The post immunisation post (and a griffin)

After crossing the 2 month barrier Marty was rewarded by the Texas government with a bath of immunisations...in 5 separate injections! The little trooper did remarkably well and put his mums to shame (I held him down and tried not to faint while Josie huddled in the corner!) Prior to the shots the nurse gave him some infant tylenol (panadol) in cherry flavour!! The poor bugger, the first thing he tastes other than breast milk is nasty cherry flavouring - blergh. Anyway, he did me proud by sicking most of it back up; a discerning palate already.

He's 11 weeks today (how did that happen?!) but he was 9 weeks when we went in for the shots, which means he also had his 2 month measures taken. At 9 weeks he weighed in at 12 pounds 4oz or 5.56kg (50th percentile) and 23 inches or 58.4cm long (also 50th percentile) so it seems he is entirely normal! The doctor didn't believe the figures (because he still looks chunky) so measured him again, but nope, still normal as anything. I guess he just isn't dense ;)

Here's a family photo we manage to shoot just before walking out the door to go to the doctor.

In other news we've managed to get the Roo not only sleeping for solid 6 hour blocks in the night but also sleeping in his cot! Ok, so his Poggie still wakes up every half an hour to make sure he's breathing but I'm sure I'll get over that soon, right?

Also, I bought a griffin... Not just any griffin either, but a giant griffin puppet! It was there, I was there, it was on sale and I'm a total sucker not only for puppets but also for animals whose existence is denied by some ignorant folks. I'm guessing he was on sale because your average punter here doesn't know what a griffin is unless it has a Harry Potter label on it.

Taking suggestions on a name for him...other than Grif!

Got milk?

Because we sure do! Mama Boo the milking cow has slowed down somewhat but she could probably go to Vegas for a week before Roo would start getting hungry.

Just a sample of out milk bank!

And of course I doubt I could get away with posting without there being a photo of Mr Roo so here's one of his big marsupial eyes. Ignore the naked mole rat! Oh wait, that's my beloved...

Whatchoo lookin at people?

Finally, a food post!!

Ah my blog, how I've missed you. Let me break the chain of fawning Marty posts with a food post! Actually, not just one but three food posts all neatly wrapped into one like a blog-lasagna.

First off I have to thank Gourmet magazine, to which we subscribe, for our latest dinner fabulousa. I don't often cook by following recipes but this one grabbed me by name alone - Figgy piggy Cornish hen! I've been bursting to find an excuse to cook Cornish hen for a while - they're not really Cornish, just young chickens. I won't repeat the recipe in detail here since it isn't mine (although I'm hoping it'll appear on their website soon) but the best thing about it is that it is incredibly quick, simple and delicious! Basically I took a bird, halved it and seasoned it (salt/pepper). Meanwhile I crisped up some bacon (or what passes for bacon in the US), then some garlic slivers in the bacon fat, then the bird halves skin side down in the bacon fat until the skin browned. Then I simply roasted the bird (450F) with some halved black figs (delicious and in season here right now) and some thyme sprigs. Served it with mash and a sauce made from the bird/fig juices and the frypan residue, along with some white wine and lemon juice - brilliant!

Little miss figgy piggy in all her faux-Cornish glory

Secondly, this is a shout out to everyone who lives in San Antonio to get out of your HEB monopoly on the supermarket routine and get yourself down to Tim's Oriental and Seafood Market on Bandera Road just past the Huebner intersection. This place is a gem, I just love it. Not only is it a really extensive Asian grocer (and I really do mean extensive) it also sells fresh seafood (including live crabs) as well as whole Peking duck for only $15.99 each and the most delicious sticky BBQ pork and crispy roast pork belly. The other amazing thing is this place is recession heaven - no matter what I purchase my bill always seems to be about $25 (well, except when I buy a duck and a slab of roast pork on top of everything else and then the beloved opens the shopping bags before I've had a chance to warn her of said purchases...but that's another story.)

Here are a couple of examples of recent expeditions:

Clockwise from the top - bamboo shoots, enoki mushrooms, lap chong sausages, huge and delicious dried shiitake, flat rice noodles made in Houston and so good for chow fun, fresh shiitake, spring onion, bitter greens whose name I forget... All up ~$16

Again, clockwise from the top - frozen udon noodles of the highest caliber (meaning chewy and bouncy and perfect, not those crap ones that break when you even point a chopstick in their direction), baby bok choy, magically mysterious but delicious little bags of preserved vegetable that I love snacking on at work, more dried shiitake, tiny hot peppers, more rice noodles, gyoza, tofu balls (silken in the middle, fried on the outside), more lap chong and more enoki. Total bill - $23

There are so many reasons I love Tim's. The fresh vegies are wonderful and you never know what will be there. We've bought delicious fresh water chestnuts, sweet coconuts, all manner of greens, and the shiitake and enoki are just wonderful! And so cheap. I love bamboo and Tim's keeps me supplied with about 15 different kinds, from fresh frozen to brined to dried to hot-pickled. The ingredients cover Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Filipino and so much more. Not only that but you can also find tins of milo and Cafe Du Monde coffee with chicory from New Orleans amongst many other gems.

And finally (because no post can be completely Marty-free) I have to say well done to Mum for guessing the profession!

Master Chef Marty Roo mixing it up in the house!

As much as his Poggie might like to dream, I doubt I could ever really handle it as a profession, but who knows, he might! I'd be happy if he became a carpenter but he's going to have to do some pretty fast talking to convince me he wants to do a PhD!

Guess the profession

Marty is wearing a 'potential future profession' outfit - can you guess what might be on the front? Aunty Mona isn't allowed to answer since she bought the outfit!

Also, here's a super short and unedited clip of the Roo chilling out. He hasn't done a lot of that lately. Mr Grumpy pants has taken to being an insomniac and drama llama but I'm sure he'll calm down soon! (I have to believe that). Anyhow, here's his happy face :)

Fish is fish (live action!)

As promised, video number 2 in the Marty Roo series - Marty Roo the incredible fish boy shows off his swim shorts and his new slimline body!



Check it out, you know you want to. And I promise the music isn't Playschool this time!

How cute? (aka stalling for time...)

I know I'm long overdue for an update. I'm long overdue for all sorts of things! I have some very cute footage to post but I have to make it all pretty first so for now you're going to have to deal with this teaser shot of the incredible fish-boy.

Our little fish - and that swim diaper/nappy is brilliant!

Marty has changed so much the past few weeks. He's lost his hamster cheeks, he's sleeping 5 hours blocks during the night but his hair is still entirely untamable. He's totally got the hang of the smiling thing now and will smile away at anything, like the wall, for hours. Here he is helping me put his toys in his toy-box. Of course we had to try a few out...

Nom nom nom

What?

What am I, on parole? Get this bear off me!

So, footage coming as soon as I have time to throw it together. But for now, bottoms up!