Will Sing For Cheerios

This is my second attempt at getting this video to post and I'm getting a little frustrated with Blogger. It's a short video, but it shows how we're already enjoying the first fruits of Ethan's vocal lessons. Did I forget to mention that Travis is teaching him to sing? Just listen. I'm sure you'll hear the amazing similarities in their vocal stylings.



All joking aside, I find how both Ethan and Travis sing to be completely adorable.

Things here have been their crazy usual, with the added bonus of Ethan cutting six new teeth in the last 4 weeks. That's right, six, 6, seis, sechs, sei ! He now has all four top teeth and four bottom teeth. The top ones are still dropping down and the two on the bottom are still coming up, but the poor little fella has been miserable. It got so bad that one day Travis said, "Do you think that maybe this is just his temperament?" We had gone so long without happy giggly Ethan that we almost forgot he existed. Luckily, the last teeth came through and he's a little irritable from time to time, but for the most part he's back to himself. This also means that I'll resume taking pictures. He's some proof of afore mentioned teeth:


And here's a darling photo of Ethan after he fell asleep in the stroller on our nap yesterday. Yes, his left hand is hugging a carrot. He loves carrots and finds chewing them to bits to be his favorite past time of late.


Now that the misery of teething is mostly over I'll resume taking and posting pictures. I wasn't about to post pictures of Ethan during the teething phase. Not only would it make me look like a horrible mother with a miserable baby, but it would discourage all pregnant women and women hoping to ever have babies. This way, you see the darling teeth without the pain.

In other news, check your mailboxes. Ethan's Valentines will be arriving shortly!

Back Blogging: Picture Style

I still haven't quite caught up on back blogging our latest adventures, but after this installment I should be done. Here we go!

The first weekend of the month we went down to my mom's and met up with our friends Peter and Kristina. Travis set them up and likes to take all the credit for their happy marriage. Well, not all, but he does like a handsome cut. P&K are on break from school in Wisconsin, where Peter's getting his PhD in Chemical Engineering. We enjoyed a delicious Greek meal at Ultimate Broiler in Orem and had fun catching up!

Ethan enjoyed lunch as well because he got to bring Grandma's measuring cups along. Maybe he'll be like mommy and love cooking. It looks promising!

After lunch we headed over to Kristina's parent's house so we could see their darling daughter, Kaylee. She had been napping, but we woke her up and didn't feel too remorseful for being nap destroyers. Look at how cute she is! If she'd kept sleeping we would have missed out on her fun personality and all the joy of the toddler stage that we have to look forward to.

Ethan and Grandma hanging out at Grandma's house.
Watch out ladies, he's already a hot date!

One of these things is just like the other... It just so happens that both Travis' Aunt Claudia and my mom bought Ethan the exact same outfit! What are the chances? Aunt Claudia bought it for E to wear this winter and I immediately fell in love with it. She got a 9 month which should have been perfect, but E is a little on the shrimpy side, so it doesn't even fit him. I've been sad about it and wondering if there's any non-geeky way I could make it fit him next Christmas. That is, of course, when mom called and said she found the cutest Christmas outfit at the after Christmas sales and couldn't wait for E to wear it next year. She excitedly pulled it out when we got to her house and I said, "Oh my gosh! It's the one we have!" So, Ethan's cousin Robert will be modeling the 9 month version this year and E will model the 16 month version next year.

How do you know he's my baby? Look at him devour that hummus!
How do you know he's Travis' baby? Look at the mess he's making!
:o)

We're sorry you couldn't join us for dinner tonight, but we ate Saffron and Rosemary Focaccia with roasted garlic, caramelized red onion pearls and kalamata olives for you. Believe it or not, this was actually my homework assignment. I've had a crazy last week because my academic plan came to a screeching halt. The local university where I take my language classes let me know that they had canceled my Spanish class this semester and didn't know when/if they'd be offering it again. Uber bad news considering I have 3 more semesters to go. So I spent a lot of time researching, praying, asking for advice and trying to figure out what to do. And then, just as they say, when God closed a door, he opened a window.

Instead of finishing my BA in English from BYU, I'll now be getting my BS in Home and Family Living from BYU. This Spring and Summer (May 1 - August 18) I'll be living at my mom's in Spanish Fork and attending BYU again to get some classes that they don't offer through Independent Study. Travis and I will alternate driving to each other on the weekends and he'll be taking his two capstone courses on his Masters. (Translation: Even if I were home we would have no time together) It's going to be hard, but I feel blessed to have a way to finish school. It means so much to me to graduate and I've been lingering at the "Near Graduation" point for so long that it's tiring. The degree has been funny to me because I've never even taken a Home Ec. class. I've kind of felt that there's no need to study life. But now I see how what I'm learning will be implemented every day, such as my edible homework assignment.

Bad News:
All the classes I've taken the past year don't count toward any of my new graduation requirements.

Good News:
It isn't grueling, study-your-brains-out material, which I'm particularly enjoying at this stage in life.

Wish me luck. I just want to graduate.

Banana Spice Muffins; Part II

Due to popular demand, I'm posting the banana muffin recipe. I think these would be really yummy with raspberry jam, though I haven't tried that yet. Enjoy!

