Today is...

Monday: Cleaning
Well, the picture to the left pretty much sums up Monday. As you all know, the basement flooded last week and so the carpets needed to cleaned. I figured that I would rent the Rug Doctor in the morning and surprise Travis by having all the carpets done when he got home from work. Let me tell you, that Rug Doctor is one beast of a machine. I think I'm a pretty fit chick and my arms were whooped for two days, plus it left me nearly deaf. But the job got done and we saved money by doing it ourselves so I can't complain...too much.

Tuesday: Wash Day (Warning: The following is a poop story)
Since Ethan started solids he hasn't pooped nearly as much as he used to. That's a good thing because it brought it him down to the level of most regular (ha ha) babies. However, the few poopy diapers he's had have been doozies. I won't recount the first story because Mel's already laughed enough at my expense with that one. But this time I was home when it happened and I thought, "Wa ha! Mommy was right here when it happened and I've prevented a potential disaster!" I put him on the changing table, went to pull his pants down and "it" was everywhere. I couldn't even get his pants off. I panicked! Needless to say, the clean up wasn't pretty and it involved a hosing off, a long wash for Ethan and new outfits for the both of us. (Yes, "it" was that bad) After I got him a clean outfit and put him down this is the look he gave me:
Is it just me or is he saying, "Mommy that was fun, huh? You're the one who always says, 'Beans don't do half jobs.'".

Wednesday: Sleep
This is Ethan's new favorite way to sleep. Head touching crib bumper and feet touching crib bumper. Isn't it cute?

Thursday: Big Eyes
During play time today Ethan was being particularly cute. He was practicing sitting up while munching, perhaps the word gumming is more appropriate, down on toys Aunt Mel has given him. I shot this picture and fell in love with his eyes. Click on it to get the larger version and you'll see what I mean.
Suddenly I found myself wanting to give him whatever he asked for. New toy? Okay! Want to go for a walk? Okay! Cookie? Okay! Wait a minute... Ethan had turned into:
Puss in boots! See the resemblance? The only impersonation I've seen that is better, is Lexie when she sits by our knees begging for table scraps with her eyes (A trick she learned from Sassy). Fortunately, Ethan started playing with a new toy and forgot about the eye tricks.
Friday: Nap
Ethan hadn't been sleeping very well this past week and he'd been waking up from his second nap early and very grumpy. Sometimes when he's onery the only position he likes to eat in is laying down. I laid down next to him, fed him and he conked. When I came back to check on him he looked like this:

*Sigh* College education fund? Okay! Love and hugs all your life? Okay!

Saturday: Daddy Day
Ethan and Daddy walked Lexie in the morning and they were both too elated for words.
Travis calls this his "Look at me I'm a flippin' little dolphin, let me flip for you!" pose. I call it adorable. (P.S. Bonus points if you know what movie the above line is from) Later that night Ethan got super cranky. As in "Nothing In The Whole Wide World Can Make Me Happy Right Now". We tried everything and then wondered if he might be teething. We'd thought he might be teething before and when we gave him a washrag with an ice cube in it he spit it right back out at us. Today we had different results.
Ethan went through 4 ice cubes right after each other. Who knows if teeth are really coming, but it would explain some of his fussiness this week and I did feel some little pokies coming through his gums this morning. We'll keep you posted!

P.S. We're off to LA tomorrow and we're all so excited!

Ethan Loves to Rock n' ROLL

Breaking news: Ethan started rolling this week! The little man has been performing the back to sides maneuver for a while, but this Tuesday he completed a 180° rotation from back to belly. His form was beautiful and earned higher marks than babies twice his age. When he finished, the crowd (read: Mommy) begged for more and Ethan kindly acquiesced with not one, not two, but three encores. We're entertaining offers from multiple sponsors right now, but we'll keep you updated with who we sign with.

"Yeah! Did you guys see that? I'm totally in control here!"

"Okay, now who wants to tell me how to get back?"

