Afternoon-T

Lately...

2011-11-04T21:39:00.000-04:00

These two are going to be best buddies.

(Hudson's hair really only fell out on the sides, which left him with a pretty sweet 'do!)

When I found out Hudson was going to be a boy, I'll admit I was just a little disappointed. Well, I should qualify that: Until that point, I had convinced myself that I was pregnant with another girl. I even had a dream in which I saw my new baby girl's face in the car seat that we already owned, and she was speaking in complete sentences; so I just knew that not only were we having another girl, but she was also going to be a genius! I was so sure that I had almost started buying some new baby girl clothes that I found too cute to pass up. So when the ultrasound made it clear to the nurse that I was, in fact, pregnant with a boy, I was shocked. I mean, of course when I saw that little baby moving around in the ultrasound, how could I be anything but thrilled and excited and so in love? I was so in love. But I gave myself a day to wrap my head around the idea of having a boy and completely shift gears. And I may have informed my husband that we would not be finished having kids until we gave Reese a sister...or until we got to 10 kids, whichever comes first.

Hmm, I did not mean to get so far off on this tangent. I just meant to say that I could not be happier to have this sweet little guy in our family and am thrilled at the bond forming between sister and brother. First thing in the morning when I get Hudson out of his bed, he looks for Reese and smiles ear to ear and kicks his feet when he sees her. And Reese insists on giving Hudson a kiss when he gets out of bed to greet him properly. She takes a lot of pride in being Hudson's big sister and loves fulfilling that role.

We made our first visit to the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. My favorite part was the bird cage where you can pay $1 for a stick covered with bird feed to hold out to the birds. Best money ever spent!

Hudson is learning new tricks every day. He has mastered many yoga moves including down dog and plank. He has a really strong core.

He also loves to get on all fours and rock back and forth. He's hasn't quite figured out how to move either of his hands to achieve any forward motion, but I'm sure it's not too far off.

Reese went to a friend's superfun birthday party full of outdoor "messy" activities for the party-goers' enjoyment. She may or may not have eaten more than her share of the doughnuts on the strings.

This is one of about three times that Hudson has fallen asleep on my chest. It is Heaven! (despite the backache that I inevitably have for the rest of the day from trying to bend over backwards--literally and figuratively--so that he can sleep comfortably) Totally worth it!

We carved a pumpkin for Halloween. At first Reese would have nothing to do with scooping out the seeds--"too messy!" But once Michael made the opening on the top a little bigger, she got the hang of it.

Reese scooped a little to hard and flung a few pumpkin seeds on the floor--oops!

finished product--a witch on a broom, can you see it?

Hudson man wrapped in a towel that I made (believe it or not!) on top of a blanket that MommaCat made. Love that kid.

motor boat

2011-10-10T12:51:00.000-04:00

Hudson taught himself a new trick. It cracks me up every time! I love the face he makes when he does a motor boat. So silly. It's even funny when he does it while he is eating...especially when Dad is feeding him and responsible for cleaning up!

1st day of school

2011-09-17T22:03:00.000-04:00

My little girl started her first day of preschool last week. To be honest, I'm not sure which one of us was more excited! First things first: we had to get the perfect backpack and lunch box and pick out the perfect first-day-of-school-outfit. Check, check and check.

this is her "super excited" face

How cute is this mouse backpack? I wish it came in my size!

So far Reese loves going to school with her new friends and is getting the hang of following her teacher's directions. I am loving the funny things that Reese says about her days at school and all the darling art projects she is bringing home. This is going to be a great year!

road trip

2011-09-15T00:04:00.000-04:00

After a super-fun summer in Montana, I loaded up my kids and started the drive to Texas. My mom was kind enough to join us on our road trip (there is no way I would have been crazy enough to try it alone, and Michael was planning to meet us in Texas with the moving truck). On Day 1 we planned to stop in Utah and a friend from Montana hitched a ride with us for that leg of the trip. She became the official photographer of the trip and snapped tons of cute pictures of the little tykes in back (I admit, I may be biased).

Hudson gets the award for best traveler ever! He was such a dream boat and barely made a peep for most of the trip!

Once we arrived in Utah, we had time for a quick wardrobe change for Reese and Hudson (they spent most of the drive in their jammies) and we were off to a little Diva get together at Heid's house. It is always such a blast to get to see any of the David John Divas, but to have 5 in one place at one time was a real treat! It is even more fun to see the second generation of Divas (and Dudes, I guess) interact. I mean, just check out the looks being exchanged between Reese and Max. Hilarious.

future roommates

monty 2011: part two

2011-08-22T23:35:00.011-04:00

After an entire week of total family togetherness, the husbands and working sister had to head home. V. sad. But Lindsey and Olivia, Lauren and Blair and my two tykes and I got to stay for an extended visit. It was so much fun to have all the cousins together. Our days mostly revolved around each of their eating and napping schedules (someone was always asleep, it seemed), but we did attempt at least one outing every day. It was a little bit hectic to try to load everyone up, to say the least--and usually by the time we did, it was time for at least one of the babes to go back to sleep, but we managed to fit in some fun adventures.

Tessa should really get into wakeboard performing...like at Sea World. Look how graceful!

This little girl kills me. She has a smile that takes over her face, and when she's excited, she will really let you hear it!

One day on our way to the lake, we stopped at my parent's lot to pick some cherries. We didn't have all the right equipment (our ladder wasn't nearly tall enough), but we reached as many cherries as we could in the safest way possible. And they were delicious!!!

And, look, they match her cover up!

Reese got some playtime at the lake with her buddies Ava, Ella and Luke. Silly kids. Almost impossible to get them all looking at the camera at the same time!

Hudson guy was so easy going...just happy to be doing whatever it was we were doing. Such a sweetie.

The kids and I went with my parents to the 10th Anniversary of The Event at Rebecca Farm, the largest equestrian triathlon in the U.S. and a selection trial for the 2012 London Olympics. Many of the world's best horses and riders come to compete in dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. We watched the cross-country races and we had a blast!

How cute is this bathing suit?! It's Blair's. She and Reese traded suits for the afternoon.

MommaCat and Kim on the tube with Reese. I can't remember the last time I've seen my dad on a tube. But they sure look like they're having fun!

Hudson spent most of his time lounging under the umbrella on the dock. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon!

A friend from across the lake and I had a blast on the paddle boards! I thought for sure I was going to fall in the water, but despite a few wobbly moments, I managed to stay on my feet. I can't wait to do it again!

MommaCat and Reese on the paddle board...we told Reese to sit as still as a statue and she did! Neither of them fell in either. Impressive.

Dean is such a fun uncle. Reese wouldn't let him out of her sight!

And we can't forget about Connor--Dean's bff and Reese's first crush. These two have a special bond. ;)

I think this picture says it all. Fun, fun, fun until we dropped. (But still holding our sugar cookies gingerly, so as not to break it into bits.)

family pics

2011-08-20T19:06:00.002-04:00

We took advantage of having the entire family together in Montana by hiring a photographer to take our pictures. Usually I find pictures like this pretty stressful...so much pressure to have all the stars align with a good hair and makeup day, the perfect outfits (for the whole fam--matching, but not too matchy), and happy kids that hold any meltdowns until after the shoot is over. But, this photo shoot was fun. The photographer moved quickly and broke things up by taking individual family and kid shots. I guess it helped that the adults far outnumbered the kids, so there were lots of aunties and uncles to coerce smiles from the babes. And before I knew it, we were done!

Even though Hudson had become very smiley and happy by this time, he wouldn't crack his stone face for the photographer. Silly boy.

Reese has always been a little ham. She knows just what to do when the camera comes out!

Everyone was pretty much all in white, but the three little girls wore these matching cupcake dresses. Love!

We had a bunch of shots in this pose taken and as I was glossing over them, I happened to notice the funny face Hudson is making! Love that kid.

monty 2011: part one

2011-08-09T19:27:00.001-04:00

One of the things I look forward to most about summertime is our annual trip to Montana for the 4th of July. And with the addition of three babies since last summer, I knew this summer would be extra special! We had the entire family together for the extended holiday weekend and we knew we would have to pack in as much fun as possible.

family tubbie time

My mom scheduled a full day of outdoor activities for us at the Whitefish Mountain Resort, including the zip lines and a Walk in the Treetops, and then volunteered to stay back to watch the babies. That's just the way she is. ;) It was such a fun day and the weather was perfect! And let me just say, these zip lines were no joke! We did a series of 6 zips--two shorter, practice rounds, and four more serious zips. After the practice round, the first real zip line that we rode was 1900 feet long and 300 feet high!

Michael and I raced a few times before we split up the teams between spouses. He schooled me every time! I was right there with him, I thought I had him, and at the end he just pulled ahead like it was nothing. How does he do that?!

This is the starfish pose...to help us slow down. Cute, right?

This zip was only 1500' long and 200' high. I think I really almost kicked the top of one of the trees on the ride!

Don't you just love the gear?

After the zip lines, we took a quick snack break with the kids and then headed off again to have a Walk in the Tree tops. We took a nature hike up to the elevated boardwalks and then walked on the boardwalks through the treetop canopy. The views were amazing!

It wouldn't be the 4th of July without the annual Ward breakfast! Aren't these little girls so darling in their matching dresses?

Michael blessed Hudson at my parent's house after church that Sunday. It was so special to have my whole family there and to have my Dad, brother and brothers-in-law able to participate.

(Reese stayed home from Church that day because she was a bit under the weather, which is why she looks a little disheveled.)

We spent a lot of time at Lake Blaine, swimming, boating and enjoying the beautiful weather. Reese had even more confidence in her life jacket after taking swimming lessons this summer. She thought it was pretty neat that she didn't even have to get her face or hair wet if she didn't want to.

We enjoyed many a family dinner outside on the patio, followed by s'mores around the fire pit. My family is serious about their s'mores. Everyone has their own recipe, and my dad is the best marshmallow roaster I have ever seen! My new fave is a perfectly roasted 'mallow sandwiched between two Nature Valley granola Thins. Just enough chocolate for me, and melts on contact with the marshmallow. So delicious!

Trying to go anywhere with the whole group (or at least the four kids) took three times longer than normal. Lauren and I were usually smooshed in the way back with Reese's car seat between us. Good times.

This is pretty much how we ended each day, completely wiped from all the fun. Poor little dear is all tuckered out!

giggles

2011-07-27T16:59:00.003-04:00

swimming lessons

2011-06-12T19:55:00.007-04:00

Reese had her first swimming lessons this week with Miss Laura. Reese loves to be in the water, but usually tries to keep her face dry...and if her face does get wet, she has to jump out of the pool to wipe it off on a towel before she can get back to swimming. Miss Laura broke her of that habit, bless her. And after just three lessons, Reese was swimming by herself with her head down! I could hardly believe my eyes.

I took Reese to the pool later that day to get some more practice, but she wouldn't swim to me the way she did to Miss Laura. I was afraid that Reese's good swimming was a fluke, but as soon as Miss Laura got back in the pool with her, Reese was swimming again. So, now that swimming lessons are over, the trick will be to see if Reese will swim without her coach. Fingers crossed!

After day 3 of lessons

Day 5 of lessons

st. george's island

2011-06-08T16:04:00.007-04:00

I am so far behind in posts, it's embarrassing. Better late than never, though, right?

