Howells Come To Visit

My parents had the opportunity to visit in March while my Mom had her spring break. We thought we would share some of our photo documentation of the good time that was had by all.

(You might note that no one was on a diet this vacation- we ate very well all week long!)

We went for a beach walk one chilly day. Very quiet this time of year.

Dad had a birthday, so, naturally, we ate angel food cake and custard.

With the warm spring we had it was great weather for Sarah to take anyone willing to offer a finger on laps (and laps and laps) around the house.

We had a Bloomin' Onion, among other things, at Outback on Dad's actual birthday.

Sarah was getting ready to take off...almost!

Before birthday dinner.

All of us. Plus a few paint samples (none of which made the cut). And Sarah pointing to make sure that we didn't miss the blinking light. It's the little things that are most exciting in life :)

Pre-birthday dinner. Lobster and shrimp.

These guys had names :)

While the lobster and shrimp were the stars, we also had fish and sausage, all cooked on the grill (AKA the Black Lemon).

Village Day / Sarah's Birthday

Sarah's birthday was an action packed one- and this year Osterville even recognized it as a village holiday! They never actually admitted that it had anything to do with her birthday, but this year Sarah turned one on the biggest day of the Osterville year: Village Day.

The church likes to make Village Day into a big outreach event, so we spent the morning administrating the volunteers who handed out hot dogs, snow cones, drinks, balloons, and popcorn to the 1,200 people who walked through the church parking lot. We also did crafts and played games with the many children. There was even a dunk tank. And just after 12 noon, we all sang "Happy Birthday" to our little one!

Our Head Deaconess hands out balloons to children as they enter.

A band playing outside a shop across the street.

The Fire Department hoisting a flag over downtown.

Worn out.

We tied a lot of balloons that day.

Things didn't end there: we went home and put the final touches on Sarah's 1st Birthday BBQ. We had a few families over for burgers and hot dogs, fun fellowship, and lots of cake. Look to facebook for even more party pictures!

Sarah and Lexi playing

Emily made cake pops

And a great collection of cupcakes

She wasn't sure what to do with it . . .

...but eventually she got it, and loved it

What we've been up to lately...

Sarah and I had the chance to visit Nauset Beach on the National Seashore just before their season began (which means they started charging for parking). This beach is really different than they beaches we have around here. There is a sand cliff you walk down before getting to the water, which is very cold and much more clear than our local beaches. Being on the eastern arm of the Cape and on a preserve, all you see is beach and water- beautiful!

For six weeks this spring and summer we have had a somewhat random group of friends from church over to watch both Star Wars trilogies. It is an extreme understatement to say these folks know a little about Star Wars- it is fun being a little nerdy! Getting to know these guys and gals more deeply has certainly been a highlight of our weekends.

Sarah and I like to take afternoon walks around the neighborhood circle on sunny days while we wait for Dad to get home. One day we found this guy in our path! Thankfully, a car drove by at the same time and the driver moved him off the road. Sarah found the turtle much less interesting than dogs...

When Dave gets home we often like to go for an family evening walk. Sometimes we go the beach for our walk, and one evening we went down to Centerville River (the beach is just to the left in this photo). Sarah gets to ride in the backpack and loves to feel the sea breeze on her face.

Beach night is a highlight of summer church life at OBC. The last three Sunday evenings of the month the church gathers at the local beach for sack dinners, fellowship, and baptisms. June beach night included a clam chowder contest, which was delicious. People play volleyball and kids play at the water's edge. It is a fun night for all!

The definite highlights of beach night are the baptisms. Once everyone has eaten and settled down, those being baptized share how the Lord has changed their life. It is an incredible testimony to the church family, seeker friends, and random vacationers just hanging out on the beach. Everyone then walks down to the water and one by one, believers are baptized. It is an incredible testimony of the work of the Spirit!

Mid-June we had our opportunity to host the deacons meeting. If was just after Father's Day and Dave was itching to use his new grill, which was perfect for me! The guys gathered around the grill for "grill talk", then enjoyed hamburgers, grilled veggies, watermelon, and chips, with blueberry cream cheese pie for dessert. They were able to have their meeting in the sun room, which was quite pleasant.


Now you know some of what is keeping life exciting this summer!

Star of Mom's blog...

... so says the bib!

Getting ready for lunch

Mmmmm!

Thanks to the Artmanns for the fun new bib! It seems like Sarah and I spend a lot of our daily quality time over her meals. It is a joy and one of my favorite parts of our day, but very repetitious. Thus, it is good to have (more) reason to smile across the dinner tray :)

Baby foods

As noted in Sarah's most recent update, we have been busy discovering new, nutritional and flavor packed foods for her to try. I use a few guidelines in choosing a new recipe:

• does it have any strange/health nut ingredients? (I'm not against these, they just tend to be expensive, not useful in other recipes, and not something we have in our normal table food)
• does it resemble a dish we normally eat? (the ultimate goal being to eat as a family one day)
• can it be frozen?
• will Sarah be able to pick it up?
• is it a choking hazard for her current ability level?
• is there any ingredient that may be an allergen?

I rely heavily on the website www.wholesomebabyfood.com and a friend's blog http://www.littletummyyummies.blogspot.com/.

This weekend I tried two new recipes: turkey loaf and broccoli cheddar nuggets. Both have been very well received! Sarah eats both eagerly, but I think she prefers the turkey loaf. This is her first real meat dish, though it also has carrot puree and applesauce as main ingredients. Talk about a well balanced dish! Dave and I preferred the taste of the broccoli nugget, or broccoli cake, as we like to call it.

