This Is A Cute Baby

Meals We Have Made

Between birthday and Christmas celebrations, I was the lucky recipient of both a slow-cooker and a Le Creuset Dutch oven. Both kitchen appliances have seen their fair share of activity thus far, and I thought it wise to keep a running list of some of the meal highlights and standbys I've cooked over the course of Taylor's early days—the meals that have indirectly fed her and, to date, resulted in a 25.5-inch, 15 lb., 2.5 oz. four-month-old little girl.

Coq au vin
Indian eggplant curry (bharta) and lamb chops with balsamic reduction
Baked salmon and slow-roasted sweet potatoes
Rotisserie chicken and leek soup with homemade stock
Braised pork ribs
Italian-style spiced beef stew
Indian minced lamb with peas
Pureed spinach soup (a standby)
Beef fajitas with roasted parsnips and pineapple salsa
Rosemary-garlic roast beef and potatoes with horseradish sauce

What's In A Name?

Muffin. Muffelin. Muffet. Tuffet. Nuppet. Button. Buttons. Bug. Bear. Little Bear. T. Ellie. Ellie-Bear. Button-Bear. Taylor. Chubs. Chubbles.

I have called you each of these names. What, I wonder, will you call me?

Of Festivals and Cook-Offs

Clay and Taylor at the Zilker kite festival

We've been making a point of getting out and about over these lengthening winter days, recently attending the fourth annual "Pair It With Claret Chili Cook-Off" at Spicewood Vineyards and the 2012 Zilker Park Kite Festival. Taylor spent most of the day pack-forward at the cook-off, admiring the color and body of the wines we sampled (in our commemorative glasses) and fielding compliments throughout a perfect breezy, blue sky Hill Country afternoon. The kite festival had similarly ideal weather and our first family flyer, a squat little frog, joined hundreds of other kites in the skies above the city.

During the weekdays, we've been attending the bilingual story time at the local library branch  along with a Friday morning "Spanish for babies" meet-up group gathering at the home of a second generation Argentinian American mom (sometimes attended by a Cuban American, a Columbian and a Mexican American or two, along with other Spanish-language beginners). Tuesdays is our baby love massage class at the birthing center, and between these various scheduled events we enjoy a daily constitutional with John Henry, weather permitting, and oftentimes an afternoon stroll through the neighborhood across the way, sometimes stopping off in Garrison Park to take a turn on the swings.

Taylor assessing the wine at Spicewood

Rollin' On Over

Morning-faced nugget

Taylor has begun rolling over with regularity. Last Friday (2/17), she surprised both us and herself by rolling over onto her stomach throughout the night—and waking us up to correct her position. Saturday night was similarly restless, but by Sunday, she'd begun to appreciate the new perspective a stomach-down view affords her. The more usual route is to first turn the other way—from front-lying to back—and life will be all the grander when Taylor figures out how to reverse her position.

Out and About in ATX

Clay out back at 4502 Balcones

We ventured out on the Austin Modern Homes Tour earlier this month, visiting five of the 16 tour sites and saving the best for last: the personal home of architects Elizabeth Alford and Dason Whitsett of Pollen Architecture and Design at 4502 Balcones Drive. The Alford home was notable for its sense of warmth—attained through the use of wood paneling on ceiling, wall and floor surfaces—within a wholly modern framework of glass and angled spaces. Taylor readily tolerated being transferred back and forth from car seat to pack carrier throughout the day, and, as is her way, seemed to prefer a day of stimulating environments to a too-quiet day spent at home.


The following crisp and sunny Saturday, we took our first hike together in the Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve after lunching at Rudy's BBQ—my first experience at this landmark Austin eatery and Clay's first in the preserve. Taylor fretted for the first 20 minutes of our walk, then settled down and eventually fell asleep beneath her sun hat, waking again later to take in the views down into the canyon. She made no fuss about using the great outdoors for her personal needs, and we successfully EC'd her trail-side.

Austin City Limits for Infants

Nursing outside on the balcony at the Moody Theater

Taylor was twelve weeks old yesterday. She graduated to the forward-facing position of her pack carrier just in time to enjoy the rhythms of South Africa at her first concert: Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The band performed at the new Austin City Limits Moody Theater in downtown Austin, touring in promotion of their Grammy-nominated album "Songs from a Zulu Farm." I had included the album on my birthing playlist, and while Taylor's birth was wholly quiet, save for my heavy breathing and the encouraging words of our midwife, she had already heard Old McDonald in Zulu before last Saturday night. Taylor caught the first four songs of the first set, took a snooze, then stayed awake for the entirety of the second set, only offering up protestations toward the end of the show to let us know it was time to eat. We exited without incident to nurse her in the cool night air on the theater's outdoor balcony while facing the lights of Second Street and the ever-expanding Austin city skyline.