Place Your Bets!

Last week Jeff and I made a bet as to when we think Marlo will take her first steps. I guessed July 24th and he guessed a few weeks earlier. Now I wish I could change my date. Monday morning she woke up with the strength of five bulls. She can now stand for extended periods of time (okay, a minute or so). Here she is standing at her toy chest pulling out random toys and throwing them on the floor.



Riveting, right?

But seriously, out of nowhere, she began maneuvering her dolly stroller around the living room like she was born doing it. It's fun to see how she really understands how to control it and get it to go where she wants it to go. She's also very good at getting herself unstuck.



So, what do you think? How long before she walks (unassisted)?

Marlo's First Trip to the Park

I'm kind of embarrassed that Marlo is 9 months old and just now we're taking her to the park. I guess I have the excuse that most of her life thus far has been in winter months. With summer officially here though, we figured it best to introduce her to public grasslands and jungle gyms.



So, last Saturday we headed to Meadowlark Park near downtown Carmel. It's a pretty well maintained park. A lot of open meadow area. A walking trail that leads to the Monon Trail. And a nice small playground equipped with baby swings.



I was really excited to get her in a swing. I was sure she would love it, and I was right.



I attempted to swing as well. It had been many years. The last time I was on a swing I was 20 and at a friend's wedding at a park. Me and a few friends swung for about a half an hour in our cocktail dresses. I think this time I lasted about 30 seconds on the swing before I felt like I was going to throw up. Unfortunately, the feeling stuck with me the rest of the day. I remember a long time ago my dad swinging with me as a child and saying he felt the same way. Does this mean I'm old?



We saw lots of fun things at the park. Like this squirrel who was digging for a nut.



Marlo loves little creatures and absolutely adored the squirrel. We had to sit and watch until he finished eating the nut and ran away.



Marlo sat in the grass for the first time. She hated it.



She found various weeds mildly amusing.





On the way back to the car we saw some tadpoles which is something I haven't seen in probably 10 years. Having spent half of those years living in an urban environment, you don't really encounter too many baby frogs. I call this the organic version of The Miracle of Life (Mr. Rock is playing the part of the egg).

Dancey Dance

For about a month now, Marlo has pretty much demanded dinner music. She literally goes on a hunger strike if there aren't tunes playing while she's eating. She's not picky. I can just play her little tykes radio, or even just sing her some ridiculous made up song about how much she loves her oatmeal. As soon as the song starts, she hangs her mouth open. Without it, her lips are like an iron fortress.

Lately, though, I can tell she really likes the song if she starts dancing. This girl's got some rhythm, too. Here she is rockin' out to Lykke Li.

Not Just Talkin' the Talk

She's walkin' the walk my friends. Walkin' the walk. (Assisted by her new dolly stroller.)

Pizza and a Movie

I realize it's been a week.

If you haven't noticed already, I don't post much on the weekend. My husband distracts me. Plus it's hard for me to write sitting next to someone. I get self-conscious. Like they're reading and secretly hating every word I type out. It's paralyzing.

Also, the beginning of the week was spent in Ohio. My friend Savina was home in Findlay from Hawaii for a week. I don't get many opportunities to spend time with Savina anymore, so I jumped at the opportunity to see her. Here is Marlo and Savina taking a break from their deep conversation.



Am I excused?

Will pizza make up for my disappearance? How about pizza and a new Marlo feature presentation.

I made this pizza last week. It's really fun and satisfying to make your own pizza from scratch. While I don't think it necessarily tastes a whole lot better than our favorite pizza shop in town, it feels better. What I mean by that is, it feels good knowing that I know every ingredient and have control over everything so the pizza comes out exactly how I want it.



Tomato & Pesto Pizza

Start off earlier in the afternoon making the dough for the crust. The website I got the recipe from, Brown Eyed Baker, gives directions for making the dough using either a food processor, a stand mixer, or by hand. Please visit the link if you don't have a food processor and need directions for the other two methods. I of course used my beloved new food processor.

Makes enough for 2 medium pizzas.

