Fall has arrived!

Fall arrived all of a sudden today...a much anticipated Autumn. I was getting really tired of those late summer heat waves. I hope the weather sticks...you never know in California. As my mother always said, "Dress in layers."

Finn's ready with his freshly knitted pumpkin hat...thanks to Heather L.

Pausing Finn...

Um...I would like to pause Finn...he's so stinkin' cute right now. I can't get over how hilarious he is. For instance, a lot of kids hate being changed, diapers, clothes...the works. Not Finn, he thinks it's hilarious...like it's a game or something. At night I'm trying to calm him down to get him to go to sleep and he's just cracking up and flashing me big smiles.

***I sneaked into Finn's room tonight and turned on his nightlight that I use for nursing and used my trusty tripod and remote and set my camera to a 4 sec. shutter speed. He sleeps on his stomach by choice...I didn't do it...he's also completely done a 180° since I left him...HOW DOES HE DO THAT?

Propped up Finn

There's just something that I find so cute and funny about propping up this little guy who can't sit up on his own yet. He gets a kick out of it too!

"Hello mother:)"

"This is sooo exciting!"

Staring at his favorite pillow on the couch.

"Wait mom, seriously I'm gonna fall."

Just chillin'.

Oven dried tomatoes

Remember how I had all of those tomatoes from my mother's garden? Well, I had already made tomato sauce a few weeks earlier with a bunch and had some stocked up in the freezer, and I really don't have much time to cook nowadays. So I decided to oven dry them.

Then for dinner the next night I made this. And OH MAN WAS IT GOOD! I'm going to go eat some more right now for dinner tonight. Well, you can't go wrong with wine and cream...I omitted the lemon this time which I usually add to pasta sauces.

Oven dried tomato, basil and toasted garlic spaghetti:

-oven dried tomatoes drizzled in olive oil on 200° F for 8-10 hours.
-saute whole garlic cloves in olive oil until they're browned
-chop fresh basil
-cook spaghetti and drain
-in spaghetti pan poor in some white wine and cream (you choose on proportions)
-salt and pepper
-simmer for a bit
-add tomatoes
-stir
-add basil
-stir
-add spaghetti
-cover for like 10 mins and let the flavors fuse.
-it'll be better the second day as is often the case with tomato sauces!

Finn makes me laugh

I am so in love with this kid. He makes me laugh many times a day. After I change his diaper I always set him in the crib to go wash my hands...sometimes I hear him giggling in the crib by himself. It's hilarious. He also thinks changing his diaper or is clothes is a game and is always laughing...even when I'm trying to put him to bed and calm him down he's totally cracking up and flipping over. I have a large painting just sitting on the dresser behind the changing pad and Finn has figured out how to pull it on my head and of course...laughs. I need to get that painting hung:)

Out for a morning walk

Finn and I went on an early morning walk with our cousins who live a couple of blocks away. He was just too cute in this porcupine outfit and Robeez shoes (that are still too big) from his great-grandparents.

What's with the dirty look Finn?

I made up this little bed for Finn to kick around in and hung a toy (which he now loves)...because before that he would SCREAM in the stroller and I had to get out of the house. Now he's perfectly content:)

Away we go!

Goodbye Mother

My mother left today for a year to work in the Manhattan Temple.

....so I raided her garden...

...and am currently making pesto with all the basil I picked.

Finn and his tummy

So Finn hasn't quite figured out that when he rolls over that it takes him to his tummy (a place he hates.) However, I roll him to his back and then he just rolls right back to his tummy (again a place he hates.) So I've decided to just leave him there and let him get more used to it...he screams and squirms (this kid has a temper) but he's getting used to it more and more. It's the only way for him to figure out how to get back so me letting him scream is for his own good.

Where Finn hangs out sometimes.

Two Grandma Ps

My mother has a best friend from college who also married a doctor who happened to have the same last name (no relation.) She was down from Seattle last week visiting and helping my mother pack up her house.

Finn was right at home snuggling with her:)

OK, so he might have gotten a little nervous...he does that with anyone who isn't Jared or I.

Strawberry Jam

I made some last week.

Tomato from my yard

My mom noticed a tomato plant in my side yard. It's gone wild. I'm in heaven.

Look what Finn learned how to do yesterday

Toting the kids around

My cousin Emily (who lives just around the corner) I sit and chat about how we want to cargo our kids around in the future on bikes.

I really want one of those Bakfiets bikes. They're from Holland. It would go lovely with my cruiser. (Which is from Amsterdam.) I've been searching high and low on how to get a hold of one in the states. I saw a woman giving 3 of her children a ride to school in one the other day while I was out for a run so I know it's possible to get one.

Turns out there's a place in S.F. to get one. mydutchbike.com

I would LOVE one of these below...with the two wheels in front. But I'd probably have to move to Holland for one.

***The down side is they're ~$3000. I guess I'll have to figure out some way to earn that money before Finn's old enough to ride in one.

Sound asleep

The early morning light and my boys sleeping

Having fun with Finn!

Finn and I have fun together:)





***Best to let the whole video load before pressing play.

Where's Dad?

After three years my mother finally got a headstone for my Dad.

So we don't have to do this when we visit him

"Hmmm....where is he?"
Me shouting from the car while Finn sleeps, "Go up from the garbage can and once you've hit the sprinkler it should be on your left."

Mom, "Seriously I can't find it, I never have this hard of a time."

"Oh here's Uncle Bill, so Dad's right here, HUDSON WE FOUND GRANDPA!"

Too young to be a widow.

Labor Day Family Outing!

Last week I told Jared that for Labor Day I wanted to get out of the house...not just hang out and do chores like we mostly do when Jared isn't working. I really wanted a crab sandwich and remembered having one in Sausalito a couple of years ago. (Apparently it was also on Labor Day.) So when I get an idea in my head...I have to meet the needs of that idea, in this case it was food, in a beautiful place.

Well after a nice car ride (Finn didn't scream) up across the Golden Gate Bridge and a walk around the town we found a place that had a melted avocado crab sandwich PERFECT!

Handsome!

Another prefect thing was that Finn slept through lunch so we

Oh how I love San Francisco

A little over 25 years ago Jared had attended pre-school in Sausalito when his father was in the army and they were living in the Presidio. We looked it up and actually found it.

It was so cute!

There's even a student there right now named Alice!

Then back across the Golden Gate (I can't believe the toll is now $6.)

While driving home we decided to stop off in Pacifica.

I hadn't been to the beach since...well... I was 5 months pregnant.

Finn slept.

Waves crashed.

Finn's first time at the ocean:) He liked it.

Jared got his feet wet.

Then I got my feet wet. A woman turned to me and said, "isn't it cold." "No," I replied, "it's so refreshing." I love California beaches and the cold ocean water.