Construction

One simple paint job has turned into a month long project! Two weeks ago we picked a paint color for our living room and instead of waiting for our time off at Christmas, Dave wanted to get right on it. The problem is that as he began to paint we realized the crazy wood trim has got to go...DRAMA...and then as we continued to deliberate he realized one wall was peeling, so we had to peel the paint off one wall...note picture above...after lots of back and forth, Dave bought a spray paint gun, plasticed off the whole room and went to town...one problem...the gun didn't work well. So he took it back and began to do it by hand (did I mention the top trim is dental molding?). OK. In the mean time he decided to take down the dry wall on two of the walls because he could feel a breeze coming through the outlets. Fortunately he has decided to wait to tear down the dry wall...well he is going to wait a couple weeks. In the mean time he is finishing up priming the trim and the wall of the other two walls in our living room. So, for the time being we are living in a construction zone. It could be worse, at this point we don't use the living room, but Dave is hoping for that to change once we finish this construction.

Cooking...

We have been busy! One of these days I will post about all our happenings over the last 6 weeks, but until then I thought I would post about my cooking spree.

Last week Annelise and I made a trek to the Farmer's Market to pick up some yummy fruit and veggies. We bought so much stuff that it took me a couple days to get it all in the fridge, I had to cook a bunch of it first! Here is a list (I am sure you are SO interested):

onions

potatos

tomatoes

avocados

serrano peppers

poblano peppers

red bell peppers

garlic

sweet potatoes

green beans

spinach

carrots

broccoli

cilantro

basil

green onions

leeks

celery
butternut squash
zucchini
rosemary
shitake mushrooms

I spent $70. After we shopped I started too cook, yea! Zucchini rosemary soup, red pepper soup, pumpkin soup, spinach mascarpone soup. I made some beans (in the crock pot which worked great-cooked on high for 3 hours and they were ready) and then made some chicken chili, turkey chili, turkey meatballs (which didn't turn out that well).

I love cooking and Hadleigh has been a great little helper. She loves to smell everything!

Here is the new kick...over the weekend I met a dietician who told me all about high fructose corn syrup, just what a mama wants to hear about! Upon hearing about it I did what any relatively psycho mama would, run home and check the lables on every piece of food in the house! I knew that the yogurt I had been feeding HC had the syrup in it, but wasn't sure about the other things in my cabinet. Fortunately I did not have a lot with the syrup in it, only a couple granola bars which have been sitting in the cabinet for several months (since I have been making my own granola bars...yummy), and maple syrup (shocker) and then the yogurt. The dietician gave me a couple ideas about how to incorporate yogurt without the syrup...unless someone knows a kind that doesn't have it...she suggested buying plain yogurt and adding jelly (that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup). I did that yesterday and the girls LOVED it. I used to make my own yogurt, but it is so easy to just buy the little containers...ah well...this is almost as easy and a bit more healthy.

I have also been a little lazy about cooking, and have been using a little more red meat than I usually like to eat. It is hard because there are just some things that are better with beef (meatballs), etc. So if anyone has a yummy recipe for meatballs without beef feel free to pass them along.

OK, Annelise is up and needs some attention...happy thanksgiving!

Star Wars

Erica sent this to me and it was just too good not to post! If you are a Star Wars fan, you will enjoy this.

Chairs

Before:

After:

Dave bought these lovely chairs and the matching table from a pub in Memphis (I think that is the story). At some point after he bought them 8 years ago he recovered them and you can see what they have looked like for the last 8 years. I decided it was time for a change, so I picked out this fabric and recovered them on Sunday. It was a fun project, one of many that are on my list in the upcoming months.

We are currently picking out paint colors for the living room, hallway/entry, and our two downstairs bathroom. Dave won't let me touch the man-room...he just wants me out and says he is going to make it his secret project (like Ty on Extreme Home Make-over). I reminded him that if he locked me out of that room for a week I would not be able to do the laundry (since the laundry room is off the man-room). He insists that he will take care of the laundry that week. We will see, though I think that room is not as close to being done as some of the others.

We are anticipating a tax return this year, so we are hoping to get another couch (so that we can watch TV on a couch, as opposed to sitting on the floor), and a couple other small pieces of furniture. I am also looking into making a couple shades for our windows, etc. It should be fun times beginning in December.

