Puzzles

I enjoy a good puzzle. I recently completed this picture of Venice and enjoyed remembering the trip I took to Venice a few years back. It was fun to think about that.

There is an odd sense of accomplishment that I feel when I find the right piece for the right spot. It's relaxing to realize that it doesn't matter how long it takes me to do the puzzle. Nothing is riding on its completion. The entire purpose of the puzzle is to complete it and then take it apart. I've never understood people who glue puzzles together. (My apologies if one of you kind readers is one of those people - feel free to enlighten me on why one would do that.)

I love how you can look at piece for what seems like hours and all of a sudden you figure out where it needs to go. Or, you walk away and that piece that has been haunting you for days ends up fitting into the first place you try when you come back.

My puzzling fingers are itching to go finish that tree that I've been working on the past couple of days. Maybe THIS time I'll figure out where that weird shaped one goes.

The bird Elijah loves

The toy of the week is a bird from Ikea that plays music if you pull its neck.

Elijah loves to suck on the beak. Last week we dropped him off at the nursery at church for the first time. They asked if he had a soother. We had to laugh when we told them that no, he doesn't have a soother, he has a bird.

If it makes him happy...

My apologies and gratitude

I realize that pretty much everything I post here has something to do with the brilliant achievements of my son. Sorry about that. I have become one of "those" people who talk incessently about their child and regularly provide photo updates in case you had forgotten how cute their child is.

I am constantly amazed by him. It seems like every day he does something new. This past weeks achievement was standing at the coffee table (which is why there is a photo).

I really didn't expect parenting to be like this. I never expected to so thoroughly enjoy being with him. I will be the first person to admit that children have never been my favorite point of social interaction. I have never been overcome with the need to hold someones child. I figured parenting would probably personalize it a bit for me but I figured that I would likely view my child the same way. I think that I enjoy it so much more because of my expectations. Had I had grand ideas about it, I might have been disappointed. Now my life has become filled with all the cheesy parenting cliches that I did not understand before Elijah arrived. My life IS better because he is in it.

So I thank each of you for indulging me in my parental joys. Greater friends one could not have.

Pictures from at the lake

I embroidered the blocks of the blanket that Elijah is on when I was a teenager. Kind of cool that he can use it now.



I love hearing him laugh.



How much does he look like a little boy here?

The making of a cake

I got a cake decorating set for Christmas.

This past weekend I went to the lake with my parents and my aunt while my dear husband stayed at home and worked on the house. I thought it would be a good chance to try out my new set.

I went to a store down the street that rents out different cake decorating pans. I decided on Strawberry Shortcake and headed home to make my cake. I made the batter and stuck the pan in the oven. It was only after the first cake I made had cooled that I found out that the inside was raw. (Apparently the toothpick-in-the-cake-coming-out-clean test doesn't always work). Cake number two was not raw but unfortunately part of it stayed stuck to the pan when I pulled it out. I was able to salvage it and cover the "flaws" with icing.

So I decorated the cake. I'm not sure it looks as much like Strawberry Shortcake as I would have hoped but I'm mostly blaming that on my lack of icing colors. (Note to those of you attempting to make red icing: #1 The color rose will never make a nice red icing and #2 more red food coloring will not make it more red, only more bitter, a lesson I learned from my mom many years ago.)

I thought that the formed pan would make it easier to decorate. I was wrong. It actually made it more challenging to try to get the correct amount of icing in the necessary bumps. Next time I think I'll just decorate a flat cake.

So I consider this attempt a success. We ate most of the cake over the weekend. I'm not sure why, but there was this weird part of me that had an issue with cutting up the face.

There's something just not right about eating a face. Maybe it's just me.

Elijah full of smiles

What is it about cute and smiling babies that makes you want to kiss them?