We find the food processor is the best tool for making pizza dough. However, only a food processor with a capacity of at least 11 cups can handle this much dough. You can also knead this dough by hand or in a standing mixer (see the variations that follow). Unbleached all-purpose flour can be used in a pinch, but the resulting crust will be less crisp. If you want to make pizza dough in the morning and let it rise on the counter all day, decrease the yeast to 1/2 teaspoon and let the covered dough rise at cool room temperature (about 68 degrees) until doubled in size, about 8 hours. You can prolong the rising time even further by refrigerating the covered dough for up to 16 hours and then letting it rise on the counter until doubled in size, which will take 6 to 8 hours.

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

1. Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room-temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

2. Process the flour and salt in a large food processor, pulsing to combine. Continue pulsing while pouring the liquid ingredients (holding back a few tablespoons) through the feed tube. If the dough does not readily form into a ball, add the remaining liquid and continue to pulse until a ball forms. Process until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds longer.

3. The dough will be a bit tacky, so use a rubber spatula to turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for a few strokes to form a smooth, round ball. Put the dough into a deep oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.

I used just half of the dough for this pizza. It was the perfect amount of pizza to stuff both of us. I would use all the dough if you had 4 or so people to feed and double the following recipe to make two pizzas. Otherwise, divide the dough into two equal hunks and freeze the other half if not using.

1/2 of above pizza dough recipe
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. grated Asiago cheese (optional)
3 Tbsp. store -bought or homemade basil pesto
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded fontina
2 ripe plum tomatoes sliced thinly (I used the processor) and let to dry on paper towel
*you can really use whatever tomato you want - I used a hothouse tomato

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out dough to your desired thickness on a well floured surface. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

2. Brush olive oil on the outer rim of dough. Sprinkle Asiago cheese over olive oil.

3. Evenly spread pesto in center of pizza dough. Use more or less according to your taste. Evenly sprinkle cheese over pesto and top cheese with tomato slices.

4. Slide pizza and parchment paper off of baking sheet directly on to the oven rack. Bake 9-12 minutes, rotating half way, until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing.

Adapted from Cuisinart

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And now for our feature presentation...

Marlo's doing a handful of cute new things lately.

For the most part she's given up the unbecoming gremlin growl she's had for a good month and traded it in for a nice, feminine "La la", often in a pretty girly voice. "la la la la la" all the live long day here. Occasionally, she'll get fancy and throw in a "buh" and make a few "blah blahs" (these are often accompanied by rather large spit bubbles). The point is: the girl's learning to talk. While I think the only actual word she says associating to an actual object is "dada", I have high hopes that we'll make leaps and bounds the next few months. I'm curious what her first word will be outside of mama and dada. She doesn't have a blanket, nor does she have a bottle, so "baba" is kind of obsolete (unless she means "boob" - which is always possible). I have a feeling it might be some variation of puppy. She loves her puppy dogs.

While she's still working on her words, she's mastering body language. Hilariously, she's learned to shake her head "no". Unfortunately for her, her noggin is so large she about loses her balance when she gets carried away. See for yourself.

The Next Meg White

Last Saturday, Gramps Brittain predicted that Marlo was going to be a drummer because she's always got her arms moving around. She must have heard him because she has since been pounding on any surface she approaches. Last night she gave us a drum solo on the seat of one of our dining chairs. After watching the video, I promptly cleaned the house.

What a Weekend!

The last time we went to Chicago was the first time we returned since we had moved away. That was in the middle of January immediately following a blizzard. We left, cursing the city and relieved we had relocated to have Marlo in a more docile environment. This time, we had a change of heart. Jeff drove me up to Chicago for a long weekend to celebrate my birthday. We stayed with my lovely sister Sara (thanks again for sleeping on your couch for 3 nights), and enjoyed the city in a more gentle climate. After this trip, when we left, we did so with a heavy heart. We really do miss you Chicago.

Here are a few highlights from the fun-filled weekend.

Our friends Mike and Andrea drove in Saturday night to have a delicious Mexican dinner (also my first Margarita since before I was pregnant) with us at Lalo's (mmmmmm). We let Marlo and their drop dead gorgeous little girl, Mira, get acquainted for a while at my sister's apartment before we went to dinner. We're not into blind dates. As you can see, Marlo was a little obsessed with Mira. Mira couldn't understand why she was so excited. I love how around :30, Mira strokes Marlo's face as if she were saying "Calm my child." It all worked out. By the end of the night they were kissing - on the lips. We told them to save it for college.



