Just Me and My Grandpa

My Grandpa Ken came to visit me a while ago. He told my mom that I wear too much pink, so I told her to put on my brown outfit. Then he said it was time to start sitting up on my own. But I was too little! So Grandpa propped me up next to him so that we could watch TV together.

Man do I ever love TV. Grandpa made me watch something called golf. Apparently he's really into that these days. I'm sure I'll enjoy going with him someday when I'm old enough to walk.

Grandpa says he likes these pictures because I'm sitting next to him like I'm a "real human person"...I'm not sure what that means, but at least I had fun doing it.

Pretty Pretty Blessing Gown

Azalea's blessing gown was knit by our wonderful friend Sirkku Bingham. She is an amazingly talented knitter and she knit this dress on what I can only imagine are tiny tiny needles. She designed it herself after asking me for just a few specifics. Somehow she read my mind and knew that I wanted a bonnet to go along with the dress even though I forgot to mention it when we were discussing the design. I love it. The dress is more beautiful that I imagined it would be. Thank you so much Sirkku.






If any of you need any knitting done, I would recommend commissioning Sirkku. Also, if you're ever in the Camano Island, WA area, you should stop by her new knitting shop!

We Are A Happy Family

The weekend of Azalea's blessing, our house was bursting at the seams with family. It was wonderful. Azalea got to meet all of her uncles, her aunt, and her Great-Grandpa Egan. Of course she turned on the charm for her admirers and really picked it up in the chirping and cooing department. Below is a picture of her meeting Uncle Kevan for the first time. She was happy that she scored a later bedtime that night because so many people wanted to hold her.

It's difficult to see in the picture below, but Grandpa Ken's eyes are welling up with tears because Zayley has a healthy chunk of chest hair in her tight little hand. She's getting very good at grabbing onto things, but hasn't yet mastered the mature skill of letting go.

When Azalea smiles, she likes to start by opening her mouth very wide and then shaping it into a half smile. Sometimes it looks like she is contemplating whether or not she could fit your head inside of her mouth. This face is very contagious.

The first time Uncle Spencer got to hold Zayley, he didn't know that she likes to throw herself backward when new people are holding her.

Yep, there she goes. Fortunately Uncle Spence was quick to catch her.

Great-Grandpa Egan got to enjoy some snuggling time too after he pried Azalea out of Grandma Nina's hands.

Aunt Laurel and Zayley had lots of time to talk about how excited they are for cousin William to arrive (although Azalea has decided to call him cousin Willy).

Azalea wants me to let you know that she would like all of you to come back. She very much enjoyed never being put down...especially for naps. Apparently she doesn't like it when I move her into her crib after putting her to sleep. She would much rather wake up on a grandma or an aunt. She says to hurry.

Nate as "Fallout 3" and Izzy as Dogmeat

Nate as "Fallout 3" and Izzy as Dogmeat
Originally uploaded by Ben Mason

We went to a party the other day and were supposed to dress up as video game characters. I dressed up as an upcoming game called "fallout 3" where you're basically Mad Max. I mean, really, Mad Max, you even have a blue heeler that follows you around in the game.

Soccer Baseball

First of all, I know, the soccer baseball joke has got to die, but I figured that we have such a high concentration of Idahoan readers I had better call it soccer baseball instead of kickball just one last time. After all, if my Idahoan wife knows it as soccer baseball, don't all Idahoans call it that? Anyway, last satruday a group of my friends got together to play a round of kickball, and let me tell you, it was awesome. I'm still feeling pretty sore three days after. I would guess that the game lasted about 5 innings, and in the end it was a tie, so everyone won, or lost, depending on how you want to look at it.

One of the reasons that I really thought this whole thing was fun was that as I have grown, so has my ability to kick. Take a look at the picture. To really get an appreciation of it, you're going to have to look at the big version, so head on over to Ben's flickr page by clicking on the picture and take a close look at the kickball.


Also, just to make sure that people don't feel like I'm bragging about my ability to kick a ball, I'll also post this image of me freaking out like an 8 year old while getting hit in the face with the kickball. Yeah, remember when you used to play little league and you'd get a little too under the baseball and suddenly it was headed straight for your face? Yeah, that's what's happening here. Again, you'll have to click on the picture to go to Ben's flickr page to get an idea of how much I'm failing at catching this ball. Note that both of my feet are off the ground.

