It has been a rough last two weeks. I am not going to lie. First I got the flu, then Ian got the flu, then Ian got the stomach flu, then Tim got the flu...and really, that I could all handle, but then I got the stomach flu, and then Pippin got the stomach flu, and finally Tim got the stomach flu. It was rough. There were a couple bright spots in those two weeks though- especially when my sister Sally, her husband Seth, and their two kids Cate and Will came to visit. We had such a special time. Ian loved having two other kids around the house and spent most of his time staring at them and especially watching his older cousin Will walk all over the house. We spent a windy day at the monuments and on the National Mall. We also went to zoo, which was where Ian first got sick. Sally and I (with Seth's help) made beef bourginoin and profiteroles for the guys for Valentines Day. We took several neighborhood walks to the park and daydreamed about Sally and Seth moving to DC.

Ian at Seven Months

Ian, as of February 8th, is now seven months old. I really can't believe it. Time has gone by so quickly. As I always say though, this is my favorite stage yet. I can actually make Ian smile, I know where he is ticklish, and he responds to my funny faces and noises. Although not quite crawling, Ian loves spending time rolling around on the floor. He currently moves backwards, not forwards, so I often find him under the couch or bed. Ian's new favorite food is Cynda's mom's applesauce. He loves it. He finished an entire container in less than a week. I am trying to supplement with store bought applesauce but I know it just isn't the same. Mrs. Worthington's was a pink color and smelled so fresh!

Ian's new favorite toy is the washing machine. I now know why we have a front load washing machine. I used to hate it. Now I love it. I place Ian in the johnny jump up in front of the washing machine and he is good to go for the entire cycle. Talk about multi-tasking. Amazing!

The biggest highlight of Ian's day is when his dad comes home from work. If he was crying, he stops. If he was cranky, he puts on a happy face. He loves to sit on the bed and watch Tim walk around the bedroom, hang up his tie, and change clothes. It is fascinating.

Ian Finally Meets a Stewart!!!

Last Monday, Ian finally met a Stewart. We were so excited when we heard that Laurel Stewart, Tim's cousin from his mom's side, had an interview in DC. She stayed with us for a night and got to meet Ian. We had a great time catching up and hearing how all the Stewart's are doing. Laurel is such a smart beautiful girl who is currently a senior at UNC. We hope she lands a job in the DC area!!!!

Inauguration 2009- Ian's first history lesson

It seems as though the city is back to normal now, as normal as DC can get, following the inauguration. Well, at least for a bit. I heard the other day that Michelle Obama is pregnant. It is probably just a nasty rumor, but can you imagine? A baby in the White House. It would be like one big national baby shower for months. How fun!

So I really thought inauguration was going to be awful. I was prepared for the worst. I stocked up on food and was ready to hole up in our house. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. There was a great energy in the city- tons of people all in a good mood. The metro was a little frightening when I had to take it downtown for an event, but alas, I survived. I talked to one couple from Colorado while on the metro and they were so pumped. They were staying at a friends house in Virginia, sleeping on the floor with nine other people, but were so excited to be in the city and to take part in this momentous event.

Tim and I watched our friends' dogs while they got out of dodge for the weekend. We decided to take a walk down to the Capitol/ Mall area on the Sunday before inauguration and got a chance to snap a bunch of pictures. There was this calm about the city on Sunday, a calm before the storm. We made a point to tell Ian what each building was, its significance, and the importance if the inauguration.

On the backside of the Capitol- looking toward the House side, with the new Visitor Center promenade on the left.

The city was filled with port-o-potties. I have never seen so many in my life. They were everywhere!

A view of the front side of the Capitol- all ready for inauguration day.

Thousands of empty seats waiting to be filled.

My favorite picture! Tim and all the dogs. You should have seen the looks we got.

Ian and Biergit keeping eachother warm.

I am now officially a homemaker.

I just made baby food for the first time and it was SOOO easy. I can't wait for Ian to try it. I sure hope he likes acorn squash.

Bake the acorn squash in an inch of water at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

Take cool pictures of the acorn squash.

Puree in food processor - add a little water if too thick.

Store in used Gerber containers when the store is out of ice cube trays.

Ian is Talking. Well, kind of.

I just returned from Ian's six month doctor's appointment. He is a champ and didn't even cry when he got his shots. He has dropped in weight- and at 15 lbs is now in the 10th percentile. He is eating so much these days though, and is talking up a storm. Some of his other favorite things to do: go on walks, stare at me while I brush my teeth, and roll around on the floor. Here are some videos of him saying yaddadda yaddadda.

Adventures in Baby Food

The whole food/eating thing totally caught me by surprise with Ian. One day he was just nursing- the next he was eating three square meals a day. I am not quite sure how it happened. He had some applesauce sometime in November, some rice cereal at Thanksgiving, then didn't really eat much until about a week ago when he ate sweet potatoes at day care. Now he is an eating machine. He is eating oatmeal, bananas, and pears in the morning; pears or peaches and rice cereal for lunch; some sort of veggie and rice cereal at dinner; and a banana for dessert. He loves it.

But I had totally planned to make my own baby food. I am really looking forward to it, but I am a bit behind. I am supplementing with Gerber right now until I get my act together. I have some sweet potatoes and carrots to bake and steam but nothing to store them in. I would love any suggestions on great storage containers for food. Also, any great recipes you have would be great too. Ian seems to be very adventurous and hasn't turned away any veggies or fruit yet. Below are some pictures from our adventures with baby food.

