One year on

It is hard to sufficiently express gratitude for the past 12 months. Despite some initial challenges in getting this whole parenthood thing started, I would say we made out like bandits. Judging by the speed with which Luka is acquiring mobility, babblebility, dexterity and a whole lot of other 'ity's - we're in for an interesting ride.

Today we got to celebrate the first of many joint birthdays for my boys, and I couldn't help but think back one year ago to when I was a terrified, first-time pregnant mom in a foreign country, dreading going into labor.  Yet, here we are today, celebrating the first birthday of many more to come!!  Here are a few of my favorite photos from today...

If my year of baking results in a book I will call it 'A Year
in the Baking' and this recipe will feature - Serious Eats'
Brown Butter Pecan Carrot Cake - yummie! And I go back
to my belief that I now need a cake decorating class.

The BIRTHDAY BOYS!

Happy Birthday to y'all! Happy Birthday
to y'all...

With mommy/mamma...

Ah yes - daddy and mamma's birthday gift to the little
terror....a HELMET - (with that mischievous look, how could
you NOT want to put a helmet on him...)

What a lovely day, with two amazing people....

Baby Recipe: Fish, Potato and Bok Choy

So we're pretty much decided to pull out any stops as far as feeding Luka.  We figure if we introduce him to interesting food now (we hope) he will be an adventurous eater like his mommy and daddy (and know a little bit more about how to prepare food when he one day gets married than either his parents did).

This week, Chris prepared him an array of delicious food (seriously, you could serve it to guests) including
this delicious boiled fish, potatoes and bok choy (not kidding).

To prepare:
Boil some potatoes on the stove, when soft, remove the potatoes from the water and set aside
Add some deboned white fish (Dory, Tallapia) to the potatoe water, boil until cooked
Steam some bok choy (add some fresh garlic)
Mix all together with a hand blender/bar mix
Spoon into ice trays, freeze overnight
Dump the cubes into a ziplock or Tupper, label and date

Note: each cube is roughly equivalent to 1 tablespoon (Tbs)

To serve:
Remove desired number of cubes x number of feeds, place each feed into a small tupper with a lid and thaw on the counter. refrigerate as needed.

Breathtaking

Exhibit A

If you are a keen gardener (or lucky enough to receive flowers from your loved one) you will know 'baby's breath' as a tiny white flower often used as filler. If you are a new parent, you will likely associate 'baby's breath' with the sweet sound and breastmilky (also somewhat sweet) smell of your bubba's rhythmic breathing, and pretty much think it is the most beautiful sound/smell on earth.

Another familiar type of 'breath' is of course, the oft feared garlic breath (and yes, apparently there is a website called www.garlicbreath.org) which, if you are a foodie, like us would generally indicate an enjoyable meal in the near past, of if your olfactory factory is in overdrive, like my dad, it would just mean a nosy nuisance for days after the calories of the cheesy garlic bread has made themselves at home on the hips of the diner.

Exhibit B

Today, I would like to present to you the latest in breath technology - a hybrid of the above mentioned breath classes.  Behold, baby garlic breath or perhaps garlic baby breath?  That's right - imagine my surprise one sunny lunch hour when I made the trip back home to breastfeed Luka, and while burping him as per normal, his burb comes out smelling like GARLIC!  I had to take a serious double-take and then realized this is foodie daddy cooking up a storm for him, which this week included delicacies such as "Carrots with Garlic" (Exhibit B) and "Broccoli with Basil".  Trust me, when I got home, I myself wanted to sit down for the mushy goodness coming out of Daddy's Test Kitchen!

Luka turns two months!

Luka in his cute "100% pure Baby" outfit
on 22 May, 2011 - his 2 month birthday
(a gift from Nicole and Phil in Senegal)

hmmmm....

And so, with almost a week left before his due date, Luka celebrated his 2-month birthday on Sunday, 22 May with the Marx family in attendance. Fortunately for him the rapture did not impede on the celebrations, and mommy even managed to complete the challenging Lemon Meringue Pie ordered by Luka's Oupa to double as the birthday cake.*


To try and describe the past two months in a post seems almost impossible, but suffice it to say that in two months Luka has lived on two continents, nearly doubled his weight, applied for two passports, and made two people incredibly proud and happy to be his parents.

With ouma and oupa in the backyard

* The pie combined the Lemon Curd and 3-2-1 Flaky Pie Crust recipes from the book "The Secret of Baking" by Sherry Yard, and the meringue topping from Irma S. Rombauer's 1970's classic edition "The Joy of Cooking"   

Day 33: aka Easter Sunday to the outside world

Easter Brunch in Darwin - 'Serjak-style' with a fabulous
Baked Breakfast Cheesecake in the park between feeds 

As Christians around the world celebrate Easter Sunday today, Chris and I are spending Day 33 in the Special Care Nursery on the 6th floor of the Royal Darwin Hospital, hardly aware of what month it is, let alone day of the week.  For some reason I got really antsy for the first time today, feeling as if I am ready and eager to get out of here.  Perhaps it was the twins' all-too familiar wailing that constantly sound through the nursery as they desperately call for someone to feed them, or the feeling of the all-too familiar recliner chair below my all-too tired backside, or the ever-invasive glow of fluorescent lighting in a place constantly plagued by people coming and going...

Luka's Easter Brunch - 'Gavage-style'

I have just about washed the skin off my hands for fear of spreading an infection I don't have, have worn the same 3 outfits for going on 5 weeks, and get excited at the prospect of finding parking close to the door, only to forget where we parked when leaving 10 hours later.  I watch the machine record a 'Brady' and know that I have been here too long when I argue to the head nurse that it was not a true Brady, that it was in fact caused by Luka's impending bowel movement.  I have sat here nursing, pumping, and generally flashed about half of Darwin, and don't even care anymore - seems my chest no longer belongs to myself.  On top of that,  I seemed to have acquired what is known as 'nipple trauma' to my right side due to Luka's early interest in breastfeeding.  Turns out the tiny size of his under-sized mouth and therefore inability to 'latch well' is likely to have inadvertently caused this - but as is my nature, we powered through.

Sleep tight little man, grow big and strong!

And then, I look down at little Luka cradling my finger in his tiny hand as he sleeps off his latest feed ... so peaceful and precious, and I realize - I would sit here for 33 more days, or 333 if that is what it takes...

Happy Easter everyone!