Nature is constantly destroying and renewing itself.  In autumn, the leaves fall, break down, and become food for other living things.  Then those living things grow and die and continue the cycle.  So, what better way to say farewell to the old year and hello to the new one than by visiting nature in all her splendor, to view the gentle destruction and grand creation in person.  

Continuing a tradition I started last year (though, I suppose having done it only once I can't really call it a tradition, but I will anyway), we went on a hike near where we live.  This year we went to a place we'd never been (not hard considering we've only been living here since April) called Deer Park.  It's a multi-use trail for walkers, joggers, mountain bikers, etc.  The entrance was behind an old school, so of course we had to stop at the playground for a few minutes so Goen could play.  But, once we coaxed him away, we finally got to our hike.  You know the thing about hiking on a winter afternoon, though, is that it gets really cold really fast.  A few hundred feet in and my shutter finger was starting to feel numb.  A few hundred feet more and Goen started asking to back to our car.  Ah, well, at least we tried.  And it's really the thought that counts, right?  Well, as we started back, Goen decided to jump into a muddy puddle and promptly slipped, landing bottom first into the brown water.  And so ended our second annual "Take a Hike" hike.  

So long, 2015.  I'll miss you and all that you brought us.
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If you'd like, you can check out last year's hike here.

Halloween was a pretty restful day for us.  We avoided the crowds of trick-or-treaters by going to a small party in the afternoon and then hanging out at the (completely empty) park until dusk.  Goen fell asleep on the car-ride home.  All in all, we saw very few people in costume, which was fine with me since the little one doesn't really understand it all yet.  He was pretty clingy with the few costumed people we saw.

Last weekend we went on our first-ever family pumpkin picking.  We went to a nearby farm that was nestled in rolling golden hills.  It was dry and dusty and hot.  But it was nice, especially since winter will follow along soon enough and the cold weather will have me begging for summer heat.  Pumpkin patches have become something of a mini amusement park, so the tickets and rides were impossible to avoid.  The bouncy houses sure are a fun place to take pictures, though.

After looking and looking for the perfect pumpkin, we chanced on a small one that was perfect for Goen to carry.  I think that is the perfect size pumpkin to buy, one that your kid can carry.  That's a tradition I'd like to continue.  

I hope you had a fun Halloween, whatever it looked like.

One of the quintessential Fathers' Day gifts is a handprint of a child.  In my own family, I remember one year when we made a t-shirt for my dad that had six sets of handprints on it, one from each child.  I remember him wearing it proudly.  My youngest sister must have been about four or five when we made it, so she (and everyone else) was old enough to understand the concept of keeping a steady hand.  But anyone with a very young child knows how difficult it can be to get a satisfactory handprint.  When I made the fabric memory book for my son's first birthday, I discovered the perfect solution to this problem.  The answer was photography.  Okay, stay with me here.  I've got a short tutorial that will explain everything.


Toddler Handprint Tutorial

Materials:
 - Digital camera
 - Computer
 - Tracing paper or equivalent
 - Pencil
 - Ruler


Instructions:

First, find a low, flat surface that your child can easily reach, such as the floor, a bed, or coffee table.  Get your child to place their hand flat on this surface.  It might take some time, coercion, and modeling. Take lots of pictures.  Try to get a shot from above to get the best perspective with the least distortion.  Then, measure your child's hand from the crease in the wrist to the tip of the middle finger.  Write this measurement down.

Download the best picture onto your computer.  Resize the image until the measurements are life-size. 

Lay a sheet of thin paper, tracing paper is best, over the computer screen.  A bit of tape can be helpful to keep the paper in place. 

Using light pressure, trace the hand image with a pencil.  Cut out the resulting handprint shape.

I used my handprint shape to make an embroidery pattern, but you could also use the shape to make a stamp, trace it onto pretty paper to make a card, or get creative with an idea of your own.  There are only a few short hours until Fathers' Day.  Use this quick and easy tutorial to make something special for the special man in your child's life.  Happy crafting!

My little guy turned two yesterday.  We started the morning with a few rounds of "Happy Birthday" and then slowly went on with our usual weekend tasks.  Every once in a while, my husband would initiate another happy birthday song, which, of course, Goen loved and kept asking for "more, more, more."  I stitched a second leaf onto his birthday crown and he wore it for, hmmm, about thirty seconds.  That's ten times longer than he wore it last year.  At the end of the day, we went to our favorite Thai food restaurant for dinner (which Goen also loves).  When we got home I let him open the gift I made for him.  He got right to work moving the chalk across the surface of the chalkboard fabric, just experiencing and living in the moment.  Such a joy to watch!  I can hardly believe it, how quickly his second birthday crept up on me.  He is active, energetic, and, well, opinionated.  And, as hard as it is sometimes, I don't think I would want him to be any other way.  He keeps me on my toes and makes sure I'm practicing patience and taking deep breaths, and, oh my, it can be hard at times.  But he's perfect and I love him.  I can't wait to celebrate another year with him.

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Recipe:

Adapted from the Almond Bread recipe in the Cooking with Trader Joe's cookbook.

Ingredients:
DRY
 - 16 ounces almond flour (about 4 1/2 cups)
 - 1/2 cup sugar
 - 1 teaspoon salt
 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
 - 1/3 cup minced fresh ginger (or more to taste)
 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I replaced this with more nutmeg)
 WET
 - 5 large eggs
 - 1/2 cup molasses
 - 1/2 cup whole milk

Instructions:
 - Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
 - In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
 - Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix thoroughly.
 - Grease an 8x8 baking pan (I prefer glass) and pour the batter into it.
 - Immediately place the pan into the oven on the center rack.
 - Bake until a toothpick or fork inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.