I Love Rice Cereal

Well, this has been a rather eventful week and there is much to report from our homefront. Here we go! Ethan turned the Big 04 on Monday and I was anxiously awaiting feeding him his first solids. That day Ethan and I went to lunch with our friends Nancy and Bekah Bennett. Bekah and I share a certain affinity for corndogs (I know the foodie in me should be ashamed of this, but I'm not). I told Bekah that after her brother and sisters were back in school we'd go get corndogs for lunch, so it was time for me to own up to my promise. We went to Smith's because they have a little eating court and they had some healthful salads we could choose from too. Good times were had by all and I introduced Bekah to jo jos, which was a proud moment for me. As we left the store I headed to the baby food aisle where I purchased my first ever box of rice cereal. As you can see, it was a beautiful moment.



When Travis got home from work that day he shared the news that ATK is sending him to Los Angeles on October 16. That's when I had the brilliant idea that Ethan and I should go with him! Travis' work is paying for his ticket, the hotel and a rental car so all we had to pay for is my ticket. Travis flies out on Delta that morning and Ethan and I fly out on Jet Blue that afternoon. We're hurriedly trying to get ahead on school and are super excited to visit Travis' family in the area and introduce them to the Little Prince. That night, Ethan got his first helping of solids. I've been holding out hope that rice cereal would help Ethan sleep through the night. We've followed the Baby Wise strategem and yet our baby just doesn't want to sleep through the night. I thought at one time that he was waking up out of habit and consulted the book which recommended letting him settle himself back down and trying t hat for three nights. The first night Ethan screamed bloodly murder for over an hour, the second night only twenty-five minutes, at which point I was hopeful, but then on the third night he hit the hour mark and I was in tears, so we threw that idea out the window. He always wakes up famished, takes a vigorous full feeding and goes right back down, so I've been hoping that rice cereal would keep his tummy happy and full and let him, and me, sleep longer. Ethan loved the rice cereal and gobbled it right up!
The best part was how he was super happy after he had his first helping. Here's a video of him giggling with Travis, who proposed that, "Maybe he's happy because he's been so sick of your low-fat breast milk."




However, he was awake and hungry again at 2:00 A.M. I don't have any pictures of Tuesday or Wednesday, because that's when our basement flooded. Travis discovered it when he came from work and cleaned it all up. The plumber came on Wednesday and we couldn't get the trap downstairs to replicate what it had been doing: overflowing every time we flushed the toilet. He snaked our pipes and I'm praying we don't have to replace them. Our next task is get rid of the nasty, musty odor that it left downstairs.
Thursday night, Ethan went down at 9:30 P.M. as usual and didn't wake up until 4:00 A.M. I was so elated to run on more than 3 consecutive hours of sleep! But it got better. Friday Ethan didn't wake up until 6:30 A.M. That's right everyone, my baby slept through the night! Wait. It gets better. Saturday Ethan didn't wake up until 6:30 A.M.!!!!

I LOVE RICE CEREAL!
Apparently, Ethan does too because look how happy he is to eat it.

Saturday was wonderful because Travis and I went on our first BIG TIME date since Ethan was born. We drove into Ogden and saw a matinee of Open Season, which was funny but relied too heavily on bathroom humor for being a kid's movie and left us wondering why Pixar seems to be the only animation company that knows how to develop a storyline. Then we went Boccia's D'Italia for some amazing Italian food. The Boccia's moved to New York from Italy in the early 1900's and started a restaurant in Little Italy. Their youngest son moved to Utah and opened a restaurant in Ogden. This place is a no frills establishment that relies solely on its incredible food. Their decorating philosophy can be summed up in two words: Frank Sinatra. Pictures, posters, books, autographed memoribilia and, of course, the songs wafting through the dining room. I got cheese ravoili and the pasta was fresh and smooth, the cheese rich, but not overpowering and the sauce was too good for words. With every bite I took, I could see some Italian Nona nursing the pot of gently simmering tomatoes, garlic and onions and adding spices until it tasted just right. It wasn't a taste I could reproduce, which makes it a homerun in my book. Not to mention that the piping hot breadsticks they brought to our table were thick and topped with garlic olive oil and parmesan. Whenever our basket ran low our waiter, whose name was Glen, but in order to make the story more authentic I'll refer to him as Gino, promptly brought us another basket of hot breadsticks. The meal was magnificent and because Gino was talking with "The Boss" it took him a while to bring us our check so he sent us with a complimentary cannoli. Needless to say, the next time any of you visit us, we're taking you to Boccia's. I took this darling picture of Ethan and Lexie this morning. Lex loves to hang out around Ethan when he's playing and just watch him and sniff his ears. That's right, sniff his ears. Travis and I had to laugh at how this picture makes Lex look huge. I guess we have to keep in mind that Ethan is only 13 pounds and that'll give us the necessary perspective.

