Where in the World are the Weys?

Oh my gosh! It's been 6 months already!

When little J was born, I could never see this point in time along the horizon. Through those long nights, deciphering our little guy's signs and cries, and adjusting to parenthood, who would have thought we'd get to this joyous time of giggles, rollovers, silly play, and maturity! Yes! Maturity! J is such a jolly little boy these days, smiling at most everything and just so happy to be with us!

"you made all those cupcakes for ME, mommy?"

I know I say this every month, but Justin has grown up so much! He's now:

- Rolling over both ways. He rests his head on his arms when he's tired of tummy time, and then just tilts his head to one side and the momentum of his (big?) head brings the rest of his body over. It's so funny!

- Grasping grasping everything, and eating eating everything! Whenever we sit him somewhere, his hands grabs on and does this scratchy-scratchy motion as he explores the world around him. When he sees a toy he recognizes, it instantly goes in his mouth! Nom nom!

- Eating solids! So far, he looooooves sweet potatoes the best. He's also had fuji apples, butternut squash, and rice cereal. (Mommy has been making all of these in large batches, hehe) He makes a funny face when he eats apples because the texture is a bit sinewy. He stares at everything we put in our mouths and was totally staring at his cupcakes today every time we walked past it. Mommy feels bad you can't have everything we eat yet, baby, but soon enough! Future foodie, we hope!

- Bouncing. His legs are strong now and he can go boing boing boing in your lap!

- Facetiming with Grandma and Grandpa Lie. His face lights up when he sees them on the screen. He especially loves it when GM Lie whistles and when GP Lie makes funny faces. It just cracks him up!

- Going for walks where there are trees. Recently, we've noticed that every time trees are blowing in the wind, he'll purr and his eyes will just light up. So funny?

- Seeing new faces and socializing. Every time we bring him out and he sees a new face, J gets giddy with excitement! His legs tense up and he starts bouncing, laughing, and flailing his arms! We hope this keeps up. He's just such a happy, happy fella!

- Aware of what we put on his face. Just like most babies we know, he hates it when we put lotion on his face, wipe his mouth, or pull a shirt over his head. Since Justin has eczema, Mommy has to frequently (re)apply lotion on his face, and she's had to come up with some creative ways to put it on without him wailing!

- Screaming like a baby pterodactyl! haha. He's developed a new sound - this is definitely his sound for distress. When he's hungry. When he's tired. When he's bored. haha.

- Loving his mommy and daddy? When we're by his crib, he'll grab our hands as if to say... "don't leave my side just yet!" Awe shucks.

It's an amazing time right now, and I am so so sad to have to countdown to my first day back at work. Won't he wonder where I am? Will I be able to declare his likes/dislikes next month in such detail? :( I'm overwhelmed with this emotion of just wanting to make him happy, and how can I do that when I'm in the office? I know everyone does it, but will I be able to? I guess we shall seeeeeeeeee.

Mommy and Daddy love you so much, Justin! We're so excited that you are half a year old! muahmuahmuahmuahmuah!!! squishes! eeeeeeeee!

Gosh, where does the time go? January has come and gone relatively quickly, even though B and I laid low this month (only 60-something photos in this month's album compared to the usual hundred-something!). Somehow, we managed to fill our jetlagged days with cleaning out Bean's room on top of ploughing through the work days. It really has been busy at work for the both of us, and I'm secretly looking forward to some down time pre-Bean. My hippo mama belly has now fully emerged, and with it, I'm learning about the little aches and pains that come with growing Bean (how do guys with pot bellies do it?!)

Regardless, it wouldn't be very characteristic of us to squeeze in some fun and good eats, right? Here is our little January album.

It's not uncommon for me to fall in and out of love a lot with purses. Sure, I like to keep up with fashion, but when it comes to such investments (indeed!), I like to stick with the classics.

And this time around, I have fallen hard for the Fendi Peekaboo Satchel (just the name alone!). It comes in three sizes (small, medium, and large, which is pictured), and is just so chic worn partially open with its cheeky lining peeking out. I love that this bag can be worn three ways, held in your hand, hanging from your arm, or with the practical shoulder strap. Also, since it has two compartments, you can tuck your more valuable things on the inside, while still comfortably maintaining the peekaboo. I think for my height and build, the medium would work perfectly.  This season, there is a mix of canvas and leather options in darker colors, but I think I will hold out for the perfect tan/camel color and lining.

Oh I think about you often Peekaboo...

During our honeymoon last year, B and I took a macaron making class! It was TONS of fun (especially the part of all of other mom's and housewives trying to speak to us in fr-english), and we learned a trick or two that came in really handy!

This past long Memorial day weekend, B opted for a baking date with moi! (how could I resist), so we could revive our macaron making skills. We used the recipe from "I heart Macarons" (a lovely christmas gift from MLC!) and added the nitfy tips we learned in Paris. All it takes to make the biscuits are five ingredients: almond flour, sugar, egg whites, and some creativity!

