August 5, 2012

Baptism


Thank you to my Mother-in-Law, Lynn, for making Vivian's Baptismal dress. It will make a beautiful heirloom! Thank you to Kyla Goebel and Ian Mitchell for accepting the responsibility of being Vivian's Godparents. We couldn't ask for two better people! Thank you to family and friends who were able to join and support us in the celebration at All Saint's Episcopal Church and to those who were with us in spirit.

Vivian thinks it's too early and wants to stay home to snuggle and finish recovering from her party yesterday.

Blessing

Holy Water


Vivian's God Family

Vivian's Godfather, Ian, and Kristy

Vivian's Godmother, Kyla, and Bryan

Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Rick

4 Generations with Grandma Nat and Great-Grandma Elaine

Papa G

Vivian Showing Off Her Pretty Dress

That Wasn't So Hard. How Did I Do?







August 4, 2012

Party

We were so lucky to have friends and family in town for Vivian's 1st Birthday. Unfortunately we didn't get any of our own pictures but everyone was gracious enough to share theirs with us. Here is a collection of the best ones.














Decorations Highlights

How Many Cheerios are in the Jar?

Dessert Bar that included Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Meringues, Almond Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Pink Rose on Top, Pink and White Iced Animal Cookies, Almond and Strawberry Macaroons, Strawberry Wafer Cookies, Homemade Sangria, and Vivian's Mini Strawberry Cake, which she devoured.

Monthly Pictures


Guest Favors - Homemade Watermelon Birthday Jam - Spread the Joy!
This is now a tradition I suppose. Derrick and I made Grape Wedding Jam for favors at our Reception. Those said Spread the Love. I think it will be neat to continue to do it for other big occasions.

Tissue Paper Tassel Garland


Our regular food included Chicken Salad Croissants, Steak with Blue Cheese and Sauteed Onions on French Bread, Muffelettas, Shrimp Cocktail, PBJ, Veggie Platter, Fruit Platter with Homemade Dip, Water and Lemonade.

I tried to make as many things as I could. I made the Happy Birthday Pennant, the Tissue Paper Garland, the Pom Poms on the mantel, the Monthly Pictures accents, I wrapped the flower vases in pink lace, I made the dessert trays out of candle stick holders that I had and dollar store serving trays, the Watermelon Jam, the photo booth set up, and the picture frames for the activities and favors were spray painted and glittered and the signs inside were handmade/designed. I wish we were able to get into the party room prior to everyone arriving so that I could have taken proper pictures. Maybe next time. (and that's not to say I don't appreciate the pictures that everyone took)

I really enjoy planning and hosting parties. The only problem is I get so entranced in the whole thing I usually can't sleep well. Oh well, it's still one of my favorite things to do.

I hope everyone had a great time. I know that we did, especially Vivian. She really enjoyed hosting her party and I think she did an excellent job of mingling with everyone. Cheers to a great year #2!

August 2, 2012

Celebrate! Vivian is 1!

What a ONEderful day to celebrate! Vivian turns 1 today. Here's a sneak peak at her birthday photo shoot. We have a busy day so I'll be back later to give a proper update.



July 6, 2012

Tooth #3, 'All Done'

Our little princess has been a little out of sorts. She's been working on getting her top teeth for at least a week. Well while she was having a snack and playing one broke through her gums. Literally. Look closely, you can see her gums dangling. So gross. It must not have felt so good because as you can see in the video, she was not happy and shared her newest sign with me, 'all done'. However, once it came through she was ecstatic, as you can see by her giant smile in the picture.The video is pretty short. She had been complaining quite a bit and I was more concerned with consoling her than getting the perfect video. But watch her right had flick back and forth. She is saying 'all done'.



