas and if you don't post them, I'll keep harassing you.

Thanksgiving, etc.

I realized that Thanksgiving day came and went without commentary on my part. Did you all have a good one? I for one have been eating apple pie with ice cream every day and my clothes feel tight. Oh well, we're out of pie.
We had a huge feast of deep-fried turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, white rolls, green beans, squash, beets au gratin, salad, cranberry relish, apple pie, chocolate torte and some yummy wine and jubelale. Warren, Carolyn, Carson, Maria and Tom were our guests, and we also had a short postprandial visit with some friends who moved away. Later on, we played Apples to Apples, a fun board game, and then Todd went to sleep while putting Trevor to bed, and could not be easily roused.
The next day, yes I know it's supposed to be buy-nothing day, but Maria and I have a tradition of finding really cool stuff at thrift stores, and so we did in the Cat's Meow and OSU folk club. And that is all you need to know, right?

Heroes

Todd loves this show "Heroes" that is on Monday nights. When I get home from work, it's on so it must be around 9 that it starts. I guess it's a pretty popular show, but for whatever reason, I've never watched more than two minutes of it. But the idea of it, cool! These people have special powers and they have to save the world or something. If you had a superpower, what would it be? And remember, you don't choose the ability, it chooses you.
I discovered the other night that Todd's power would be to always wake up right BEFORE the cat starts puking, just in time to toss her outside. Because he actually did this once! It was amazing.
Trevor's special power would be the ability to effortlessly pick up heavy objects, because he is always a little confused when he can't lift the 60 pound pumpkin on our front stoop.
I'm still thinking about mine. What's your power?

Welcome Baby Carson!

What an exciting week it has been! Warolyn's little creature decided to finally come out into the world Friday morning around 3:30 a.m. He is a cute little pink guy, very sturdy. He'll be running around with Trevor and his little pack of friends in no time, but right now he's snuggly and sweet. I love the name (what's the middle name, guys?). Todd was very excited to get to be the first person besides the parents (and about twelve nurses and other medical types) to hold Carson.

I'm thankful, too

I am stealing Kara's idea and coming up with some things to be thankful for (which you're supposed to think about in the morning before getting up, I hear, so I'll have no shortage since I've been unable to sleep between 4 and 5 a.m. this week.) Oh well, it doesn't hurt to be grateful for an hour.
I am thankful for the fun of watching a person grow, and in particular, the development of language, one of my favorite areas (although you probably wouldn't guess it from reading this, the world's worst sentence.) Yesterday, Trevor was playing with a xylophone and I said to him, "Where's your stick? Go find that stick that you hit this with." Very determined, he ran into the other room, and came back out, started hitting the xylophone with a sticker!
I am eternally and overwhelmingly thankful for naptime. I know it's been said, but maybe if I say it again, it will continue for at least two more years.
And last but not least for today, I am thankful for a roof, because it is really dirty weather out there right now.

Minor Home Makeover

Now that I have pegged the mom thing, I am taking the tv world by storm with a new reality show called Minor Makeover. Each episode starts out with the host(s) knocking on someone's door or maybe even we'll do the megaphone thing if it's not too much of a ripoff. Next everybody (the lucky recipients of our miracle, the host(s), and anyone else who shows up) sits around drinking beer and wine, drawing up plans, and making grand sweeping gestures in the house and yard. There will be some variations, of course, like the episode where we show up at 11 in the a.m. wearing bathrobes and bearing coffee, cigarettes and gramma damma's donuts, make grand sweeping gestures until about 3, and then start with beer and wine. Of course there will be no hard liquor because this is a good clean family show. After the commercial break, we will come to agreement by consensus (this part of the show will be condensed from about twelve days to twelve seconds) and begin the home makeover. Next we realize we don't have the right tool to knock out a wall, or that nobody knows how to replumb the toilet we just ripped out, or dancing with the stars comes on and we stop for a break; we meet the challenge by ordering out for chinese food. "Okay, let's move the couch," our inspired host(s) suggest(s), then we paint some stencils on the pillows and buy a plastic rabbit for the front yard.

