Klynstra Occurrences

Random Klynstra Events

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-09:00

The following aresome small, random, thoughts and events going on around our home.

Abigail is big intoimitation these days. Not so much withwords yet but noises and expressions for sure. We sneeze, she sneezes. We blowour nose, she will find a small piece of something and blow her nose. She loves to walk around the house with herfake phone tucked on her chin talking to someone (who did she learn thatfrom?).

This last weekAbigail has figured out the kiss. Upuntil this point when you asked for a kiss she would just press her face toyours. Now she likes to smack her lips,so funny. The other day I was holdingher as I kissed Josh good-bye in the morning and when I looked at her she gaveme a big kiss too. It is fun to begreeted with a kiss when we go get her from her crib instead of just yelling,she is such a sweet girl.

The other day Icanned some kidney beans. Are you sickof me talking about my canning yet? Ilove doing it. What primal need in medoes this fill I wonder? I am thankfulto my mother-in-law who taught me the super affordable way of canning my owndry beans for easy access in future meals. And the funny thing about it is that night my house smelled like mygrandma Davis’ house from when I was a child. I don’t know if it was the bean, the canning process, what I had madefor dinner but it did make me miss my grandma very much. She loved to can as well I do remember.

Abigail loves tosnack. She eats all of her meals in herhighchair but in-between meals she needs to snack very frequently. Our new system is that when Abigail isn’t inher highchair there are snacks and her sippy cup of water on the footstoolportion of her highchair for her to reach. She loves this bit of independence that allows here to come here andthere to get a bite to eat as she plays and I love my happy and content little girl.

The Need To Finish

2012-02-09T07:02:00.000-09:00

Have you ever been inthe middle of a project that is going well?

I was there the otherday. The machine was working great, thefabric was fun and handling well, I was energized and focused. Yes, it was the perfect day for thisproject! (sorry the picture of thefabric isn’t more clear but it is for a few gifts and what was being made justcan’t be shared just yet)

For the most partMiss Abigail was being great at letting me sew that day. I have certain toys I keep set aside untiltimes like these so she has “new” things to play with. That and I sew right outside of her room sothere are books, toys and such to play with. But just as I was about 85% done my little girl reached an ending pointin her patience, she needed her mama and I have to admit, this mama reallyneeded to finish the project. So withthat, Abigail found the accessory drawer in my sewing desk.

And as I stitched mylast stitch, cleaned the machine and put away my thread this is what my littlegirl and my accessory drawer’s contents looked like. But as I laughed and took a picture I foundthat this was just ok because you see, the project was finished and with itsuch a good sense of accomplishment. Plus, this meant I got to sort, organize and clean up my accessorydrawer of ribbons, rick rack, lace, elastic and such as I put it all back. Thanks for being such a great side-kick mydear, you knew that drawer just needed a little TLC didn’t you.

Breakfast for Dinner

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000-09:00

So far this year sticking to my food calendarhas been great. Ok, so we are only onour second month of the year, but it has worked well so far. And one new addition I am finding myselfmaking more and more is slipping in a short-order meal into each week, a littlebreakfast to bring in some variety at night.

You see we are prettymuch a straight oatmeal family for breakfast. Boring as it might be we have oatmeal each and every morning since it isfilling, fast, one pot on the stove feeds us all and it is warm. This pretty bland pattern of oatmeal doesn’tmean we don’t love the good “Café” style breakfast options. So as I write out the month’s meals on thecalendar I find myself slipping in nights of omelets, waffles, pancakes, Frenchtoast, potato pancakes and home fries all of which can be made dairy and glutenfree to fit into this family’s needs. So, what are you having for dinner?

You and Me Makes Three

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-09:00

Something Josh and Ihave learned in the past 14 months is that our lives are no longer our own tospontaneously do with as we wish any more. Since we are now very aware of ourrole as parents and our budget we have learned that date nights must take on adifferent kind of look from our no children days.

I will be honest tosay that for the past 14 month date nights have not really existed but that hasbeen changing. We are making an intentto set aside time to reconnect, have fun, do something different and we arelearning that all of this doesn’t necessarily have to be done out of thehouse. Abigail goes to bed and datenight can begin without the commute.

These pictures weretaken from the other day when we decided to have a Sushi Date Night. When dating we used to like to buy a smallpack of sushi/California rolls and go off on a picnic or hike as a date. The other day we decided for a good“in-house” date we would learn to make sushi ourselves.

And what fun wehad. No, it wasn’t a show, movie, bigdinner with a waiter and extensive menu but it was special, new, and time toreconnect with each other. Yes MissAbigail is a very active part of each day but connecting with my partner ispart of that day too.

Yukon Quest 2012

2012-02-06T07:42:00.001-09:00

We have been verylucky this past week that the cold, bitter cold, of January has finally startedto break. Last Thursday we sawtemperatures above zero in the first time in over 5 weeks. And with the warmer weather came the start ofthe Yukon Quest on Saturday.

So we planned out allof the winter gear needed, bundled up and headed out even though Saturday sawthe temperatures drop back down to -20 degrees on the river.

Regardless of thetemperature there was a need to be there. Feel the excitement, watch the dogs, cheer the mushers and imagine thenext week or so that these teams will be out on the trail.

Dog mushing is such afun part of Fairbanks and the Yukon Quest is such a great event to attend on coldwinter days. The race starts inFairbanks and ends in Whitehorse, Canada every other year as the race isreversed on opposite years.

So even though wedidn’t stay too long, we shared the joy of watching the dogs with Abigail andtold her how we can’t see this again until she is three years old. With that thought these days and events areall the more special. Time just goes toofast.

A new tool for a new project

2012-02-02T08:20:00.000-09:00

I don't really remember which came first, the project or the tool. I have been wanting a pocket hole jig system from Kreg tools for several years. Kathleen has also been asking for night stands for our bedroom for several years; the driftwood stands I made eight or so years ago are not very big and don't have a drawer for all those things you need at night like glasses and tissues and cold medicine. Well, I now have the pocket hole jig and the project is in the works.

I started preparing the wood, from the air dried lumber I milled years ago, in December. Since this is a new project and I really don't draw up very specific plans, I decided to make three. That way when I make an obvious mistake on a crucial step of the project I may end up with a pair that look close to the same and don't have any glaring flaws. Aside from the normal ones.

I am currently in the process of drilling all the pocket holes. There are many. Probably too many but I like a new, and easy, joinery system. Besides screws add heft to a project and heavy things are more valuable, I hope. Anyway, the only other new thing on this project are the biscuit joints that are holding the tops and shelves together.

And I'm rambling... So. Another improvement to my small skill-set, I will be trying to produce a better finish on this project. I typically have two finishes: either I wipe on Tung Oil with a rag or I brush on water based Polyurethane. Both are relatively easy, but neither produce a high quality finish when applied by me. Thus the need to re-develop my finishing techniques. As the photo below shows, I have purchased lacquer thinner and sander sealer. My hope is to produce a smoother and cleaner looking finish that does not have my customary brush marks and blotchy spots.

SO.

Here is what they will look like, minus the drawer and the top. I guess they will look a bit different than this but I don't have a picture of the completed project yet.

And moving on. This leaf outline is another new step in my attempts at woodworking diversity. For Christmas this year I received an addition to my router, a bushing set. This leaf outline was a fun process to go through. First I needed a template for the bushing guide. That meant I was able to purchase a new router bit to fit inside my 3/8 inch bushing. I needed that size because the strait bit I have is 1/2 inch which is the size of the OD of the 3/8 bushing. YEAH, more tools. This is becoming a great project, just a few more like this and I'll have a full shop.

Well, that's all I have for now. When there is more to show, I'll steal another post from Kathleen.

One More Not Needed From The Store

2012-02-01T07:15:00.000-09:00

Josh loves to eat a yogurt with his lunch each day. Each week as I purchase the multiple little cups I think I really need to figure out how to make this at home.

So the other day I faced my fears of something new, bought a gallon of milk and went at trying my hand in making homemade yogurt.

And I have to say; the entire process was a huge success. After the heating, the cooling, the mixing and the long time heating I stored the jars in the fridge and waited. I needed to see if when the yogurt cooled if it set up or if I would end up with a runny mess.

But set up they did! All of the jars and then I just had to wait for Josh to come home for the real taste test. Overall verdict…texture is great, sweetness is great, flavor is slightly bland. Humm, I added the two tablespoons of vanilla as the recipe said but it didn’t do a lot to make the yogurt vanilla favored. Maybe it is because it is imitation vanilla, any suggestions? For this batch we decided Josh will just mix in some blueberry syrup for flavor but I would like to have another plan for flavor before I mix up my next batch. I have to say, we could very well never buy store bought yogurt again.

Future Equality

2012-01-31T07:15:00.000-09:00

Growing up in a family of three children my parents tried very hard to make most things equal amongst us. The main area where they failed was our Christmas stockings. You see my older brother and sister had their stockings made for them before I was born. When I was added to the bunch the family friend knitted me a stocking as well. Unfortunately for my siblings but luckily for me the friend had misplaced her pattern and my stocking ended up twice as big as the other two.

So after I knitted Abigail’s stocking at Christmas time I figured that since I had the yarn out, the pattern on hand and no pressure of time this would be a good time to knit another stocking or two. That way future guests or future Klynstra’s will have stockings of similar size to Abigail’s.

Well, my plan to knit a bunch of stockings has sort of died out as two seems like just enough for this year since there are other projects that I would like to put on my needles. But the thought is there, the pattern has been established and I do believe that the Christmas’ in our future will be filled with big and equally sized stockings.

Dreaming is the First Step to Planning

2012-01-30T07:15:00.002-09:00

Even though it is set to be -35 again tonight, and the fact that the yard is covered in snow, I am dreaming of summer inside.

And with all of that dreaming has come preparations for this year’s garden. Remember one of my new year’s goals was a bigger and better garden. That has to start with good planning on the seed front. Plus the stores have seeds on sale in January so it is the best time for me to get the simple seeds I usually get in town such as lettuce, radishes, zucchini and so on. Meanwhile this week has also seen an order go out to Johnny’s for the additional seeds we need like our tomatoes, broccoli and carrots among others. I did throw in the order a few extra packages of “new” to me items that I can’t wait to grow as well.

