Family, Food + Fun

It's been a LONG week! First, David was in Miami for a bachelor party ~ now he is in Texas for three days (insert long lonely-hardworking-mommy sigh here), we attended our very first 1yo birthday party, I cooked an awesome meal from my new cookbook, and we had two fabulous visitors yesterday! Let's start from the beginning.

I Praise You, Single Mothers!
It is hard work when you're alone all day with two little ones. But, doing this day in and day out, really alone, is even harder! David was gone from Friday to Sunday soaking up the sun's magical rays while I was here, covered in drool, cooking for the boys, feeding the boys, cleaning up poop and food, putting them down, getting them up...... Where's MY 3 day vaca?! I do hate leaving the boys, even for a feeding. But, I really think I need some R+R. David did, however, meet us at Leighton's 1st birthday party Sunday! It was so sweet watching her shovel cake down her gullet and comb it through her hair! Here are some photos and video...

Proud mom + dad, Heather + Jason

Hunter + Baylor have their very first swing! We haven't been able to find a park with swings for babies/toddlers... FINALLY! I have been dying to put them in a swing. Honestly, I have! And they had sooo much fun! I loved it :)




Mmmmmm.......... Yummy-deliciousness!
Did I mention in my last post that I love my new cookbook?! I made the poached salmon dish that Sam Bealle made last week. I really liked it, but it was a bit too heavy for us. I think I will make this with trout like Sam because it was so much lighter! I also made the herbed spoonbread and blackberry cobbler! Mm, mm, mmmm! David plowed through them all and especially loved the cobbler. Please forgive my partially eaten plate! I, as always, forgot to take a picture of the dish. And I plated it so beautifully!

Blackberry cobbler in the making

And then there was cobbler!

Add a little vanilla bean ice cream and you're set!

I Love It When Family Comes To Visit!
My Aunt Lisa and cousin Sydney came over Wednesday to have a little visit ~ all the way from Anderson, SC! It was Syd's spring break and she said she wanted "to visit Sarah Ann and the boys"! How sweet is that? We had a really great day with them and the boys warmed up nicely! It seemed to fly by...




Update ~~~
There are 7 teeth between the two.
Both crawl like big boys and stand using what ever they can to pull themselves up.
Both took a few steps behind their walking toy this week!
They talk and laugh with one another constantly!
Separation anxiety is becoming a part of the norm.
Still napping 3 times a day (not sure if I'm happy about that or not!).
They love black beans, avocado, yogurt + oatmeal.
Using mom + dad as a junglegym ~ of course!

Here are some cute pics of Baylor + Hunter

hon,hon,hon... je m'apelle huntair.... (black bean soup mustache)

Happy St Patty's Day!

Day at the park

"I think I smell something."

Look at those teeth!

The messy business of teething buscuits

We have a couple of doctor appointments coming up so there will definitely be a few more updates in the near future.

XOXO

Love + A Really Good Pallet

I'm in love! And no, it's not with another man (or woman). It's with my new cookbook, The Blackberry Farm Cookbook.
The author, Sam Beall, was at Williams-Sonoma this week and I was fortunate enough to stop by and take part in his demonstration and book signing! He spoke to us about the dish he was preparing, which was amazing, but also about Blackberry Farm where he not only works, but grew up and still lives. This 9,000+ acre farm looks and sounds so pristine, naturally beautiful and unlike anywhere I've ever lived... I cannot wait to plan my first visit! All year long they have events ranging from food and wine tastings, to cooking classes, to photography classes, to 4th of July parties, etc.
Sorry, back to the book and demonstration! This cookbook is packed with amazing photos of the farm and it's restaurants, stories from the chefs and farmers, and of course seasonal recipes. At BB Farm they only use what is naturally grown on their farm and fished out of the rivers. I think this is what drew me to the book, and farm. I am becoming more and more of an advocate for the farm-to-table lifestyle. I love the thought of buying local, natural and handmade products/produce and am trying to incorporate this 'way of life' into our lives.
Sam brought ingredients from his farm and they tasted and looked so rich! He packed up the eggs, cornmeal, radishes, parsley, etc. The only thing he purchased in town was the trout, which is local for Atlanta. (In the cookbook, he uses salmon which he mentioned was the only thing they use that is not local for them in TN.) But, this dish was amazing with the trout. Could be a possibility for Easter... along with my angel food cake.

