FIERCE PIERCE

MOM!!

2009-06-16T12:20:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-16T11:36:00.001-07:00

gibson
Originally uploaded by thisistami

photo courtesy of Uncle Harry

gibson and chris

2009-06-16T11:34:00.001-07:00

gibson and chris
Originally uploaded by thisistami

photo courtesy of Uncle Harry

Serious discussion with daddy

is there a cuter kid anywhere?

2009-06-16T11:33:00.001-07:00

gibson
Originally uploaded by thisistami

photo courtesy of Uncle Harry

gibson sunscreen - oh no!

2009-06-16T11:31:00.001-07:00

gibson sunscreen - oh no!
Originally uploaded by thisistami

photo courtesy of Uncle Harry

Long Overdue Update

2009-04-13T13:17:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-29T04:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-14T03:37:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-31T05:15:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-30T11:48:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-19T15:34:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-18T08:42:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

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.

New Year's Eve with the Pierce's

2008-12-31T15:55:00.001-08:00

There used to be a time when New Year's Eve would find us making plans days, perhaps weeks in advance wondering if we should have a party, go to a party or perhaps hit a bar. That time is not now. Today we spent the better half of the day painting the bedroom and now we are waiting for the likes of bbq ribs and bacon wrapped scallops to finish up. I can't say we are at all upset to hang up our NYE party plans. We have plans to see good friends tomorrow and we get to spend tonight cuddled up on the couch with delicious food, cold bubbly, seasons 1 and 2 of Extras, and the best company I could ask for. Happy New Year everyone!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-25T05:06:00.000-08:00

Here it is, 8 am on Christmas, and Gibson is sleeping. He woke up briefly at 6:40 and we changed his diaper but he clearly did NOT want to get up. I mean, DOESN'T HE KNOW THAT SANTA CAME LAST NIGHT?! Yes I do realize that this is my christmas gift. Him sleeping in. BUT IT'S CHRISTMAS!! Now the scones are fresh from the oven and I am on my second mug of tea...waiting...staring at the tree full of gifts. Even though I know what is in most of them this year, I can't wait to get to some unwrapping.

Below are some more of the "photo shoot" now that most of the cards should be out by now. Merry Christmas to you all. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Update: 9am - still sleeping. ?!?

Christmas Card Teaser

2008-12-15T03:30:00.000-08:00

We finally decided to get Gibson's portrait taken. There is no possible way we could have chosen a busier time and we were a little nervous with our time slot;5:20 on a Saturday. That could be good or bad depending on the nap situation that day. Well Gibson took 2 great naps (we had to wake him up at 4:30 after sleeping for close to 2 hours) had a decent snack and filled his diaper right before heading out so we knew we were set. He ended up being the model model...(haha) and all the other moms and dads were showing him to their kids saying "look, he's having so much fun..." We are using some of the pictures for Christmas cards so you will have to wait to see the rest of the shoot, but below is a little teaser.

Seriously, the little drummer boy. He immediately took the only round package and started going to town on his new found 'drum.'
This one was called 'Santa Hand' and the photographer didnt get really why Chris and I think its creepy. Needless to say this one won't be appearing on the cards.

Gibson v Santa

2008-12-10T12:49:00.001-08:00

Christmas, how can we be talking about Christmas when I haven't even done a Thanksgiving post yet? Well Thanksgiving was wonderful and spending the time with my family should be done more often. There are about 300 pictures of that weekend up on my flickr for those of you that care to look.

But now onto Christmas. We took Gibson to see Santa this past weekend and surprisingly the line was NOT very long at all. Gibson loved waiting to see Santa, he made new friends and saw all sorts of cool things while in line.

Here he is checking out the snow globe and drums on display.

He was definately the cutest little dude in line, and he was in such a good mood.

Until we put him down on Santa's knee.

Then the screaming began. Poor little guy, usually he likes new people. However, new people usually arent dressed quite like this guy. But as soon as Santa's elf asked if he would sit on a drum, well things turned around.

As we know in our house, drums are NOT for sitting...they are for drumming! So thats just what he did. He sat right down and gave Santa a little concert to apologize for busting his ear drum with screams. All in all it was not the worst experience we saw that day and Gibson is hoping for a big haul come Christmas morning.

