Happy Second Birthday little guy! I can hardly believe its been two whole years already. Andy is about to enjoy a homemade cupcake here from the ridiculously easy recipe I found in Baking Illustrated. The cupcake came out a little crumbly, but very tasty. The homemade chocolate frosting was the best part: semi-sweet chocolate chips and heavy cream. I think I had the proportions a little wrong, because it did not whip up the way it was supposed to. Still tasted awesome though.

“You dig my shades?”

Yesterday morning it was cold and rainy. Then out of the blue (so to speak) the sun came out and it warmed up to about 78 degrees outside. I found these pink flowers on a bush right out side our kitchen windows. Right next to a tree that had leaves on it!

“Who am I?” I say, pointing to myself.

“DADA!”

“Who is that?” I say, pointing to Laura.

“MAMA!”

And who are you? I ask, tapping Andy on the chest.

“…dada?” Andy asks very quietly, clearly unsure that this is who he is.

“No, I’m Dada, who are you?” I ask, again tapping Andy on the chest.

“…apple?”

What are you going to do with your tax refund this year? I put aside way too much money this year for taxes, so I get to give myself a very substantial refund. Guess who's getting a new camera?! I still haven't decided exactly what I'm going to get. I guess that's something I'm going to have to nail down. I definitely want to try to get at least one really good lens, and an off-camera flash. So hopefully in the next few months I can get back into the swing of posting pictures. Maybe I'll even take a few of something other than Anderson! Unlike this one:

A year ago today we arrived in a city we had never even visited before. With help from an awesome friend we brought the barest of essentials: our cats, a suitcase, a small tv (for watching the Oscars!), a portable crib and every toy we owned. I mean, one of the first things we had to do when we got here was go out and buy a litter box for goodness sake!

Now, a year later, we're finally starting to get settled. We've finished buying furniture, and we're going to order some rugs soon. There's only 1 more room that we need to repaint. And now that Andy isn't totally scared of strangers, we're starting to meet other families around our neighborhood. For a while I wondered if we had made the right decision in coming here, but then I took a walk yesterday afternoon, in the middle of February when it was a balmy 73 degrees outside. And I noticed that the trees around here are starting to bloom, just like they were when we first arrived. Then I realized that right now there isn't any place I'd rather be.

Some say that you're either a pie man, or a cake man, but I'm still not sure which I am. I've only got a few of each under my belt (and a few that got away as well). But in the latest Cooks Illustrated, there was a recipe for a truly foolproof pie dough. The secret? Vodka. Apparently the alcohol inhibits gluten formation, but still makes the flour wet. The upside is that you have an extremely rollable dough. If this keeps up, I might find myself squarely on the side of pie in the years to come.

It's pretty sad that just two posts down from here, I'm talking about Andy walking. That's hardly news anymore. Andy is walking up a storm, even climbing up stairs. He's endlessly fascinated with being outside, and gets quite upset when he's denied. Hey, sometimes its time for a bath. And today we caught him dancing to a pirate song that was playing on the Backyardigans. He's already got more rhythm than me, that's for sure.

It was day time when I was up there so they weren't moving around very much. So I didn't immediately freak out. However, as I stood up there longer I wondered if there was actually anything between me and them. I had to run back down the ladder and grab a pair of binoculars in order to confirm that there was, in fact, a screen between me and them. So, phew. That would've been totally creepy.

So, we've got bats. I should probably check to make sure that screen stays intact. Plus, I'm not entirely sure that having bats is a bad thing — after all they're probably keeping the mosquito population down.

As for the ceiling fans — the insulation prevented me from seeing anything useful. So I guess I'll just have to unscrew some chandeliers and see what's going on.

We've got a little walker in the house. He started doing a few steps here and there the other day. Now he'll take several steps, stop, turn and walk to something else. He doesn't walk to us when we call him, but he's always been stubborn like that. I'm glad I got to see it all happen. Because it would be just my luck that he'd do it when I'm away this weekend!

Andy loves pushing chairs around the house. Before we had furniture downstairs he had the run of the house. Now the couch does get in the way, but Andy will push chairs and other walkers around in a big U. From the living room, through the foyer, through the dining room, into the kitchen. And then back.

Today he was really whiney before dinner. I figured he was hungry or thirsty. So, I plopped him in front of a chair, and put a plate full of Cheerios on there, along with a cup of water. He loved it. He could push the chair around for a few steps, then stop and shove a fist full of Cheerios into his mouth. And best of all, the chair had arms so it helped contain the plate full of Cheerios. My first parent hack!