Here are a few (Iphone) pics from the night.



He prepared his Oil-Poached Salmon, or trout, with Radish Salad & Parsley Coulis along with an Herbed Spoonbread/cornbread (he said spoonbread is a southern name for cornbread). Can I be honest with you? I have never in my 28 years of being born and bred in the south heard of spoonbread!?! Have you? Maybe it's a regional-southern thing...


It was so light and heavenly! I could have had a few more tasting plates...


Having my book signed


I hope to make this trout/salmon dish this week along with a few other things such as: Lemon Cucumber Soup; Blackberry Cobbler; Heirloom Tomato Terrine. I may even try a few of the meat dishes for David ~ Peach Glazed Baby Back Ribs, Buttermilk-Brined Fried Chicken With Sage......... and this is just the Spring/early Summer section!!!

A Little Slice of Heaven

I finally did it! I have produced the perfect angel food cake!!!! Thank you, thank you America's Test Kitchen! Not only do they have great recipes that have been put through the ringer, but they also provide videos. This was a major help to me. The last time I tried making this type of cake (um, two years ago?!) I obviously did not fluff the eggs enough. Plus, I think the recipe was kinda botch...

Take a look at my homemade angel food cake and whipped cream. (Please excuse the lighting. It's terrible in our kitchen)

Mmmm... This yummy-deliciousness is definitely going on my table for Easter.




This recipe is very, I mean VERY, time consuming. Sift all of this, add this by the tablespoon, beat forever (literally 10-11 minutes), cool for what seems to be a lifetime... But, oh so worth it in the end though.
Next up, blueberry scone!

Trying to Find That "Something"

One thing I love to do is.... drum roll please.... Take Pictures! Shocking, I know. But, I also love to try and manipulate these pictures with Photoshop. I have run across a few websites that really inspire me (especially this one) to not only take more photos, but to also use my tools, such as Ps! Here are few photographs that I have taken and altered a bit. Let me know what you think!

1) Flower in my "garden" at our old house down in Buckhead.


2) Fence line on my family's farm. This is one of my favorites so far.

The 'after' was not done with just a B/W button. The colors are actually a deep blue and soft yellow.

3) Ferris wheel at the oh so lovely Atlanta Fair...


I love the after. I think the techniques that I used age this particular image a few decades! If I'm loving it still in a few months, I may put this on a wrapped canvas and use it for the boys' party!

So far I am having fun and would like to pursue this a bit more. There are a ton of beautiful Ps actions out there as well, especially from this site, that I just love! I may wait to purchase them because we are in the midst of a meltdown with my Mac. I will surely miss this little white bundle of goodness. :(

The Joys of Life

So things have been busy around here these days. First off, my girlfriend Aubree had her second little boy, Finn. Baylor and Hunter are now 8 months old. I am planning their first birthday party and driving myself crazy over it already!! Teeth are coming in left and right. And last, but not least, crawling and standing........ oh yeah, I said standing, has become the new norm in the Preston household! Here's the breakdown:

Welcome Phineus Muir Bergmann (aka Finn)!!!!

Born February 28 ~ 8 pounds 3 ounces ~ 21.5 inches


He is so precious! It's sad to say but, I almost forgot what it felt like to hold a tiny being in my arms. Those itty bitty baby noises no longer exist in my household anymore. And I miss them... I just cannot believe that Aub has another little one on her hands. But, I do know that our boys will grow up to be best buds! I can't wait for a "real" play date with our 4 boys!

8 Months Old!!!
I really just do not know how to stop old man time from coming around. I blink and my two boys are crawling, sprouting teeth and pulling up! Seriously. I do not think I can handle this. My love for them continues to flourish. And yet, my heart continues to break each time Baylor and Hunter cross another milestone! But, I would never wish for these moments to end. Hunter received his first tooth Sunday and Baylor now has 3 with a 4th coming in as well... Poor little buggers!