Miss Hadleigh Claire is 32 Months

I am starting to wonder what I am going to do once Hadleigh turns 3. Maybe the posts will begin to read "Miss Hadleigh Claire is 3.1...3.2..." It just doesn't seem right to say a 3 year old is 37 months. It actually doesn't really seem right to call a 2 year old 32 months. Ah well, that is for another time. So Hadleigh...

One thing I have noticed in the last month is her ability to run. The little miss did not walk until 17 months, which was totally fine. However I always felt like she has been a bit behind in her coordination (hey, who said we all have to be Flo-Jo). Her running used to be a fast waddle/walk until this last month when I have really seen her run. It still looks a little funny, but it is definitely a run. I love it! She might just be athletic afterall!

Even though she has been slow to run, she has a fabulous arm. She throws very well, straight and far and always impresses everyone. They will usually start off close to her asking her to throw the ball, and after the first throw they always back up and comment on her arm.

Hadleigh definitely has music in her future. She has almost perfect pitch which is absolutely amazing to listen to! She loves to sing, and sings all day long. Yesterday she was playing her xylophone (which she calls her violin), and she managed to pick out the notes to "Twinkle, Twinkle" and played it perfectly, AMAZING! Her favorite song this month is "Rainbow Connection". We sing it almost every night before bed, along with "Our God is so Great" which she learned in Sunday School.

After we sing at night we always talk about God and his greatness. One thing I have really enjoyed this month is her increased awareness of God. I feel like I am able to talk to her about God and she understands. It has been fun to come up with little ways to teach her scripture, or to teach her about his character. She knows the answers to the first three catechism questions..."Who made you? What else did God make? and Why did God make you and all things?" We also talk about obedience and how it is "right" to obey your parents. Another thing we have been talking about is his majesty, "Do you not KNOW? Have you not HEARD? THe lord is the everlasting God, creator of the heavens and earth." We talk about all he has made. It is fun and intense to be in this kind of discipleship relationship. Can I teach her about God, while allowing her to say fart, crap and hell? We will see.

There are a couple other things that I have been talking to HC about, kindness and truth. We are always talking about telling the truth, and reminding her what the truth is...the truth is you have to go potty (as she jumps arounds)...the truth is the bunny belongs to Annelise...the truth is youu got out of bed (as she is covered from head to toe in lotion). I am also always asking her to be kind to Annelise. Sometimes this comes very naturally to HC. She will jump into the car after preschool and immediately go over to Annelise, say hi and stroke her face. So KIND! But sometimes she has to be reminded that it is kind to share, it is kind to not hit, etc. Oh, HC knows what kind means, and we continue to pray that she will learn to love to be kind to Annelise (and that Annelise will be kind to her in return).

One more thing I have noticed about HC this month is that is incredibly social. She LOVES her friends, which is nothing new to me, but what I have realized is that she really likes to play with kids. If we go to a playground she will try to get other kids to play with her. She doesn't just want to play around other children, she wants to play with them. This month I have had the opportunity to see her play a lot with her good bud Brennan. Hadleigh loves Brennan, I mean LOVES, and it is so fun to see them squeal each others names and run after one another. It is the sweetest thing in the world.

I just love my little girl, she is the sweetest in the world.

The Elf Is One!

This post is about 8 days overdue, but I decided to wait until we had some fun pics from Annelise's first birthday party, which was this past Saturday. We had a fun time celebrating with our community group, and Hadleigh's friends Brennan and Jacob. Poor Annelise needs some friends of her own, as most of my friends decided to wait an extra year before embarking on two children...smart idea!
As usual Dave came through with a BEAUTIFUL cake, Pumpkin Spice with caramel icing...yummy! I think this might become a tradition. Annelise wore the dress Hadleigh wore on her first birthday, which surprisingly was the dress I wore on my first birthday...or maybe I wore it sometime around my first birthday. In any case, the dress is 30+ years old.
Enough about the birthday festivities, let's get to talking about Annelise! What a sweet girl she is! She is a little cuddle bug, and I LOVE it. She will be sitting on my lap and I can ask for cuddles and she will lean into me and make a little sighing noise. So sweet! When I ask for kisses she opens her mouth wide and leans in for a big smack...I try to aim her at my cheek!

