loving the lake...

We are just home from a wonderful, recharging weekend at the lake with my family.  Every time I am fortunate enough to take a trip upstate to my aunt and uncle's lake house, I'm transported back to happy childhood moments, full of laughter, imagination and nature.  It is a blessing to share that with Mr. Boom and George.

My favorite shot of G:

Sharing an apple with Baba in the pop-up toddler tent:

On this trip, we were able to meet the newest member of the family - Baby L (with his mama, my cousin Jules).  So, adorable!  It is amazing how short memory is at times.  Though over 14 pounds and closing in on 3 months, he looked impossibly tiny to me and I kept thinking, "How was G ever that small?"

(as always, click on any photo for a larger, better quality image)

the destruction of a fruit pop...

Introducing homemade frozen fruit pops to G's snack selection this summer was simultaneously a very good and very bad idea.

Good idea:
- helps beat the heat
- healthy
- actually gets him to sit for more than 5 minutes
- he loves them

Bad idea:
- he wants a "pop" all. the. time.
- right after his morning milk, he takes my hand, pulls me over to the freezer and asks, "Pop?" To which I answer, "Not right now George." Insert crying toddler.
- minutes after finishing breakfast, he takes my hand, pulls me over to the freezer and asks, "Pop?" To which I answer, "Not right now George." Insert crying toddler.
- upon waking from a nap, he takes my hand, pulls me over to the freezer and asks, "Pop?" To which I answer, "Not right now George." Insert crying toddler.

You get the point, right?  I think he would eat a dozen pops a day if allowed.  Luckily, every day, he does get one (and sometimes a second) pop and I get to be the "Yes!" mom.  For that, I am handsomely rewarded with seeing this:

And, yes, I have moved on to less stain-er-iffic fruit combinations after the first very colorful batch.  It's a journey and an adventure...

beating the heat: photo edition

 Water misters...

 kiddie pools...

 lots and lots and LOTS of water...

 and our wonderful, local splash park!

It's not all bad :-)

beating the heat: homemade frozen fruit pops

As in just about every other part of America, is has been hot here.  I'm talking Satan's playground type of heat.  Record breaking temps.  Sweltering humidity.  Horribly hot and unbearable. Got the picture?  We've been trying all sorts of things to keep cool but one in particular has become George's favorite. 

Ice pops.

When he was so sick with the coxackie virus for a few days back in June, I picked up some of those freezer pops in a tube to have on hand.  He wasn't eating or drinking enough and I was about to try anything.  Hating that they were pure sugar water with nasty food dyes, to boot, I was determined for this to be a short term solution and not a habit.  The pure sugar pops were quickly replaced by 100% apple juice pops, frozen in popsicle molds I had picked up on a whim during my last trip to Ikea. Though G doesn't drink juice, an occasional juice pop was an alternative I could live with.

Then, last weekend we took a road trip to visit some friends.  Having a son close to George's age, the mom had a similar pop issue in her house.  She had recently bought a juicer and her solution was to make popsicles for her son out of her juice creations.  Perfect!

We don't have a juicer but, the Magic Bullet?  Works just as well for this. I'm sure a blender would also work fine. The next day, I pulled the bullet out of the cabinet, grabbed a few ingredients and crafted my own batch of frozen fruit pops.  Batch #1 was made with a peeled and diced apple, a handful of frozen organic wild blueberries and a splash of 100% blueberry-pomegranate juice to thin the mix out enough for the bullet to work it's magic.  I emptied the puree into a measuring cup for easier pouring and quickly filled 5 of the 6 molds from one small batch.  Inexpensive, super simple, using on-hand ingredients and all natural.

And the verdict?  Fruit pop love...

this is what summer looks like...

the park. playing with his reflection in the run-off from the local splash park:

family walks around town in the still warm evenings:

oh look, another park. the day our not quite 18 month old climbed a ladder. by himself. um, yeah:

visits with family. g and my mom two weeks ago:

lots and lots of running and laughter:

feeling the need, the need for speed (don't worry, mr. boom was right next to him, just out of the frame):

it's a good start to this first toddler summer.  we are thankful for the many parks in town and the ability to walk just a few blocks in either direction to find good, clean (or dirty, in the case of the mulch parks) fun.  we have plans to see family, take a couple of weekend trips, spend time with friends and try to soak up every moment with our happy boy as he discovers everything in his world.

(as always, click on any of the photos to enlarge)

it's {un}officially summer here...

For most, summer unofficially begins Memorial Day weekend.  It's when lifeguards finally sit on duty at beaches and community pools open their gates.  Picnics are had and a large big crate of watermelon sits at the entrance to every grocery store.

Around here, we start summer just a few days earlier with the celebration of Mr. Boom's birthday.  This year we had only been back from Greece for a couple of days and G was still fighting jet lag but, the birthday must go on!  We had a wonderful grilled steak dinner at my in-law's followed by, what else, cake and ice cream.

I'm sharing this mainly because I love a couple of the captures from that evening...G helping his Baba blow out the birthday candle, right after eating his very first ear of corn, for which he needed no instruction!