25 February - food at the baby shower

Last night, Chelle, Janice, & I threw a baby shower for our friend Emily.  She's expecting her first baby, & it's a boy! I'm so excited for her & Aaron & know that they will be wonderful parents!

Since I've been sick for the last while (cold-turned-sinus-infection = a lot more trouble than I had ever thought), I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make all the food I'd volunteered to bring.  I enlisted the help of some other ladies, who were kind enough to bring fruit & bread with spinach dip. But my mom, hearing how sick I was, drove up to truly save the day. 

The Menu: spinach frittata, Southwestern egg rolls with chipotle sauce, cream cheese & raspberry chipotle spread with crackers, peanut butter cup cookies, jam thumbprints, macaroons, & Barefoot Contessa brownies - it was so good.

Melting the chocolate & butter for the brownies - I love my mom's goofy pose reflected in the bowl while I'm taking the picture. It just about completely captures her personality.  This was our little self-portrait while baking.

These are probably my favorite cookies - just butter rolled in sugar with jam to top it off. They melt in your mouth, & then attach to your thighs (I'll let you decide whether or not it's worth it, but I think it just might be.).

another favorite cookie - so chewy

The raspberry & chipotle sauce was amazing on the cream cheese.  This was probably my favorite non-sweet of the night.

Mmm. Fruit.

You can't go wrong with spinach dip & bread - I could eat the whole thing by myself.

21 February - first haircut

 We propped Will in front of the TV to watch Elmo's World while Scott gave him his first haircut.

Look at those discarded curls :(

Not perfect, but it will do for now. I have to admit that I miss his soft, wispy hair - I liked that it curled under his ears & hung in his eyes. He looked like such a baby that way. But I guess the mullet & super long bang-things were starting to get a little out of control, so they had to go.

20 February - spaghetti'os

I just discovered how much Will loves Speghetti-o's.  I'm so glad to find something that he's so eager to eat other than bread, eggs, yogurt, fruit, or anything sweet. It definitely makes for a nice change.

He couldn't shovel it in fast enough.

The sauce made for a nice stained finish.

He polished off the bowl.

And was very happy with the mini pasta noodle feast.

18 February - just one of those days

 Today has just been one of those days - actually, the last week has been "just one of those days."  Will & I have both been sick with bad colds.  Will had a fever last week & is still coughing & sniffling, & my cold has turned into a sinus infection (really not fun). Then again, I realize we could be a lot worse off & remind myself to be grateful for the health that we do have.

Because we've been enjoying such amazing weather lately, I thought it would be a nice break from the stuffy indoors if we played outside for a bit. We started in the backyard & eventually ended up in the park for about two hours.

Will's favorite thing to do at the park - pile bark onto the slide & then throw it off again. He also went down the slide for the first time on his own - I was too paranoid to try taking any pictures. He would go running toward the top of the slide so fast (causing another mom to come running over in a panic because she thought he was about to fall over the edge) & then get down on his hands & knees, spin a 180, & go flying down backwards on his tummy (the first time, he almost went down head first, but I caught him by the diaper just in time).

After getting home from the park, we snuggled up on the sofa & watched Elmo's World - I was feeling too dumpy to care that he was watching a movie (which I've been trying to avoid). Towards the end of the movie, Will fell asleep on me, & I was close to conking out too.

We were so glad when Scott got home - it feels like we haven't seen him in so long! We celebrated his return with pork salads from Costa Vida (which he brought home for us), followed by a second showing of Elmo's World. 

16 February - berries & birds (not together)

There's something special about berries for the first time in a long time - it was a definite boost to my Frosted Mini Wheats this morning, let me tell you. Plus I love the red, white, tan & aqua together. Is it lame that I find so much joy in color combinations?

On a completely different note, I caught sight of these fancy birds (yes, I know they're Canadian Geese) when I was walking home from the park today - I love how free they are!

And I also LOVE how blue & clear the sky was today - the most beautiful weather!

15 February - banged his lip

Scott came home from taking Will to the park today, & lo & behold, Will had a bloody lip!  He'd been playing on the slide, slipped, & banged his mouth against it.  Apparently he whined pitifully for about 10 seconds with his head resting on the slide & then acted like everything was fine.  When he turned around to face Scott, my poor baby was bleeding - he got his first official big boy cut.

You can see the puffy upper lip with some blood still dried to it - he kept sucking on & pointing to it the rest of the day.

11 February - Napa & Taylor's Refresher

On Thursday, Will & I went to Napa with my mom & two grandmothers. Our purpose for going there - Taylor's Refresher!

They seriously have some of the best fish tacos, sweet potato fries, & milkshakes, my favorite being the Black & White (chocolate made w/ vanilla ice cream & chocolate syrup).

Because of the cooler weather, there was a plastic tent set up in the grass w/ heaters blowing in warm air.

Will's favorite thing to do while at Taylor's - he ran around & climbed on top of benches of both empty & occupied tables.  My mom & I tried to keep him corralled to the empty ones.

The yummy food - fish tacos, sweet potato fries, & a Black & White

Will wasn't feeling very well, but was quite content eating pieces of ice & launching fries & grilled cheese over my head onto the grass.

Sammie, my mom, Will, me & Grandma Aileen

Before heading home, we stopped on the side of the street to take a few pictures of a vineyard overgrown w/ mustard weed. Napa is such a beautiful place - I only wish I could capture the beauty of it better!

9 February - in the works

My friend, Catherine, & I spent the day measuring, cutting, sewing, ironing . . . chasing kids, feeding kids, feeding ourselves, & just having a good time! We are working on a little project together, & I'm really excited to see the end result.  It's going to be cute!

8 February - a day at the park

Will & I went to the park this morning to enjoy the beautiful weather - it was a little windy, but the sun was out & the ground was dry.  I had so much fun watching him play on the equipment & chase after the big kids who were playing football.

"Climbing" up the slide - more like sitting at the bottom of it not knowing what to do.

He really wanted to get in on the action. His buddies, Fisher & Koi were part of the fun, & Will wanted to run, throw, & tackle just like them. Don't worry kid, you'll be doing it soon enough.

"Touchdown!"

He'd had enough football & wanted to go play on the swings.

Gotta love the Vans

Details:

Christmas 2009

I was never able to post pictures of Christmas because all the pictures were taken on my mom's camera.  Now that I have my hands on it again, I was finally able to download them.

Christmas Eve:

Scott worked Christmas Eve/his birthday, as well as Christmas Day/my birthday, so Will & I spent those few days at my parents'.

My Aunt Bev's kids came for Christmas, so it was a lot of fun seeing them for a short bit.  Max (Dani & Paul's baby boy) & Will had a lot of fun together. 

Max wasn't really sure how to hold his own around Will - I think Will was kind of shocking to him. Notice the ball flying toward the head.

That's my (hyper) boy!

Cleaning the dishes after our feast: Steven, me, & Amy

Some of the cousins: Kim, Dani, Max & Paul, Alli & Jason, & Adil

Getting ready for bed, so Santa can come!

Christmas Day:

Of course Will woke up & was clueless about Christmas.  But when he saw all the goodies that Santa brought him, he got super excited, especially when he saw the ball!

Later that night, after playing some rounds of Pirate Bingo, we celebrated my birthday with a yummy carrot cake!

New Years:

Since Scott had to work New Year's as well, I headed back down to my parents & spent the exciting holiday with these yahoos.

Cole, Drew, Timmy, & Zach (Lily, Sammie, & Will were already in bed)