Getting ready for tricks and treats

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Originally uploaded by chelsealacatena

Halloween 2009

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Originally uploaded by chelsealacatena

Gibson the friendly dinosaur!

MOM!!

Its been forever since I have posted. I apologize but I do update my facebook often, if you want to catch me over there - http://www.facebook.com/gobosgirl

So, besides being utterly adorable and amazing and smart, Gibson has recently taken to calling me MOM. Not mommy, not mama, Mom. I do get the others occasionally, but, most often MOM is his preference. I know that my family delights in this news. Yes, it does come out MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM often. Yes, I do hear myself in his voice everytime. Yes, I hear you all laughing hysterically and thinking: "serves her right".
Thanks for the curse...its come true before he hit two.

Love and kisses to you all. Enjoy the photos from his Uncle Harry and Aunt Tami.

gibson loves dirt and bugs and all things

gibson
Originally uploaded by thisistami

photo courtesy of Uncle Harry

gibson and chris

gibson and chris
Originally uploaded by thisistami

photo courtesy of Uncle Harry

Serious discussion with daddy

is there a cuter kid anywhere?

gibson
Originally uploaded by thisistami

photo courtesy of Uncle Harry

gibson sunscreen - oh no!

gibson sunscreen - oh no!
Originally uploaded by thisistami

photo courtesy of Uncle Harry

Long Overdue Update

Gibson still continues to amaze us every day. His vocabulary grows by the second...each morning he wakes up with a big smile and then usually asks for 'ilk (milk) or his baba (bottle) and then immediately requests to go to 'osh's 'ouse (josh's house). All cats are named ella and he loves to go outside to go for a walk and to play on the weeeee (slide).

We have had some really busy weekends filled with friends and fun. We celebrated Luca Van Palaitis' birthday a few weeks back, Joshua Ross' birthday last weekend and had some Easter fun with an egg hunt in Maplewood and Dinner at Chez Ross. And that is just the tip of activity iceberg. I have been sorely lacking in updating this but I will try to keep it at it more often. I have NOT been slacking at taking pictures, just go to the link at the right if you want to see proof of all the fun and festivities!

Griffin James Cook

Well once again, the world just got a little cuter. On March 26, 2009 Griffin James joined the Cook family and I was so happy I got a chance to meet him this weekend. Congratulations to Alison, Jim and big brother Riley!!

Yes, I realize this is post #2 without actual updates on Gibson. It's coming...I promise. It's almost overwhelming all that's happened in just the past month.

And to explain the Tofu recipe below..well, actually, I don't feel like it. But its a good recipe. Go ahead, try it.

Tofu Pot Pie

Combine in a small bowl: 1/4 cup flour, 1 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes (yes, these are important. They are a huge part of the gravy. You can buy these in bulk at most health food stores) , 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder. Add 2 cups tofu (firm) cut into cubes. Stir to coat. Sautee in 2 Tbsp oil until lightly browned.
Pre-browned tofu

Lightly browned tofu

Add: 1 small onion, a couple of chopped celery...

Once onions start to soften add carrots:

Then add corn and peas:

Add salt and pepper to taste. You can add any other veggie as you see fit.

Now it's time to make the gravy...ready?

Take 1/3 cup flour and toast it over medium low heat until you can just start to smell it:

Stir in 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes:

Add 1/4 cup oil (hey - just cause its called tofu pot pie doesn't mean its entirely healthy):

Add 2 cups water:

Whisk as it thickens and add soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. The recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of soy sauce but I double that and maybe even a little more. Taste it...it will go from floury-ish to more like an actual savory turkey gravy.

Finished gravy.

You can use any pastry crust recipe you feel comfortable with (if you need one I can provide one) or you can totally save time and just buy frozen or refrigerated pre-made crusts. Lets pretend I made my own.

Put a little gravy on the bottom of the pie crust:

Fill pie pan with vegetables and tofu:

Top with remaining gravy:Put second pie crust on top:

Bake at 375 for 30 - 40 minutes, until top is lightly browned:

I wish I could take credit, but alas...I thank the The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook for the deliciousness.

Just to be clear.... I made two and doubled the above recipe. Enjoy!

Musical Genius

No pressure or anything...


Not much to report. We have been keeping super busy lately. Playdates, new baby (Welcome to the world Cami!!) birthday parties (Happy first Abram!!), weddings (Congratulations Naumanns!) snowstorms. I am waiting for Spring and I am sure Gibson will be relieved to not have to wear long underwear every day. He is such a super duper smart little dude. He loves to sing, dance and play all musical instruments and often the first thing he wants to do in the morning is go downstairs to play the drums. He has a mouthful of teeth, he is calling me mommy now (as opposed to just mama) and his vocabulary grows weekly. Tons more pictures on the flickr site. Enjoy!