The big "birthday" night was Sunday. Jeff got us tickets to watch a live recording of NPR's This American Life. The show was hilarious. I was a little drunk (see the bottle of wine below), so everything was a little extra funny! Aunt Sara babysat so Jeff and I could have a nice dinner before the show. The restaurant was my choice, and since the show was at the Chicago Theater in the Loop, I seized the opportunity to eat at a restaurant downtown. We showed up at Bandera on Michigan Ave. for a nice dinner. I love this restaurant. The hotel I worked at was right around the corner so my coworkers and I would go there frequently for lunch or after work cocktails. Let me rave about it here for a moment. The place is perfection. If you're going to Chicago and staying downtown. Go there. It's easily overlooked because it's on the second floor above Citibank, but do yourself a favor and don't miss it. The atmosphere is swanky yet casual. Classy yet cool. You could go all dolled up for the opera or in jeans after a long day of shopping. The food is incredible. They have a variety of foods on the menu, but what they're most known for is rotisserie chicken which you see cooking up right in front of you when you first walk in. However, perhaps what's most memorable about Bandera is the service. I've probably eaten here a dozen times and have consistently been blown away by the service (minus one time when the waitress never remembered to bring my sister a straw). The wait staff is always kind, prompt, and knowledgeable.



This romantic evening brought to you by: Jeff Anderson, my husband - he's taken, back off.



A close up of the chips and queso they managed to make into an elegant appetizer and the Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir that was super delicious.



Behold the Hacked Chicken Salad. The most perfect salad ever concocted. The first time I ordered this was the day we found out we were having a girl. This salad is possibly, above all, the reason I go to Bandera, and folks, I'm NOT a salad person. I would post the picture of what Jeff ordered, Bangers and Mash, but it looked kind of vulgar and this is a family show, right? Anyway, he always gets it and its always good!

This past weekend may very well be our final farewell to the city we spent years together in. My sister lost her job last week and will be moving away next month, first to live with us (yea!!) transiently before her final move to Brooklyn. I'm excited for her new chapter in life, but we will miss the free room in our old city. I guess we'll have to start visiting the Big Apple!

Careful Not to Wake the Dragon

Our nights are pretty typical. Marlo goes to sleep around 7:30, and a few hours later, Jeff and I wash up and get ourselves ready for bed (yes, 9:30.. I know. No, we aren't secretly 75 years old). Before we turn the lights out and hit the hay, one of us or both of us will usually take a peek at Marlo. I have to do this because a) I'm paranoid and b) she's a hilarious sleeper. Her most common sleep position is her arms tucked under her belly and her butt sticking straight up in the air. Seeing this right before I go to sleep makes me chuckle and relax a little.

Well, last night, Jeff and I had a classic sitcom moment. We crept into her room together to lovingly take a peek at the the fruit of our loins, when suddenly she grumbled, whined and popped her head up. We immediately and simultaneously dove for cover like a bomb had just exploded in her crib. Jeff, now in her closet, and I, tucked invisibly around a corner, stood motionless and cringing, hoping that she didn't realize we were there. She was in a half asleep stupor, but we were pretty sure she knew I was there. Maybe that was because I couldn't help but pop my head out and watch her. We waited and waited, but it seemed as though she was working more towards staying awake then reverting back to sleep. So, like a Marine, I dropped to floor and army crawled out of the room. My fellow soldier though was stuck. She started laying her head back down, but the floor boards in our apartment are so creaky, he risked being caught with every step. He eventually successfully tiptoed out, and Marlo fell back asleep for the rest of the evening. While this could have had a more somber ending (a wide awake baby right before mom and dad want to go to sleep), it was a close call. Thinking ahead to our next child, I've already asked my parents for a video monitor so we can gaze at our sleeping child from a more "safe" location.

Now for a totally unrelated video, here's Marlo doing her most recent fun thing. She'll sit straight up and lift both arms up for no apparent reason. Now if we could just get her to do the M-C-A part, I'd have something to send in to America's Funniest Home Videos.

Movin' On Up

My parents and my sister all gathered at our apartment for the Easter weekend. We ate well, played hours of Yahtzee, and gave Marlo more attention than she could ever imagine. She's been getting very strong and out of curiosity, I wanted to see if she could climb stairs. This is her first try. We were all impressed. She liked all the cheers and claps she got.

