not a fan of the green stuff yet

Although we've tried serving him all kinds of fruits and vegetables, butternut squash is by far the favorite and everything else is still a bit of a challenge.

See those peas all over his face? See any peas in his mouth? Yep. It's kind of like that.

At least this picture shows off his two new bottom teeth that poked through about a week ago.

the little packers fan

Matt and I took Matteo to our favorite Indian restaurant last night. In anticipation of the big Aaron Rodgers - Brett Favre match-up later that evening, Matteo was wearing his green and gold. All was going well until one of the managers snuck up behind him in his high chair, touched him on the shoulders, and loudly said "AHHH!! I SEE YOU ARE SUPPORTING THE GREEN BAY PACKERS TONIGHT!", which scared the bejeezus out of him. He started to cry and was pretty rattled, but we calmed him down by giving him a piece of naan to gum on. Just look at that furrowed brow.



Matt laughed it off and joked with the manager that Matteo was just nervous about the game, but I was a little embarrassed. What if they think our child is some terrible, racist, Indian-fearing baby? Good grief. It also didn't help his temperament that he hadn't pooped in two days and spent the entire meal making these horrible sounds:

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I'm pretty sure Matt and I set a new records in just how quickly we could scarf down our tikka masala trying to get out of there.

brunch at graze

Matteo and I met Carrie for brunch this morning at Graze, the new fancy gastropub on the square. Considering I forgot all of his toys at home and he had nothing to play with besides an extra pair of his pants from the diaper bag, Matteo kept himself entertained by charming the table of ladies sitting next to us, who cooed and smiled and waved at him throughout our meal. I was able to thoroughly enjoy my nutella french toast, he got a lot of attention from the table of ladies and from Carrie - everybody won!



After we ate the three of us strolled around the farmer's market where I picked up a package of buffalo hot dogs from a nearby bison farm. For a small city Madison has a booming local food scene. Besides having the biggest farmer's market in the country the city is filled with places like Graze that are committed to serving in-season, locally sourced food. If you like to eat well, Madison is a pretty fantastic place to live.

cookie forgiveness

I felt like kind of an a-hole today when I dropped Matteo off at daycare and was told I've been picking him up too late. We'll be slightly adjusting his schedule in a couple of weeks so it won't be a big deal then, but I didn't really realize until this morning that it's been an inconvenience for them and they've been too nice to say anything about it.

I really like the teachers at his school and am feeling pretty guilty so tonight I'll be baking. These are one of my all-time favorites and are super easy to make.



Chewy Molasses-Spice Cookies
from Everyday Food


Ingredients
Makes 36

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a shallow bowl, place 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.

2.With an electric mixer, beat butter and remaining cup of sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients, just until a dough forms.

3.Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 tablespoon. Roll balls in reserved sugar to coat.

4.Arrange balls on baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, until edges of cookies are just firm, 10 to 15 minutes (cookies can be baked two sheets at a time, but they will not crackle uniformly). Cool 1 minute on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 4 days.

michelle obama

I LOVE Michelle Obama. I lovelovelove her. When I was a little girl my favorite show was 'The Cosby Show' and I wanted my mom to be just like Claire Huxtable. I think Michelle Obama is like Claire Huxtable come to life.



Besides being smart and gorgeous and the most powerful woman in the world, I think her campaign to fight childhood obesity and get kids moving is just awesome. Did you see the pictures of her playing football last month with kids in New Orleans? Check them out here.

I like to follow what Michelle Obama wears on this blog. As a new mom who has been defaulting to ponytails and whatever is clean for too many weeks now, I find her style inspiring. Apparently I'm not the only one. The Harvard Business Review just featured a story on the influence Michelle Obama has on fashion. Whenever Michelle Obama wears a designer, the designers stock price almost immediately increases in value.

Here's why:

"The unparalleled robustness of the Michelle Obama effect results from the confluence of three factors: her personal interest in fashion, recognized by consumers as authentic, her position as First lady and the intangible value it confers, and the power of the social internet and e-commerce. Descriptions and pictures of what she's wearing spread across the social internet in near-real time and consumers can buy these fashions almost instantly online. For the first time in history, the cycle of influence is immediate and ubiquitous."


Image via Harvard Business Review

I have to say though, out of all of the amazing and beautiful clothes I've seen her wear, this outfit is still my favorite.

sittin' on chrome

Matteo and I spent Sunday afternoon in the kitchen. I was cooking up baby food, he was hanging out in his doorway bouncy chair, and we both were enjoying 'The Backspin', the old school hip hop radio show hosted by Spinderella. Master Ace's 'Sittin' on Chrome' came on the radio - a song I love because it reminds me of when Matt and I first started dating and he tried to give me DJ lessons. It was one of the records he started me with because it has a really simple beat to mix.

Apparently the beat also works well for bouncing babies because Matteo went nuts. And check out how well that boy is bouncing with the music! He's his Daddy's boy through and through.

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fall sunday afternoons are made for this

Yesterday was our end-of-season softball party. It was a chili cook-off so we ate many, many bowls of homemade chili, enjoyed a toasty outside fire, and Matteo impressed all of the ladies with his newly acquired sitting skills and snazzy corduroys.

daddy's boy

Matteo is SO in love with Matt. Don't get me wrong, I'm not chopped liver or anything. He's pretty sweet on me too. But when he sees Matt his eyes light up and he starts laughing and he just stares at him in complete adoration.

It's pretty cute unless Matt comes home when I'm trying to feed him dinner. It doesn't matter how tasty the food is that I'm serving. He constantly turns his head away to watch what Matt is doing and where he is.

We took him to the park to swing the other day and Matt was pushing him. See what I mean? That's how he looks at him all the time. Melts your heart, doesn't it?

field trip

Matteo went on a field trip today to Eugster's Farm. I went along with his class and we all rode on a little school bus that has special seats for tiny kids. They fed goats, picked out pumpkins, went in a room filled with kittens you could pet, and saw lots of other baby animals.

lawrence weekend

Here are some photos from this past weekend at Lawrence. Lawrence is a small, 160 year old liberal arts college of about 1500 students. The campus is gorgeous and all the students we encountered were really polite and friendly. I quickly realized that football Saturdays at Lawrence are a lot different from the ones I remember from my days at Michigan State.

Friday night was the dinner honoring Hall of Fame inductees:






Matteo enjoying cocktail hour


All about Matt. What's that you say? You'd like to see a close-up of his head shot?


you're welcome


three generations of Miota men

Saturday the inductees were introduced at halftime during the football game. Before the game we bought some Lawrence gear, walked around campus, visited the basketball gym and saw where Matt's plaque is going to hang, and attended a tailgate where we ate brats and Matteo ate a face full of grass.





















Finally, Matteo went to his first bar, The Viking Room, which is housed in the basement of the student union.



I ordered 'The Lawrencian' - blue curaçao, Malibu and sweet and sour mix - and promptly felt sick to my stomach after three sips.



Ahh college. Good times.

matt's hall of fame induction speech

the rolling around but not really getting anywhere trick

Matteo isn't crawling yet but has started spinning around in circles and rolling himself from place to place. He's becoming increasingly frustrated with his own limitations, however. Spinning and rolling just aren't good enough, this baby wants to MOVE.

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hall of famer

This afternoon we're headed to Matt's alma mater, Lawrence University, for the weekend. He's being inducted into the Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame! Tonight there is a dinner in honor of the inductees including slide show montages of lives and speeches, and tomorrow he'll be announced at halftime during the football game.



Look at that air! Look at those shorty shorts!

welcome leo!

Our friends Tamara and Rob welcomed their first baby, a boy named Leo, last Thursday up in Anchorage. (September 30th was a big day for babies!) Tamara looked absolutely amazing after giving birth, don't you think? I looked like a hot mess after delivering Matteo but look at her sitting there, batting her eyelashes, all serene and lovely like it ain't no thing.



We got to meet Leo when he was still on the inside, when he and Tamara came to visit us this summer after Matteo was born.



I can't wait for Matteo's first Alaskan adventure. I know he and Leo are going to be good friends. Leo can teach Matteo how to climb mountains and Matteo can introduce Leo to the wonders of fresh cheese curds. Congratulations Tamara and Rob!

welcome ayla!

Exactly one week ago tonight our friends Stefanie and Adam welcomed their first child, a daughter names Ayla, into the world. Ayla came six weeks early and gave her parents quite a scare, but aside from being teeny tiny is absolutely beautiful and perfect.



She'll be in the NICU for a few more days until she gains a few more ounces and can eat a little better on her own. I went to visit her and Stefanie yesterday and was able to hold her myself. This is how amazing it felt to hold a 3 and a half pound baby.


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Right now she's in an incubator until she can regulate her own body temperature. Adam is getting his PhD in child psychology and decorated hers with pictures of them, their dogs and Wimmer Ferguson cards to keep her busy when he and Stefanie are away. She's going to be a baby genius in no time.



Congratulations Stefanie and Adam! She's absolutely precious.

happy birthday dad!

Happy Birthday Pops, hope it's a real hootenanny!



I love you!

monthly photos

Every 5th of the month I take pictures of Matteo on the daybed on our back sun porch. The whole set is here, but here's a quick look at how much he's changed already. In the last picture I took yesterday you can see his bottom teeth are about to come in any day now. And yes, he's definitely letting us know.


1 month old


2 months old


3 months old


4 months old


5 months old