October/November Update

Raymond came out for the Beavers homecoming game (yay, they won) and to finish the gazebo he designed and built last spring. He also had a chance to do some hiking, with Todd one day, then Todd and Trevor, then with all three of us. We went to the coast where it was very cold and windy and Trevor kind of fell apart, but was fine once we got him out of his wet clothes and the wicked wind. Then we had lunch at Local Ocean, this seafood place I've been hearing so much about. It was not bad.
Sometime in there, we threw our third annual pumpkin carving party. Good times, although I'm not sure why I don't have pictures. There were nine kids under the age of six! Trevor dressed up as a frog for halloween, a great costume because it is one piece, easy to put on, and cozy. This little person does not as a rule enjoy getting dressed lately. It's a rough time for toddlers; yesterday he ran out of the kitchen, turned the corner, and ran smack into the side of a large piece of furniture, landing flat on his back. I think I'd be a bit cranky if I did stuff like that every day.

Baby's First Haircut

Guess what! Trevor needs a hair cut! (Yes, I meant to spell it that way.) He has one hair that is about four inches long. I would save the lock in his baby book, but it's microscopically fine. Oh, yeah, where is that baby book?
I know I haven't been posting lately, and my excuse is that there are no new pictures yet. Soon, soon, I promise.

I've lowered my standards

Is it just me, or does having a kid cause people to lower their standards for certain things?
Example: I overheard a conversation today about the new breakfast joint downtown, where I have been hesitant to eat based on some less than favorable reviews. These experiences, too, sounded disappointing, with stories ranging from a plate of home-fried potatoes still clumped together after being pulled out of the freezer, to "no substitutions," (a Corvallis phenomenon?), and stale orange juice. Well, the reason these people ended up going there was that they have some kind of play area for the kids. Got me to thinking, yes, I'd rather have mediocre food and service if I can have a moment's peace to drink my coffee. It's a sad state of affairs.
Corvallis is considered kid-friendly, a good place to raise a family. Have you noticed, the public spaces as a whole are not designed with families in mind? When I'm at central park and I all of a sudden want a foofy caffeinated beverage, where is the kiosk?
Are you with me on this? Or am I just complaining? Because I can keep going.

Word and Picture Update

Pretty soon Trevor will just be saying everything, so many words I won't be able to list them all, but for now it is limited enough to brag. He says ball, blanket, banana, Una and Boa (the cats' names), mama and dada of course, dadee, and his favorite, NO!
I don't have any new pictures to add, since the camera seems to be on the fritz.

Clarification of previous post

In case you're wondering who this Meghan is that I'm not afraid to make fun of, she is the studliest ultra runner around, with course records for everything. So I think her ego can take it.

My Lame-O Blog

Whew. I just read Meghan Arbogast's blog which chronicles her ultrarunning in lengthy detail and I realized how lame my blog is. Maybe I'll start making stuff up because i'm sure not running 31 miles. However, if I were to Arbogast-esquely chronicle my two-mile jog of this morning (6:20 am, mind you), it would go something like this:
I woke at 4 a.m. in the excitement of the run ahead of me. I lay in bed for 45 minutes, unable to sleep with images of Willamette Park flashing through my mind's eye. Finally I fell back asleep until Trevor woke up moments later. I went into the guest room and donned my lucky running shoes and favorite black hoody, then paced around outside waiting for my inspiring running partner, Betsy, to show up. She finally flew around the corner, and we settled into a determined pace towards Willamette Park. We ran uneventfully towards the trail, and I focused on not sounding like I was breathing as hard as I actually was.
As we turned the corner, the unmistakable scent of skunk slapped our lungs and made our eyes water. It was almost too much, but it motivated me to keep going just to get out of the odor before it permeated my hair and clothes. Once we got past that, it was a challenge to keep going, since there really seemed to be no reason to continue. Walking seemed a much saner activity at the time. (Oh, and any other time unless one of the crazy mean guys comes out of the bushes and is chasing you with a knife.) I pretended I was going to be late for work for the third time if I didn't go faster, and I visualized the slip in my box that says, you were late three times, don't think we didn't notice. This positive imagery carried me through the next 50 yards of trail, and soon we were turning back towards the river trail. (I can't believe you're still reading this! But you see what I mean, now...I couldn't stop reading hers either, but it was a THIRTY ONE mile run! I don't think I could make it through the Western States 100 miler report.)
Next installment: Joggers decide to jog downtown and eat croissants at the French bakery twice a week and actually end up gaining weight from a regular exercise program.