Happy St. Valentine's Day...or Just Valentine's Day...whichever...

We really like 30 Rock.
Anyway, I thought I should update the blog today with some pictures of our little valentine. In true Gibson spirit, he woke up at 6 am to hang out with mom with a little milk and cartoons. We have a fun weekend ahead of us - including dinner tonight with friends/honorary aunts and uncle and the long anticipated Naumann wedding tomorrow.

He really enjoys running around naked after bathtime.

This kid is pretty much always smiling and ready to have a good time.

Playdate with Joshua Ross. Eagerly waiting the arrival of Cami Ross...who should arrive any second it seems.

Short update today as my lap is the seat of choice for Gibson and he is ready for a change of scenery now. Valentines hugs and kisses!

xxoo

Gibson loves bacon

I realized that I never put up a picture of Chris' tattoo...and I might as well tell you how Gibson loves bacon. Well, not entirely. He loves to suck on it and chew on it, but has no interest in actually swallowing bacon. Usually he just hands it back to us when he is done, but every once in a while we find some delicious looking chewed bacon (shudder) on the couch or on the rug.
Gibson and his bacon.

Chris' new tattoo.

There are still so many things I haven't touched upon. Gibson's jam session with Riley, his playdate with Cali and 'Lize, and the rock show he went to with Deville and Luca (or d and cuca as Gibson said for the next few days). Of course, pictures of most of those are on the flickr account if you have a few hours to spare.

Daddy's new tattoo and a trip to the beach

Last Sunday Chris started to use up the gift certificate for a new tattoo he got from Gibson for his birthay. We took a trip to Bradley Beach with Uncle Harry and Aunt Tami, had some lunch, and hit the beach. It was cold but so much fun and Gibson had an absolute blast.

Waiting patiently for his turn. He already has his first tattoo picked out.

Uncle Harry always makes Gibson laugh!

LOOK, THE OCEAN! I hope his always has this much excitement for the ocean and the beach.

His first sea shell. Which now lives in the back of our car.

I took about a bazillion pictures of him standing, walking, running, digging...that day. All on my flickr if you care to see more.

Running after birds with Aunt Tami. Aunt Tami has boundless energy and she has the ability to tickle Gibson from across the room.

One day at lunch, eating a grilled cheese sandwich. Chris mostly just wants to show off the ac/dc t-shirt he bought him.

NOT THE POX

Well the Doctor says no to the pox, thank goodness, but is unwilling to confirm Roseola. But we are pretty sure thats what it was, er, is. The rash is getting worse but doesn't seem to be bothering him much. Today he ate more than ever, chowing on toast with cream cheese this morning and even loving the tempeh and the broccoli and cauliflower casserole daddy made for dinner. A few more pictures below because a post without pictures is like christmas without presents.

His artsy shot.

He still has those amazing eyelashes.

He is a helpful little dude too.

Project Chicken Pox

So I would have liked to report that after our 'fun' with the haircut we came home to an uneventful evening...but alas...our poor lil dude seems to have gotten himself a case of the chicken pox.

We first notced these when he got in the bath last night.

Then we woke up the next morning with these on his belly.

And he would like to make it know that he is slightly feverish and achy today. Bummer.

Poor baby.

Gibson's second hair cut

Gibson's hair was looking a little shaggy and needing something to do on a winter Saturday afternoon I looked into kids hair salons, which led us to Snip-Its in Princeton. It looked fun - all geared towards kids and Gibson seemed to be digging it. He got a real kick out of Mr. Snip-It and he had fun with all the other neat stuff not normally found in hair salons.

Gibson and Mr. Snip-It. Then...we put him in the chair. It was like the chair had hot coals on it. Bubbles barely even drew his attention (no bubbles was NOT the name of the stylist). He likes his hair long and he wanted the world to know it. He didn't stop screaming, not crying mind you, just screaming, the entire cut. At one point he started to shake he was so mad . I understand that this woman wasn't Jess (see haircut #1) who was loving on him like he was her own, but she was nice enough.

At the end his hair is much shorter but he was NOT stoked. Mr. Snip-It barely got a sideways glance as we paid, collected our toy for being a 'good' boy and left. All in all, it comes in second place in terms of cuts he's gotten, but at least I wasn't the bad guy for trimming his bangs and his hair is no longer in his eyes. No matter what cut, Gibson is one good looking little dude if I do say so myself.