Dance Party!

We watched Tangled and had a dance party afterwards....

Portland Temple Trip

So we went out on Saturday since I have been clawing at the walls with a sick baby at home all week.  It was nice to get out of Forest Grove and Hillsboro and realize things happen elsewhere!  We first went to a baptism in our ward which was a great way to start.  There have been three convert baptisms within the last couple weeks which has been so cool to see.  We headed out to Portland afterwards.  I just love this temple.  It's fairytale like with the secluded area it's built on and all the trees nearby.  They also have an atrium right inside the foyer area which is super cool.  We also realized this was Ross's first trip to a temple!  How exciting!  Sweet little guy.  He's getting better, but his voice sounds like a raspy old man's now.  Soon he'll be back in tip top shape I hope.  Steve also has done really well on his 4 exams he took this last week which has been reassuring that graduate school is the right thing to do!  He loves what he's learning even though it's pretty intense...for both of us!  Anyway - here are some pics :)

Ross looked like he was reading his book earlier, but by the time we got the camera he discovered he could fit it in his mouth and wouldn't pose for us anymore!

Portland Temple!

Ross was very mesmerized with the fountain.  We kept trying to take a picture in front of it, but he would just turn around to stare at it...so this is what we got. :)

Dad trying to keep Ross's attention my way!

So pretty!

So I'm wearing tennis shoes - haha - I have some stress lines in the bones of my left foot and have to wear orthotics - they don't fit any of my current dressy shoes unfortunately, so I bring my tennis shoes when I'm doing a lot of walking.

This boy is the cutest thing ever!

Testing out the water

 Trying to take a picture with Ross...

 

    Corn

Chowder

      Yum!

 

Ingredients

·         5-6 medium peeled & chopped potatoes

·         1/2 cup diced celery

·         3-5 carrots chopped

·         1 chopped onion (white or red)

·         1 (11 ounce) can creamed corn

·         1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

·         1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

·         1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper or paprika

·         3/4 tsp salt

·         1/2 tsp parsley

·         Handful of cheese

 

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, place potatoes, celery, carrots and onion with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Drain.

2. Return vegetables to pot with creamed corn, corn, evaporated milk, cayenne, salt, and parsley over low heat. Simmer 20 minutes. Add cheese at the end.

 

Sick...I Mean Six Months Old...

I've heard how terrible it is to have a sick baby...I never realized what an understatement that is..Ross started being a little bit more fussy, but little did we know what was in store.  His nose got stuffier and his body got achier.  My heart just broke watching him try to sleep and not be able to because he couldn't breathe lying down.  That night was worse than any 7 nights grouped together when he was a newborn.  I had gotten used to getting a full night's sleep - and Ross just physically could NOT sleep!  Steve had exams all week which made me feel bad so I tried to stay up with Ross most of the night.  Poor Ross would try to hard to go to sleep in my arms and then his stuffy nose would wake him up a few minutes later.  We tried everything we could think of.  Saline, warm bath, sitting in the bathroom with the shower going, tylenol, rocking, a Baby Einstein DVD, we even tried to put him to sleep in his stroller.

You can see how miserable he was...and how desperate we were.  If it had worked Steve wanted to call it the Strolla-snoozer...unfortunately - it didn't work.

I made it until about 4AM when Steve got up to tag team me.  I got about 2 hours of sleep in before Steve had to get ready to go take his final.  I had to take him to school since Ross's 6 month check up was that morning too.  Ross fell asleep on the way driving so when I dropped Steve off I drove around for another 45 minutes to give the little guy some much needed sleep.  We went to his doctor's appointment...and I was ready to pull my hair out.  Ross was completely miserable by that point and was bawling his little eyes out.  So sad!  He didn't have an ear infection, but just a little fever and a terribly stuffy nose.  We nixed the shots till next week and got him some ibuprofen.  From there on out he started getting better.   That night I drove him around for him to fall asleep.  Steve came home sick too which made for chicken soup for dinner.

