Patterson's Pumpkins

For as long as I can remember my family has made the trek out to Chesterfield to visit Patterson's Fruit Farm. It was a welcome fall tradition full of apple slices, cups of cider and the most amazing apple cider donuts I've ever tasted.

And because I love the Fall and tradition, we've made sure to take Emma each year to pick out her very own pumpkin....or two.

So, on an unseasonably warm Fall morning we headed out to find the perfect pumpkin. We knew that many other people on the east side of Cleveland would have the same idea, so we left early. Judging by the stream of cars lined up down the road to turn into the farm as we left, we knew we had made the right decision!

I have managed to get some great pictures of my little baldie among the pumpkins each year.

When she was little she didn't have a choice since at the time she wasn't very mobile.

(Emma - 8 Months Old)

It was absolutely freezing, but Emma was a trooper - we have countless shots of the little miss, but this one if my favorite.

Last year took more effort to her to sit still among all the pumpkins. All she wanted to do was run and climb over the endless piles of perfectly orange gourds.

(Emma - 1 Year, 8 Months Old)

With the addition of a fancy new playground it was even harder to get a fiesty 2 year old to sit still. But even so, Daddy managed to snap a few good ones.

Someone is such a little ham!

I love these - when did someone get so big!!!



All settled into the wagon with her loot - she was so excited. But I think she was even more excited to get her Apple Cider Slush.

All this fun Fall stuff means one thing - Halloween! And with Boo at the Zoo and Trick or Treat right around the corner....I am sure there will be more fun Fall-themed posts to come.

Where Did the Summer Go?

It might have had something to do with the fact that we had a long and dreary (not to mention rainy) Spring. Or the fact that as midwesterners we tend to pack as much fun as we possibly can into the warm and sunny summer months. But, for whatever reason the summer of 2011 seemed to fly by.

So here is a quick recap of what how we spent our summer days.

Blowing bubbles - a skill that took the whole summer to master!

Playing in one of many pools - this girl could not get enough of the water. .

But thanks to Target's awesome clearance section - she had quite the variety to choose from and they will hopefully last the long winter in the attic. Just last week on a chilly, 50 degree fall evening I had to convince my stubborn two year old that it was probably not a good idea to fill her water table up

Duane took on the project of assembling Emma's very own play set -

Let's just say that after a good day or two of sorting the unlabeled pieces into piles he was on his way...

And a few weeks later we had the final result.

Of course Emma loves it- which made all the hard work worth it in the end.

She especially loves her swing - in fact so much that we have a hard time getting her out.

Do you know what else Emma loves about the summer?

Spending afternoons outside at Patty's house with her new pink car...

picking flowers on a morning walk...

lazy Saturday mornings snuggling and breakfast in bed...

playing babies in the middle of the kitchen...

and popsicles; lots and lots of popsicles!

We also decided to become members of the zoo.

And on our first visit of the season Emma got to feed a giraffe a leaf of lettuce.

She talked about it for weeks. And the next time we visited, I had to convince her that it was probably not a good idea to try and feed the giraffe her sun hat.

She also learned another valuable lesson in a little girl's life.

That Daddy is kind of a softie and sees no reason NOT to buy Emma two rubber light up catepillars because she can't make up her mind between purple and blue. Boy does she ever have him wrapped around her fingers...and toes.

Our summer included plenty of backyard BBQ's with both sides of the family.

Which meant learning to share the sandbox with Katie and Taylor

and her favorite raft with Ryan at Grampy & Grammy Lu's pool.

We took Emma to her first Indian's game...

and because of her cuteness were upgraded to field box loge seats next to the Indian's dugout.

Emma tried and fell in love...

with "fair" lemonade.

Speaking of the fair, Duane and I took Emma and her friend Ali to the great Geauga County Fair.

where I could not get enough of watching my little 'baby' walking hand in hand with her buddy. Kind of negates the fact that it was 90 degrees, humid beyond belief and that Emma was absolutely terrified of the barns of animals. Well, all of them except for the bunnies - figures.