Below is a (sideways) picture of the broccoli cheddar nuggets just before they went in the oven.

Bon appetite!

Mother's Day

Eventually, Emily walked in to see Sarah sitting alone on the floor, looking up at her, holding a card in her hand. I think that distracted her from the candlelight dinner right in front of her.

Days earlier, I was on the phone planning a girly-date with one of her friends for her. She would meet this friend for coffee and fried ice cream, and then spend a few hours talking or doing whatever they wanted without a husband or a baby to worry about. This would be fun for her, I knew, but it also got her out of the house long enough for me to cook her dinner.

Plans made, I sat tight and told Emily that something awesome was going to happen on Mother's Day. Saturday night, I wished her well as she went off to mentor some younger girls across town, and then snuck out behind her to the grocery store. Sarah was supposed to be in bed, so she enjoyed a few extra minutes of fun!

The real challenge came when I realized that she would see these groceries in the refrigerator if I took them home! Never fear- the church kitchen came in quite handy. Yet another reason it's nice to live near your church!

I often make breakfast for Emily on Sunday mornings, but this time I got creative with the shaping of the pancakes and had a nice surprise message waiting for her when she finished her shower:

We chowed down on that, and I left for church. Everything was working out perfectly, and Emily was all set to enjoy her time out with a friend. Once we had lunch and she left, Sarah and I snuck out again to pick up the groceries. Then we worked hard together to get some dinner cooked for her.

But sometimes Sarah played and explored in the dress Grandma Vicky made her:

Eventually, Emily came back to the scene I described earlier: Sarah sitting alone on the floor with a card in her hand. Once she got a chance to read it, I popped out and said hello to her. The table looked about like this:

The three of us had a nice dinner of pan-seared chicken, grilled asparagus, and mashed red and yellow potatoes. IBC root beer was the drink of choice, and strawberries awaited us for dessert. But of course we had to get a family picture before we dug into it!

After we were full beyond belief, Emily and Sarah went outside to play in the lawn while I did the dishes. Then we enjoyed the rest of the evening together.

I had a great time sneaking around and putting it all together. I call it a success, not because it went perfectly (it didn't) but because Emily got some sense of the treasure she is to our home. I hope she never loses sight of that.

Family Visit

Last week we had the joy of hosting Dave's mom and sister, Vicky Cook and Jacki Wolfe. Sarah had a great time being loved on, read to, and sewn for. While they were in town we got to explore some new and exciting places.

• Chatham: Explored a gallery, candy shop, maps store, and warm pizza parlor. The evening was topped off with homemade lobster mac and cheese. Mmmmm! Thanks for the new recipe, Jacki!
• Hyannis: Visited a large quilt shop, saw the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory, enjoyed afternoon tea at Common Ground Cafe (coffee shop built like a tree...you will have to visit to understand!), and wandered Main Street, including another candy shop and the local library.
• Sandwich: Saw the glass museum. It included a neat glass blowing demonstration and video on the history of Sandwich. Had tea at Beth's Cafe before heading to the airport.
• Dedham: Went to the local L.L. Bean store and explored the shopping center. It snowed this day!
  
• Beaches: Walked Dowses in Osterville and Sandy Neck in Sandwich.
• Eateries: Not Your Average Joe's in Hyannis and Wimpy's in Osterville.
  

Everyone at Not Your Average Joe's

Just being cute in one of the outfits Grandma Vicky sent north

Trying on her new spring dress

Displaying her new hat- can't help but smile at Daddy

Trying on Auntie J's shades at the beach

Ladies at Sandy Neck- it was a sand beach, but notice the many rocks

Ladies at Dowses beach

Sarah loves it when Auntie J carries her in the front pack!

New Fruit!

I want to eat, eat, eat apples and pears!

All new purees for Sarah. Yesterday I chopped, steamed, and processed a few apples and a bag of pears. So far, Sarah is a big fan!

Avocado Adventure

Sarah is doing a great job eating solids and I am having a great time making her food. A couple of weeks ago we added avocado as her first "green" food after a few successful weeks of "orange" food. Below is her impression.

Clearly, Sarah is not a fan. I just mashed the avocado with a fork for this first feeding and the texture was really different than her normal purees. I did puree what was left over, froze it, and tried it again yesterday. She took 4 or 5 good, albeit shuttering, bites, then threw up. It didn't phase her one bit, but that was the end of forcing avocado for me. I'm so thankful she wasn't sick, but I don't like to see my little one's stomach upset!

**What was lost now is found! This video has been on the shelf for a few weeks because my computer cord was lost in the shuffle of the move. After looking in every box, drawer, nook, and cranny, Dave found it back at the condo. Whew! Look forward to new pictures/videos that have been stuck on the phone.

From Dave on his Birthday

28 years ago yesterday, my Mother brought me into this world.  I'm told it wasn't the simplest delivery in history, but that we all made it.  The Lord used her and my father to make me into the man I am today, for better or worse.  When thinking of how to best celebrate this, Emily set her mind to a difficult and meaningful task: make the cake my mother always used to make for my birthday. 

Two layers of chocolate cake, some creme d' menthe icing, some chocolate icing, a pack of Andes candies, and a few stressful hours later, and we had this little beauty in front of us.  It was quite a work of art.  We shared it with some friends after a lunch at Chick-Fil-A. 

Now I sit the evening after and think through such a great birthday.  My wife's planning, baking, and thoughtful gift-giving have been quite the blessing, as have the gifts many of you have sent.  My life is different now than it was a year ago, and it will likely be very different when I turn 29.  But only death will stop the consistency of her love for me for the rest of my birthdays.  If I turn 100, I hope I to do it next to her.