Ada is 2 Years Old!

Ada Elizabeth is two years old! We just love this cheeky little monkey.

On her birthday, we went to pick out our Christmas tree. She had fun running around and playing hide-and-seek with some other kids there. She is very outgoing and not afraid to join older children while playing.  

At her two year check-up, her doctor said she's smart & charming. I wonder if he says that to all of the parents :) 

Head circumference: 19.5 in. 90th percentile

Height: 36 in. 95th percentile

Weight: 29 lbs. 80th percentile

It's weird to see her weight percentile so low compared to before.  

She is really losing her chub and becoming a little girl! 

She had two shots, one in each leg. I had her on my lap and was holding her hands. I had explained to her beforehand that they would hurt, but only for a little bit; then she'd feel better, and they would help her stay healthy. 

I said, "Okay, here comes shot number one! Just a little poke." She didn't even flinch! No whimper, cry, grimace, anything! I was amazed. Then came the second shot, and the same thing. She just said, "All done!" Such a tough cookie!

We celebrated with family a little early while we were down in Santa Maria for Thanksgiving.

Ada was so funny trying to blow out her candles! 

Then, a day before her birthday, I brought cupcakes to our mom's group at the park. Since it was Matt's finals week (we made it through alive!), I didn't want to throw a big party or anything. This was perfect. A bunch of her little friends were there and we sang to her and visited.  

Being so patient (notice the tiny bite taken already)

 

Going to town! 

Lola hanging out and keeping warm in the stroller.

Ada is a bright little girl. She has been counting and doing well with her letters. I love to hear her sweet little prayers, too. She loves to talk, sing, and especially dance to Michael Jackson & Yo Gabba Gabba. One minute she is cracking me up, and the next she is melting my heart. This morning she saw a picture of Jesus and said she wants to give him hugs and kisses. She is very strong-willed as well, some of her favorite words are stop and no :) It has been such an incredible experience to be her mother and watch her grow. I am constantly amazed by the things she learns and the things she teaches me.  

Ada's birth announcement, labor story, and one year birthday.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ada!

Ada's Birthday Cake

This cake was soooooooo delicious! Rich, decadent, moist, and perfect for Ada's one year birthday celebration.
I knew I wanted to make it for a while, and was searching my cookbooks for where I had seen it. Turns out it was on the cover of Better Homes & Gardens Annual Recipes 2002.

Ada agrees that it was wonderful! 

Best-Ever Chocolate Cake

Prep: 30 min.

Bake: 30 min.
Cool: 1 hour (I let mine cool, then frosted the cake the next day. Wrapped the layers in saran wrap and put them in the fridge)

3/4 c. butter, softened
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. milk

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 min. Meanwhile, lightly grease bottoms of two 8x8x2 in. round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper. Grease and lightly flour bottoms and sides of pans.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds on high speed. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 c. at a time until combined. Scrape down sides and continue beating for 2 min. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pans.

5. Bake round cake pans for 30-35 min. Cake is done when a wooden toothpick entered in center comes out clean.

6. Cool cake layers in pans for 10 min. Remove from pans. Peel of waxed paper and cool on wire racks.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla
5 3/4 c. powdered sugar, sifted

In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 c. of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in 3 3/4 c. sugar until it reaches spreading consistency. Frost cake, lick bowl, and enjoy!

Ada is One Year Old!

One year ago today, our lives changed forever. Announcement post here, birth story here, newborn photos here. I've been strolling down memory lane...thinking about our adorable little girl with such a big personality. Right now she is taking the nativity pieces down one by one and there is a wise man under the table, baby Jesus in her chubby little hand, and Mary in her princess tent.

She had her one year checkup on Tuesday. She weighed in at 23 lbs. 4 oz. (93rd percentile) and is 29 in. tall (73rd percentile). 

The doctor said she is the picture of health and her language skills are very advanced. When he came in the room, she looked at him, said, "Hi!" and waved :)

She had three vaccinations, and we watched her closely all night to keep a high fever at bay. She woke us up at 6 AM and had another febrile seizure. It was scary for Matt because he didn't see her the first time it happened, now he knows why I called 911. He was able to give her a blessing and she finished seizing. Then she looked up at me and said, "Ohhhhhh!" Like, "What just happened?!" We got her in the tub and brought her temperature down. She slept really well after that. We did everything they told us to do should it happen again, and she has been herself ever since.