So that was our summer in a nutshell. And now we move onto Fall - my most favorite time of year with colorful leaves and chilly evenings. Bonfires and hot cider, even better with a little bit of spiced rum. Pumpkins and halloween decorations. School buses and soccer games. Which naturally will bring plenty more opportunities to update this blog.

Supporting Ohio Farmers

As a general rule, Duane and I have always tried to incorporate healthy eating habits into our life. We don't typically stock up on fattening snack foods, avoid white flour at all costs, eat veggies at every meal and choose organic produce (especially the "dirty dozen"), dairy and meat whenever we can. Sure we pay more at the grocery store, but to us it's completely worth it.

In turn we also try and ensure that Emma gets a healthy, balanced diet. One of the first foods we introduced as a baby was avocado - often referred to as "one of nature's perfect foods" for it's dense nutrients and "good fat" content. I still remember when Emma was about 8 months old. We took her out to dinner at a local establishment. I pulled a half an avocado from the diaper bag and proceeded to spoon feed her bites as she clapped her hands in anticipation. A woman stopped, introduced her self as a cardiatric nurse and told me I was doing my daughter such a favor by introducing her the heart healthy food at an early age. To this day Emma eats broccoli, peas, carrots (as long as they are cooked), avocado, and green beans without a fight.

So, when my company announced a partnership with Fresh Fork Market - I was sold before I even attended the first of many informational meetings.

What is Fresh Fork? "Fresh Fork is a virtual farmers market that gets the freshest Northeast Ohio farm products to you within 24 hours of harvest."

To participate, subscribers join a Fresh Fork Sponsored CSA plan. What is a CSA? CSA or "Community Supported Agriculture is when a consumer purchases “shares” of a farm in order to get a weekly basket of in-season foods."

Sounded good to me. And an added bonus, our "baskets" would be delivered weekly right to my workplace, available for pick up Friday mornings or afternoons. After assessing the payment options and basket sizes - I signed us up for delivery of 1 Traditional Large basket starting at the end of May and lasting for 22 weeks.

Each tuesday around lunch time I get an email listing the contents of that weeks basket. This gives us a little time to plan some meals and pick up additional ingredients if necessary. Each week's bag value is about $50 and includes a combination or fruits, veggies, dairy products and meat.

All meats are 100% "pasture raised." This means that the animal is free range and on organic pasture land. Plus, no animals receive antibiotics or hormones. This is incredibly important to me - and what I look for when purchasing meat in general.

The contents vary by what is in season during that time. So early on there is a lot of lettuce, spinach, kale and other greens. Mid summer starts to bring cucumbers, zuchinni and tomatoes. Now we are getting melons, apples, peppers and cheese.

This was the loot from a few weeks back; 1 dozen eggs (from pastured raised chickens), 3 slicing tomatoes, green beens, 4 peaches, carrots, apricots, 1lb of Roasted Red Pepper Ohio City Linguini, 1 package of mild italian sausage, 6 ears of sweet corn, 1 bunch of kale, 1 red onion, 3 hungarian hot peppers, 1 stalk leeks, and 1 head of lettuce.

What I love most about this program is the fact that it forces you to explore dishes outside of your comfort zone, search out recipes using unique ingredients, and fall in love with dishes you might never have tried otherwise.

This dish has become a favorite in our household and can vary based on what veggies and/or meat you have on hand (or need to use up!). While the roasted red pepper linguini from Ohio City Pasta is amazing, our household prefers the spinach - even Emma. If our weekly CSA basket does not include any pasta we purchase it at Heinen's or The West Side Market. In a skillet toss your favorite meat/seafood with olive oil and minced garlic cloves or scapes. Cook through and remove from skillet. Add a mixture of chopped up veggies, such as: red peppers, zuchinni, yellow squash, mushroom, red onion, kale. Sautee with more garlic and a bit of salt and pepper for flavor. In the meantime boil water and cook the pasta. Once veggies are cooked to your preference, toss the meat and veggies back into the skillet for a few minutes. Serve with a little bit of parmesean cheese sprinkled on top.

Trying to incorporate more greens into our diet with out the same old boring salad can be challenging. A few weeks packages included a whole chicken which we've oven roasted. Any leftovers we have we use for yummy salad, like the one pictured above. When strawberries were in season we'd make spinach, chicken, strawberry, mandarin orange and fresh mozzerella salads tossed in a raspberry vinagrette. Yum!

