eight months

Our pretty little lady turned eight months old today. She is almost crawling (has taken a couple "steps"), but definitely mobile (rolling, scooting). She is our most fearless child, the only one that doesn't scare when daddy throws her in the air. She loves to babble as I'm putting (jiggling/rocking) her to sleep. She tries her best to keep her eyes open and her mouth running until that very last second when she finally drifts off into dreamland. She really is the sweetest thing ever.

picking strawberries

Dear Daddy,

It is FREEZING in Washington. Check out the winter clothes we have to wear to play outside. We have been picking strawberries and playing outside all morning with grandma. We love it here. Can't wait until you come.

Love,

Max, Ian, and Ava

four

My firstborn turned four today. Hard to believe. He has been excitedly awaiting this birthday for months now, asking about it every day. I had been meaning to plan a very cool dinosaur party for him, complete with games and invitations, but it crept up on me and I scrambled this afternoon to throw some decorations together. He beamed as he watched my last ditch effort and said " are you making this banner special just for me for my birthday mom?...thanks mom!" The party was magical for him. I don't think I have ever seen him so happy. I suppose part of it is that he finally feels good again. And I couldn't be happier about that. Happy Birthday Max, we love you "lots and lots and lots and lots"!

p.s. and yes, those are gluten-free/dairy-free cupakes, in case you were wondering...

mini-me

Today I channeled my 'inner fifties housewife' and wore a skirt. It is HOT around these parts, so I sewed some cool skirts to help us weather the heat . Out of vintage, thrifted pillowcases no less. Approximate cost for the whole project: 75 cents including elastic. This was a trial run, I will be making more with thicker elastic/better fabric. They are very easy, click here for the tutorial. For the locals, Sas fabrics in Tempe has amazing selection/unbeatable prices for elastic.

After we put them on Max said "you look beautiful mom...and amazing, great job!". It is so nice to have my sweet, happy boy back. This gf/cf diet is definitely here to stay.

Sunday

Every Sunday we go through the same routine. Wake up, eat, get ready for church. Every Sunday I pick out Ava's outfit, and decide she needs a new headband to go with it. So I make one. Every Sunday. And it ruffles J-P's feathers in a major way. Mostly because there isn't time on a chaotic Sunday morning for those sorts of things. The goal this week is to plan ahead. Or to forget about headbands.
This afternoon the boys got to sample my first attempt at gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. I will have to say, they were AMAZING. Best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made...gluten or no gluten. I ground my own amaranth flour (instead of sorghum) and millet flour, and used mostly turbinado sugar (evaporated cane juice). I also used smart balance light instead of butter. Recipe here.