Ian eating rice cereal before Christmas. So clean.

Not quite interested in the oatmeal yet.

Eating sweet potatoes from Aunt Jodi and loving it!

Desperate times call for desperate measures

This time of year it is easy to get depressed. In fact I have spoken with several of you and I KNOW you are depressed so don't deny it. As Becky writes, all we want to do is take a vacation- get away from the cold- and wake up and hope that it is spring. So, I am offering my son to you. Yes, it is low, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The other day I too was feeling a bit down and all I needed was to look through Ian's outtakes to cheer me up. Unfortunately (or in this case fortunately), Ian has inherited my ability to take the WORST pictures ever. For every 20 pictures of Ian I get one good one. Here are the outtakes for your enjoyment! It is no vacation, but it will hopefully cure your cabin fever for a few moments.

So life has gotten a little crazy lately. Crazy in a good way though. I just don't have as much free time to post as I used to. I am officially back to work - working in the office twice a week, and at home the rest of the time. Ian is slowly warming up to his day care, and Tim and I are getting used to the new schedule.

We had Ian baptized last weekend and had a ton of family in town to share in this momentous occasion. Ian did great and managed not to mess up his outfit. He wore a white sweater suit with the booties and sweater that his Great Grandmother Nain made. Tim's father baptized Ian and it was very moving. It was so special to be able to look out and see all of our family and friends in the congregation witnessing Ian's baptism. I am totally bummed because I never take enough pictures (like ones with all the family, greatgrandparents, and godparents- what was I thinking?), but here are a few:

Ian and his First Christmas

Ian experienced a lot of "firsts" this Christmas, including Christmas itself.

First live nativity at Lincoln Park.

First time eating a scrumptious dinner of rice cereal in his highchair.

First time getting a bottle from Cousin Cate

First time experiencing the annual Rotzell Christmas party, the singing of the Twelve Days of Christmas by all 75 partygoers, seeing his Pop Pop try to orchestrate the entire thing, and subsequently falling asleep to the pure insanity of it all.

First time wearing a Santa hat.

First time seeing his cousin Will dressed in a three piece suit.

First time opening a Christmas present

First time sitting on Pop Pop's lap on Christmas morning

First time in a Johnny Jump Up

First time snuggling with Uncle Seth

First time hearing Uncle Pete play the guitar

First time meeting the New Jersey Chapmans

All in all a wonderful Christmas. Ian can't wait until next year!

Merry Christmas!

I am at my parents house in Havertown, Pennsylvania. Making cookies, finishing up some last minute shopping, wrapping presents, going on long walks with the dogs: all of these things fill my days. I didn't feel the Christmas spirit until I walked through the door of my parents house. Now it is all around. I won't be blogging for a week or so as we travel to visit family across the state.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful blessed time with family and friends.

Open the Gates and Seize the Day

It is almost 6am and Ian is still sleeping. This is amazing. I put him to bed at 9am. That is almost 9 hours. Amazing! I, on the other hand cannot go more than 6 hours without eating and therefore was up at 4:30am wide awake.

There are several reasons why Ian may have finally slept through the night:

1) The copious amounts of rice cereal my mom fed him over the last day and a half have formed a ball in his stomach that will sustain him for the next year.
2) The diaper thing Stephanie suggested actually works
3) Zack and Jean's stellar parenting skills and overall happy baby aura rubbed off on Ian while Zack was holding him for 20 minutes at Bobby Vans last night while I drank a Guinness
4) The Guinness

Whatever the reason, cause, or miracle I will be celebrating in the following ways:

1) Finishing off the pumpkin crisp my mom left in the fridge
2) Going onto Amazon and ordering a new book to read with all my new free time
2) A bottle of wine this evening
3) Going back to bed

Someone is NOT happy

Ian just found out that Obama really did win, and that in a little over a month our neighborhood is going to be overrun with inauguration festivities.

What? That was real?

How could you keep this from me for so long?

What is going to happen to us Daddy?

I'm scared. Hillary for State, really?

I don't know much about politics but this is not change.

Two Comments

1. I walked Ian and Pippin down to the Hart Senate building yesterday to deposit a check. Love the Federal Credit Union! Although I had Ian all dressed up in his Wok outfit I got no less than fifteen comments about Pippin. That is right. I was holding an adorable 5 month old boy and not one person commented on Ian. Pippin however was a hit. Someone even stopped their cell conversation to exclaim, "That is an adorable dog."

This is good. Pippin and I have been having some issues lately so I really needed this. I had been contemplating wrapping him up in a box (think Griswold) and giving him to my in-laws for Christmas. Yesterday's comments just gave Pippin a couple more weeks of good standing with me.

2. Ian has been sleeping much better the last three nights. Therefore, I have been debating about whether or not to get a Christmas tree. Last week when I was severally under the weather with a cold and lack of sleep I was thinking definitely no. Now with a clearer mind I am having doubts. Am I the grinch? Putting up a tree is so much work though. It is easier just to put out a nativity scene. Besides Ian loves the little Mexican wise men and shepherds that my parents picked up in Cancun last year.