To my fellow gardeners out there, what new things are you looking to plant this year?

Complete Once More

2012-01-27T07:28:00.006-09:00

Last week’s loss of my old and trusted crockpot was very hard to take.

But luckily my new, white, big and ready to cook crockpot arrived in the mail the other day.

So yesterday I found myself with dinner cooking in my new crockpot and some chicken for the next day cooking in my small crockpot and it made me smile. Yes, everything is good in the Klynstra kitchen once again.

What Clothes Can Do

2012-01-26T07:28:00.000-09:00

The other day I was in the church nursery with Abigail. She was so very happy because a bunch of new baby dolls had been donated. As she trotted around the room with this one or that one tucked under her arm I kept noticing the one cabbage patch doll that had no clothes.

Even though Abigail didn’t mind this one bit it made me a little sad so we brought the doll home. With no pattern to go with and a few tank tops and t-shirts from my donate pile to use I decided to make this doll a new outfit.

I started by making the doll a white shirt black legging but then realized this made the doll was looking like a male ballet dancer. I needed something a little extra.

So with a red shirt I made a jumper to go over the leggings and shirt. A heart was added to give it something extra and tada, our poor dolly had a new outfit. Not the best sewing I have ever done but since it was all free handed with knit fabric I feel pretty good about bringing this doll back to the nursery where it will be loved for many years to come. As a side note I have no idea what the marks on the dolls face are. I think since its mouth is open it must be an eating doll of some sort.

The Need For Clean

2012-01-24T07:14:00.000-09:00

I clean the house a little bit everyday it seems. There are always bathrooms, floors, dusting and picking up to do. But sometimes there is a need to put those aside for the day and go a little deeper.

Maybe it is the return of some daylight, the need for a break from the bathrooms and floors, or just the fact that it is so cold we aren’t going anywhere these days and I am home so very much. Whatever the cause, I find myself cleaning a little more intensely recently.

So as a result of this cabin fever usually neglected cabinets, pantry shelves, storage bins, neglected closets and dressers are getting an overhaul. The items found are being repurposed, organized, or added to the free market pile. It is a good feeling to at least be able to say “spring” to at least the cleaning part of my life when the temperatures are still -20.

Good Help Is Hard To Find

2012-01-20T07:23:00.000-09:00

If you know me you know I love my Crockpot. I view it as my own personal kitchen maid. I give her all the ingredients in the morning when things aren’t too busy and she gets right to work cooking all day long. Dinnertime arrives and we have a nice meal all prepared for us and I haven’t had to work on it for hours.

Well, recently my wonderful Crockpot has become unreliable. We aren’t sure if it is her heating coils, just the settings or what but where 10 hours on low used to make a wonderful meal we are coming to dinner and part of the meal isn’t cooked all the way, tragedy folks.

So where I am still limping along with my now unreliable kitchen maid I am in the market for new help. Time to check references, scan the paper for advertisements and check out just what will work for us. After eight years of constant help I am feeling so very sad but hopefully new help will be on the way soon.

Words With Friends

2012-01-19T07:21:00.005-09:00

Up until last year I never liked to play scrabble. I am not sure what exactly changed last year but Josh and I started to play all the time and I started to really enjoy myself. With his iphone for work Josh downloaded one app for me to enjoy with my family and friends, Words with Friends.

In the evenings when he is home I am able to compete against my family and friends who are too far away to play on our real scrabble board. It is a fun game that makes me look at words a different way.

Now that Abigail has grown into refrigerator letters we are teaching her the joys of Words with friends as well. In the interest of our sanity we only have nine letters to work with but those letters, one being a “j”, has brought words with friends home to the kitchen once again as Josh and I try to out think each other in words we can come up with using only those nine letters. Oh, and Abigail likes to play with them too.

An Exciting Second

2012-01-18T07:20:00.002-09:00

It is so fun to read a good book, the plot that draws you in, the characters you can relate to, and the anticipation of where the book is going to go and how it will effect me, the reader.

I recently finished a great book.

And now I am in the place that I hate. The place that no matter what book I seem to pick up to read just isn’t “good”. Like the other one was. I find books that would have been enjoyable and fun to read before now cloud in comparison to a great book.

So I am at a loss. I have started and not finished three books recently and am getting discouraged. Anyone have any good suggestions of another great book that I could find? Otherwise I just have to wait, wait for the good book and the thoughts it provoked to fade from my memory. Until then I guess I can catch up on my magazine pile.

Fun In The Mail

2012-01-17T07:20:00.000-09:00

Sometimes, especially in the winter, it is easy to start to feel cut off from those we love. But a surprise letter in the mail always makes our day and cheers us up.

The other day Abigail received a fat envelope from Cousin Gigi. She had colored for Abigail a beautiful picture. We spent a long time admiring all of the colors, how big the picture is and how good of an artist Gigi is.

From there the picture was hung on the refrigerator to enjoy some more. Thank you Gigi for sending so much color and joy to us on a cold winter day.

Ready for Some Paint

2012-01-16T07:20:00.000-09:00

I mentioned to you last year that we had found a small rocking chair that was in need of some work. While pregnant I asked Josh to fix it up. He glued and screwed all of the pieces back together and covered it in a coat of wood primer. Since then it has sat, and sat, and sat in a corner of my laundry room, not necessarily neglected, just not needed yet.

That is until the other day when Abigail found it. Clutching a stuffed animal she climbed on up and started rocking. The time has come for this chair to be moved out of the laundry room. My to do list now includes putting a coat of paint on this miniature rocking chair. Our girl is now old enough and eager for a seat of her own.

Dream House

2012-01-13T07:17:00.005-09:00

A month or so ago a friend I used to work with called me with an interesting offer. He has two girls and years ago had been given a dollhouse. When it was given to him only the walls had been put together. They had stored the house for years and never had gotten around to finishing it and now his girls had outgrown that need of a dollhouse. Would Abigail like it? We said yes.

And went I went to pick it up it most certainly was just walls. Well, this week Josh has decided that even though Abigail isn’t going to be ready for this house for years it would be better to store it finished rather than in pieces. So in the evenings he has been putting on the roof, the porch, windows, doors, stairs and now the last part, the shingles. We talk of the day when Abigail will be old enough that we can build and sew her little furniture to fill the rooms and make a little family of her own to live in her house. What a fun image of the days to come.

Mama's little shopper

2012-01-12T08:57:00.001-09:00

Just in the last week, newspaper is no longer for ripping into tiny shreds and eating. The grocery ads now merit inspection. Abigail likes to carry them around the house and 'talk' about what she is going to put on the grocery list. And here she is explaining to Kathleen and I what she wants from the ad.

Trust

2012-01-11T08:57:00.000-09:00

Recently, Abigail has taken to being afraid of sitting on the counter without anyone holding onto her. This has turned into somewhat of a game. I have even been teaching her to free fall into my arms.

This is also an opportunity to snuggle, since most of the time she is too busy moving to be held still for more than a few seconds. There is just too much to do and see.

The Story of the Traveling Toys

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-09:00

When Abigail was sitting up and crawling we have a few toys in one basket for her to enjoy on the carpet in the living room.

(picture taken in July)

Well, the other day I looked around and laughed. My alarm clock was stretched under my bed, a tea towel from the kitchen was under the sewing machine, Abigail’s xylophone from the living room toy basket was by the kitchen sink and the Tupperware from the kitchen cabinet was on the couch in the living room. Thus the days of the traveling toys has begun.

(picture taken in December, same basket but slightly tighter fun)

In each room/area of the house there is an area for Abigail’s toys. Yet with her being so mobile and since she walks so well the toys get carried from here to there and back again. Why is it I seem to have the need of keeping everything separated I don’t know but at the end of the day I find myself moving her stuffed horse back upstairs, the little people grandma back downstairs and so forth. As much as I find myself putting things straight I love watching Abigail pick up a baby doll, tuck it under her chin and trot to another part of the house with her new friend. I know once she gets where she is going she will find a new friend to keep her company on her next step in the days journey but how lucky she is to have such flexible friends who don’t mind the sporadic relocation that occurs each day.

The Lights of Winter

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-09:00

December is a dark month up north and every year I am so thankful for our Christmas lights. Each night they twinkle and shine. We have icicle lights on the deck, the tree in the living room and the candles in each window. I laughed as I would go on my evening walks because as I came back home I couldn’t miss my house if I tried, it practically glowed.

But Christmas is over, we have passed the shortest day of the year and just this week the radio announced that we were going to have four hours of daylight again. Yes it is still cold, dark and just January but the warmer, brighter and longer days are just a few months away. So where we love our Christmas lights it was time to pack them up for another year.

And of course, I can’t back up anything without my helper who found the light bulbs on the candles tasted so very good. We were at the library the other day and a worker commented that maybe Abigail was teething because I couldn’t keep the library’s blocks out of her mouth. I just smiled but what I really wanted to tell the lady was nope, my daughter just likes things in her mouth 24x7. I guess it just makes life a little more fun.

The Cold Days of Winter

2012-01-06T05:00:00.000-09:00

Winter has arrived in Fairbanks with force. The cold days we are known for in Fairbanks have settled in around us. Once again my best friends are wool and every day this week I have found myself wearing Smartwool, Ibex and Fox River wool clothing, all on the same day. All of these wool clothes are then layered with fleece

Fleece pants, jumpers, vests, hats and more. We love where we live but where we live means we have to work with the cold days this time of year brings us. It is a good reminder that I am not crazy for spending my June birthday money on wool clothing every summer when it is on sale. I will pull my arms in more on my wool shirt, that is tucked into my wool pants that cover my wool clad feet and go about enjoying my day. No matter if it is -40 degrees or colder.

Here is an outtake picture for those of you who think Abigail just poses so nicely for pictures every day. In order to get a blog picture I usually get about 10 of these as well. Oh my fast little girl, you are always a challenge.

Favorite Entertainment

2012-01-05T07:39:00.000-09:00

Two things about Abigail:

1. Her number one word is Baby and she loves seeing pictures of herself. We often play picture slideshows on the computer of her pictures for her to enjoy.

