more meals at home!

so part of the goal of me going part-time was more meals at home (and a bit more of a necessity with less income!)  here's our menu from the past week:

• Monday - Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage (I never made it out to the grocery store, so it ended up being a smorgasbord of what was available) :)  
• Tuesday - Chicken Picatta
• Wednesday - Beef & Snow Peas (love this recipe!  super easy and yummy)
• Thursday - Dr. Pepper Ribs (first time we'd tried these, they were so good!  cooking ribs in the oven, then on the grill is definitely the way to go for fall off the bone ribs)
• Friday - Food Trucks! 
• Saturday - Taco Salad

snippets from this week

Tummy time!  Getting stronger every day :)

so we've swaddled addie since the beginning and have finally transitioned out!  she's started rolling over more in her sleep and also wakes herself up by fighting to get her arms out so we started by leaving one arm out, then both arms, then tried (and failed) leaving her completely arms and legs out, then settled on a wearable blanket :)  she seems pretty happy and cozy in it so we're happy too :)  i'm also excited to see what new crazy sleep positions result from her new freedom :)

Ah, the freedom of both arms out!

The new sleep duds.

Warming up to the jumper, but still not a 100% fan.  She doesn't realize she can jump or turn around yet!

Still a big fan of her toes :)

Looking cute in her outfit from Aunt Linda, Uncle John & Ross.

Of COURSE she's a Wilco fan :)

Addie proudly witnessing Nate closing out the front half of his 99 beers card.

still not sure about that eye color...

hazel?  green?  blue? brown?  still no idea!

you all knew i'd be doing this all the time...

i seriously can't stop taking pictures of this kid :)

Such a great little model :)

Those chubby cheeks!

Still in love with her newly discovered feet :)

swimming again!

we spent a great day with the conroys in the pool- and addie loved it again :)  she wore her new suit from aunt laura this time and it looked super cute!

Quite proud of herself, isn't she? :) 

Ready to swim!

It's easy to relax when the water is 87 degrees!

Swimming with Mommy!

A very relaxed group :)

saturday nights and sunday mornings

it's been a great weekend so far :)  i had lunch with a friend on friday, here's addie and i rocking the sling at qdoba:

What's a burrito Mom?

despite the heat, we headed to the ocoee food truck round-up on friday evening with a few friends- lots of the area food trucks gather every month and there is quite a selection!  there were a ton of tempting items... i almost went for the mac&cheese that had bacon and other yummy adds but i ended up with a philly cheese steak complete with cheese wiz :)  nate got a delicious burger ("the western": Angus Beef, Bacon, BBQ, Fried Onion Ring, Lettuce & Tomato on Olde Hearth brioche) and we split some seriously tasty fries.  all of our items came from the treehouse truck.  we followed that up with some yum yum cupcakes that were also delish!

Growing food this is not.

Addie & Daddy enjoying the ambiance (it was SO hot!)

saturday night was this weekend's big event, the bottlenecks played in winter garden!  they're on the stage in the back left corner of this photo- the place was packed!  as usual, friends and family turned out by the dozens so we had a great crowd and a fantastic time :)  i always joke that it feels like a wedding- totally hectic and so many people to talk to- i love it!  nate and i also got a babysitter for the first time!  i was a little nervous of course, but it went okay :)  she was asleep when i got home and seems to have survived a night without me putting her to bed ;)  i have to admit, i was super excited for her to wake up in the middle of the night to eat so she'd know i was there- i've never run to her crib so fast when she woke :)  weird, i know.

The Bottlenecks and their fans pack Mooncricket :)

today is a lazy day, nate just ran to the grocery.  i think he's still jealous of my cheesesteak from friday night so he's trying to recreate it using an asian spiced steak leftover from dinner last week... i'm skeptical but his leftover creations usually turn out pretty tasty :)

Addie via the iPhone

i used to scoff about using an iPhone as a main camera.... and i still wouldn't tote it around as my only camera, but boy it sure comes in handy when you want a picture right then and there!  almost every day i send at least 1-2 photos of addie to nate so he can see what she is up to, or for that matter, take photos of the 2 of them.  here's a collection from this week:

Her interest in Cleo is growing.  Cleo seems to be growing more wary by the day (not a fan of the stray slaps and kicks!)

Busy in her play gym (still her entertainment of choice!)

Cleo reluctantly participates in this family photo.

Tummy time!

Checking out her name on the fridge while I cook dinner.

Loving the new in-flight entertainment while at Target :)

Still in her jammies, getting reading for 4 month photos!
 

Showing off a new outfit :)

shots shots shots shots!

addie had her four month shots today (went well!) and also found her feet in the past few days.  here she is with her fancy band-aids this afternoon:

addie bird... or fish?

we took addie in the pool for the first time this past weekend and she loved it!  i think it helped that she had the perfect outfit for it:

I'm a model....you know what I mean!  And I do my little turn on the catwalk...

i forgot my camera so these are from my phone but sarah got some great pics that i will update later :) 

Oh the flowers!  And the hat!  I could just die.

Almost ready for the pool! 

