Irish Soda Bread!, or Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

For our Saint Patrick's Day project, I decided we were making Irish Soda Bread because...well, I'll take any excuse to make bread.

Frances helped grease the baking pan, and then tested the grease for me.

Yep, that's grease.

Then she mixed up the ingredients (I was using a recipe from the back of a buttermilk carton - very convenient).

Then came the kneading, Frances's favorite part.

Then the lump o' dough (like my Irish accent?) got painted with butter and buttermilk.

Deliciousness!

Frances deigned to eat one bite.  Mark said it tasted like a saltine cracker that would be much improved by gravy.  I thought it was great and proceeded to finish it off, because I haven't quite accepted that I'm not pregnant anymore and can't get away with these things.

To Saint Patrick's Day (and rolly-polly-ness)!

Sap-to-Syrup Pancake Breakfast at Drumlin Farm

Drumlin Farm, a farm run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society, hosted a pancake breakfast just before St. Patrick's Day, featuring displays about how syrup is made from sap.  Learning about syrup seemed like a very Citizens of the Commonwealth thing to do and Mark and I never turn down pancakes, so we've really been looking forward to it.  

We started the morning with pancakes.  Somehow, the glory of pancakes and syrup is lost on Frances. 

Then I dragged the family out to visit all the animals on the farm.  Who doesn't like visiting animals?  Sure, it was a bit nippy, but that's what winter jackets and a stiff upper lip are for, right?  Frances was reasonably interested in the sheep.

This is not a great picture, but a couple of the ewes had just lambed and Frances was reasonably entertained by the babies.

She was a big fan of the pretend tractor.

Drumlin Farm is very good about having animals available for the kids to touch.  Frances got to meet a chicken up close and personal.  Again, Frances was reasonably interested.

See this face?

It should have been a warning to me, because her willingness to humor us ended about ten seconds later.  Frances was some combination of hungry, tired, cold, sick and three, because she became distinctly disinterested in Drumlin Farm in general and sap in particular.  We tried to stop by the sap display before beating a hasty retreat.  It quickly became obvious that Frances was not interested in the fascinating process of how sap becomes syrup.  I thought I could listen to some of the presentation while Mark wrestled Frances back to the car, but I was too distracted by Frances's howls.

Next year.  Next year, we will all be interested in how sap becomes syrup, unless of course it interferes with Chandler's nap.

Five Weeks

Is there anything sweeter than a newly washed newborn...

...even if the newborn is balding and angry...

...and cross-dressing?

You must excuse me now.  I'm fairly certain my whole house smells like regurgitated milk and I must do some laundry.

On this night of a thousand stars...

Frances can be a touch...obstreperous, I believe is the word her loving Mimi used.  I believe Mimi also called her a humdinger.  I find myself repeating requests/commands a lot - "Frances, it's time to put on your pajamas.  Frances, it's time to put on your pajamas.  Frances, it's time to put on your pajamas." - which of course is my fault, not hers, but you get the picture.

But not last night!  Last night, Frances was on fire!  She did all sorts of things by herself that she's never done before, like wash her own hair in the tub, dry herself off after her bath, put on her pajamas (what she chose to use as pajamas), and more.  

And she tried three - THREE! - new foods.  And she went to sleep without anyone sitting with her and patting her back for 15, 30, 45 minutes.  I don't think I contemplated running away to a deserted island even once!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's not an oncoming train!  We are so proud of this kid.

One Month of Baby Chandler

Yep, this is the only photo of Chandler we got on her one month birthday.  Ack!  Really, I wish I had a photo of her everyday, she's changing so fast.  She's already lost the newborn cry.  It's just killing me.