We headed to the beach for a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with friends. The house that we stayed at was fantastic, right on the beach (so convenient with the little ones!) with the most beautiful views! We saw dolphins swimming each day, played at the beach, played at the pool, went surf fishing, played games and ate plenty of food. It was the perfect relaxing weekend.

Hudson's first day at the beach

Reese and Mason paling around

lots of digging in the sand and building castles

this little girl does not like to get her face wet...

...but she is always a trooper when Mom makes her do it anyway.

Michael was so excited to go surf fishing. He fished every night, and let the kids try their hand in it too. I'm pretty sure he was the favorite that night.

One night when I went out to keep him company, he let me cast the rod and look what I caught! We brought it home and he cleaned it and cooked it. I think it was the first time I've ever caught a fish and certainly the first time I've ever seen my dinner all the way from the ocean to the plate.

It was so nice to have a little getaway and to enjoy the beautiful weather at the beach. I even stole an hour away at the beach by myself with my book while the kids slept. Dreamy! Reese was in heaven having lots of friends to play with 24/7, and Hudson loved the beach so much he even slept through the night for the first time! Like I said, the perfect relaxing weekend.

sick baby

2011-05-23T16:44:00.006-04:00

"We may have to do a spinal tap" are not words you want to hear from your pediatrician about your 7-week old, let me just say.

Last Tuesday, Hudson woke up with a bit of a fever. He usually feels warm to me when he wakes up--could be the swaddle--but on this morning, he felt extra warm. And then he screamed when I tried to feed him. And he screamed even harder when I tried to set him down. (And Hudson is not a fussy kid, so I knew something had to be really wrong.) My first thought was, "How did Hudson get an ear infection? He's breast fed! And he's not even 8 weeks old!" When I called the pediatricians office, they fit us in right away.

Hudson had a fever of 101.8. He didn't want to be moved and screamed during his exam. I was pretty surprised when the doctor said Hudson didn't have an ear infection. The doctor wasn't able to determine right away the source of the fever...which is when he said we may have to do a spinal tap. I wanted to cry, and probably would have if I didn't feel the need to keep my cool in front of Reese. But the doctor seemed calm, bless him. They gave Hudson some Motrin to see if his fever responded and did a foot prick to do some blood work. The doctor came back in the room as soon as he saw that Hudson's blood work was clear. Phew! And, while we waited, Hudson did appear to respond to the Motrin. He was finally calm for the first time all day. But, of course, I was still on edge. We sat in the exam room for almost two hours waiting for Hudson to pee so they could do a urinalysis. He never did. So, the doctor told us to keep an eye on things and come back the next day. Later that evening, Hudson did manage to eat a little bit and even sat contently on my lap for a while before bed. I was feeling encouraged.

The next morning, Hudson's temperature had spiked to 103. I freaked out and moved our follow-up visit earlier in the morning. Back at the doctor's office, we went through all the same checks--still no ear infection or other obvious reason for the fever--and made another attempt at a urinalysis. It took another two hours to get his urine sample. The doctor said at that point we had two options: check him into the hospital and give him antibiotics, or just keep a close eye on him and come back again the next day. The safer option was to go to the hospital, but the doctor said that Hudson didn't look like a sick kid and responded to Motrin; so when I asked what he would do (this was not a decision I wanted to make by myself), he said he would bring us in for another check up the following morning. I knew my doctor would be on call that night, just in case something happened and we needed to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, so I felt comfortable opting to wait to see how things played out a little bit longer. (I did call Michael and he agreed that we should follow the advice of our doctor and see how Hudson did for the next little while.)

It's a pretty tense feeling to be watching your baby like a hawk trying to decide if his situation is getting worse or remaining the same. With every cry you wonder if he is more uncomfortable than before or just still uncomfortable. Every time you feel his skin you wonder if he is slightly hotter than before, or if the fever is just holding steady. Luckily, Hudson seemed to be feeling better and even slept well all night. So you can imagine my relief the next morning to hear my doctor say that we made the right decision by not checking into the hospital, that Hudson was on the mend, and that whatever virus Hudson caught was running its course. Sigh. His fever never did go back up, he started to eat a little bit more and he slowly but surely got back to his happy self. By the weekend, when my mom came for a quick visit, you would have never even known that he had had a bad week...he was cooing again and making faces.

(see? back to his happy self! and, don't mind the pink blanket...reese loves to trade blankets with hudson.)

So scary to go through this with such a little guy! I don't think Reese caught as much as a cold before she turned at least one, so I felt completely unprepared to take care of a sick infant. So glad it is over and that he made a full recovery! So sweet to hear Reese ask Heavenly Father every time she prays to bless Hudson to be healthy and not have any more tummy aches. Here's to hoping that Hudson's immune system is now completely bolstered!

my two kids

2011-05-03T22:12:00.007-04:00

first smile caught on camera! I was looking at Hudson, not through the camera, and once I saw the smile, I tried to snap the picture as fast as I could...so, Reese's head got cut off a little and she is holding Hudson a little sideways. still pretty cute, if you ask me.

this cuddle session starts going downhill fast...

...no reason to break the pose just because the baby's crying. look, she can replace the bink without even looking! what a good big sister. (as an aside, last week Hudson started to fuss and Reese told her dad, "Dad, just give him his binky." she's got this baby thing all figured out.)

later that day at the park. love their matching outfits. we didn't even plan it.

babymoon

2011-04-30T14:30:00.012-04:00

You might think that a babymoon is a trip you take with your spouse before the baby comes...one last hoorah, if you will, while you still have some freedom. I took my babymoon with my baby--a couple days with just the two of us.

My grandmother passed away last week and Hudson and I traveled to Ohio for her funeral. When my mom first talked to me about going, she said she figured I wouldn't be able to go since I had a new baby and a three year old. I know she was trying to make things easier on me; but, luckily, my twin sister called me to tell me that I really needed to come--that she wanted me to come, so she could see me and meet Hudson, but also that I would also really regret not being there. Bless her. I needed someone to tell me that. So, I set up some playdates for Reese with some of my very supportive friends and booked my flight. Reese was sad for about 2.5 seconds when I told her that I was going on a trip without her. It went something like this:

Me: Reese, Hudson and I are going to go on a trip for a couple of days and you are going to stay home with Dad.

Reese: But, if you go on a trip, I will miss you too much.

Me: I know, but I set up some playdates for you while I am gone. One day you will go to Haley's house, and one day you will go to Liberty's house, and one day you will go to Julia Karen's house. You are going to have so much fun!

Reese: I love it when you go out of town!

I know she was just trying to make me feel less guilty.

So, after a delicious Easter dinner, made by my in-laws who were passing through town, Hudson and I headed to Ohio. Hudson was a dream traveler! And, although the circumstances were very sad, it was so nice to get to Ohio and see my parents, all my sisters, my brother and my two nieces (I love my nieces to pieces!)

all three baby cousins...olivia, blair and hudson

grandpa and blair

four generations once

hudson and kim

olivia and blair. apparently olivia likes to suck on her own toes, and she thought she would give blair's toes a try. the most hysterical part was that blair sat completely still and let olivia do it!

four generations twice

dean, dean and kim dean

Every one of my cousins was there for the funeral and it was really good to see and catch up with them. It had been ages since I had seen many of them! It was nice to be able to share stories and memories of Grandma with all of our cousins and aunts and uncles and to celebrate her life. She will be dearly missed.

2011-04-18T22:17:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe that Hudson is already three weeks old! I'm starting to understand what mom's mean when they say time goes twice as fast with your second baby. I've hardly taken any pictures, sadly. But I blame that more on the age...I mean, don't get me wrong, I think Hudson is about the most darling baby I've ever seen, but that doesn't always capture well with my camera. Either he has one eye open and one closed, or the flash causes him to make a funny face, or the camera just doesn't take the picture fast enough to capture the moment...so most of the pictures I take are of him sleeping.

(don't mind Reese's lips...she had been slathering on the lip gloss!)

Reese LOVES being a big sister. She loves to greet her baby Hudson first thing in the morning. She loves to hold him...and has only once tried to pick him up by herself (luckily Michael was close enough to stop her before anything bad happened). She is usually very soft with him, but I am constantly having to remind her to NOT touch the baby while he is sleeping. I know, it is so tempting! If Hudson is ever fussy (which is rare), Reese calmly and lovingly says, "I know, Hudson, I know." or "We're almost there, Hudson. It's ok." And only a couple times has she said, "Hudson, stop whining!" And, best of all, slowly by surely she is learning to be more patient when I am unable to drop everything to do what she asks.

When Hudson was asleep, Reese decided to share her lovey Jeffrey (or Geoffrey, as Michael likes to spell it) with him. How thoughtful!

After a very fast week, and almost a full week early, my mom was called away by a client. Talk about the saddest day ever! I realize that the day your mom has to leave after a baby is born feels like the worst day ever whether it is after a week or after a month, so I tried to suck it up and put on a brave face. (How many babies do you have to have before that feeling goes away?) One of the worst parts about her leaving so soon was that due to my seemingly never-ending cold, I was sick the entire time she was with us...which meant we really didn't get to do anything fun. Of course it was so nice to have her take care of us when we all needed it most, but it made the thought of doing all that she had been doing after she left feel that much more daunting. And we didn't even bake one thing! Blast!

Luckily, a few days after my mom left, my dad came through town on his way to Georgia. It was so fun to have him here and to show him around town. Reese, naturally, loved having the extra attention!

There was just enough time the day that my Dad was going to leave for a quick trip to Birmingham for lunch at Flip Burger Boutique. I've been talking up Flip Burger to anyone who will listen, especially any potential visitors. I originally planned to meet my dad in Birmingham when he flew in, but he arrived too late at night, so I thought we had missed our chance. But after running a quick errand in the morning, we decided to head to Birmingham for the most delicious burgers and liquid nitrogen milkshakes. As we drove, we both agreed that it was the farthest either of us had traveled for a hamburger; I certainly think it is worth it, and after tasting everything, my dad did too. We are so spontaneous!

too much fun left Hudson completely tuckered out

Introducing: Hudson Michael Wheatley

2011-03-31T20:07:00.009-04:00

One week ago, we welcomed our new baby to the family...Hudson Michael Wheatley. (Reese loves to call him and introduce him by his full name, which is adorable.) I had a scheduled induction...for a couple reasons. Firstly, I was induced with Reese and it went very smoothly. Secondly, since my labor and delivery with Reese went fairly quickly for a first baby, and because everyone says your second labor and delivery goes much more quickly, I would lay awake at night panicked that once I went into labor I would be unable to get Reese where she needed to be, pick Michael up from work and make it all the way back to the hospital in time to get an epidural. Maybe that is irrational, but hey, pregnancy hormones make you that way. Ultimately, my doctor scheduled my induction with about 4 weeks left, and I could finally sleep with some piece of mind.

