Before and after

Some birthday party recap:

Presents before Anneke got her hands on them...

...and after

Chocolate cake before...

...and after

Community Pool

The day after Anneke's party we had a quiet family day, including driving over to the community center to check out the new natatorium! This is the expression Anneke had on her face almost the whole time--not unhappy, but studious and not quite sure what to make of the whole scene. There was a lot of noise and splashing going on! But such is the new world of adventures for a one-year-old!

Bob's Red Mill

If you're looking for a new breakfast spot, Anneke and Erin would probably recommend Bob's Red Mill. We went last month with Erin and her dad (I'm a little slow on the uploading), and everyone agreed it's delicious and pretty cheap. It looks really crowded when you get there, but there are plenty of tables. Plus you can load up on all the bulk beans and grains you can handle afterwards. Two thumbs up!

ONE YEAR OLD!

Happy birthday, our beautiful girl. We love you so much, words don't describe it.

(warning: slideshow is looooong. May test the endurance of all but the most doting grandparents.)

Defeat

Please pray/send lovingkindness/tumor-fightin' words to Zoe Goss and her family, who all hail from my hometown. Zoe is five and has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Neuroblastoma. Her mom wrote on their webpage that when they start to feel down they chant, "defeat!" Defeat, indeed.

I'm sitting at the keyboard not knowing what else to write. Just please keep them in your thoughts and/or prayers as they fight this battle.

Happy Birthday 2009, Emma!

Faithful readers may remember reading about Emma's birthday last year, when I was great with child and relieved that our baby and Emma would not share the same birthday. I was bummed that day because I missed out on her celebratory cross-country skiing adventure, so this year I was determined not to miss it. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating, so we opted for a rainy hike through the Gorge, instead. The hike was beautiful but treacherous, with downed trees blocking the trail the whole way. There were three creek-crossings/fordings! Little baby S rode contentedly in the backpack and was a trouper almost the whole way. I must say I would have been an absolute nervous wreck had Anneke been in tow, but S's family is TOUGH and muscled/muddled through to the end. Baby S's mom treated us to cupcakes at the end. Next year we'll go skiing, Emma! But this year I still had a great time.

Amateur celebrity chefs

Caroline and I signed up to review a cookbook with the Oregonian. A few weeks ago we received an email notifying us that our turn to do a cookbook review had come up. We were both very excited about it, and we formulated grandiose ideas of becoming regular amateur cookbook reviewers. Our stick would be cooking with the baby and bickering back and forth about the right way to dice onions and the like.

Well after a few sessions of bickering, we came up with the following video of one of our test recipes from the book we reviewed. You can be the judge if we are destined for the Food Network, or maybe just a lowly, unwatched, video podcast.