strawberry pops!

There are so many, many reasons to love summer...one of my favorites being the abundance of yummy ripe fruits.  Last weekend our friends Jess & Jeff kindly shared a bowl full of strawberries they had hand-picked that day - at the height of ripeness.  I needed to do something with them pronto, so they wouldn't go bad (what a shame that would be!).  Good thing I have been thinking about this recipe for frozen strawberry bars ever since I first made them last summer! 

They're called Strawberries n Cream Pie Ice Pops.  You have to love a recipe that has only five ingredients!  And I happen to have ice pop molds. . . don't you?

strawberries

sugar

greek yogurt

lemon juice

graham crackers

All you have to do is cook the strawberries with some sugar for about 20 mins, then mix all the ingredients together and BOOM! you're ready to stick these bad boys in the freezer. 

 

it helps if you chill the molds in the freezer before filling them.

All of this does involve some thinking ahead - you really need to be patient with the whole freezing thing.  Not my strong point.  Because usually when I get an idea for a sweet treat, I want it eat it five minutes ago.  You know?

YUM!

watching the grass grow

And now for some news entirely unrelated to babies...unless you count these new little sprouts as our little ones....and it kind of feels that way.  We had our lawn reseeded last week.  Here is a before picture, from back in April:
 
...mostly dirt with random tufts of grass, plus a whole lot of sand and rocks left over from the work on our brick patio.  So the fine fellows from Edmonds Landscaping came over to help us out.  They cleaned out the rock-sand-weed layer, gave us fresh new dirt, and reseeded the grass. 

Day 1:

 

 

 

They also trimmed a few branches off the big tree to let in more sunlight.

  

About one week later, we have grass spouting!

 

Henry should be moving the lawn in just six short weeks!

grandma's comfort quilt

Love for quilts and quilting goes back several generations in my family.  The "Comfort Quilt" gets passed around the family to anyone who needs it.  We are the proud holders of the comfort quilt right now!
According to family legend,
"The darker blocks were found embroidered, along with all the other patterns in Jeanne's house in 2005.  Carrie finished the project that was probably started by Grandma Becker in 1930."

  Carrie Druffel - my aunt

 Jeanne Becker Druffel - my grandma

Maggie Moser Becker - my great-grandma

These pictures do not do the beautiful embroidery and quilting work justice.  You are going to have to take my word for just how amazing this quilt is!

Plus, it is super warm and VERY comforting.  I am doing my best to not spill anything on it or let Henry unleash any bodily fluids on it.  Comfort Quilts must be used, right??

 

Our Happy Family

first week home

We had a great first week home with Henry!

 Dad gave the welcome-home tour.

This week was all about lots of cuddle time with the family.  No one spent more time with us (and gave us more help) than Grandpa Tom, Grandma Carolyn & Grandma Mary.

 

 

Other exciting moments:

 

First Bottle with Daddy  

  First Bath

Chillin on the Couch with Mommy

Meeting Cousins

...so much fun!

Henry Thomas

Henry Thomas, a set on Flickr.

A photo set all about Henry!
...for those of you who want oodles more pictures of HTW, updated often!