Michael and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30am and on the way we were still trying to decide on a name for the baby. (We actually continued this conversation through the entire labor part of the morning, with nurses coming in and out of the room and all.) At about 6:30am, they started me on the Pitocin (but I was actually having contractions on my own). At 7:30, my doctor came to check on me and break my water...I was still dilated to a 4. Before he left, my doctor said he would be back around noon to check on me, or sooner if need be. By about 8:45am, the epidural was in place and the contractions were feeling less painful--hallelujah! And at 9am, I was fully dilated. My mom showed up about fifteen minutes later, after getting Reese off to a friend's house. I did a few practice pushes with the nurse, before the doctor arrived; and at 9:39am, Hudson was born. (Take that, "I'll be back around noon"!) Michael was so cute as he watched Hudson get all cleaned up...he was a little bit giggly and told Hudson what a good boy he was to come so quickly...so that they could watch the BYU basketball game together later that evening. He said, "I've never watched a ball game with my son before." If I hadn't had the chills from all the IV fluid (or whatever it was that did it), I would've been melting. After some skin-to-skin time with mom, they took Hudson to the nursery to be weighed and measured.
His stats were: 8 lbs 2 oz, 19 3/4 inches

Hudson is such a dream baby. For now he sleeps and eats like a champ, which I hope lasts. We've had two doctors visits since coming home from the hospital--poor baby had a bit of the jaundice--and at 6 days old, Hudson was back up to his birth weight. (The doctor says they usually allow 2 weeks for that to happen.) Reese is loving being a big sister. She loves to tell him in a very high pitched voice how cute Hudson's _____ (legs, hands, feet, etc.) are and if ever he does fuss, she will say, in a very soothing voice, "It's ok, Hudson. It's ok."

It's crazy to me to think that we are now a family of four! But I am so grateful to have this little guy in our family. Reese sometimes asks me if Hudson is going to stay with us forever, and even though she doesn't fully understand my answer, it is such a blessing to be able to tell her, "Yes, Hudson is going to stay with us forever."

baby shower

2011-03-28T20:11:00.006-04:00

Last week my friends threw a fabulous baby shower for Hudson and me. The shower was scheduled two days before my induction date, which seemed like a good idea at the time; but after my doctor's appointment in which my doctor told me I was dilated to almost a 4, I started to get a little nervous that I would even make it to the shower! Luckily, Hudson was sweet enough to wait for us to have a party for him before he made his debut. It was such a nice party with delicious food, good friends and generous gifts. I mean, check out this spread!

red velvet cupcakes, strawberry soup, fruit, cookies, brownies, crackers and dip, and delicious soup

Reese was so excited to don her party dress and go to her first shower. Every time I go to a shower, she says she can go too since she is a girl and she was thrilled to finally get her chance! One of the guests even brought a gift for Reese so she wouldn't feel left out--is that the most thoughtful thing ever?!

such fun gifts and outfits for baby...just the thing to get me even more excited to meet the little guy

Reese getting a little practice at becoming a big sister.
It was the perfect party and the perfect way to get even more excited about the arrival of our Baby Hudson. Thank you to everyone who came and helped to put it all together!

Reese in the kitchen

2011-03-20T21:24:00.002-04:00

Reese is a chip off the ol' block in more ways than one. But, one way that I love the most is how much she likes to be in the kitchen with me. Anytime she sees me in the kitchen, she asks me what I am doing, if she can help and, usually before I have had time to respond, she brings her stool over and sets it beside me so she can get right into the action. Our favorite things to make are desserts, naturally--it's way more fun to taste along the way, and a lot less chopping that mom won't let her participate in.

Reese also loves to watch the Food Network with me. Her favorite tv chef is Giada de Laurentiis...she especially loves the episodes that show Giada's daughter Jade. She has said so many funny things that I know she learned from Giada, and they always crack me up! She has a little play kitchen and lots of kitchen tools of her own, so she is frequently in her "kitchen area" making all kinds of goodies. It is so funny listening to her narrate as she works. She'll say things like, "I need to zest a lemon for my filling" or "Ooh, look at these! They look delicious...nice and golden brown, just what we want!" One night we were making brownies and I told her that we were going to spray some cooking spray in the pan so that the brownies wouldn't stick, and Reese said, "How about we use some parchment paper?" Hilarious!

2011-03-19T21:31:00.005-04:00

Reese has recently become acquainted with a few of the Disney princesses and she cannot get enough! She has memorized just about every line to The Little Mermaid and Aladdin and frequently asks Michael and me to act scenes out with her. Whenever we miss or forget a line, she is right there to help us out; which, by the way, she also does when we read the books to her. You cannot miss one word in Aladdin without her busting you! My favorite is listening to Michael and Reese's bedtime routine...if they don't sing the Cougar fight song while marching to bed, then they recite the lines to the scene in Aladdin when Jasmine and Aladdin sing A Whole New World. It is hysterical! Reese gets really into it and totally has the intonation down!

One afternoon while we were sitting on the balcony, Reese broke into song and she started so softly that it took me a minute to figure out what she was saying. She was sweet enough to start over after I got my camera out; unfortunately, my battery died halfway through. It's still pretty cute, if you ask me.

Baby Blair

2011-02-27T15:15:00.003-05:00

Reese and I had the best time a couple weeks ago when all of my sisters and my mom, and my two new nieces (whom I had not yet met) came to visit for a girls' weekend in Birmingham. I have a lot more to say about that weekend, which I will save or another post; but I just saw this video on my sister's blog and had to at least link to it.

Reese loved playing with her baby cousins! She loved to talk to them in a high, squeaky voice and tickle them. It was good for her to practice being soft around little ones. One day, after Lindsey and Tessa had gone home, Lauren and I took the little girls to get manicures. Reese loved it--she got hot pink polish on her fingernails and I have NEVER seen her sit so still! As long as she thinks her nails are wet, she won't move a muscle. ( I should figure out a way to use that in church!) Whenever Lauren is around, Reese wants to follow her like a shadow. Lauren can't go anywhere without Reese right by her side. While we were waiting our turn at the salon, Lauren had to change Blair's diaper and, naturally, Reese wanted to help. While Lauren was changing Blair, Reese found a way to make her start giggling--her very first time to laugh! When they all came back, we tried to recreate the scene. So darling!

http://lallycakes.blogspot.com/2011/02/she-laughed.html

beach getaway

2011-01-10T21:01:00.004-05:00

What better time to reminisce about a fun beach trip than when you are stuck inside because of cold, icy weather? (That and I have some serious blog catching up to do!) Montgomery was supposed to get hit with some nasty weather last night and today. Schools were canceled on Saturday in anticipation of the Sunday night storm! The storm must have mostly missed us down here because while Tupelo, MS and Atlanta, GA got a few inches of snow, those of us in Montgomery just woke up to icy windshields. But, hey, I'm not complaining--my husband got the day off!

We went to a friend's house in Florida for conference weekend back in October and it was the perfect mini-getaway! The drive down wasn't too bad...except after it was dark, we ended up on this 50-mile stretch of road that was completely pitch black and there was a sign that had a picture of a bear on it. No joke. It was a little bit hard for me to relax after that. But we made it to the house in one piece. The weather that weekend was absolutely gorgeous and perfectly warm. This was the view from the house.

Paradise! I could have stayed there forever!

And there were dolphins swimming back and forth the entire weekend. It was amazing to watch! We even saw a few jump way out of the water, which made it feel like we were in an even more exotic location!

Michael and Reese did some fishing...

...and built sand castles and went swimming in the ocean...

...and played with friends in the sand. What could be better?

It was the perfect weekend and right now I am wishing that we could go back. Down with January blues!

Alabama State Fair

2011-01-09T21:51:00.000-05:00

Michael and I took Reese to the Alabama State Fair when it passed through Montgomery and it was a blast! Reese loved all the rides and it was so fun to watch her on them. Every time she went around she would wave to me and squeal as if she has never had more fun in her life! Hilarious.

(of course she picked the pink horse)

Yes, that is Reese squealing every time she goes around--I could not stop laughing at her! Oh, to be two and at your very first fair!
Reese was a real trooper--I made her pose on every single ride!

It was hilarious to watch Reese in the bumper boats! It looks like she is in the tank alone, but I promise there were other kids (it's just that the rest of my pictures from this ride were blurry). I think the boats must have been a little tricky to control because the kids couldn't move on their own unless the ride worker gave them a push. One poor kid got stuck going around and around in circles and started balling. Once Reese realized that she could stick her hand in the water, she quit even trying to steer and just started splashing around.

(I mean, is this kid having fun, or what?!)

We got Reese and ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles, which she thought was the best thing ever! (until it started melting and Michael started eating the cone...that did not go over well) I finally got to try a deep fried candy bar (I have wanted to for years!) and it was yummy. I thought the outside would be a little bit crisper, but it basically tasted like a funnel cake with gooey chocolate inside. How bad can that be?
And the night ended with a performance by Blake Shelton. Not a bad get for Montgomery, AL, eh? I can't wait to go again next year!

Columbus Zoo

2010-11-02T21:43:00.014-04:00

Reese and I went to Ohio a while ago to visit Tessa and Duffy while my parents were also visiting. It was such a fun week! We ate yummy food, shopped a little bit, visited my grandparents in Zanesville (whom Reese met and charmed for the first time!) and went to the Columbus Zoo. Reese and I drove the 9 hour drive alone and she was a champ! It was such an easy drive that I'm wondering why we haven't gone more often!

Once everyone was present and accounted for, we went to Graeters...home of the most delicious ice cream in the world!
One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to the Columbus Zoo! We started our visit with an animal show created for the Columbus Zoo with incredible antics of nearly 100 exotic, barnyard and domestic animals including many cats and dogs adopted from local shelters. It was hysterical and Reese was giggling the entire time.

The kangaroo is pumping up the Jeep tires so that Jungle Jack can make it to the Into the Wild shoot on time.
After the show, the trainers brought some of the animals out to meet the audience. Reese got brave and went to make friends with the talent!
These cute little larakeets would eat/drink right out of the little cup in your hands! They may or may not have mistaken the skin on my hand for the yummy juice in the cup, which wouldn't have been that bad--it didn't really hurt--but it did scare me, so I screamed, flinched and dropped the juice, which freaked Reese out and she started balling. That was one rule--you were supposed to use calm, soft voices in the bird cage. Oopsies.

This baby elephant, Bohdi, pushed its blue toy around the whole time we were there and Reese thought it was the funniest thing!

The keeper had some apple pieces for us to feed the rhino. As soon as she could smell it, she came right over and stayed until all the food was gone.

The trainer was pretty impressed that Reese--a two-year-old--was more brave around the rhino than his six-year-old son. She had no fear!

another shot of Bohdi playing on the way out

The Columbus Zoo takes in manatees rescued from the wild and cares for them until they are healthy enough to be released back into the wild.

Kinda hard to tell from this picture, but Reese was throwing heads of romaine lettuce to feed the Manatees. The manatees became Reese's special friends because she was able to feed them. She got a stuffed manatee in the gift shop and has wanted to sleep with it every night since! (Also, it looks like she is really close to the edge, but not to worry, I had a death grip on her--there was no way she was going in without taking me with her.)
We were pretty lucky to see this koala awake--apparently they sleep between 18-22 hours each day!
This porcupine-looking animal was in the same habitat as the koala. It's not actually a porcupine, or even in the same family, oddly enough; but for the life of me, I cannot remember it's name! He liked to bury himself under some wood chips, but we got him to come out for a quick peek.
We got to see the polar bears right at feeding time. The polar bears saw the keepers coming over with some fish and some fruity ice pops and when the keepers started to throw them in, the polar bears dove in so gracefully. It was pretty unbelievable. There was also a place under the water that you could go to see a view from below. That had to have been one of my favorite things to see!

I took this picture of Reese in the garden at my grandparents house. She is such a ham. It was so nice to see them and to introduce them to Reese.

It was a blast to spend the whole week with Tessa and Duffy and my parents. Reese LOVED playing with Tessa's dog Harper and had a blast taking him to the doggie park...but she needs to work on respecting dogs that are bigger than her before I let her go back...to the doggie park, that is. Tessa and Duffy were such gracious hosts and I can't wait to go back!

