Bread, Butterflies, and Boys

Bread: Quite some time ago, I saw a video tutorial about "artisan bread in five minutes a day". After wanting to try the recipe for months, I finally got around to doing it myself last week, and it was amazing! The result is a beautiful, golden loaf of bread, crusty on the outside, tender and soft on the inside, just like you would find in a bakery! It truly does only take five minutes (or less) to make, and it's really, really good. According to my rough calculations, each loaf costs me around 40 cents to make, and I would pay at least $1.99 for a similar-sized loaf from a grocery store, probably even more from a bakery. It isn't the healthiest bread, as it's made entirely with all-purpose flour, but, it is good in that it's all natural ingredients: flour, salt, water, and yeast. It's delicious just spread with soft butter, but it also makes a killer grilled cheese! Isn't it pretty?!?!



Butterflies: The kids who live downstairs have been raising some caterpillars for a while. Just last week, they came out of their cocoons and were ready to be released! They called us up to see if we were home and if we wanted to join in the action. We said, "of course!" Abe was so excited--it's something I think I may try to do with him in the future. It was really neat to watch them slowly come out of the cage, pump their wings, and finally fly!







Boys: Charlie is getting soooo big! Check out this photo comparison--this is Charlie just a few days old vs. nearly 4 months old:





They are just so sweet together. Abe is actually very good at eliciting smiles from Charlie! I can't wait to see how they interact as they continue to grow.

Charlie is starting to laugh, which is possibly one of my favorite milestones. There is just nothing like a little belly laugh coming from such a tiny little person!

Charlie at 3.5 months:



Abe has really gotten into photography lately. Here is a sampling of his work:







I've been trying to teach him, and he's finally learned to face the camera away from his face and keep his finger off of the lens. Mostly, we've had some very "artistic" shots of things around the house. He did manage to get this one of us on Father's Day though! Pretty good!



He has just been so ornery lately. The other day, I was changing Charlie's diaper in their room, and I heard a crash. Abe came running saying something about the curtain. Upon entering our room, this is what I saw:



That same day, I spent the better part of the boys' nap scrubbing crayon off the dining room wall. Despite the mischeviousness and difficulty knowing exactly how to discipline him when he's just trying to explore and figure out right vs. wrong, I love that he's a rambunctious, rough and tumble little boy. I mean, what would my experience as a mother be if I never scrubbed some crayon off a wall?! He makes us smile every day!

Here is a photo of all my boys on Father's Day...I just feel so blessed to have these three:



I guess that's all for now. Thanks for reading!