Recent Cakes

These are some cakes I've done in the past month. They've kept me busy, that's for sure.

This was a farewell cake for a good friend here in Ottawa. It's a yellow cake covered in chocolate fondant. The fondant tastes like a Tootsie Roll. Yum!

These are the puppy cupcakes I did for Clayton's birthday party. I found directions in a Family Circle magazine. Clayton helped bake the cupcakes and has definitely helped eat them!

This cake was ordered for a birthday. It's red velvet and iced with red velvet icing, which was a little difficult, but worth it for the taste.

A chocolate cake covered in chocolate fondant.
A farewell cake for one of the ladies in Cyle's office.

Happy Birthday

Finally! At last! Clayton's birthday was here! As I was getting him up on Saturday morning, I asked, "Guess what today is?" He started shouting "Puppy Party! Puppy Party! Puppy Party!" and was jumping up and down. The excitement continued until his "real" birthday (as he called it) came to an end Sunday evening. His party went well. He had a lot of fun playing with his friends and even more fun eating a pupcake. Instead of doing one cake, I made puppy cupcakes. They were fairly simple and very fast to do. He'd seen them on the counter Friday and had to wait almost 24 hours before he could actually put his fingers on one. Since Saturday at 1:00 he's managed to eat 5...at least the icing off the top.

Equally as exciting as the cupcakes were the presents. A big thank you to Uncle Garrett and Uncle Cameron for a new fishing pole!! Cyle has drilled out the handle and filled it with spray foam...hopefully this one will never get dropped overboard, but if it does, maybe now it will float. Since Clayton has a new pole (and a new tackle box full of "wormies" from Mom and Dad) we had to go fishing this afternoon.

And what is a birthday without candles? Clayton was so enthused about blowing them out that we've put them in 1) a cupcake, 2) pancakes, 3) a hot dog, and 4) just held them, sang "Happy Birthday" and let him blow them out.

Apart from all of the birthday excitement, we've had a very busy week. Monday was a Canadian holiday and Cyle took Tuesday off, too. So we had him home 2 days this week. Clayton loves it when Daddy is home. He tells us, "Happy Daddy home!"
On Thursday we went to the Museum of Science and Technology. While most of the exhibits were much too old for Clayton, he did really enjoy the curvy mirrors. We also got to watch a group of summer camp kids shoot water rockets. Clayton thought those were very, very cool and kept asking to see them again and again.

He also had his 2 year old well baby exam this week. He hasn't ever gotten his State Dept. medical clearance, so we had a really thorough visit complete with a TB test and a blood sample. He was really brave while they took his blood. He sat perfectly still and his tears were completely distracted away by a "special" band-aid. It was yellow to match his "bulldozer tractor machine." I'm so thankful to have such a healthy little boy that we only have to put him through something like a blood test every once in a great while.

The weather has been really crazy, but amazingly nice. We've gotten rain nearly everyday and sun nearly everyday and the temperature is rarely above 80. I must say, it has been great. We've not gotten a lot of swimming in, but that's okay with me.

On Tuesday, the electric company came to trim trees. I heard their truck pull into the driveway and said, "Cyle, someone's here." Clayton started jumping and said, "Baby Levi! Baby Levi!" He can't wait for his baby brother to arrive and keeps telling us, "Baby Levi, coming soon!" He sounds just like a movie preview. Hopefully Baby Levi will be coming soon. Until then, have a great August!

Campfires to Dinosaurs

Well, I wasn't going to update this until August, but we've been so busy I've got lots to add.
Cyle's been wanting to take Clayton camping. It's not really worked out for us to go anywhere, so last weekend they were going to camp in our woods. But they were calling for thunderstorms, so we settled for a campfire and a hot dog and marshmallow roast. Clayton thought it was very cool to put a hot dog on a stick and even better when we did "icing" marshmallows. He didn't really care if they were roasted or not. And the best part was - we all got to sleep in our soft, comfortable beds as the thunderstorm raged on.


