So the kid likes to feed himself. Although the coordination is coming along, it's not quite there yet. And he's just discovering the joy of dangling food over the edge of the highchair tray, having the dogs get all squirrely, and then dropping it for them to fight over.
Good times!
KJT - Seattle (2010)
Showing posts with label Sennet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sennet. Show all posts
12 April 2010
Anatomy of a Mess
05 April 2010
Braised Pork Belly
Took Sennet to his first Farmer's Market this past weekend. There are only a couple that are open year round. We went to the one in the University District, just to see what they had this early in the season.
Ended up picking up some fresh bread, fresh organic greens, farm fresh organic eggs, some herbed goat cheese, and the true find: a nice, thick pork belly.
Pork belly is the cut of meat that bacon comes from. The belly is sold in a block, before being cut, cured, or dried & aged for bacon. Fatty & beautiful.
The pork belly we bought came from Wooly Pigs, a company that pasture-raises Mangalitsa pigs very near Seattle. Mangalitsa are an eastern European breed of pig known particularly for it's good lard. They are directly descended from wild boars. The owner of the company imported a heard of the Mangalitsa, and uses the Austrian techniques for raising and finishing the pigs. They are the only breeder of Mangalitsa in North or South America, and they are a member of the Mangalitsa Pig Breeder's Association of Austria. Wooly Pigs' Mangalitsa have been served in such restaurants as The French Laundry, The Herbfarm, and Michael Mina and The Four Seasons of San Francisco.
I learned all of this over the weekend. But what I really learned was that the Mangalitsa tastes great!
I rubbed some fresh garlic and spices & herbs onto the belly and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. I then braised it in the oven with some onions & red potatoes for several hours. When it was almost finished I braised the wild greens on the stovetop. Dinner was excellent - the pork belly savory with a lot of beautiful, clean, white fat. Almost had a foie gras flavor & texture. With a couple glasses of wine, it was wonderful.
Praise the Lard!
P.S. Sennet was already asleep when we ate, so didn't get to partake. But he does seem to be an adventurous eater, at least for now (we hear this will change). Over the last few days he's had tilapia, chicken, mac & cheese, scrambled egg, okra, sweet potato, broccoli, kidney beans, avocado, beets, peas, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, apples, peaches, bananas, strawberries, oatmeal w/ blueberries & Greek yogurt, cottage cheese w/ raspberries, and Cheerios. Right now we are trying to make almost all of his food - no little jars. Mostly steaming (if necessary) and then blending and saving in the freezer. Other things we just cut into bite size pieces and he chows them down.
KJT - Seattle (2010)
KJT - Seattle (2010)
10 March 2010
08 March 2010
Out of Hibernation
"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."
William James, American philosopher.
Hello? Hello?
Is this thing on?
Got so busy with the kid and work and life that I've had to let the blog go into hibernation. I've posted more stuff on Facebook, so find me there if you want to see more. I'm hoping to get back on top of the blog soon. Especially more essays, travel writings, dreams, etc.
We'll see...
The kid is doing great, as are Stacie and myself. Sennet is almost 9 months old and he's developed a great personality.
He loves to laugh, seems like a happy kid. No teeth as of yet, and no crawling. But I have been taking him to swimming lessons, and we've been walking with him and the dogs, going to the park to swing, etc. Normal kid stuff. He's sleeping through the night for the most part now, so we are all doing much better. Out of the haze of sleep deprivation.
Here are a few pix & vids:
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KJT - Seattle (2010)
(Top three photos by Sara Tro, Sennet & Kramer by Stacie, vid by Stacie.)
22 October 2009
FOUR MONTHS
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UGH! I having really been slacking on this thing. Two whole months gone by without a single post.
Things have been going great, but very tired most of the time, and therefore a bit uninspired. Going to try to get back into a rhythm soon.
The kid and the family are doing great. Sennet is four months old today. We just had his checkup this morning and he is now 27.14 inches long/tall, and weighs 17.125lbs. Both above the 95% percentile - he's a big kid.
And seems like a really happy kid - loves to laugh and giggle. He just recently learned to turn himself over from his back to front, so that was pretty cool.
