Yummy Finds

The first 4 years of our marriage, I was either going to school or working full time. Juan and I had the agreement that since we were away from the house an equal amount of time, that we would split household chores evenly. In reality, Juan ended up doing mostly everything- dishes, laundry, dinner, and we traded off cleaning the bathroom. But still I would say, "when I stay at home, I'll take over, I promise."

You know how when you say something like that, in the back of your head you don't even believe the words you're saying?

Well let me tell you. I'm doing it.

And while I'm not a great cook, I have been trying new things and am finding I somewhat enjoy it.

(Random picture from the internet. Mine almost looked this good, ha ha.)

I made Thai Peanut Chicken the other night and loved it. I followed the recipe, and doubled the sauce like the people in the comments said to. I loved how it had a spicy kick, and Juan liked it as well.

I know this doesn't count as cooking, but this dessert is super yummy, especially frozen. And was so easy to make!

My favorite cooking sites are mrshardingcooks.blogspot.com and www.ourbestbites.com. I am trying this orange chicken next. And while I'm at it, I better not pass up these. Best chocolate chip cookies ever? We will see.

Please share yummy recipes or cooking sites.

Shy Girl

First of all. The very next day after I posted these words:

"She's an awesome napper. 2 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon, 1 hour in the evening. And don't forget, a straight 10 1/2 hours through the night!"

She was done with her awesome sleeping. She takes 1 hour naps, if even. And she woke up at 3 am for 3 nights in a row. She even woke up at 12 am and 3 am in 1 night. Yikes. Lesson learned, I guess.

One night, I found her like this. She was so tired, she fell asleep while rubbing her eyes:

We have had Ginger & Sam in town this weekend and sometimes Amelia just gets tired of people. Last night while we were playing games, she was hiding from us all. I caught this cute video of her:

And in this second video, we had been trying to teach her to wave. I know she's only 6 months. But when I brought her downstairs, I caught her practicing to wave! Ha ha, she has to get it just right on her own time before she's going to show us.

Half a Year

Unbelievable.Time can slow down now.
Please.
Miss Millie Pie is 6 months.

*She rolls everywhere, I'll blink and think, how'd you get there facing that totally different direction?

*She is choosey with her smiles. She still will not smile for grandma every time, it's about when she wants to do it.

*She studies people. A lot. She will just stare and stare. She's going to be a smart one.

*She reaches for me. It melts my heart.

*She's still a snuggler.

*She's an awesome napper. 2 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon, 1 hour in the evening. And don't forget, a straight 10 1/2 hours through the night!

*She squirms through church. I'm convinced she's wondering why we spend a whole 3 hours without talking to her. I make faces at her and play with finger puppets, but not one peep is coming out of my mouth. I just picture her thinking, what's wrong with these people?

*She weighs about 16 lbs, and is wearing size 6-9 mos clothing. Right on track. And I'm having a hay day with all the new clothes she gets to wear. The dress in this picture is to die for. Loving it.

Her Crooked Smile

An update on our little dreamsicle.

We are having too much fun these days. Every day is like going to an Amusement Park for me. I seriously just watch her and wait for an exciting new development to happen. And I egg her on along the way.

She has started solids:

She has taken to them a bit more since this picture. Especially now that I am adding banana to her rice cereal. Such a dramatic picture, her little eyes focusing in on that spoon in disgust.

She is trying her hardest to move. I play this game with her daily, put something right outside her reach. She is determined!

And she is sitting up like a little lady, not quite by herself yet.

Other snippets:

*Juan is back in school. He has no school on Fridays which is a dream, I see him a lot more than I did this summer. And he is working at a student job where I used to work on campus. What a good place.

*I am getting into the groove of life. Actually cooking and cleaning. I never quite got into a routine in Denver, I am loving this. And the basement life, not too shabby. I just have to pop upstairs for some sunlight every now and then to stay sane.

Visiting the Fam

Amelia embarked on her first plane flight. Destination: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

She was a dream on the plane, which is a long flight, 5 hours total. She fussed a tiny bit but mostly slept and entertained the other passengers with big smiles.

We got to see Julaine, Jason, and their baby Addison. We had breakfast and chatted all morning.

And Amelia met her uncle Samm:

She played and snuggled with Grandma Rose:
It was so much fun to have all of Juan's family together and just hang out and enjoy each other's company. Amelia is still missing all the attention she got while we were there. It sure was a good visit.

Amelia, Rose, Juan

Samm, Juan, Amelia, Rose, David

And let's not forget, Amelia also was overjoyed to meet her uncle David:

I love this picture. Antonio, Rose's boyfriend, got Amelia this giant Simba and she just loves it. I love the stare down featured in this photo. Thanks Antonio!

Here we are all together.

And then our little family.

Wisconsin is just so beautiful. I can't wait until we visit again!

Big Changes

Our girl is 5 months! This is how you will find her at any given time, with a fist or 2 in her mouth.

• She is 15 lbs 2 oz and 27 inches long. 99th percentile in height, still so tall!
• She got her shots, and her rolling over has been nonexistent since. Poor girl, I think the first few days she was afraid to hurt her legs, then maybe now she's forgotten?
• She is sleeping in a crib. Her first time. It's so fun to have it all set up and I love seeing how tiny she looks in the big crib.
• She is sleeping in her own room. She has moved up from the walk-in closet.
• She smiles and warms up to anyone. She loves attention.
• She is so snuggly and happy all the time. And she LOVES just looking back and forth at Juan and me. We'll be sitting by each other with her on a lap, or she'll be laying between us and she just looks back and forth back and forth and is so thrilled.

As for Denver, we finished up with a bang. Amelia just loved Ginger and Sam and they adored her. It was so fun for her to have that extra attention. We played games a ton with G&S and watched tv. They visited a few must-see spots for them in Denver including the giant chair with a horse on it. They love those random attractions of giant things. Ginger, you better blog about your visit soon. And email me those pictures you took of Amelia with your fancy camera.

We are unpacking this week, and we go to Milwaukee next week! I am so happy to have a few weeks of Juan without work or school. One of the perks of student life.

What's Happening

We head back to Utah in 9 DAYS! Yay. I'm really sad to not be returning to Provo, I will miss that place. But we'll be 30 min away.

And to send us off from our fantastic stay in Denver, my sister and her husband will be coming to visit from Boston! I am SUPER excited. They will be here with us until the day we leave.

This has really been the best summer of my life. It went so quickly, and how nice to be able to spend the last month of it with family. And we'll be real close. Like in the basement of my parent's house, that close. I'm excited to settle into Amelia's 3rd home.

Onto other important news. Anyone catch The Bachelorette? I'm a lover of that ridiculously entertaining show. I'm definitely happy with how it all turned out. Roberto was the right pick. I'm not so sure if I want Chris as the next Bachelor. Is he too good to be surrounded by the token trashy women? Thoughts?

And that rainbow after Chris's rejection. I loved that! And of course Juan had to add in the 'what does this mean?' If you haven't seen the double rainbow video on Youtube, you must check it out.