Stand and Be Recognized

Marlo has pulled herself to a stand. Oh the developmental monuments we've covered in the past month. She crawls, she claps, she waves hello/goodbye, she drinks from a straw, and now - she stands. She first accomplished this yesterday after waking from her morning nap. While snatching her from her crib, I found her peering over the side standing flat on her feet. She was so excited when I saw her, she about fell straight back. This morning, my banana peel coaxed her to do it again. Everyone who said it wasn't kidding - they sure grow up fast!

Marlo's First Cookie

She's been somewhat grabby at meal time lately, reaching for the spoons and bowls. So I thought I'd let her give feeding herself a try. I picked up a few teething biscuits and let her go to town. It wasn't long before I realized what a moron I was by not putting a bib on her and sitting her on the kitchen floor instead of our white carpet.

Our Own Personal Sound Effects Machine

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Chatty Cathy Climbs and Bathes

Marlo can be shy in public, so many people don't believe us when we say she's an extrovert at home. I recorded a few of our conversations this morning. Here she climbed up on her toy basket to get a better view.



Later she took a bath and told me a story about how the dolphin hates the octopus. Don't worry, eventually the octopus got its revenge before bath time was over. The crab was just an innocent bystander.

Going Places

The word's been out that Miss Marlo has taken up crawling. I was able to capture video proof this morning. Despicable. Perhaps all of us who love her need to gather together and arrange an intervention.

Watch Your Back Gene Simmons

Can't figure out why exactly, but Marlo's been showing us her tongue a lot lately. It is quite impressive.

Der Kleine Appetit - Part 2: Avocado

Personally, I'm not a fan of Avocado. To me, the texture is like eating a stick of butter, and the flavor doesn't trump the fact that it's like you're eating a stick of butter. However, I know how good for you avocados are, and just because I don't like a food doesn't mean I don't want to encourage Marlo to eat it. So, I picked one up at Meijer on Monday and we tried it out yesterday. Even though I've never prepared one before, I felt like an avocado prep pro having seen it done on the food network probably once every day. Here's how Marlo's first avocado experience went:



While it may seem like things were going uphill towards the end, Marlo eventually began spitting out mouthfuls of it so we moved on to Squash & Corn which I'm sure tasted like dessert after that nasty avocado. Maybe I just had a bad avocado. It was definitely ripe, but I thought it tasted bitter and sour. We'll save it in the arsenal for later when she can handle some chunks in her food. The only bad thing about it though, is avocados are like bananas - once their peeled they oxidize quickly and therefore don't store well. So, unless she ends up liking them enough to eat a whole avocado, they are potentially very wasteful. We shall see....

Marlo Doesn't Like My Cooking

I've made the mistake of introducing jarred food to Marlo. Don't get me wrong - jarred food is just fine, in fact I secretly love jarred food. It's so fun to shop for. Like my friend Andrea said, you can spend hours in the baby food aisle just staring at all the combinations. But it hurts my feelings that Marlo likes jarred food better than mommy's food. I have a pretty good hunch it's a texture issue, since her mother has major texture standards when it comes to her food - it's really no surprise. The only foods I can get smashed finely enough to even hold a candle next to the smoothness of jarred food are sweet potatoes and bananas. Surely not coincidentally, Marlo doesn't have a problem with these foods when I make them for her. It's the peas and the carrots I can't get her to swallow (literally - she gags). The recent trip to my parents' in Ohio loaded me up with jarred foods, and Marlo has just been havin' a ball gobbling up all the deliciousness that I spoon into her mouth from a little plastic tub, instead of our little ceramic bowls.

Ah well - I refuse to give up, even after several failed attempts at making her new foods. Take last night, I tried making spinach and potatoes for her. Boiled up the potato, and steamed the spinach. Dumped it into the blender and out came a gummy, tar-like green completely unappetizing mush. Apparently, my blender couldn't handle the spinach and all the over mixing brought out the starches from the potato and voila - green paste. So instead Marlo ate Gerber Organic Peas and Carrots and loved every bite. (Wipe away tear)

I'm hoping this situation improves with age, and that when she's 8 or 9 months we can sit together at the dining room table and I can just grind up table scraps from mommy and daddy's plates in a food mill and feed it lovingly to the chunkster (first Jeff and I will actually have to start sitting at the dining room table and not on the couch in front of the tv). Because, there's something about jarred meat that I just can't bring myself to buying and feeding to Marlo. So I'm hoping that before we reach the protein stage, she'll start tolerating more rustic textures. But for now, I'll enjoy shopping my favorite jarred food brands and Marlo will enjoy eating them.