This picture pretty much sums up the week.

storytime

2010-10-04T13:56:00.005-04:00

Reese LOVES to read books...and have books read to her. She loves to read the same books over and over again, until she memorizes them. Then she turns the pages to whatever book is closest and recites the book du jour. In this clip, she is telling the story of Hansel and Gretel from the "Brothers and Sisters to the Rescue" episode of Little Einsteins. If you haven't seen it, you should--it's a good one. It's actually the 'musical adventure' of Hansel and Gretel, which is why she does a little hum in between some of the lines. I was so happy to finally catch this on film!

One of her new favorite books is Purpleicious. We got it at the library and kept it until we maxed out our renewals. My mom heard how much she loved this new book and bought Reese a copy of her own--along with purpleicious jammies! It took a little bit longer, but Reese memorized that book too and it is hysterical! I'll try to catch that one on film for next month's story time!

I have a niece!

2010-08-12T23:15:00.002-04:00

Meet Blair Kelly Oviatt.

Is she just the most perfect thing?
Love this happy family!

lake playtime

2010-07-17T01:55:00.000-04:00

Once the weather warmed up (can you believe it was in the 60s for the 4th of July?!), we had a lot of fun enjoying one of our favorite summer pastimes-- hanging at the lake! Reese was significantly more nervous about the water this year. The first day that we spent at the lake, Uncle Mike took us out on the boat, and every time the person in the water said, "Hit it!" and the boat got loud and fast quickly, Reese got pretty freaked out. She did not want to go in the boat again after that. So sad.

We are so spoiled to have my sister Lindsey's in-laws at the lake who let us come over and sit on their dock and go out on their boat and eat all their delicious snacks!

Reese relaxing after a long day at the lake with Luke, Lindsey's nephew.
Luke taking the jet ski out for a spin. Don't worry, his dad was close by.

How adorable is this little Ava Taylor?! I look forward to seeing our old friends the Taylors in Montana every summer. And Reese LOVED playing with them on the dock and on the water trampoline. Just like old times in Virginia (except now Reese is actually old enough to play with them!).

Reese and Ella
I can't believe how grown up these kids are getting! Ella has always been one of my style icons for Reese, and I love it when people tell me that Reese looks like her!
Who doesn't like to enjoy a nice chocolate chip cookie on the dock?!

Reese finally got brave, and went in the water with me!

After most of the family went home, we did take Reese out on a nice, leisurely boat ride and Reese did really enjoy it. Hopefully next summer she will remember how much fun she had in the boat and in the water! Can't wait!

double baby shower

2010-07-16T13:08:00.004-04:00

What could be more fun that a baby shower for a baby girl? A baby shower for two baby girls!!!!

While the whole family was together, we had a double baby shower for Lindsey and Lauren. We invited lots of friends from Montana and the two girls scored tons of adorable things for the babies!

Lindsey's husband Mike grew up on a farm and is a die hard John Deere fan! Luckily, John Deere paraphernalia also comes in pink!

For the party favors, we made onesie and cupcake sugar cookies. We had a ball decorating these cookies together! They were almost too cute to eat.

I'm embarrassed to say that we did not get a picture of our beautiful spread. But, our brunch menu consisted of the following:

Strawberry Banana muffins

Lemon Yogurt Berry Parfaits with homemade granola

Fresh fruit with cream cheese fruit dip

Ham and cheese melts on mini buns

Watermelon Limeade

My favorite item on the menu was the strawberry banana muffin! They were light and delicious, and not too sweet for a mid-morning snack. Here's the recipe I used:

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Toss together strawberries and 1/3 cup sugar. Using a potato masher or fork, lightly mash berries; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a glass 2-quart measuring cup or a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla; whisk to combine.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture and the berry mixture (with juice). Fold in two mashed bananas just until combined. Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with remaining sugar.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

take me out to the ballgame

2010-07-15T01:39:00.007-04:00

Note: To me it seems like ages since I've posted anything new. Nothing crazy is going on. I was out of town for a few weeks and have STILL not been able to get all the pictures and videos that were taken on said trip (it's a long story). I'm finally to the point where I am ready to give up on those (adorable!) videos and just work with what I've got.

This summer we planned our trip at just the right time to be able to watch lots and lots of Dean's baseball games! His team has had an away tournament over the 4th of July weekend for the last four years, usually in Spokane, so we are usually lucky if we get to see even one home game when he gets back. But this year the 4th of July tournament was in Helena, and our party wagon made a slight detour on our drive up from Utah to watch one of his games. When the Kalispell Lakers returned from that tournament, they had another tournament in Whitefish (only about 45 minutes away), so we got to watch five more days of games! Reese loves to watch Dean play baseball and cheer for him. She yells, "Go, Dean-o-baby!" She'll actually just copy anything that hears being yelled, for any player...or even directed to the umpires. She started shouting, "C'mon, Blue, you're killin' me!" I have no idea where she heard that....but it may have been from the player's mother sitting right next to me...not mentioning any names.

After the Whitefish tournament, the Lakers had two more consecutive days of conference games at home, and one of Dean's best friends Connor came to watch. Reese has a HUGE crush on Connor. She has ever since she met him last summer. She would come home from a trip to Montana and pretend to talk on the phone to Connor--it was hilarious!
It was so funny when she first saw Connor arrive at the game--her face lit up like a Christmas tree! Unfortunately, Connor brought his girlfriend to the game too and had to split his time between the two women. Reese would call Connor about every two seconds and tell him that Dean was on second base ("Connor, look! There's Dean!") or she would say to him, "What's cookin', good lookin'?" After a while, my mom promised to get Connor a hamburger if Reese called his name 100 times....and we almost got there! Bless 'im, Connor is so nice to Reese...even when she is a little obnoxious. (she was acting too silly to get a very cute shot of them together, what can I say?)
As you can see, as one of the team captains Dean has a lot of fans! (And yes, we are wearing jackets and have blankets on our lap. The weather this summer has been crazy! Jackets in July?! It was pretty windy and chilly that night.)

sworn in

2010-06-27T10:39:00.001-04:00

We went to Virginia the first weekend of June so that Michael could be sworn into the Virginia Bar. I think Michael said it best when he said that the best part of all this was passing the Bar. Law school graduation and being sworn into the Bar were just formalities, hoops that he had to get through essentially. But, of course it was fun to make it official by the Virginia Supreme Court judges. And you don't need to ask me twice to take a trip to Virginia. It was an insanely quick weekend, during which we tried to see everyone we could, but we had a great time!

While the lawyers were in a meeting, we had lots of time to play and run around in the convention center. Reese and Matthew have been partners in crime for most of their lives....once the became aware of each other pretty much. Every time they see each other, they are able to pick up right where they left off.

So much spinning and twirling...these kids were worn out!

It was even more fun to make this a family affair, as Michael's parents and brother James made the trip to Richmond with us!

Do these guys look carefree, or what?

These two dads are about to have a lot more time to spend with their kids...now that school and the Bar are all over. Isn't this just an image of bliss. What could be better than riding on your dad's shoulders?

One last goodbye in the parking lot before we went our separate ways. So sad.

happy anniversary

2010-06-25T15:59:00.003-04:00

Love this guy. Best 5 years ever.
(and I'm starting to notice that we look really young in our wedding pictures...)

memorial day

2010-06-03T22:28:00.002-04:00

May has been a crazy month for us. After our graduation trip to Virginia, Reese and I went to visit MommaCat in Tupelo for a few days and after a couple days back at home--just long enough to do some laundry and pack again--we were off to Hilton Head for Memorial Day weekend. We had been planning this trip with our friends, the McNairs, for months and the excitement had been growing more and more as it got closer. Reese and Jack were so excited to see each other! In fact, every time they saw each other, like after a nap or first thing in the morning, they would give each other a big hug. It was so precious!
Reese and Jack had the best time jumping over the waves in the ocean. All they wanted to do was walk back and forth to the water, and jump over ever wave that came in. Reese would say, after a while, that she wanted to take a break and then as soon as we got back to our chairs, she would want to go right back to the ocean. That girl is a water baby for sure!

When I found out that my sister Tessa in Cincinnati was within a day's drive to our beach destination, I couldn't wait to invite her. To make a long story short, she told me they couldn't come, as they were planning a camping trip for the long weekend. Duffy, sensing that Tessa would prefer to go to the beach, ultimately surprised her by changing their plans and meeting us in Hilton Head! Of all of my sisters, myself included, Tessa is the most fun to play with on the beach. And she didn't disappoint--she and Duffy brought a whole bin of beach toys! After watching Reese try to swing the bat, I saw that we have our work cut out for us. While Tessa was pitching to her, I just took as many pictures as I could; when I looked at them afterward, I was laughing so hard that Reese was not looking at the ball in any of the pictures I captured!

how is she going to hit that with her eyes closed?

how is she going to hit the ball when she is looking at the camera?

bless her.

these two just had a ball together all weekend! (ha, no pun intended.)

The last morning before we checked out, we decided to hit the pool. Reese loves this star-shaped tube that I got her. She actually thinks she can swim when she wears it! And how cute is that bathing suit?!

is this kid having fun, or what?!

Aunt Tessie is the funnest!

Since Hilton Head is so close to Savannah, Georgia, we were excited to fit both places into our weekend getaway. We tried to get a reservation at Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant, but in order to do that you have to wait in line at the corner of the building at 9am on the day of. Instead, we settled for a picture outside the restaurant and a trip to Paula Deen's store next door.
Walking around downtown Savannah was really fun...there were too many places where I wanted to eat! And, lots of candy stores where they make their own toffees and chocolates in house...with samples at the door--LOVE THAT!
It was such a fun weekend! So fun to see the McNairs and the Olsons. So sad once it was over. Anxiously awaiting the beach trip of 2011! (or, hey, why not Labor Day?!)

graduation

2010-05-17T22:12:00.004-04:00

This weekend we went back to Virginia for Michael's graduation from law school. It was a quick weekend, but we tried to fit it all in! Our first stop after we rolled into town was Wegmans...oh, how I miss that place. We found lots of goodies for the graduation party and Reese got to roll around the store in her new-found favorite car cart with two of her buddies.

are we having fun yet, or what?!

The graduation ceremony was really nice. The speakers were interesting and kept their comments short and sweet--what more could you ask for? Michael looked so handsome in his cap and gown...Reese especially liked the tassel.

these boys can be so silly when they get together!

oh that Reese. isn't she a hoot?

After the ceremony we had some friends over for a graduation party. It was so nice to have so many friends and family over to help celebrate such an achievement...although Michael did what he could to shift the attention away from him. We had bbq and brats on the grill, and I made some goodies to go along with the spread. Peanut Butter Granola bars and Rice Krispies on steroids, two of my go-to's, were on the menu, along with some graduation cap cupcakes.

I also made some toffee cookie bars that I saw Giada make, and had been anxious to try. They were fabulous and the first of the goodies to go. (recipe to follow)

pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

Reese was so happy to be reunited with her best friends! It was such a fun weekend that was over much too quickly. We are so proud of Michael for being such a champ! It's a bit hard to believe that it's all over, but we are pretty excited that it is.