Or for a southwestern twist top a mix of romaine and spinach with chicken, black beans, corn, halved cherry (or heirloom) tomaotes, red pepper, cheddar cheese and tortilla strips tossed with a tangy basil lime dressing (we bought ours at Heinen's).

Heinen's sells their whole rotiserre chicken (using antiobiotic free poultry) for a reasonable price. Often times I'll pick one up for dinner on my way home from getting Emma, serve it with a side of whole grain cous cous and steamed brocolli (by far Emma's favorite meal) and use the leftovers for salad for lunch the next few days.

This week is week 13 of the CSA and I am still so glad that we signed up. I think Emma likes it too!

My ALMOST Two and a Half Year Old

I can't believe my little girl is going to be two and a half in just a couple of weeks (August 19th). Where does the time go? Still a little peanut she weighs in at a whooping 27 lbs and 35 inches tall. Her hair is coming in, slowly but surely. I think the strawberry blond locks might just be a little curly too.

Of all her toys Emma LOVES her baby dolls. She could spend hours changing their diapers, powdering their "doopa's", feeding them milk or juice, or shushing them to sleep. And it never gets old to watch.

Emma also has a mild obsession with picking flowers. So much so that any walk around the block takes forever. And with the hot and humid summer days we've been having any flower we allow her to pick is pretty much all dried up and brown. Except for Ga's pink impatiens!

Emma's favorite summer treats are Popsicles - if only I could phonetically type it the way she says it, it's so cute! She wakes up in the morning asking for one most days. She's such a funny little girl.

Emma has so many funny ways of saying different words and names. She still calls my mom Ga most of the time with an occasion Grandma thrown in once or twice. My sister is Aunt Nee Nee and probably always will be.

Kristy's little pug, Kaliki, who Emma was calling Kiki has now been christened Karicky. Speaking of the dogs it's kind of funny to see my little baldie bossing them around one minute ("NO Dexter!!) to showering them with hugs and kisses the next. What's not so funny is when she decides that it's a good idea to chase them with her doll stroller.

Emma loves to dance - and can really keep the beat. I think I have a future dancer on my hands. Currently her favorite song is Tonight Tonight by Hot Chevelle Rae - she gets SO excited when she hears it come on the radio or when Daddy pulls the video up on You Tube.

Another thing that Emma loves; WATER! Between her multiple wading pools, sprinklers and water table - Emma is so happy outside in the sunshine splashing around in the water. When I ask her if she wants to go outside and play water she claps her hands together and shouts, "Yes Mommy! That would be so cool!"

At home, at Patty's, around friends; Emma is a non-stop chatter box. She doesn't stop talking. She calls everyone on her phone, or if she doesn't have a phone she pretends. She gets super animated, even using her hands for emphasis. It cracks us all up every time. When we are out in public or in new places she is such a shy little thing though - such a funny contrast.

Other things that Emma says that cracks us up:

"Mommy is that a good plan?" after suggesting something to do

"Come sit!" as she orders us into her play room

"Rock you Daddy," meaning, Daddy rock me!

"I want to snuggle Mommy,"

"Emma no yike _____" - I love when she refers to herself in the third person

Cucumbers are Cumbers

Ketchup (or any other kind of sauce) is Dip Dip

Gold fish crackers are FiFi's

Lightning Bugs are Yightning Bugs - the only bugs she likes.

M&M's are m m's - And it's especially cute when she says "Emma's m m's"

She can count to ten, sing her ABC's and knows all of her colors, for the most part, by sight. Still a lover of books she is beginning to look at the pictures more and as she "reads" to me I can tell she is talking about what she thinks is going on on each page.

While she still loves her Yo Gabba Gabba she is equally enamoured with Jack's Big Music Show and Sesame Street, loving all things Elmo and Big Bird. Including band-aids which are more fun than stickers!

We hope to start thinking about potty training soon. And are considering converting her crib into a toddler bed. All changes that really bring home the fact that my little baby isn't a little baby anymore. But no matter how old she gets, I'll still always be her Mommy. And that's my most favorite thing to be.