2. She loves music. This girl moves to piano/classical, show tunes, rap, dance and as you will see, country music.

This video shows you a little glimpse of both of those things. Please don’t mind my hair, we were having a simple day at home.

Random Thoughts

2012-01-04T07:39:00.001-09:00

The days have been cold here recently but we have been finding a lot of different ways to keep busy and warm. The following are just some random thoughts I thought you would enjoy.

One thing I love is seeing Abigail run around during her “diaper-free” times. Those little baby legs get me every time. The one time in our lives where fat rolls are so very cute.

Abigail is a small (perfectly on schedule) little girl. When she was born so many people told me she would wear 9 month clothes at 6 months and so on. But with Abigail that hasn’t been the case, at 12 months she is right at 12 months in clothes. The other day I put an 18-month sweater on her just to see and it was huge. Good thing we have cool summers, that sweater just might be perfect at 18 months.

Abigail hasn’t outgrown her love of sitting in things. Every day she is climbing in and out of baskets, boxes, and in this case, my kitchen colander. It makes me laugh so much and these days she also doesn’t do it alone. She seems to always have a doll, stuffed animal or something with her to keep her company. She loves music so much. Her animals that make music are by far her favorite.

Abigail is such a sweetie these days. She greets us with huge smiles, has learned how to hug our necks and she babbles on with us as she tells us long stories. No, being her parents is not always good. The times where I have to walk away to take a big breath have gotten more and more frequent it seems, but I am always thankful for her. She has a mind of her own and tries so hard without words to express it to us.

Just Her Size

2012-01-03T07:08:00.001-09:00

The other day I was able to find a bunch of small cans of tomato sauce on quick reduction at Fred Meyer’s. As I am always excited about a sale I purchased a few to have on hand. Well, Abigail found the cans the other day and was so excited that there was something in the pantry just her size. She is such a thinker. She played with these cans for about 20 minutes, taking them out of the pantry, putting them back in, stacking and unstacking. Such a fun new “toy”

Starting 2012

2012-01-02T08:08:00.002-09:00

Two years ago I wrote our some of my goals for the start of 2010 on the blog. I then had the chance to look back at them through the year and see just where I was in my year, if my goals were the same, and if I was accomplishing what I had set out to do. I am happy to do this again.

Kathleen’s Goals for 2012

(In no particular order)

A bigger and better garden. I have big plans for my garden but need to stay motivated, it is easy to be motivated when I haven’t even gotten to the buying seeds part of the plan.

To find joy each day in being a mother to my bold, energetic, and determined little girl.

Don’t lose focus of our budget. It is in place to help us get to our goal of being debt free. Don’t fight its restrictions.

Have Abigail sleeping through the night by the time she is two.

Be a more supportive, attentive and appreciative wife to Josh.

Raise meat chickens.

(we have wanted to do this for years, this will be the year!)

Not to be scared of new opportunities, embrace them.

Take the chance to travel with Abigail as much as possible as she is still free until age two even if riding on my lap is hard.

Potty Train Abigail

Eat as many meals on the deck this summer as possible!

Don’t lose the ability to dream.

The End Of the Season

2011-12-30T10:59:00.000-09:00

When Christmas season approaches each year we get super excited about our Christamas tree.

This year Josh and his dad went out and found our beautiful tree the day after thanksgiving.

We put it up, decorated it and loved it.

But it didn’t particularly like us and our warm dry house. As the days pasts the amount of needles on the couch for me to vacuum grew. The beautiful green branches also started to go from a pretty green to brown.

So sadly we had to take our tree down the day after Christmas but as we took it down we laughed that our very dead tree would have new growth all along the south side of the tree closest to the sun. Oh the joys of a live Christmas tree from the woods.

2011-12-29T09:56:00.000-09:00

For some reason Abigail has a fixation on things she is not supposed to touch. One of those things is the fire extinguisher that is by the refrigerator.

The other day I was watching Abigail while Kathleen went for a walk to the mailbox. During that time, Abigail spent several minutes watching the extinguisher. She knows not to touch it, but has thankfully not learned why.

Her usual process is to crouch as close as she can and stare at the extinguisher. When she thinks the coast is clear she attempts to touch it, which results in a stern 'NO' and a swat on the hand. For some reason, that does not deter her ambition to figure out what it is. I'm just hoping not to come home one day to find the kitchen coated white.

A Christmas To Remember

2011-12-28T07:43:00.000-09:00

Even though this wasn’t Abigail’s first Christmas, it was by far super memorable as the first Christmas she really enjoyed it.

Since she has experienced her birthday, Josh’s birthday and now Christmas all in one month this girl knows what presents are and gets so excited.

And this Mama was so excited that her stocking, minus any extra bling, was finished at 9pm on Christmas Eve.

What a fun and simple day we had. You saw from the video Josh posted yesterday that Abigail was full of ahh at her gifts and loved all of them, from the hair clips to the new toys.

And fitting with our tradition of years past we parents enjoyed a quiet evening of putting together a puzzle as we reflected on the joy of the day. We hope your Christmas was memorable and full of those moments where your breath was taken away as well.

2011-12-27T09:46:00.000-09:00

With the excitement and anticipation of Christmas behind us, now is the time to enjoy the fun things we received.

Kathleen and I gave Abigail some Little People for Christmas. This was how excited she was about getting them.

The Christmas Spirit.

2011-12-24T07:54:00.000-09:00

In preparation of Christmas we went on a family adventure the other day

to the north pole

There we talked to the reindeer about their preparation for Saturday night.

Abigail was bummed that they were taking a rest and that she couldn’t ride on one.

We visited with some very big stuffed animals that were both scary and

slightly awe inspiring.

We imagined what it would be like to join Santa’s work force year round.

And we visited with the big Jolly man himself as he took a short break from all of this preparations.

As fun as it was to go to the North Pole, Abigail was just as happy to come home again. Yes, it would be fun to be part of Santa’s team but I think this little girl is content just to have her stocking filled this year. Maybe being an elf will have to wait for another year.

A Birthday Celebration

2011-12-23T07:54:00.001-09:00

Josh’s birthday was a success.

We celebrated by going to a local restaurant for lunch where the birthday boy ate for free and then on to a family adventure.

At home we all enjoyed a big ham dinner before the presents were brought out.

And what joy the presents brought. This woodworker gets so excited about new specialty tools.

And Abigail got excited about a new box to play in. Thank you to all who helped make Josh’s birthday super special.

Celebrating The Head of our Household

2011-12-22T05:00:00.000-09:00

Today is a very special day at our house.

Today is Josh’s birthday and even though we love him each day of the year this day is a day we can honor him, celebrate him and show him how special he is to us.

We are so thankful for this past year of Josh’s life and all the adventures it has brought.

He is so much fun, loving and supportive of his family. He is a brilliant woodworker and chemist and he never passes up an opportunity to have fun and be goofy.

How blessed we are that he is part of our lives and that today we get to celebrate the start of a new year with him. Happy birthday Josh, we love you.

FIghting Off The Shortest Day

2011-12-21T13:57:00.000-09:00

Today is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. So this means we have about 3 hours of daylight to enjoy today.

Not to get discouraged Abigail and I are out and about, in a snow storm, running errands, visiting friends and enjoying the lights of town.

Tomorrow will come and with it a few more seconds of sunlight will be added to our day. We can do this short day because yes, tomorrow is coming.

A Start

2011-12-20T12:43:00.000-09:00

There has been a lot of planning and starting of projects at our house recently.

The supply of trim for the house has been all hung. This doesn’t mean the trim project is done but instead means it is now on hold until more is purchased. So with a little break in house work Josh has been super busy in the basement designing something new. His project will be built out of the birch wood Josh milled from our very own trees. So for the past week he has been cutting and preparing the wood for just what he needs.

Meanwhile upstairs I have been finishing up on birthday and Christmas gifts. I have been working for months so that this time of the year wouldn’t be too stressful and for the most part that plan has worked. Except for the small matter of Abigail’s Christmas stocking. She was so little last year that I didn’t make one since hey, I had an entire year before she needed it, I would have plenty of time to make it “later.” Last night I realized I am down to only 5 evenings left before Christmas Eve when that stocking needs to be hung for Santa, oh boy. So with some mix match of yarn from my stash I too have started in on a very important Christmas project that my girl will hopefully have for many years to come.

So each night after Abigail goes to bed you will find us busy working here at home. Not so much on “house” projects but more on the projects that fill this house and make it our home. I promise progress reports and additional pictures will come.

Face Trim

2011-12-19T07:18:00.000-09:00

Even though the days are short there has been a lot of work going on around the house.

So much work that different ways to get it done have been found, such as having Abigail contained and covered in ear protection so that trim can be hung right behind her during breakfast.

And what a pretty change it brings to our wall of doors. The face trim hides the gaps along the doorframes and even though the nail holes haven’t been filled just yet the house looks so much nicer.

Even when Abigail isn’t eating she likes to be part of the home improvement team. Her daddy is such a patient man to be trying to do what he needs with little girl trying so hard to be right there to “help”. We start them young in the construction business here.

Settling Down For Bed

2011-12-16T08:52:00.000-09:00

Usually you would think that before bed we would calm the house down, play soft music and speak in whispers but some times it just doesn’t happen that way. Since Josh is at work all day his time with Abigail is usually after dinner just before she heads to bed and the new activities he comes up with to do with Abigail never are boring, quiet or calming. I guess this is why daddy is so very much fun.

A Birthday Review

2011-12-15T05:00:00.000-09:00

Abigail’s first birthday last week was fun, memorable and super simple. Abigail was able to celebrate twice since we had a little celebration with Josh’s parents when they were here for Thanksgiving and then we celebrated as a family last Monday on Abigail’s actual birthday.

I made Abigail gluten free cupcakes with dairy free frosting. She enjoyed it initially but then wouldn’t eat any others. On her actual birthday I made her gluten free brownies but she wasn’t interested in those either.

In search of finding something sweet and fun for her to eat I ended up giving her Jell-O and I don’t think she could have been any happier with me as that red and wiggle treat was eaten and played with.