To make the Mascarpone chocolate Toffee Bars, here's what you'll need:

1 pound refrigerated sugar cookie dough
2 (1.4-ounces) Skor bars, coarsely chopped, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 7 by 10 3/4-inch nonstick baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Lay a 6 by 18-inch piece of parchment paper in the pan, allowing the excess paper to overhang the sides. Spray the parchment paper lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the cookie dough, 1/2 of the chopped chocolate-toffee candy pieces and vanilla extract. Using damp fingers, gently press the dough into the prepared pan. Using the tines of a fork, prick the dough all over. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. Cool for 15 minutes.

Place the chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a medium bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted. Cool the chocolate mixture for 10 minutes. Whisk in the mascarpone cheese until the mixture is smooth. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate mixture over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate-toffee candy pieces and sliced almonds over the chocolate mixture. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until the chocolate layer is firm.

Peel off the parchment paper and cut into bars. Serve at room temperature. This recipe is so easy and delicious--you'll love it!

Note: To toast almonds, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned.

big weekend

2010-05-11T23:22:00.003-04:00

We started our weekend with a birthday celebration for Michael! Reese was so excited to help me make a birthday cake for him. All week long we talked about what kind of cake Daddy should have--Reese thought it should be pink, naturally. Luckily, Michael requested a strawberry cake, so pink it was!

Recently, Reese has found a new interest in helping me bake. She loves to pull a chair over and stand with me by the KitchenAid and pour in one ingredient after another. And, of course, her favorite part is tasting!

Reese helped me make the cake before her nap and the frosting after. She insisted that she sleep in her apron that afternoon. The cake was delicious and I have never been prouder of little Reese!

The next day, we headed to Atlanta to see what we could see. Ever since I read this post on Bakerella's website, I could not wait to plan a trip to Atlanta to go to Sublime and try these fabulous-looking doughnuts! You know how I feel about cupcakes...but to try doughnuts in cupcake-like flavors?! So exciting! We called some friends in Atlanta to meet us to sample as many of these delicious doughnuts as we could handle. I can't believe we didn't take any pictures, but the doughnuts were fabulous!!! We tried Fresh Strawberries n' Creme, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Orange Dream Star (Reese picked this one and still talks about the star doughnuts!), Frosted Croissant, S'mores, and Cookies n' Cream (Oreo). My favorite was the Oreo doughnut, but what can I say, I'm a sucker for anything with Oreos! There were a couple that I didn't get to try this time around and my mouth waters when I think about going back!

After doughnuts, we went to the Centennial Olympic Park. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It had been in the 90s for a few days before, but on Saturday it was just sunny with a cool breeze. The perfect spring day! We brought a suit for Reese and let her run around and play in the sprayground. She still isn't quite down with actually running into the fountains, but she does love to stand on the sideline and watch everyone else getting wet.

And she just loves the new bathing suit she picked out with the Monkey girl!

We rounded out the day with a trip to Flip Burger, another restaurant on my radar of places to try. The chef and creative director is Richard Blais, a former contestant of Top Chef: Chicago. I'm pretty sure he was the first runner up of that season and was really fun to watch--he always made amazing looking and sounding dishes. So, naturally, I was really excited to eat at one of his restaurants. And it was fabulous!!! If a traditional burger is what you want, then you can certainly find it there. But the menu also offers such creations as an ossobuco burger, a shrimp burger, a chorizo burger, and a po boyger. And they have liquid nitrogen milkshakes! The four of us each got a different burger and the three that I tasted were excellent! I found out that there is also a Flip Burger in Birmingham (about an hour closer to us) and I cannot wait to go back!

We made it home from Atlanta just in time to finish our talks for church the next day...in the Spanish Sacrament meeting. Not my first choice of things to do on Mother's Day, especially since I don't speak Spanish, but that is another story for another post. In the words of Michael, "It went better than I thought it would." Thanks. But I did come home from church that day with two roses, two chocolate covered strawberries and a half dozen chocolate dipped sugar cookies left over from Primary. Not a bad way to round of the weekend!

ABC's

2010-05-05T00:53:00.001-04:00

This ABCs toy is the best $10 I've ever spent (thank you, Black Friday and thank you, Jessica)! Reese loves it. At first, all she wanted to do was take all the letters off the fridge and throw them on the floor. Now, she has gotten the hang of learning the letters and learning the sounds that they make. She usually comes in the kitchen while I am making dinner or doing dishes and touches whatever letter is in the player and then walks right back out. Sometimes she will stay longer and play with a few letters and sing along. Occasionally, Reese comes in the kitchen and hits the button that plays the ABCs song over and over: "A, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, b, c...a, a, a, b, c" and I want to pull my hair out. But I still like this toy and love to see Reese enjoying it and singing along with it.

gleek, jr.

2010-05-01T22:12:00.004-04:00

Reese loves the Glee soundtracks as much as I do! She definitely has her favorites and asks to listen to them over and over (and over). Her first favorite was "Gradidy" (or "Defying Gravity") and she wanted to listed to it nonstop. Her latest favorite is "Colors" (or "True Colors") and last week she started singing along. I tried so hard not to giggle so she wouldn't stop!

(this video got cut off when the camera ran out of memory space...but I thought it was cute enough to share)

Tupelo, the place to go!

2010-04-26T22:06:00.002-04:00

No, seriously--that's the slogan. That and "We let our hospitality show!" That part really is true, though.

Reese and I have made a couple of trips to Tupelo this month. The first time Reese and I drove over for a couple days to see MommaCat, who was there on business. This weekend, the whole family went for my friend Logan's wedding. Logan and I were doubles partners in high school and we had a blast together (and we were undefeated in the state of Mississippi, I might add)! I was so excited when she told me her wedding would be after we moved to Alabama and I knew I would be able to go. I have been looking forward to this weekend for months!

When my mom was in Tupelo, we met her for lunch at Pepper's--one of my favorite places to eat in high school--and Reese was putting on a show. She kept giving hugs to my mom and telling me to take a picture. It was so precious. That kid is a ham!

(here she is pointing to my mom telling her to take the picture...she is a titch bossy sometimes...we're working on it)

When we went to Tupelo for the wedding last weekend, we stayed with one of my favorite families in this world--the Calhouns. I used to nanny for these kids during the summers and I loved it!

Reese and Anna. When I met Anna, she was about Reese's age and Reese does kinda look like Anna did when she was two.

Hudson and Reese. He was so sweet to let her play with his Lego's, even though she was a bit destructive with what he had already built.

Reese loved playing with their dog Max, and when she found his kennel, she couldn't help herself. She had to get in!

The wedding was a lot of fun and I saw so many friends (and teachers) from high school. I haven't been back to Tupelo in almost five years, and it was not always easy to remember some people's names. I had to hide behind Michael a couple times until I could recall a name and go say hello. (I didn't feel as badly when a friend who still lives in Tupelo told me he had the same problem.) But it was a blast to catch up with so many friends from THS!

The beautiful bride, Logan. She looked gorgeous and her dress was beautiful. As soon as I saw her, it was like we hadn't missed a beat, which is one thing I LOVE about her.

The Porter women.

The next day we got to spend some time with the Calhouns before heading back to Alabama. Here Reese is cleaning the windows with Hudson. Reese wanted to do whatever Hudson and Boatner were doing...even if it was housework.

Cleaning the windows turned into a bit of a water fight.

Boatner demonstrating the zip line for Reese. She tried it, but fell off before I could snap a picture.

It has been so much fun to get back to Tupelo after so long. It felt so normal to be there, even though so much time has gone by. As Michael and I drove down the road, I would say "that is where we did this" and "that used to be there". I think he was a little fed up with me, but he was a good sport. Tupelo holds such fond memories for me and I can't wait to go back!

Masters 2010

2010-04-07T23:14:00.007-04:00

After 15 years of my Dad (and usually Mom, sometimes Dean) going to the Masters, I finally got an invite! (Well, I kinda invited myself, but that's another story.) It was about the most fun thing I have ever done! The golf course is the most beautiful I have ever seen and we had the best time walking the course. (It's quite a bit more hilly than it looks on TV.)

Reese loved it too! All that space to run around (even though you aren't supposed to run), are you kidding?

Lacey and Ashton were at the Masters and it was so much fun to get to see them. Lacey knows all the ropes and was kind enough to clue us in...she may have also had to help me with a few names of some of the golfers.
Kim brought some binoculars and once Reese got a hold of them, she was NOT letting go! She wasn't quite sure how to use them properly, but she was having a blast trying.
That is Tiger putting on the 16th green. Check out the crowd following him! One of the fun things the crowd loves to see is the golfers skip the ball across the water in front of the 16th green. It was awesome! Tiger and the two guys he was playing with all did it at the same time. The crowd went WILD!!!
Reese LOVES Lacey...and especially loved putting on her lip gloss. I think she sat on Lacey's lap putting on her lip gloss for about 30 minutes, without making a peep!

In front of the clubhouse. I love the flowers in the shape of the United States! So cool. Notice the line of people behind us, waiting in an insanely long line for their chance to take a picture in front of the clubhouse.

Tiger again. It was really interesting to see how the crowd responded to Tiger at his first tournament back after all the drama. They were very supportive and warm. I have to admit, I got a little giddy to see him golfing in real life!

Can you count how many cameras are pointed at Tiger?

As she does wherever she goes, Reese was making all kinds of friends at the golf course. For example, we happened to be walking by Rory Sabbatini as he was chatting with a couple people and he picked Reese out of the crowd and said, "How are you? You don't have to work today?" And Reese, in her sweet voice, said, "No, I don't have to work today." Then Mr. Sabbatini went over to his golf bag and got a ball to sign for Reese! And then took a picture with her!! It was so nice of him and we giggled about it for the rest of the day. After that Michael worked with Reese on saying, "Hi, Mr. Mickelson!" just in case we got close enough to try our luck getting an autograph from him.

Ian Poulter and Paul Casey. They were having some kind of contest during the practice round and were really fun to watch. I saw Ian Poulter waving his white towel, so I think he might have lost.

Having lunch at the clubhouse. Reese was making more friends. She got a little riled up and ran down to Nick Faldo's table to give him a smile. When Michael caught up with her and brought her back, she saw some cookies at a table along the way and said, "I need a cookie!" And, what do you know, the kind people at that table couldn't resist! Reese stole every one's heart!

Another highlight of the trip was going to the Mayor's Masters Reception. It was the 40th Anniversary of Billy Casper's win at the Masters in 1970. To honor him, the Mayor of Augusta gave him the key to the city. As one of Billy Casper's guests, we were included in the police-escorted motorcade to the reception. Michael and I were both pinching ourselves! It was really moving to hear him speaking about winning the Masters and coming back each year to Augusta National. After spending just a couple days there, I caught a glimpse of just what an amazing place it is!

Easter egg hunt, take two

2010-04-04T13:40:00.004-04:00

Our apartment complex hosted an Easter egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter and Reese was thrilled at another opportunity to get more candy! This time she was prepared to actually "race" to get the candy-filled eggs, but even with a head start for the little kids, she was not quite ready to compete with the older kids. Although, I will say, she did pretty well for herself.

Here she is, so excited to start the race, scoping out the eggs' hiding spots.

Good eye, Dad!

Reese was pretty pleased with her loot! She wanted to sit right down and start eating it all.

Reese and her Dad have races on this grass everyday when he gets home from work, so I thought if I told her we were racing, she would get her competitive edge. (My favorite part is the girl who runs by panting...now, she is serious about her candy!)

