To Infinity and Beyond!

Holden’s current love is Buzz Lightyear.  Except he can’t say Buzz, so he calls him “yond” (as in Beyond).  Too cute.  He flies him around the house, shoots his laser and sleeps with him.  Holden pretends to be Mr. Lightyear by standing up in his booster seat and saying “Yond” with his arms in the air - meaning “to infinity and beyond” and then he will shoot you with his pretend lasers.  I love it.  Can you guess what costume this little guy will be sporting for Halloween?

We love you Holden – you are so cute and bring a smile to our face every day.  We wish we could freeze you in time!

Baby Girl’s Growing Up!

My baby girl lost her first tooth!  We didn’t even know it was loose until she informed Jason it was hanging on by a thread.  She was tough and was able to coax it out.  I was out of town for my cousin’s wedding and missed the whole event.  But, when I got home it was the first thing she told me – how she is a big girl now.  Taya was so excited to receive her special dollar coin from the tooth fairy.  The tooth fairy was busy at our house since Dawson lost a tooth the very next day.

 

Recipe Share - Quinoa and Black Beans

This may be one of the healthiest meals on the planet.  If you are unfamiliar with Quinoa - it is a nutty grain from South America and is high in protein.  It is super healthy.  You can find it in the rice aisle at your local supermarket and they even sell it at Costco.  My kids LOVE this recipe.  If you ask Taya her favorite meal - she will tell you Quinoa and Black Beans.  They ask for this on a regular basis.  I serve this alone as the whole meal...but we are not really into meat.  I have made it without cilantro when I did not have time to get to the store and it was still good, but it is best with the cilantro for that extra flavor.  Enjoy!

Reposted from allrecipes.com.  Click here for the original recipe.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1.Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2.Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3.Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Back to School Celebration for the MOMS!

A girls night out at Cheesecake Factory to celebrate the kiddos heading back to school.  I love these ladies!

Back to School!

It’s that time again.   We have had an awesome and relaxing summer and now it’s time to buckle down and hit the books!  Our back to school activities started with Taya’s meet and greet for Kindergarten the day before school. 

 

She got to visit her classroom and meet her teacher, Mrs. Lemos.  Taya loved her teacher instantly and gave her a great big hug.

Hallie and Taya aren’t in the same class.  But, they had fun visiting with each other and showing their classrooms.

Inspired by my Raimi’s craftiness, I decided to write some cute lunch box notes and make a little present to butter up the teachers.  I put some Good and Plenty candy in a mug and wrote this little note “I am looking forward to a GOOD year in your class with PLENTY of learning and fun!”

Then, onto the first day of school.  Taya was so excited…she was dressed with her bed made and ready to go by 6:30am.  Dawson on the other hand thought it was uneventful and I had to pull him out of bed!

 

Ready to walk to school with our neighbors – Kyle and Sydney. 

Kyle (3rd), Dawson (2nd), Taya (Kindergarten), Sydney (3rd)

 

Taya held my neighbor, Jen’s, hand all the way to school while I was pushing Holden in the stroller.  Cute!

Taya was great on her first day.  I walked her into her classroom and got her settled, then I had to leave before most of the other parents to get Dawson to his class.  Thank goodness she was ready for me to get out of there. She came home today giggling and happy and told me all about how fun her first day of Kindergarten was.

Dawson started second grade today in Mrs. Shopbell’s class.

He is already dreading journal writing – his least favorite part of school.  His favorite part – recess, of course! 

  

John Mayer – Battle Studies

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE John Mayer. I think he is a really talented artist.  And if you ask me who my favorite musician is…it’s this guy (although I do not think he is super sexy nor do I want to have his babies as many women loudly proclaimed at this concert).  We were lucky enough to go with a big group of friends to his concert.  There is something magical about good music with good friends on a summer night under the stars…

We got there early and got great lawn seats.  Then, we properly embarrassed Pete by loudly singing happy birthday and eating Amy’s delicious chocolate raspberry cupcakes.  I think it was the best cupcake I have ever eaten…divine!

Great friends, new and old - Krupps, Solanos, us, Torgersens, Knudtsons

LOVE these girls – Amy, Raimi, Kristin, me and Stephanie!

 

Amy and Pete hooked us up with an upgrade to seats…so much better to see him up close and personal.  Owl City opened the concert and I must admit they were pretty bad in person.  I still like their music to dance around when I am getting ready in the morning.  It’s happy music…but everyone else thinks I am crazy.  To each their own.

 

This is why John Mayer is NOT super sexy – look at that guitar face :)  That is what you see most of the concert.

 

This is why women scream they want to bear his children – mad guitar skills!  He played guitar on the floor for one song – too cool.

Until next time John Mayer – you did not disappoint.

