The End of an Era

Many of you saw on Facebook that Pete and I had been dating for ten years on Thursday.  This picture is from almost a year after our first date, but it shows how young we were.  (we were college graduates, it wasn't like we were high school sweethearts, but still, - look at that fresh pink skin!!)

Our "official" first date was dinner at Rincon, then Chicago at the movie theater.  Rincon is across the street from where I used to work so we go there all the time.  Even though I no longer work at John's we still meet our good friends Joanne and Jerry there for dinner on many a Friday night.  Our favorite waiter was always Louis.  Louis was a runner in the community so he and Pete used to talk about their Bluegrass 10K times, discuss half marathons, etc.  One evening we gave Louis a hard time about wearing a button-up shirt and tie instead of the regular Rincon polo.  He explained to us it was because he was no longer a waiter, he was the manager.

We first took Ellie when she was three weeks old. 

When Pete was out of town for Ellie's first birthday, Joanne and Jerry didn't want us to be alone for dinner, so we went to Rincon. 

Last Friday (3/15) we went to Rincon for dinner (typical), and were talking with Louis about work, his kids, etc., when he told us that he was leaving Rincon!!!!  His wife's family owns another Mexican restaurant in town, and he was going to go work for them.  Saturday (3/23) was his last day.  So we went for dinner, of course. 

 

Both Joanne and I were teary-eyed as we said our goodbyes.  No, he's not moving out of town, but we tend to frequent restaurants in our neck of the woods (Rincon, Oasis, Puccini's, Bangkok House), and his wife's restaurant is on the other side of town.  We will miss his great service, and conversations, but mostly his friendly face.  Good Luck Louis!  It was a great ten years!!

We taught Ellie a new song today.

Don't get it?

Here's a little help.....

Still don't get it??

What about this......

or this:

Friday Phone Dump

1. north lime coffee and donuts
2. carson's 2nd birthday party
3. no-pants nesting cups
4. first beater-licking
5. "read books together, Daddy"
6. chop chop chop
7. bangs
8. 2 bites in one day
9. big girl
  

MORE Success!

Fair readers:  tonight's dinner resulted in a big smooch from the hubs and compliments on making such a good dinner.  This does not happen every night at my house.  So basically I would recommend you all make it the next time you want a rich, warm, filling soup for dinner.  Unlike the minestrone I made last week, this soup is not particularly healthy, in that it contains half-and-half, butter, and Parmesan cheese. 

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

via Pinterest

 

linked from Pinterest: http://www.pinfoody.com/tomato-basil-parmesan-soup-in-the-crockpot/

This did take some prep work to get everything in the crock pot, then you need to allow yourself another 45 min before you want to serve to make the roux and add the cheese, etc.  After eating, we both thought it could be even better (and more decadent) with some lobster or crab meat added before serving.

THEN, after dinner and a walk, we ate dessert:

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

 

via Pinterest

linked from Pinterest: http://andyandbelle.blogspot.com/2012/05/no-bake-nutella-cheesecake.html 

I didn't have Oreos on hand, so I used some other cookies for the crust.  I also didn't use Nutella, but Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (which is pretty much organic Nutella).  And I forgot to add the vanilla.  But it turned out just fine - was quite rich and fun to eat out of jars.

My adorable assistant:

Some Pinterest Successes

I've made a few Pinterest recipes over the past few weeks that have turned out really well, so I thought I would share them. 

It is VERY hard to get out the door on the mornings I work and have Ellie ready, her bag ready with her lunch and milk in it, my lunch packed, clothes on, etc.  I also tend to do better if I have more protein in the mornings - keeps me going strong and all that.  Cassidy posted something about these egg muffins to Instagram so I got the recipe from her board.  Here's the link to the recipe:
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2006/10/egg-muffins-revisited-again.html

and the pic from pinterest: 

 

I made my first batch last Sunday and ate the last one this morning as I was driving Ellie to daycare.  I made the second this evening - so now I'm ready for the week ahead!  Mine don't look as good as the picture, but I don't have silicon muffin cups.  My first batch used green onions, but I was out of those so this week I just used some Rotel (all things are better with Rotel, right?)

