The hustle and bustle of the new year

Thanks for not giving up on me, La Vie Dansante readers. I might not post frequently, but I try to connect the dots when I do.

A look at the past few weeks:

Baby boy turned 4 months. He's 14.5 pounds, laughing, babbling, drooling, flipping on his back, grabbing his feet....

and hanging with his bro.

Julian, who will be turning 4 in less than two weeks, and Ian are developing an even more special bond these days, and it's not just their identical Converse shoes. Just about every day, he asks me if I'll please read books and have alone time in our bedroom so he and Ian can have "boy movie night." Star Wars seems to be a favorite movie that the two of them can agree upon. Otherwise, when it's just Julian movie time, he's watching X-Men or Transformers. Occasionally, it's Strawberry Shortcake, Barbie Mermaid, Thumbelina or Tigger and Pooh.

(Look at this adorable cauliflower they decorated for me one day that J was home from school.)

Julian has really been getting into his letters, as well. He has finally latched onto a book that he insists on "reading" to me. (It's a Christmas book called, "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell." It's the seasonal gift that keeps on giving!) He is (no quotes needed) reading words like "on," "off" and "Nerf," and sounding out others that he finds. (I don't count him recognizing the HEB logo as reading.) There's even an iPhone kid game or two that I'll catch him playing and sounding out the words to pick the right answer.

This is what will probably be my final quilt for a little while. It was my gift to GaGa for Christmas; a dachshund from Boo Davis' book "Dare To Be Square Quilting" on which I embroidered the names of all of her wiener dogs from years' past.

All the way up to Chloe, who had to be put down late last year.

They all lived such happy lives with GaGa. I hope this quilt brings her even an ounce of that happiness when she snuggles with it during her daily nap.

Look at those blue eyes.

Just before Christmas, Ian had some friends come visit from Austin. Ryan and his girlfriend Julia, from Vancouver, were our awesome house guests just before the big day. They were a blast to spend the week with.

 

Ian and I (and Avery) even got to go out on a little date with them one night to a nice restaurant downtown. (Yay for nursing in public when you're on a date with your husband!)

And then there's work.

Well, not even so much newspaper work, but all the other projects going on in my life right now, the biggest of which is Austin Supper Club, the television show I'm working on that hopefully we'll get to air on the local public TV station later this year.

(Oh, and I did a little segment on the local FOX station on making kale chips with my friend Susan.)

A week ago, Sean and Rob (the producers) and I shot the last half of that urban farm episode with a nice, all local dinner we cooked on camera at Rain Lily Farm.

My friend, farmer Stephanie Scherzer, was a great host. (And look at those curls! Hers are something else. You can see here that my own curls are getting straighter by the day it seems. I'm kinda freaking out about it, but I know that nothing lasts forever. The uber curls could return after I stop nursing. Or maybe they won't. I'm fine with it either way, but this new hair is taking some getting used to.)

The final dinner was so beautiful, and I think I did a really good job cooking and being in front of the camera. It's a little crazy to be in the middle of all of this action, but it's a lot of fun. Balancing it all is tricky, of course, but I like the challenge. Plus, it all has to do with food, so I get to weave this wonderful basket out of it all. I feel so incredibly lucky right now. So filled with excitement and possibility. It's overwhelming, really, but with Ian's help, I'm making it just fine.