Play Date with Cameron

Our dear friends are moving to the ITL (inside the loop) and Chris and I couldn't be more excited! She is pregnant with their second... and their first is a very active toddler! So Chris and I asked if we could have a play date with the toddler, while they packed up their house and prepared for the move.

Which is how I found myself at the park with a very active 18-month old boy a few Sundays ago!

We took Cameron to one of our local parks and he had a blast. Here's proof:

Hm. He doesn't look very happy in that one. Let's try another:

That one might be worse. How about this:

Oh good grief! Maybe it was just that he didn't like the photoshoot... Here he is smiling as he gets off the slide:

Well. Ok, you'll just have to trust me that Cameron had fun at the park!

As soon as we got home, though, Cameron started using his second favorite word (his first appears to be "no") and that was "dawg!". He loved Gordon and didn't want to do anything at the house unless Gordon was nearby.

For the most part, he was very gentle:

And Gordon didn't mind this little one petting (or at times poking) him. But we did learn that Gordon doesn't love kisses. And apparently Cameron does:

I put together a craft hat and foam stickers for Cameron to play with and he took it very seriously:

Look at that focus! He looked mighty good in his safari hat:

Later, we sat down to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... but of course Cameron didn't want to watch without Gordon close by:

This photo kind of looks like his about to punch Gordon... which I think is what Gordon thought... but really, he was gentle with the dog and Gordon was very patient with the little human.

In all we had a fun, action-packed afternoon with our young friend and hope to be able to have more play dates with young Master Brewer.

October Supper Club

Our October Super Supper Club was once again inspired by the Houston Junior League's Peace Meals cookbook.

Carrie arrived with Savory Pear and Chevre Pastries with Lemon and Thyme (p. 62) for our appetizer. 

They were a hit! In fact, we were eating them so quickly, that I hid one for Chris (since he was arriving late)!

She brought them already made (since they were the appetizer) but said that they weren't as complicated as they look-- which is my kind of dish!

 Stephanie brought our salad which was Radicchio Salad with Blue Cheese and Peppered Almonds (p. 110). 

There was some difficulty finding the Radicchio, but besides that, it was a "throw together" salad. Still, there are other salads that I like better, so it won't become a Hill House "old faithful". 

Ashley pulled double duty with two dishes: Pork Roast with Autumn Fruit (p. 203) and Sauteed Brussels Spouts with Truffle Oil (p. 209). 

Somehow I did not get a photo of the Brussels Sprouts, but we all agreed it could do without the Truffle Oil. Not only is Truffle Oil on the expensive side (and rarely used), but it didn't really add much to the flavor. In fact Ashley tasted the Brussels Sprouts before adding it and said it tasted better without it! Besides that it was 50/50 love/hate. Half of the guests like Brussels Sprouts, half don't. This wasn't the kind of recipe to convert the haters. 

However, the Pork Roast was mighty impressive:

 (I'm always a fan of dishes that require baking twine)

And into the oven:

Ready to be served:

It was great-- and perfect for Fall!

I was in charge of the desert which was Cranberry Cheesecake (p. 243). Per usual, I didn't read the directions until the day of-- only to find out that it needed to cool overnight. Whoopsie. It still turned out ok:

 But honestly, that no-bake stuff out of the box is better. And much easier. And doesn't require cooling overnight. 

 Then again, I often feel like a cheater if I make something out of the box. So maybe cheesecake won't be a common repeat in my kitchen. Which is probably great for Chris, as he prefers chocolate!

With only two months to go, the SSC has enjoyed our second year of meetings! We're already planning on the 3rd year's schedule!

Jojo & Jeremy... plus one!

Do you remember my big announcement at Easter? The one where we found out the the Hill/Couvillion family would be expanding? Click here to read about how Jojo and Jeremy announced that they were expecting a baby!

Back then we knew that the baby was due on November 5th-- which is also the date of the LSU/Alabama game. This caused a lot of worry among the men in the family. Obviously, baby comes first... but Baby Watch 2011 meant possibly missing the game of the year!

I wasn't worried, however, because every single one of my friends (moms and non-moms) told me that the first baby is always late. It was tossed around so confidently that I had almost taken it to be fact.

So you can imagine my surprise when I read a text from Jojo at 8:30am on Friday (October 28th) that had been sent at 3:30am that morning, "Having contractions... in too much pain for this to be a false alarm". What?! I immediatly began to text her back as Chris called his dad... during which time Jeremy beeped in. This was no practice drill... Jojo was going to have her baby and she was having it today!

I'm not proud to admit... I kind of panicked. I grabbed a bag and started throwing clothes into it. Then I ran into one room, only to turn around and run into another. I kept lamenting to Chris, "why didn't I pack a bag for this?!" I was like a panicked new father who forgets the directions to the hospital while his wife is in labor!

All the news from Baton Rouge was that this baby was coming fast... so we were hurrying to cancel our weekend and get out of town!

We finally made it around 2pm and joined the party in the waiting room. When it was all said and done there were sixteen people waiting to meet the little pecan!

What started out as a quick labor... turned into a 22 hour process! Chris and I thought we might not even make it to see our niece or nephew being born, but we got there with 6 hours to spare! But if there's any group to make a party out of a hospital waiting room... it's this group.

Between the adrenaline of getting there, the excitement of a baby and the anticipation of his/her arrival... we were getting a little loopy...

(Chris with a bro-stache...)

(Me with a bro-stache...)

(Justin with his mo-stache...)

Around 7pm the doctors told Jojo that a C-section was going to be the quickest and safest way for her to bring the baby into the world. So we expected an announcement at any moment.

But the announcement didn't come fast...

Finally at 7:37pm PD sat up and made a proclamation:

The Kingdom has expanded! PD used his grandfather abilities to "just know" that the baby was born. Unfortunately, grandfather abilities aren't always accurate... so we waited some more...

A little after 8pm we got a call... 8lb, 4oz... baby and mom are doing well.

A little after 9pm, the nurse came and got us (all sixteen of us!) we were finally going to meet the little one! At this point we all guessed boy or girl... and the consensus was overwhelmingly BOY.

We walked through the door and crammed into the room... to find a happy Jojo and a very proud Jeremy holding their baby  (in a gender neutral blanket and cap):

It's a...

See those socks?

GIRL!!!

The grandparents each took a turn holding their granddaughter:

And Papa PD was able to hold his very first grandbaby (with more to come... Laura is due in January!!)

Jojo was radiating joy...

Here's Chris congratulating his little sister:

And the whole gang together for a group shot:

And, since I can't seem to get enough... some more precious photos from the weekend:

Welcome to the family, Maria Cecile Couvillion! Get ready for a lifetime of fun and adventures with us!!