Banana Bread

This is my faithful banana bread recipe and one that I find highly nostalgic because it was the first Cooking Light recipe that I ever used. That's right folks, this is the recipe responsible for my obsession. I've never had this fail on me and every time it produces a beautiful loaf that tastes even better than it looks. My favorite thing about this banana bread is that it doesn't contain any Crisco, my arch enemy, which leaves a pithy residue on the roof of my mouth. This banana bread is moist, sweet and carries the perfect level of butter and vanilla flavor. I guarantee that after you try this recipe you'll never use your old banana bread recipe again.

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3-4 bananas)
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into loaf pans that have been coated with cooking spray. (Note: I fill mine only 2/3 full because these rise a lot) Bake at 350° for 40-50 min. for a mini pan and 1 hour for a regular size bread pan, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

This recipe makes one large loaf or three mini loafs.

A Picture for Scott

No commentary I make can capture what this picture does. It is truly worth a thousand words. At least.

Turkey Meat Loaf with Sun-dried Tomatoes

I found the base for this recipe on my beloved epicurious the other day and decided to give it a whirl. I'm not a fan of meat loaf, for really no reason other than its name: meat loaf. It just sounds disgusting. Plus, I have a hard time thinking anything should be baked in a bread pan other than bread. But nonetheless, I got a good deal on ground turkey breast and wanted to do something unusual, for me at least, with it. Boy, was I ever shocked by the result. This is simply delicious. Travis and I both wolfed it down and it'll definitely be a repeat item. The pine nuts are the one ingredient that I wasn't so sure about, but they are irreplaceable to this recipe. They add an indescribeable texture that's incredibly satisfying and combined with their slight nuttiness, left me digging for the pine nuts like little nuggets of gold. Overall, the meat loaf was bursting with refreshing flavors, moist and a welcome change from the standard meat loaf. You have to give this recipe a try.

1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten to blend
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
12 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in boiling water for 10 min. and chopped
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Transfer mixture to 8 1/2x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Bake until loaf pulls away from sides of pan and top is golden brown, about 45-50 minutes.

Serves 4.

Our Week in Photos

This last week was a busy one. Travis has a big test today and had a grueling homework assignment due last Wednesday, so he spent literally every spare minute studying. I'm behind a couple days in my classes so I, too, spent every spare minute studying. Of course, Ethan keeps us having fun and if it weren't for him we'd probably be certifiably crazy by now. Here's the play by play:

Monday: Here is a picture of Ethan at his snuggly best. Sometimes he gets sudden onset fatigue and instantly becomes a little magnet. I love it!

Ethan's Halloween costume arrived today and Travis and I couldn't resist taking pictures. However, so we don't ruin the Halloween pictures we'll have,
I'll reveal little tidbits of his picture until Halloween.
Anyone want to guess what he is going to be?

Tuesday: We had our wonderful neighbor, LaRaine Nelson, over for dinner. She is so kind to us and crocheted the beautiful blue and white blanket that Ethan is modeling.

Wednesday: For the first time ever, Ethan was able to hold on to his toys as he played!
He was so darling as he tossed his hands back and forth,
engaging in what appeared to be a game of
"Keep Away From Mommy", yet never dropped his rattle.
One minor victory for mankind. One major victory for Ethan!


Thursday: Last weekend we picked all the pumpkins from our garden and today we had the perfect weather for a photo shoot with our big pumpkins and our
little punkin. Here are our favorite three pictures.
P.S. Paul, see Ethan sporting the beanie you got him? I love it!

Saturday: We went down to Mel's to dogsit and Tammy came over to pick up some things we had for her. Ethan and Robert got to play for a little bit before Tam had
to take off and Travis snapped this adorable picture of them.
Can you believe Ethan is six weeks older?
Neither can I!

Bonus: On Friday night, Lexie was a little needy for some lovin' and cuddlin'. Travis and I spent some time scracthing her and playing with her before we went
to bed, but apparently it wasn't enough. We knelt for prayer and Lex
came over and snuggled down inbetween my legs. I died laughing, and
Lexie didn't budge until I moved her. I think she likes my silky pajamas.