Solid Food and Puffed Apple Pancake

We are feeding Josh some solid food now because he just seems hungry! He also like watching us eat now, and so far he likes everything he has tried. (Apple, Brown rice cereal, potato, & sweet potatoes) For just starting to eat semi solid food (basically soft mush at this point) he is grasping the concept really well. He really enjoyed his rice cereal and apple mush tonight.He was even opening his mouth for the spoon and sort of lunging for it. It was cute, but messy. And I didn't have the camera handy. The high chair is not out of the attic yet, but hopefully that can happen tomorrow! So far he has eaten while sitting in our laps, and in the baby bjorn. I am hoping that by eating solid food, he will go back to sleeping trough the night. It has not happened again since the one recorded posting. He has been waking up once or twice, even 4 times in the last 2 weeks. Yuck.

I cleared off my craft table about 3 weeks ago so I could work at it and just did Josh's first scrapbook page. It was lots of fun to get back into it. As Karl was looking through my book last night, he commented on the jump from December 07 to September 08, but what can you do. So I missed a year. I was working on 07 in 08, so now I will work & catch up on last year.

We are thinking about trying to teach the kids Spanish. If anyone has any good suggestions let us know! Sydney's preschool teacher suggested it for her, and we think it is a great idea. Sydney is a little sponge and just soaks up new material. If she hears a song only once or twice, she can sing it back later in the day and get the gist of the song. It amazes me.

Emily is a puzzle. At some times she is an incredible helper, with Josh, with odd jobs, etc, and at other times, she is overwhelmed by simple things like her socks. Lately her special seamless socks have been too itchy for her to wear. I don't know where else to get soft socks since I am buying the softest ones I have ever found. Pants that were perfect just a few weeks ago are also no longer ok for her either. Argh. She holds everything together at school, but when she gets home the littlest things upset her and she just dissolves into tears. It is rough. She is also starting to have lots of loose teeth. Right now she is missing one and looks like 4 more are getting ready to fall out.

Karl and I are trying to figure out what to do with the next few years. Wish us luck! San Diego has job offers, and perfect weather, but it is really far away from the majority of family members. We saw a house for was really lovely up for foreclosure, and Karl was thinking if we end up staying here is Suffolk, he wants to unload our house and live in a different one. We never planned to live her for very long and now we know a few more things about house layouts that we like & that we dislike. Someday I would love to design and build a house that is just for us, and has all the charm of a really old house, but all the features of a new one. That day is pretty far away though.

I made a puffed Apple pancake tonight. My mom used to make it when I was a kid. I thought I followed her recipe, but it did not turn out the way I remember it tasting. I'm not sure what I did wrong though. I remembered a higher fluffier puff in hers. Think popover meets apple pie. It was more cooked apple filling meets egg-y cooked dough. No really impressive air in the thing.

So, my other plan this week is (after reading an article saying that good sleep habits aid in weight loss) to turn in around 10:30 every night. We'll see how I do! Good night!

Solid Food and Puffed Apple Pancake

We are feeding Josh some solid food now because he just seems hungry! He also like watching us eat now, and so far he likes everything he has tried. (Apple, Brown rice cereal, potato, & sweet potatoes) For just starting to eat semi solid food (basically soft mush at this point) he is grasping the concept really well. He really enjoyed his rice cereal and apple mush tonight.He was even opening his mouth for the spoon and sort of lunging for it. It was cute, but messy. And I didn't have the camera handy. The high chair is not out of the attic yet, but hopefully that can happen tomorrow! So far he has eaten while sitting in our laps, and in the baby bjorn. I am hoping that by eating solid food, he will go back to sleeping trough the night. It has not happened again since the one recorded posting. He has been waking up once or twice, even 4 times in the last 2 weeks. Yuck.

I cleared off my craft table about 3 weeks ago so I could work at it and just did Josh's first scrapbook page. It was lots of fun to get back into it. As Karl was looking through my book last night, he commented on the jump from December 07 to September 08, but what can you do. So I missed a year. I was working on 07 in 08, so now I will work & catch up on last year.

We are thinking about trying to teach the kids Spanish. If anyone has any good suggestions let us know! Sydney's preschool teacher suggested it for her, and we think it is a great idea. Sydney is a little sponge and just soaks up new material. If she hears a song only once or twice, she can sing it back later in the day and get the gist of the song. It amazes me.

