Christmas Lights!

Etta loves the lights at Locomotive Park. We did not get to go as often this year as last, but I think we still got down there six or seven times for her to enjoy.

The penguins are her favorite! She likes to hug each of them.



And since she also loves trains, the fact that she can "drive" one is out of this world!



The gingerbread men were a new addition this year. Of course we had to get a photo.



And dancing with her best guy.



And a final train photo op.

Play time

I have been loving watching Etta play. Her imagination is expanding every day and she is just too cute.

Grandma Barb got her a Thomas the Tank Engine set which she loves and Aunt Molly got her a Little People play house that she also loves. Santa brought a Little People Nativity which was also a hit. Almost every day we set up the train track and then put ALL of her Little People stuff around like a city. I think that I enjoy it at least as much as she does.

The barn was from Barb for Etta's 1st birthday. The bus was from Cathy just for fun. She also picked up a Grandma & Grandpa set too. We used Lincoln Logs to build fences and roads. The Little People house is a "hotel" where the people stay & eat after they get off the bus. The manger is the train station and people can visit Baby Jesus.

And maybe a bit disturbing...Etta has been putting various people on the track and having the train run them over. Which usually causes a derailment also. All in good fun I hope.

Fast Food Friday Returns!

On Fridays I do lessons with "The Girls" and then we go as a family to the gym. Bob works out and I swim. Then Etta joins me for a quick swim. (She loved it even more tonight because she got to wear the goggles that Santa put in her stocking.) Pretty soon Mae will get to join in the fun.

But adding kids to this equation has really created the need for a "fast" dinner. Even with s 3:30 snack Etta was asking for dinner as soon as we stepped out of the gym. So I have been trying to make things that are ready pretty much when we walk in the door.

Today I made "Black-and-Blue Pizza" from the Dec/Jan issue of Taste of Home. I was first drawn to it because of Bob. It's got blue cheese and bacon. Two of Bob's favorite things. So even though it didn't look right up my alley, I decided to try it because he was a good sport about the pea & lettuce soup that I made...[Yep, peas and lettuce. I try to go "meatless" once a week. Sometimes the recipes I try are good. Sometimes they are not...]

So today I made this pizza:

Black-and-Blue Pizzas (I got the recipe in half because I felt we only needed one)

• 2 loaves (1 lb. each) frozen bread dough, thawed [I made my own dough in a bread machine]

• 8 bacon strips, chopped

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips [I cut mine into bite size pieces]

• 5 tsp. blackened seasoning [I have no idea what this is, so I used pepper and another spice that I use for tacos]

• 3 shallots, finely chopped [I just used 1/2 a yellow onion that I had]

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 jar (15 oz.) Alfredo sauce [I made my own]

• 2-1/2 cups sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms [I just used regular fresh mushrooms]

• 1 can (3.8 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained [I used Kalamata because they were already open]

• 1/2 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil) [I used oven roasted tomatoes from this fall]

• 1-1/4 (5 oz.) blue cheese

• 3 Tbsp. minced fresh basil or 3 tsp. dried basil

• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme or 2 tsp. dried thyme

• 12 slices provolone cheese

• 3 oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved into strips or 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Roll dough into two 16-in. x 10-in. rectangles; transfer to ungreased baking sheets and build up edges slightly. [I used a square baking stone.]

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon; drain, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings. Sprinkle chicken with blackened seasoning; cook chicken in the drippings until no longer pink. Add shallots and garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Set aside.

Spread sauce over crusts; top with chicken mixture, bacon, mushrooms, olives and tomatoes. Sprinkle with blue cheese, basil and thyme; top with provolone and Parmesan cheeses.

Bake at 450 degree for 14-18 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

What was left by the time I finally got the picture. The provolone is layered on top, but there are a lot of yummy bits underneath - promise!

Now, I was a bit wary because blue cheese is not my favorite. But this pizza turned out GREAT! How great? Well, if you regularly read my blog you will know that I have decided to see if Etta will eat more of our actual dinner fare (she usually eats everything - but mostly deconstructed. Ie: no casseroles or things that are mixed up.) if I allow her to help create dinner. I did not let her help me prep any of the food, but did allow her to help sprinkle it on and spread it around.

This child does not eat pizza. Good old American, pepperoni pizza. She will eat dough dipped in sauce, pepperoni in slices and mozzarella, but not as pizza. She also has never chewed up and swallowed a mushroom and has spit out Kalamata olives a variety of times. But as she was helping me spread the goodies she repeatedly said, "Can I try dat? Can I have a punch [pinch] of dis? A bite of dat?"

I almost could not get the mushrooms on faster than she was eating them! She ate a couple of Kalamata olives, "Dat's yummy mommy!". And the ringer, "Can I try dat cheese mommy?" The blue cheese. Well, why not. And? I had to pry the container out of her hands before she went crazy and ate the rest of it. Wow, if you don't tell them it's yucky sometimes they never know!

