New, New, New

What's The Big Deal?

When I went into Zoey's room this morning, the sight of her crazy hair was almost too much for me to handle! She looked so cute, standing there, waiting to get picked up...completely oblivious to what I was freaking out over. After getting a good laugh as well, Michael went and got the camera so I could document just how great it was!

"Uh, good morning. Isn't anyone going to pick me up?"

"Enough already, I'm hungry!"

Eating snack in the stroller

We made a stop at Trader Joe's and picked up some dried fruit for Zoey. She loves her raisins, so I'm hoping she'll love dried pineapple, apricots and cranberries. (The pineapple was an instant hit!)

Eyes in the road, hands at 10 and...horn?

"Don't mess with me while I'm eating!"

Our final stop of the afternoon was Costco. 

We experienced some crazy wind while trying to get from the car to the store! 

We had to pull our cart over to the side, (take a picture), and make ourselves presentable again! 

By the end of the trip, I was anxious to head back to the car and get home, but the receipt checker at the door, had other plans for me. She was so taken by Zoey, that she took a few (too many) extra seconds after signing off on my items, and drew her a picture! 

Cute, but totally unnecessary!

I wanted to tell the checker, "She's just gonna try to eat it!", but I refrained.

For her bath tonight, I finally broke out the cup I brought home from the hospital after I had Zoey. My nurse insisted that I take it with me, promising that it would come in handy during Zoey's baths. I forgot all about it until now, and I have to say, see was right (for the most part) I love that the lid creates a spout for easy hair washing, but it's a pain to have to remove the lid each time I want to fill the cup. A cup with a built in spout would be much better... 

She refused to let go of the cup until she got the lid on it!

Pretty impressive :)

Brunch For Dinner

Getting Zoey to eat breakfast can be a real challenge some mornings, but today she was all about her baked apples. I spoon fed her some oatmeal, and, in between bites, she practiced scooping up the apples with her fork.

Being given permission to stab, stir, mix up, and fling food, puts the biggest smile on her face!

More and more these days, the food is making it directly into her mouth (as opposed to her chin or cheek, and then down her bib, then into her hand, and then eventually into her mouth! :)

She will often pick up and turn over (or even throw) whatever vessel she's eating out of, so I got suction cup bowls to cut down on some of the mess. While they work pretty well, her fascination with them just leads to her lifting up the whole tray! (*frustrated sigh*)

After running an errand in Downtown Seattle, Zoey and I stopped by my mom's work and joined her for lunch. We ate down in the building's food court, and Zoey had a great time walking around, exploring her surroundings, and entertaining those near us. Not only was she talking a lot, but she also showed off one of her newest skills: Stomping! So fun to watch; she had us all cracking up!

In Granny's office building, waiting for her to come down the elevator.

I know I say this a lot these days, but...she looks like such a BIG GIRL here! My little baby is growing up!

I absolutely adore this outfit that my mom got her! 

It's a good thing I got to enjoy her in it before she blew out her diaper and had to be stripped. 

Not wanting to put clothes back on, she toddled off into the kitchen and sought refuge underneath her highchair! 

Naked baby on the loose!

We are having friends over for brunch this weekend and I wanted to practice one of the dishes ahead of time, just to make sure I know what I'm doing. 

Southwestern Quiche with a cornbread crust! I've raved about this dish ever since trying it at our nephew's baptism brunch, and I'm super excited to impress our friends on Saturday!

Cornbread, red onion, cilantro, linguica, egg, and more cilantro!

Topped with shredded cheese!

Ta-Da! Very tasty!

The whole dish went back into the oven after I took this picture, because I couldn't tell what was melted cheese and what was uncooked egg. Didn't want to take any chances. (When I pulled it out the second time, it was a little crispy, but unquestionably cooked!) And unfortunately, this recipe helped me discover that I don't care for linguica (I don't remember not liking it the first time I had it...). The next time I make this, I'm definitely using a sausage I know and love.

Homemade Granola

Clapping along to "If You're Happy And You Know It"

Playing Peek-A-Boo! :)

Where's Zoey?...

...There she is!!