We celebrated her first birthday while my mom and sister were in town.

Auntie Linds gave her the tiara, she loves it! She'll touch it on her head then come over to show you how pretty she is :)

She loves Mr. Pony & her tent!

I love this face! She's looking at me like, "Really?! I can keep digging into this cake?!"

Oh happy day!

 A girl after her momma's own heart :)

Time for a bath! 

This little lady has brought so much joy and laughter to all who know and love her.

Just look at the pictures...she is constantly cracking us up with new faces and antics!

Ada, you are a beautiful girl that your momma and papa feel so blessed to be the parents of. We have loved this past year with you and cannot picture our lives without you! We are so excited to watch you continue to grow and learn about this big world around you. Happy birthday my little noodle nugget!

Matt's 26th Birthday!

Matt had to work on his birthday, so we celebrated with dinner and dessert the next day. I made him pot roast & potatoes...our house smelled SO good when we came home from church! Matt gives this meal a 100 out of 10. (If you haven't noticed, he loves everything I cook...so if you have a really picky eater, don't go by Matt's opinion!) I took pictures of it, but didn't have the memory card in the camera. Derrrr. 

This recipe is from The Essential Mormon Cookbook.

Savory Pot Roast with Potatoes and Gravy

6-8 large baking potatoes

1 (4-5 lb.) pot roast

1 (1 oz.) package dry onion soup mix

1 (26 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

Scrub potatoes and wrap in heavy foil. Place on baking sheet and place in oven at same time and temperature as pot roast. 

Place roast on large piece of tin foil. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix over top of roast. Spoon mushroom soup on top. For more gravy, add additional mushroom soup. Wrap tightly in foil, folding edges securely. Place in roasting pan and bake at 350 degrees for 4 hours. Unwrap roast carefully, transferring meat and gravy to serving platter. Slice thinly. Serve with baked potatoes. Serves 6-8.

Then we followed last year's tradition and I made a Chocolate & Peanut Butter Mousse Pie! Recipe found here. This year I swirled the chocolate through the peanut butter mousse and we liked it more. Also, I use a store-bought graham cracker crust because it's easier. This isn't your normal, heavy, chalky peanut butter chocolate pie. It's a light, fluffy, mousse-y although RICH pie! Try it, you'll like it. Topped with homemade whipped cream it's the best!

Happy Birthday Love!

Ada enjoying some graham crackers of her own.

 She loved when we lit the candles and sang to Poppa! 

Ada is 10 Months Old!

Something about her age being in the double digits...TEN MONTHS! It just sounds so old! My Big Fat Greek Wedding, anyone? "Toula, when you gonna get married? You just look...so...old!" Of course Ada's not looking that old, but boy is she growing up.


- Ada narrates her own books, it's like she is making up her own storylines as she turns the pages
- Kisses her books, toys, the sliding glass door, other babies, momma, papa...we may have created a monster! But oh how my heart turns to melted butter when she leans over and plants a slobbery kiss on my cheek without me asking for one.

Sleepy time with Papa

- Has her two bottom teeth showing more and more.   
- The other day she wouldn't go down for her nap. She would sleep in my arms, but then wake up when I laid her in her crib. So I decided I wanted a nap too & we hopped into my bed. We both slept, and Ada started moving in my arms. I thought, "No no no don't wake up!" as she wiggled her cute little body closer to me and put her chubby cheek right up against mine and fell back asleep. I almost cried...definitely one of those moments that make any frustration and exhaustion fade away. 

- She is walking around with one hand on things. I think I am going to look over at her soon and see her walking without touching anything!

Watching Grandpa with her plastic cup!

