While Sean is away

we go to the park.  Sean is in Oregon with my dad and brother having a good time playing golf.  Stephen and I are having fun in the 100 degree heat here.  We're about to go to the pool to cool off, but I took this shot this morning at the park.  I just got new shoes for him on Friday...he's growing.

Milestones

Because this blog is a record of Stephen's milestones, and I haven't done that recently, this post will highlight what Stephen can do now at 20 months. 

He does:

-sleep in a bed (and climbs out of a crib, so we are taking that down)

-climb out of a pool by himself

-walk in water up to his neck

-put face in water voluntarily

-hit a golf ball with a club pretty hard

-kick a soccer ball

-throw ball for dog

-eat relatively well (not supper, not a bird, trying to go beyond yogurt everyday); eats a variety of foods including salsa, guacamole, hummus, tamales, soup, steak, sandwiches.

-drinks out of a cup with help holding really well

-given up bottle

-understand most things we tell him in Spanish and English, including, "your ball is on the other side of the couch", knows most body parts, knows who Obama and Tiger Woods are, knows most of his animals

-can scribble with crayon/pen on paper

-dance

-can sit at the table to eat (occasionally) with limited time frame for sitting.

Still working on: 

-aggression for everyone/everything including dogs, people, everything

-talking, any words would be nice

-testing whether or not we actually mean, "no" (I suspect we will be working on this for years)

Weekend of Water and Soccer

This weekend, Sean's parents came up to watch Kaitlyn play soccer for another competitive team, Challenge.  We also had fun going to the pool with Nancy.  Stephen though has changed from cute little Charlie Brown to Dennis the Menace sometimes...determined to get his way and to make mischief. 

Homemade Pizza

Sean and I love to cook together and one of our favorites is homemade pizza.  Last's night's homemade pizza was just about the best I'd ever made so I thought I'd share my recipe.  It takes a while, so it really is best on a Sunday, but it is not labor intensive, nor expensive to do.

Dough: (makes 2 12 inch pizza crusts)

1 c. whole wheat flour

2 c. all purpose flour

1 T. vegetable oil

2 T. honey

1 package yeast

1 1/4 c. warm water

1 1/2 t. sugar

pinch salt

Proof yeast with water and sugar for at least 5-10 minutes or until the appropriate amount of bubbles form.  While waiting for the yeast, get together all the other ingredients.  Then mix in yeast, water, sugar mixture and mix in mixer with dough hook until it forms a ball.  Then place in oiled bowl, cover, and place in dark warm place until risen double. (about an hour to an hour and a half).  Then split into 2 and place into low bowls or on cookie sheet to rise another 1/2 hour or until use.

Tomato Sauce 

1 small onion or half a large onion cut into small pieces

2 or more garlic cloves (depending on your like of garlic) chopped fine

2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. to 1 t. or to taste chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I like to get a can of these and then put it in the food processor to chop it up and then I save it in the refrigerator for use such as this.)

1/4 of a bottle of red wine

1 can chicken broth

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 T. oregano

salt/pepper to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent, careful not to burn the garlic. Add tomatoes, broth, and wine.  Bring up to a boil and then simmer for a couple of hours on stove, checking every so often.  If the sauce is getting too thick, you can add water or more broth.  Add chipotle peppers, oregano and salt and pepper at the last moment.

To make the pizza, we heated preheated the oven with 2 pizza stones in it at 425.  Then we rolled/stretched the dough onto the pizza stone and cooked for 5 minutes.  We then added the toppings, which were onions, peppers already cooked, and pepperoni.  Place back into the oven and cook for approximately 14 more minutes, checking at 12 minutes for doneness.  After it cooked, we added fresh basil that we grew in our herb garden.

Water Fun

It is SO HOT here in Dallas. It is in the mid-90's and now summer. This week was great. I went to Phoenix for a conference and went to the Diamond Backs/Giants game for my birthday on Wednesday, which was fun.  When I came back, Stephen had learned that he could get out of his aerobed for kids that he's been sleeping on instead of a crib, open the door, and come into our room during the middle of the night.  On Saturday we went to the pool and had a lot of fun now that I bought a shirt for Stephen to wear in the water to keep him warm.  He swam and swam and swam.  Then we went to the house of Sean's co-worker for me to go horseback riding.  They live out in the country and his wife gives horseback riding lessons.  I got to trot on the horse, which is something that I've wanted to do for a long time.  It was a wonderful way to spend a birthday week.  Today, we didn't get to the pool, but instead beat the heat in our driveway with a hose and a baby pool that Sean's mom bought last summer.  This summer, he just wanted to take the water from the pool in a bucket and pour it out on him or on the driveway.  At the end, I gave him the hose and he just loved it.

  

Cool Thursday

Yesterday evening, Sean, Stephen and I joined our friends Mark, Maurie and Gunnar Gray at the Dallas Arboretum for Cool Thursdays, a concert series. We heard a polka band and had a great time. Stephen and Gunnar both danced the night away and I got some great photos

I know I'm cute

From 19 months

Homegrown Tomatoes

My tomatoes are almost ripe.  In fact, after the rain fell this morning, one of them, not shown here, fell off, so I'll taste them and see if they are good.  This is my first attempt at tomatoes.  I'm also growing basil, mint, dill, rosemary, hot peppers, thyme, and sage, all in pots. Update: homegrown tomatoes are really good and really sweet.  I may have to try homegrown lettuce in pots.