We had one night where he slept for a seven-hour unbroken stretch, and that was awesome. Lately though he's been back to waking every 3 or 4 hours and wants to feed. So we're still pretty tired most of the time. Happy and loving it, but a bit delirious too.
More to come... (hopefully)!
KJT - Seattle (2009)
28 August 2009
2-month Recap
(Huevos Verdes Con Jamón)
"I couldn't love you more
If time was running out
Couldn't love you more
Oh right now baby"
Sade, "I Couldn't Love You More" (1992)
The kid is now two months old (as of August 22). He's doing great. Sleeping in his own room now, and generally for a lot longer. One night he actually slept from 9pm until 3:30am. Heaven! Lately, however, he's been back on his every-two-hour feeding schedule during the night. Must be a growth spurt. Stacie and I are mighty weary. Especially Stace, as she's got to get up with him every time to feed and/or pump. I generally hold him and rock him to sleep every night. We sit in his room and listen to Sade and discuss current events (he loves Sade - good taste!) I try to take over when he wakes up early (between 5 and 6am) and feed him and try to give Stacie a few hours of uninterrupted sleep before I go to work.
We've also hired a Spanish nanny for a few hours a couple days a week. Gives Stacie a chance to get some work done outside of the house, and keeps Sennet in familiar surroundings. Erika is great, she sings Spanish songs to him and we've bought a few Spanish books for her to read to him. Dr. Seuss in Spanish is a total trip!
Sennet got a great review at his two month checkup. He's now 25-inches long (2-feet, 1-inch tall) and weighs 14 lbs 10 oz (both in the 95th percentile). He's smiling and laughing like crazy nowadays. Very happy bambino. Check out this short video of him cracking up with Stacie, just after a nap in the morning:
All is well.
KJT - Seattle (2009)
26 July 2009
Tour de France
I've been getting up early every day since July 4th to sit and watch the Tour de France with Sennet. I love the Tour, and have since I was lucky enough to be in Paris in 2000, on the Champs-Élysées, to see Lance Armstrong win the second of his seven straight Tours de France.
It's been a fun time, holding my boy, feeding him, rocking him to sleep, and watching the intrigue and madness of the Tour. Today was the last stage, Alberto Contador of Spain won - as he should have (being the strongest rider), Andy Schleck of Luxembourg was second, and Armstrong - after being out of the sport for almost 4 years and breaking his collarbone this past March - came in third.
This was probably a great disappointment to Armstrong, who really wanted to win again, but was a huge accomplishment for someone of his age (37) who had been away from competition for that long. He is the second oldest rider to finish on the podium.
What was most pleasing for me was his statements about this year's race. They are words and thoughts I hope to instill in Sennet as he grows:
"I'm realistic, I did everything I could," Armstrong said before the final stage. "For me, and even more for my kids, it's probably a healthy thing for them to see, because they saw their dad that never lost, and the kids in their class (say) 'your dad never loses,' so it's good for them to see dad get third and still be cool with that and still be happy."
That's a great gift to give to your children. Vive la Tour!
KJT - Seattle (2009)
Armstrong quotes from the Seattle Times, photo by Sirotti.
22 July 2009
One Month
Sennet is now one month old.
He weighs 12lbs 2oz and is 23.5 inches long.
Last night he actually slept from about 10:15pm to 1:30am and then from around 2am to almost 6am! We were very happy about that, as he's been getting up every two hours for the past few weeks... quite exhausting.
KJT - Seattle (2009)
04 July 2009
First Fourth
"Think what a better world it would be if we all,
the whole world, had cookies and milk
about three o'clock every afternoon
and then lay down on our blankets for a nap."
- Barbara Jordan, American politician (1936-1996)
Well we haven't been getting quite as much sleep as we'd like, but overall I think we're doing pretty good. Sennet seems to be waking up anywhere between 1 and 3 hours for feeding. I'll help change him sometimes, and give him the bottle if he's still hungry after Stacie feeds him. Also trying to give her a few hours each morning where I'll sit and rock him and snooze with him while she tries to sleep. It's all working out pretty well.
I took him for our first walks with the dogs the past two days. First in the stroller and then in a harness. He seemed to enjoy them both.
