Celebrate

Loving my hubby for the Honda Pilot Touring that we purchased.  I've been eyeing it for quite sometime now.  For the last 4 years, we've managed to get by on just 1 vehicle.  While living in downtown Minneapolis, I literally had to walk downstairs from my apartment to work in the plaza below.  Public transportation also allowed us to easily get by with only one vehicle.  Honestly, we only used it when we traveled. 

When we moved to TX, Bryon worked less than a mile from our house.  The same is true at our current home in Louisiana.  He loves his road bike, and thinks nothing of riding to work year-round.  I've been driving our car to my job, but he continues to cycle to and from his office on a daily basis.

However, Bryon is starting a new job at the Cyber Innovations Center which is a bit more of a trek away.  Additionally, Maks's car seat and misc. goods just take up too much of our car when we travel long distances - especially when we bring Kira, too.  Time for a new car!  Thus, our Honda Pilot!

We also celebrated my birthday/our anniversary (belated) with dinner at the Lincoln Cafe in Mount Vernon, IA.  This is where we had our first date and also the place we ate on the evening that Bryon proposed to me.  The restaurant owners even learned that we had a little boy and gave us a onesie for him.  They asked us to take a photo of him wearing it so that they can put his picture up in the restaurant, too!  How things can change in 5 years time!

It was so nice to be able to leave Maksim with his grandparents while we enjoyed a little date to ourselves.  Times like these make me wish family was nearby on a regular basis!  

Waking up with Daddy

Vacations are the perfect opportunity to sleep in with Daddy!  I love catching these special moments between my boys!

Look at that drool!

Moroccan Couscous

While Bryon was out flying an airplane, I stayed back at my parents' house and made one of my favorite meals: Moroccan Couscous (recipe from Alicia Silverstone).  Can you believe that my mom and dad had never experienced couscous before?  

INGREDIENTS
2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups yellow onion, large dice
1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1 1/2 cups whole wheat couscous
2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place the squash, onion, carrots, and zucchini on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.
3. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once with a spatula about midway through.
4. While the vegetables roast, bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan.
5. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the butter, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cumin, saffron, and salt to taste.
6. Cover the pan and steep for 15 minutes.
7. Scrape the roasted vegetables and their juices into a large bowl, and add the couscous.
8. Bring the vegetable broth back to a boil, and pour over the couscous mixture all at once.
9. Cover tightly with a plate and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
10. Add the scallions, toss the couscous and vegetables with a fork, and serve.

Flying High

Bryon spent last night catching up one-on-one with Mehrdad...and by catching up, I mean flying an airplane.  Mehrdad and Bryon jumped into their little 2 seater plane and traveled around the area catching aerial views of the city as well as their stomping grounds at Cornell.

Road Trip

We are crazy.  I know what you're thinking - "It's about time you realize this, Linds."  Driving from Louisiana to Iowa, non-stop, leaving at 6pm after a full day of work, traveling with a 65lb dog and a 3 month old.  CRAZY.  Yup, that's us.

"I have to be in my car seat for HOW LONG???"

I didn't want to risk messing up Maks' wonderful sleeping habits, so I made the executive decision for us to leave about 2 hours before he typically falls asleep at night.  Turns out it wasn't a bad plan.  Maks woke up a couple more times than typical, but all in all he did great. That is, he did great until we were about an hour away from our destination.  I think we were all tired of the car by that time.  But, we made it.  It took us an extra 4 hours to accommodate for all of our stops for feedings and breaks for Maks, but 18 hours later we arrived safe and sound!  Thank goodness for a nice, comfortable ride.  I love our new Honda Pilot Touring!

It was Maks' first trip to visit relatives, so he had a full schedule right from the very start.  Uncle Donny came down from Minneapolis and we celebrated 2 of his kids' birthdays.  An afternoon thunderstorm ruined our waterpark plans, but we celebrated with a backyard water balloon fight and Zookie's from Zoey's.  (Grandma Judy is crazy about these.  If you're from Cedar Rapids or Marion, you'll know what we're talking about.)  Donny, Robyn, Dylan, Kylie, Karlie and Ashlynn.  6 new relatives.  Check.

(Is it me, or does it seem like Donny needs some practice before entering his next water balloon fight?)

Uncle Tyler and Aunt Katherine stopped by multiple times throughout the week to check in on Maks and stockpile as much playtime as possible.  Uncle Tyler remains Maks' favorite person to spit up on.  Winning!

Bryon's friends from college, Mehrdad and Tiffany, stopped by and snapped some photos of Maksim.  We hadn't had any photos taken of Maks, so these will be our very first frame-worthy pictures.  I'll be sure to share them once we see them posted in Mehrdad's gallery.  Here is a sneak peek:

In the meantime, check out Mehrdad's work at: http://studioem.zenfolio.com/

We had to make a stop by and visit Kris and Cathy Hill.  I'm so thankful to be able to maintain a relationship with my old boss.  She's amazing.  And she thinks the world of our little boy, which is pretty cool, too!

Poor Pup

We're scheduled to begin our vacation travels this evening and there's trouble in paradise.  After walking Maks around the block in our Ergo carrier, I stopped in the backyard and threw the ball for Kira.  On the 3rd throw, I noticed that she was retrieving fairly slowly and had a bit of an awkward run.  By the time she reached my side, she dropped the ball, stood on 3 feet.  At first I thought that she'd run through a pile of fire ants.  But, she wasn't trying to lick her paw.  She didn't land funny when she caught the ball, and she hadn't made a single yelp or whining noise at all.  The next thing I know, she lay down in the grass.  If you know Kira, you know that this is extremely unusual behavior for our playful, ball-loving girl.

I rushed into the house to put Maksim down and then went outside to tend to Kira.  She wouldn't even bear weight or walk at all.  So, I bent down and carried our 65lb dog into the house.  I placed her on her bed and tried to look over her leg.  She still wouldn't walk, but she didn't seem to mind when I touched her.  I tried to give her a little bit of relief by placing an ice pack on her leg - but she would have none of that!  I decided to give it a couple of hours before calling the vet.

 5 hours later she still could barely walk, so we decided to take her to the vet.  Since we were leaving to go on vacation for the next 2 weeks, we thought it'd be best to figure out if something was seriously wrong with her leg sooner rather than later.

As it turns out, she has a medical cruciate tear.  The vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory and pain killer.  I declined the pain killer since she was going to be laying in the car for an entire day and she didn't seem to need it.  I later learned that the anti-inflammatory that was prescribed was also a painkiller with multiple side effects.  We discontinued its use after 2 days (when we had the chance to get on a computer and research exactly what we were giving our dog).  I can't believe the vet tried to tell me that is was ONLY an anti-inflammatory with no pain killer!  We knew something was up when Kira's behavior was a little off.  As soon as we stopped giving her the meds, she was back to her normal self.

**Within a couple of days, she seems to be getting back to normal.  We're still careful to restrict her playtime while she heals, but everything is looking good for our little girl!**

July 2012

Here's to Maksim's 3rd month!