Sleepover on Trampoline

We are sneaking in our annual summer tradition of a sleepover on the trampoline before the summer ends.  Jason really wanted Holden to join in on the fun – but, I guess it’s not going to happen this year.  He just brought Holden inside…too restless.

 

Sleep well, stay warm and have fun kids!

My Soccer Bug

My Bug is starting soccer this year.  We got to her first practice and she grabbed onto my leg and got totally shy.  I thought...Oh No!  But, after I introduced her to her coach and he said to run out and start kicking the ball...she was IN!  Thank Goodness.  Her coach is perfect for her and chased her whenever she was falling behind, saying "I'm gonna get you Taya".  She loved it and laughed and giggled the whole time.  On the way home, she told me she was going to be the best soccer player ever :)

 

Tennis Camp

Dawson had a BLAST at tennis camp.  Next year, he insists on signing up for two weeks. 

Deep Sea Fishing

Jason was one of the few to avoid having his stomach emptied, courtesy of the ocean and a rocking boat.  The fish they caught was delicious!


A perk of working with the young men - cool activities with a good friend.

Pete and Jason

A Day at the Lake

I played hooky from work and took the kiddos to Lake Tahoe for the day with some friends.  Kings Beach was FABULOUS…lots of great sand, prefect weather and shallow water.  I was a bit worried about taking the kids by myself and thought it might be a lot of work chasing Holden around and trying to keep my eye on Dawson and Taya at the same time.  But, it turned out great.  Holden was so content to dig, dig and dig some more all day long…and bury all his toys in the sand.  The only times he “took off” were to visit with our friendly neighbors who were happy to play football with him and when I told him it was time to go.  I went to gather up our stuff and turned around to find Holden b-lining for the car!  We all had a fabulous day and hope to do it again soon.

Holden and Brody…Fun in the Sun

 

That’s a whole lot of kids!

 

The Moms – Stephanie T, Me, Debra, Amy, Raimi and Stephanie J

And our solo dad – thanks John for boating the kids around

Birthday Boys

Two years ago today, Holden was born on Jason’s birthday.  Now they have the joy of sharing the same birthday – which I have a feeling will mostly be focused around Holden…

The day started with a waffle breakfast and lots of practice saying “TWO”.

Then a tasty lunch…so good he licked his plate clean!

Then onto a simple family dinner…Holden was SO excited about his CARS plate.

Holden is totally into Cars right now.  He watches the movie (or at least a part of it) almost every day.  He makes cars sounds and LOVES Lightening McQueen.  He loves chasing his new car my parents got him.

  

Holden’s other love is Toy Story…especially Buzz.  He calls him “Beyond” (Short for “To Infinity and Beyond!”).  He loves his new Toy Story toys.

 

Jason had the pleasure of choosing the food for their birthday dinner since Holden is not old enough to care.  So, he got to indulge in Steak and Salmon with his favorite German Chocolate frosting on a dark chocolate cake.

The boys topped off the evening with one of their favorite pastimes – jumping on the trampoline.

Some fun things about Holden at Age 2:

• He loves music.  We have “party breakfasts” (my kids named it that) where we blast some fun music and eat breakfast then dance around the family room.  Holden loves it and dances around and then says “more, more” when the music ends.
• He is a great jumper!  He jumps all the time.
• He will do almost anything for a Jolly Rancher.  He doesn’t say many words – but “jovy vanchvr” is one of them.
• He has gone #1 and #2 on the potty on multiple occasions, but doesn’t seem interested in getting serious about it.  I think I need to buy some Cars undies :)
• He doesn’t talk much – a few words and a lot of grunts.  But, he makes it very clear what he wants.  One thing he wants on a regular basis is vitamins – you know those gummy kids kind.  He loves them and thinks they are candy.  He pushes me (literally stands behind me and pushes me or pulls my arm) to the pantry multiple times a day and says “vimin”.  I am sure if you tested his nutrient levels you would have no idea what a picky eater he is.
• On that note – he is a very picky eater.  He eats bread, tortillas, cheese, milk, yogurt, carrots and almost any fruit…and that is it!  We are working on it…UGH.
• He loves to play Star Wars with the swords and says “Ya, Ya” while he swings his sword at Dawson.
• He feeds his cars meals with him and gives them hugs and kisses.  He also loves his FurReal Panda and gives him lots of hugs and kisses also.  He calls him “Pan”.

I absolutely LOVE the stage Holden is in right now.  He is still cuddly and gives great hugs and kisses.  It is so fun watching him develop and learn new things and find things he loves that are special to him.  And when he calls me“MaMa” my heart melts a little every time.  He is just old enough to be fun and just young enough to still be our baby.  I don’t want this phase to end – I want it to drag out for much longer so I can soak up every yummy moment of it…