Lazy Summer Days

It's harder to update this blog when the weather outside has been so spectacular. Coming off of a really cold and wet spring, the warm, sunny days of the past few weeks have been amazing. And we have been soaking up every minute we can under the sun.

Here's just a peak at some of the things we've been up to in the last few weeks.

Emma absolutely LOVES her water table. We have one at our house along with one at "Ga's" house. A typical day usually consists of three outfit changes!

Emma also discovered that her beloved ice cream truck from the Outer Banks also visits grandma's house. And best of all they have the green turtle popsicles she so loves. What a big girl she is getting to be!

She also loves a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with berries (raspberries are her favorite) with a little dollop of cool whip. Yum!

Emma attended her 3rd pride parade this year in support of her Aunt Nee Nee. Emma's is lucky to be surrounded by so many people that love her - and she loves when her Aunt Nee Nee comes over for a sleepover.

Poor Max - even though he looks a little miserable in this picture he absolutely adores Emma. And Emma adores him too. I have to watch that she doesn't knee him in the ribs, or climb onto his head, but for the most part she is gentle. And she still loves to sneak him one too many treats.

When we aren't outside playing with the water table, sandbox or chalk Emma can be found taking care of one of her babies. She is such a good little Mama, changing their poopy diapers, freshing them up with powder and cooking them dinner in her kitchen. It's really amazing to watch her little imagination working overtime.

And if nothing else, she's always looking cute.

Hope you all are enjoying the sunshine wherever you might be.

All good things come to an end

We all had a fabulous week in the Outer Banks last week - to be honest, this week was some what depressing simply because we were back to the same old routine and not spending our mornings poolside and afternoons at the beach! And that's probably why it has taken me so long to get this post up.

I was a little worried that little miss Emma would not enjoy the beach or the water. Why? Well for one, when we took her to the children's museum during the winter and tried to convince her to put her feet in the sand in the Ancient Egypt exhibit she wanted nothing to do with it. Secondly, swim lessons during January proved to be torture - for everyone involved. But, I am happy to report that Miss Emma loves the beach and water as much as the rest of us.

We slathered her up regularly with SPF 50, even putting some on her little bald head. She spent almost every morning into after playing in the water with Aunt Nee Nee and Uncle Brian.

This little tent was PERFECT and allowed for some shade. It also provided some shelter from that cool ocean breeze.

I think someone's hair might be a little curly!

When she wasn't busy playing the ocean or digging in the sand she loved to walk with Ga and pick up shells from the sand.

Some days we started out poolside - most of the beach houses in the area have their own private pools which provides a break from the beach. Even though the beach access was only a short walk up the street it was nice to just relax poolside.

All of my memories of our failed attempt at swim lessons were quickly replaced by a little girl who absolutely LOVED the water. And her Ga's raft which she quickly took over.

At first she was a little unsure...

But that quickly changed- each toss into the air would be followed up with an "Again Uncle Brian!, Again!"

Someone loves their Daddy!

Of course we also set up a little wading pool in the shade for some outside water fun with out the sun burn. It was a hit!

Somone else loved the water - both at the ocean and in the pool.

Each morning when we were getting ready to go out Max would pace by the back door. As soon as the door and gate were opened he made a beeline for the water.

Swimming laps, fetching his toys, lounging on the stairs - it didn't matter as long as he was wet he was a happy dog.

But this guy was more happy basking in the sun - so spoiled!

Once someone went down for a nap this is where you could find me - floating in the pool with a Margarita!

When you live in a beach town it's common for the ice cream truck to make the rounds multiple times a day. It didn't take too long for someone to figure out just what this meant.

And because it was vacation we splurged!

We only ventured out to dinner once - but instead opted to stay in cooking fabulous dinners with all the fresh seafood for sale along NC-12. From fish tacos, to crab legs, to clams - everything was delicious. And led to some very lazy post-dinner's spent on the balcony.

Watching for the ice cream truck.

Playing with toys.

Or checking out videos on the iPhone.

Overall it was a fantastic week - and I would go back again tomorrow in a heart beat. Minus the 11 hour drive and diaper explosion in Virigina. But that's a whole other post.

Family XOXO