One Month Fun Facts

• Chandler Firsts:  Chandler has had many, many firsts, of course.  First trip to the Museum of Science, first trip to the Museum of Fine Art, first trip to the the Natick Community Organic Garden.  Are any of these firsts documented in photos?  Of course not, because she's a second kid and the camera doesn't make the cut of essential stuff to lug around.
• The Daily Grind: She's still in the "Feed, Change, Sleep, Repeat" Stage, which is just fine with me.  Newborns are such a breeze!  Except when they're not, of course.
• Likes and dislikes: Chandler likes being warm, really warm.  She seems to view every clean diaper as a challenge.  "There's a clean diaper in the vicinity?!  I can fix that!" Before going to bed each night, I lay out a complete change of clothes for her, just so I won't have to hunt for them in the very likely case that they become necessary before morning.
• One word to describe Chandler: Smiley.  I don't know when "real" smiles begin, but I'll gladly take all these smiley grimaces until then.

Forty Months of Preschooler Frances

More pictures of Frances in her pajamas because her mother forgot to get her monthly picture until the very end of the day.  Oh, well.

Forty Month Fun Facts

• Frances's Mispronunciations:  "Babe-ing suit"  instead of "bathing suit."  I love this one, and since Frances is going swimming about once a week, we get to hear it a lot.
• Frances's Take on Human Reproduction:  "Mom, your boobs are getting bigger and bigger and bigger...like balloons!"  Let's enjoy it while it lasts.  And she's come up with lots of versions of  "I've got a baby in my belly."  Last night she was explaining to me that I was a baby in her belly.  Don't know how her brain is coming up with that one.  And, finally, she'll say to anyone who will listen, "That baby just popped right out!"  Everyone who's been subjected to this has just nodded and smiled.  Seems like the way to go.
• Frances's Triumph:  One day, Frances announced she wanted to wear panties to school instead of a pull-up.  I thought it was going to be a disaster, but I couldn't say no.  It was not a disaster.  In fact, with very few exceptions, Frances has done great.  She even makes it through the night without a diaper.  I think she is officially potty-trained!  Maybe seeing Chandler in diapers was the final push she needed?  Who knows? But I am grateful.

The Girls and Their Hayward Grandparents

My mom came and did her usual stint of sanity bolstering for three weeks after Chandler was born.  Thank you, Mimi!  Sometimes that was as easy as sitting around with a newborn, but usually not.

Then my dad came to visit and meet the latest edition (Chandler brings their grandchild count to seven.  That's a lot of birthdays to remember.)

Dad, also known as Grandfather Sir, tried to take a nap with both girls around.

To napping, Frances says,

"HA!"

(That's flour on her nose from making sugar cookies.  Frances and her father have been making sugar cookies almost every day, and then eating the batch of cookies.  We will get her BMI above 4, we will!)

Chubby Bubby?

Chandler's first bath at home?  Perhaps, the addled brain can't quite remember.

She may not qualify as "chubby" yet, but that's a healthy kid!

Such sweetness.

One Week of Chandler

A lot of Chandler and a little of daddy:

A few days old

The Upton Girls At Home

This is what it looked like outside:

...so we spent a couple days in bed once we were home from the hospital.  Frances and Chandler seemed content to stay in, at least most of the time...

Valentine's Day Fail

I thought I had a great idea for a Valentine's Day treat for Frances's school friends: heart-shaped birdseed ornaments that get hung outside for birds to eat.  They're shaped like hearts, so good for Valentine's Day.  They're easy to make, so good for Frances and me.  They're not candy, so good for giving away to kids whose parents may be anti-candy.  I thought it was a brilliant idea.  Then I read the fine print on the birdseed bag and learned that it was produced in a facility that also handles nuts.  Nuts are an absolute no-no at Frances's school and I wasn't up for hunting down birdseed produced in a facility that doesn't also handle nuts. We scrapped the idea of giving the ornaments away but I thought it was still a good project for Frances.

Frances helped mix the ingredients: flour...

...water...

...karo syrup...

...and birdseed.

Frances (and/or Mark) stirred to combine (and maybe sampled a bit).

Then Frances pressed the mixture into a heart-shaped mold.  What could be simpler?

The day after Valentine's day, we took our ornament outside to hang.

Right after this photo was taken, Frances and I climbed over a snow bank with the ornament to get to our chosen tree.  And the ornament shattered.

Valentine's Day Fail.