Saturday, August 30, 2014

Nora’s words

“mama”

“dada”

“nurnur” (nurse)

“nighnigh” (night, night)

“bubu” (brother)

“nana” (bananna)

“bubu” (baby—sounds pretty much the same as brother)

“tea” (kitty)

“eye” (hi)

“mo” (more)

Her words just blow me away.  I know other kids have started talking on the early side as well, but I think it is amazing.  You can even explicitly teach her words and sounds at this point. 

Signs—“more” and “nurse”

Tricks—clap, blow a kiss, high five

 

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Sunday, August 24, 2014

She’s 1! Yay!

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And cry a little too…

Some quick favorites from our birthday celebration today.

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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Garden Fun—favorite easy recipes!

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My garden this year—kept it pretty small and contained after I completely failed to keep up with last years garden.  It is a new spot (since we are in a new house).  We put it in late and added nothing to the soil (no manure, fertilizer, anything).  It has grown slowly, but really provided just the right amount for our family.  Plus—the weeds grow much less quickly!!!  Oh and it is also a bit of a patchwork since Joseph went plant shopping with me and helped pick out some items, plus snuck a few in the cart.  We have soybeans, two kinds of melons, and sweet potatoes which I have never grown before.  My carrots and cucumbers are much more successful then they ever were in my other garden bed—not sure why.  Peppers and pumpkins were very unproductive.  I love the challenge of growing and then using what is in the garden. 

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Here are some of our current favorite recipes:

Kale chips

Tear washed and dried kale into little pieces, toss with olive oil and a little salt and pepper.  Bake until crispy

Beans with milk

Boil yellow and green beans until tender.  Drain and add a little milk and butter immediately.  Serve in a bowl.

Bean casserole

Boil beans in water, drain, mix with garlicky bread crumbs and sour cream, salt and pepper.  Bake.

Squash casserole

Same as Bean Casserole but with any mixture of summer squashes

Sautéed garden veggies

Obvious

Kale pesto

Process kale, basil, pine nuts (or other kinds of nuts), olive oil, and parmesan

Tart with garden veggies

Spread out a thawed frozen puff pastry and stick any of your favorite veggies on it, maybe some cheese.  Pre-cook veggies if necessary.  You can make very pretty arrangements as well. 

Refrigerator Pickles

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/easy-refrigerator-pickles-10000001646440/
My
new favorites—so easy and yummy.
 

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

End of the school year… (First grade)

Yup.  You read right.  That’s how behind I am!

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End-of-the-year concert.  He came up with this outfit on his own, which is very exciting since all previous concerts their were tears and arguments involved in trying to get him to dress up.  He was also being quite brave because he had two sties in his left eye that had it swollen up very badly (can’t tell how much in this picture).  At first he was refusing to go, but we talked a lot about it and finally he decided to go!

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Don’t go and start thinking he has a normal size class—that is Kindergarten and First grade up there.  They did a great job, Nora sat through the whole thing, and it was all very enjoyable. 

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I organized an end-of-the-year Authors’ Party for Joseph’s class (writing is one of my favorite subjects and I volunteered during writing time a bit throughout the year—tough not as much as I would have liked to.)

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Everyone read aloud two of their published books.

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Tanner

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Landon (who moved away….tear)

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Cayden

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Ruby

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Elijah (Nora was getting squirmy…)

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Kyle—who just moved here!  Yay!

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My “Great Writing First Grade” chocolate chip cookie bars

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Last day of school picnic

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See you next year school!

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Wonderful and beautiful baby shower for my cousin Heather

 

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Cousin Killian’s High School Graduation

The last weekend of school we traveled to NH to see my cousin Killian graduate from high school.  We had a wonderful time!!!

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Lilypie Third Birthday tickers