I got in the pool while holding her and she didn't even really react- probably helped that the water was 85 degrees!  Once she was comfortable in the water, we put her in her awesome pool float and she leaned back, rested her head on the pillow and kicked her feet.  i kid you not.  this kid is a born floridian :)

Swimming with Daddy!

avocado egg rolls

Serious yumminess.  Go make them.  Go make them right now.

although my #1 food priority when i'm in arizona is always mexican food (and lots of it!), i also always want to go to kona grill to have their avocado egg rolls.  they are really really good.  i mean.. avocado.. in an egg roll...what's not to like?  they key to the amazing-ness is the delicious dipping sauce they come with.  last time mom and i tried to figure out what was in it in order to re-create it and we only got so far as cilantro and vinegar.  thank goodness for the internet because i found a copycat recipe that turned out almost exactly like them (and there's no way we could have guessed our way into this one)!  i also had no idea i could make egg rolls turn out at home.  now i'm going to try a bunch more recipes involving egg roll wrappers :)  but for now, all i need are these.  forever.  and ever.  they are that good.

 –Sauce–
 * 1/4 cup olive oil
 * 4 teaspoons white vinegar
 * 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
 * 1/2 teaspoon tamarind pulp  (i looked EVERYWHERE and finally gave up.  substitute 1/2 tsp orange juice with a few drops of lime juice)
 * 1/2 cup (or slightly less) honey
 * 1 pinch turmeric
 * 1/2 cup chopped cashews
 * 2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
 * 2 garlic cloves, minced
 * 2 green onions, chopped
 * 1 tablespoon sugar
 * 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
 * 1 teaspoon cumin

 –Egg Rolls–
 * 2 avocados, pitted, and chunked
 * 3 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes
 * 2 tablespoons fresh chopped red onion
 * 2 dashes salt
 * 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
 * 4-6 egg roll wrappers (depending on how much filling your mixture yields)
 * 1 egg, beaten
 * peanut oil, for frying 

1. Begin by making the sauce: add vinegars, honey, tamarind (and other spices–cilantro, turmeric, black pepper, garlic) into a bowl and whisk. Add chopped green onions, sugar, and chopped cashews.  Don't worry about chopping all that finely, it's all going in the food processor anyway :)
2. Microwave for 1 minute, and use a blender, or food processor to puree the mixture. Pour mixture into a serving bowl, stir, and refrigerate (covered) until ready to use.
3. Prepare the avocado egg roll filling: add 2 avocados, onion, tomatoes, cilantro and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine (avocado should still be in fairly large chunks).
4. Layout 1 egg roll sheet like a diamond and fill with 2 tablespoons avocado filling (can use more or less based on your personal preference). 
5. Brush edges with egg yolk.
6. Wrap bottom corner snugly over filling, then sides, then top corner.
7. Prepares around 4-6 egg rolls depending on how much filling your avocados yield and how full you make the egg rolls. 
8. Skillet fry egg rolls in 3 tablespoons peanut oil until golden brown on both sides. Cook to brown corner edges as well. 
9. Transfer to a plate and serve with Asian dipping sauce. Makes 4-6 egg rolls. Enjoy! 

The dipping sauce.  Snapped on my iPhone so I could brag to my mom and sister about it.

Addie is 4 months old today!

Here's the series I've been taking all along.  First the full baby shots :) (gorgeous quilt is from Anita).  I don't see a lot of difference between months 3 & 4!

and the headshots (you can actually tell in these that her hair is growing back):

fun or frustrated?

you be the judge :) is addie having fun or is she ridiculously frustrated in this video?  (spoiler alert, she doesn't do anything super interesting in this 2 minute video but i find it really funny since i'm her mother, especially at the end when she has to catch her breath purely from batting at the toy with such ferocity) :)

is it fall yet?

i know it's just finally gotten hot, but i'm over it!  looking forward to cooler weather and beach trips :)  but in the mean time, we are enjoying the a/c and dressing addie in adorable little sundresses!

nate's practicing for CROW this week (Canoe Races of the World).  it's a great cast activity where you show up to magic kingdom bright and early (6am-ish) and with the help of 9 other people, row a concrete canoe as fast as your arms can carry you around tom sawyer's island.  we've both been participating for years although this is now the second year in a row i haven't.  last year i was pregnant but couldn't share yet so i just lied and told everyone i was too busy.  despite the ungodly early hour, it's great fun :)  it's also pretty incredible to see magic kingdom empty first thing in the morning!

the #1 question people ask me about addie when making random small talk is "is she a good sleeper?" or some variation.  i've found myself doing it too, i'm not sure why :)  and well, she used to.  lately she's been up quite a bit more.  i go back and forth between being all zen about it and pulling out every book i have on baby sleep and developing countless strategies.  they inevitably all go to hell the minute she starts crying at 2:30 am of course :)  i should probably just stick to the zen side of things ;)

workin' 9 to 5...

er... not quite so much anymore :)  but i'm on day two of my new gig and it's going well so far!  here's addie at her desk while i was at mine:

What's up working world?

she's also been drooling like it's her job.  we think she may be teething already, she's been doing a whole lot of fussy ear grabbing!

Drooling. It's what I do.

she's also interested in tasting just about everything she sees :)

Are you going to eat that?