Abigail enjoyed all of her cards and phone calls

Visits from Friends

And being allowed to do anything on her actual birthday, and she chose playing with the phone and bows. We had a great day of play but she didn’t really understand the next day when these weren’t toys any more, oh she will learn.

She learned that brightly colored packages are meant for being ripped into, our Christmas gifts are in slight danger now.

She has had so very much fun playing with all of her new toys, wearing her new clothes and listening to her new music. Thank you every one who celebrated little girl by sending her such fun gifts.

We all had fun celebrating our little girl’s first year and what a blessing she is to us.

Rear Facing

2011-12-12T07:27:00.000-09:00

Did you know that the new law is that all children under the age of two must be rear facing in their car seats until the age of two. The law used to be that you could be moved into the forward position at the age of one but that changed during the summer of last year. So while this helps to keep Abigail safer while in the car I think it might be confusing her just a little bit about how we normally travel in a car.

Repurposed

2011-12-09T07:21:00.000-09:00

I recently started in on a new sewing project. Abigail has a bib that my grandma made for me when I was little. I love this bib since it fits over Abigail’s arms, which keeps her food off her clothes better, and it ties in the back, which helps stop Abigail from ripping her bib off when she feel like it.

So I talked to a friend at church and she helped me use the old bib as a pattern to make more. Since these bibs are made of cloth they have to be washed after most meals and it is really handy to have more than just one.

When I went to find fabric to use this new pattern I realized I could use some of my old shirts that I had in a bag to go to the second hand store. I cut off the arms and used the main body of the shirt as the fabric for the bib using both the front and back to make the bib thick enough to hold moisture from food. I used the hems of the shirt as the link needed for the bib to wrap around the shoulders and attach to the main body of the bib and I used the collar of the shirt as the ties for the back of the bib.

All in all they worked out great. Abigail likes that they are soft clothe instead of the plastic of her other bibs and this mama likes that they stay on and keep our girl clean. I find it very fun to create something new and needed out of something older and ready to pass on.

Christmas Spirit

2011-12-08T08:21:00.000-09:00

Last week we decorated our house for Christmas

The entire time I was very reflective about how last year and how I decorated while carrying a baby on my front at 40 weeks pregnant. This year was no less challenging but a lot more fun since I decorated while carrying a baby on my back. In keeping our active little girl in mind we put our tree on a table behind our couch, cut off the lower branches and then moved the couch back into place. This way we can all look at its beauty but Abigail can’t quite reach it yet.

With the new handrail in place we are able to start our tradition of hanging our Christmas stockings between the balusters. It was hard to convince Josh to put “unnecessary” holes in his new masterpiece but the need for family traditions won.

Abigail got right into the spirit and when we turned our backs for a second she dug right into the Christmas books. How much fun we have already had reading these new stories together.

With lights in the windows, icicle lights on the deck (picture coming soon) Christmas music playing and presents wrapped you can feel the Christmas spirit that is surrounding us. This year it is so much fun to watch Abigail get excited at all the sparkle and shine as she dances to her own beat of Jingle bells.

always another thing to make...

2011-12-07T11:39:00.000-09:00

Several weeks ago, when Kathleen and Abigail were in NJ, I cut a pair of coves in a scrap piece of black walnut as a toothbrush tray. Kathleen liked that idea so much she requested a similar item for her sewing desk to organize her thread. I took the concept and went with it.

I measured the drawer width and height and choose to use some leftover Hard Maple from Abigails book shelf. The thread spools are all 1.5 inches or less in diameter so I made the five coves seen in the picture above. I used some of the scrap MDF from doing the window trim and set a fence on the table saw at a 1.5 inch interval away from the blade at the correct angle to make a one inch cove. I made four MDF strips 1.5 inches wide as spacers and cut the coves all at the same time wihtout having to move the fence. To keep from burning the wood, it took approximately 15 passes over the saw to get each cove to about 3/8 in. deep.

With this project I went one step further. Instead of a simple tray, I am making a second level that will slide back and forth on a pair of rabitted sides that are grooved to prevent the sliding porting from being lifted out. The picture below shows roughly how it will look when completed.

I will still need to make two stretchers for the top to prevent the "box" from tipping over on itself and to allow the upper shelf to slide freely. It is amazing how complicated a simple request can get when I get ahold of it.

View From Above

2011-12-06T07:14:00.000-09:00

Before Thanksgiving I let you know that our next house project was putting up the trim up inside of the windows in the house.

It is a project that requires a nail gun and an air compressor.

Both of these tools are very noisy, dirty and not the best to have around an active little girl.

So during the time Josh was working on the windows Abigail and I hung out upstairs. But this much activity was too excited not to watch for a little bit.

And exciting it really was. You see we have been looking at the bare 2x4’s on the inside of our windows for four years. It is this project that will change the look of the entire house.

But with a little girl sometimes the house projects take longer to accomplish because every once and awhile she reaches her limit at being asked to stay away and the tools have to be packed up so she can come out to play once again.

But if you look close at this family picture you will see that this window did get wrapped. Josh still needs to putty the holes, touch up the paint and add the face trim but it is once step closer to all of that. I love how the finish work is making the house look amazing.

Twelve Months Have Changed Everything

2011-12-05T09:26:00.000-09:00

Today is the day, our little girl’s first birthday

How is that possible that twelve months have come and gone already?

Month One – Abigail loved to be held in the Moby Wrap all day long

Month Two – Abigail’s rash told us that there was more to her reflux and we found out Abigail had food sensitivities

Month Three – Abigail and I go to Texas for several weeks and Abigail learns what warm weather means

Month Four – Abigail learned to roll over.

Month Five – Abigail grabs at everything, my hair, her toes, toys and thus her world is starting to expand.

Month Six – Abigail masters sitting up on her own and starts eating solids, she hates baby food and goes right to finger foods

Month Seven - Abigail cut her first two bottom teeth and loves to chew on garden produce.

Month Eight – Abigail learns to crawl and pull up to standing on her own

Month Nine – Abigail is on the move and crawls everywhere. Thus she officially stops gaining weight for the rest of the year but continues to grow tall.

Month Ten – Abigail takes her next big trip and heads to New Jersey. There she cuts her top two teeth and takes her first step

Month Eleven – Abigail learns that walking is more fun than crawling, that chewing with upper and lower teeth is great for eating everything, that baby dolls are fun toys and dancing anytime and everywhere is so much fun.

Month Twelve – Only time will tell all that Abigail is going to learn and wow us with next. How thankful we are for this amazing little girl, how she has changed our lives and the joy she brings to us each and every day. A year has never before gone by so very fast.

2011-12-02T06:47:00.000-09:00

Due to some computer hardware issues there is no big blog post today. Hope you all have a great weekend. Check back with us on Monday.

Year One Job Evaluation

2011-12-01T10:09:00.000-09:00

When I was pregnant with Abigail my due date was November 26^th. I told my managers at DNR that I would work right up until she was born or November 30^th, honestly not thinking November 30^th would come first. But it did and so on that day I wrapped up what I was working on, handed in my key and headed out to start my new job as a full time mother.

I have thought so much the past few days about this time last year and all the things that have happened this year. The next few days will be about Abigail but today I thought I could reflect on what this new role/job has been for me and just how I did.

I have been persistent since breastfeeding was anything but natural for Abigail and I once she was born. I often think about how nursing Abigail became easier after she started solid foods, she must have realized she had a good thing going. So the first six months of every few hour nursings were so hard but I am glad we stuck it out and it is all going well today.

We managed on one income. I take my role of stay-at-home mom seriously and believe that it is part of my job description to manage the resources Josh provides effectively without causing extra stress. Where there have been times of extra pressure this year from unexpected expenses we have done well. It is such a scary thing to go from two incomes down to one but we have managed, have eaten well, had health care and our house is nice and warm, how blessed we are.

The travel benefits from this job are great. With no limited schedule I have been able to visit my family throughout the year and them have been able to come visit me since my job goes with me wherever I go.

I am working on balance. With being home I find I am super busy with cleaning, maintaining, gardening, errands, bills, cooking, or such and I have had to work a lot this year on balance. When to just put it all down and be 100% mother to Abigail and also when it is ok to set Abigail down and work on what needs worked on.

My overall views of my new role are great. I am so thankful for what I now do. I am thankful for a husband that supports me in this and a daughter that is mostly a fun person to be with. Where I know there are areas for improvement in year two I feel no need for change!

My Walk

2011-11-30T05:51:00.000-09:00

Last night Josh came home from work and I bundled up and headed out. With the temperature well below zero Abigail stays inside but I need my time outside. I love my walks, the solidarity of the 1.1 miles I walk each and every day.

Bundled up in boots, snow pants, coat, scarf, hat and bright reflective vest I head out. The night was so black with no moon. The stars were amazing. A flashlight lights the two feet in front of me and my breath freezes the skin and hair around my face. It is here on my dirt road that I work out anger, stress, frustration and move into reflection, contemplation and soon feel rejuvenated.

I see the lights on in windows, smell the woodstove smoke, hear the crunch of my boots on snow and see animal tracks racing along the side of the road. As I reach my mailbox and turn back home I see the hill covered with small flickering lights of those at home. I think of the books being read, conversations being had, dinners being made and families gathering together.

When I walk up my driveway I see the lights on in my house. I think of Josh, of Abigail and of all this house holds for me. I come in the door ready, ready to be a wife, a mother and most of all just me.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T05:43:00.000-09:00

As our holiday weekend comes to an end we stop and reflect back on our Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful day with Josh’s parents coming up to Fairbanks to help us celebrate.

We had the table

The cooking

The games and naps for those not cooking

The family pictures

The so very wonderful food

And the lists of all the things we are thankful for.

It was a wonderful day and even as I celebrated with those around me I couldn’t help remembering last year. What a memorable thanksgiving that was. I was 40 weeks pregnant, the kitchen was brand new, my parents were with us and it was the second to last meal we shared with Heather and Kevin before they moved. What a difference one year can make.

Preparations for the Next Thing

2011-11-25T08:44:00.001-09:00

Since it is winter the house projects are definitely inside projects these days and the next big project has been started.

This winter we (Josh) is setting out to finished wrapping the inside of the windows and putting up the face trim around our doors and windows.