July 4, 2012

Happy 4th and 11 months





Vivian has been busy mastering some gross motor skills this past month. She is working on stacking, packing, carrying and dancing, oh my! She especially loves the tupperware and pots and pans. It's great because it makes it easier for me to cook dinner as she entertains herself with the kitchen fare. She takes everything out of the cabinets and then tests out what each item is capable of doing. Will this pot fit in this tupperware? Will this lid fit on this pot? What if I turn the lid upside down? How about my magnet letter? Will they stick to other things? How many will fit in this tuppeware? Can I carry this pot by the handle? Nope, too heavy. Can I carry all the pots stacked into each other with two hands? Oh yeah I can! The possibilities are endless. The only downer is that she creates a huge mess and she hasn't mastered how FUN it is to put things back. Vivian hasn't been much of a mover and a shaker but recently I have found her attempting to explore beats of music by bouncing her knees. It's quite cute because she isn't sure if she should be doing it or what she's doing. It's an innate reaction to the music I guess. When I see her doing it I try to encourage more of it by smiling, clapping and dancing in small movements with her but she just stops and moves on. That's all right. We'll just have to keep having dancing parties and trying.




July 3, 2012

Mangia! Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup with Salad

Preheat oven to 375.
Peel carrots and cut off ends
Cut butternut squash length wise and remove seeds
Line baking dish with foil and drizzle with olive oil
Place veggies on baking dish and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, sugar, balsamic vinegar, molasses
Turn the butternut squash over, skin side up
Bake for 45 minutes
While the veggies are baking, prepare the rest of the goodies.
Dice half a yellow onion
1/8 teaspoon of ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon of minced garlic or 2 fresh cloves of crushed garlic
Once the veggies are finished, remove, once cooled enough to touch, remove skin from butternut squash and dice all veggies.
In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat
Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes
Add ginger and garlic for 1 minute
Add 4 cups of chicken broth, diced butternut squash and carrots, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 30 minutes
Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes
In batches, ladle soup into a blender and puree until smooth
Return soup to pot and add 1/2 cup half-half
Garnish with creme fraiche or mascarpone cheese
I served a salad with the spring mix, 1 large tomato, shredded cheese and red onion.
Mangia!


roasted tomato bruschetta for tomorrow
Increase the oven temperature to 400.
Rinse 2 pints of grape tomatoes
In mixing bowl combine, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stir
Scoop tomatoes into a cast iron skillet and bake for 30 minutes
Remove tomatoes from skillet into a serving dish
Cut tomatoes with kitchen scissors (no rhyme or reason required - I haphazardly cut until I was satisfied with the chunkiness)
Add 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 minced garlic clove
Serve warm or cold over crusty bread or crackers
Mangia!

Too many Veggies - Is there such a thing?

Yes there is. We have been to the farmer's markets two weeks in a row and not eating everything as quickly as we should. My goal for the week is to buy no vegetables and use what we have without throwing anything out.

Inventory:
3 large tomatoes
2 pints of grape tomatoes
2 yellow squash
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
11 jalepeno peppers
1 butternut squash
2 pounds of carrots
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
3 sweet potatoes
2 eggplant
1 punch of asparagus
2 corn on the cob
1 pounds of small multicolored potatoes
1 pound of spring mix lettuce
3 avocados

Meal Plan:
Tuesday: Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup with Salad

Wednesday (4th of July): Jalepeno Poppers and Brushetta for appetizers. Buttermilk Baked Chicken with German Potato Salad and Corn on the Cob

Thursday: Eggplant Rollatini

Friday: Shrimp, Asparagus and Pea Risotto

Saturday: Grilled Snapper, Yellow Squash and Tomatoes

Sunday: Stuffed Peppers

Avocados and Sweet Potatoes will be prepared and frozen for Vivian.

I think that just about covers all or it. I can't wait to eat some deliciousness!

June 25, 2012

A Full Curl

Is this an indication that Vivian will have curly or wavy hair like Derrick. I hope so. :-) Keep the curls coming!

June 19, 2012

Sibling Love!

♥Vivian gets her daily kisses from her big brother, Dyno! ♥

June 18, 2012

I'll Take Water - Straight Up with NO Straw!

That's right. Vivian drank from her cup today without a straw! She guzzled the entire cup getting only a little on her toward the end. What a coordinated smarty!
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