Thank Heaven for Grandmas Part II

About a week and half after her Grandma Gail went home, Azalea demanded that she needed more attention from a grandma. Luckily, Grandma Nina was on her way for a 10 day stay full of pampering and cooing over Miss Azalea. The way I see it, everybody benefits from these visits from grandmas (though the benefit might be a little weighted in my favor). Azalea gets to spend her day hardly ever being put down, my mom gets her cuddling baby fix, and I get to sleep/shower/clean without feeling guilty.


Once again, we made some major progress while mom was visiting. For example: Azalea started to laugh and also got a little bit better about going to bed at night. Mom and I cleaned the entire house in preparation for more visitors that would be coming over the weekend. We also re-stocked my house with non-processed foods; and, I made dinner from scratch for the first time since Azalea was born. We also enjoyed dressing Zayley up like a peacock...though she was not amused.


So on the serious...I don't know what I would do without both of my moms. It has obviously taken me a little while to get into the swing of this baby stuff and their help was crucial while I built up a little confidence. We're all sad that we can't live closer, but at least we have airplanes, and blogs, and skype...

An Apology

Hello All,

This is Azalea speaking to you (my mom is typing for me). It has recently been brought to my mother's attention that she is not updating her blog frequently enough with pictures of yours truly. For that I fear, I am to blame. I'm sorry. The fact is...I like to be held. I'm not that big a fan of my swing, and I'll tolerate my bouncy seat for only a short while. Also, I like to be bathed at least every other day in the kitchen sink; so, my mom uses the times that I will sit in my bouncer to do dishes so that I don't have to bathe with the previous nights dinner. Furthermore, I'm not that great of a napper yet. I'm working on it, but I'm pretty sure that amazing things happen while I'm asleep and I frankly, I just don't want to miss any of it.

This being said, I've decided to make a deal with my mom. She will post a new blog about me at least once a week, (I'm thinking Saturdays are looking good) and I will try my best to sit contently while she does so. Also, I will continue to pose and look adorable for as many pictures as she would like to take. I feel this is an even deal.

So keep tuning in for the following blogs featuring me...

1. Thank Heaven For Grandmas Part II

2. We Are a Happy Family

3. Blessing Day

4. Napping In The Big Bed

Finger Steaks

I was inspired by Dallin and Jen's survey to do one of my own based on a conversation that I had with Ben and Rachel, who didn't even know that finger steaks existed.

Easter Has Come and Gone Already?

When Gail's Easter package arrived on our doorstep on March 19th I wondered why she had sent it a month early. Apparently Easter was to be the following Sunday and I had no idea. It's like having a baby has put me in a time vacuum or something. Luckily, our friends had already started planning an Easter dinner and were also happy to come over for a last-minute Easter Egg Coloring Extravaganza (a.k.a. Color Easter eggs while watching some episodes of 30 Rock and Battlestar Galactica)


Aren't our eggs impressive? We made the stripes using rubber bands...I got the idea from Real Simple magazine.

We planned on going to church on Easter Sunday, but since Azalea decided to stay up until 3:00 AM the previous morning, we decided that it would be best to spend our first Easter as a family at home...in bed. That evening we headed over to Ben and Rachel's for an Easter feast! They made ham, green beans, asparagus, and deviled eggs. We made pork ribs and scalloped potatoes. Mmmm...


Azalea got all dressed up even though she didn't get to show her cute self off at church. Please note the socks that look like shoes. She loves them so much that she asks to wear them everyday.

Just Call Him Tyler (but not really)

For those of you who don't know...Nate is a wonderful cook. He may not get many opportunities to cook, but when he does it is always excellent. A couple of days ago he offered to get dinner started while I fed Zayley and of course I jumped on the offer. I gave him a recipe for chicken-fried steak that I had found in Everyday Food and left him with my blessings and my confidence. In what seemed like no time Nate had whipped up chicken-fried steak that was better than any I have made in my life...and I've tried to make it a few times because I love the stuff.


Nate, on the other hand, is not a fan of chicken-fried steak; and, making the steak got him itching to make fried chicken. So, he invited a few of our friends over, found a recipe by Tyler Florence on foodnetwork.com made a recipe kind of like one by Tyler Florence, and proceeded to make yet another excellent meal. This chicken was de-freakin-licious.


In sharp contrast to things that I have breaded and fried in the past, Nate's breading was even, beautiful, and didn't fall off while he was frying it in the pan. The chicken breasts were moist...not dry and chewy like mine usually are. Now that I know what Nate is capable of, I'm considering giving up the cooking responsibilities from here on out.

Happy Pacifier Day!

Monday was pacifier day for Azalea.

She was happy.