mush face

when you ask charlie to "smile" this is what you get...a mush face.

i love it and have to look at the pictures 1 billion times. in these pictures, charlie and bill are enjoying ice cream together on the couch. it is the only time he will sit still. and yes they are eating it out of the box. it is the only way we eat ice cream in the schmitt household. it ensures portion control.

another variation on mush face.

baby einstein

so every parent thinks their child is a genius. the other week i was being lazy and laying on the couch (it was 40 degrees here and rainy) and decided to see if charlie could pick out specific animals. we had not practiced picking out animals before. we just read about them, make their noises and talk about them. i was shocked when he actually started to get the animals i was asking for. i had to record it because i couldn't believe it. the point is - test your kids to see how much they know because they probably know a lot more than you realize. after i tested him with animals i asked him for specific books and he will scan the bookshelf for the book you are referring to and bring it over for you to read.

random april-may pictures

i have no idea what to name this post. it is random, but these pictures show a bit of what charlie was doing this past month.

1. he is always pulling his corn popping toy around. sometimes he pushes it like a vacuum, but he usually drags it while doing other things. it delights him and i think it is great that a classic toy is one of his favorites.
2. this is just an example of what happens when i need to shower in the morning and get ready (usually i shower at the gym). he will dig through "his" cupboard (only has safe things) in the bathroom and pull out various things. he loves to play with my blow dryer and has also become obsessed with the neil med sinu-rinse bottle (perfect for an ent's child). you will also notice that he found a hair band and wanted it on his head so i helped him out.
3. cleaning. charlie loves to help me clean. we go through about 100 rags per day because he pulls them out of the drawer and starts rubbing them on the windows, floors, etc. he also demands to carry around that old windex bottle which i have filled with water, vinegar and lavender essential oils.
4. charlie still loves bath time and this shows how much more independent he is trying to get. pretty soon he will be able to throw his leg over into the tub, which i can barely believe! but it is precious to watch him try to do more things himself. at night, while we are praying with him before bed he is basically squirming off of our laps to get into his crib to put himself to bed!

mothers day

i had a wonderful mothers day weekend. on both saturday and sunday i was able start each day with a 10 mile run with a friend, which i love. on saturday after my run i came back to a delicious breakfast that bill and charlie whipped up for me. who doesn't like pancakes, eggs, and sausage after a 10 miler? sunday, we headed up to hudson for an early dinner. i thank God for entrusting me to be charlie's mother! i am blessed beyond measure!

enjoying my breakfast spread.

laura, mary and bill on the beach before dinner.

me and my littlest.

some of the crew. charlie loved the attention.

pops and nana visit

i am catching up on some blog posts and this was from a few weeks ago, but my parents (nana and pops) came to visit for a long weekend. bill was on call through sunday am, but when he got back we packed up all our bike gear and drove to lanesboro to do some biking with nana and pops.

charlie loved being tossed around by pops!

our lunch spot on the trail. we biked 30 miles and charlie was a champ. bill was also impressive. he worked a call shift (~25 hours) the day before, doesn't have time to work out a ton and not only pulled charlie, but also a ton of extra stuff i thought we had to have (including lunch stuff).

the chariot full of stuff...whoops :)

bread making

i love to bake bread. bread baking is getting easier with charlie since he is sleeping like a champ! he slept until 9 am yesterday! he still is going to bed around 7 pm or earlier. this morning i was able to whip up my honey whole wheat bread and an easy no knead bread. i am going to post my recipe for my honey whole wheat bread because i have had some requests. first, i use a food scale to bake so my measurements are in grams. warning: once you taste this bread you won’t go back!

honey whole wheat bread

246 grams of bread flour

246 grams of whole wheat bread (i prefer king arthur brand)

3 grams active dry yeast (3/4 of tsp)

9 grams kosher salt

74 grams honey

330 grams water

first, put flours, salt and yeast in kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook. then start mixer on a low speed and pour in water. as it starts to mix, stop mixer and pour honey in the middle of the dough. then restart mixer on a low speed and let the dough form. this may take a few minutes.

after the dough has formed, set a timer for about 5 minutes and turn the speed up to 6 or 8. you will need to hold the mixer at this point so it doesn’t jump around your counter. after you finish the 5 minute mixing the dough should look smooth and not be very sticky. pull the dough off the dough hook and leave the dough in the mixing bowl. cover with damp cloth or plastic wrap and put in your oven to rise. if you put the oven light on and crack the door a bit it keeps the oven at the perfect temperature for rising. you will let it rise about 2 hours, but i have left it longer if i was out and it is just fine.

after letting it rise for the first 2 hours, then lightly flour a section of your counter and put the dough on it. often the dough will stick to the mixing bowl you will need to lightly flour your hands and work the dough to get it out. try not to add too much flour to the dough. you will knead the bread a few times on the counter to get the air bubbles out and then put it back in the mixing bowl, cover and let rise about another hour or two. again – i often let it rise whatever works best for me that day. i think hard core bread bakers would punish me for saying that but my bread always turns out great – just sometimes the loaf “breaks” when baking.

after the second 2 hour wait, again lightly flour your counter and put the dough on it. this is where you will shape the loaf. you should knead the dough a few times to get the air bubbles out and then shape the loaf. i would go online and google how to shape a loaf for a true explanation, but i just make sure i fold the dough so that the seam is on the bottom and put it in a greased loaf pan. this is when i preheat my oven to 375.

you will then cover the dough in the pan with a damp cloth and let it rise about another hour in the loaf pan. this is an important step…before you put the loaf in the oven you must put 3 “cuts” in the top of the loaf so that steam can escape. then pop the bread in the oven and bake about 35-40 minutes. let cool on a rack and enjoy. mmmm...

here is a picture of my honey whole wheat loaf.

do you think he likes ice cream???

this was taken on mothers day when we were at tom & laura's house. tom was enjoying some delicious chocolate ice cream and as you can see charlie loved it too. don't mind lewis (pete & margit's basset hound) attempting to hump lily :).