This recipe is super easy too - love it.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil

2 stalks celery thinly sliced

1 small onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, thinly sliced

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into ½ inch cubes

6 -8 cups of chicken broth

2 tbsp.  chopped fresh parsley (or I did 1 tbsp of dried parsley)

2 cups medium egg noodles

Salt and pepper

 

Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add celery, onion, and carrots and cook stirring for about 5 minutes until they soften.  Add the chicken cubes and cook until they are no longer pink.  Cook the noodles until almost tender but still firm as directed, drain and set aside.

Heat the chicken broth and parsley in the same pot the noodles were in (saves on dishes!)  Add the vegetables and chicken and bring just to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.  Add the noodles and cook for another 5 minutes until noodles are completely tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Then serve with your favorite crackers or grilled cheese sandwich! Yum!

The dinner that night soothed noses and bodies.  That night he slept in his carseat next to his bed with the humidifier going right on him. I fell into a coma of sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow after a long night and a long day with no naps.  Steve got up a few times to lull Ross back to sleep, but he slept which was an improvement!!  He's been on the upswing since thank goodness.  I was a walking zombie that whole time.  That whole "running on no brain cells" thing definitely came into play.  

We had Ross's 6 month mark!  He's getting so big. 

He loves to play with his sounds all the time saying "ba ba ba ba" or "ya ya ya" or "da da da".  He's also getting into that stranger danger phase which isn't so fun.  I need to get out more so he can see and interact with other people aside from boring old mom. 

He reaches more for things and like to chew on his fingers and suck on his thumb.

Dad can always get a smile out of him.

  We also were experimenting with his bag of tricks and this is what we found...

The boy can sit!  With a little support and some wobbling...we just might get there...

And here it is caught on video since sitting cannot be captured with merely a camera...

Posing for a Picture

So I uploaded what photos we had taken onto the computer and was just browsing through them and found these back to back...

Ross hazy-eyed

Ross hazy-eyed again

Mom hazy-eyed (P.S.  Ross has the cutest smile ever!)

And AGAIN...Ross hazy-eyed

We tried to redeem ourselves here...but alas -another hazy-eyed pic

It's about time to give up trying to take a good picture...

And this one is decent...

And here's the winner!  Cute boys ready for a walk!

 

My First Haircut

So pretty much since I've been married I've been attempting to learn how to cut Steve's hair...but when you have to go at least 6 weeks between cuts...it's really easy to forget how to do it.  Steve's mom has tried to show me multiple times.  Finally the last of his cuts before we moved, I mostly did it by myself.  A few days ago...I had no mother-in-law to check me off or remind me how far to cut...the daunting task presented itself...and I am happy to say - for the most part - it went well!

Cutie!

He is a handsome stud! :)

My cute boys!

Ross Stuck in His Bumbo

His legs are too chubby to enjoy the benefits of his Bumbo anymore...what a sad realization...

 

Cookie Fest

So I absolutely love chocolate chip cookies - and I'm sure there are a million recipes out there.  I got this one from my mom who has tweaked it to her liking.  I have been bribed many times to make these cookies all growing up.  I still remember making them almost weekly for my Sunday school teacher who somehow would convince me we needed them every week for class to operate.  I got pretty good at making them.  Now that I have my beloved KitchenAid it takes all of 10 minutes to whip these out ready to be baked.  I thought I might just post this for any interested people...and also for me to have access to it wherever I go.  They are quite delightful I must say.

 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever

  

Recipe:

1 1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

3 1/3 cups flour

1 cup or a whole bag of chocolate chips

Cream together shortening, butter, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs.  Mix in baking soda, salt, and vanilla.  Add flour and mix well.  Add in the chocolate chips.  I always like a lot of them so I do a whole bag.  For best results use real butter and real vanilla.

Set oven to 350 degrees.  Spoon balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet or wax paper.  Bake 11-12 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy yourself!