Let's hear it for the boob!

I just had to share this.  I have been showing Addy how to clap her hands for a couple weeks now.  Then last week I bought her a ball and we sat on the floor rolling it back and forth.  She was doing surprisingly well with it and we were clapping and cheering for her.  And then she just started clapping her hands. And she's been clapping ever since, for all kinds of things. She claps for pictures and videos of herself and other babies. She claps when Mommy comes to get her out of the crib in the morning. And today, she nursed, popped off my boob and clapped like "Yay Mom, that milk was awesome!" At least that's what I think she would say if she could talk. It's so cute I can hardly stand it.

Strawberry Ice Cream and The Things People Say

I recently bought an ice cream maker.  It is a Cuisinart model that as far as I can tell, is only sold at places like Sam's Club.  For $40 I couldn't resist, and so far I've been very happy with it.  I've also made peach frozen yogurt with it, which was delicious.  The recipe for that and this strawberry ice cream (my favorite so far) came from the recipe book that came with the ice cream maker.  Here's the recipe if you care to try it yourself:

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
Makes 10 1/2 cup servings
2 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup whole milk, well chilled
2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and lemon juice with 1/2 cup of the sugar.  Allow berries to macerate in the juices for two hours.
• Strain the strawberries, reserving the juices.  Mash or puree half the berries.
• In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed berries and vanilla.
• Turn on the ice cream maker and pour the mixture into the freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 25 minutes.  About 5 minutes before mixing is complete, add the reserved sliced strawberries and allow to mix in completely.  Ice cream made like this will be like soft serve when finished, so put it in the freezer if you like it firmer.  Substitute fresh peaches for peach ice cream.

On to the things people say....I took Adeline to Barnes & Noble today.  A cute little girl who couldn't have been more than 2 toddled up to Addy's stroller and smiled and waved at her.  The little girl's grandmother (I assume) comes along behind her and says "Oh are you looking at the little boy?"  Huh?  Now this isn't the first time someone has called her a little boy, and it doesn't bother me but I do wonder what makes people decide that she's a boy.  Especially when she's wearing this:

Note the white lace.  And her cute little dress has flowers embroidered around the neck and flower shaped buttons.  Not that I expect people to notice such small details, however it didn't occur to me that she might be mistaken for a boy in this outfit.  Oh well.  The last time someone thought she was a boy, she was wearing something pink.  I don't even bother to correct them anymore unless they ask me what "his" name is ;)  My sister-in-law said that when my niece was a baby, she could be decked out in pink with frills and bows in her hair and people would still tell her what a cute little boy she had.