After all the Easter egg hunts Reese had enjoyed, by the time I had one for her at our house on Easter morning, she was totally not interested. Well, I should re-phrase that. She was in no rush to put the Easter eggs and other goodies in her Easter basket. She knew she had no competition, so she was going to take her sweet time finding and eating her candy. Why not leave some Easter eggs out for later? She knew they weren't going anywhere. It was a little anticlimactic, to say the least. Oh, well, there's always next year!

getting in shape

2010-03-31T21:53:00.000-04:00

Michael and Reese have been training for the upcoming softball season. You should see the guns Reese is working on (oh, and Michael too)!

Easter eggs, jumbo elephants and Big Jet

2010-03-28T21:47:00.009-04:00

We had another fun-filled Saturday this weekend. We started off with an Easter egg hunt at the church with the Primary. At first, Reese just wanted to eat each piece of candy as she got it, but with my gentle encouragement, she eventually got the hang of it. It's amazing how a race against the clock (and other kids) for some candy can bring your competitive edge right out!

Unfortunately, we've got some work to do to get quicker hands before next year, as you'll see in the video.

I was really ticked that this kid practically took the Easter egg out of Reese's hand (taking candy from a baby, hello?!), but I was pretty proud that it didn't seem to phase Reese.

After the Easter egg hunt, we headed to Maxwell Air Force Base for an air show. My Uncle Pat was a pilot for the Air Force (and even did some time in Montgomery, if I'm not mistaken), and took me to an air show when we lived in San Diego. I remembered it being really fun, but I guess the memory of exactly how cool it was had waned. When we first walked into the base, and saw a fighter jet doing some serious moves (at one point it looked like it was about 5 feet off the ground--surely it was about to land, we thought--and then went straight back up, literally straight up) I was totally overwhelmed....like it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

We walked around a bit before the next act...and saw some pretty cool planes...

...then we saw the C-130 Hercules dropping supplies...

...some more walking around...next time I am getting one of these for Reese!

Then it was time for the F-18 Super Hornet. It was so awesome! I could watch that jet fly all day long. The F-18 flew back and forth as fast as it could go, then it would go straight up until you could almost not see it anymore. It would roll, and turn. Then it did this maneuver...
...it flew across the air, with its nose up in the air at an angle, and looked like it was flying very slowly. It was so crazy! I realize these videos don't even come close to doing it justice, but it was the best I could do with my camera.

I'm not sure if you can tell, maybe if you look really closely, but the F-18 is inverted in this fly-by. Just like Top Gun!!

...it was a little loud, with all those fly-by's. There is a 'character' on Little Einsteins called Big Jet. Once Reese made the connection that this was a real-life Big Jet, she loved it!

This is an F-22. There was a pilot standing by this jet answering questions, and I was very interested to hear what he had to say. But, I couldn't think of any intelligent questions to ask--I was in total awe--so I just listened to him answering other people's questions and it was as though he was speaking another language...'Alpha' this and 'vector' that. I had no idea what he was talking about...but I just stood there smiling. Ultimately, the gist I got was that he could tell the plane what maneuver he wanted to do, and the plane would do all the necessary calculations and adjustments to make it happen. Sounds easy!

As if we could cram any more fun into this day, we left the air show and went straight to the Ringling Bros. circus! I just knew Reese would love it...and she did, mostly! The highlights for Reese, I would say, were the jumbo elephants and the lions, and all the sparkly costumes on the acrobats. (Oh, and the Dippin' Dots she got in the white tiger mug!) The humor from the clowns was a little over her head. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we got home, but it sure was another fun Saturday! (I'm not sure if we will be able to keep this pace up!)

Fairhope, AL

2010-03-21T23:59:00.008-04:00

Ever since we found out we would be moving to Alabama, Mike has been talking about all the roadtrips we would take to see the sights of the South. For our first Saturday daytrip, we decided on Fairhope, AL--a small town across the Bay from Mobile. The weather was beautiful and we made the most of our first day of total freedom (no work, no school, no packing, no unpacking...just as much fun as we could handle)!

When we first arrived in Montgomery, I picked up a brochure at the Visitor's Center called "100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die" that lists the best dishes of various restaurants all over Alabama. When I saw that, I knew what my mission would be for the next 18 months: to try as many of those dishes as I possibly can!

We left just after breakfast and made it to Fairhope just in time for lunch. We decided on a place called Big Daddy's Grill to have the Big Daddy Burger. We decided to split the burger and sample a couple of the other appetizers on the menu: seafood gumbo and fried pickles (a house specialty!).

Here Reese is enjoying the fried pickles. It sounds weird, but all three of us were surprised at how delicious they were!

I have made it my new missions to try every fried pickle on any menu that I see, but the bar was set pretty high at Big Daddy's. Totally worth the drive!

Another thing that surprised us was how much Reese loved the seafood gumbo! This girl must have a Southern palate. She couldn't get enough!
But because the gumbo had a bit of a kick, Reese had to have a drink of her water after every single bite....
...as soon as she had some water, she went right back for another bite of the gumbo! It was a crack up.
Big Daddy's Grill had a giant sandbox in the back with lots of shovels, buckets and other sand toys for the kiddies to play with. Reese seemed to like walking in the sand, but as she was playing, if any sand got on top of her feet, she had to stop what she was doing to get the sand off.

In this video I love when Reese almost loses her balance and doesn't want to put her hand in the sand to steady herself, and doesn't really want to move her feet in the sand either...that was a close one!

After lunch, we headed downtown and stumbled upon a huge Arts and Crafts festival. We had no idea, but when we saw the masses of people walking around all the tents, we got even more excited about being there!

the Baldwin County Belles

Reese loved these dresses! She could've stood right next to them all day long. I think I will look for a smaller version for Reese's Easter dress!!
When we had had enough of the festival, we headed down to the Pier on the Bay, where there were a zillion seagulls for us to feed. There was a man sitting on one of the benches feeding the birds with a big bag of Ruffles, and it wasn't long before Reese took over for him. She thought it was the greatest!

We rounded off the day with some swinging...what else could a 2-year-old ask for?

After leaving the pier, we stopped at Sandra's Place for a slice of Triple Chocolate Cake (another must on the list), which was the perfect ending to the perfect day in Fairhope. Can't wait for our next Saturday roadtrip!

just for funsies

2010-03-18T23:33:00.000-04:00

Reese loves to play with and sing into her new microphone! Little Sterling wanted in on the action and started busting out his own tricks. They are such hams, aren't they?

sweet home alabama

2010-03-16T13:11:00.004-04:00

We made it to Alabama! Reese was a champ (I had the Cinderella soundtrack--she LOVES the 'little dressmakers' song, I will try to get some video of her singing it--a portable DVD player with Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and all the fruit snacks she could want...it was the best road trip ever!), the 26-foot truck made it in one piece, and it was 70 degrees when we got to Montgomery. Within 24 hours of arriving, and lots of apartment tours, we decided on a new apartment. We could not have done it without Michael's parents helping us to get down to Alabama, and without my mom helping us to get settled in. Here we are, waving from our new balcony.

Michael started his new job on Monday and so far he loves it! He works at the Courthouse, which is a really cool building downtown...with apparently awesome interiors--he says it is like working at the Ritz Carlton. My favorite part is that he is finished at 4:30pm! It is a far cry from the hours he has been keeping for the last few years, and we are eating up every minute with him!

It has been really fun to be back in the South and remember all of the pleasantries and Southern hospitality that is alive and well down here. For example, my mom and I were picking up a few things at TJ Maxx and when we were checking out, we told the clerk that I was new to town and asked what her favorite restaurants are in the area. She told us her favorites, but then this guy who was checking out next to us overheard our conversation and said, as he walked behind us to leave, "The Chop House in Cloverdale is my favorite." He was so nice and friendly and I said to my mom, "I love this place!" The next day at Costco, I could not believe how friendly the sample people were (as well as the other people waiting to get a sample!). The Costco that I am used to is probably the most unfriendly place I know of...no one is smiling, no one is nice, and every one is so cut-throat about samples!

More to come on our adventures in Alabama.

Good luck, Michael!

2010-02-23T08:40:00.002-05:00

Michael is taking the Virginia Bar Exam today and tomorrow. I can't believe the journey we have been on for the last nearly four years is almost over! I am so proud of him for how hard he has worked these last few years and for all he has accomplished. He has been studying tirelessly for the last couple months for the Bar and I know he is going to "destroy that test", as he likes to say.

And, I guess it is finally time to make public on the blog that after the Bar exam, there will be about a week and a half for us to pack up and move to Alabama for Michael's new job! We have been so excited about this opportunity and new adventure, but I guess I have also been in denial about the actual leaving part. (We have known about this move for months, and with the move just two weeks away, I have packed exactly two boxes.) We are very sad to leave our friends and family in Virginia, despite our excitement about the next 18 months in Alabama.

Good luck, Michael! I know you are going to rock the Bar and Reese and I can't wait to go get pancakes on Thursday morning!!!!

conversation hearts

2010-02-17T15:06:00.002-05:00

I was asked to do a baking demonstration for the Young Women in our ward at our weekly Tuesday night activity. I thought it would be really fun to teach the girls some tips about making and decorating sugar cookies. Since it was only a couple days after Valentine's Day, I thought these conversation heart cookies would be perfect! I was so pleased with the way they turned out.

I even got brave enough to finally work with fondant. I cut out a bunch of x's and o's for the girls, and when I got home, I made one with my name.

Reese turns 2!

2010-02-16T22:08:00.001-05:00

Reese turned two on Monday and couldn't have asked for a better day! We sang to her at breakfast and put her candles in her chocolate doughnut, we sang to her at lunch and she blew out the candles on her princess cake, and we sang to her at dinner and she blew out her last two candles in her brownie sundae! What else could a two-year-old ask for?

Reese LOVES when you sing the birthday song to her!

Here is the little princess in her favorite "tutu dress". She loves this dress and wants to wear it every single day! (She thinks it is just like June's dress in the Little Einsteins.)

I was so glad that MommaCat could come to help us celebrate Reese's birthday, and to help me with her birthday treats! For six weeks Reese has been telling me that she wants a purple and pink cake, so I decided on a pink princess castle with some purple details.

I LOVE that Reese's birthday is so close to (but not on) Valentine's Day because of all the fun, colorful candies available and treats you can make. Since Reese still loves pink, it works out perfectly! I had my eye on these love-bug cookies since last year and was so excited to make them for Reese.
We had Reese's 2-year check up a couple days later and she passed all the tests with flying colors! Her doctor asked if she could jump (yes!) and kick a ball (yes!), and I said she has been working on catching and throwing a ball (she's not supposed to be good at that until she is 3!) Reese is in the 97th percentile for height and 60th percentile for weight. I'm so proud! And Reese was very brave during her shots. For being such a good patient, Reese got to pick out two rubber duckies...she chose a duck dressed as a doctor and a duck with a bucket and a shovel (she can't wait to go to the beach this summer!!).

I can't believe my baby is two years old! She really is such a sweetheart and so smart and funny. It has been such a joy to watch her grow up these last two years and I feel so blessed to be her mommy.

happy valentines day

2010-02-14T13:13:00.004-05:00

practice party

2010-02-12T20:33:00.000-05:00

During the snowstorm, we had a "practice birthday party" for Reese. Think she liked her cake?

shooting hoops

2010-02-11T13:31:00.002-05:00

We had a little time on our hands during the Snowpokalypse of 2010, and Michael used one of his study breaks to practice playing catch with Reese. Now all she wants to do is play catch!

