Dylan's art

Remember this post? I think it was one of the first posts showcasing Dylan's artistry. Since then, his sketches and imagination has grown by leaps and bounds. I really don't know what other 4 years olds are capable of, but compared to my art skills, I think this kid is amazing (I am a little biased too!)

He came up to me tonight and said "I have a really good idea. How about we make a bat?" I asked, how do you make a bat? He demanded paper, scissors, tape and string. But first wanted to to draw a "map."

This is what he had in his mind as far as how to go about making a bat. Not only was I blown away that he could draw his vision down on paper but the fact that his cognitive skills have really grown. I mean, wow, check out that sketch! A lot of thinking went into it and it took him no time to draw it all down.
Then got busy and executed his plan. First draw his hands for the wings, then cut them out. Then get some string and tape to the wings. I didn't offer any suggestions or ideas, I only helped cut out the wings. (We don't own safety scissors).
You can see the bat in this photo along with other drawings he did tonight.

He loves Sponge Bob and the guy next to him is his buddy Patrick, he's a starfish, can't you tell? Dylan loves watching Sponge Bob. He has gotten a habit of saying (with great force) "tartare sauce" when he is upset or doesn't get his way. It is better than saying "oh crap" which was what he was doing for a while. Have mercy! Tartare sauce is much funnier.

I was trying to encourage him to draw an aquarium or underwater scene. He started with the submarine. I have never shown him how to draw a submarine. Amazing that he was able to comprehend and execute.
The curly waves at the bottom are my doing, but the rest of the drawing is all by Dylan. The creature at the bottom is a turtle, and to the right of that is a shark.

After drawing each picture he has a long winded story about each thing in the photo. He loves to make up stories, complete with sound effects. At night, when I am too tired to read him another book he encourages me to make up a story for him. Then I give him a turn and telling me a story. He is very creative.

He is starting to spell three letter words and can recognize a few in the books. He has been spelling Matthew's name and knows all his school mates names too.

Here is a drawing of his friends at school.

Can you tell his favorite color is red? The kid on the bottom right has a long arm he said. Interesting. Looks like the guy next to the long arm kid isn't too happy. Maybe he is stealing his red crayon. Which is is something that happened to Dylan at school last week.

He is a whiz at the Magna Doodle too and draws on that thing all day long.

I am really thinking of signing him up for art classes at the art center close to our house. We don't spend enough time with him on this stuff. It is terrible to say but after long days at work, I just don't have the energy for it.

Thanks for letting me boast a little!

Mr. 15 Months Old

Our baby is 15 months old!

Matthew is known around the house affectionately (and sometimes not so much) as "Matthew the destroyer," "one-sock Matt" and by Dylan as "baby Mat-tu" followed by "he's so cute!" Matthew loves to rearrange my kitchen cabinets and drawers, dragging everything thing out and leaving a path of destruction. Recently he started singing along to some of our favorite songs ie when singing Old MacDonald, he'll chime in "E-I-E-I" not quite getting the "O" yet. He loves to dance and will drop everything to do a little "white man shuffle" when he hears music. He loved all the music numbers during the Oscars show last night.

He is running (usually away from us laughing hysterically), climbing stairs.. actually climbing up on anything and everything. He can slide himself down backwards off the bed. He isn't into toys as much as Dylan was at the same age, but he is starting to bring books and toys up to me, climbing on my lap so that I can read to him. He is super strong and always dragging big heavy items around the house. Mainly, he wants to play with whatever his big brother is into, which usually ends up with both of them crying and fighting over the prized toy. A love/hate relationship that I am sure they will have for the rest of their lives together.

We had his 15-month check-up today with mixed results. He is growing well, 90th percentile in height and above 50th percentile in weight and head circumference. Unfortunately, he has another ear infection. The second one this year (it's only February!). He had tubes put in his ears in December, so we are disappointed that he continues to be plagued with troublesome ears. Poor buddy.

He has about 13 teeth, I think. The bottom molars are starting to come in. So more sleepless nights ahead for all of us. On the bright side, he'll be able to chew food better and I won't have to cut everything up so darn tiny anymore.

Overall, he is a total joy. I sure do miss the guy when I am at work everyday!