She is still a bit particular. She isn't as tough as big sis, Hadleigh, and gets a little flustered when she gets bonked around. She still struggles a bit with her naps, and with eating, but we are doing our best. She seems to be a picky eater, but I am refusing to give in too much...she will learn to eat what we put in front of her.
She is a major cruiser, and will walk around the house with a little walker. I am SO excited about the prospect of having a baby that walks before 17 months! She is starting to climb which is interesting, and since we live in a split level I am going to have figure out how to handle that one. Yikes!
She is an oral baby, and everything goes into her mouth. For real? It is so gross, but not much I can do. As my friend Sar says about her Jill, I guess she is developing her immune system.

She is very persistent, and will sit at the outlet trying to take the covers off for at least 10 minutes at a time. It is so different to have a baby who is interested in those things. I know Annelise is going to be into EVERYTHING. If she is crawling and something is in her path she will pick it up and throw it behind her as she continues to crawl. This always makes us laugh, and she leaves a wake as she passes through.

She has become very social, always offering smiles and giggles which makes all our buds so happy. On her birthday she was passed from one person to another, and just enjoyed being played with and tickled.
She LOVES her big sis, Hadleigh and always squeals when HC is around. She also loves her Dada. The other day she spotted him through the window as he was walking into the house, and squealed and clapped so excitedly that I knew Dave must be home.

She loves to clap and wave hello and goodbye. She loves to babble, and loves to play with her new ball machine that Papa and Nana sent.
She loves bath time. Dave know has the girls help each other wash, so HC scrubs Annelise and Annelise scrubs Hadleigh. It is super sweet.

I love my little, particular, cuddly, social, persistent little girl, who is now 20 pounds and 28 inches (gotta love the formula to fatten them up).

My Day

My friend Jess, posted a blog last week about her day. It is always interesting to see what days look like for different people, so I thought I would post about my day Thursday...here you go.

5.45a Annelise was up. Dave fed her while I took a shower. Dave and I eat breakfast and chit-chat while Annelise "runs" around.

6.25 Dave leaves for work. I check email, strip my bed, blow dry my hair, throw the wash in the washer, make oatmeal and get Annelise's breakfast ready.

7.15 feed Annelise breakfast. Change her diaper, put her down for a nap.

7.30 get Hadleigh up for the day. Go potty, downstairs for breakfast. Make Hadleigh's breakfast.

8.00 Work on my Bible study- Romans 6, while Hadleigh plays and reads.

8.30 Pack Hadleigh's lunch, and snacks for Annelise. Stock diaper bags with changes of clothes, extra diapers/wipes. Get Hadleigh dressed.

9.00 Get Annelise up from nap, change diaper, dressed...out the door.

9.15 Get the girls in the car, remember a few things I forgot in the house, and get in the car again. Off to preschool!

9.45 Drop Annelise off at nursery and run up to Bible study.

11.30 Pick up Annelise, out to the car. We stopped by a bank (because we are looking for a new one), and asked about all their different accounts. Back in the car, and off to Wal-mart. Run in, buy diapers (using my cell phone to calculate which buy is a better deal...). Back in the car to pick up Hadleigh.

1.00 this is where it gets interesting. Pick up HC. As we get back on the road, HC begins to scream in pain, and as I look back I realize she probably has to go potty. I ask her if she has to poop. She exclaims, YES (while arching back and squeezing bootie cheeks together). We are at a light, so as son as possible I quickly pull into a parking lot, jump out of car and around to her side, but realize that since I smell something I am prob too late. I grab her potty, pull her out of the car seat, put her on the potty, and begin the clean up. Pull out the extra wipes, thank goodness for spare trash bags! I wipe everything down, put on new panties, and we are off again. As soon as we get back on the road we repeat the same process with Hadleigh. At this point we are almost home, and there really isn't anywhere to stop so I rush home. Pull Hadleigh out of the car and run her into the house and onto the potty. She begins to scream because she doesn't like to poop on the potty. I hold her down and she manages to poop while I promise her some ice cream if she goes in the potty. All is well, victory! We do the poop in the potty dance, and I tell her to jump into her booster while I grab Annelise (who is still sitting in her carseat screaming). I run Annelise up to her room and put her in bed...only to hear Hadleigh downstairs yelling again. Hadleigh has now pooped in her booster seat (to give her credit, she would have run to the potty, but she had strapped herself in so was stuck). I took her to the potty again and cleaned everything up. NOW it is time for ice cream. We also called Dave so Hadleigh could tell him that she pooped in the potty.

