We are finally coming out of birthday season around here. It started back at Thanksgiving with Marty’s birthday, and ended earlier this month with Alex’s. All of us are now a year older. And with Valentine’s day and Christmas in there too, I feel like we have been eating sweets constantly [...]]]>

Brothers

Originally uploaded by Raspberry World.

We are finally coming out of birthday season around here. It started back at Thanksgiving with Marty’s birthday, and ended earlier this month with Alex’s. All of us are now a year older. And with Valentine’s day and Christmas in there too, I feel like we have been eating sweets constantly for three months. Time for a diet!

Our February is flying by. Alex turned four on February 1, then we hosted a playdate for his birthday party. Charlie got his first haircut last week and Alex had a valentine’s day party at school. Today the month is over half over! Lots of pictures are posted in the February Flickr set.

Love them.

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Alex is nearly four, so I’m encouraging some new behaviors. [...]]]> I just completed a massive update of Wordpress on Raspberry World. I have a new template and everything. If you see this on a reader, click through and check me out. I’ve joined the 21st century. Still configuring the widgets, but I’m very happy so far.

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Alex is nearly four, so I’m encouraging some new behaviors. Like not yelling at Charlie to “be quiet!” And taking a shower instead of a bath. Tonight he was in the shower and water was dripping down his face. He told me, “Grabity! Grabity will grab it down, right?”

When I agreed that gravity would do the trick, he explained further: “Grabity has a hand to pull things down!”

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Behold: Charlie’s birthday cupcakes. The “greenish-blue” icing color was chosen by Alex. The cake was King Arthur Flour’s “Guaranteed” Golden Vanilla Cake recipe. They were delicious. Next up is Alex’s birthday… then we are all done with birthday season until November. Whew!

Yesterday, Charlie celebrated his first birthday by “sleeping in” until 5:45 (Alex, too), opening presents, visiting the doctor for a checkup, taking a four hour nap, and eating a cupcake. It was a great birthday! Lots of pictures are up in the January Flickr set.

Happy birthday, big guy!

Yesterday we said goodbye to Ziggy. He was a loving, sweet little friend and we will miss him terribly.

Marty and I got Ziggy from the Centre Hall SPCA in the summer of 1992. He was born in Pennsylvania, lived many years in Connecticut, and traveled to Germany and back with [...]]]>

Ziggy

Originally uploaded by Raspberry World.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Ziggy. He was a loving, sweet little friend and we will miss him terribly.

Marty and I got Ziggy from the Centre Hall SPCA in the summer of 1992. He was born in Pennsylvania, lived many years in Connecticut, and traveled to Germany and back with us when we lived in Munich. He had admirers all over the world.

While in Germany, he developed a hyperthyroid condition. When we returned to the US in 2004, he received radioactive iodine treatment to correct it (RadioCat). He was 12 years old at that time, and he lived over five more years after the treatment.

His kidney disease was most likely a result of the thyroid problem. We held it off with a special diet for the last four years, and treated him with subcutaneous fluids at home for the final year of his life.

We’ll miss you, Ziggy. Marty and I have so many good memories of our time together. Alex and Charlie loved you, too. We’ll always remember you.

Decorated house

Originally uploaded by Raspberry World.

We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, And a happy new year!

It’s been a busy month at our house. I’m thinking of all my old friends today and wishing you well. Happy holidays!

Tons of pictures are up in the December set on [...]]]>

Decorated house

Originally uploaded by Raspberry World.

We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas,
And a happy new year!

It’s been a busy month at our house. I’m thinking of all my old friends today and wishing you well. Happy holidays!

Tons of pictures are up in the December set on Flickr.

I hosted my holiday cookie swap yesterday. The photo features just a few of the cookies (the leftovers). It was a great time. More pictures from the party (and from all month) are in the December set on Flickr.

I made pecan tassies this year. I had planned to make a butter pecan cookie recipe from [...]]]>

I hosted my holiday cookie swap yesterday. The photo features just a few of the cookies (the leftovers). It was a great time. More pictures from the party (and from all month) are in the December set on Flickr.

I made pecan tassies this year. I had planned to make a butter pecan cookie recipe from King Arthur flour – even bought some special ingredients for it – but when I did a trial run a couple of weeks before the party, I didn’t like the cookies at all. I was shocked, to be honest. I mean, read the blog. I really expected to love them.

I still needed to use a pecan recipe since I have many pounds of gorgeous Georgia pecans right now (thanks, Mom), so I decided to go old school with pecan tassies. You can’t go wrong with a classic southern recipe. They made a nice addition to the holiday table.

I don’t remember being this exhausted after last year’s swap, though. I do have 2 kids this time, which is the only major difference, but last year I was almost nine months pregnant. I must be coming down with a cold or something. Yeah, that’s it…

Tonight as I was helping Alex get ready for bed, he told me, “Pirates can’t kill Santa Claus. Santa’s reindeer fly so fast that pirates can’t catch him.”

I don’t really like to encourage talk about killing, but I couldn’t argue with his logic, either.

Earlier in the [...]]]>

That is one big woodpile

Originally uploaded by Raspberry World.

Tonight as I was helping Alex get ready for bed, he told me, “Pirates can’t kill Santa Claus. Santa’s reindeer fly so fast that pirates can’t catch him.”

I don’t really like to encourage talk about killing, but I couldn’t argue with his logic, either.

Earlier in the evening, Charlie was walking toward me and said, “Zee zee.” Alex used to say the same thing – so I looked behind me, and sure enough, Ziggy had walked into the room. Go, Charlie!

At ten months, Charlie is walking, clapping his hands, playing peek-a-boo, feeding himself 75% of what he eats, looking for items you ask him to find, and saying “ball” clearly. His disposition remains sunny and he is easy to please unless he is hungry or tired. Alex is his favorite playmate by far. He’s a [...]]]>

At ten months, Charlie is walking, clapping his hands, playing peek-a-boo, feeding himself 75% of what he eats, looking for items you ask him to find, and saying “ball” clearly. His disposition remains sunny and he is easy to please unless he is hungry or tired. Alex is his favorite playmate by far. He’s a joy.

At nearly four, Alex is funny, sweet, articulate and observant. He remembers what we did last Christmas and asks to do the same things again this year. The frequency of tantrums seems to be decreasing, and he spontaneously asks to help me around the house daily. Today we visited with his daycare teacher from when he was one year old, and she was amazed at what a big boy he’s become. I’m amazed too.

Charlie is about 10.5 months now and boy is he taking off. He is full-out walking, signing some [...]]]> We had a great Thanksgiving. I made turkey, cornbread dressing, broccoli salad, honey wheat rolls, green beans, pecan pie and pumpkin pie. It was delicious, and even better was having Nana and Granddad here to visit. Nice day.

Charlie is about 10.5 months now and boy is he taking off. He is full-out walking, signing some words (“ball,” “eat,” “milk,” and I think “more”), and saying a few words too – “Mama” and “Daddy,” mostly, but today he said “Alex” as plain as day, and I think he also tries to say “Ziggy.” I can’t believe how much he can do! Starting next week he will be home with me, so I’m looking forward to spending more time together.