Busy, not lazy

That's my excuse, not only for neglecting the blog, but for neglecting to photograph my son at all. We've been keeping busy which is bad for our gas bill, but good for our minds and bodies. Dillon and I both LOVE to go to the gym. He doesn't cry when I drop him with the babysitters anymore. He just hands them his "ticket" (my ID), asks for his lovey, walks in, turns around, waves at me and says, "Bye!" He gets to play with other kids, and learn to leave me, and I get to do something to take care of myself. I feel healthy again. I was sick for a month, and spent another month recuperating before I could go back to the gym. I am mostly pain free now. It only hurts when I try to take deep breaths. But I can safely run for 30 min and walk for 20. (I've worked up to this since mid February when I started up again).

I have also been learning to cook. I really struggle with this. Sometimes execution is my problem, but mostly I struggle with planning and shopping. Yuck. It just doesn't come naturally to me. I lived on cold cereal in college. But, today Dillon and I made our 7th and 8th loaves of bread. AND, we now eat homemade granola. Mmmm. I even sign up to have the missionaries over once a month, because I am confident enough to make the meal myself instead of worrying whether Mark will be available to do it.

Dillon has been to the Dr. twice this month. The first time was his 18 month check up. I asked his pediatrician to refer us to a pulmonologist. Dillon's pulmonologist is Dr. Choo-Kang, and he is almost as cool as his name. Dillon started wheezing for the first time since New Year's the day after we saw Dr. Choo-Kang. And thanks to Dr. Choo-Kang, he is getting better without steroids OR nebulizers. Thank you, Dr. Choo-Kang!!! We HATE steroids and nebulizers. Dillon actually really likes his inhaler and pills. The pills are chewable and taste like candy. Mmmm. Singulair.

In an attempt to resurrect good camera habits, I took pictures of Dillon today.

Dillon making bread in Great Grandmother Barrett's yellow apron. I wear the pink one, and we make a killer kitchen team.


I dress him in the morning, and yet, by the end of the day, he always manages to look something like this.


The scratch? No clue. Whatever it was happened between 4-6pm, and Dillon didn't seem to mind it.


I'm pretty sure this requires no caption.


Our finished product. What did YOUR kitchen smell like tonight?


This is the recipe I use. I've tried a couple and really like this one. It is from my Grandmother's 1950 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook.


I use half unbleached flour and half whole wheat white flour. The book says that all you have to do to make this into whole wheat bread, is to knead in a 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour when your dough is finished. Ha ha. I got a kick out of that. Times have changed.

In conclusion, and totally off topic(s), for those keeping track, Dillon weighed 35 lb 8 oz last Wednesday. He is 34.5" tall.

I'm 18 months old!

It's all very exciting. I forgot to take the pictures yesterday, so they actually show Dillon at 18 months and a day. They also show the real boy. He is happy most of the time, but just as emotional as any other kid his age. We have to document this as well. You will also notice that he has lost his angelic baby face. It is hiding behind all those big teeth, snot left over from a rough fall and winter, drool 'cause those 2 year molars are being stubborn, and cuts and bruises 'cause Dillon is ALL boy. The spot on his forehead is from running into the corner of a counter-top at the Family History Center this morning. The spot on his cheek is a couple weeks old. He bent over to drink from a straw down by his feet. But instead of getting the straw in his mouth, he got a perfectly round cut on his cheek.

We've been taking turns being sick and sad since Christmas. But, as of today, we are all happy and healthy. The only thing that makes us sad is watching Daddy leave in the morning.

Dillon LOVES nursery. We went shopping with his nursery leader and he kept hugging her legs. This past Sunday, I picked him up early. Instead of crying when he saw me, he ignored me and kept on playing with his toys. Nursery is one of God's greatest creations. I haven't enjoyed church in a long time, but now I look forward to it AND get something out of it. Amazing.