1.45 Everything is cleaned up and Hadleigh is finally in bed. I make myself lunch...FINALLY, and sit down (think I have earned it). Fold laundry...check email...fold laundry...check email...file papers, pay bills.

3.30 Annelise wakes up. Change diaper, feed bottle, play.

4.00 Hadleigh wakes up, immediately gets a consquence because she has gotten out of bed and is covered from head to toe in lotion. Clean her up, and try not to gag from the overwhelming smell of lavender.

4.30 THANK GOD, Dave is home!

5.00 Dinner for the girls. Baths, Annelise goes to bed.

6.00 Dave leaves again to go to hockey game, I put Hadleigh down, we sing, talk about how great God is, and I give her kisses and hugs.

6.30 I think REALLY hard about ordering chinese, but decide to save my money and make tomato soup...comfort food.

7.30 Do massive amounts of dishes left over from day, and community group the night before.

8.00 Survivor...thank goodness my pick-Sugar- is still in the game AND has the immunity idol.

9.00 check email, make bed, clean kitchen, find recipe for Annelise's birthday cake, make list for grocery store run for Annelise's birthday party and for another party I am having on Monday for a friend.

10.00 Dave gets home, and off to do a Sudoku puzzle and go to bed. (I do usually go to bed earlier, but...)

Happy Halloween

We had a fun time celebrating Halloween with the girls last week. We like giraffes! Hadleigh was a giraffe her first Halloween, and since Annelise is on the small side (no we are not worried about her size), she was able to fit into the size 6 month giraffe outfit this year. Last year I bought Hadleigh a new giraffe costume in a size 24 months. Amazingly, she was able to fit into the same costume this year! Wonderful! So, three years in a row, HC has been a giraffe. Maybe next year we will branch out, but it was super cute to have 2 giraffes this year. And maybe, just maybe we can stay far away from princesses...not trying to offend anyone here, we just aren't really the princess type (at least so far we aren't).

Last Wednesday we had our Playgroup Halloween Party here. It is always a little chaotic, but we all made it out alive, which is a positive. Hadleigh and Annelise like to be surrounded by boys, as you can see.

Here is HC with two of her fav buddies...I mean who wouldn't like hanging out with Superman and a real, live Cowboy?

Hadleigh had her first trick or treat experience on Friday. Dave took her up a couple houses on each side...she is really excited about the whole idea of candy.

Here are a couple pics from Halloweens gone by...above Hadleigh on Halloween 2006...below Hadleigh on Halloween 2007.

We Voted

Wow, my arm looks HUGE! Today I did my civil duty. I voted! It was SO much fun. I actually haven't voted in person in 4 years (because I used absentee ballots while in Germany and until we got a permanent residence here in Atl).

In GA there has been this push for folks to vote early...I am not really sure why. Someone said they were expecting 90% of GAs to vote...unlikely. Anyway, it seemed to make sense for folks who might be out of town or things like that...but never seemed to make sense for me to do it. Especially since I knew some folks who waited for several hours! It had never taken me longer than 30 minutes to vote in the past, even when I was going with the crowds before work, so I decided to stick to voting day.

I loaded the girls up in the stroller and marched down to our precinct. They had to open both dorrs to get me and my wide load in. Hadleigh was SO excited, and continued to talk about how she was going to vote...and she anxiously watched the screen as I voted...she agreed with all my choices. The dude at the end let HC have a sticker, so later today we are going to make a Bruesters Ice Cream run...$.50 off a cone when you wear your sticker!

Just Organizing the World

I really do have LOTS to tell and write, alas I am off planning and organizing the world, so I do not have time to write about it. But here is my sweet-almost-one-year-old, Annelise....though she is the size of a 6 month old (we will know more when we go to the doc on Monday).

More updates to come!

13 Reasons

Check this out...13 Reasons why you need to hire our buddies Grant and Jess.

Freezer

A couple weeks ago our brand new Kitchenaide refrigerator bit the dust. It was actually a complete nightmare. It died on Saturday (of course) and by Monday morning both sides were basically 65 degrees. Naturally I could only call the repairman on Monday, so by the time we could call we had basically lost everything. Long story short, by Wednesday we had a fully operating refrigerator (they had to order a new compressor) again. We tried for a couple days to keep things in coolers on ice, but then it just became painful (try doing that for 5 days). Dave was so irritated by the whole situation that he ran out and bought a small 5.5 deep freezer so we could save a few things (very few by the time he bought it). I was thankful for the freezer for an entirely different reason.

