Foxtrot Freestyles

Yesterday we went to a  surprise party at a beautiful Bed and Breakfast. Foxtrot had lots of baby friends there. He had so much fun echoing other babies' babbles and standing tall around the coffee table. The picture attached isn't great quality, but you can see Foxtrot's excitement.

The blurry baby next to Foxtrot is a few days over a year old.

King of the Wild Things

Many of you know Maddie and Maxx, our two very adorable village dogs from Alaska. Since little Foxtrot arrived Maddie has been in love with him. She will cuddle up with him and let him pet her. Maxx on the other hand wanted nothing to do with him, until yesterday.

It was a lovely day on the farm, mid 50's and sunny. I took advantage of the day by doing some gardening and lawn work. I sat Foxtrot on the ground and he swept his hands through the wet grass from the rain the day before. He picked up sticks and attempted to eat them. His fingernails were black with dirt. While I had my back turned, sowing some seeds, I heard a giggle. I turned to see Maxx sitting right along side of Foxtrot with his paw on Foxtrot's knee.

beans

Anyone who knows my husband . . . . his mother . . . or her parents understands the importance of the pinto bean. When I first met my husband he was packing a 25 pound bag of pinto beans in a plastic tote to send to our soon to be home in the middle of the alaskan tundra. When I first met his mother, she served me the most delicious bean dinner . . . ever. I never knew that the pinto bean could be the main course. I always thought of it as a side dish. And apparently, my husband's grandmother would cook a pot of beans a week for her husband. Bean juice runs in this family's blood. Both my husband's brothers eat beans regularly and his youngest even has the nickname of pinto.

Well, being the wonderful wife that I am, I try to keep the family tradition by slow cooking a pot of beans at least twice a month. That pot will last us through a few dinners, lunches, and even breakfasts. The traditional recipe calls for beans, salt, bacon grease, maybe some chicken stock, and garlic. Every once in a while I try to put a twist on the beans. Last night I put fresh chunks of ginger in the beans. I don't recommend this. So tonight was refried beans. I got a pot with some hot EVOO and put the beans in and mashed them up with one on the many bean mashers that my mother-in-law has given us. (I think we get one every year for christmas and I love it!) So here is the big news. . . . Little Foxtrot ate them and. . . . he LOVED them. He very clearly is his father's son.

earlier today at the state park.

for the birds.

Long, Long ago. . . probably close to a year ago, when baby foxtrot was still growing within, Daddy Foxtrot started nesting. He brought home house plants and . . . birds. . . Ringo, Robirda, and Richard. We picked out a beautiful cage. Ringo and Richard sing some lovely songs. Robirda has left us many eggs and last summer we even had 7 birds living in the cage. Hubby built them a little aviary on the porch so they could fly around on nice days. The winter months have been cold and the birds have been making a mess inside.  So I made this little ditty yesterday.

I don't know why I didn't do it sooner, but in less than an hour, while the little fox danced in his johnny jump-up, it was made. 

A Foto of Foxtrot and Father for Fun

This photo is from a few months ago, but it is one of my top 5. It melts my heart. 

Sister Stone Suggested this

So yesterday was a fussy day for little foxtrot. Now, during a nap, I try to regain some energy with this sweet little video. It was very helpful. It feels like I took an hour nap in ten minutes. Awesome. Try it if you have 10 minutes to spare. Now it is off to craft up a bird cage mess catcher. Goodness Ringo, Robirda, and Richard are messy.

shopping carts . . .

I keep thinking I should whip little foxtrot up one of those super cute shopping cart seat covers. But lets face it, I'll forget to bring it with me like I do my cloth shopping bags. Plus, then he wouldn't get to do this. . . .

Don't worry, daddy sanitized the handle. A little germ is good for the tot.

Build's antibodies.

p.s. - yes, lainie and jagie, he is wearing his jets garments.

Hey Chair.

Hubby Foxtrot and I have been very thrifty when it comes to baby. We have been very cautious about buying anything new, especially if it is from China. In the world of baby goods, I must say there is just too much.

This little baby loves a set of measuring spoons or a cereal box just as much, if not more than his colorful plastic talking toys. We have spent a lot of time finding clothes, toys, and other baby goods at second hand stores. Babies grow so fast and most of the hunky, bulky, plastic, primary colored goods end up in a land fill, I don't know that for a fact, but it has got to be true. We didn't want to add to the already growing piles of waste.


                                                          So we found this. From here.

We have a small home and this little chair was the perfect size and the perfect price. (10 bucks!) The color and stains I could have done without. But we brought that baby home and the husband quickly got to work cleaning it. And then we realized why it was such a perfect price. The cover didn't come off without the use of hardware and 15 minutes!? What? Why would a manufacturer do that to a family? A baby chair is a sticky, messy place and it is nice to be able to wash it once and a while.


                                                            So I remedied that, with this.

This sweet little slip cover was easy to make, easy to remove, and easy to wash. All momma's need a little ease in their lives. The whole project should have taken maybe two hours, but when tangoing with baby foxtrot all day, it took a little longer. But hey, I got it all done in one day. (And I had time to make cream of broccoli soup. I'll share my secrets for a perfect roux another day.)

Feist for baby

As many of you know, we do not have cable here on the compound. Baby Foxtrot does not get exposed to moving pictures all that often. The exception to that is when we travel southbound, to the big city, to visit friends, and watch the Seahawks win (or lose). But recently I discovered that Youtube has Sesame Street. And a 3 minute clip of Bert and Ernie won't hurt Baby Foxtrot. So, we recently found this video. Baby LOVES it. Or at least I assume he does. Maybe I think he loves it so much because it is really my favorite.

I mean. . . "Chickens just back from the shore" . . . . very clever.

we've got internet . . .

                                                 happy, naked baby getting ready for bath time

watching the sunset in front of our sweet casa

For the past 17 months we have been sharing internet with Granimal. But as of yesterday, we are no longer dependent on her to tap into the world wide web. I have tethered my iphone to the computer for just $15 extra dollars a month. This results in good news for those interested in seeing how the foxtrot family is shuffle-ball-changing.

baby foxtrot

I will stop crowding your inboxes with photos of baby foxtrot. You can watch the baby dance through the first year of his life right here.