One day last week, I had to run downtown for some errands and wanted to give Clayton a break from the car so we stopped in at the Children's Museum. Ottawa has a FABULOUS children's museum inside the Museum of Civilization. We spent the entire morning outside in their Adventure World where Clayton got to play games from around the world, dig in a giant sandbox with" 'chines" (machines) and he even got to build a boat and float it in a small river. He had a blast and was pretty much asleep before we got out of the parking garage.

This week we traveled to Morrisburg, Ontario (about an hour away) with some friends to visit Prehistoric World. Two brothers (sculptors) have created over 50 life-sized dinosaurs that are in the woods along a walking trail.
Clayton ran from dinosaur to dinosaur and at each one would say, "Dine-saur!" like it was the first one we had seen. They were really well done. The size was definitely amazing. We had a picnic lunch around a sand pit where the kids could dig up dinosaur bones. It was such a fun day. Thanks, Laura, for taking us!
Have a great last week of July!

Fishing, Mowing, and a New Bed

Since Cyle's return home, Clayton has wanted to do everything just like Daddy. Over the past two weeks he has become obsessed with fishing. He wakes up in the morning and asks to go. He plays outside (occasionally inside) for hours with his little Scooby Doo fishing pole. Cyle's put a weight and a lure minus the hook on it and Clayton will cast and reel it in over and over. Last weekend he got to go for his first boat ride. Thankfully he's more interested in just casting and reeling than actually catching anything. Especially since when we're home and he's "fishing" it's just in an old ice cream bucket. Every once in a while he'll pull out the lure and say, "Yeah! Fishy!" as if he's actually caught something. I've got to give it to Cyle. He gave up a perfect fishing day on Saturday to spend it fishing with Clayton ALL morning.

While my mom was visiting, she mowed our lawn. (Truly, she's a saint. We have 3 acres of land and a push mower.) Clayton, of course, had to be in the middle of it. So while we were in Wal-Mart one afternoon, Mom spotted a play mower and couldn't pass it up. Now that Daddy is home and he mows, Clayton must also mow our yard. But first he has to fill it up with gas.


Clayton has also mastered the art of climbing out of his crib. Really, he did it quite gracefully and very well. But did we decide to convert his crib into a toddler bed. I just wasn't sure of how graceful he'd be at 2 a.m. Clayton loves his new bed because it's a "big boy" bed and anything that is "big" is definitely the best. He does a pretty good job sleeping in it. He's just not so great at staying in it.


The summer seems to just be flying by. I can't believe we're half way through July. I've been keeping busy with Clayton, our flower beds and I've been doing some baking. It's gotten warmer so I've got to have a good reason to get my oven/kitchen hot. I've been trying to make casseroles and easy to freeze suppers for after the baby's born. Cyle's been practicing traditional archery with a recurve bow and has set up a shooting range in our back yard. He's also been taking care of our garden. We've not had a lot of sun this summer, but it still seems to be doing well. Hopefully Clayton will find picking produce as fun as mowing!
Have a great month!

Home Sweet Home

Life has finally settled down enough for me to have a chance to update this blog! Morning (all-day) sickness and trips and travels kept me too busy or without a computer for the first half of this year. Now that we're home and life is back to normal, I should be able to update the site regularly. At least until Sept. 1 rolls around...
Life is very good in the Huck household. We survived the Canadian winter and the 14 feet of snow Ottawa got. We were literally centimeters from breaking the record. I only made it through to the end because a trip to warm, sunny Florida was in site. After a nice refresher in Ft. Lauderdale, we returned to Ottawa for just long enough to wash our clothes and re-pack. At the end of April we made the drive to Missouri. Cyle was able to spend a long weekend turkey hunting (he got one) before leaving for a short trip to Iraq. Clayton and I were able to spend the entire month of May visiting family and friends in Missouri. We've been back in Ottawa nearly a month. As nice as it is to travel, it's so good to be home!
Since I last wrote, Clayton has gone from being a baby to a little boy. He is in constant motion and is curious about everything - especially how things work. He was trying to get Cyle's clock radio to play (he does know which button to push) and couldn't get it to work. He picked it up turned it over and declared, "Bat (batteries) dead." He gave it a little shake, turned it back over and it worked. My car started squealing and Cyle wasn't yet back from his trip. So Clayton and I were looking under the hood. I asked him what he thought the problem was and he told me, "Out of gas." He spends as much time as possible in the garage with Cyle and watches every move he makes. He's got his own tool box and does a pretty good job of finding the same tool Cyle's using. Clayton especially loves going for rides, go-cart rides. He's stopped asking me to take him because he knows that only Daddy can get the motors started. Both are needing a few repairs at the moment, but Clayton doesn't seem to mind because it means he gets to work on them. Just recently he's started fighting for his independence. It's often throughout the day that I hear, "Tayton do it!" This morning we were getting ready to go to a play date and I told him I was going to use the bathroom before we left. He told me, in all seriousness, "Hurry!" The little stinker.
Cyle's had a good trip to Iraq. He seemed to really enjoy it. Now that summer is here, fishing season is underway. He also got our garden put out. We planted okra, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, herbs, beans, sweet peas, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon. I also planted three rows of sunflowers. Everything is coming up nicely...I hope they all do well. We also put in a new flower bed around our back deck. It should make mowing a little easier for Cyle. Now that we've got the big projects done, we should be able to sit back and enjoy the summer!