Gibson's First Haircut

2008-11-23T06:07:00.000-08:00

Among the other preparations for Thanksgiving, the entire family needed haircuts (some of us more than others, coughchriscough.) Who could we trust more than Jess at Sparks. Gibson was a trooper. He hadn't napped well that day and was up early so he was a little tentative at first, but then he got really curious looking at all the ladies with foil in their hair and bags on their heads. By the end he walked around like he owned the place. Thanks to Aunt Tami for playing with him while I got rinsed and Chris got chopped. You can see the entire experience here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gobosgirl/sets/72157609786808405/

BEFORE

Meeting Jess

AFTER

Way to go Cali!

2008-11-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

6 weeks is a long time to be in a cast! Miss Cali was a trooper though, doing better than some adults I know would thats for sure. Here she is smiling and happy to be free once again. Gibson can't wait to tear up the town with you! Way to go Cali, you are a sweetheart and we love you.

Happy Birthday Papa!

2008-11-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

So these pictures may be old, but the message is the same. Happy Birthday Pop! We love you and can't wait to see you very soon.!!

Gibson's first birthday message to his papa. Today papa got kisses over the phone. In ten days he will get real kisses in person.

The first visit between papa and gibson.

The most recent visit. We can't wait to update the photolog!

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

2008-11-16T03:48:00.000-08:00

I don't like wishing my days away, especially when its heading towards the colder months of the year...but can Thanksgiving just GET HERE ALREADY? I am so looking forward to spending an entire weekend with most of (my side) of the family and for Chris to NOT have to work on black Friday. So this means 20 of my family members will be under one roof. Imagine that. It's going to be great!!
On the Gibson front, he is walking pretty well but still prefers to use his walkers if he can (hey its faster and it doesn't end with a fall on his bottom), he kisses (which is pretty much the cutest thing ever), he's becoming a more picky eater (lucky us) and he is the smartest little dude (go ahead, ask him where his nose is, haha). He continues to amaze us more each day.

These pictures have nothing to do with anything, but what is a post without pictures right?
Baby jail for Gibson...really he is saying, Can't we go to Aunt Tricia's NOW?!
He got himself in, he can get himself out.

My little artist, really gets into his masterpieces.

Charlize Ellen Cotterill

2008-11-08T15:26:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the world Charlize Ellen Cotterill! Weighing in at 6 lbs 12 oz and standing (ok not so much with the standing YET) 19 inches long. She is a super cutie and didnt cause her mom a lick of pain. Can I get three cheers for the epidural??

sweetie face

Relative Size - so later we can look back and say, you were as tiny as this penguin!

nose to nose. Love at first sight for sure.

Congratulations to Kathy Jo, Paul and big sister Cali!

EDIT: Due to early misinformation from the dad, the middle name Cassia was not given the seal of approval from the mom. Charlize's middle name is Ellen, a family name. I don't expect her name to change again.

Trick or Treating

2008-11-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

A few actual trick or treating pictures...it goes without saying that Gibson thought trick or treating was the best thing ever. People giving him treats, all the kids outside, CHOCOLATE. Yeah, he had a blast.
hugging a fire hydrant

more treats mom?

Justin and Chris - they were not in costume...haha.

Taking a stroll to work off those halloween calories! He is just as cute going as he is coming.

BLUE TUBE - Gibson loves this tube at the playground.

In other news, Gibson started walking - like Frankenstein, but walking nonetheless. He thinks its so much fun to hobble over to us and fall into our arms. We think its pretty fun too. He also, unfortunately, is still having problems with allergies so we will have him on the nebulizer for a few more weeks, and the Doctor said that he will most likely need it thru the winter. But he is pretty used to it and loves to watch Yo Gabba Gabba while sitting in our laps while we use it.

Lastly, and in non-Gibson related news....Kathy Jo, Paul and Cali will be welcoming baby girl #2 to their family this Saturday and Cali is scheduled to get out of her cast on 11/20. I can't wait to squeeze the new baby (gently of course) and to run a race with Miss Cali!