Ten Months

Sweet Baby Ethan is 10 months old today! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. He is crawling all over the place, and saying DaDaDaDaDa all day long. You'd think that he would say Mama since I'm the one he sees all the time. No. He saves that for when he is distraught or not wanting to be left in his crib for a nap. 'Cause then he knows full well that his mama's heart will melt and he will get rescued. Smart little man.


He still only has two sweet little teeth on the bottom. But he's been working hard at all four front uppers for a couple of weeks now. Lucas had eight teeth by this age. I guess they all go on their own schedule.


He is loving beans and rice! It's a good thing, since that is pretty much our favorite food in this house. He is following in his brother's footsteps, though. "No vegemals", as Lucas used to say. Oh, ya, and Mama's milk. You have to be careful saying the "M" word around him - he'll just about leap out of your arms trying to get to me. It's nice to be loved so much!

Check out those eyebrows! He speaks volumes with those. So many people have commented about how expressive they are.

Well, we survived our Denver trip (why does it always seem like such a long trip?). Our Lightroom 2 seminar with Scott Kelby was great. We learned a lot of tips, techniques and shortcuts, and he showed us a lot of things that we are already doing! That makes me feel good.

It was tough to be away from Ethan since I am still nursing. I had to find a place to pump during the seminar, so I found myself in an empty, dark hallway in the Colorado Convention Center. Hmm. Not the most private place I have ever pumped. So needless to say, he and I were mutually very glad to see each other when we got home!

We're off to Denver tonight for a Lightroom 2 class with Scott Kelby tomorrow. Yay! We decided to leave today, though, so I'm going to miss being away from Ethan for the first night in his little life. He is teething, too, so he's extra snuggly with his mama.

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Trying to wrap up a few loose ends in the office today. My desk is a mess - I don't feel like I am ever caught up. But life is good and I wouldn't trade any bit of it!

Happy Mother's Day

We made the cover of the Post Independent today! What a treat! We had our picture taken for the Mother's Day feature in today's paper, and we ended up on the cover. I love the photo - Lucas and Ethan look adorable.


We had a great day - started off with brunch at Russet's in Carbondale and spent the rest of the day at home. Lucas and Ethan and I went for a little walk before dinner - it was a nice night. Here's wishing all of you mothers a wonderful day full of life's blessings. Our lives are full of blessings, or we wouldn't be celebrating this day!

In an attempt to better myself and in great anticipation of a wonderful crop from our garden this year, I am taking a canning class. I can remember my mom and my grandmother canning various things when I was little - strawberry jam is the most prevalent memory. When I told my mom I was taking a canning class, she said "Oh, I can show you. There's a whole section in my Betty Crocker Cookbook that shows you how to can step by step." Considering that my great grandmother died from botulism from some bad green beans, I decided to do it right and take a class. No offense, Betty.

To salt or not to salt.




We had two groups - one group did a "cold pack" - the beans went right into the jars. My group did a "hot pack" - we blanched the beans before putting them into the jars.

The hardest part about canning is the waiting. After watching pressure gauges and listening to rocking weights, the moment finally arrived. Opening the pressure canners!

I've never seen anyone this excited over green beans!

Shop talk (well, kitchen talk).

Proud canners. Did I mention that I don't really even like green beans? Next week, salsa!