Wine, Blood, Corn Fritters and Maple Bars

The other day in a late afternoon, what-do-we-do-now moment, I left some cut up cabbage and potatoes in the steamer and dragged Trevor down to Karen Mayo's for some wine-drinking, garden-admiring, and grape-foraging. Her garden is the best! When we got home after a couple hours, Todd had returned home from work and pulled lots of weeds and there was an amazing dinner that went beyond just the paltry potatoes and cabbage. He even fired up the grill to cook some zucchini! Kind of makes me think I ought to drink more...
Karen gave us a bunch of ears of corn and the idea to make corn fritters. We made some the next evening and ate them with honey mustard. That was after I donated my blood (that's right, be nice to me, I gave blood) for the last time ever in my life. I will give up my kidney or anything else, but my veins were not created to give blood. I was sitting there for 20 minutes while the phlebotomist jiggled the needle around as my blood dripped out. The worst part was that I was the last donor of the day and the red cross workers just wanted me gone. To their credit, they were very nice and gave me a bunch of snacks to take with me, cheezits and oreos and such.
If anyone has a favorite recipe for corn fritters, let me know what it is! I still have corn left and, while the ones I made were good, it seemed like they could have been better.
Along the same lines (food as usual), Tonya gave us a ride down to root for our insane ultra-running husbands (oh, only a short run of 31 miles) doing the Mckenzie River Trail Run and we stopped at the Mennonite bakery on Peoria road. Holy Maple Bar. We have a new Friday morning eating activity. Don't tell anyone else about the place or there may be too much competition for the donuts.

Here's a recipe, Tonya

Too much zucchini, of course! And you're sick of zucchini bread. Here's an approximate recipe for zucchini pancakes:
2-3 medium zucchini, shredded and liquid slightly squeezed out
2-3 eggs or more
about 1/2 cup flour
minced green onions or scallions
fresh basil and/or mint (really good with both!)
OR any herbs you have around, like rosemary & thyme
chunk (about 1/2 lb.) feta cheese, crumbled
dash tabasco, or Frank's, or Crystal
Salt & Pepper to taste

Stir everything together then fry in oil. Serve with a big cucumber salad (since you have too many of those too) or some sliced fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and salt, or maybe some stewed pears or applesauce. Also a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt. They are addictive.

Camping at the beautiful Oregon coast

We spent Friday and Saturday night at the coast, car-camping. It seems like it took more time to plan and pack than we actually spent there. The weather was perfect. It cooled off at night, but not uncomfortably so, and we had almost a drizzle Saturday night that cleared up by Sunday morning.

Trevor loves camping and the coast. He loves being outside, playing in the sand, dipping his feet in the ocean, sleeping in a tent, campfires, flashlights, horses and dogs on the beach, and blackberry pancakes for breakfast. I'm sure he will soon be able to tell you all about it; right now he's talking gibberish all day long, with a sophisticated inflection and many, many details.

Portland

Trevor and I spent last week up in Portland while Todd participated in the International Fire Blight meeting. It was at the posh Embassy Suites downtown. Very nice hotel. There are so many great stores downtown to spend money in! Luckily, I had Trevor with me the whole time, so I figure I saved about $500. That's just enough to buy an i-phone, hmmmm.
I'm pretty sure I've been brainwashed. I watched some tv in the hotel room, and must've seen commercials for it, because the hypnotic little song keeps popping up in my head, accompanied always by a feeling of...euphoria? I can't remember anything else about the commercial, except that if I have one of those things, I will be so happy and ultra-cool until the someone drops it in the toilet.
Yes, Trevor does not like to shop, at least not in a socially and commercially acceptable manner. So we found other things to do. Our favorite by far was discovering the best fountain ever. I thought the Corvallis fountain was so cool, but now I've been spoiled. This one was in an actual square (as far as I know, Corvallis has only triangles) and the water cascaded over a long bank of big rock steps into a wading pool. Awesome!

Mandatory Summer Wedding Post

Todd's brother Scott and his soul mate, Sally, officially tied the knot yesterday, and we were there to witness it. The simple, heartfelt ceremony was held at South Mountain State Park in North Carolina, amongst the trees. Then on to the reception, at a very good restaurant that one would not expect to find in Shelby, N.C., the livermush capital of the world. The food was good, the company was great, and the cake was delicious.
It was like 106 degrees there and humid. I had to drink iced tea constantly and when I went for a one mile stroll at 7 a.m., I thought I was going to pass out. I would have been hurting even if it was just the regular summer heat, but this was the worst heat wave. Even the locals were warm.
Happy summer, Oregonians! Enjoy our perfect weather! I am.

