Grammy and the Girls

Cutting Garden with the Girls

Hip hip hooray

The cousins are here and more arriving tomorrow!!!

Such a Two Year Old

After refusing to use the bathroom at my mom's house (claiming he didn't need to go despite his little dance) we began the drive home. Asa started reciting what he would do, "Go home, drive car, use potty."

He wasn't able to make the drive.

I put Asa on the potty while I cleaned up only to come back and find him enjoying splashing his feet in the potty.

So I moved him into the tub only to come back and find him wearing a soaking hat.

He's two alright!

Asa Sayings

Driving in the car:
A: Mom I need my phone. (I hand him his Woody and Buzz phone)
A: Uh, Hi Dada.  We're driving.  Yeah, gotta go talk to Buzz.  (hangs up the phone and opens it again)
Hi Buzz.  Yeah uh huh - go play with Amara.

In the tub:
A: momma I cookin
Me: whatcha making?
A: oh water
Me: can you make some birthday cake (his normal request in the kitchen)?
A: no momma just water! (as if you could make anything else in the tub...)

I took Asa to the track with me assuming he could just ride in the stroller or play in the middle. But he was only content to ride for a couple laps. "I run momma I run." And he ran over half a mile in jeans and his fedora! Every time I'd ask him if he wanted a ride he'd just say, " oh no I run!" And if I ever got a little ahead,"wait momma! Wait!"
Too cute! Not the best workout by any means, but so cute!

Tuckered Out

Asa's been making great strides in potty training !! but major set-backs in sleeping. I'm guessing (and hoping) that this is just due to learning his new skill. It's been very tiring, I must admit, but this just made me crack up. I found him completely conked out in Ida's room on her bouncy seat.

And I have to say - I love the iPad for many many reasons but it has been a fantastic potty training tool! I won't go so far as to say that Apple potty trained Asa but it sure helped!

Baking Night: Parmesan and Prosciutto Mini Muffins

Rachel and I have begun a weekly tradition of Baking Night. Depending on when the kiddos go down we can end up baking into the wee hours but it's been loads of fun. Granted the late night makes mistakes more likely but so far everything's been edible. We started out with some sweets - we made a killer chocolate cake that also freezes really well. Freezing was an attempt to keep us from eating it all at once, but it turns out that frozen chocolate cake is also really delicious. We've started shipping out the baked goods.

This past week we did a Weight Watcher Muffin recipe. Rachel had a really cute pan from IKEA that we had to use which made them really tall and skinny. I wasn't able to eat it due to dairy affecting Ida, but they smelled amazing and both Rachel and Mike claimed they tasted just as good. So here you go:

Parmesan and Prosciutto Muffins: (our version should be titled Pepper Jack and Ham Muffins)

4 spray(s) cooking spray

2/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour

2/3 cup(s) whole wheat flour

1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (we didn't have this so we used pepper jack)

4 tsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

2 large egg white(s), at room temperature (we used one whole egg)

4 oz Casa Italia Prosciutto, or other proscuitto crudo, thinly sliced, minced (we didn't have this so we used 2 slices of leftover bacon and ham)

1/2 cup(s) part-skim ricotta cheese (didn't have this so we used neufchatel cream cheese)

1/2 cup(s) low-fat milk

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

(I also think a bunch of chives or sliced green onions would add nice flavor and color.)

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Spray two 12 indentation mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
  
  
• In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, cheese, sugar, baking powder, salt and pepper.
  
  
• In a second bowl, whisk together egg whites, prosciutto, ricotta, milk and melted butter until the mixture is fairly smooth.
  
  
• Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients; stir with a wooden spoon just until there are no pockets of dry flour in the mixture. Spoon into prepared muffin tins, about 1 1/2 tablespoons per indentation.
  
  
• Bake until browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 12 to 14 minutes. Cool in tins for a couple of minutes before turning muffins out and cooling them on a wire rack. Yields 1 muffin per serving.

Bathtime

Look at that little chub! She's getting some cheeks and a belly!

Just want to smooch that little face!

Ida One Month

Ida is actually a little past one month but it was just too crazy when we hit her one month bday!  She's growing like a champ, getting a full belly, and managing to put up with her older brother.  Asa loves her like crazy which means that her little hands and arms and toes get yanked and "high-fived" and kissed frequently.
We already can't imagine life without this sweetie!
(unfortunately this picture is a little fuzzy but here she is meeting her cousin Helen)

Ida got to meet our neighbor Emily!


And her nursery is ALMOST done - I've returned one set of curtains and we're waiting for the next ones to arrive.  It is soo hard to find cute/classy blackout curtains!

Asa Sayings

While cleaning up for lunch I splashed water on myself.  Asa looked at me with a shocked face,
"Oh no Mama! Go use the potty!  Come on come on!"
He grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the bathroom while I tried to explain that I'd spilled.  He kept insisting,
"Come on Mommy, use the potty."
And wasn't happy until he shut me in the bathroom.

On another day we were praying over lunch.
Asa, "Dear God,"
Me, prompting, "what next?"
Asa, "Wanna bite?"

Owens Visit!

We're still here! We really are - things have just been a little bit insane! In the last few weeks we celebrated Mike's bday, the Owens visited, Mike's been travelling, I've been working on weddings, and our little kids got sick - phew! I'm just now taking a brief break from completely disinfecting our house while they nap. They're both on the mend and Asa was quite a trooper through the nasty flu bug. Here's just a few pictures from the Owens' trip. I'll finish editing and post more in a bit!

Helen's gotten sooo big!

Trying hard to get a cousins shot.

Our Favorite Leapfrog Toys

I was talking with my friend Hope today about our favorite kid toys while our little boys were playing.  These are hands down some of the best purchases we've made!  Asa loves them and on top of that he's got his alphabet down pat.  Anything LeapFrog is super popular here!  (If only there was a leapfrog potty training toy...)