Grandparents, Parties & Rauchbier.... Oh My!

Grandparents
Debi (Grandma), Don (Grandpa) & Mary (OG) came to visit on Saturday.  They watched Isaac while Eric and I had an afternoon date (we went for a massage and to lunch... but that's a whole other story...).

 

Parties:

Isaac went to his first birthday party on Saturday; Wyatt (son of Nick & Heidi) turned 2!

We were so proud of Isaac at the party -- he was super-social and curious with the other kids (there were probably 10 other kids there, ages 6months-3years). It was fun to watch him navigate playtime, and he had fun trying out new toys.

We also ate great this weekend at MANY restaurants, including Aventura Mexican restaurant on Friday night, Coopers Ale House Saturday for lunch, Snoose Junction Pizza for dinner on Saturday with Heather & Jesse, Sunday breakfast at Patty's Eggnest and take-out Sunday (Vietnamese sammies for lunch and Thai food for dinner). I think that sets a record for us!

Rauchbeir:

Eric & Don brewed up a rauchbeir on Sunday (a smoked lager...think bacon-beer).  Lisa & Justin came by to see Isaac (and us) too.

It was a rainy day!  good thing we were prepared with a covered canopy!

It was a great weekend and we're pooped!

Things that made us laugh this week

Our little guy is pretty funny.
Isaac means laughter,
after all.  For example:

Every time we tell the dog to stay

(with the hand motion for "stay")

Isaac puts his hand up too.

He even did this when he overheard the command,
one bedroom away!

Our little pack leader.

He is a total flirt.

Our friend Julie came to dinner the other night.

Isaac would be doing something silly. 

Like diving face first into the dog's bed.

Then he'd look back at her and smile ear to ear...

waiting for the reaction....

What a show-off!

Speaking of showing off.
He loves Naked Time!
We laugh at the sight of his  
little bare buns dancing  
across the room .
He only pees on the floor about half the time.
(only one poop sans diaper... so far.... ewwwww.)

He has a mat in his room that can pull apart, like a puzzle.
He's been pulling off the edge pieces--
that look like Sticks
and hiding them under the rocking chair cushion.
Our little neanderthal hunter & gatherer...

 

That about sums it up:  

Our Little

laughing

pack leader, 

flirtatious, 

naked, 

dancing,

  neanderthal hunter and gatherer!

who we love dearly

What does the baby/child in your life do that makes YOU laugh?

Sunday Brew Day

Today we finally made the jump to all-grain brewing! I'm excited to have a new level of control over the process, and excited to share the pictures from our first day brewing with the new equipment.

A quick primer for those who aren't familiar with what all-grain brewing is: all-grain is the same method that professional production breweries use to brew beer. Basically, instead of using malt syrup that is manufactured from grain, you use 100% grain to make your own malt syrup (although it's not reduced to a syrup-like viscosity).

Today we brewed a Bohemian Pilsner. Very simple, just four ingredients: Pilsen 2-row grain, Saaz hops, lager yeast and water. Don't let the simplicity fool you - this is the itsy-bitsy bikini of the beer world - nothing to hide behind. Crossing my fingers and hoping it turns out well!

This is the mash tun with the false bottom. The grains sit on this and steep just like a tea, but at precise temperatures.

This was a triple-decoction brew. What does that mean? Glad you asked! In the most basic terms, you pull out about 1/3 of the mash (grains+water) and boil it for a bit, then throw it back in the mash tun, raising the temperature. Repeat three times, and you have a triple-decoction. But the better question is: why?? Well, a bunch of science-y chemistry stuff happens, and creates flavors that you just can't get any other way. It's a pain, but worth it (I hope...)

Boiling the 2nd decoction. Smells like a bakery. Yum.

All done! Time to sparge (rinse the grains and get all the good sugary stuff out). Pouring hot water on top of the grains and rinsing them thoroughly will result in the wort, or pre-boil beer.

The spent grains in the mash tun. Cows love this stuff.

I love this new 15.5 gallon brewpot - it's huge! We finally get to boil the whole 5 gallon (or even 10 gallon!) batch in one pot instead of adding water at the end. This pic is one of my favorite parts - adding the hops. Smells like heaven, if heaven were a brewery. Hallelujah!

Neighborhood, you are welcome for the awesome smells you are smelling.

On to the cleanup - I've got a little helper for this task. He's very interested in the big pot - even more interested in the big spoon that goes with it.

I can't wait to help my dad homebrew soon! - Isaac

11 Months!

Holy cow, we have an 11-month old!

Isaac's developmental themes this month have been walking, storage & communication.