When she reveals herself, she says "Da!"

This morning we got a visit from our friend Sean, and he brought Zoey an adorable spring outfit and hat for her birthday! 

So cute! 

Makes me think of Little House on the Prairie :)

Michael made another batch of his homemade granola. He keeps coming up with different combinations of ingredients; most of which are pretty tasty! He enjoys it as his breakfast cereal and I am constantly finding myself sneaking handfuls as a snack.

This batch contains rolled oats, sliced almonds, pepitas, dried blueberries, and dried strawberries! Yum.

Pirate Party

Today we attended Zoey's cousin Ryan's 1st birthday party! His party was pirate themed and it was so fun to watch the kids play; they had a blast!

My little pirate...gnome? :)

With the Birthday Boy! Adorable!

There were pirate themed games and snacks:

In a "boat" filled with balloons!

(The bigger kids had a separate "boat", in which they went absolutely crazy! Squeals of joy and balloons flying everywhere!) 

We even went fishing for "treasure".

Zoe caught a Bambi book!

Posing in front of the shark.

In case you didn't know, real pirates only wear one shoe! ;)

Zoey was interested in the gift we gave Ryan!

Ryan, on the other hand, appeared to choose his favorite gift rather quickly!

His mom got him is own basketball! (He LOVES to play with balls)

I knew that Zoey was going to be wiped out from all of the fun and take a nice nap on our drive home. I kept her coat off and rolled up her sleeves, to try to keep her from sweating too much, but it didn't work... 

When this happens, we affectionately call her "Sweaty Betty" :)

After a quick change into a cooler, short sleeved, onesie, she was ready to roll!

She appears to understand that driving is serious business! 

"What?! No one told me it was against the law to drive without pants on!"

This picture cracks me up!:

Like I said before, the puppy can be a bit startling when he first gets going.

Zoey is looking at it like, "Why are you yelling? I'm right here. You need to chill..."

It was great to watch Zoey play with her cousins and their extended family. It got me thinking about the future and how, for the rest of Zoey and Ryan's lives, their birthdays will be just 5 days apart (and their parties, just a week or two). There's a lot of fun to look forward to in every April from here on out!

Third Times A Charm (Oatmeal Edition)

So, today was my third time making a batch of oatmeal for Zoey, and I think I finally nailed it! The first two batches were too thick (tough) and dry, and I felt that the clumps were too big. As a matter of fact, when my sister-in-law was over watching Zoey, she tried some and asked Michael if it was quinoa! Yikes! I don't know that I thought it resembled quinoa, but the fact that her first guess wasn't oatmeal, is not good! Hahaha.

This time around, I ground the steel cut oats until they were a fine powder. Then, I slowly added them to gently bowling water, making sure to stir constantly. (Last time, the water was boiling too rapidly, and the oats firmed up, almost right away!)

Oatmeal powder!

I used a little bit more water than was suggested, and it turned out much better! It was much easier to manipulate than the previous batches, making the transfer to storage containers a breeze.

She loves using her forks and spoons, but still refuses to hold them the way we show her.

She's so dainty with it :)

More confirmation that this batch is a winner! 

Oatmeal, with a dash of ground cinnamon...yum, yum. 

Following the doctor's orders and enjoying a snack:

My pretty girl and her box of raisins.

I spent some time just watching her from the kitchen; she looked like such a big girl, sitting by herself, eating her snack! 

Of course, on a day when she doesn't need to wear her cold weather hat, she hands it to me repeatedly, wanting me to put it on her?!?

We went to West Seattle to visit my aunt this afternoon, and she had a birthday present for Zoey that she was just dying to give her! As soon as I saw that it was a Dance & Play Puppy, my first thought was, "Oh man, Mike is going to just looove this!" (being sarcastic, of course). He's always thought that Zoey's Laugh & Play Puppy is a little creepy. Lol.

The important thing: Zoey really likes it! She quickly learned that touching his feet made him dance and sing. Once we got home, she continued to explore it and eventually started dancing and clapping along to the songs.

Press the button on his foot and then...

get back because he can be a bit startling!