Two Months: Chubby Cheeks

Yesterday marked Ben's two month birthday and boy did this past month ever fly by (I have a feeling I am going to be saying that a lot in the future). It seems like he's been in our family forever and we'd be totally incomplete without him. Love our little guy so much!

This month was a busy one. We had a couple of feeding frenzies brought on by growth spurts which threw off the schedule a bit but for the most part we've been getting longer stretches of sleep and are eating bigger meals. Feeding is much easier this month, thank God! Forget that second round of pyjamas Dad bought last month - those are too tight now too! February marked our two-month doctor appointment where Ben weighed in at 12lbs 9oz and measured 23in long. He also got his first set of immunizations. Fortunately he slept it off the next day and has been back to his alert self ever since. Ben's much more interactive, especially in the mornings. He copies our facial expressions, reaches for his toys, gives us big smiles and is on the verge of giggling. As much as he's grown and changed, it is nice to see that he still has the fuzzy ears and long eyelashes he had at birth.

We had another round of visitors this month; first with our good friend (and Ben's future father-in-law ;) ) Patrick who was in town for a conference one weekend and then with Grandma Betty, Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Joyce for ten days. It is so nice to have friends and family from back home come out all this way to share in our joy. We took a lot of strolls downtown, frequented a lot of restaurants and even made a trip out to Niagara Falls. Rain or shine we're on the go. Thankfully Ben's always very cooperative and happy to come along.

On to new adventures in month three!

Enough photos Mom!

Adventures in Chinese Cooking: Steamed Tilapia

Danny's family is in town this week so apart from the usual visiting and taking in the local sights, I took the opportunity to learn a bit more about traditional Chinese style cooking. Naturally, I chose steamed fish, a dish that I could never make at home as Danny hates fish. But too bad for him, haha, I wanted something new!

We strolled over to a bustling Chinatown that chilly morning to select our 'swimming fish' straight from the tank. Apparently fresh fish are much better for steaming than pre-packaged or frozen ones. It was obvious that I didn't grow up on a farm as I had to walk away when the fish was being 'prepared'. Nothing like hearing the smack of death on concrete floors... but I digress.

Big girl face restored, we bought some green onion, fresh ginger, and a couple of tools for steaming. After a quick stop at Tim Horton's to warm up with a fresh cup of coffee we headed home to prepare the day's meal.

I'm glad to report the process was quite simple. We cleaned out the fish and washed it thoroughly. Next we salt and peppered it generously and placed it in a shallow pan on a bed of green onion and coarsely chopped ginger. After sprinkling it with oil we placed the whole pan onto a rack emerged in a boiling pot of water, secured the lid and let it steam away for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile we peeled and sliced some more ginger, this time in long thin strips. The same technique was used with the green onion. It was obvious who was the apprentice and who was the master in this situation as all my pieces were choppy and uneven but you've got to start somewhere, right?

After draining the steaming pan and discarding the contents (except for the fish, of course) we piled the new ginger and green onion on top. A top secret sauce was prepared on the stove, the contents of which I suspect were soy sauce, oyster sauce (?), sesame oil, salt, pepper, and sugar. I cannot confirm this, however, as the little man of the house was wanting his supper at that very moment too.

Finally, we poured the sauce over our pan of fish and our dish was complete! 

I'm happy to report that we most of us enjoyed the final product immensely.

Valentine's Day 2012

Candles, spaghetti, chocolate cake, strawberries, pearl earrings & of course, my boys.

Feeling the love...

Shoe for Thought

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A Fabulous Shoe. That is all.

IDS12: Interior Design Show

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This past weekend we went to IDS12, an outing I had been wanting to do since my University days. However, the prospect of flying cross country on a student budget at the beginning of a new school term proved slightly inhibitive. But now that we live in TO, this year was a go! Better late than never, right? We packed up the stroller and headed to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre which is within walking distance from our place. No plane tickets required!

With over 300 exhibitors, I was sure we could find some sort of inspiration. Fortunately it did not disappoint. There were plenty of things to excite us and challenge our creative minds. Here are a few pics I snapped from the day.

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Another big draw for me was a talk given by and Tommy Smythe & Mark Challen. You may know Tommy from Sarah's House or Design Inc. Well anyway, these shows are often on during my morning routine and so I thought it would be really fun to see Tommy in person.  He was as cute and witty as he is on tv.

Overall it was a fun way to spend a Sunday morning/afternoon. So glad I was able to cross it off my little Toronto bucket list.