(CB)
I had an awesome wild food identification outing with Forage SF yesterday in Golden Gate Park. We identified tons of different edible species including miner’s lettuce, New Zealand spinach, nasturtium, wild onions and more. I tasted about ten varieties of edible greens and afterward our guide shared some hot oxalis lemonade (sweetened with honey from the park’s bees) and wild fennel pesto on acme bread. Oxalis is an incredibly abundant weed with bright yellow leaves and a strong sour-lemony flavor. The pesto was made with wild fennel fronds, salt, and lots of olive oil and was totally awesome – I could imagine it being great on pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and olives or coated on a big bowl of cold boiled potatoes.
The quantity and variety of wild edibles was incredible. In one small area the size of our living room, we saw at least five different edible species – even if we would have gleaned the recommended maximum of 1/3 of what was available in that minute space, we easily could have had enough for a beautiful and large platter of sauteed greens for four people.
I’m looking forward to trying out some new ingredients in a few recipes: wild nettle ravioli, tuscan bean soup with New Zealand spinach, cold oxalis lemonade.
We could also have made a salad with different greens topped with at least three varieties of edible flower. With all the onions, we could have easily made some of Nicholas Markoff’s onion soup 😉
6 months
frederick turned 6 months old yesterday and i can’t believe it! he is such an amazing little person, and we can’t get enough of him. today at his 6-month appointment we found out that he is 25 inches long and 12 pounds. that is the 10th percentile for height and far below the 5th percentile for weight – what a string bean!
he has such a cute little personality – he is constantly smiling and he loves being around people and flirting with the ladies. he’s a very observant and alert little boy. when he is around new people he loves to stare at them and study their faces – i like to call him “starey gary”.
he has decided to start waking up every 1-2 hours during the night, which has made for two pretty exhausted parents, but we’ve learned to function (somewhat) on less sleep. he can now roll over in both directions, but most of the time is just happy where he is and doesn’t tend to do it without encouragement. he is still a cuddler, which i love. i love to carry him around on my hip like a little koala bear while he clings onto my back and arm. he’ll grab your neck and give you a little hug if you hold him right. he loves baths and loves kicking his legs in the water and us floating him on his back.
he has officially found his voice and recently started with some high-pitch squealing, which i find adorable now, but we’ll see how long that lasts. he also learned to whisper which i am sure i will always fine completely adorable – he makes the sweetest little oohs and aahs. he has grown into his cry, and it is much louder, angrier, and sadder than his baby cry he had before. he has figured out that the funny noises we make come from our mouths and thus loves to grab at your face and mouth when you’re talking to him. noises that sound like explosions are sure to make him smile every time.
we pretty much think that he is the bees knees. he still gets lots of kisses and we still fight over who gets to hold him.
fyi: christian still calls him frederick and i am most prone to call him “bud” or “buddy” and not by any real name. formally i call him fritz, and that is what our pediatrician and most of our friends call him. kelly calls him freddy and i love that too. he is a baby of many names. other nicknames we have for him: goober, goober goo, pukey mcpukerson, funny face, pooper.
5 months
frederick is 5 months old today and i can’t believe it! time flies. he is quite the 5er – 5 weeks early, 5 lbs. 5.5 oz.
he continues to be such a joy in our lives. he is getting more and more alert and curious and it is so fun to watch him. he smiles easily, laughs occasionally, and is generally a very happy and content little boy. his new tricks include drooling constantly, rolling over, chuckling, and having long conversations that consist of a lot of oohs and aahs strung together. he also likes to ooh and aah along with me all the way through a song – maybe a way of telling us that he’ll love to sing when he gets older? things he has loved in the past month: baths, hikes, walks, being read to, being on his changing table, playing with his toys, putting things in his mouth, being sung and talked to, his hands. he went on two trips this month. the first was a road trip to pasadena to visit our funny friends the bertagnas. he did great in the car – he is always such a champ! then he came with me on a business trip to phoenix and was spoiled rotten by my parents all week. sarah also came to phoenix for the weekend so he got to see her too. he is such a lucky boy to have so many people that love him and shower him with attention! we still can’t get enough of him and love him to pieces. christian and i often fight over who gets to hold him, which i find extremely comical.
soon he will be 6 months old and we are looking forward all of the fun things that brings – solid foods, swim lessons, and putting him in his baby bike seat.
p.s. i realize the number of pictures i put up has grown exponentially but it is too hard to pick! i have taken thousands of photos i think it is a bit out of control. 🙂
diaper song
i often overhear christian singing funny made-up songs to the baby, this time i tried to sneak up on him.
first laugh
fritz had his first real laugh today. for a while now he will get excited and do some funny breaths that are his version of a laugh, but today there were real chuckles for the first time. i’ve been anticipating this for months! it was amazing! (don’t mind the fact that i haven’t showered in a couple of days – we’re all getting over a case of the flu this weekend.)
iPhone Photos
Thought I would share some recent iPhone pics given that I take at least one every day!
Frederick’s “moon boots” as Christian calls them.
Trying to fit both his fists in his mouth.
Kelly actually took this one of us catching up when I got home from work.
Sleepy face – he sleeps with his eyes a little open just like me!
This photo was sent by the nanny – apparently Alia is a cougar – rawr!
Looking cute with Jude in their matchy-matchy Sunday outfits.
Baby’s first hike in the headlands.
Happy kid in his PJs.
4 months
it is hard to believe frederick is 4 months old today! he is such a joy to have around. his 4-month appointment is next week and i am anxious to see the stats. from my estimations he is at least 25 inches long and a little over 11 lbs. so he is tall, but quite the string bean!
he is very alert and interactive. i went back to work at the beginning of the month, 4 days a week, and each day when we’re reunited we like to have conversations about his day – he is quite the talker. i will try to post a video soon.
he is also very into his hands – looking at them, trying to eat them, grabbing things (especially my shirt), drooling on them. he rolled over on monday – once for me and once for christian – but hasn’t done it since.
we’ve started hiking with him every saturday and he loves it. other hikers also love to say hello to him. he’s also finally on a good evening schedule where he goes to bed around 8:30. as much as i enjoyed hanging out with him until midnight every night, i am happy to have more sleep (and to catch up on some favorite tv shows)!
to sum it up, we just think he is the cat’s pajamas. we cannot get enough of him. i don’t think any baby in this world is kissed as much as he is, and we still find ourselves saying to each other “he is just SO amazing/handsome/beautiful/perfect” many, many times per day.
best baby buddies
we had a great visit last weekend from the kanes (minus sadie). emily decided to come with jude at the last minute, and we kept it a secret from christian. i love surprising him! these two babies are destined to be pals for life!
nursery
i decided it is about time i share pictures of fritz’s nursery. it has been a work in progress and it’s still not exactly what i imagined, but it’s getting there. if we weren’t renters i would have loved to paint the walls but oh well. we love to sit in the corner and read to him, and the changing table is his favorite place to talk talk talk. lately he scoots all around the crib in his sleep so i had to take the bumper off. yesterday morning when i went to get him in the morning he had wriggled out of his swaddle completely and was laying across the crib with his little feet up on the wall. such a character. he just recently started noticing his mobile and he is mesmerized by it, especially if it is spinning. christian bought a little motor for it so it will spin for him. i have been collecting little nicknacks to spell out the alphabet (with a lot of help from my mom) and it has been a lot of fun. we got a few more things at christmas to fill in some of the gaps.
BB&CB