But the real test would be if she actually ATE the pizza - as pizza - at dinner time. We started with "salads". She ate a little bag of baby carrots, some red cabbage and a handful of blueberries. "Etta, would you like some pizza?" "Yes mommy!" So I cut a square into strips and put two on her plate. Before I could even start my own those two were gone. "More pizza please!" And she ate the rest of that slice. "Etta, would you like more pizza?" "Yes please!" And went on to eat another half a slice.

Quite a break through. I would have to say that overall this dinner was a success. It really wasn't that time consuming to make and was very flavorful.

Baby Dedication

On Sunday, December 12th we dedicated Mae to the Lord. She is about the same age that Etta was when we dedicated her. (This post is from the day that Etta was dedicated.) Unlike other denominations the Baptists do not baptize babies. They wait until the person (child or adult) is ready to accept the Lord and then be baptized. (Bob and I were both baptized on October 17th, 2007.)

We gathered with friends and family to promise that we would raise Mae with respect to the Lord.

December was "baby month" (well, hello Baby Jesus) and I gave a testimony about our journey to our children.



Grandma Cathy and Baba Steve were in attendance.



Waiting patiently for mommy to be all done talking.



Pastor Matt doing the "ceremony".



Brad & Linda, Sherri and Lynn & Barb were also in attendance.

"Walking"

Etta loved her walker and I think that Mae is going to also. Mostly she just wants to see what sister is doing...

Little Chef

So, I really like to cook. A lot. I like to try out new recipes, whip up old favorites and just get in and create meals.

In my head it is a super great idea to let Etta help me cook.

In my head.

In reality, after we have gotten started, it's not such a super great idea anymore.

But...Etta now also really loves to cook/"help mommy bake". Which I guess is a good thing. It makes me be aware of what I am doing, try to look at it differently so that I can allow her to do things that she is capable of doing so she feels involved and kind of let go of my control issues.

Uh hem.

That is kind of a tough one for me.

But she really loves it. And being at the stage where she really is being a pretty good helper (most of the time) I figure that I need to capitalize. Either she will continue to grow in her love of cooking and spending time with me - or she will start to hate it and never want to help in the kitchen again. Either way, I really need to treasure this time.

Sooooooo, it was really great to get a box in the mail before Christmas from a friend that I had taught with way back in the day when I started at Jenifer. She was the art student teacher and a terrific person. (On a side note: Billie ended up creating a B-E-A-U-tiful flower girl basket for our wedding using a cheap basket, florist wire and pink ribbon. She is awesome.)

We gleeful tore in to this surprise, before Christmas gift and I was amazed at the bake set that she had sent for Etta. An apron and a full array of cooking aides. Measuring cups, measuring spoons, a silicon brush, a spatula and cooking "shears". Etta was ecstatic and wanted the apron on right then. It was a hit!

That in turn prompted me to empty one of my "mommy drawers" and give Etta an actual drawer to keep her own real cooking "stuff" in. Wow, two and a half and she already has nicer cookware than I do. Who would of thought.

Anyway, our first cooking exploration with the new stuff wasn't actually cooking, but mixing. We made our annual batch of holiday cheese spread. She got to wear her apron and use her spatula. And she really couldn't have been happier. Except for the fact that we got to try out the cheese on a roll when we were done mixing. (She ended up eating a ton of that stuff by the time it was gone. I am currently testing the theory that kids will eat what they make....)

New apron, new spatula, "old" chef's hat. And if you zoom in you can probably even read the recipe for the cheese spread!

I also read that 2-year-olds should be able to unload silverware and tear lettuce for salads. So, Etta does just that. The silverware is good for same-same sorting and she loves the hands on of the lettuce tearing. She also helped me roll up crescent rolls this afternoon and will help with dinner prep tonight. See - when I'm typing this it is starting to sound like a good idea again...we'll see when I am up to my eyeballs in help tonight!

Four Month Annibirthery

On Sunday Mae turned four months old. The pics are from that day, but her doctor's appointment was today so I thought I would wait to post until I had cold, hard stats. Let's see: 11 pounds 7 oz and 23.5 inches long. Not too shabby I guess. About the 25% for height and, to quote the doctor, between 5-10% for weight.

Okay, sounds good to me. So when I got home I pulled out Etta's baby book to see how much smaller she was at four months. Boy, was I surprised. Etta was 12 pounds 10 ounces and 24 inches long. And all this time I was thinking about how much bigger Mae must be than Etta was...These kids, they can surprise you!

Mae is a very happy baby. Most of the time. She is much more of a momma's girl than Etta ever was. But that is okay with me. I kind of missed out before. But it bums Bob out a bit, but he gets it.

She loves to watch big sister play with her toys so I set her up in her walker or on the floor gym and just let her watch. This gets big grins and lots of coos. On that subject, she "talks" WAY more than Etta ever did - until Etta actually started talking...

She's been sleeping through the night and is on a pretty good schedule. Although I go back to work at Beacon today, so that will all have to be adjusted now. But that's okay. She is a pretty agreeable baby.

I couldn't get her to stretch her legs out - but I also couldn't keep her from smiling!

Okay, maybe *one* leg...



SO happy!!