Merry Christmas!

From our home to yours ~

Do a Little Two Step

I know I owe you all more than this but this one just couldn't wait.  Our little baby girl, who turned 11 months old yesterday, stood up unassisted and took her first steps on Saturday!  She had been cruising (standing up and walking while holding on to things) since she could crawl but this came out of nowhere.  You'll see that she doesn't get very far but that's okay with me.  I want her to stop growing up so fast!!

Hello Out There!

Sorry I've been MIA - we've been a busy bunch.  Unfortunately, I'm just stopping by to say hello and give you the promise of lots of posts to come.  I need to sequester myself away one of these days and just sit and start writing.  Keep an eye out for multiple posts possibly all in one day!  Know that Audrey is a happy little girl who ceases to amaze us with how fast she's learning.  She's WAY super cute too but that's no surprise!  ;)  See you soon!!

A Smile For Your Day

When I stopped in at daycare yesterday, I happened upon one of the cutest things I have ever seen.  Since I had to go back again today to administer more ibuprofen to the teething sweet baby - last night was even worse for her! :( - I told myself I had to take my camera in hopes I witnessed the sight again.  Unfortunately, Audrey's mad at me because I had just given her the medicine so I didn't catch a smile but here is how lunchtime goes at daycare....

I can't help but fall in love with the miniature high chairs and the fact that she has a lunch buddy!!

Pearly Whites

Daycare was closed yesterday for a summer vacation day so I got to stay home and play with Audrey all day.  The first odd thing that happened was towards the end of a nice long walk a man in a car accosted me.  I had noticed that he drove passed us while we were waiting to cross the street because he looked at Audrey - I thought to check out the cute baby!  I didn't think any more about him, crossed the street and kept going.  All of a sudden he pulls up next to us which meant he turned his car around to come back and find us. He was angry because Audrey wasn't covered in a blanket (nevermind it was 75 out!) and her feet would burn (the stroller's canopy was down so only her feet were exposed).  I could tell that it didn't matter to this guy what I said so I didn't even try to defend myself.  Besides, I don't have to explain myself to him.  But then I got nervous because we were right in front of our house so I kept walking so he wouldn't know where we lived. Now I'm worried we'll run into him again since we take walks everyday. The whole thing really upset me, #1 because of the nerve of this jerk, his tone and the manner in which he approached me and #2 because it caused me to be rude back to him which I'm not normally.  I was curt and snippy and that's not like me.  It really amazes me how people just offer their opinions when it's really none of their business.

The other odd thing that happened was that after our walk, I noticed that Audrey was very warm and sure enough, she registered a 100.4 degree fever.  Other than that, you'd never know she wasn't feeling well.  She was her smiley playful self all day, even if she did take a third, extra long nap in the afternoon.  Things definitely changed come nighttime.  Bill and I awoke to a very unhappy little baby who was inconsolable.  Audrey had to be rocked to sleep but then kept waking up about every hour or so just crying hysterically.  It was a rough night.

This morning started off okay - just a few tears and a lower fever of 99.4.  The fun started when she was eating breakfast and the real crying began.  It was then it occurred to me that teething has begun!  I think the spoon irritated her gums.  I felt along her bottom gum and there may be a left tooth coming in.  When I touched the top gum, Audrey cried even harder and I think I felt her right tooth coming in.  She, herself, kept trying to touch her gums so this obviously explains her sleepless night and fever.  We didn't get to finish breakfast and she could barely finish nursing and then fell back to sleep until I had to wake her for daycare.  I just ran out over lunch to buy Orajel and co-workers told me about some teething tablets that I still have to get.  I also stopped in to see Audrey at daycare and to give her more Tylenol and the staff said she's been great and just cried a little after her nap.  I have a teething ring in the freezer at home so hopefully between that and the Orajel, we'll have a more peaceful night tonight.

Part of me is a little sad because I love her big gummy toothless grin and this is just more proof that she's growing up.  She'll be 9 months on Tuesday so I suppose it was about time but I'm still bummed.

Dinner is Served

This blog has definitely taken a turn towards family entries - okay, they are mostly about Audrey - but luckily good dinners have begun to return into our mix of meals.  Dinner still leans towards the quick and easy but here are some yummy meals we've had recently.

This first one wasn't recent actually and in fact, I promised many entries about it but never got around to it.  It might of had something to do with the fact that this was my last real meal before morning sickness kicked in full force so it's only been recently that I could think back about this dinner and not feel ill.  Here are some shots of our Cooking Extravaganza #2 with Matt and Sara.  Unfortunately, I don't remember everything that was made amymore.

Course 1 - Lobster Bisque made by Sara

Course 2 - Duck with duck fat potato confit and bacon polenta made by Matt

Course 3 - Moroccan spiced lamb chop with twice baked potato and grilled vegetables made by Bill

Course 4 - Chocolate covered strawberry ice cream bon bon with walnuts made by me

We had another foodie night with Matt and Sara right before the Fourth of July this year and we were fresh off of our Alinea dinner.  We took turns making courses again and even tried our luck at making Alinea's Hot Potato Cold Potato.  Definitely wasn't the same but for our first attempt, it wasn't too terrible either.

Course 1 - Bill's Hot Potato Cold Potato - Using a dixie cup and toothpick: cold potato and white truffle oil soup with a hot potato, crimini mushroom (since we obviously can't find black truffles at the grocery store!), chive, parmesan cheese and butter on the toothpick

Course 2 - spring mix salad with candied pecans, pears, crumbled blue cheese and homemade strawberry vinaigrette made by Bill

Course 3 - the most delicious short ribs, which happens to be from the cow we all purchased, made by Matt

served with a take on a twice baked potato and a slaw salad - both Julia Child's recipes made by Sara

Course 4 - I believe this was also a Julia Child recipe - pound cake with rum sauce and strawberries also made by Sara

This next meal is just one that Bill and I had at home recently.  There is a seafood truck - yes, a truck that sells seafood - that comes up to Iowa City from Texas about once a month and sells seafood.  I know, we were totally skeptical and slightly grossed out too (the oil spill didn't help things either), BUT, we had only heard great things so we decided to check it out and are so glad we did.  Bill bought shrimp and lump claw crab meat and decided to make crab cakes for dinner that night.  I LOVE crab cakes.  If they are ever on a menu, chances are that's what I'm ordering.  The ones he made this night were the best ones I have ever eaten.....seriously. We served the cakes with a cranberry walnut salad, biscuits which I jazzed up with cheddar cheese and fresh thyme and a mango salsa (not pictured).

This last dinner was also just something Bill and I whipped up at home a few weeks ago.  If you're a follower of this blog, you may remember my experience the first time I ever had pork belly.  Pork belly is basically the slab of meat that bacon is cut from.  Imagine bacon as a main course.  Awesome, right??  We were so excited when we found out we could buy it but we weren't sure what to do with it.  We ate at Perennial in Chicago about a year ago where they braised pork belly in red wine and then finished it on the grill so we decided to try that.  We served the pork belly with a caprese salad and celery root puree - which was SO GOOD!  We've had celery root puree a number of times - most recently at Alinea - but we'd never made it ourselves.  I highly recommend trying it - peel, cube and boil the celery root just like you would if you were making mashed potatoes.  Instead of mashing them, put them into a blender.  I actually mashed them a little first with butter and cream but I think you could just add it all straight in the blender.  Yum, yum, yum!

After writing this I wish we were having a super yummy dinner tonight instead of just leftover pizza!  Happy eating!

Lake Okoboji

We had a wonderful weekend at Lake Okoboji with our good friends Megan, Ben and their son Beckett.  We drove up Friday night and missed a very serious storm by just miles.  We were right on the edge of it and were able to witness the most spectacular lightening show we've ever seen.  The trip took 4.5 hours and Miss Audrey slept most of the way. 

Their house is right on the lake with it's own dock stocked, of course, with a boat and jet ski.  I can't begin to describe how relaxed I felt the minute I took in the view.  On Saturday we got up and went out for breakfast.  It was Audrey's first time sitting in a restaurant high chair!!  She even nibbled a few small pieces of hash browns off my fingers.  We then spent the day by the water, soaking up the sun, swimming, jet skiing and boating.  It was Bill's first time on a jet ski and I was a bit of a nervous nelly riding with him. 

I'm sure if you ask, he'll gladly mimic my commands of "slow down!" and "watch out!".  Just wanted to survive, that's all.  :)  Audrey was even able to partake after donning an infant life jacket.  Not on the jet ski of course but she did get in the water with Bill and went on the boat.

Saturday night, after we had delicious steaks on the grill, we were hoping to be able to sit around a fire pit and eat s'mores but we could see a storm coming in.  "Storm" isn't quite a strong enough word for what ended up blowing through.  First the tornado sirens went off so we had to wake the kiddies up and take them into the basement....a 100-year old basement I might add.  Slightly creepy.  Once the warning expired we headed back upstairs and were greeted with the craziest winds I have ever experienced.  We were convinced the windows were going to shatter (and seeing all of the debris the next morning, I'm shocked we didn't have any projectiles come through).  We could see the trees and bushes bending over, tables and chairs blowing away and the noise was unbelievable.  I've never heard a tornado but I would pay money that if whatever I was hearing wasn't a tornado, it was it's closest cousin.  We finally lost power and sat with candles lit for awhile and made indoor s'mores via matches before the lights came back on along with the calm.  The whole thing lasted about two hours and we thought it was over and were going to head to bed when we heard a tapping on the back door.  Ben answered and all we heard was "Your boat is gone."  We all jumped up and went outside into the mess and sure enough, the hoist where the boat was secured was disconnected from the dock about 6 feet or more and the boat was no where in sight.  It was found two docks away crashed on the rocks - completely totaled. 

Somehow the motor was smashed up through the back of the boat.  We could see and hear a lot of other people outside surveying the damage - some people's entire docks were broken up, a restaurant's whole dock with tied up boats included was gone, a barge along with many boats was marooned on the beach and we could see tons of broken tree branches. 

