Foot in my mouth!

This weekend we had some dear friends come up for the day to visit us and to meet Weston for the first time! During lunch we were sharing stories of how each of us at different times have said something when, ya know, we shouldn't have! Amanda's story was about congratulating a lady on her pregnancy when she wasn't pregnant and mine was calling a boyfriend by a different name...oops! Well I think our story telling set me up for a later embarrassing moment that occured later Saturday afternoon....

We were walking around downtown Burbank and stopped into the dollar bookstore. Really neat place! While we were browsing someone up front belted out this really great Italian opera sounding song. Kinda random in a book store, but ok- we thought it was fun! When we went up to the cashier to purchase our cheap books Amanda asked the guy behind the counter if he was the one who did the singing. He proudly said yes that was me. Then here comes my lovely moment... I say " Oh that's great...you must work in a cute Italian restaurant or something and sing to couples during dinner right?" Proud that I had figured this guy out- He looked at me and stated plainly, " No I sing in the opera" OOPs!!! I wanted to crawl in a hole :)

Moral of the story- if you bust out singing in a random public place, people like me will never take you seriously!

7 Months and Counting

Andrew and I were just saying to each other that Weston seems to have changed even this week, growing ever more aware of his surroundings and becoming so much more playful! Speaking of playful, we had a fun time with our dear friends the Dolieslagers on Saturday. Andrew and Duane, pictured above with Noah, have been friends since 3rd grade and Duane's wife Ashley and I have become great friends as well! We have grown so much closer this past year as we both went thru pregnancy with our little guys at the same time. Noah is just 11 weeks older than Weston. Ashley received many phone calls from me during my pregnancy asking if this pain is normal, or if that weird symptom should last long, etc. :) We went over to their darling condo and the guys played with their boys and the girls cooked and of course talked about our guys and boys! As you can see from the pics below that Noah and Weston are on their way to becoming great buds just like their dads. Noah shared his comfy high chair and Weston shared his paci with Noah...Ahhh true friendship, sharing germs.

Looking like such a big boy- "sigh" my heart is already breaking

Not quite sure about eachother yet

Getting aquainted

Noah going in for the kill

Success! Weston isn't bothered, he loves those fingers just the same

Thanks guys for a wonderful night!

This and That

We have been enjoying this crazy weather in a weird way...it is nice to have a reason to stay indoors, but terrible if you need to go anywhere. We have had to venture out a few times for groceries and a doctors appointment for Weston, but for the most part we have been inside nice and cozy! On Monday Weston got his six month shots and weighed in at 15 lbs 2 oz. The doctor is happy with his growth. He is still on the smaller side for his age but is steadily climbing the growth curve. Praise God! He spends most of his time in the jumpy in the pic above! I am pretty sure this is the best invention ever made!

Here is Weston trying his first teething cookie. He liked it for about 2 minutes and then wasn't really sure what to do with it. We will try again in a month or so! I didn't really feel like holding the wet squishy thing for 30 minutes while he knawed on it :( Am I a bad mother?

When the weather is yucky and cold it puts me in such a baking mood! This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe which I will share below. It requires just a bowl and a whisk and is all from scratch! So easy and so yummy. My girlfriend from college shared this jewel of a recipe with me. Thanks Crystal!

The little bug gets so tired after church on Sundays. Had to capture this moment since our guy is SO not cuddly. He likes his independence so a snuggle shot like this is rare :)

The best Chocolate Cake recipe!

1. Mix together 3 cups cake flour, 2 cups sugar, 2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa, 1/2 tsp salt.

2. Make a well in the center of the ingredients.

3. put 2 tsp baking soda in the well and pour 2 Tbls white vinegar on top of the baking soda

4. mix in 3/4 cups vegetable oil, 2 cups water and 2 tsp vanilla extract

5. Whisk until combined.

Pour into two round cake pans or a bundt pan coated with cooking spray and bake a 350 until toothpick comes out almost clean- some crumbs will stick since this cake is pretty moist. ( 30-40 minutes for the bundt cake)

Also note that the color of this cake is almost black and while it is baking it appears foamy sometimes, but turns out perfect every time!

6 Months

Our little guy is already half a year old. He shared his half birthday with his Omie which is New Year's day! What a joy he has been. He is now trying different kinds of fruits and veggies and seems to love them all so far. He now eats apple sauce, green beans, and sweet potato! He is not quite sitting up yet but definitely wants to be more mobile. Over Christmas Grandpa and Omie purchased a doorway jumper for him which he LOVES...and I love too since it keeps him occupied for a while :)

More pics from beautiful Arizona

On New Year's Eve morning my dad and I went on a very vigorous hike up Black mountain in Scottsdale. To date it is the hardest hike I have been on, but the view from the top was worth it! It was a gorgeous clear morning so we could see for miles, even all the way to downtown Phoenix.

The jagged rocky top

If you are wondering, I have gloves and a hat in my front pockets :)

We had a 360 view from the top- amazing

downtown Phoenix off in the distance

Yummy new dish-Cauliflower Fettuccine

My mom sent me home with a nice big cauliflower and I decided to
create something simple and yummy for dinner tonight using it- this
experiment turned out great and I want to share it!

Cut up one head of cauliflower and steam until crisp tender. Mince 3-4
cloves of garlic and sauté 2 min in 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Add
cauliflower pieces as well as 1tsp onion powder and 1 rounded
tablespoon of Dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over
medium heat stirring very little until cauliflower begins to brown a
little. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan and
mozzarella mixed. Cover until cheese melts. About 5 min.
Serve on top of spinach fettucine tossed in a little sea salt and
olive oil and crack some fresh pepper and you are done! Yummy!
(this would also be good without the cheese, just drizzle some good
quality olive oil over the top when serving with a pinch more of salt)

Christmas in AZ

We have been having a wonderful time here in Az celebrating Christmas with our family. It was so nice to have my aunt, uncle and cousins here from Florida, as well as Andrew's dad here to celebrate with us! We have been busy hiking, eating, watching movies and spending time together. Poor Weston has had a pretty bad cold most of the time and the stomach flu hit two of my cousins, but over all it has been wonderful :)

This is a pic of Christmas dinner: Roasted pork tenderloin with a blackberry sauce, brussel sprouts and green beans with walnuts and parmesan, sauteed carrots with sage and au gratin potatoes

First glove from daddy

sisters singing carols

papa Ray

with Omie on Christmas eve

playing geezer golf in the yard

some cousin lovin

Uncle Ronnie's famous burgers in the making