Where Did Last Week Go?

I can't hardly believe that tomorrow is Friday. Especially when it seems like just yesterday I was in the car with Marlo in the backseat making the three hour drive to Findlay, but that was last Friday. The visit to Ohio was nice. Marlo is starting to get better on long trips and only cried during that last 30 minutes (the whole 30 minutes). But no matter, I'm pretty sure she got me out of a speeding ticket in Indiana, so all is forgiven.



We spent three full days with my parents, which was nice. It appears that Marlo really likes them which is a relief because she doesn't get to see them any more than once a month at best. A lot can change in a baby's life in a month. She's a completely different baby than she was last week! She's an accomplished sitter now, and has even taken to "dancing" while sitting. Grandpa Keith calls it her Stevie Wonder. Here's a taste:



She's also figured out how to get up on all fours and rock back and fourth. This is exciting to watch as I'm waiting for the day she takes off crawling across the room.



I'm working on quite a few food posts so stay tuned!

Der Kleine Appetit - Part 1: Peas

When I was pregnant and Jeff and I established that I was going to be fortunate enough to stay home with Marlo, I decided I was going to make it as hard as possible for myself. No easy way out. I planned on breastfeeding, using cloth diapers, and making Marlo's food at home. Well, there's no such thing as a diaper service in Indianapolis, and there was no way I was going to scrape, scrub and bleach them myself all the live long day, so that went out the window as soon as it flew in. I'm proud that I was able to and continue to breastfeed Marlo. I felt like giving up in the first few months about 3 dozen times, but I stuck with it and we're doing good. Now that she's 6 months and starting to wean, I've been having fun making food for her. While it's not as easy as opening up a jar, and I have no idea if it's really all that much healthier for her, I feel good about feeding her something I made. I feel the same way when I cook for Jeff. We have lots of options for healthy and affordable take-out, but I find it deeply satisfying to create homemade meals for him. Cooking is by far a labor of love for me. I cook for you because I love you. I should've been born Italian.

Anyway - peas. I've found making baby vegetables a lot easier than making baby fruits. Before the peas yesterday, I attempted to make plums for Marlo. After staining clothes, towels and the countertop with plum juice, I managed to puree a sour, acidic, foamy mush that I could barely swallow let alone dare feed it to Marlo. So, she got a mushed up banana instead - much to her delight. I had much more luck with peas.



Marlo waiting patiently to try her new tasty bowl of mush. (She wasn't that patient.)




Use frozen peas. Canned ones are too salty and not as nutritious, and who are you kidding thinking you're going to shuck that many fresh peas. I just bought a 16 0z. bag of Meijer brand organic petite peas. Pour the peas in a saucepan and cover with water. Once boiling, I simmered the peas for about 8 minutes until they were tender. Drain the peas, reserving some of the cooking liquid to loosen up the puree if necessary.


I used my hand blender to puree in the pan, but you could also use a food processor or a food mill. I ended up adding about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid to thin it out to a smoother consistency. This batch yieleded about seven 2 Tbsp. portions of peas, which for Marlo, is a week's worth of vegetables. Not bad for only about 15 minutes worth of work. Always freeze the excess puree. You can use ice cube trays, or special freezing containers called "Baby Cubes". Defrosting is a a cinch. I just plop the frozen cube of food in a small saucepan over low heat and heat through until piping hot. Of course, always cool to luke warm before feeding your baby.

It turns out that the puree was still a little too thick for Marlo. She gagged a little on the first bite, but nothing that mixing it with her cereal didn't fix.



This girl eats anything. She inhaled it. This feeding was a little more difficult than past feedings (note the amount of peas she ended up wearing), which may mean she didn't like the peas all that much, but the bowl was scraped clean, so peas are on the menu for the rest of the week!



For those of you with babies, or with babies on the way, I hope my experiences making baby foods will inspire you to try to do the same for your little one. My mother and my mother-in-law both purchased me Annabel Karmel baby food books for Christmas. They've got great basic instructions and ideas. I recommend First Meals and Top 100 Baby Purees.