I had been wanting a deep freezer, but was just sure Dave would not allow it. He hates my innate pack-rat nature and tries to discourage it as much as possible. I knew he would be worried that if I had a big freezer I would begin to horde food that we would fail to use.

In any case, we now have a freezer and I am SO excited! I have been wanting to freeze meals, but was limited by space before. For the last couple weeks I have been cooking up a storm and freezing a bunch.

OK, true confessions, I LOVE cooking. It is one of my favorite things to do. We might not have a clean house, but we eat well, yummy, healthy, homemade meals. I love it! And the truth is if I can buy some things in bulk or when they are on sale I can watch our budget.

Dave works 4 long days during the week and he does not get a lunch break, so he packs his lunch and eats whenever he gets a minute. We have an obsession with soups which was fueled by our time in Europe. I had been getting him canned soup for his lunch which has been fast and easy for all of us. Unfortunately those cans are just filled to the brim with sodium. I bought him the new V8 Campbell's soups and his comment was, "they taste really salty, and aren't as good as your butternut squash soup." After I heard that I went to work. I made several big batches of some of our favorite soups, Lamb and Barley, Red Bell Pepper, Butternut Squash, Asparagas, and Mushroom and Barley. It was so fun to cook all day. I even made my own vegetable broth. Upon finishing I froze small 2 cup portions and labeled them all. Fun!

Since I have been in the mood I have also made mac and cheese, spaghetti, sloppy joes, chicken chili and chicken pot pie. Now I have several homemade yummy meals that I can just throw in the crock pot or microwave.

Nap Time

Yes, those are shoes on her feet. She is such a nut!

Fun with Pumpkins

We spent our family fun day at a pumpkin patch north of the city. I could not help remembering that last year during our trip to the pumpkin patch I was super large and in charge. It is nice to be a regular person this year!

Annelise enjoyed her first hayride out of the womb, and Hadleigh had a blast feeding fish and running around looking at all the pumpkins. She even wanted to take her pumpkin to bed with her (which we did not allow). Here are some fun picks from our day.

Bamboozled

If I was Dave, I would say, I have been mizled…but I am not entirely sure how he would spell it…and even then only my community group would understand the joke. It is true…I have been bamboozled and boy am I ever angry.

You know, I try to be super diligent about every penny I spend on groceries. I clip coupons, buy things on sale, cook for the season, I really try. I don’t always succeed in getting the best deals (I am not like that woman who buys groceries for her family of 5 for $38/week), but I really do try to be conscious of how much I spend and to save when I can.

So, as I clipped coupons on Monday morning I realized that Kroger was having several great things on sale this week. I didn’t need a lot of groceries, but just a couple filler things. Milk was listed at $2.99 and boneless chicken at $1.99/lb, avocados at 10 for $10, etc. I always try to stock up chicken when it is on sale, so I headed to Kroger. I try to avoid Kroger at all costs, but these things were just too good to pass up, so I decided I would make a little trip to Kroger. I packed up the girls (here is one thing in its favor, they have a grand selection of grocery carts that accommodate children…impressive) and headed in. My first stop was the avocados…sweet 10 for $10. Next I arrived at the chicken and was puzzled. It was posted as buy one get one free which put the price at $2.34/lb. I was a bit confused, but picked it up anyway and decided I would just ask at the register (I knew I was right about this…I had JUST looked at the mailer). I swung by the milk that was listed at $3.19…now I was getting worried and confused. I ended up at the register, and had to wait forever to get through (why is it that I never wait in line at Publix?). Upon reaching the register I immediately asked the cashier about the chicken. We had a 5 minute conversation as she tried to explain to me that once I scanned my Kroger card it would all be taken care of. I, in the mean time, was trying to kindly explain that half off is different than $1.99/lb. She finally called a supervisor (the people in my line were getting antsy), and I explained that the circular said $1.99/lb, etc. She understood and went on a trek…we all waited…and waited…and waited…Annelise begins to cry…I am feeling nervous.