Baylor


Hunter


Proud Papa


Showing the boys the geese that came to say hello


Proud Mama (I love Hunter's expression in this photo)


A few weeks ago we took a trip down to the Atlanta Zoo and had such a wonderful time! Of course, the boys had no idea what they were doing, what they should be looking at or where they were. They did however make a new friend...





Here is a photo of Baylor pulling himself up. Note: this is also the same day he started actually crawling!



They had their first taste of meat and here's what they thought about chicken...

They're definitely my children!

Here are some random pictures that I thought I should share

Having a chat across the way

Their first "real" bath!




For some reason this is Hunter and Baylor's new favorite thing to play with!



Reading their favorite book 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear... What Do You See?'



Checking out the loot on Valentine's Day


I cannot wait for the boys' first birthday!!! It is going to be so much fun planning and celebrating this occasion! For some time now I have needed some thing to do, some sort of outlet if you will, to let out this pent up something that is inside of me. I finally have this birthday party that I, not only do I have to do but, cannot wait to get started! The theme will be that of a handmade & vintage circus. I plan on making pretty much everything for their party, to an extent of course. I will keep you updated on my progress and my how-tos! Ahh! Very exciting...

Another Month Passes Us By

So, we're 7 months old this week!!! Doesn't it seem like this is all I have been saying lately?! We're 4 months... 5 months.... 6 months... 7.... 8.................................. Ugh. Why does time have to go by so quickly when you get older?! I can remember as a child, it seemed like my birthday, summer vacation and Christmas break would never get here! Now, it feels like Hunter and Baylor's birthday will be here next week. OK, so in another 4 months but, I think I am going to start planning now!

Here are some photos from their 7 month "photo shoot"...

I love these Sticky Bellies milestone/birthday stickers! If you go to their website (and Facebook page) you can see photos of the boys! How awesome is that?!






Hunter and Baylor are growing up so fast! Hunter is now working on his first tooth (waking mom up at 4:30 this morning!) and Baylor's second is wanting to show up and join in on the fun. Crawling is a common move around here and eating everything in sight... well, let's just say the apple doesn't fall from the tree, dad! These two are always smiling and laughing, which in turn makes me smile and laugh all of the time! You will see why below.

here...


... and here




By the way, Bruizer is coming home this week! I am so thankful for Sam and Kristine (Ken's nephew and his wife)! They have really helped us out with Bruizer and his kidney infection. He had a little surgery last week, has been recovering nicely and comes home Friday... Couldn't ask for a better outcome! Love this little kitty...

News Flash ~~~

BAYLOR HAS HIS FIRST TOOTH!!!
The past couple of weeks should have really been my sign of what was to come. Baylor would not finish his bottle or bowls of food, no matter how many tries or pin downs. I kept saying "this is a sign of teething", but I got nothing. And, he bit down on my leg a couple of times and it hurt! Hurt like he had teeth in that tiny mouth of his. Then BAM! Last night I found an itty bitty tooth! Now what? One baby crawling and another teething... I'm afraid that my life is about to be turned upside down. And all of this before 7 months.

Also, I completely forgot to give you the boys' doctor updates. We went last week for their 6 month check ups. Here are their stats:
Baylor weighs 15 pounds, 5 ounces and is 27 1/4" long (80th percentile!). Long and lean!
Hunter weighs 15 pounds, 11 ounces and is 26 1/2" long. He's right in the middle at 50th percentile.
The doctors told us that to discard the percentile measurements with twins because they'll never really matter, as multiples can never catch up with a singleton. I must say, these two seem to be doing just fine catching up! I do hope that one of them (I'm thinking Baylor) will be nice and tall like their Uncle JP and my mom's dad. I did not get so lucky, or my sister who is shorter than me!

I'm sure we'll have more to update you on soon! Happy Super Bowl weekend! Go Packers.... or Steelers ~ who ever you're rooting for I guess........