So our basement has been filled with boards all cut to length that have to be primed, painted and then painted again before they can be put up.

I think this might be the one time Josh isn’t really happy with the shear number of windows we have in this house but oh how I love them all. I have been looking at the windowsillless windows for so long dreaming of the day when I would have windowsills and wouldn’t see the 2x4’s around the windows that I am so very excited for the start of the next big winter project. (And with her swing inside now Miss Abigail is excited for all the time we are in the basement where it is warm and fun, let the painting begin).

Being Thankful at Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:37:00.001-09:00

Josh and I were talking the other day about this past year and all that we are thankful for (well I was doing most of the talking and after a few ideas Josh went back to reading, ha ha). We certainly have been blessed and are thankful for the life we have each and everyday but since this is Thanksgiving we have a short list to share.

Our faith and salvation through Christ

Our marriage and the friendship we have

For Abigail, that she such a healthy and happy girl

The new deck on the house

Josh’s office had their work contract renewed this year and thus he has job security for the next few years and that we can enjoy Fairbanks as our home.

Our garden; that has provided so much for us to enjoy all year long.

That Josh works so hard and I am able to be a stay-at-home mom

For the little adventures that make life interesting

For our friends and family that add such richness to our lives.

On this day our hearts and minds are so full. What are you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving Preparations

2011-11-23T08:34:00.001-09:00

With thanksgiving tomorrow and family coming to visit tonight I have been busy working on the food and hosting part of this holiday a lot recently.

But one thing that was easy to prepare a few weeks ago was the homemade cranberry sauce. I made my sauce out of mostly ocean spray cranberries I had in the freezer and some fresh Alaskan cranberries picked during the summer.

I was super excited to get 11 pints and 3 quarts out of the cranberries I had here at home. You might be asking what in the world I do with that much cranberry sauce. Well, we use it as a base in my chicken/turkey pot pies, in turkey soup (have you tried that? It gives the soup a slightly sweet flavor that we love), on sandwiches and of course we eat it with our big meal tomorrow. If you have any other ideas for me on uses of cranberry sauce I would love to hear them, I love the stuff.

But moving right along with the meal plans, I finished cooking up our pumpkins last week. I had 4 more pumpkins that needed seeded, skinned, cooked and pureed. After 3 ½ hours I finally had my biggest pot full of purred pumpkin ready to divided up and freeze. Before it was all frozen though I did make Josh a pumpkin pie and Abigail and I some Gluten free pumpkin muffins. We just love having so much goodness around.

I heard on the radio the other day that is year’s thanksgiving dinner was going to cost Americans an average of 18% more than last year and that most of that cost was from the cranberry sauce, pumpkin and the turkey. Upon hearing this I smiled since I made my sauce, grew my pumpkins and managed to purchase enough groceries and household items at Fred Meyer’s to get my free turkey. With our garden grown potatoes and broccoli as part of the side dishes I think we are going on to be on low side of that American percentage this year!

The Completion of a Project

2011-11-22T08:26:00.002-09:00

While we were in New Jersey Josh did a lot around the house but his main project was to finish the handrail at the base of the stairs.

You might remember that our handrail upstairs is not traditional but instead is a unique design Josh had created. Well, for the downstairs portion of the rail Josh decided to go with something a little more traditional but make it out of black walnut so that the wood would match. Here are a few pictures of Josh’s amazing work.

What an amazing job he did. It makes the house look so good and it is hard to remember the house without it. Once again Josh has created something beautiful that helps make our house amazing. Thank you Josh for working so hard to complete this project.

Abigail at 11 ½ Months

2011-11-21T08:26:00.000-09:00

Abigail is growing so much, doing so much and is so fun I want to record a few of our high points for this month.

Abigail’s growth, at her appointment last week she had grown 1 ¼ inches but since she is such a mover she still hasn’t gained any weight. We are at the same weight down to the ounce since 9 months. But she still has a chubby belly, a round face and rolls on her thighs and eats all of the time so we aren’t too worried about this. Must just have a metabolism like her daddy.

While in New Jersey this girl cut both of her top front teeth. After months of pain from them coming in they are finally here. It is so fun watching Abigail chew her food. She finds great joy is chewing her cheerios instead of just gumming them.

Our little lady is officially a walker, thus the picture is slightly blurry, she is always on the move. While in New Jersey she took one independent step but on Nov. 8^th she took a series of 6 steps and hasn’t looked back since.

This is Abigail’s new silly grin. We love it. With the cold weather Abigail is also dressed in many layers these days. You can see from the pictures that we do jumpers, vests, fleece pants and knit booties (thanks cousin Gigi) to stay warm.

Abigail still loves to play with her toys. She really loves having things in her hands these days. Her favorite is the small stick animals from Claudia that squeak when squeezed. She puts one in each hand and when she crawls she makes squeaking music. Makes us both laugh.

Abigail is super cuddly these days. She also has recently found an interest in small stuffed animals and her baby doll. She loves her pink stuffed pig from Aunt Kelly and I find it in random places it around the house. She still isn’t attached to any one thing but maybe that will change.

Over all we love our baby girl. We can’t believe we are at month eleven, almost an entire year has passed. She is so smart and fun, can’t wait to see what she will wow us with next.

2011-11-17T07:49:00.000-09:00

The weather in Fairbanks has been fairly mild this fall/winter. That is up until this morning. On my drive to work this morning the radio said it is -36. That got me wondering what the average temperature this time of year is... Well, as shown below; the average temperature for mid to late November is between -10 and 10. I guess we beat that, we are actually close to the record low according to this figure. I thing we should be trying for the other end of the chart.

this figure can be found on: http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/News/2011/Fai_Rev/Review10.html

Perfect, Now Where is My Coaster?

2011-11-16T08:54:00.000-09:00

While Abigail and I were in New Jersey Josh was able to work on his woodworking projects.

One of the projects was started last spring. You might remember me telling you about Josh’s goal of making us a coffee table. He made it out of birch wood that he had milled from our birch trees in our yard years ago. In the spring Josh was able to get the wood cut and the top put together but then summer arrived and the endless list of outdoor projects became top priority and the coffee table laid in pieces just waiting for winter to once again arrive.

And with the colds arrival and our departure Josh was able to take the time to finish his latest masterpiece. It is beautiful. He mixed in some of his favorite black walnut wood with the birch and the contrast is wonderful. The large top surface is perfect and I love having the extra shelf.

Although at this time coffee table books or centerpieces have to wait since this table is the perfect height for our little creeper and walker. It is such a good and strong table that this girl could never pull it over and it is so fun for Abigail to have a table her height. Thank you Josh for all of your hard work, vision and labor to create this beautiful new addition to our home.

Thankful for the Summer

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000-09:00

In this house we have been eating fresh garden carrots for weeks.

But we realized the other day that the time had come to scrub, dice and blanch a lot of those fresh carrots so that they would last the winter.

This was no easy chore as we still had a lot of an 18 gallon tote of carrots to harvest.

This was also a family operation for sure. Josh cleaned, I chopped and Abigail was the general entertainment and distraction.

The variety of carrots we found were also part of the day’s entertainment as well.

Even though the entire process was tiring we did enjoy the fruits of our labor as we worked. As you can tell from Abigail’s hands, she enjoyed this part the best.

To Be An American

2011-11-11T05:00:00.000-09:00

Since today was Veteran’s Day I thought I would share pictures from another adventure we had in New Jersey. An adventure that reminded me of the value of being an American, the joy it was to be born into such a privilege, and the values we have to defend and fight to retain.

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon Hillary, Abigail and I all headed to the New Jersey Liberty ferry dock that would take us to the Statue of Liberty.

Since we were departing from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River we were able to have a great view of the New York City skyline.

Some of us enjoyed the ferry ride a little more than others

But regardless of motion sickness, the view was breath taking for all of us.

While at the Statue of Liberty and Elis Island we read and saw stories of those who fought with their lives to come from other countries to America. What a joy it was for them to come worn and beaten into the New York Harbor and see our Lady Liberty waiting for them. May I never take my liberty for granted as it was come at such a price of those who fought for all we have today.

Our Little Lady Bug

2011-11-10T05:00:00.000-09:00

I know Halloween was last week but do to the big snow storm in New Jersey just before we left I wasn’t able to get these pictures to show you.

Abigail, Hillary and I enjoyed a Halloween festival together just before we left.

For a few hours we were in charge of the skeet ball tables. Abigail did so well playing at our feet while we worked.

Then it was time to head out to do a little trick or treating at the stores in town.

But as you can see from the video it was pretty miserable out, even if our spirits were high, so we didn’t do that for long, just long enough to get Aunt Hillary and Uncle Drew some candy.

Being with Hillary, the snow storm, trick or treating and being a ladybug were all quite memorable moments for our little lady’s first Halloween for sure.

You Speaking My Language?

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-09:00

Since so many of you enjoyed the little videos I shared last week I thought I would post this one as well. Like I mentioned before, Hillary and Drew were hilarious with Abigail. Here they all are deep in the middle of a serious conversation.

Home From Town

2011-11-07T07:34:00.000-09:00

One of the obvious joys of being a stay at home mother with Abigail is that we get to stay home. If the weather is bad, we aren’t feeling great, or it is a beautiful day and we want to go for a long walk, we can. We do not have to go anywhere, usually.

But the days do come when we have errands to do, groceries to get, doctor appointments to attend and then we do back up our jeep and head to town. Abigail does so well in stores, banks and with people. She loves to smile and wave but she also loves when we come back home. The place where she can crawl, play and scream if she wants to. Plus when we get home there are usually grocery bags to unpack and not much else is as much fun as spreading cans and boxes all over the kitchen. How lucky I am to have so much help.

Fall Weather

2011-11-04T04:00:00.001-08:00

One of the joys of leaving Alaska in October and heading south is that

Winter hadn’t yet arrived to New Jersey mid-October but instead the area wasin its full autumn glory

While visiting Hillary we went on many walks.

We walked in town and in the woods

We walked with the stroller and the Ergo just to be sure we got outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather each day we were there. With good company and a puppy dog to join us it was just wonderful.

