Apples, Horses and Global Warming (uh... I mean Climate Change)

First things first. Devin is home! He had a fabulous time in San Francisco but is happy to be back with his girls. Eva seemed kind of mad at him at first but then she wouldn't let him go and followed him around for the next couple days. And it is so much nicer to sleep next to him than a squirmy baby that has now been booted from the nest. Sorry kiddo, I know our bed is the size of a small country but there's only room for 2.

Next up, if you haven't tried Honeycrisp apples, you are missing out. These beauties are a new breed of apples specifically designed for snacking and they got the formula right. They are the perfect blend of sweetness, tartness, with a the perfect crunch and juice. They really are good. I've found them at a number of roadside stands but the ones at Walmart seem to be just as good. So give them a try and stay away from those nasty Red Delicious varieties which are nothing close to delicious.




Next I want to give a shout out to my mom for coming all the way from Vegas to keep us company. We had a great time exploring Richmond. We found this great walk along the James River and discovered that Eva is somewhat of a horse whisperer. This picture was taken just after she tamed the wild stallion and rode through the pasture clasping wasps of his mane. What can I say, she's a baby prodigy. She also added to her list of talents saying Hi to everyone she sees, mama, dada, yeah and no. She also says, "yeah, I did it" but we're not sure if we've translated that one correctly. She can also kiss "mmmmmm-muh!!"


And big news on the sisters front. Devin's sister Whitney arrived in Samara, Russia today after 3 long months in the MTC learning Russian. I can't wait for her first email next week. I'm so excited to relive my mission through Whitney. She's in for the time of her life. And I also get to relive my engagement through my youngest sister Katie! She got engaged about 2 weeks ago to Zack Cox (an Idaho boy!) and will be married January 2 in Vegas. We're so excited for these two and Devin is excited to add another boy to the Palmer side.


And for you political junkies out there, I thought this clip was hilarious. A new film out about global warming sites airplanes as the biggest contributor to yet all the actors and producers flew to New York for the premiere. See what happens when a reporter asks them about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-cvK9vxA6M



And here's a picture from last week of Eva eating frozen anchovies.

I will kiss on the lips the inventor of Sudafed

Devin is almost through with his 2-week training in San Francisco. We're kicking ourselves for not sending a camera with him. He is having an amazing time there, walking the crooked streets, eating out every meal, watching football to his heart's content... maybe we'll go back sometime soon. I didn't want to sit at home for two weeks so I went to Pittsburgh to hang out with the Hohls and then to Philadelphia to spend more time with the Cardons. But we had to cut our trip short and this week has been less than stellar. Eva cut her very first tooth last week. That plus a cold gave her a nasty ear infection and fever. I've been attacked by the same stupid cold that I think has since turned into a sinus infection. So I'll spend most of the time Devin is away in San Francisco coaxing Eva into lying in bed with me. The good news is I put on enough of a pathetic show to convince my mom to fly out and nurse me back to health so we get to have a visit from Grandma starting tomorrow.



But first I want to recap my trip last week. Eva and I started in Pittsburgh where our friends live. They have a little girl named Bea that is only 4 days older than Eva. It was so cute to watch them wobbling around together. Eva is a giant compared to Bea which is weird b/c Eva hardly eats a thing and Bea seriously out-ate me at every meal. We tried to get Eva to eat so many different things and the only things she didn't spit out right away were the mini anchovies and pumpkin curry. What a weird little kid. So Amelia is a wonderful cook and always cooking up new and interesting things so we spent our time in the kitchen cooking up amazing dishes. It was a blast. We went downtown to the Strip District to shop for exotic spices and ingredients. (Pittsburgh is beautiful by the way. Very underrated. You should go visit if you can sometime.) We made pumpkin curry, goat cheese puff pizza, pumpkin goat cheese salad, real mint and chocolate homemade ice cream, even gourmet oatmeal for breakfast. Eva loved having a big house and yard to wander around in as well as an older brother, Henry, to look after her. The weather was perfect and we let the babies play in the pool outside. Then the babies took off and tried to climb up the slide. It was pretty comical to watch the two naked butterballs slipping and sliding. We also went to a farmer's market where Eva had her first encounter with goats. All in all we had a great time in Pittsburgh and check my food blog in the future for recipes.