- Says, "Buh-buh" for bottle, bye bye, and bird (she loves watching the birds fly around outside). Also makes noises for animals, although sometimes she thinks everything is a doggie. 
- Loves other people. I have the greatest time running with her in the stroller. On the wharf the other day just about every person was pointing, waving, and smiling at her. She eats it up & turns her little head around to look up at me through the window with a big smile. 
- Shopping with her is fun as well, people give her stickers and draw pictures on the receipts for her. She was thoroughly entertained at the grocery store by throwing down a packet of soup mix and watching me retrieve it & shake it up while giving it back to her. Multiple times :)
- Claps & waves...at night as we take her down the stairs for bed she waves goodbye to whoever is left upstairs.
- Dances! Her little squat is too cute. Mostly her little right leg pops and bounces, it's awesome. 
- Squishes bananas, pears, plums, etc. in her little fists. Mealtime is quite the messy event these days! 
- Loves to be chased! It's funny to be downstairs and hear Ada's little crawl then Matt's pounding crawl behind her & the laughter that ensues. 

In her Halloween costume

- Has some funny little mannerisms. She tucks her little chin down really fast and laughs...or gets frustrated. It's one extreme or the other that causes the head-down-double-chin. Also opens her mouth as big as she can. Sometimes I can get her to do it by doing it myself, other times she just does it on her own! Another one is sticking out her lower jaw and straining. Such a funny girl!   
- Has lovingly earned the nickname little tornado. My days are spent chasing it, cleaning up after it, preventing destruction because of it...tidying up while the little tornado is napping...then doing it all over again. 
- Plays by herself & keeps happy and entertained. It's very entertaining to watch with all of her little noises and own language she has going on!  

At the beach 
- She really is such a joy to have around! She is a good-natured, happy baby (unless she's teething), full of energy and life! I am constantly humbled by my responsibility and calling to be a mother and loving the ride.  

Mommy's 50th!

May 3rd was my mom's 50th birthday! Can you believe it?! She looks way too young to be fifty & be a grandmother.

Since it was such a monumental birthday, we knew we had to do something really special! My mom isn't the type that likes the spotlight on her though, so a big surprise party was out. We came up with the perfect solution....sneak Lindsay out for the weekend! It was SO hard to keep it a secret because I was so excited about seeing my sister. I did it though, and picked Lindsay up from the airport on Friday.

We went to my mom's house and all hid in my old bedroom. (We were joking that it felt like Christmas when we were little kids..."Can we come out yet?!") My mom saw my car and came inside, walked down the hall, and came in the room. She saw Ada, me, Sean, then Lindsay! It was so funny, she was completely caught off guard!! It took her a while to comprehend it all and realize that Lindsay really was here and not in Utah. :)

We had a wonderful weekend and went to Avila Beach, had family pictures taken, ate at the teppanyaki grill @ Hama Sato, made dinner & cake for her on Sunday, and celebrated at Nana's later. We love you Mommy!

Birth Month!

I turned 26 this month! It's crazy to think that I'm on the other side of my 20s now...closer to 30! As usual, the celebrating lasted all month.

To begin the festivities, my mom took me out to lunch and shopping in Santa Barbara. It was a perfect day!

Ada was in tow, of course :)

We ate at Stella Mare, the sweetest little French-themed restaurant. My mom saw it on Rachael Ray's show when she ate there. I had an incredible seafood sandwich with melted Gruyere on it...my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

After shopping for a while, we stopped in at Pinkberry for a yummy treat! Ada loved the taste, but the cold threw her off a bit.

The next day, my actual birthday, we went to Avila Beach. It was a beautiful 80 degrees and we got a parking spot right in front as we drove up. Talk about a perfect gift! :)

Ada loved feeling the sand in her toes.

She has no choice...as a member of this family she will grow up on the beach!

My sweet 4 month old chubbalub & I

This was her second time at the beach...relaxing like an old pro ;)

Have you noticed the delicious rolls on her arms and legs?!

The next day, we headed up to San Luis for some tri-tip sandwiches at Firestone.

Ada got lots of attention all bundled up on her Daddy!

One lady was overly excited about how adorable she is; I got a little worried. It was funny though :)

We celebrated with Nana & Bobba on the 18th, coupled with our Easter celebration.

We had the annual egghunt and Becca beat me out by $2! She always wins! Matt and I decided that we will have an army of children to dominate the egghunts in the future. Ha!

Uncle Devin delivered again this year with an amazingly terrible gift! I have to take a picture of it and post it. It's awesome.

Thank you to all who wished me a happy birthday, it has truly been an excellent one.

I have been surrounded by loved ones, in the places I love the most.

Here's to another great year of life ahead!