Spring?

When we arrived home from our Christmas travels (which were very nice, by the way), there were feet of snow around our house. It was quite cold (-teens F) and, all in all, what we were dreading a Canadian winter would be. But this week the temperatures have risen (close to 50 F) and all of our snow is melting away. I'm sure this is all happening because we bought snowshoes last week.
Clayton is slowly adjusting to being back at home and getting into our normal routine. Last week he was playing with the tube from a roll of parchment paper, basically, a really stiff paper towel roll. He was having a grand time talking into it and hitting it on things. I was trying to get dressed and ready going between our bedroom, closet and bathroom. Clayton was being really well behaved and I was lulled into a comfort zone where I wasn't watching his every move. He made his way into our bathroom and I thought, "Everything's put away, the toilet seat is closed, he'll be fine." Then I heard him turn on the water to our bathtub. Not a big deal, he turns the water on and off all the time. Then I heard him giggle. At this point I knew I was in trouble. I found him using the the parchment roll as a funnel to send the water onto the bathroom floor. Water was everywhere! And Clayton found it hilarious.
He's learning more and more words and is becoming quite opinionated about what he wants. This week we started his Gym and Swim class at the local rec center. He really enjoys the active playtime. And he really needs it because we can't often play outside.
I'm sure more winter weather is on it's way, but our little break has been nice.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

This Thanksgiving we were especially thankful for a warm house with a nice hot furnace as it snowed and snowed and snowed and snowed until everything was covered in white. I think God created snow so people like me don't hate winter so much. Who can not like snow? Well, Clayton.


Wednesday morning when we awoke and all was white I could hardly wait to take Clayton out. After what seemed like an hour of finding gear, organizing gear, putting on my gear, fighting Clayton to put on his gear (Has anyone read Thomas' Snowsuit?) we finally got outside. I promptly put him in his sled and pulled him around the yard. He enjoyed this part very much. But then...he decided he didn't really like his mittens so he took them off. And snow is so very interesting, he just had to touch it. But snow is wet and it was cold and it didn't come off of his hands. So he started frantically shaking his hand to get the cold, wet snow off and it wasn't cooperating. What else can one do in a situation like this but kick off one's boots and throw one's self on the ground flailing and kicking and crying? At this point, I decided the snow wasn't really that much fun and that maybe we should enjoy the snow from inside our house - where no gear is required. It's going to be a very long Canadian winter if Clayton doesn't like the snow.


Our Thanksgiving day was nice. We visited friends. We ate turkey and all the trimmings until we were stuffed. And we got to spend some nice quiet time together as a family. Oh, and Cyle made deer sausage, too. It's actually quite yummy.

We've bought another deep freezer so I spent the weekend baking trying to fill it up. Now we've got a freezer for cakes and a freezer for deer/turkey/goose/fish meat. I'm getting ahead on holiday baking...and I'm keeping a list and checking it twice (so I don't forget what I've stuffed way in the back). While I baked, Clayton got to "help" Cyle work in the garage. He loves nothing more than tools and dune buggy parts and being with Daddy.
Have a great week!