Will celebrated his first birthday in Iowa with Gramma Anne, Pop pop Brian and Great-Grandfather Hal. He has thoroughly enjoyed being one. He is walking, has 10 teeth and climbs on everything, particularly small chairs that can easily tip over. So far he likes to live on the edge and is doing his best to keep up with Amelia.
We were in Chicago and Iowa City for 3 weeks in late September to mid October. Amelia decided her “cousins-once removed”, Spencer and Jonathan, are the best. The boys were continuous entertainment for her while we stayed with them in Chicago, jumping on the bean bag, reading books and climbing up and down the bunk bed. What more could a girl want?
Will and Amelia had a great time running around the farm, riding in the combine, chasing Penny dog and getting Pop pop and Gramma to read lots and lots of books in Iowa City. The weather did not cooperate for a bountiful harvest while we were there. On a positive note, Pop pop and Dave had lots of time to play with the kids, which everyone enjoyed. We’re looking forward to more adventures when we all get together again in Seattle in December!
We knew he could do it, he just didn’t know it yet. He took a few steps between me and Lindsay, then 10 steps, then walked through Helen and John’s kitchen and into the hallway! He is now pretty much ambulating at will (note the pun), and very happy with himself. He officially started at 11 months, two days. Last night, when this video was taken, he walked between the kitchen and dining room about 20 times, practicing.
Today was Amelia’s first day of preschool. Perhaps if she had any reservations about going, I’d be a little sad. However, this just wasn’t the case. Amelia was practically dressed before we poured the coffee this morning, and she wanted to know when Will would take his morning nap so we could go! She picked out her “school dress”, packed her backpack, made sure her lunch was ready in her lunch “purse”, and we were off for a 10:1o start time (after a couple pictures of course). There were no sad goodbyes at the drop-off, she just wanted to know where the crayons were so she could get started.
At 2:00 Will and I returned to retrieve our girl. As many of the children were waiting near the door to see their parents, Amelia was still in the classroom eating snacks, by herself. She was the last one to leave after slowly getting all her things, talking with her new friend Tova, and saying goodbye to her three teachers. As we were walking to our car she said, “my favorite part of school was snack, and playing outside, and running…everything was my favorite part. Today was my favorite day mom.”
This can be served with italian-style sausage, if desired. A short, sturdy pasta like rigatoni, rotini or penne is the best choice for this chunky sauce. NOTE: This recipe takes ~2 1/2 hours.
Ingredients
1 medium eggplant (~1 lb), trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup extra virgin oil oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup white wine
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes in juice
2 tablespoons capers, drained
10 oz rigatoni (~4 cups)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F
Toss eggplant with olive oil. Scatter onion over the eggplant and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for ~45 minutes, stirring twice to prevent edges from browning.
While the eggplant is baking, combine garlic, herbs, salt, red pepper, bay leaves, white wine, and diced tomatoes in a medium bowl.
After the eggplant has roasted for 45 minutes, remove it from the oven and stir in the tomato mixture. Reduce oven to 350F, cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil, and roast for another 1 1/2 hours until the eggplant is very tender.
Remove the sauce from the oven, stir in capers, remove bay leaves, and let cool uncovered for 5 minutes.
Toss with pasta and serve, with Parmesan, if desired.