Tuesday, November 30, 2010

.20. months old



* We are getting closer to the 2 year old mark.
* BUT, we have reached the terrible two's! Yikes!
* All four molars are now in place, now we are working on the k9's. These are MUCH MORE painful than the molars and have given us MANY sleepless nights!
* This toddler knows every button on her mom and likes to push them (even exhaust them) multiple times a day!
* Came down with her first Ear Infection. (In California) Needless to say, the plane ride home was torture!
* Then, came down with Croup a few days after that. Poor tyke can't catch a break.
* Still obsessed with Shrek. We are trying to limit showing her the movie to once a day. (Haven't been successful yet!)
* LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Barney. And loves us to sing the "I Love You" song.
* Slowly liking the potty.
* LOVES Jello! (Who doesn't?)
* LOVES her daddy more than anything!


Thursday, November 4, 2010

two recipes worth sharing!




Last Christmas my Father-in-Law bought us a Blendtec Blender.
He swore up and down that this thing was amazing.
I honestly thought it was just another blender with a few extra cool gadgets.
I was wrong.
I use this thing probably twice a day now!
We make smoothies, soups, guacamole and breads.
Yes, breads!
It came with a recipe book that has some AMAZING recipe's in it!
Avery is a little weird on textures, but their recipe for banana bread is yummy & she'll eat it too!

Banana Bread
2 egg whites
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 bananas-peeled and broken in half. (I use 3. I like more of a banana flavor.)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ingredients in blender jar in order as listed and secure the lid. Allow the blender to run for 30 seconds, or until batter is well mixed. Pour into sprayed 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until golden.

It is SOOOO yummy!!!

Another staple in our diets is guacamole. (Avacadoes for that matter. I eat atleast one a day!) We put it over salads, use it as a dip, garnish, etc.

Guacamole
3 avacadoes-peeled and pitted
1/2 cup red bell pepper-quartered
1 Roma tomatoe-quartered
1/2 small lemon-peeled
1/4 yellow onion-peeled
3/4 tsp salt

Place ingredients into blender jar and secure the lid. Press Pulse button and release after a few seconds. You may need to stop pulsing and use spatula to scrape ingredients towards blade. Press 8 times or until desired consistency is reached. (Again, Avery is weird on textures, so we mix it until smooth.)

We also make yummy smoothies every morning. (And sometimes for dinner too.) We use the simplest ingredients and it comes out deelish!

Example:

2 handfuls of red grapes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 banana
handful of frozen berries of choice (We like mango's and strawberries!)
handful of ice

That's it! You can throw just about anything in....

Anyways, thought I'd share a few of our favorites! Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Grandpa Bob

Over Halloween weekend, my Grandpa Bob came into town.
This is my mom's dad who lives in Seattle.
We only get to see him twice a year, so we were REALLY excited!
A few years ago he had heart surgery and we weren't sure if he was going to make it.
We are so grateful he is still with us and that we get to see him more than we used to!!








Sister's! (They don't look related at all!;))

My Aunt and Uncle are moving to Nebraska, so we had a farewell dinner at MacCool's.

 
My best attempt to get one with Ave. She looks a little possessed.