The manager arrives back with the circular in hand, opens it up, and voila…there is chicken listed at buy one get one free. Wow, I was horrified and embarrassed! I humbly apologized (and was thankful that I had been polite), and made some comment about how it must have been cheaper at Publix. And went home. The minute I walked in the door I pulled out my circular…and it had chicken listed at $1.99. So confused, and angry, I looked to see what the issue was, did I have the right week, what was happening. I finally found it, in the fine print it noted that these were the prices for the Kroger up by Wal-mart…I never go to that Kroger, and it is at least a mile farther away than the one I went to. So, all the cheap prices that I went to Kroger for, were basically null.

And as I looked at my receipt I realized they charged me more for the avocados…$6 instead of $4. I was livid.

Dave got home, and I started packing up everything to take it back to Kroger. He actually talked me out of it…which I am still a little annoyed about. It would be a waste of gas and time to return those things and then drive to the correct store and try again. I also had coupons attached to my purchase, so it would have been difficult to get everything settled. So…I am eating the $8 I would have saved if I had gone to the right store…and am cursing Kroger in my head…NEVER AGAIN! I will not let you get me again. In the future I will always travel with my circular…and I think I am going to swear off Kroger for at least a month.

In happy news I did find red bell peppers for $1.59/lb at the farmer’s market…that sure beats $4/lb at either grocery.

Miss Hadleigh Claire is 31 Months

Oh my, what joy the little miss brings to me everyday...what drama and what joy! We have truly hit discipline in earnest this past month and I think I need a break! From the moment she wakes up we have a bit of a discussion about obedience. It pleases Mama when she obeys...and it pleases God. We are working hard...but oy...I think I need a break sometimes. But at the times when I SO do not want to discipline I think if I am consistent and regular, she will understand that I need her to obey the first time...and maybe the battle will be ultimately shorter than if I waver. It is hard to remember that sometimes the grace is in the discipline. Who wants to be around a 25 year old who acts like a 2 year old? And I have met some of them!

Our big discipline project of the month, other than the obvious "come to Mama", has been keeping her diaper on during nap/nighttime. What drama! She is potty trained, but we have some major poopy issues. I do not feel like going into it here, I have mentioned it before. So, we continue to work with HC on going poop regularly, and going in the potty. In any case she is still wearing a diaper to bed as I am just happy at any point when she poops. About a month ago she got into the habit of taking off her diaper which resulted in pee/poop in the bed/on her hands/nast! Thus the discipline began...for 2 straight weeks. Wow, really? And just when I thought I, myself, would die she woke up from her nighttime sleep with herdiaper and shorts still on. Victory! Did we ever celebrate! I created the "Shorts-on" dance which is really fun to watch/participate in (Annelise especially likes to shake-it). What fun! After every nap she greets me with a plea to do the shorts-on dance. I am actually thinking about making it a general obedience dance...how can we make obedience fun?

This has been a super difficult time, and of course I am terrified about screwing her up and it taking 5 years of therapy to set her straight...but she will need therapy if she is 25 and acts like a 2 year old...so can we really escape harming our children? I think it is inevitable. Even in the midst of the difficulties it has been a sweet time with HC, and I feel like together we are learning more about each other and also about the Lord. I am reminded myself that it pleases God when I obey him. That he will always love me no matter what I do/do not do. That choosing obedience has some fun results (Shorts-on Dance, anyone?). And that discipline is a form of grace, mercy and love. It is a lot of work, and tiring and emotionally draining. Ugh.

Miss HC is doing a lot of things herself. She can dress herself, put her shoes on, go potty alone, get in her carseat, get in and out of bed/stroller/booster. She loves helping me around the house. She helps with laundry, cooking, baking, cleaning up, dusting, etc. What a helper, I love it! She will go and find things for me and bring them to me. She really likes things in their place, and sometimes makes up where they belong. I will find juice cups in cupboards (because she wants them up off the floor). If there are random clothes in her room she will pick them up and put them in a basket. She is my funny little OCD girl.

She rode a mini zipline for the first time. After she did the mini one (holding on by herself) Dave wanted to put her on the big one, but after some convincing, main Kris saying ABSOLUTELY NOT Dave kept her on the mini one.

Singing is still a fav. SHe picks up songs and words really quickly and walks around the house singing. Her new fav is Rainbow Connection, "...someday we'll find it, a rainbow connection, a lovers, a dreamers and me, la da da..." in her words. HA-larious.

Oh how she loves her friends! We took the girls and our community group up to Knoxvegas for a weekend away. What fun the little miss had with all her big girl friends. She got to show off all her tricks for her friends AND for Grandpa and Grandma. Big stuff. Everyday she asks to see her friends and have them come over and play or go to the park. By 9 yesterday morning I was so tired of her asking about her friends that I made a quick call to Christy and Brea to secure a playmate for the morning. They are so cute together!