Walking:  Isaac is walking everywhere and for long distances. He can pivot and change directions. He now prefers walking over crawling, although if he's in a hurry he'll drop down to all fours. No running.  Yet.  

Storage:  Isaac's mastering the concept of storage, meaning he'll combine multiple objects in one hand and he's so curious about how things fit together and how they work.   His favorite toy this week is a sock monkey jack-in-the-box, pictured above (how do I make it open? how does the sock monkey fit back in the box?)

Communication:  We're really seeing the communication light come on this month.  He's been pointing at everything!  He's also waving bye-bye a lot (sometimes at cars driving by....) and is using his body to communicate (ex: the wiggle/leg hump means "up" and he seems to know the hand sign for milk).  He's making more and more sound combos.  He's also imitating -- when one of us is talking on the phone, he puts his hand up to his ear.  And, when I tell the dog to stay, and give the dog the hand motion, Isaac copies me!

This picture cracks me up - a rare zen moment - pondering life

Weekend with Grandma M & OG

We can't think of anything much better than seeing family, and then leaving Isaac with them to go and play.  And by play we mean drink beer. This weekend, Debi/Grandma/Eric's Mom and Mary/Other Grandma/OG (Debi's best friend) came to visit.  We had a wonderful time seeing them.  But more importantly, Isaac had a blast!

Isaac and Grandma at breakfast, at home and sporting a new headlamp!  (thanks, Lisa & Justin for the awesome Little Dude shirt, too...)

For our date on Saturday, we visited Columbia Winery, Black Raven Brewery and American Brewing (a new brewery in Edmonds).  Many of the breweries in Washington were having open houses, as part of Washington Beer Commission's Open House 2011 day, so we got to sample some rare beers and have access to the production areas.  One of my favorites was a pairing of Black Raven's barley wine and Stilton cheese. YUM-O.

Per usual, more photos in our February Photo Album. Cheers!

Fun(ny) Man

5th Annual Winter Get-Away

For the fifth year in a row (darn, we're getting old!), we've gotten together with friends Andy & Michelle over President's Day Weekend for a winter get-away. We've alternated going to South Ogden, Utah to visit them, or having them visit Seattle.  This year, it was our turn to visit Utah. So, baby in tow, we traveled to Utah for the long weekend.  It was another epic weekend of snowboarding and visiting with good friends. We had two great days of snowboarding, one day of home brewing and too many good meals to count. The Salt Lake area had a big storm and Sunday we rode in almost 2 feet of fresh powder.  YIPEE!!!!

Isaac was a super-trooper.  He did great on his first plane ride (with only one short melt-down Utah-->Seattle) and even slept okay in a new place.  We (Mom) had to learn to be flexible around nap schedules... Isaac had many cat-naps in the car and in the ski-lodges... but he was a happy guy the whole weekend and, for us, the adventure was totally worth it!

I forgot our normal camera, but recently picked up a nifty iPhone and used that to document the trip...

ready for the flight?

Eric & Isaac at Canyons

Isaac & Christina at Snow Basin

The family at Canyons

Christina & Michelle

 

On the way home... right after a mini meltdown

I uploaded more pictures to our February Photo Album too.

Fremont Brewing, Play & a Hair Cut

Just a few photos from our weekend:

Here's our little trooper in his car seat, ready for some weekend errands (we like to call his car seat his 'super cool racing seat').

 Playing at Fremont Brewing:

 

Playing at home -- he is starting to 'get' this toy. Before he just tried to eat it. Now he plays with the beads, and only chews on it periodically.

And lastly, here he is playing at Tony & Amanda's on Sunday night. He was pretty pleased with himself when he found their basket of remote controls.  You might also notice that he got his first haircut this weekend!  Eric used the clippers to trim the back and sides.  Here is his shorter hair-do (not all that noticeable from the front...)

"I heart remotes"

Steps

Proof that Isaac has started to walk!  He can now go about 6 feet on his own. Of course, we couldn't get any of his long-hauls on video.  But here is a sampling of the amazing walking baby:



This, of course, is a nod to Myrna's first steps video. Our music isn't NKOB, but we hope you enjoy!

Superbowl Playdate

Go Packers!!!  We had a 'small' party to watch the Superbowl on Sunday.  We were excited that Green Bay won, but I'll be honest...I didn't watch as much of the game (or the commercials) as I normally do.  I was a little preoccupied playing with all of the babies, catching up with friends and playing hostess! Here are a few photos, and there are a few more in our February Photo Album.
Photos by the talented Mr. Ryan Carlson.

Green Bay Won!

Irene

Lodi

Babies (Lola 4 months, Isaac 10 months, Irene 4.5 months)

Babies + Moms (Sarah, Me & Grace)