Snowmageddon 2010

2010-02-10T23:18:00.004-05:00

With weather forecasts projecting two feet of snow, Michael and I decided to seek refuge at his parents' house. As the Bar exam fast approaches, Michael was worried that he would be unable to get any good studying done at our apartment with Reese and me around. (It only takes a couple of inches of snow on the ground for the public libraries and all schools in the area to shut down.)

...Friday night, just a couple hours after the driveway had been cleared...

...six more inches, and no signs of slowing...

Saturday morning, we woke up to another foot of snow and spent three hours that morning shoveling and snow blowing the driveway...three of us! While we were out clearing the walkways and driveway, I let Reese watch Sesame Street. (Before you judge, I will say that she spent a lot of time walking back and forth between Sesame Street and the window to watch us shovel, so I was somewhat keeping an eye on her. It was either that or have Michael watch her while he studied...not happening!) So, after about two hours of shoveling, I noticed that I hadn't seen Reese come to the window in a little while, so I went inside to check on her. I found her on the couch, surrounded by goodies from Grandma Gee Gee's treat drawer in the kitchen--a Fruit by the Foot, tootsie rolls, a couple Hershey's kisses, a Dove chocolate heart, and a couple bags of fruit snacks. Luckily, I caught her after just a couple chocolate candies...most of those items were still in their wrappers. And, needless to say, I removed all but a couple fruit snack baggies from the goodie drawer.
After nearly 48 hours of snow, it had slowed enough for us to go out and play. Reese loves to put on all her snow gear and play in the snow...oddly enough, one of her favorite things to do is just walk up and down the snowy driveway. She also found a really fun new game--sliding down the giant snowbank!

gleek

2010-01-22T14:59:00.001-05:00

This year, in our family Christmas exchange draw, I picked my sister Tessa. My goal every year is to find the perfect gift for the perfect person, and I get SO excited when I do. This year I thought of the perfect gift for Tessa (the Glee soundtrack, volume 1 & 2) pretty early, and felt very sneaky as I contacted her husband to verify that it was, in fact, the perfect gift for her. I wanted so badly to tell her, but didn't want to ruin the surprise (and I am becoming much better at keeping secrets, ever since that one time in 7th grade...it's a long story).

Turns out the perfect gift this year for Tessa was the same perfect gift for Lauren's birthday! (so, I couldn't even tell Lauren about my perfect find! ugh.) When I did finally get to give Lauren her birthday present (and we listened to it all the way from Salt Lake to Montana), I made everyone in the car promise not to speak a word of it until after Christmas morning, when Tessa could open her own. (Turns out none of the secrecy was necessary, since Tessa knew about it all along--thanks, Duffy.) But, I digress.

I could hardly get the soundtrack for two of my sisters without procuring a copy for myself, since I, too, love the show and the music. And I have been listening to it non-stop since I got home. It is so much fun! I admit, I am a gleek. I just wish I were a soprano.

baby shower

2010-01-16T20:42:00.006-05:00

To celebrate the arrival of Baby Dellin (due to arrive any second now!), Jessica and I threw together a little shower. I love baby showers! And I can't wait to meet the little mush.

...a look at the spread...

On the menu:

italian chicken salad on croissants

hot spinach and artichoke dip

green salad with avocados and grapefruit

vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

cookies and cream banana bread

fresh fruit with vanilla honey mascarpone dip

veggie crudite

How cute is our train cake?!

...and our train cookie favors!...

...all the cookies had a "D" for Dellin and a baby conductor.

I think the winner of the food turned out to be the spinach and artichoke dip, if I do say so myself. So, I thought I would share the recipe that I used:

Here's what you'll need:

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup 1/2-inch cubes rindless Brie
1 cup grated Monterey Jack
1 (6 1/2-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round dish and set aside.

Thaw the spinach and squeeze to remove all excess water. Set aside. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux, about 2 minutes. Add the milk and cream in a steady stream, and cook, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cooked spinach and lemon juice, and stir to incorporate. Add the cubed and grated cheeses, artichoke hearts, and stir well. Remove from the heat and pour into the prepared dish. Top with the Parmesan and bake until bubbly, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve hot with assorted crackers or chips.

Christmas in Monty 2009

2010-01-10T18:09:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun in Montana this year for Christmas! So fun to have the whole family all together, which doesn't happen nearly enough. We spent a lot of time cozying up by the fire, watching movies, playing guitar hero, and eating delicious food! And, naturally, Reese got loads of attention from her aunts and uncles.

Our bi-annual service project at the food bank...we can pretty much have fun no matter what we are doing when we are all together and it is amazing how much food-sorting 10 people can do in a couple hours!

The gals jamming to band hero!

Dean as an official Eagle Scout! So proud of that guy!

Dean shows us that you can still be a one-man band if no one else can play with you.

Reese became quite the diva with her microphone! She loved singing along as we played guitar hero, but if you think she is putting her new baby doll down, you can forget it!

And what would a trip to Montana at Christmas time be without some ice hockey on the lake?!

Reese's first day on the ice...no major spills and she got to practice some of the moves she has been watching on tv! Next year we might even let her try some skates!

After most of the family went back home, Reese and I stayed a few extra days with MommaCat. We drove to Great Falls for one of Dean's basketball games, and after the most horrendous dance team half time performance, Reese decided she could do better! She ran to the middle of the court and back about 5 times. (And it was far more entertaining than the dancers, in my opinion.)

snow storm

2009-12-21T20:30:00.000-05:00

Baby's first snowstorm, and, boy, was I unprepared! No winter jacket, no snow boots, no snow pants...( I did have hats, though!). Luckily for everyone, Grandma Gee Gee came through for her grand kids and went all over town picking up these essential pieces for our sleepover. Grandma Gee Gee and Lindsey joked about the Napoleon Dynamite-style snow boots they got for Reese being the ugliest things they had ever seen, but the only pair left in her size. But, Reese LOVED them. Once she got them on, there was no way she was going to take those things off. Even the next morning, when the ground was covered with snow, she just HAD to put her boots on over her footed jammies. On Saturday morning, when it was time to shovel the first layer of snow off the driveway, we bundled up the kids to come out and help us. Grandma Gee Gee had some little shovels for them to use and they got a kick out of it! Tyson mostly just wanted to eat the snow, but Reese was pretty excited to be walking around in her boots in the snow. She also loved touching the snow with her mittens on!

But, the real fun was on Sunday when we played outside after it had stopped snowing! (20 inches later) Reese LOVED sledding down the hill with Tyson and her Dad.

doll face!

Yes, that snow really is up to my knees!

once there was a snowman

2009-12-19T09:17:00.003-05:00

How fun are holiday cupcakes?! A couple friends and I had the greatest time making these darling snowmen (complete with trees from the forest) and Christmas ornament cupcakes. They were almost too cute to eat!

I still can't get over how adorable all the Christmas ornaments are that Lauren sent to Reese for her first Christmas tree!

let her eat cake

2009-12-17T21:24:00.001-05:00

Reese was so excited to eat some birthday cake on mommy's birthday! (can you tell by the look on her face?) And check out the size of that piece of complimentary birthday cake from Macaroni Grill! (a far cry from the sorry "birthday sundae" that Cheesecake Factory offered me for dessert later this evening) My friends and I had a couple bites each, and then Reese went to town on the rest. The cake was a deliciously dense and rich chocolate cake--so rich, in fact, that a couple bites were enough for me, but Reese handled it like a champ!

so excited to dig in!!

check out the size of that bite! that's my girl!
I love birthday cake!!! Who's birthday is next?

like mother like daughter

2009-12-13T08:17:00.002-05:00

As I have mentioned on this blog many times before, my mom and I LOVE to play all day in the kitchen when we are together...baking any kind of goodies we can think of! And when we are apart, we still talk food...sharing ideas, recent goodies we've tried and emailing recipes back and forth.
After trying a new recipe last week, and it turning out to be one that was enjoyed by all, I knew I had to send it to my mom. I almost died laughing when I got her response.

Here is the email I send to her:

Taryn: Do you get the 12 days of cookies from food network? There were about two of the twelve that I would actually want to make, and this was one. I made it for the kids' gift exchange that I went to yesterday and it was a HIT!!!! They do take some time because you have to bake the bottom layer and then let it cool completely before you can finish them...but they were really delicious! I broke my new food processor out of the box...and was giddy the whole time!!!! It was so much fun. I may or may not have pulsed too much, because mine didn't have the same size crumbles of those in the picture, but not a big deal. Everyone at the party raved about them!!

The next morning, I got this response from my mom and thought it was too funny not to share.

MommaCat: Oh my gosh - I made it too! I gave four gift plates so far, and have three more. They are super yummy - we love butterscotch, don't we? I giggled when I read your email, "like mother like daughter!" AND, I thought there were only about two of the 12 I would make, too. By chance, was the other one the Sunny's Crunchy PB S'more bites? :)

YES, THEY WERE! I guess in the kitchen my mom and I are two peas in a pod! Can't wait to get to Montana next week and get cooking!

gift exchange

2009-12-12T20:53:00.006-05:00

Does it look like these kids are having fun?!

(Braddock is still thinking about it. Two out of three ain't bad!)

On Friday, Reese and I went to a gift exchange at a friend's house. All the kids brought one gift for another friend at the party, and no one could spend more than $5 on said gift. And all the moms brought a food item to share. What a great idea! The kids loved it!

I made oatmeal cream cheese butterscotch bars and they were delish! (if I do say so myself) A little more labor intensive than the desserts I normally make, but they turned out great. Reese came home with a small, pink cat that "meows", a bottle of bubbles (her favorite!!) and a truck (her giver covered all his bases). Such a fun way to spend a Friday morning!

How cute is this reindeer shirt?! Baby Braddock is such a sweet baby and Reese loves to play with him too!

Christmas decor with a twist

2009-12-08T23:28:00.003-05:00

I love ALL of these ideas and looks. My sister is so talented and has such impeccable taste!

To read more of Lauren's genius tips, go here http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=58&sid=8908211.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-05T22:44:00.006-05:00

With the help of a few of my friends, I got up the nerve to decorate Reese's Christmas tree! (Never decorated my own tree, ya'll. It's embarrassing.) And with some Christmas tunes on in the background, and the snow that we got over the weekend to go with our new tree, it is beginning to feel like Christmas!

Reese's Aunt Lallycakes sent her this beautiful tinsel tree, and all the girly, princess ornaments and ribbons to go with it.

a few of my favorite ornaments...

How cute are these pink, glass candies? Reese goes over to them and kisses them--I guess she thinks that doesn't constitute "touching" the fragile ornaments.

I love these hot pink, glittery butterflies. They are so fun!!

Can't have a Christmas tree in our house without a cupcake ornament!

Reese is a lucky girl to be so spoiled by her Aunt Lallycakes!

little turkey

2009-11-23T15:03:00.001-05:00

I think these guys will be gracing my thanksgiving table this year...

Happy Thanksgiving!

singing songs

2009-11-21T21:20:00.005-05:00

Reese loves to sing songs! When we tell her it is time to go to church, she says, "Go to nursery? And sing songs?" She sings all the time, it is so much fun! She is starting to be better about singing for the camera, but she still gets a little bit shy.

I think these are the words:

Three little monkeys swinging in the tree,

(Teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me, no, you can't catch me.")

Along comes Mr. Alligator, quiet as can be,

And snapped that monkey right out of the tree.

Sorry, my camera ran out of space before she could get the last word in there.

