Sax Family Update

Erik:

Our garden is finally coming to fruition and we've had quite a bit of delicious luck with our basil & tomatoes. We have picked over 30 tomatoes! Erik enjoys an appetizer of bruschetta often and is proud that all the ingredients, minus the mozzarella, is home made.

Our first haul of ripe tomatoes!

Proud Sax men with their tomatoes.

Erik is also working on his skills as a baker. He has most success in baking bread, though he recently tried his hand at an unusual cupcake recipe to enter into the 4th Annual Cupcake Swap. His blue cheese/dark chocolate cupcakes were pretty disgusting.

The face Erik is making is one most people made when tasting this concoction.

Caraway Rye Bread. Erik's been enjoying it as the outer layers of a homemade Reuben.

Besides all these wonderful things Erik has been bringing to our house, he also surprises us with an amazing sense of humor.

...his most recent joke...

Don't worry, the mustache is gone and he no longer looks creepy.

Claire:

I've been trying my hand at canning. It is much harder than I thought it would be. I stewed & diced the tomatoes before canning. We also canned some peaches that were on sale at Harris Teeter (a whole bag for $1.50!). They look great, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the peaches. Maybe a crumble?

I've also been to 18 births now, since Sept 2010. All my certification material has been sent to DONA and I am awaiting approval as a certified birth doula.

July 18th baby (home-water birth)

Karl:

Little Karl isn't quite so little any longer. He recognizes many animals and can tell you their sound. He loves saying 'night night' and 'bye bye' to anything and everything. Before bedtime Erik walks around the room with Karl and says goodnight to most things including the picture of Aunt Lele, a wooden bear Erik made in middle school, the light, robot quilte, etc...

Karl also loves reading books. Right now he is reading his favorite 'Animals' book on the floor in our kitchen. I took a picture of this exact same sight a few days ago.

Karl has graduated to a front facing car seat. I've had less luck with this car seat in transferring him, while sleeping, to his crib.

Karl is now big enough that we don't have to carry him everywhere. It's a great way to work off some of his excess energy.

I don't even mind going shopping with Karl any more because he entertains himself by hiding in the racks of clothing. One problem, though, is his desire to play with the manequins. He even went so far as checking to see if they were wearing unmentionables.

Charlie:

He's such a good dog. Besides his penchant for jumping and barking at people, he has calmed down a lot. He even lets Karl sit on his back for as long as he wants.

Poor Charlie. He does love when I hold Karl upside down and he is free to lick his face without stopping.

That's all for now :)

Wee!

Karl loves to 'wee'. That may sound gross, but to his parents it simply means that Karl loves swimming. We head to a local water park at least 3 times a week and Karl gets his fill of fountains and slides. He also joins me on the lazy river in an inner tube. It's great to get out of the heat. The season pass was well worth it this summer!

I don't take my camera into the water park with us, but my friend did snap a shot of Karl playing in a kiddie pool this summer. Doesn't he look different this year than last?

2010:

2011:

Karl at 21 months

In just a few short months our little baby will be a two year old! We haven't done an update on Karl in a while, so here goes!

1. Karl is talking a lot. We've figured out what all his words mean. We love that when he sees things that are ours he will say 'mama' or 'dada' followed by the word. Example- "mama. beder" (Mama's computer)

Here is a translation guide for you:

manana- banana

Mun- more

wader- water or plant

e.b.- ice cream (we have no idea)

key- quiche

muck- milk

wee- swing

gorla- gorilla or granola

side- outside

pho- phone

beder- computer

dipe- diaper

peegown- playground

2. Karl loves Charlie. He thinks all dogs are named Charlie. Unfortunately, the past 3 dogs we have met have actually been named Charlie, so trying to convince him that dogs have other names will have to wait. He loves trying to put the leash on the dog and will often try to open the door so we can take him for a walk. Karl has discovered that patting Charlie or holding his feet will get Charlie to lick him. He does this often.

Our blur of a dog running around the tennis courts with his faithful Karl.

3. Erik and I continue to have trouble getting things done without our helper. Every time Erik goes outside to water the plants Karl yells "wader!" and grabs the watering can to follow in his footsteps. We've also noticed that Karl is great at closing doors after himself. I've been shut in the basement or bathroom more times than I care to note.

Karl also helps me with craft projects, especially when I want to take a picture of something I have made.

4. My favorite part of the day coincides with Karl's. When Erik walks through the door after work Karl charges towards him and yells "pee gown" (playground) and demands to be taken. He loves the playground with Daddy.

5. Karl surprises us with how much he can eat. A good portion of my meal goes into his stomach. He especially love pancakes, rice & beans, and granola. Not all at the same time :)

6. Karl's new independence also comes with consequences. We have graduated from crawling up stairs to walking up them. This usually proves no problems, but when you are 20 months old and try to do this new found skill while holding banana bread and sunglasses, you can be guaranteed a tumble.

We're lucky to have this little guy in our life!