I also made these last week:  No Bake Energy Bites

 

The pin doesn't link to a recipe, but the ingredients are listed as: 1 cup (dry) oatmeal, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup ground flaxseed, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tsp. vanilla.  So I just mixed all the ingredients together, rolled them into balls using my tablespoon measure as a scoop, and popped them in the refrigerator.  These are very tasty I put 2 of them in my lunch bag as a late afternoon snack or pick-me-up between clients.

The last recipe I made was this evening:  Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

 

Here's the link to the tutorial:  http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/guaranteed-crispy-sweet-potato-fries-sriracha-mayo-dip/

These were just okay, not very crispy.  I didn't really care because I love sweet potatoes whether they are crispy or not, I'm not sure these were any any better than the roasted sweet potato wedges I make regularly, and it required a few extra steps.  

My favorite thing that I made recently was not from Pinterest but from ATK's Slow-Cooker Revolution:  The Garden Minestrone - so, so delicious! I planned ahead and froze three 2-cup containers after Pete and I had it for dinner last week, and have since eaten them all for lunch over the last five days.  America's Test Kitchen for the win...again.  

I've got two more Pinterest recipes to try tomorrow- I will report back. :)

Also, since I know the real reason you all read my blog, a picture of Ellie:

 

She chose this outfit on Saturday.  Must've known it was warming up for a couple of days.  Sorry it's in motion, but that's how she rolls. 

She's at the Post!!

Sunday we had plans to go to Louisville to see our friends Carden and Courtney (and their kiddos Clark and Campbell).  However, the potluck for their farm wasn't until four, so we called Aunt Audrey and Uncle Andrew to see if they'd like a little Ellie time first.

Ellie does best when she is in a place where she can run around a little.  We think she is still a little young for the Louisville Science Center, so Pete suggested we take her to The Derby Museum.  It was a great idea!  There were a ton of places she could run free, and she got to ride on and see some of her beloved "Hee-Haws."

We all got in on the Dress Like a Jockey exhibit (which is something I had already planned for Ellie's birthday party), and enjoyed the walking tour around the paddock and grandstand area.  Our cute little tour guide couldn't get over how fast Ellie was as she ran all over Churchill Downs.  Luckily, we had Pete to chase her.

The arrow shows Pete, running after Ellie, who had escaped into the grand stands.

Then we went to the Place on Earth CSA farm potlock  and got to meet baby Campbell and see Clark again.  Ellie was shy for about 2.5 seconds before she showed Clark that she too was an enthusiastic hugger and could run all.over.all.the.time.  Their fathers couldn't have been more proud :-)

22 months.

Cue Frankie Valli: "Bye bye baby, baby goodbye; Bye bye baby don't make me cry."

It would seem our baby girl is gone.  She is all toddler now, all the time.  Mind you, as I prepped this blog, I just had to go upstairs and rock her back to sleep (because 45 min is NOT a nap).  Yes, Pete and I miss our baby girl, her big chubby cheeks and bald head, we miss being able to take still photographs of her and do ANYTHING without chasing her hither and yon.  That being said, Ellie is at the absolute coolest, funniest, most amazing developmental stage right now. Her speech has really taken off in the last two months.  This from someone who knows a thing or two about speech.  Here's the thing, though:  I studied typical development in school, but all I've ever worked with is atypical (it's how I have a job, yo) - so to see all the things I had to learn in school actually happening in the proper sequence at the proper chronological age is nothing short of amazing!  One day, all Ellie could say was, "sock."  About two weeks later, it was "mommy sock,"  "ellie sock," "daddy sock," (agent + object - wouldn't Dr. Capilouto be proud?!?), two weeks after that it was "mommy gray socks," "ellie red socks," "daddy white socks" - grammatical morphemes practically leaping off the page!!  (Michelle + Tara, I know you know what I'm talking about.)  Then, on February 17th, it was, "No Daddy, No push it cart."  Her first 5-word phrase!!  She pretty much hasn't looked back since then.

In her 21st and 22nd months Ellie also mastered her colors and the ability to count to ten.  (I'm working on catching these skills on video, but we've had a few witnesses.)  On February 13th, Pete was taking her to school and turned his back while he left the car door open.  When he turned back around, Ellie had climbed up into the car and into her seat on her own!  Ellie has developed her personality as well, so we can't just get dressed in the morning anymore - she wants to pick her clothes, socks, and, most especially, her shoes.  I am having little success explaining to her that usually little girls don't wear running shoes with cable knit tights and a dress, so if you see us out and about and Ellie has on an odd assortment of clothes, you can assume she chose her outfit.