Another Update

Ugh, I really have to bore you with more updates, or I won't deserve a blog. Not that things have been boring around here--to the contrary! Donna and Elizabeth are visiting and Trevor is having a blast with his cousin. He smiles and smiles and smiles at her. We all went to da Vinci days last weekend, we hosted a party for Carolyn's birthday, and Elizabeth has had gelato every day. Tomorrow we are headed to Mt. Hood to cheer Todd on as he runs 50 miles. Next week it's off to North Carolina for Scott & Sally's wedding--how exciting! I hope there's a swimmin' hole.

I've been meaning to update this thing, but it's after 11 and I just want to read then go to sleep. Well, okay, since millions are logging on to check it out daily, I better just do it.
Sometimes I feel bad for babies, not knowing how to do anything, even the really basic stuff like drinking a glass of water or going to the fridge and getting a snack. The young hero of this blog is trying to figure it out and it looks exhausting! Just watching is tiring. Tonight he played what looked like an eighteen hole game of disc golf with a plastic lid, and it was well after his regularly scheduled bedtime.
Suddenly, he understands when we talk to him! If I say, go sit in your chair and we'll read some books, he will grab a book and sit in his blue recliner. Throw the ball, hand me this, who's at the door? Where's the kitty? Stuff like that, and who knows what else, it's hard to tell if he's getting the philosophical stuff yet. Okay, now I really want to stop looking at the screen. Bye.

My summer salad kick

Ive been making the same salad, with minor variations, two or three times a week. The recipe is from Sunset, introduced to me by Warren, but I have now made it my own. Here's the original recipe as it appears in Sunset and some variations:
Ingredients
1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 navel oranges (or canned mandarin oranges for easier prep.)
About 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I skipped this step entirely)
4 fresh wonton wrappers, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips (I use chinese noodles instead.)
6 cups finely shredded cabbage
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (or marinated tofu)
Spicy soy-ginger dressing (recipe follows)
1 large avocado, cubed
4 green onions (including green tops), sliced diagonally
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Preparation
1. In a 2- to 3-quart pan over high heat, bring about 1 quart water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, then plunge asparagus into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
2. Cut off and discard ends from oranges. Following the curve of the fruit, cut off peel and outer membrane. Slice oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, then cut these rounds into quarters. Set aside.
3. Pour the vegetable oil into a 3- to 4-quart pan (the oil should be about 1/2 inch deep) and set over medium-high heat. When oil reaches 350°, add wonton strips and fry, stirring, until golden brown on both sides, about 30 seconds total. Lift out with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels to drain. (I didn't do any of this.)
4. In a large serving bowl, toss the cabbage, chicken, and asparagus with the dressing. Top with avocado, orange slices, and wonton strips, then garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Spicy soy-ginger dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Asian red chile sauce (such as Sriracha), and 1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger. Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup vegetable oil or grapeseed oil, whisking constantly. Season with salt to taste.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
Yield
Makes 6 to 8 servings
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Nutritional Information
CALORIES 308(56% from fat); FAT 19g (sat 3.1g); PROTEIN 15g; CHOLESTEROL 36mg; SODIUM 317mg; FIBER 4g; CARBOHYDRATE 20g

Sunset, JUNE 2006

My variations: I have been making it with the Frog/Commissary Cookbook recipe (Christian turned me on to this one) for curry vinaigrette:
1/2 c olive oil2/3 c corn oil6 tbsp lime juice1/4 c cider vinegar1 tblsp salt1 1/2 tsp pepper1/2 tsp nutmeg1 1/2 tsp ground cumin1/2 tsp fresh ginger 1/4 c honey1/4 tsp cayenne1 tsp curry1/2 tsp ground cardamon1 tsp ground coriander2 tblsp minced garlic
yum! I marinated some tofu in this, then fried it up, and used fresh sugar snap peas instead of asparagus. Rice and Spice in Corvallis has some fried crunchy noodles that do not have hydrogenated oil in them; they are gluten-free as an added bonus. Please don't eat or feed your kids hydrogenated oils.

The Update

I havent updated this thing, and who knows? Maybe someone is reading it. At least Nana is checking it out for new videos. Theyre grainy, yes, but thats the digi for you.
Trevor is officially toddling. He walks like a drunken sailor, with his fists held high. Woke up last Saturday morning and decided, I think Ill take a walk around.