Our cars miraculously survived getting damaged.  Sadly, since we had no idea this storm was coming, Ben and Megan lost many other belongings such as lounge chairs, life jackets and umbrellas.

The next day in the daylight we were able to get a really good look at everything and found out that the storm brought 90+ mph winds!  We had hoped to take one last dip in the lake but watching dock lumber float by made us realize it wasn't a good idea.  Overall though, it was a fantastic, exciting and relaxing weekend that has made me and Bill realize that a boat and lakehouse are definitely in our future!!

Baby on the Loose!

As we were packing up the car getting ready to head to Lake Okoboji last Friday, someone decided to reach a major milestone.  Audrey began to crawl!!!  She was on the verge for a good month so we knew it would be any day but we were still shocked when she finally put all of the pieces together and actually went forward and kept going.  The cats aren't happy - at least not Tigger.  Before crawling began he knew he could stay safely out of her reach but now, she's relentless.  He bopped her on the head the other day (don't worry, he doesn't have claws and it wasn't very hard) when she wouldn't stop playing with his feet and he couldn't get away.  Oh how life is going to change for him!  And us!  :)  Here's a video that was taken yesterday (on Day 5 of Crawling Life if you're counting) where she conquers a long hallway in our house.  Watch out world!

Audrey's Baptism Weekend

The last weekend in June we finally got Audrey Baptized!  It took us forever to find a church that didn't require us to give our right arm.  Our church had so many hoops for the Godparents-to-be to go through, there was no way we could even get her Baptized and I'm not exaggerating.  Bapitsms are only performed once a month AND the Godparents had to take a class AND must have gotten married in a church (if they're a couple) AND have a letter from their priest saying they were in good standing (aka donate money).  Bill and I know a ton of Catholics but of them, very few have gotten married in the church and even fewer actually attend mass.  I'm not condoning it, I'm just saying.  It would have been easier for me to find someone walking down the street to be a Godparent than anyone I actually know. So, enter the University of Iowa Newman Center.  Their requirements?  One Godparent must be Catholic.  Period.  No proof, no class to take and it could occur anytime on our schedule...or so we thought.  Since it's summer and the students are gone, the priests party.  No, just kidding, although I'm sure they have to be secretly happy like the rest of us in town.  They go to summer hours so it came down to one weekend that would work so we took it.

We asked my brother Sean to be Audrey's Godfather and Bill's cousin Jay to be her Godmother (or Ninang) and got busy planning the weekend. 

My parents were already in town because they were watching Audrey while we went and stuffed ourselves silly in Chicago.  My brother and sister-in-law Dawn came in on Friday and Bill's parents and cousin and her husband Dane came in on Saturday.  I was super excited because my brother has never come out here before so I was anxious for him to see our house and the town.

Friday night we all walked around downtown and had a lot of fun.  Iowa City's downtown is full of shops, restaurants, bars and people.  Lots and lots of people.  We ate dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and then took a leisurely stroll around town.  Every Friday night a band plays in a pedestrian mall so we listened to them for quite awhile while eating gelato.  We turned in somewhat early to get Audrey home.

On Saturday, while Bill waited with Audrey for his parents to arrive, I drove Sean and Dawn around to show them the sights.  I made sure to pass by the Iowa Hawkeye's football stadium - Sean went to Penn State and Iowa has a way of screwing up their season EVERY year.  I also wanted to point out all of the areas that got flooded in 2008 and hit by the tornado in 2006.  There are buildings that still have the flood water line and it's a little freaky to see how much above the car they are.  After driving down a one-way street the wrong way for the first time in my life, we thought the driving tour should end because I was obviously talking too much!  No surprise there.  :) 

That night after everyone got in we hosted a BBQ cookout.  I think we all had a great time sitting around late into the night chatting.  We lit the torches, ate ice cream, played a little bit of corn hole (aka baggo, bean toss, other names I'm sure), and the men smoked cigars.  I loved looking around watching everyone immersed in their conversations around the yard/house.  (I highly recommend that by the way.  The next time you're with a big group of your friends or family, take a second to look around and watch what's unfolding.  I breathe it in and truly enjoy the sights and sounds.)

The next morning we were at church by 10:00 am for mass and the Baptism was immediately following.  Audrey was the only one being Baptized but another couple and their baby stayed to watch.  Audrey was a champ.  Didn't cry once and seemed more interested in the priest's facial hair than anything!  The ceremony was very nice and lasted about 15 minutes. 

Afterwards we walked a few blocks to our favorite brunch in town at The Motely Cow Cafe.

The afternoon was spent taking tours around downtown and taking Audrey into her first big person's pool at the hotel.  She clung to me like she's never done before but she went under water like a big girl, although I'm not so sure she liked it. 

That night after Jay and Dane were on their way back to California (such a short, quick trip) :(  we had everyone over to our house again for burgers and to say our goodbyes.  Overall it was a fantastic weekend and I wish we could hang out with our family so much more than we do.

We're heading to Okoboji Lake in NW Iowa this weekend and we're so excited.  Friends of ours have a house there and a boat so look for pics soon of Audrey's first lake dip and boat ride!!