Popcorn Popping

Like I said, sometimes it is hard to get her to sing for the camera. In this one, she starts with a whisper (listen closely!) and is much too busy playing with the doors of her toy refrigerator to even look up. This video is a few weeks old, and she is really much better at it now, but her favorite part is still "smells so sweet" (with the inhale).

lyrics:

I looked out the window and what did I see?

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

Spring has brought me such a nice surprise,

Popcorn popping right before my eyes.

I can take a handful and make a treat,

A popcorn ball that would smell so sweet.

It wasn't really so, but it seemed to me,

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

As you can see, Reese likes to jump around a little bit. But, it is so much fun to sing songs with her!!

granola bars

2009-11-16T21:31:00.002-05:00

I was looking for a new recipe to make for my class of Young Women at church two weeks ago and remembered seeing Giada making this recipe for peanut butter granola bars the day before. I had everything they called for on hand and they sounded so good, that I just had to try them. I asked Michael to sample some of the batter before I baked it and he said it reminded him of no bake cookies (a compliment, to him!). But, because they were for my girls, I didn't let him cut a piece of the bars before class. Our numbers are generally small, so I figured there would be plenty after class for him to sample. But, these granola bars turned out to be such a hit, that the girls in class (about 4 total) licked the pan clean! So, I did what any good wife would do...I made another batch when we got home. Two batches in one day--I think that speaks to how delicious this recipe really is! Try it!

Here's what you'll need:

1 egg white

1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 7 by 10 3/4-inch nonstick baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Lay a 6 by 18-inch piece of parchment paper in the pan, allowing the excess paper to hang over the sides. Spray the parchment paper lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg white until frothy. Stir in the peanut butter, brown sugar, and honey. Add the melted butter, oats and almonds. Stir to combine, then add the chocolate chips. (I also added some Reese's Pieces...a delicious addition, if I do say so myself!)

Using a rubber spatula, spread mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing lightly to form an even layer. Bake until the edge of the mixture begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 1 hour. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares and serve.

**Note: Maybe I used the wrong size pan, but I had to cook my granola bars each time for at least an extra 15 minutes or so.

happy halloween

2009-11-11T14:18:00.003-05:00

This Halloween was so much fun! I think Reese really started to get it. The first time I tried her costume on her, she wasn't that into it. But when we called it her "costume" and had her go look in the mirror at how cute she looked, then she started to really like it. Typical. She learned how to say "trick or treat" and then we practiced and practiced to get it down. However, when it came time to actually say it to someone at our ward's Halloween party, she totally froze. In fact, our trial run at trick or treating turned out to be a bust, as Reese would not only not say "trick or treat," but she also wanted to eat each piece of candy as she got it, which slowed us down considerably!

Reese and Jack working the neighborhood on Halloween.

Reese with Jack and Charlotte at our ward Halloween party.

Are we having fun yet?

Reese got pretty good at telling people that she was a Dalmatian and when I would ask her, "what does a Dalmatian say?", Reese would answer, "Say...woof, woof!" She is so precious!

When she saw her costume in the laundry basket a few days later, she ran over to it and said, "My costume!" and just had to put it on again. Love her!

cartwheels

2009-11-05T07:40:00.003-05:00

my sister scolded me for not posting enough video of Reese....so I thought of this video from over the summer of Reese learning how to do cartwheels with MommaCat. good times!

growing up...

2009-11-04T19:23:00.005-05:00

Warning: This post may contain some "potty talk".

Guess who went peepee in the potty tonight!!!!! Yes, Reese! I think she was probably as surprised as I was, but she did it! Ever since she took her diaper off in her crib during a non-nap and pooped in her bed, we have been talking about going potty on the potty. Usually, she tells me after she poops in her diaper that she needs to go poopy in the potty. Other times she tells me she needs to go potty and she just sits there for a minute. She repeats all the things I tell her while she is on the potty, like "I gotch-you, I gotch-you" and "go 'head". But she never actually goes to the bathroom, so then we get off the potty and go get a new diaper.

Last night before bed, she told me she had to go potty. To be honest, sometimes it is a pain to strip her down (she can have nothing on her bottom half in order to sit on the potty) to sit on the potty for 90 seconds just to have to layer her back up afterward. But, I figured I shouldn't discourage any progress in this area, so I took her to the potty and let her do her thing. When lo and behold, some pee came out!!!! I don't think either of us was expecting it, based on the look on her face. I did my best to praise her and let her know what a big deal this is and what a big girl she is for going potty like a big girl, while also trying not to scare the little dear. For the rest of the night, she said, "I go poopy on the potty" and I had to correct her.

I'm not sure if we are really ready for pull-ups just yet, but I am so proud of Reese for being such a big girl! They grow up so quickly, don't they?

halloween fun

2009-10-23T20:41:00.003-04:00

Reese and I had a few friends over this week to celebrate Halloween. We had some cupcakes and sugar cookies for decorating and all the kids came in their costumes. You cannot believe the cuteness! Naturally, not all the kids wanted to wear their costumes for the party--especially since it was at least 75 degrees that day--but we did manage to get everyone in their costumes for a picture. (you can imagine how that turned out) On the other side of this picture are about 10 mommies all with her own camera trying to get the best shot.

I had to give Reese candy corns for her to sit still...and that still didn't last long.

The super-hero is tipping, the frog is about to lose it and the dalmatian is on her feet.

oh, boy...the wheels are coming off...

...and everyone is melting down. But, it does make for a priceless picture!

reese in georgetown

2009-10-18T09:19:00.002-04:00

Reese and I had some new pictures taken by my amazingly talented friend Andrea a couple weeks ago and, as always, Andrea's work is fabulous!!!! We went to a couple of Andrea's favorite shoot sites in Georgetown and Reese was a champ! Passers-by were stopping left and right to say how beautiful Reese is, if I do say so myself. Reese loves the camera...as soon as Andrea brought it out in our first spot, Reese froze and just started smiling at the camera! I don't know where she learned that, I swear. Reese was a real trooper for about the first hour and a half, with all the wardrobe changes and direction, but the last ten minutes were a little rough--not even M&Ms could help us then.

After the shoot, Andrea posted the proofs for me to choose my favorites, so I got a piece of paper and pen to write down the shots I liked best. After one time through the entire list, I had written down 85 numbers--and I thought I was being selective! But, after about a hundred more times through the list, I had it narrowed down. Here are a few of my favorites:

These are also the pictures I also submitted to the Gap Casting Call. (what have we got to lose, right?) If you would like to vote for Reese so she can be the Fan Favorite, go here.

See more of Reese's photo shoot here.

Granny's party

2009-10-12T15:15:00.005-04:00

After our trip to Montana, we stopped in Utah for Granny's 90th birthday party. Reese was a champ for the entire 9-hour drive and we got to Utah just in time to see Granny play the organ at the Tabernacle! We heard a brief concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the full orchestra after their rehearsal, and when they finished Granny got to play the organ! It was really exciting and so special that we could be there to see it!

Family flew in from all over to celebrate with Granny and the rest of the weekend was full of golf, swimming, lunch at Sundance, BYU football, pool basketball, delicious brunches and desserts (and, of course, a trip to Cafe Rio), and catching up with cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and of course, Granny!

Here are a couple pics from the weekend:

This is what happens when you go swimming without a swim diaper. Her diaper was just getting bigger and bigger...until I was worried it would explode in the pool and changed her into another non-swim diaper. We only had to go through about 4 diapers before she was ready to get out of the pool.
Aunt Kelly/Mommacat was everybody's favorite in the pool...can you tell? Reese loved playing with her cousins, Ava and Eliza, and followed them all weekend long!

Naturally, Reese's aunts couldn't get enough of her and she can't get enough of them. I mean, can you blame her? Look how high they can throw her in the pool!

How's this for an action shot?!

It was such a fun weekend! It was so special to be able to celebrate Granny's birthday with so much family for the weekend. We need to have family reunions a lot more often! I love that Reese (and I!) have gotten to see so much of my sisters and brother and parents this summer. It is so much fun for me to see the relationships that they are each forming with her and how much Reese loves them.

Happy Birthday, Granny!

Dean turns 18!

2009-10-04T15:31:00.002-04:00

...and I can hardly believe it! We celebrated his birthday while I was in Montana last month and I had a blast trying lots of new cupcake recipes.

my two sous chefs hard at work. Tessa is on the whipped cream and my mom is following with the sprinkles.

this is the finished product of the swirly cupcakes: chocolate cake discs with a mini scoop of ice cream, topped with swirly whipped cream and finished with colorful nonpareils--delicious!

Dean is an all-star baseball player, so naturally, we had to have baseball cupcakes.

these might have been my favorite: snickerdoodle cupcakes with the most delicious 7-minute frosting sprinkled with cinnamon sugar...my mouth is watering
We pulled off a surprise party for Dean, despite the fact that Tessa, my mom and I were in the kitchen all afternoon making enough cupcakes to feed an army. I guess we do that enough anyway that he wasn't too suspicious. Dean is the best and we are all so proud of the man he has turned into! Happy Birthday, Dean!

(Since we have been home, Reese randomly says "Surprise!" and then starts singing happy birthday to Dean. It is pretty cute.)

reese-ie-roo

2009-09-18T23:50:00.007-04:00

Reese is being SO funny right now, and I don't want to forget any of the funny things that she is doing and saying. Here are a few of the highlights:

While shopping at a boutique in Whitefish, MT, Reese goes rack by rack and says "ooh, I love it" as she is touching the darling clothes. When she finds a zippy that she likes, with teddy bear ears on the hood, no less, she takes it off the rack and holds it up to me and says, "I try it on?" My mom and the sales clerk nearly died of laughter! And later, when I offered her one of two purses, she wanted both. One on each arm. The girl does love to shop! Figures.

Reese and her friend Max were taking turns fake laughing back and forth in their car seats one day on the way to town. I told Reese that I knew she was faking. A few days later, she laughs in the car and then says "that's fake!" (Maybe you had to be there for that one.)

A lot of the time, Reese talks to herself and I can't always understand what she is saying. One day we were in the car running errands and she was babbling in the back seat. As I listened closer, I realized that she was praying... she really likes to close her prayers with an enthusiastic "Amen!"

When Reese and I are in the grocery store and she wants to open something that we are planning to buy, I tell her that we have to go "beeps" first and then we can open it. (The scanner at the check-out makes a beeping noise with each item, and Reese likes to listen for all the beeps.) One day while we were in the kitchen, Reese found a bag of M&Ms that we bought the day before that she really wanted to open. After not getting her way immediately, she said "I go beeps!"...you see, she really wanted the same bag of M&Ms at the store the day before, and, since we had actually "gone beeps", how could I say no?

Reese loves to sing songs all day long...she especially loves to sing "Patty-cake, Patty-cake, baker man!" "Roll it, mark it B, for baby and me." But, my favorite part is that as soon as she is finished with the song, she claps and says, "Yay, Reese-ie-roo!" By the smile on her face, that might be her favorite part too.

While we were in Montana, Reese and Max loved to do everything together. If one was playing with the plastic cupcakes, the other wanted to play with the plastic cupcakes. One day, Max slipped on the end of a rug on the floor, fell face first, and started to cry. Seeing the attention that Max received from his mother, Reese lay down in the exact position that Max was in when he fell and started fake crying. The poor thing must be so starved for attention...either that, or she has totally learned to play me. I'm leaning toward the latter.

When Reese wants me to pick her up, she reaches up and says, "I hold you!" It melts me.