This morning was the fourth of July, and he was pretty fussy early so I sat up with him for a few hours until he slowly fell back asleep. We listened to John Coltrane's Blue Train. Then I napped with him. After I gave the dogs a quick walk while Stacie fed him, he and I settled in on the couch to watch the first stage of the Tour de France. Kudos to Fabian Cancellara, the big Swiss world champion smoked the field in the individual time trial. Then I put up the American flag and puttered around the house.
We took a bit of a nap later in the afternoon, and soon we'll be grilling burgers and keilbasa on the deck, where we can also see the fireworks show over Lake Union. Nice, lazy holiday with the family.
KJT - Seattle (2009) (Photo of Cancellara by Sirotti)
02 July 2009
Bath Time
“Everything is a miracle.
It is a miracle that one does not dissolve
in one's bath like a lump of sugar.”
- Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist (1881-1973)
I'm seeing what a great mother Stacie is, and is going to be, every day. She is so patient and kind with the little man. He just lights up whenever she holds him.
Lately we think he's been on a growth spurt, he wants to feed all night long - she can hardly keep up with his breast milk needs. In between feedings she is pumping, and I am able to feed him this breast milk from the bottle and help her, as well as hold him more often. We were a little worried that if we introduced a bottle so soon that he wouldn't want to breast feed, but that sure hasn't been a problem - where ever and when ever there is breast milk available, he's up for the task. Hungry little bugger.
We also gave him his first bath at home a couple days ago. He wasn't overly happy about the whole affair, but calmed right down once the trauma was over. Clean and sweet.
To quote a (bad) Loverboy song, we are "Lovin' every minute of it."
KJT - Seattle (2009)
24 June 2009
Gently In The Night
"Don't let your mind get weary and confused
Your will be still, don't try...
Don't let your heart get heavy child,
Inside you there's a strength that lies..."
Ray LaMontagne, "Be Here Now" (2006)
Got up while it was still dark this morning. Sennet was a bit fussy so I took him into the nursery and held him - hoping to give Stacie a few hours of rest. Standing at the window I could see the Cascade Range off in the far distance to the northeast. A pre-dawn light just beginning to illuminate the highest peaks. The sky still a dark slate with a myriad of stars.
I sat in the rocker and gently held my boy in the dark. I remember stories my mother told me about her holding me in those first months. We lived on the Presidio in San Francisco and she would get up in the night and rock me in an upstairs window. On clear nights she said she could see the distant lights out on the Farallon Islands, lonely pinpoints out in the Pacfic. On foggy nights the house was enveloped in a quiet shroud. The haunting fog horns marking their melancholy warnings to the ships plying the waters around the bay.
I turned on some soft music and rocked. Sennet settled in, content in the crook of my arm. Occasionally he would squeak or coo. He seemed to have an early affinity to the songs of Ray LaMontagne and Elliot Smith.
Slowly the sun rose, but I remained where I was - profoundly happy. Stacie got up and whispered if I wanted a break. Not yet. She brought me a coffee and I held the quiet little man. Kramer wandered in and sniffed the baby - giving him an approving lick on the top of his head. Puppy-flavored kisses. The morning progressed and I felt like I was just where I wanted to be. This moment etched forever in my memory. First morning at home.
KJT - Seattle (2009)
22 June 2009
Fatherhood
Sennet Tiernan Timmermans 11:10am Seattle WA
Born 6/22/099lbs 12oz.22˝ long9 on the APGAR scale
We went in yesterday afternoon around 4pm. Contractions really started around 2am this morning. By 8am Stacie was pushing in earnest. 11:10 our boy was born.
Mom and the kid are doing great. Dad is greatly relieved.
More later, we're both exhausted. (She much more than me, of course...).
(Also, pix of Stacie and the baby together will come later... she made me promise not to post any of her until she gave her approval of them...)
KJT - Seattle (2009)
UPDATE:
Here's a great shot of Stacie & Sennet (and it's Stacie approved!):
06 May 2009
Belly Shot
A couple weeks ago went went to Seward Park and had some pictures professionally taken of the pregnant belly. Here's one of our favorites.
Not long now... 5-1/2 weeks left.
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