Raindrops on roses, etc.

I thought I would post about some of my favorite things lately.

1. I requested this item for Christmas and LOVE it so far.
The enamel was chipping off of our other beater (what's with that?--we've only had it 6 years) and we risked consuming it in our food long enough. Anyway, this thing is great. Why couldn't I think of inventing that? When I made the cake batter for Elizabeth's birthday, I didn't have to scrape the bowl one bit.

2. I love this soup*. Serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches and it is so yummy and takes all of 10 minutes to prepare. The girls love it, too.
*Just don't make the mistake I did and buy the low-sodium kind. I could definitely tell the difference. The kids did, too, and were not fans of it either.

3. This game:
Elizabeth and I were playing last night and I was amazed at how good she is. I like it because it's math-y and all about seeing patterns. I keep hoping she'll like math, too. So far she does. For the record, Joe hates this game so if you don't like games like this don't bother with this one but I think it's fun.

4. This roll recipe that I got from a friend from church:

60 Minute Rolls
Combine:
3 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar (or less)
2 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. dry milk powder
1 tsp. salt

In glass measuring cup combine:
1 1/2 c. hottest tap water
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Gradually pour the liquid into the dry mixture, stirring. Beat (by hand or mixer) for 1 minute. Gradually add another 1 cup of flour and knead for 4 minutes. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes. Punch down and pinch off little balls about the size of golf balls. Place in greased 9x13 pan (we like about a Tbsp. of butter melted in the bottom). Brush another Tbsp. of butter on top of rolls. Cover and let rise 15 minutes. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Makes 24 rolls.

They are so fast to make and oh so yummy. I make them all the time now. I always half it and use more than half whole wheat flour.

4. These cute clippies. I finally got my act together and ordered some hair clippies from my friend Cindy. I don't want to steal one of her pictures but her button is on the side. I love them! They are all adorable, for one thing, and the girls fight over which ones they get to wear. But, what I love most is that they don't fall out! Thanks again, Cindy.

5. This book:
If you haven't read it, I would really recommend it. My mom let me borrow it when Natalie was a baby and I loved it then. I got it for Christmas and have been reading it again. She writes so beautifully and it makes me feel calmer just reading it.

Yum, Yum

We gave Nate his first solid food the other day. He actually did pretty good with it and got a good amount of it down. Here are the pictures:

I love this messy face:

Elizabeth took this picture. See how happy he was afterward:

Of course he hasn't always done so well since then. It's hard to find a time when he's hungry enough to eat but not so hungry that he gets frustrated by the whole thing.

On an unrelated note, I found a shirt in his dresser the other day and thought it might fit him. When I looked at what size it was, I saw 2T! It fit, too, and was even a little snug. Granted, almost all of our clothes are hand-me-downs and have been washed a lot, but still...2T!

Here he is sporting the shirt
(of course he spit up all over it as soon as I put it on):

Come on... you have to admit that is one cute kid. :)

Party Time

Elizabeth had her first official friend party on Saturday. I encouraged her in wanting a Fancy Nancy party, if only so we wouldn't have to have a princess party, although it ended up being essentially the same thing. The girls all dressed up and we had fun doing typical birthday party things. We played some games, read a Fancy Nancy book, ate cupcakes and opened presents. They seemed to enjoy it, so I suppose it was worth all the effort on my part.

Here are some pictures:

We had a dress-up relay race which was actually too hard because of the fact that they were already dressed up:

Here's the table I set for cupcakes and pink lemonade:

I got all of that material from my grandma and it's been stuffed in our dress-up box. Joe has been trying to convince me to throw it away but I wouldn't. It finally came in handy for something! Ha! I found those little plastic goblets at the dollar store.

We had these yummy rainbow cupcakes:

I found the recipe here. Theirs are much prettier. They were so cool! The girls and I had fun making them and the kids all thought they were cool to eat. Now Joe wants them on his birthday :).

Here's the birthday girl blowing out the candle:

I only have a few more days until my oldest turns 5. Weird. More to come....

More Winter Fun

We packed a suitcase once again for a quick trip up to the mountains last weekend to visit my mom at their cabin. It was a lot of fun. While there, we had our family's first sledding experience. The girls loved it. As is common, the camera died after only a few pictures (I never remember to charge it). So, here's what I have:

Natalie ready to go

Picking up speed

She would usually end her runs by sliding right off the saucer at the bottom

The battery died right as Joe was taking Nate down for his first run.

Doesn't he look thrilled?
Joe's expression cracks me up:

I didn't get any of Elizabeth but she LOVED it. Joe even built a little jump for her. She would fly off the saucer and get up laughing.

Other than that trip, we haven't done much lately. The girls wore their ballet outfits one day and enjoyed dancing to music from the Nutcracker. They liked to pretend that I was their slave-driving ballet instructor making them "Leap! Twirl! Leap! Twirl!" I didn't even have to do anything, they just came up with the orders and then laid down talking about how tired they were:

Hopefully actual ballet lessons will be as fun as pretend lessons.

I wanted to give an update on our "little Nathaniel", as the girls call him. I think that the last time I really wrote much about him I was complaining about how fussy he was. Well, he has done a complete 180. He is such an easy baby now. We stopped his medication quite awhile ago and he has even been sleeping on flat surfaces again. He really grew out of his tummy problems.

I've decided that right now is a really easy age. He is sleeping through the night yet he's still young enough that he'll just hang out in his bouncer for extended amounts of time. He's not mobile. He's not on solids so I don't have to take the time for that yet. He mostly just smiles whenever anyone pays any attention to him and generally just spreads sunshine. Of course I'm excited to give him cereal and to see him start moving around, but I'm also just enjoying this stage right now and taking advantage of the extra time I have. I'm especially enjoying snuggling with my little guy while he's still little.

One night, his tummy did seem to be bothering him. The cure? Laying on his tummy with Daddy patting his back, his thumb in his mouth, and the TCU/Boise State bowl game to watch.

Yep. I think we have another full-fledged thumb-sucker on our hands. I'm fine with that at this point.

Look how cute...

I just think it's impossible to be unhappy with this face smiling up at you all of the time: