Ira and the Orchid

Ira has been really cute lately. He has had this growing fascination, I call it a friendship, with the Orchid plant we have on his changing table. If he is crying almost without fail you can lay him on the table and once he realizes where he is and sees the Orchid flower he stops crying and within minutes will be kicking and cooing with joy to see the flower shake. I've noticed when I hold him in bed he really likes looking at this pastel painting above our bed of a field of flowers my Aunt made for us. I'm interpreting this as a sign that he will love and appreciate nature, I guess in reality it's still to early to tell.

 This is a typical interaction. He will stare at it for a long time.

This is the painting above our bed he likes and the original picture. I'm curious to see if I put the original up on the computer is he will look at it too.

I was giving him some naked time today and he kept putting his arm out like he was reaching for the flower. I decided to use it as a development opportunity, since he doesn't seem as interested in other stimuli we have tried. I put the flower down so he could interact with it more. He loved it.

Sharon and I tried to capture his cuteness on video. He was a little distracted by the camera and getting tired, but you get the idea.

Kirtland, OH

We took a day trip up to Kirtland, OH to see some of the historic sites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We enjoyed the company of our friends Gabe and his fiance, Alexia.

American Gothic?

We got a tour of the Kirtland Temple, which is now owned by the Community of Christ, formally the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a good experience. While the general land scape was barren from winter, the weather was warming up and the tour group was small allowing us to see all three floors of the Temple. I admire how great the building was, but I couldn't help but recognize the similarities and big differences between this, the first temple built by the saints and later temples built. Not just architecturally, but functionally too.

We also spent some time in the reconstructed 'Historic Kirtland' owned and operated by the Church. It was fun to see, hear, and think of the events in the context and setting they happened. 

So, I've been thinking about something and wanted to pose a question. What is the relationship between spiritual places and spiritual experiences?

I was thinking about a conversation I had with one my Muslim friends, in which we were talking about sacred places. I think I had asked him about Mecca and the Dome of the Rock. In that conversation he mentioned that he didn't personally believe these places held any special 'cosmic force' that made them more spiritual than other places in the world and that going there wouldn't necessarily enhance his ability to be a better person. Being in Kirtland, I reflected on that conversation because I do believe that there are places set apart on earth where we can have spiritual experiences more easily than any other places. Temples are built for this purpose. They are set apart and dedicated to be a place for God. A place for his ordinances to be done. However, I also agree with my friend, in that there are places where spiritually significant events have happened, that don't necessarily ensure a personal enlightenment for those who make the pilgrimage.  However, while pondering this I thought, it is still possible that a person, while at a historical site and in the right state of mind can have extremely powerful experiences, in fact testimony building and faith promoting experiences. So, Kirtland is a mixed bag that brought all these thoughts to the surface. It is where the first temple in the latter days was built and dedicated to the Lord. It was abandoned/sold and is no longer used the way it was intended, nor is it set up to do the ordinances that we now perform in temples, but it is one of these historical sites where great spiritual experiences and manifestations happened before and after the saints inhabited it.

Again the question, What is the relationship between spiritual places and spiritual experiences? In a slightly different wording, what are the differences and/or similarities between having a spiritual experience

1. Worshiping in a sacred and holy place, like the Temple

2. Visiting a historic site like Jeruselum, The Sacred Grove, Kirtland

3. Personal study or prayerful inquiries about truth, like the events that happened at the aforementioned places. 

Leave a comment and start a discussion if you'd like. 

You can see more pictures on the album I created.

Acai update

I posted a little while ago about the Acai. Since then I've been keeping my open for other ways this fruit has penetrated the US market. While meandering through the frozen food section of Whole Foods I found a puree form.

 Sambazon is the company. They had three different 'flavors'.
1.) 'Pure Unsweetened', as you can guess it is just the fruit nothing else really.
2.) 'Pure Fuzion', this has another fruit called 'Acerola' which has a ton of Vitamin C.
3.)  'Original Rio Blend', is sweetened with cane juice and Guarana (another Brazilian fruit). This was my favorite.

The nice thing about these packs is that they can be thrown into the blender with some milk, soy milk, ice cream, yogurt, and other fruits to make a great shake/smoothie. They've been great for in the morning. You can also do it like they do in Brazil and put Banana and granola on top.

I also tried the kind in a container. I got the Rio Blend in a pint container. It is nice because it is sweetened perfectly with the cane juice and guarana. I can take it out of the freezer and take a few bits for dessert.

Vaccinations and Diapers

Ira had his two month visit on Monday. He is healthy and growing fast. He is in the 75th percentile for Length(23.5 inches) and Weight (12 lbs). He got his first round of Vaccinations too. He only cried for a few seconds before calming down, we thought it would be more traumatic. I think he was a little sore the rest of the day though because he was more cuddly than usual.

Since he was so good we decided to reward him with a visit to the "Happy Baby Company", formerly "Pittsburgh Cloth Diapers". That's right we made the big commitment to cloth diapers. We've definitely been on a learning curve, but we are getting the hang of them. They are pretty cute. I have some pictures of them and a guys explanation and point of view of them.

We got a few different brands and 'systems'. GroBaby had some cute designs. The outside 'shell' can be used multiple times, all you have to do is change the 'soaker pads' inside. We found out after the  first few wears that the pads don't really work until you wash them a couple of times. They have been working much better since.

 This is the 'Fuzzibunz' brand. They are a 'pocket diaper'. You can only use them once before you have to wash them, because the pads are in a pocket behind the liner that is against the skin. I've liked these the most. We got a few from the brand, 'Bum Genius', which are also pocket diapers, but have Velcro on the front instead of buttons.

 You can see the band-aid on his leg from his shots. He got a total of three shots between the two legs and one oral vaccination.

 My nieces just saw "Where the Wild Things Are", and got a kick out of the fact that one of the monsters' name is Ira. This photo is tribute to them.

Why?

I cut my hairs today. I'm not sure what exactly motivated it. I've gotten some interesting reactions and the common question, why? Here is a list of possibilities:
1. My friend Gabe is trying to grow his hair out really long, I needed to bring the universe back into balance.
2. I'm getting my Aang costume ready  for the opening night of Avatar: The Last Airbender
3. Fulfilling my part of the deal Sharon and I made when she cut her hair short.
4. Tribute to the bald men I admire like Ghandi, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Capt. Picard, John Durant, etc...
5. Bond with Ira
6. Look more intimidating and to blend with my homies, kronies, and peeps on the bus
7. Bring back the Swim Team glory days
8. The pleasure of feeling the wind blow over my head
9. The doomsayers convinced me that the apocalyptic Armageddon of World War III was upon us and I'm preparing to be enlisted.
10. Remind me my pride grows back the way my hair does

Please leave a comment and add more reasons a person would shave their head. After I decided to do this I thought it would be interesting to compare what I look like with/without hair and glasses, I'd be interested to know what people think.

Pamela's Restaurant

The weather is warming up fast and we have spring fever so we decided to go on a family walk to a Pittsburgh classic breakfast restaurant, Pamela's. It was a 3 mile walk one way, 6 miles round trip. We earned that greasy breakfast and doughnut desert :)

We are getting good at using the sling.

Pamela's is a fun little breakfast restaurant chain in Pittsburgh. Greasy, cheap, but good. How can you not enjoy hot chocolate with that much whip cream on top?

Ira is so cute. I love waking up and seeing him after a good night sleep...

Star Wars and Star Trek

I know there are some people who have really strong feelings about these two franchises.  I don't know if anyone who reads this really cares all that much, but I've been thinking about it lately.

Growing up I always loved the original Star Wars. I would get my dad's old box speakers out and hook them up to the TV so I could get the whole surround sound experience of the theme song and sound effects. I would build a huge bed in the room and do Trilogy Marathons on the weekends. Yes weekends, plural.  I went through a phase where I would do this every weekend with my brothers. Lucky for me and my social life I grew out of that obsession. I think the new Episode I, II, and III kind of ruined it for me. I still like the Star Wars story and especially like the original Trilogy.

Sharon and I recently saw the new Star Trek movie. I've never really seen any of the previous Star Trek movies and had seen very few of the TV series so I wasn't sure how I would like it. I was surprised how good it was.  I really like it. I decided I should give the old series a chance. With a new born in the house I find sometimes my hands are full and I can't get much productive work done, so I've been watching some of the original series online. ABC has the three original Star Trek seasons available to watch for free. I've been slowly making my way through the first season.  I've found Star Trek much more interesting and engaging from a thought/philosophical point of view. The effects and production are obviously of a poorer quality, but I've enjoyed the plots and the thought provoking ideas they present, like how would a man behave if he were to obtain God like powers.

I will never be a Trekie or Star Wars fanatic but I think both deserve a lot of credit for being entertaining, even after all the years.

Panettone

If you couldn't tell I enjoy cooking. I've finally had some time to play around with some new stuff and try out some recommendations from people. The next few posts are about some of the current foods I've been trying.

First, I wanted to write about my holiday venture, Panettone, which was inspired from a recipe my oldest sister sent me. The origin of the bread is Milan, Italy, but I was introduced to it in Brazil where it is a traditional Christmas/holiday bread. It is a light fluffy bread with a sour dough flavor. It usually has raisins or other dried fruit in it. What made me excited about this recipe is that it had chocolate chips in it, yumm.

It turned out well for a first try. Sharon and I loved it. We gave it out to some people, but we didn't really get any feedback from them. I think the one thing I could have done better, especially with the big loaf, would be to keep it in a warmer area so that it would raise more. I think it was supposed to be a little taller and a little more fluffy.

Mini Panettone

Big Panettone

The recipe is involved so I won't type it out, but you can follow this link to the recipe online.

7 Weeks

Ira and I were up early the other morning so we left Mom in bed to sleep. I was talking with him and he started to smile more deliberately than I've ever seen him smile. He is slowly becoming more and more aware of things around him and beginning to look more and more conscious of us. I thought I would put up some of the pictures I got of him smiling, as well as a few from the past week or two in celebration of his 7 short weeks of life :) For grandma's and other who can't get enough there is always the Ira Album online.

This is one of Ira's new favorite ways to sleep, hunched over the back of the boppy pillow, it's pretty cute.

Doing some hand stretches in his sleep.

He hasn't quite figured out how to keep the pacifier in his mouth.

This is his emerging smile, and possibly a personality too. I love it.

He doesn't have a huge smile right now, but he's working on it.

This is his half smile/smirk

Please Don't Park Here.

So far it has been the 4th snowiest winter in history of Pittsburgh with about 76.5 inches. That is a lot for a city with narrow streets and houses without driveways and garages. The city has started to crack down on the condition of the sidewalks. You are supposed to clear the sidewalks in front of your house within 24 hours of the storm....we are approaching 24 days after the storm. It has been fun seeing the streets full of people walking, but I can't wait for the sidewalks to be cleared so I don't have to share the crowded streets.

It has been interesting to watch people's behavior in these 'extreme' conditions. To a normal person the streets probably look like they are full of trash, but to the experienced eye it is a territorial statement. If you have a random item like old lawn chairs, desks, stools, ladders, etc... out in the street you have staked your claim and that part of the street automatically becomes a temporary extension of your property. I've come to call these snow garages. I took some pictures today while I was out walking with Sharon. Unfortunately the warmer weather has diminished how impressive and how critical these were at the height of the snow storm. I admit I can understand what people are thinking and feeling, I spent a lot of time digging our car and the neighbor's car out, but I never felt I needed to stake my claim.

The wooden chair has the sign above taped to it( It's to bad they had it on the sidewalk instead of in their spot). In the foreground you can see a nice "snow garage" with an old lawn chair in it. You would park in it as if you were parallel parking, it's actually good practice.

Here are some nice stools holding a nice big place. In the background you can see chairs, dust pans, a desk, and a recycle bin holding the curb spots in front of a house, they don't even have snow there anymore.

Some people parked in their garage.

Anyway life is picking up again in Pittsburgh. We'll miss the pretty part of the snow and the adventure it brought, but are looking forward to the beautiful blooming spring.

good food + fun travel + baby Ira = happiness (Sharon)

-Sharon Update-
Hello Family!

It feels like it's been ages since I've written.

* Ira makes us smile constantly. We took him to the pediatrician today for his check up, and he's now 22 inches long, and 11 lbs! That's up from the 20.5 inches, and 7 lbs 8 oz he was born at. Yep, he's chunking up nicely. The doc called him "alert" and "very sturdy." He's moving his head around really well, and sometimes isn't content unless he's standing on our laps with some help. AND he's starting to sleep longer stretches at night which is a pattern we're hoping continues.

* Food: Anthony and I have had fun cooking lately. I've made pesto, and palak paneer, and stuffed shells for the first time. And today I attempted and failed at my first sponge cake. It was a little mix up between the word egg 'yoke' and egg 'white.' Details details. Maybe next time. Anthony made some rocking gnocci from scratch the other day. Mmm.

* Movies: We still haven't cancelled our netflix "trial," and have seen some good flix lately. We're watching "A Room With a View" as I type. I think the whole Ellsworth side has seen and loves it, but we keep talking about how much the Quinns would love it, especialy you Valine.

* Williamsburg! We had a great week with the Quinns (Valine, Paul, and Mckay) in Virginia. I guess it was a couple of weeks ago now. We were able to spend time in Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. We "touristed" like crazy by day, and feasted upon the Olympics by night. For those of you ever planning a trip there, I'd suggest a trip to Monticello, Jefferson's house. It gave Anthony and I lots of architectural ideas for our future estates. :) The snow gave Mom and Dad a break long enough to come down and meet us for Ira's baby blessing on Sunday. I felt incredibly blessed to have such a strong support of priesthood holders on both sides of the family. It was sweet to see Ira surrounded by such kind, loving, righteous men.

Alright, gotta go feed the little bambino. Blame any typos on my being distracted by the movie. Love you all!

Sharon

P.S. O.k., so Ant and I just got to the part in A Room With A View with nudity. It's really innocent and funny. But, it's definitely nudity. So....just wanted to throw in that warning and disclaimer. Actually now that I think about it, it reminds me of Quinn male bonding skinny dipping rituals I've heard tales of. :)