High Energy

2011-11-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

Drew and Hillary were so fun to watch with Abigail. They often had her flying across the room to funny noises, being rolled around on a bed, and dancing to music. The following two movies are just a glimpse of the energy, fun and laughter that we experienced while in New Jersey.

Aunt Hillary and Abigail dance to Zumba music

Uncle Drew gives Abigail a rub down to loosing up all those tired muscles.

Special Treatment

2011-11-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

It is fun to be a baby and visit an Aunt and Uncle who don't have babies themselves.

Because when you do that they play with and read stories to just you

Do all sorts of things to get giggles and laughs

And let you eat special foods on the counter.

After this trip Abigail is going to think life at home is boring for sure.

A City Type Outing

2011-11-01T04:00:00.001-08:00

The other day my sister, Hillary, her dog Grover, Abigail and I headed out on a little adventure.

Together we ventured into New York City

To the southern entrance of central park

Once there we took in the sites

Compared park swings to our swing back home

Learned what big sand boxes were like

Ate a picnic lunch

Found great joy in pulling freshly seeded grass

Then packed up and headed back home, what a great day.

A First Halloween

2011-10-31T03:00:00.000-08:00

A few memorable things have happened on this, Abigail's first Halloween:

1. Today Abigail and I are flying back across the country to return home after our trip to New Jersey and since we have a 24 hour day with flights and layovers Abigail is not in costume.

2. Abigail was dressed in a ladybug costume this past weekend at a halloween festival with Hillary (pictures were taken with Hillary's camera but due to the following events were not put onto the computer, hopefully I will have pictures for you soon)

3. While we were in the festival there was a crazy snow storm in New Jersey

4. Even though it was snowing we still went trick or treating until Abigail was too cold

5. We then went home among the down trees, live power lines across the street and blinding snow

6. We huddled in the house happy to be home and then the electricity and heat went out.

7. By noon on Sunday the power and heat was still out so we packed up and move to Hillary and Drew's friends house where there were lights, warm food and hot showers.

8. And then we headed to the airport

All in all, a very memorable first Halloween for this Mama and her little girl. Hope you all have a fun and safe day.

Off We Go

2011-10-28T03:10:00.000-08:00

Abigail and I have been on an adventure this week, a cross-country adventure.

We left Fairbanks at one in the morning (hence Abigail's outfit) and headed south to the Seattle airport. There we had a 3 1/2 hour lay over and this mama discovered the joy of "kiddy" areas. Parts of the airport set aside just for kids with extra thick carpet, toys and activities all enclosed where my little munchkin couldn't scoot away but could get out a bunch of energy.

There we played, reorganized our snacks in the carry on and planned out our entertainment strategy for our next 5 1/2 hour flight, a strategy that involved a lot of books, toys and snacks. And what a successful strategy it was because in the end it got us where we were going. As the only baby on that long flight Abigail did amazing, so amazing the stewardess said she forgot a baby was on flight, amazing.

All this planning, packing, and flying was for one main purpose, to spend time with Aunt Hillary, Uncle Drew and Grover in New Jersey. A time where this baby girl is being loved, entertained and adored. Can't wait to share with you all that we have been up to, check back soon.

Here We Go

2011-10-27T01:31:00.000-08:00

Abigail’s snowsuit has been taken out of storage, a new wool hat is being knitted, the blankets are washed and ready, yes indeed, winter has arrived.

And someone is pretty excited about it!

Time To Craft

2011-10-26T01:50:00.001-08:00

Even though it is only October there has been a lot of talk and thoughts on Christmas around our house. And with all of that talk has come some time for creating.

My sewing area is still up in our sitting area right outside of Abigail’s bedroom. It is the perfect place wit the thought that Abigail can play in her room while I get some projects done. But as it turns out Abigail does love to play but play right where her Mama is. So when I am cutting and piecing fabric Abigail hangs out under the cutting table.

And when I am sewing Abigail’s place is right under the desk. She has declared herself Queen of the pressure foot. Oh how interesting it is to try and sew when I have very little control over how fast the needle moves. I am also learning to turn my machine off each and every time I finish a stitch.

But even with the company the sewing projects have been coming out very nicely. So much so that the other day I decided to do a little project for myself that I have wanted to do. I had grabbed these jeans at the free market in August and they fit great except they were about an inch too short for my legs.

So I used some fabric left over from a recent project we made for a very special person and fixed my pants to fit me just a little better.

And as I tried them I could not be more pleased. It feels so good in my newly decorated house jeans and Abigail loves that there is color and design right at her eye level. A little time for crafts makes everyone happy.

A Love of Books

2011-10-25T06:42:00.000-08:00

Abigail loves to read.

Every since she was born I have read to her each and every day but recently that love of story time is more about the story and less about just wanting to eat the book.

We have a basket of books in the kitchen, a bookshelf in her bedroom and a basket of favorites by the rocking chair and each and every location is visited and the books looked at daily.

The other day as I was cooking I heard Abigail laughing to herself. When I looked for her I found her slowly turning the pages in a book and laughing at each new picture that she saw. Flap books, touch and feel books, small and large books are all very much loved in this house.

The Need To Be In Control

2011-10-24T07:24:00.008-08:00

In the gardening world so very much is left up to nature.

The wind, temperature, sunshine, the rain, the lack of rain and the animals that feast of all that does grow.

After a few years of having our garden at home, the house is finished enough for Josh to take the time to build us a greenhouse. For now the greenhouse has just been framed up. The raised beds, windows, doors and plastic covering will call come in the spring.

But as the snow falls I look our my window and see the structure of my greenhouse and feel so very excited about next year’s growing season. Finally, I will have a little bit of control.

Pumpkins

2011-10-21T00:23:00.001-08:00

One of the most excited things that grew in our garden this year were our pumpkins.

The seeds were old, very old, and I started the plants with the feeling that if anything grew yeah but if not that was ok and it was just an experiment.

Yet these old seeds surprised me and produced seven pumpkins. All which were picked green before the frost and then slowly turned orange in my big windows.

That is all but our big pumpkin. That one stayed on the ground near the window and Abigail loved to play with it each day.

I enjoyed how the pumpkins helped our house feel bright and cheerful as the autumn winds blew all of the leaves off of our trees.

And some of the smaller pumpkins were used in a small arrangement for the table.

But the bigger pumpkins have a much different purpose than just pleasing our eyes. They have been cut up, cooked, pureed and baked. These days we are cooking up roasted pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies and dreaming of the next few days when we plan to make breads, cakes, pancakes, pumpkin butter and so much more.

Oh yeah, that makes us super happy indeed.

At Home

2011-10-20T06:58:00.001-08:00

Josh has to work this Saturday but has been able to take today off. How excited we all are to have a mini weekend in the middle of the week. This will be a day to enjoy for sure. Hope your Thursday is enjoyable as well.

In The Kitchen

2011-10-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

As I said on Monday, cooler days tend to lead themselves to warmer, more comfort type meals.

My fall favorite meal is butternut squash soup. Something about this soup that just screams fall and as much as I love this meal I don’t make it any other time of the year. It is such a joy to chop vegetables that are from our garden and dream of next year when the squash will hopefully be homegrown as well.

I made a double batch of soup and canned some this year. I am very excited to see this in my pantry for the days when I am just not sure what to have for lunch. Miss Abigail is hit or miss on the soup but hopefully she grows to love it as much as her mama. In addition to the soup making I also tried my hand in making some roasted moose for Josh’s lunches. I have made plenty of roasts in the crock pot but this was my first attempt at making it in the oven where it would them be good for slicing and sandwiches. I am please to tell you that Josh says it is great and tastes better than store bought deli. So much better indeed!

And as I chop, peal, roast and marinate my little girl is right here with my at all times. She is so very good at playing with her toys as long as Mama is right near by. She loves “her” drawer in the kitchen, the one full of Tupperware containers, and who needs popsicles when the stick is so much fun to suck on by itself, ha ha.

An Uncertain Welcome

2011-10-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

Autumn is such a wonderful time of year. It is a time of preparation, warm soups, red cheeks from crisp air, reminder of woodstove smoke in the air and the cuddle of wool and fleece clothing. I see it as a time to embrace the last colors, the roads that are not yet slippery, the walks that don’t yet involve snowsuits and fact that the sun still has enough strength of warm the earth enough each day to keep the snow away.

Autumn is a wonderful time and a very long one this year but that time has come to an end. I have pictures for you of last week’s happenings that involve a lot of color but I thought I should let you know what happened this weekend, winter arrived. It is such a beautiful thing to see the world turn white, all blemishes are covered for now. The wild rabbits that live in our yard have been white and ready for this event for weeks now, but for me, I am not sure if I am as prepared. Physically everything is ready for this event. The tires on the car have been changed, the yard is picked up, the wood is hauled, we all have had our flu shots, the windows sealed shut but in my mind I still dream of waking up to sunshine and birds singing. But ready or not the time has come. I think I will go light a candle to bring some warmth and light on this cold and snowy morning. That and I just might make a batch of cookies.

A Garden Year In Review

2011-10-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

Last fall I wrote a little review of what worked in my garden that year and what I hoped to do differently the coming summer. It might not have been a very memorable or stellar blog post for you but it helped me a lot this spring, as I got ready for the 2011 garden year. Thus I decided I should do it again.

This was a great gardening year for different reasons than last year but still good. Due to a cooler and wetter year the onions, basil and cucumbers just didn’t make it. Next year we should have our greenhouse, more on that to come, and the basil, tomatoes, cucumbers and possibly some bell peppers will all go in there. I want to try my hand in starting tomatoes from seed and grow enough basil to be able to make a good bit of homemade pesto.

The zucchini plants started from seed did great. Do not be concerned next year and buy a starter, 5 zucchini plants are too much, 3 would be just fine.

The celery was great. Start that from seed again but next year don’t wait until the end of the summer to harvest it. Like lettuce it grows back when the main stalks are harvested, so happy I now know this, so eat fresh celery all summer long.

The carrots did great, repeat. But next year grow just Yukon golds for potatoes, we love them and know they work. German Butterball potatoes were kind of a dud.

The broccoli was amazing, as was the cauliflower. Next year I would like to plant at least a ½ of row of just broccoli. Starting from seed with seeds from Johnny’s have worked great for two seasons, definitely repeat.