Ellie is pretty good with names.  She's very proud of herself when she remembers someone's name.  Case in point:  Construction started today on our basement office/built-ins (yay!).  The name of the project manager is Mike.  He has been to our house a few times now for the proposal, some measurements, contract signing, etc.  So ALL MORNING anytime Ellie heard the door open or saw Mike go out to his truck for more wood or heard a noise from the basement she said, "Mike! Mike? Mike!!"  Luckily, Mike has a son who is a year or so older than Ellie, so he gets a kick out of her.

Ellie has also assigned Pete a color.  Not surprisingly, it is orange.  "Daddy utch" is about how it comes out.  It used to only apply to orange crayons, markers, and chalk.  Every time we were coloring, she would pick out the orange and bring it to Pete.  Now when we go to the grocery store and we see actual oranges, or grapefruits, or pretzels with an orange box, they each get labeled, "Daddy utch."  Yes Ellie, your daddy is orange, the rest of the world just calls it red. :-)

We go to the YMCA every Saturday morning for swim class.  She loves it even more than she did last year.  We have to be very careful not to mention swim class until it is time to put on her swimsuit and leave the house.  Otherwise all we hear is "swim class?  Owen?  swim class!" and she finds her swimsuit and tries to put it on over her head.  Unfortunately, Owen does NOT like swim class as much as last year, so he did not get in a boat with Ellie.  Maybe this week.



Being Ellie's mom is the most exhausting and frustrating task I've ever attempted, but it is also the most fun and rewarding.  I'm so glad she's the babe we got, because she's the best and our absolute favorite.

The world is her trampoline.

 

Friday Phone Dump

this week with videos!

Meeting Baby Kate

We drove to South Carolina to meet Miss Katherine Elizabeth Wheeler this weekend.  The only person who exceeded mine and Pete's excitement to see the new baby seemed to be Ellie.  All weekend she shouted at the top of lungs, "Baby Kate!" "Baby Kate sleeping?" "Baby Kate upstairs?"

Ellie meets her new friend Kate, still brand new to us at five weeks old.

Love this pic of the daddies and their mini-mes

Perfecting the 'one-finger' touch.

Jen reading Ellie a book (in German!)

Looks like he knows what he's doing.

"MATT!" was another favorite Ellie exclamation.  So much that she used it again upon spotting a dark-haired guy at the grocery store this morning. :-)

We arrived on Saturday afternoon after an overnight at Matt's parents' house in Tennessee (thanks John and Peggy!), and had a great time visiting with the new Wheeler family.  It's amazing how quickly I forgot how small and lightweight a newborn is.  The first time I lifted Kate into my arms, I almost threw her to the ceiling!  I've obviously gotten used to picking up a much larger baby.

Matt and Jen are doing such a great job tackling all the new adventures having a newborn in the house brings.  Can't wait to see them again - hopefully this summer for a weekend.  Our girls are going to grow up seeing each other at the beach annually (fingers crossed), and I can't wait to watch their friendships (and shenanigans) begin!

Our Snowy Day.

She looks like an intern for Santa Claus

We have had two days of snowfall and are expecting to get more overnight tonight.  This never happens in Lexington.  Yesterday's snow was very powdery and it was 9 degrees out so we didn't have an opportunity to play.  But today it got up to 32 degrees!  So we suited Ellie up in her brand new snow pants and coat from Joanne & Jerry, grabbed our saucers and sled, and headed down the street to the Lexington Hearing and Speech Center.  They have a small field next to their playground with a nice, small, gentle slope to it.

ready to go

Can't even wait until we've left our yard to try out the saucer.

Hitching a ride from mom to the LHSC.

We weren't sure how much she would like it, so she rode down on my lap the first few times, but then Pete went down once by himself - on his tummy.  Next thing we know, Ellie starts chanting, "Eh-ya turn, Eh-ya turn."  So we sent her down on her tummy and she loved it!  She would get to the bottom and start walking back up for another trip down the hill.  

coming back up the hill

I tried to go down once on my own, but Ellie decided she wanted to chain on behind me - it was so funny!

 
We're so happy Ellie enjoyed her first sledding experience.  Pete and I loved taking her!!