More Firsts for GTG

Her first rusk! (What a MESS - sorry no picture of what she looked like by the end, but she got in the bath afterwards)

And first graham cracker! She seemed to like both of these (and whole wheat toast, which she also tried) and did pretty well gnawing them to soaked bits before swallowing, although there was also a lot of coughing involved. Don't worry, it was safe. A parent was close by.

Meanwhile we splurged on some good natural, nitrate-free bacon this week (let me know if you want the whole lecture on why to avoid nitrates in meat), and made ranch bacon potato salad, with hard-boiled eggs and fresh pineapple on the side. And a glass of chardonnay. Yummy. Some grape tomatoes would have made this even better, like a BLTE potato salad. Next time...we are VERY eagerly awaiting the spring and summer crops in our area - lettuce! tomatoes! cucumbers! bell peppers! eggplant!

Another Saturday breakfast - sweet potato style

It took a couple of weeks, but once she tasted bananas there was no looking back...

Since then Gemma has had applesauce (check-plus), peas (check-minus), carrots (check) and frozen banana (check-plus). Here she is eating some sweet potato for breakfast on Saturday. Yes, she liked it a lot too! And she likes to help guide the spoon into her mouth, and then grab at her toes with her messy hands.



Meanwhile Jim cooked up a new waffle recipe: whole-wheat sweet potato waffles (which also had ground oats and ground almonds in the batter). Hearty and tasty. Our favorite way to eat them was with peanut butter, apple butter, a drizzle of maple syrup and a slice of banana. You know it's Saturday morning when there are five or six jars or pitchers of toppings on the table with your pancakes/waffles, and you're sipping a third cup of coffee.

Breakfast with the Hardys

We hosted Dave, Susan, and Jarom for breakfast on Saturday. We made buttermilk scones for the occasion and also offered my homemade granola with yogurt. Susan supplied the fruit. It was a fun morning - we always enjoy spending time with the Hardys!

Two Walks in the Park

Julianna and Gemma met friends at Karst Farm Park for lunch and some playtime last week. Gemma is still loving the swing!


These pictures remind me of how blessed I am to have these two beautiful ladies in my life!!

On a warm afternoon this weekend, we enjoyed a stroll through Bryan Park and, again, the swings.

My birthday - 6 months later

This week is spring break and I am laying low - taking a much needed break from studies and from my assistantship. It feels to good to have a brief respite in the midst of an intense semester.
We took advantage by celebrating my 32nd birthday - belatedly, as it was back in August, over 6 months ago. One of my presents was a coupon to a B-town joint, to be chosen by Julianna. She chose DATS, which is a Cajun restaurant that we'd heard much about and wanted to visit. It was a great choice! We ordered at the counter - I got the chicken creole and Jul the spinach etouffee (Webster: "a Cajun stew of shellfish or chicken served over rice") with cheese - then picked our meal up at the window a minute later. They also had an amazing Thai chicken etouffee (we had a taste, very spicy), chicken and sausage jambalya, and gumbo, amongst other lovely-sounding dishes. We will definitely return!

We then took advantage of the lovely spring afternoon by strolling around the B-town square, popping into our local 10,000 Villages store, a children's clothing shop, and an outdoor clothing/gear retailer.
We were also trying to kill time until 1:00 pm, which is when Happy Hour begins at Square Donuts. From 1:00 to 2:00 the donuts are 25 cents each and the coffee is free! We decided to make it an even 100 cents and ordered four.
Their donuts are really good, right up there with our other fav Bloomington donut shop, Crescent Donuts (Mom and Dad G. need no introduction to that place, it's their favorite too!).

Gemma wishes her hand was a donut.


As you can see in the pictures below, the place is named after the donuts they produce: they're square.