Banana Spice Muffins

1 C. whole-wheat flour (I used WW pastry flour, a finer grind)
¼ C. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ C. packed brown sugar
¼ C. olive oil
1 egg, beaten
½ C. soymilk or regular milk
zest of 1 orange
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed well (I food process mine and they’re soupy)
¼ C. rolled oats
¾ ounce (scant ¼ cup) chopped hazelnuts

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Combine first 7 ingredients (WW flour through sugar) in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl (I used my Kitchenaid here) combine olive oil, egg, soymilk, zest and banana.
4. Pour the dry ingredients in with your wet ingredients and mix until it just comes together. Don’t overmix, it makes rubbery muffins.
5. Place muffin liners inside your muffin tin and quickly spray each one with non-stick spray. Spoon the batter into your liners. Each muffin will be a little over ¾ full.
6. Combine the oats and hazelnuts and sprinkle over all the muffin batter.
7. Bake 18-20 min., until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

A Picture Post (AKA: My Mother-in-Law's Favorite Kind of Post)

Ethan loves morning play time! He plays with all his toys and giggles the whole time.

Further proof of love of playtime.

Ethan getting ready for his second favorite time of the day. Drum roll please...

Ethee with teethies practices proper oral hygiene and brushes his teeth. Both his top incisors, read "fangs", have broken through so Ethan's begun caring for his pearly whites.

Me, Ethan and Jenny Babbel my Oregon friend! Jenny now lives in Logan and goes to USU, so she stopped by to see us on her way home for the holidays. Good times were had by all and I took full advantage of the fact that Jenny loves doing dishes. ("I know it's kind of weird, but it's like a stress reliever for me." -Jenny) I was especially happy that Jenny got to meet Travis and Ethan. She was on her mission when we got married and when E was born.


I had to document how happy Ethan is when he wakes up from his naps. When I open the door he rocks on his tummy and starts squealing. It's adorable!

Daddy and the boy sporting their green thermals. Help! I'm surrounded by cuteness!


In other news, the snow has finally descended on Brigham City. Everything looks beautiful and I'm rather enjoying it, considering the fact that I don't have to drive anywhere.

I had to bake something when the snow starting falling. I send a muffin in Travis' lunch for his mid-morning snack, after all the poor man does leave for work at 6:15 A.M. So today was a great day to make more muffins for the freezer. They're banana spice muffins made with whole wheat flour and topped with oats and hazelnuts. Yumilicious!

A Merry Christmas Indeed

Once again it's been awhile since I posted. But this time, I've been busy having fun! I pulled a few late nights to finish some Christmas gifts, but from then on, it was a wonderfully peaceful Christmastime.

Now, before I tell you of our Christmas, I must first tell you a story...

A year ago I went to an Enrichment Seminary called, "Cutting the Crazy Out of Christmas." It was given by two ladies who deliver their shpeel year-round and we'd had to book them 14 months in advance. Given their high-demand and the catchy title, I was excited to learn some multitasking skills and get some great ideas. Let me tell you, it was the ultimate disappointment. I walked away thinking that the only way to cut the crazy out of Christmas was to do everything in my power to never become like those ladies. They had 3" binders where they kept track of the following:

• All the presents they've given everyone for the last 5 years (so you don't repeat, obviously).
• Names of all peoples to receive presents, including, I kid you not, the kids' school bus drivers and husband's secretary's children.
• Previous dates,themes, menus and party favors of the 5-6 Christmas parties they host.
• Any calendar they receive throughout the year that has events for December.
  
• List of homes they've caroled to for the past 5 years.

Obviously, there was a bunch more stuff I don't remember, but it was literally a 3" binder and it was packed. So in the hullabaloo of their shpeel, where I felt guilty for not knitting my sister-in-law's neighbor's kid's coats like they had, I actually learned something. One of the women admitted that they had gotten carried away with buying gifts for their children and since then they give each child 4 gifts every year. Now I was listening. Here was her idea:

Something you want,
Something you need,
Something to wear,
And....
Something to read!

This was pure genius! I talked to Travis about it when I got home and we decided to do it, and let me tell you, it was fabulous. The categories really helped us hone in on what the other person wanted and get them personal, thoughtful gifts. So without ado, I'm going to share with you some of our favorite Christmas moments!

Ethan modeling his "Baby's First Christmas" outfit!
I found it at Kohl's on clearance the year previous for, are you ready, $0.70!

Ethan found the Christmas pickle on our tree so he's guaranteed a year of prosperity!

Lexie's "Something to Read" present: The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy.
(A darling, must-have for any family with dogs and kids)

This was a "Bonus" gift that I made Travis. Bless his heart, the man can never remember how to set the table. He stares at it for a few minutes and then either gives up and asks me longingly for help or proceeds onward and sets it wrong. I'm talking fork with knife on the left and spoon on the right with the cup at the top left. So, to be funny, I made him placemats and laminated them! As you can see, each item is labeled and in the correct spot. Up at the top it says: "I can set the table!" Travis got a kick out of them and is doing much better setting the table now;o)

Daddy and the Boy modeling the matching hats I knitted for them.
(Something to wear)

Think she liked it? Here's mom "Ooooing" and "Aaahhing" over the Christmas wall quilt I made her. I didn't get any full pictures of it, but I will and will post them later. It's 10 various sized blocks of snowpeople and winter scenes and I titled it, "Nancy's Snowfriends."

Ethan chillin' in his "Something you need" a Britax Roundabout car seat. They're expensive pieces of work, but they're beautifully engineered and have the highest safety rating.
That, combined with how comfy it is and how much he likes it, makes it worth it to us.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas; we certainly did!