Are you wondering what happened to the apostrophes? I have decided that those things are unnecessary and will very soon be archaic, although I think we should keep the possessive usage. But cant you understand this sentence? Dont you understand this one? Lose them in contractions. Im sure with text messaging the language is becoming more and more truncated (as if Ive ever seen an actual text message.) So its not that I cant spell...

We had a great cocktail hour today! We flew in Cousin Catherine as this week's guest bartender. She concocted, with Rosie's help, an amazing batch of sangria. I think someone took a few pictures, and I will try to put some on here once I find the batteries for the digi. There were kids everywhere raiding the raspberries, blueberries, cherries and snap peas!

Yesterday, summer solstice, was the birthday of Emily and Scott's little bundle, and rumor has it they are naming him Miles Robert. He is extremely cute and has the sweetest little outraged cry. Visiting hours at the maternity ward are 11-7, but somehow Todd squeaked in with Gramma Damma's donuts before 8. I guess the nurses open the doors if you bring treats. Miller lost his voice from all the childbirth coaching. Congratulations, Emily, Scott and Miles!

Walking & Climbing

Our backyard hardscaping project is in its final phase (you know, the one that lasts forever) and I realized that maybe it's not the most toddler-friendly. The natural stone pavers do not provide an even surface for rookie walkers, and trips and falls have consequences. Even worse than walking on these rough, gritty rocks is crawling on them--I know, I tried, and the loose sand grinds mercilessly into your knees. I think Trevor, too, came to this conclusion after a shorts-weather day, and he then decided to walk instead of crawling. "No way, I'm not crawling on this!" He has mastered the fast crawl, so he doesn't usually resort to his plunky toddling. Besides, he's trying to look cool.
He doesn't walk much, but he can climb. At the playground, it's right for the steps up to the slide, then down the slide feet-first and belly-down. Yesterday, Todd was doing some pruning and had the ladder set up on the patio. I turned my head for a second, then looked over and Trevor was on the first rung of the ladder. I freaked out and ran over, but I was holding hand pruners in one hand and bam, he toppled off backward right onto the rocks. I think maybe he only fell because I freaked out! He was doing fine. Don't worry, no brain damage, really not even a bump (although it had to have hurt.)

He found them! Okay, so I helped a little, but he would not give up. I picked all the ripe raspberries and he stuffed them in his greedy little mouth just as quickly as I could hand them over. Once the ripe ones were gone, he broke out the "more" sign, which he was all along pretending not to know. Ha! Well, at least most of them are too high up for him to reach. The strawberries, on the other hand...

Birthday Party

Summer birthdays are fun! Of course, Trevor's is right on the edge, and we got lucky with a hot, sunny day for his pool party, but more often than not, the Willamette valley provides rainy, cool weather well into June.
We had one kiddie pool filled with water and one with sand. It was spectacularly messy with Trevor and six young friends ranging from one to six in age. Betsy snuck off without her party favors so we are holding her kiddie fountain ransom until the weather cools off. It could come in handy for Cocktail Hour.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with our schedule, it goes like this: Friday afternoon Cocktail Hour from 3 to 5. Yesterday was the third official Cocktail Hour and we had some very refreshing mojitos made with mint pinched from Warolyn's house. (There's no gate!!! If you knew where they lived, you too could help yourself to all the mint you desire (once it grows back.))
We are coming into my favorite eating time of the year. Sara G. was fabulous enough to sacrifice two pints of her painstakingly harvested strawberries, which I mostly hoarded from Trevor's guests. Trevor picked (and ate) his first strawberry from our patch yesterday (but he hasn't found the raspberries yet, hooray!) Then it's cherries, peaches, blueberries, blackberries. Todd is reading Trevor's bedtime stories to him now: One berry, Two berry, pick me a blueberry...

Welcome Friends

Hi everyone. Now you can look at pictures of Trevor (and maybe some of others) whenever you feel like and I won't have to email you all that stuff and clog up your inbox. Plus you don't have to read anything, just scroll past all this yakety-yak and go straight to the fabulous photos of our sweet little stick of dynamite.
Since his birthday is right around the corner, I ought to say a few things about his latest hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc. Well, he likes to talk on the phone and play the kazoo and climb up on things. He likes to eat-this includes dirt, rocks and dead flies; but the current fave is the yummy apricots from California. He is working on learning to whistle and to walk, and he has a great curiosity of anything dangerous. If words are not capitalized that should be, that's because Trevor pulled the shift key off my laptop. Why couldn't it have been x or q?