Emily is a puzzle. At some times she is an incredible helper, with Josh, with odd jobs, etc, and at other times, she is overwhelmed by simple things like her socks. Lately her special seamless socks have been too itchy for her to wear. I don't know where else to get soft socks since I am buying the softest ones I have ever found. Pants that were perfect just a few weeks ago are also no longer ok for her either. Argh. She holds everything together at school, but when she gets home the littlest things upset her and she just dissolves into tears. It is rough. She is also starting to have lots of loose teeth. Right now she is missing one and looks like 4 more are getting ready to fall out.

Karl and I are trying to figure out what to do with the next few years. Wish us luck! San Diego has job offers, and perfect weather, but it is really far away from the majority of family members. We saw a house for was really lovely up for foreclosure, and Karl was thinking if we end up staying here is Suffolk, he wants to unload our house and live in a different one. We never planned to live her for very long and now we know a few more things about house layouts that we like & that we dislike. Someday I would love to design and build a house that is just for us, and has all the charm of a really old house, but all the features of a new one. That day is pretty far away though.

I made a puffed Apple pancake tonight. My mom used to make it when I was a kid. I thought I followed her recipe, but it did not turn out the way I remember it tasting. I'm not sure what I did wrong though. I remembered a higher fluffier puff in hers. Think popover meets apple pie. It was more cooked apple filling meets egg-y cooked dough. No really impressive air in the thing.

So, my other plan this week is (after reading an article saying that good sleep habits aid in weight loss) to turn in around 10:30 every night. We'll see how I do! Good night!

Emily lost a tooth

After only 6 month of wiggling, the front tooth is finally out!.

Emily lost a tooth

After only 6 month of wiggling, the front tooth is finally out!.

He did it!!!

Yahoo! Josh slept all the way through the night by himself in his crib! Yeah!!!! And he found his thumb. He is still a fan of the other 8 fingers, but mastered thumbsucking alone. Right now he is sampling my thumb bone. Apparently it is also tasty.

He did it!!!

Yahoo! Josh slept all the way through the night by himself in his crib! Yeah!!!! And he found his thumb. He is still a fan of the other 8 fingers, but mastered thumbsucking alone. Right now he is sampling my thumb bone. Apparently it is also tasty.

The very late family Newsletter for 2008

Happy Chinese New Year,
This past year has brought lots of changes to our family. Most notably, we had a baby boy in September. I’d like to blame the lateness of this letter on the baby, but it isn’t really all that fair to him. We still live in Suffolk, Virginia, and have really settled in here. We have done some traveling to see family this year. We went to Fairfax, VA, Ithaca, Rochester, and Syracuse, New York; Ayer, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut. Karl also made it to Hawaii, San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Denver on business and to see his nieces get married. Although we are far away from most of the family, it was fun to spend a lot of time this year with our closest family members, Heather’s sister and her family.

Emily & Sydney absolutely love school! Emily finished Kindergarten in June and began 1st grade in September. She loves her teachers, loves reading and art, and is enjoying being 6. She is also a wonderful helper with her baby brother. Sydney is in preschool this year. She is as creative as ever, and as feisty as ever! She is a big hit with her teachers at school & at church. She makes it easy to forget she is only 4. They absolutely adore tigers. They like to dress up like them, to draw them and to collect all kinds of tigers.

Both girls were expecting a baby who was more like their cousin Caleb (who is almost 2) who moved & talked, than like an actual newborn baby, so it is only as Josh gets a little older that they are realizing he really is a baby too, not just a bundle in Mom's lap. They are excited to teach him things, and love making him smile. Josh is a wonderful happy little fellow. We love how his smile lights up his face and it is so great to have in our family at last.

Karl and I are struggling with the challenges of life, but hoping we are meeting them well more days than not! Karl has a heavy work load, and a lot of stress at work. He is also dealing with some recent medical issues, like diabetes, which we hope can be turned around with diet and exercise! Sadly it will mean less candy and raw brownie batter!

The kids and the house keep me busy, but I enjoy getting the one on one time just with Josh. I took some time off from my regular design work this year and focused on more creative pursuits like scrapbooking, stamping, and photography. I still love to read and will fall into a book any chance I get! I have made many good friends here and enjoy the time we have spent in this area.

We don't know where we will be next year, but hope it will go as well as this past year has gone for us. We hope this year has started well for you, and wish you all the best in these uncertain times.

With love,
The Pilz Family