The First of Many

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012, was Judah's inaugural school experience. I'm still staying home with full-time job of Mommy, so we debated sending him to "school" at all. But he was so ready....with a thirst for learning, routine, and meeting new friends. And this Mommy uses the 6 hours each week to get lots of things done and even (gasp) devoting some time to myself (reading, going to the gym, etc). It is fab.

I was anticipating tears from both Mommy and Judah...but there were none. Just curiosity on Judah's part; peace on Mommy's part. And excitement and smiles from both :-) He truly did great and his school attendance just reinforces his own proclamation of his "big kid" status. (sigh).

Exploring the playground on Orientation Day

Looking cool with "Safety Sammy" 

Early morning picture time on the first day

Yes, he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. However, this is also what he wants to be for Halloween.
Maybe he was slightly confused by my question ;-)

And we're off!

Obsessed with his backpack.

And he remembered (from orientation day) exactly where to hang it when he entered the room.

Washing hands with his teacher.

Ready to explore!

Bye-bye Mommy, I got this ;-)

Perhaps his favorite part of the day..."Two special treats,!" he kept saying when I picked him up.
Bagel and a juice box. Couldn't be happier. 

The first of the first was a success! Here's to 14+ more years! 

Enkutatash

Melkam Addis Amet! (Happy New Year) That's right, it's a new year in Ethiopia today.  "Enkutatash" signifies the new year and means  the "gift of jewels." It is representative of the time period when the Queen of Sheeba returned to Ethiopia from her expensive visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, as she was adorned with beautiful jewels. The date also traditionally marks the abrupt end of the rainy season in Ethiopia.

We are blessed to live in a city that celebrates Ethiopian holidays, and we are trying to soak it up while we are here. DC held an Ethiopian new year event on Sunday with food, music and dancing on our National Mall near the Washington Monument. We had a great time playing, jammin' to the Rasta music, and making new Ethiopian friends.

It's fascinating that our Ethiopian friends maintain the Julian calendar, which is approximately 8 years behind our (Gregorian) calendar...making today the beginning of 2005 there!  Meskerem (September) 1st marks the first day of the year in Ethiopia, which translates to September 11th in the States. Kind of ironic, don't you think? While one country celebrates newness and the excitement that brings, another country (along with the world) remembers the tragedy of a horrific event on this very day 11 years ago. Today, our family grieves with the rest of the nation, remembers the fallen, and celebrates freedom...all while remaining grateful for new beginnings.

Won't You Sing with Me?

Someone is ready to start school...good thing it begins on Tuesday!
p.s. he asked if he could play the piano with his foot.
p.p.s. I come in a little late with the filming. I promise he knows A-D :-)

So Long, John (John)

There's no denying I'm a Southern girl. Thus there's no denying my love for all things smocked, embroidered, and monogrammed~especially when they adorn sweet little ones.

As an Alabamian, I know it's not uncommon to see a six year-old dressed in this.

Oh, John-John how I love you. And although they were made popular by this little guy....

Let's face it~ although it sounds stereotypical, it's really just fact that only Southern white boys wear these things in the 21st century.

In DC, you will never find even a 6 month-old in one. So you can imagine the looks we get when our little brown child wears them above the Mason-Dixon line. If I had my way, I'd dress Judah in one everyday, but I refrain and mostly save them for church and other "dressy" functions. The few people who are brave enough to say anything say, "You must be from the South." Why yes, yes I am. And it doesn't matter if Judah's John-John has dump trucks and diggers, the only other comment we receive  is "Well, she's just precious." Time after time. So I'm finally agreeing with my husband that it's time to move-on.

Before we say our final good-byes, let's take a trip down memory lane shall we?

And here's one last photo shoot with Judah wearing perhaps my all-time favorite. Apparently Judah thinks it's time to move on, too. When I put this one on him this week, he said "No likey this." First time I've ever heard him express an opinion for clothes. (Sorry, KK). So I did what every Southern-at-heart Mama would do, I bribed him with baseballs and juice :-)

So long, John! We hope to see you again someday. (Lord, help me if we are ever blessed with a girl :-)

Snack Please?

I've been trying out lots of new recipes this summer and wanted to share a few of our new favorite snacks. The first is homemade granola (gluten-free of course :-) found here. This was super fun to make because I had my little sous chef join in on the action. Great pre-math lesson too, as little man is becoming quite the counter!

I prepared the ingredients during Judah's nap

Chop chop! 

When I told Judah it was time to stir the pan, he said "No mommy, sweep!" You're right, little buddy, "sweeping" the oats around worked out much better :-)

in the oven! 

Finished product...oh so yummy. 

Another summer favorite has been Almond Energy Bites found here or "Energy Balls" as they are affectionately called at our house~recommended by my dear friend Andrea, aka "Isaac's mommy." Judah first tasted one of these at Isaac's house and even though I've made them several times this summer, he still says "Isaac's Mommy" when I give him one. Oh well. I don't have a picture of these because they are gobbled up by the the two men in my house soon after they are made! Gluten-free and great for kiddos with a peanut allergy because they are made with almond butter. (Hint: I use a little less agave nectar than listed or you can substitute honey...both make them not as sweet, which seems to be better. I also substitute dark chocolate chunks for the raw cocoa nibs.)


And lastly, we've been making kale chips to substitute for all of those tortilla chips that are usually consumed by the Nixes. So easy and very delicious! This is the recipe I use....the olive oil in plastic bag trick is the way to go!

Quite possibly my favorite meal of the summer...
gluten-free basil-pesto BLTs and kale chips.

Happy Snacking! 

Fun in Bama!

The first week in August gave us the much anticipated summer trip to Alabama...back to my hometown to visit family and friends. Although these trips are now much more expensive (thanks to a little someone turning 2 and needing his own seat on the plane) I must say that this self-proclaimed "big kid" is quite the airplane passenger~making flights a little easier. Can you tell he was excited to board?!

waiting to board the plane while flying his own

One of my favorite things about visiting is getting to see Judah with his cousins, Marlee and Maggie...or as Judah sometimes affectionally calls them "Margie," as one unit of course :-) Not sure if the highlight of this trip was visiting the zoo....

Or celebrating Marlee's 8th birthday...

I think the birthday party wins out because of this...

It's safe to say he enjoyed himself.

We also visited with lots of old friends. So special for me~and pretty cool for Judah, too, as they all brought along their kiddos. Here is a shot of most of us (a few didn't make the picture) after a fun day at my parents' pool. And yes, after one too many cookies and a few too many hours past his nap time I just couldn't get Judah to hold it together for the pic. Next time, buddy.

And one of my college besties, Brooke, visited another day. Judah had so much fun swimming with Sawyer.

And we finally got to meet Sawyer's precious baby brother, Ben Fischer! My niece was quite the babysitter, too ;-)

I'm pretty sure every other second of the trip was spent in the pool with this cool kid, my very own Olympic swimmer.

It was a great, action-packed trip and I think we're finally caught up on sleep. Yay! In the words of J-man anytime we leave a place, "See you next time!"

Lil Fish

So much to catch you up on...I'll get to it I promise. Tonight I just want to share some evidence that our lil' man went from being quite apprehensive of the pool early this summer to this by the first of August...

He now jumps off "all by self" without me there to catch him. Too bad I don't have video of this yet. It really was priceless. After jumping off the diving board a few times, he boldly declares as he stands on the edge and points to his chest, "Big Kid!" I know what this means. He does not want mommy to catch him. I give in and off he goes...huge jump, goes way under, comes up smiling and swimming to ladder..."all by self." It's true I tell ya.