We rode a train over to Hershey where Devin's sister, Sara, met us. I absolutely loved the train ride. We went through a number of quaint little mountain towns in Pennsylvania. It was so beautiful and so much easier to ride than an airplane with a baby. Anyway, in Hershey we visited the Hershey Chocolate museum and ate tons of kisses. The entire town is a Hershey Chocolate exhibit with an amusement park, Hershey school, Hotel, town square... even the street lights are shaped like kisses. It was very cool to see, especially for a chocolate lover like me. The next day I camped out at Sara's house in Philly with a sad but very cuddly baby. It was actually nice to have a day to just sit and hold my little sweetheart that is usually so busy she pops off my lap after a 15-second hug. I decided to head home early so I could take Eva to the doctor and here we are. Anxiously waiting for Grandma and Daddy to get back!

Labor Day Weekend in Philadelphia: The Beach, Museum, and US Open

It was a ton of fun. I'll expand as soon as this baby goes down for a nap. Either she's teething (finally) or on major family-withdrawal... Lovely.

Happy Birthday Party Until...

Blogging madness is in full force. Thank goodness for Baby (sitter) Einstein. Bit by bit I'll get caught up on this weekend. We went up to Philadelphia to spend Labor Day with Devin's family the Cardons (Sara, Jon, Lucy, Zachy) and Devin's mom and brother (Joan and Taylor) who came out from Boise. We decided to take advantage of having family near-by so we waited a week or so to have Eva's birthday party. It was so fun to share it with them. It was especially fun to have 2-yr-old Lucy there who is so excited about birthdays at this point in her little life.


1. Cousins!! 2. Eva's new flip book. Her favorite thing in the world.



3. Birthday hat that was impossible to keep on her head. 4. Opening presents. Ignore my outfit. It's a little business on top, party on the bottom.


5. Mom and dad with the birthday girl. I agonized about themes and special cakes then decided not to sacrifice my weekend for it and we settled on a cake mix and store bought frosting. 6. I'm so happy I did because all she did was flick frosting everywhere. Finally, I decided to help her out and put some cake in her mouth to get her started eating the sugary sweetness. She screamed at me, swatted my hands away then gagged and...



7. Barfed all over her birthday cake!!! I guess that's the last time I ever try to make Eva do something she doesn't want to. Lesson learned, little one. I hope you don't remember this and that you had a happy birthday anyway!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgaSq_0NrSo

Little Blind Man

A couple weeks ago we were in a baby store checking out new strollers. (Is there any way a stroller is worth $600? Weigh in, maybe I'm crazy.) Anyway, Devin had the thankless job of keeping Eva out of the store displays. He let her try on these sunglasses and she wouldn't let us leave the store without them. Now she loves walking around the house with them on. I just love the drunken swagger of a baby's first weeks walking...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHp0X8LOK1A

Love. This. Chunk.

Eva is now the big O-N-E. The whole week leading up to her birthday I kept thinking to myself, "one year ago today, I was marching up and down a hill trying to induce labor." "one year ago today, I was starting to count out my contractions." "one year ago today, I was driving to the hospital with a tornado on my tail." Etc., etc... I spent the week thinking about the beautiful experience that was her birth and how profoundly different my life is now that I am a mom. Devin and I can hardly believe our baby is already a year old and at the same time we feel like we've lived a lifetime since her birth. We are constantly in awe of this little miracle and we watch and love her every step, facial expression, sound, and move. She is an amazing little creature and she'll never understand how she fills our lives with so much love and joy. We love you, Eva! We're so happy to have you as our little daughter forever and ever!

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