Here are some photos I took of Matty this morning while we were waiting for pediatrician. I am sure you've noticed that there haven't been a lot of photos of the boys on the blog lately. They are so hard to pin down these days, I can't ever get a focused picture!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

While Joe took Dylan to the Chicago Auto Show today (he'll blog all about that later), Matthew and I did some bonding of our own..grocery shopping and cooking! Seriously, two of my favorite things to do.

Since Mardi Gras is coming up, I decide to roll up my sleeves and try making jambalaya for the first time. I love Cajun food, especially gumbo, but I was inspired to make jambalaya when we were at our friends, Lisa and Brian's place recently for Super Bowl. They served us some great jambalaya. Brian's jambalaya is so good in fact, that he swears it was what won Lisa's hand in marriage. Now that is some kick ass rice!

I wouldn't dare try such a prize winning recipe, instead, I used a turkey jambalaya recipe from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Fork in the Road cookbook, which has healthier versions of his amazing recipes. I ate at his K-Paul Louisiana Kitchen restaurant when I was in New Orleans once and it was probably one of the best meals I have ever had. Our group sat across from Kathleen Turner, who was sitting right up next to the bread warmer. The bread warmer! We couldn't believe they sat her there, it was the worst seat in the house. Another table offered to pay for our dinner if we'd switch places with them, so that they could ogle her while she ate. We were like, no way, we had the best seats in the house and weren't giving it up, even for a free meal.

To start the jambalaya, first mix the dry seasonings and set aside. Then cut up your veggies for the base; celery, onion and green bell pepper, or as the natives like to call it, the holy trinity of Cajun cuisine.

The secret of cooking rice, in my opinion, is that you don't lift the lid off the pot until the rice is totally finished. No peeking! Also, I always use a timer. My jambalaya didn't have a crusty bottom like I like, (at times like these, I really wish I had a Dutch oven!) but it was super spicy and pretty good for my first attempt. There was enough jambalaya to feed an army. 

Let the good times roll!

Here is our menu plan for the week.

Turkey Jambalaya

Vietnamese Braised Pork and Eggs in Caramel recipe from White on Rice Couple

Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo (I'll try to blog about this one)

Tomato Basil Bruschetta and mixed green salad

Again, I am trying to utilize some raw ingredients from the fridge and pantry: tomatoes, eggs, pork, shrimp, Italian bread, salad greens, rice, peppers, celery, onions, turkey.

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Sunday

Sandwich as art: The Muffuletta. Our lunch today. nom nom nom.

Happy Valentine

We had a fantastic, jam-packed Valentine's Day weekend which included a birthday party, a movie, dinners and lots of family time. I'm pretty exhausted today!

We kicked off the weekend on Friday with dinner at a local pizza joint with Joe's dad, Aunt and sisters and their families.

On Saturday afternoon, we headed over to Nana B's house for Mackenzie's 3rd birthday party. Mackenzie is Jim's youngest and Joe's Godchild.

After the birthday party Joe and I headed home to get ready for a romantic and relaxing night out. Our wonderful and always fabulous friend, Theresa or as the kids call her "Aunt T", babysat the boys for us while we went to see a movie (in a theater!) and then enjoyed a delicious meal at Asparagus, a French Vietnamese restaurant in the region. The food and atmosphere was sexy and yet tranquil at the same time. And they have live Jazz on Saturday nights. It was nice to sit back and slow down for a few hours (sans kids).

Joe totally spoiled me with the fabulous evening out, but also with flowers, chocolates.. and the cherry on top...he hung up the chalkboard that I have been wanting in our kitchen (yeah, he knows the way to my heart!)

Instead of posting a menu plan for the week, I wrote up all the raw ingredients we had in the fridge so that I could see what I had to work with for the week. We'll also plan to use the board as a communication center, using it to write short notes to each other in the mornings etc.

Dinner Menu for the week:

Omelet

Chicken Pad Thai

Enchiladas

Veggie burgers/Turkey burgers

Gazpacho

For our lunches:

Pasta salad

Leftover omelet with mixed greens salad

Sandwiches

Soup

Spinach, strawberry salad

For dinner tonight, I wanted to use up the potatoes, asparagus and eggs before they passed their prime. So I made a favorite egg dish, Tortilla Espanola, a staple at any good Tapas restaurant. As a side dish, I sauteed the asparagus with some mushrooms and then finished them with a drizzle of white truffle oil...so delicious! The only thing lacking was a good garlicky aioli. A dollop of sour cream on the potato omelette was a decent substitute.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend too!