Going places is also a fav thing to do. She will say, "Let's go in the van". It doesn't matter where...let's just go! She is saying the funniest things with the funniest expressions. It is hard not to laugh sometimes, especially when I should be serious. She will just look up at me with these big eyes and begin to talk really fast in words that undiscernable...hilarious.

My New Endeavor

So here is my new endeavor...a compost pile. I am very excited. Dave is going to make a spot for it, and I have been reading up on them. I wanted to begin this fall so that I have lots of materials to start my garden in the spring. My mouth just waters when I think of my own tomatoes, squash and bell peppers. Yummy! I hope it will be up and running this weekend.

The Elf is 11 Months!

Annelise is 11 months old today. Amazing. She is such a little person these days.

She finally cut her eighth tooth, which she was working on for a while. Dave is concerned, of course, because she is a bit behind in the tooth department even though she got an early start, with her first tooth at 4.5 months. I keep telling him you cannot be advanced in EVERY area!

She is officially crawling, though it is not her favorite thing to do. She actually prefers to do this little one-legged scoot thing. Hilarious. And her favorite thing is to stand and cruise. This week I did a lot of cooking, and she would crawl from the playroom into the kitchen, grab onto my leg and stand up. She would stand there as long as I was standing still.

Annelise is now really attaching to Dave which is so fun to see. When Dave walks in the room she gets a huge smile on her face and immediately scoots toward him. She enjoys spending her early mornings with Dave while I get in my shower.

Of course the older she gets we see more and more of her little personality. Dave was laughing because the other day she spent a good 10 minutes trying to get the outlet cover off. Hadleigh would never do that, so it is funny to see how different they are. Annelise loves going for all the buttons, tv, computer, etc.

She is a very good natured baby (these days). She will easily go and visit other people (unless it is after church and she has been away from me for a couple hours. She gives lots of smiles and waves and claps to most anyone. She also has a fabulous giggle and laugh.

Yesterday as I was driving home Hadleigh and Annelise were making each other laugh in the back seat. Hadleigh was turning her head from side to side really quickly, and then Annelise was doing the same. They were both in hysterics, so funny.

She plays reasonably well on her own. I can put her in the playroom with several toys and she will entertain herself for a little while, but she is so happy when HC is around to play with her.

Annelise is just generally at a fun age. It is nice to have arrived, and I feel like we made it over the hump. Things continue to get easier, and I am thankful for a little break. She is sweet, hilarious, and cuddly. We look forward to knowing her more and more.

Red Bell Pepper Soup

This is one of our favorite soups.

Red Bell Pepper Soup
3lbs. red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
2 onions
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 serrano peppers, chopped
1 1/4 cups, strained tomatoes
5 cups vegetable broth
4 tbs. chopped fresh basil

1. Put the red bell peppers in a large, heavy pan with the onions, garlic, and chiles. Add the strained tomatoes and vegetable broth and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the bell peppers have softened. Drain, reserving the liquid and vegetables separately.

3. Puree the vegetables in a food processor.

4. Return the vegetable puree to a clean pan and add the reserved cooking liquid. Add the basil and heat through until hot. Garnish the soup with fresh basil sprigs and serve.

Antics of the Little Miss

We have had a few fun moments with the Little Miss recently and I just had to post about them. There are many fun moments with Hadleigh these days, but there are also many difficult moments. The past few days have been mostly filled with fun, which is a welcomed relief because the past two weeks have been VERY difficult.

Here are a couple funnies.

We went to the farmer's market this morning and they do not have carts that can hold two children, so Annelise rode in the front and HC rode in the basket. I began putting my produce in the basket with her and she was asking what each item was and was asking if everything was yummy. She kept asking about the mushrooms and I kept responding, "Yes, HC mushrooms are yummy". Then I looked at her and realized she had broken the plastic, taken out a mushroom and had it in her mouth eating it. Yuck!

I was putting some laundry from the eash to the dryer and when I came out of the laundry HC was no where to be found. I wandered around and continued to call for her until I heard her say, "Yup! I'm going potty." I walked into the bathroom and found her sitting on her little potty. This is the first time she has gone on her own! She did it again a couple hours later...yea HC!