The batch pictures here are a batch of fraise (strawberry) roonies, and we later made a matcha batch of roonies which were AWESOME. We managed to learn a thing or two even from making our first batch, and now we are hooked.... on seeing those little feeeet grow on the biscuits! I literally jumped for joy every time.

Here are a few pointers:

• Whip the egg whites to the appropriate stiffness - otherwise, you'll end up with flatttttttt biscuits. Not cool.
• After you have piped the batter, whack the pan a couple of times to flatten the batter. Not only does this rid the biscuit of air (you do not want air - this is what makes the biscuit sink after baking), but it helps make the biscuit nice and round.
• Allow the batter to age in air - this creates a film of skin on the biscuit. Once it is dry to the touch, it is ready for baking (typically about 30 minutes in dry conditions).
• While baking, rotate the pan halfway during baking time. This also releases steam from the oven, which may make your biscuit sink.

 

We'll keep you posted (har har) on all of our other roonie adventures! What flavor should we make next?

I like to round out our weekends with a comforting home-cooked meal. It's usually something fun, something pretty easy, and something light. Case in point, this Sunday evening, the chilly weather and miles of walking from Bay to Breakers (more about that on another post) inspired a piping hot bowl of soup.

One of my favorites is a simple minestrone. Every time I make it, it's a little bit different, but that's one of the things I like about the recipe - it's really versatile. Tonight, leeks were in the mix (instead of onion, for its cleansing properties), brocollini (leftover from last week's grocery run), cannellini beans (they're so smooth and delicious), and the basic trio of carrots-celery-tomato. Throw in a few basil leaves for freshness, italian sausage for flavor, and some parmaggiano for richness, and that's it!

I like to chop up some extra basil for the brightness of color - sprinkled in right before we eat. I usually make B a side of boiled pasta, which he throws into the soup to help fill him up.

Veggies, vitamins, and warmth. My idea of winding down the weekend.
(tonight, soup was served with a simple side of ripe slicer tomatoes and good mozzarella! mMm!)

Here's the recipe, in case you want to try it for yourself!

Minestrone Medley
adapted multiple times over

1 leek, white parts sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 bunch of brocollini, sliced to size
1/2 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cluster tomatoes, sliced to size
2 italian sausages, or protein of choice, sliced (chicken works great too!)
3 stalks of basil (about 12 leaves worth), sliced into strips
(other options are cabbage or spinach)
Vegetable or chicken broth, about 4 cups
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Parmaggiano Reggiano, grated

Short pasta (bow ties, penne, macaroni), if you feel like more filling

1. Heat up olive oil in your soup pot and saute the italian sausages until brown. Saute the leek until clear, and then add carrots and celery to soften them up.

2. Add broth to the pot so that all ingredients are submerged. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. Lower heat and add brocollini, beans, tomatoes and half of the basil. I usually add these later because they don't take as long to cook and you don't want them too mushy. Simmer for another 20 minutes. If you are using pasta, boil your pasta to liking (I usually do it slightly less than al dente, since it gets soft in the soup) so you can add it to the soup later.

4. Taste your soup and if needed, add salt and pepper.

5. Spoon into large bowls (add pasta), sprinkle remaining basil, and parmaggiano.reggiano, to finish dressing the soup.

6. Slurp. MMm!

Ah Easter. Whether it be a signal that it's Spring time, or a reminder to give thanks for all of the wonder in my life, it is definitely an important marker in the year. When I was a school girl, I would always look forward to the dark chocolate Lindt rabbit waiting for me at my desk - mummy's gesture of love, and also fuel for the studying!

No choco rabbit this year, instead, we opened the Easter season with fresh strawberry cupcakes! It's definitely not summer yet, as the strawberries were still a bit tart, but nothing that some good 'ol vanilla cupcake batter could not handle.

So here they are! They'll be a perfect way to bring in the summah summah time too!

Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (at room temperature always)
1 large egg
6 ounces Dannon® All Natural Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt (or any other fruit flavor of yogurt)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Strawberry Frosting
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 fresh strawberries, about 2 Tbsp. mashed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. With an electric hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg, Dannon® All Natural Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt and vanilla, blending until smooth.

2. Measure the dry ingredients into the bowl and blend, then fold in the strawberries.

3. Divide the mixture equally between the 12 paper-lined cupcake cups or mini cupcake cups (makes about 36 minis!) To portion them out perfectly for minis, I used a 1/2 tbsp measure spoon (like the pretty one pictured that my dear friend gave me for christmas!) 

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. (tip: unlike most cupcake batters, this one is really sticky, so be sure the toothpick is really dry! don't worry, they will moisten up over the next few hours because that's just how yogurt batter works!)

5. Beat together butter, powdered sugar, and mashed strawberry in medium-size bowl until creamy and smooth. (tip: drain out any strawberry juice if you can, since this makes the frosting much too watery! i learned this the hard way!) Chill frosting for 15 minutes or until thick. Frost cupcakes with a spatula (or make into buttercream flowers, as pictures :)).

6. As always - transfer - to your mouth. :)