Yesterday and today Chickadee accompanied the Little Guy to his therapy session. I don't actually have to be in the room while he's with the therapist (they do sort of speech-therapy like playing together, to improve his communication skills), so I hung out with Chick in the physical therapy room, or shall we call it a baby paradise?! Non skid floor, knubbly balls, ceiling to floor mirrors. It was a great chance for her to show off her new moves.
She is getting so mobile now. She has moving sideways and in a circle down pat, and is still pushing up onto her hands and knees. Well, yesterday she was pushing up on her hands and knees, today she was also pushing up onto hands and toes. A move that unfortunately often results in her falling face down on the floor. She's so cute when she cries though, with her little bottom lip sticking out and shaking.
I spun and rocked her in this funnel shaped thing, with a beanbag inside. She was so content just babbling away while spinning and rocking and I sang the usual list of songs: Baa Baa Black Sheep, I Gave My Love a Cherry, Down in the Valley, and You Are My Sunshine.
Budapest is all stopped up now because of a BKV (the public transportation people) strike. So, no buses, no trams. Luckily I was left with plenty of money to go here and there picking up and dropping of by taxi, though I hate travelling all over with Chickadee by taxi. It's too hot, and she doesn't have time to fall asleep the way she would on the tram and walking. I was in a taxi 6 different times today. Ugh.
She really is developing SO rapidly. Sometimes we just stare at her pulling herself slowly around the room and gape. It really is amazing how things can change in five months. Yesterday when we gave her a bath she spent the whole time trying to pull herself to standing on the edge of the baby bath. She was so cute with her little bum up in the air! Today she also wanted to pull herself up on my legs when I was sitting on the floor. She got up to her knees and then rocked back and forth.
At therapy today we waited with a mother of another little boy with her 4 month old son. He was born just 18 days after Chickadee. When they first met they were sitting on the floor on their tummies, face to face. Chick was looking at him just like she looks at stuffed animals, like she's trying to figure out if they're alive or not. Then she was trying to reach toward the boy's face, and he let out a little squawk. She jumped and then cried and cried. Poor baby. I could comfort her, then he'd make noises again and it started all over again. I guess we have to get her around babies the same age as her. She's been around babies older than her, and babies younger than her.
Last year I really wanted to do canning and preserving - especially over the summer: peaches, plums etc. to eat through the winter. Although I did buy the jars I never actually made anything. So, the jars are sitting on a shelf, taking up valuable kitchen space. Anyway, I stumbled on a website called Tigress in a Jam (google it!) and she's hosting something called Can Jam in which every month there's a different food and you're supposed to figure out something to do with it and can it. January is citrus. So, I tried my hand at marmalade today. After actually doing it I realized how ridiculously easy it is to make jams. Just fruit and sugar, or maybe not even sugar? My marmalade isn't amazing, but I have been dipping into all day. I talked to Gabi's mom about how to do it better (I just threw orange slices and sugar into a pot and boiled the heck out of it) and she said I should boil it for a long time and then add the sugar just the end. Another website says to leave it all soaking overnight, which I think brings out pectin. Anyway. I think I have a handle on how to actually can the stuff too. Even just pouring the hot jam into a jar and screwing the lid on made it seal. If I end up making something pretty I'll take a picture and put it on here. In the meantime, I'll just keep enjoying my sugary orange sauce. It's really really good with plain yogurt, and today I made polenta with honey and sour cream, and put that on top with some shredded coconut.
One last photo before I just keep babbling on and on:
I can't promise that no muppets were harmed in the making of this snowsuit. Csabi picked it up on a grocery shopping spree. It seems even dads find buying clothes for baby tempting.
Chickie was a good sport about going to Bill's for marmalade making on Sunday. She can be really sensitive lately about new places and faces and it took her awhile to warm up. She wasn't so cool about lying on the floor entertaining herself until the very end and startled very easily the whole time.
I have been wanting to learn about canning, jam making etc. for awhile now, since it seems like the cool thing to lately. There's a website doing a can jam, and for every month they announce one food and then you have to figure out something interesting to do with it. January was citrus, and rather than finding something special, I just tried to do SOMETHING. So, marmalade. This was my second attempt, with ol' buddy Bill and we did lemon as well as orange. Since January isn't over yet I might try the pickled lemons too.
The jam boiling down. Maybe there are more sophisticated ways to make marmalade, but it's really just citrus and sugar all boiled together. Hm. But yum!
Bill is so handy in the kitchen!
We didn't actually do the hot water bath, though the jars did seal. I suppose they wouldn't be good for years and years of storage, but they don't really have to be around my house. I've already almost finished the lemon one. I'm trying to control myself with the orange one, save it for a special occasion, or maybe give it to someone as a gift.