As for the cauliflower, it did terrible two years ago started from seed but my starts did great this year. I should try it from seed again next year but maybe buy one or two starts just to make sure it all works out.

Starting green beans from seed worked but I did it way too early. By the time I transplanted my plants the stress of it killed them. I then put seeds right in the ground and ended up getting a good bit of green beans but not until late August. I really have great dreams of a big green bean crop. The past two years I have started my snap pea plants 3 weeks before the outside ground was ready. This way they are just starting to really grow when they are transplanted and they have done very well both years. Do this method with the green beans next year and maybe we will get a good transplant and a hearty harvest.

The pumpkins did great, more on them in another post. I have to say they are one of the most fun to watch grow. It is easy to cut them off the vine and have them turn orange inside so as long as the starts get started early enough, I started this years in late March, I might be good to get more pumpkins again. Next year I want to try more winter squash, possible some acorn and butternut squash. I want to plant the pumpkins in the lower garden with the potatoes but the butternut and acorn can be in the corners of the main garden.

And I must remember, this little girl loves fresh veges from the garden. More is always better!

A Pantry Full Of Fun

2011-10-14T07:30:00.001-08:00

Abigail loves to explore and play. Whenever I open the pantry door this little girl comes crawling as fast as she can to explore all of the colors, sights and textures there are to be seen on all of our shelves. This video is two weeks old so these days she is even better at getting around and I have also moved the canned salmon, what she gets into at the end of the video.

One Last Harvest

2011-10-13T07:27:00.000-08:00

The nights in Fairbanks are getting longer and the days are getting cooler. But even as we settle in to our cozy home with the woodstove roaring there was still one more part of the garden to be harvested.

Our carrots were the last things left in the ground. Last year our carrots were so very good that I planted a larger section of the garden this year and we were excited to see how they did. With Abigail bundled up she and I headed to the garden. Abigail took a little nap on my back as I dug around in the cold dirt looking for each and every carrot.

We are so very excited about how our crop did this year. We filled an 18 gallon tote with our carrots and since that day have been eating them steamed, raw, and in casseroles, soups, pot pies and with moose roasts. I am looking for a good recipe for a carrot soup, any suggestions?

Welcome, Leave Your Coat At The Door

2011-10-12T07:25:00.001-08:00

Until the deck was built this summer there was not exterior access to our arctic entry. Then early in the summer when the deck and stairs were built up to the arctic entry door Shoeless arrived to stay with us and he moved on into his “room”. With the dog bed, food bowl and water dish in there we didn’t use it for any more than a hallway all summer long.

But Shoeless has since moved out so now our arctic entry can now become more of what it was meant to be

For months now the coats we wear into the house get piled on the kitchen chairs right by the door the leads into the arctic entry. A lot of time I promote entering the house through the basement where the coats can be stored but that doesn’t always

So you can probably imagine my excitement when Josh built us some coat racks the other day. They are both at an angle and at different heights to provide as much storage space as possible and to allow the little person in the house to be able to reach a hook and someday hang her own coat up. What a wonderful addition to our home and great use of the arctic entry.

Colors Before The Frost

2011-10-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

I am willing to be the first to admit that I grow vegetables.

I might not know much about vegetables but I have worked hard at learning what I do know. I try different soils, seeds, places for my planting, harvesting and fertilizing of my vegetable garden.

I am not so much into growing flowers. I love flowers, please don’t get me wrong, but I am no so very good at growing them.

I do not know names, what does good where, which one will grow high or thick, which will come back next year or last only one season.

In my center garden bed I planted poppies and daisies that I started from seed inside last spring and in July I spread a pack of Alaskan Wildflower seeds from Ben and Kari’s wedding last year.

I have to admit that it didn’t seem like anything would grow all summer. My garden was full of green stalks and leaves right up until the week before our first frost. Who would have thought that just at the every end of summer we would have an outburst of color in my garden.

Now I have to just wait and see which ones come back next year because honestly, I have no idea.

Lessons I Learned From My Father

2011-10-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

As fall arrived a few weeks ago my parents packed up their little white car, dog and all, and headed south to the warmer and sunnier parts of the world. As I reflect on the three months they spent with us in Fairbanks I do so with a smile. It was a wonderful summer, went too fast, so much happened and so much is to be remembered. The past two summers my mother was here I was able to spend a lot of time with her and as it worked out this summer that my dad was here I was able to spend a lot of time with him as well.

I have discovered with great joy that I have a grown up friendship with my parents. And this summer, the summer I turned 30, the first summer I was a mother, and the summer both of my parents lived in Fairbanks was the summer I learned a lot of things from my father. I learned…

How to properly stack a pile of split wood

How to cook the perfect omelet

That eating bacon, something I haven’t done in 16 years, is a good thing

That even if it rains, if the wood is in the shed and isn’t getting wet, it is a good day.

That no matter how old you are you can start a new job, do well and have fun all if you have the right attitude.

That it is important to keep a small amount of fun money aside in your budget and to spend it having fun.

That a pepsi in a glass of ice is the cheapest payment I will ever have to make in exchange for wood being hauled.

How to cook bacon, pork chops and baby back ribs and enjoy eating them.

How to work with Abigail in a swimming pool.

Invest for my daughter’s future

How to help my green beans grow straight even if I did plant the wrong type of green beans.

How a little drywall mud can cover a multitude of errors nobody every needs to know about.

That no matter how much fun it might sounds, giving a nine month old part of a chocolate donut is never a good idea.

How much fun it is to learn from my father. When I was younger I knew way too much for my own good. It is a joy to realize that as an adult there is much to learn from both of my parents and how much fun that time of learning can be.

Desperate Times

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of activity and busyness around the house recently with the coming of winter and all that needs to be done before that grand time of year can arrive. With Josh working long days I have found myself doing much more of the yard preparations than I have ever had to do before. I have done these chores with Abigail in the Ergo carrier on my front and in the Kelty Kids back pack on my back but some things are just too hard to manage with a little one riding along.

One such thing is pulling all of the plants from the garden and getting them down to the compost pile. So do to the desperate need to get the garden winter ready I let Abigail play in the huge play pen of the garden.

Not to be left behind Zeke joined us as well as I pulled lettuce, green beans, peas, parsley, zucchini and everything else minus the carrots out of the raised beds.

As I worked Abigail and Zeke completely enjoyed the dirt, leaves, sunshine and each other.

They both munched on the last remaining treasures the garden had to give us. Abigail enjoyed a few last peas, green beans and stalks of celery while Zeke went more for the lettuce and the leaves of all of the plants that remained.

And as I watched Abigail crawl around covered head to toe in dirt sucking on a snap pea I smiled at the complete joy she was experiencing. As I finished with the work for the day I scooped up my dirty daughter and took her in for a bath before lunch and naptime. How thankful I am that desperation led to such a fun memory for all.

Breaking Out

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

I have had a thought ever since Abigail was about 3 months old about our church nursery. With a lot of little bodies in there I wanted Abigail to be able to move herself before we left her so that she would be able to get to toys or away from trouble as needed.

And with our little girl on the move that time has been here for several weeks but it hasn’t been something I was ready for just yet, until yesterday. Abigail stayed with us for the worship part of service but went and joined the other kids in the nursery for the sermon, a much better place for an active and very vocal little girl.

For the most part things went well. Abigail did great but there are other things this Mama has to work out to make it smooth sailing next time. Overall our little girl is growing up, playing with others and that is such a weird feeling to experience for sure.

On the Move

2011-09-30T07:31:00.002-08:00

Our little miss is on the move these days. Since this stage of crawling will be over before we know it I wanted to be sure and document how cute she is. She has the rhythm down and can move fast, especially when there is something in her line of sight that she sees and wants. With this new found freedom has come a lot of new knowledge such as toilet paper unrolls and toilets have water in them that are at a great height for a standing baby, ha ha.

In addition to crawling Abigail is yearning to walk. She stands more and more on her own each day. We also see her standing and then squatting and staying in the squatting position to play. Those little legs are getting so strong. Just this last week Abigail has really started to master her walker from Grandma. Yes I am aware that in this post she looks like a slightly drunk lady with a walker but hey, it is a new skill. I know I never post two videos at once but these two seemed to go together. I hope you enjoy seeing our little mover.

Garden Fresh

2011-09-29T07:29:00.001-08:00

Last week I warned you that there would be a lot of garden posts and just as I promised, another garden post. The potato post from Wednesday was a little out of order. Since before we harvested potatoes I harvested the celery.

And plenty of celery was harvested this year for sure. When it was all inside it covered the kitchen counter. I cut off all of the leaves, processed them in the dehydrator for future soups and salads. The stalks were then thrown in the sink to stay hydrated for future chopping.

I was about ½ way through this process when my parents came over for dinner. Luckily my dad saw the huge pile of work this was going to be for me and jumped in to help out. We finished deleafing the celery and moved on to chopping up the rest. We filled a 12 quart stock pot with small tops to cook down and freeze as soup stock and three gallon of larger pieces for snacks. And snack we have! These days we are enjoying celery plain, with peanut butter, roasted, in soups and casseroles. What a bounty and there was still plenty of garden to still bring in before the first frost.

Hunting Season

2011-09-28T07:29:00.000-08:00

September, fall colors and cooler days are all signs of something important and most anticipated for the people, mostly men, of Alaska.

Those signs mean that it is moose hunting season for our great state.

Josh looks forward to his week out in the woods, hiking, camping and being with the men all year long. There is a lot of preparation that goes into this time of year. Preparation and inventory of gear, practice hikes with a lot of weight to get ready for packing out a moose, time spent over maps finding the perfect place and the gathering of people.

While back at home Abigail, dressed in her camo for her father and grandfather, and I prepared the freezer, basement for butchering and overall kept things going at home. My parents came and joined us for part of the week and together we tackled a lot of projects, more on that to come.

As for the hunt, it was a successful one. Josh himself was not able to get a moose this year but his dad did and shared the meat with us. The crew that were out there together managed to harvest 4 moose and 1 grizzly bear in the three weeks they were hunting. The winter is coming but the freezer is full.

Another dirty day.

2011-09-27T08:33:00.000-08:00

With fall coming, and thus winter right behind it, the garden is in a rapid state of decline. Over the last few evenings Kathleen has harvested nearly everything. Though the summer was not ideally warm and the production of the garden was not as we'd hoped, we still have much to be thankful for.

Potato day was a great day for us to get outside and get our hands dirty. And in Abigail's case get her face dirty, and a bit inside her mouth....

This year Kathleen decided to try German Butterball potatoes and one tire of Yukon Golds. Unfortunately the butterballs did not produce many potatoes. We ended up with smaller potatoes and less than last year but they are very good tasting and that make up for the quantity.

Even though there were not a lot of potatoes, Abigail tired herself out rummaging through the tires looking for both potatoes and leaves to munch on. thus, she resigned herself to reclining inside of an empty tire to watch her parents finish the rest of the dirty work.

Maybe next year Abigail will be big enough to help Kathleen harvest more of the garden. As for this year, she enjoyed the wondrous adventure of playing in the dirt and eating leaves.

The Not So Perfect Canning Day

2011-09-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

I love to start things organized and fresh. I am the one who loved to start a new school year with clean spiral notebooks and a cooking project with a clean and put together kitchen. So the other morning when Mother was with me we decided to make high-bush cranberry jelly. I gathered all of the supplies, cleaned the kitchen, put away dishes and felt all ready to start. I put the cranberries in a big pot with water to boil and headed out to join mother and Abigail on the deck.

After awhile I smelled berries and thought of this season of the year when the smell of berries is so strong in the yard. Then I jumped up and ran in the house when my mind realized that the berry smell from the yard should be that strong. Much to my dismay my clean kitchen was now covered in red berry juice.

Mother and I laughed about how I needed to have the kitchen all clean before I started this project only to get the chance to clean it all over again. (Side note: Does anyone recognize my sweatshirt? I will give you a hint…it is from the days when neon colors were fashionable.)

But these pictures are not telling the whole story. You see, after mother took the picture of me cleaning the baby started to fuss and so as I took care of her mother cleaned the kitchen. And clean she did. All of my burners and the pans under the burners were taken out, scrubbed and replaced. The walls were washed down, and the counters and floor were all sparkling clean in no time at all.

With everything back the way it was supposed to be we were back on track. Yes the berries boiled over once more, but I caught it a little faster this time and was able to clean up that new mess before mother even saw.

As the afternoon arrived mother and I finally walked out of the very clean kitchen to the joyful sound of the canning jars popping as their lids sealed. A normal day of canning would not have been so fun or memorable for sure. Hope you enjoyed this story of our not so perfect canning experience because as we all know, blog life can sometimes seem too perfect. The fact is there are pots boiling over every day.

One Step Closer to Paradise

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

As you have seen on the blog this fall, the moose are getting more and more comfortable around our house. Mother and dad were over the other day and were all excited to see a moose walk through the yard. A few minutes later the mother moose followed. We were all outside enjoying this beautiful wildlife when things went a little to far.

I know the video cuts out pretty fast. That is because we were all running in the yard making as much noise as possible to help save the garden. The moose ran off this time, just hope I am home next time they try and get in the garden again.

Thoughts From September

2011-09-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

1. Abigail has learned to dance. Right now it is just the shoulders but it is so funny. If I sing to her or she hears music here little shoulders and head start to bob.

2. Abigail looks more and more like her father all the time. Funny how I didn’t expect this but it is so true. When it comes to her physical appearance it is all Klynstra. It is a different story though for when she talks. When she wants to tell me a story her arms start flying. Oh my Abigail, you are a Levison lady through and through.

3. The other day I made jam out of the raspberries picked in July. As I licked the spoon off at the end I longed for a backing powder biscuit. Nothing fits together better than fresh raspberry jam and biscuits out of the oven.

4. I find it funny that Josh and I are grown adults yet with the arrival of Abigail some thing become significantly less mature. I laugh at the fact that everything has a name these days. We have bunny, Gus, froggy, Ms. Giraffe and Mr. Giraffe, bug, baby head, wipe out and so many more. All of whom we both know and can identify. Why do we feel the need to name all of Abigail’s toys?

5. Each day as I go on a walk with Abigail I look at the beautiful fall colors, smell the fresh autumn air and feel sad that these warmer days are coming to an end. I am determined to walk each day this winter even if it is after Josh comes home so Abigail doesn’t have to go out in -20 or colder. I love my walks and feel that they help keep me sane.

Beautiful Fall Vistas

2011-09-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

The other day my parents and I took Abigail and Shoeless on a little hike.

The entire week had been beautiful and with each day the fall colors had become more and more vibrant.

We loaded up the car and headed north. Abigail and Shoeless both took little naps on the way so that they would be fresh and alert for all the things we were going to see.

But then as we pulled into the parking lot by the trailhead something completely unexpected happened.

The fog rolled in. What had been beautiful just moments before was gone. We couldn’t believe it. Not to be discouraged we covered Abigail with two coats, mittens and a hat, put her in the Baby Cage and ventured up the trail. The fog would roll away, right?

But instead of going away the fog got thicker, and thicker to the point where we couldn’t see much of the trail in front of us let alone the beautiful fall vistas we had expected.

So instead of looking out of the great expanse of Alaska we looked close, at our feet and right around us.

What we normally would not have paid much attention to was beautiful as well.

And even though it seemed we were in a foggy room with nothing around us visible the wind was still present and picking up. So after we got to the top we for went our picnic lunch and headed straight back to the car with visions of possible fall vistas on our minds.

Learning To Share

2011-09-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

Whenever Abigail eats Shoeless Joe has to go outside because Abigail finds it very fun to feed all of her food to him. But since the summer is coming to a close and Shoeless is leaving I decided not to stop the fun during snack time the other day. We are thankful Shoeless is such a patient and gentle dog to have around as Abigail learns to share.

Getting Around

2011-09-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Abigail is getting around better and faster all the time. Her mobility means that she is no longer confined to playing just on the area rug in the living room or in her bedroom.

And as she moves on out Josh and I know it is time we help Abigail learn her boundaries around the house.

Baby gates and drawer locks have been moving in. We are only locking the drawers where there are mostly things that can be eaten that should not be eaten. The kitchen drawers that contain pots and pans are locks free right now. Abigail is learning the lesson of NO and we review it as she goes for a picture frame or the fire extinguisher. So far she is a good and fast learner.

For the most part her toys are more fun anyways. But in true Abigail nature, anything can be a toy. She loves the doorstop behind the kitchen office door, the dog food clip that holds the bag shut, when I leave the pantry doors open, and when I am sorting papers.

And just as Abigail is learning to be contained this Mama is learning when she has to let go. No longer in control I have to realize what boundaries to set and how to change those boundaries almost daily as Abigail grows, learns and reaches out to her world around her. All that said, I am still a fan of the pack n’ play when a little containment is required, ha ha.

Holding Onto Summer as it Slips Away

2011-09-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Our summer this year has been a rainy one. So when the sun decided to come out the other day we took advantage to the change to get out and enjoy a little bit of what is left for our summer.

It was a sunday afternoon and we headed out to the Tanana Chief. An old paddle boat that travels up and down the Tanana River.

It was an afternoon full of good food, time with family, a quiet viewing of the world passing by and the warmth of the sun.

As I write this my parents are packing up to head south, the summer is just about over.

As we passed the princess I took time to snap a quick picture of mum and dad in front of Dad's restaurant. We can't believe these days are over. How did three months go so fast? We have enjoyed each and every day that we have been able to hang out together. Being just a few miles apart is a wonderful thing that we never take for granted! Thank goodness for phones, internet, USPS and planes that travel south as well as north. We will still be connected as the days and miles apart stretch on.

Garden Fresh Days

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Things around here are busy and the days are flying by.

Between processing the meat from Josh's hunt and keeping up with the garden I find myself in the kitchen a lot recently. (Are you ready for all of the “kitchen/garden” posts to come?)

Abigail and I go to the garden each morning, pick what there is to pick, and then come in to process what need it. We love all of our fresh garden celery these days and I have been filling the dehydrator each day. Ever other day we dehydrate celery leaves and the opposite day it is filled with parsley. I love the thought of our winter meals being filled with flavor of these fall days.

Little miss mobile is getting a little harder and harder to contain. No matter where she starts in the house she always seems to find me when I am in the kitchen. And when she finds me I always am up for sharing with her a little of what I have been working with. She likes to taste the parsley, celery, tomatoes, peas and so much more. Her meals, as well as ours, now involve steamed, grilled, fresh or roasted carrots, beans, zucchini, broccoli and such from the garden. How blessed we are.

9 Months and Going Strong

2011-09-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last week Abigail turn 9 months old and today we are going for her 9 month well baby visit.

Things around this parts are changing fast to try and keep up with all that she is doing, learning and into these days. Our little lady has completely mastered crawling. She is all over. I think back to those days when she just sat still, or when she was first crawling and couldn't crawl on our wood floors and can't believe they are gone. Now a days the world is Abigail's oyster and she is going to see it all.

She loves to find me in the kitchen and she loves to pull herself up so the combination of those two things makes the dishwasher a wonderful place. She also loves Shoeless. She will follow him all over the house, much to his dismay, all day if I let her. But as much as shoeless would love to get away from the baby he agrees, the dishwasher is a great place because that is where I put snacks for him to lick. Seeing the two of them laughing and playing together makes me smile even as I try to make sure they aren't eating out of the same dish at the same time.

I was telling mother about Abigail's love of the dishwasher the other day and she laughed and emailed me this picture from 30 years ago. I guess I loved the dishwasher back in New York all those years ago as well. Who needs toys?

A Little Close for Comfort

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is the view out our window the other morning as I was getting to ready to let Shoeless out.

Humm, that is a little close to comfort for me. Before we scared her off she ate the tops of all the pea plants causing them to loose their grip on the ropes and fall over. Some of the pea plants are still producing so we are happy she didn’t get to more of our vegetables.

And then the other day when Mum and dad were over another moose and her baby came by. This one didn’t let the fence scare her away. Thankfully dad was there with things to bang together. I am now fearing more and more for my vegetables. Back to some serious harvesting.