3 Months Old!

This past week, our sweet baby girl turned three months old.

It's cliche, but I'm gonna say it...it goes by SO fast!

Ada weighs 16 lbs. and is around 26 in. long.

She has rolls on top of her rolls and is the most squishable, huggable, kissable little ball of goodness!

Things Ada does:

- rolls from her belly to her back

- supports her head and pushes up during tummy time

- sings & squeals...she is really finding her little voice!

- balances on Daddy's hand

- grabs hair, neck skin, blankets, clothing, faces, toys, etc.

- sucks on her lips & fists

- kicks like crazy

- smiles at herself in the mirror (she was crying and Matt took her in front of the mirror and she stopped, smiled, then continued to cry)

- pulls her binky out of her mouth & holds it

- smiles huge and sings along when sung to

- tries to sit up on her own

- checks out her feet when she has shoes on (the fetish has already begun...)

I'm thinking she really is going to have curly hair! The hair on the sides of her head started turning out like ringlets yesterday...we'll see as it grows more!

She also has the cutest dimple on her right cheek when she smiles huge. Uncle Devin spotted it the night we brought her home from the hospital, and it's in the same spot as my mom's. So cute!

Acting as maestro of Handel's Messiah with Daddy before church :)

Matt's 25th Birthday!

It's that wonderful time of year when my husband and I are the same age! He can't call me grandma until I turn 26 in April :)

Matt wanted chili for his birthday. The boy loves my chili. (It is SO easy and SO good!) My father-in-law, Marc, has been quoted as saying, "I think this is the best chili I've ever had." Matt is the same way, so sweet and complimentary no matter what I make!

He woke me up Friday morning before he left for work to make sure I was making chili for his birthday dinner that night. His co-worker told me it's all he talked about all day. He called and checked up on me just to see what I was doing, even stopped by the house once and smelled it cooking in the crock pot. He is so funny!

Here it is after simmering all day and making the whole neighborhood smell fabulous!

I was surprised at the reaction I got regarding the plastic liners I use when I uploaded these pics to facebook! They are a lifesaver. You don't have to lift your heavy ceramic part into the sink to soak or scrub off any stuck-on goodness! Just throw that plastic liner away. Heaven!

Here's the recipe:

2 lbs. ground beef

2 cups diced onions

2 (15 1/2 oz) cans pinto beans

1 (15 1/2 oz) can pink kidney beans

1 (15 1/4 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (14 1/2 oz) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes

1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (14 1/2 oz) can tomatoes with chiles

2 (4 1/2 oz) cans diced green chiles

1 (4.6 oz) can sliced black olives, drained and rinsed (optional)

1 (1 1/4 oz) package taco seasoning mix

1 (1 oz) package ranch salad dressing mix

For Garnish:

Corn Chips

Sour Cream/Ranch Dressing

Grated Cheese

Green Onions (optional)

Brown ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain excess fat, then transfer browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, black olives, taco seasoning, & ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6-9 hours. Or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with garnishes of choice and enjoy!

Here I am baking some cornbread muffins...with some honey and butter on top...YUM!

Matt got this picture of Sandy and it is my favorite. She has the best wrinkles!

Please note the candle in his muffin...it totally melted because the muffins had just come out of the oven. Oops!

My bowl, a la ranch

Matt's - a la sour cream

We watched the movie The Proposal after dinner and laughed so hard, it's a funny one! Makes us want to visit Alaska, too.

...

Sunday evening we had Matt's birthday celebration at Nana's! She made a delicious ham dinner with cheesy potatoes, green salad, broccoli, and her fabulous bread. She's the best!

Here's Matt getting ready to open his gifts!

He puts up with me shoving the camera in his face all the time. I think he's excited for Ada to get here so I have another subject to focus on :)

I made a chocolate peanut butter pie and Bobba made his famous apple pie!

The recipe is here. It's amazing! Seriously, you have to try it. I made it the night before and popped it in the freezer until we headed over to Nana's. It sat out while we had dinner and opened gifts and was perfect by the time we ate it. Chocolate and peanut butter...two of my favorite things together!

Matt thinks he looks creepy in this pic, but I think he looks adorable. A little excited for some yummy pie!

Happy Birthday Babe! You're the best and I love you more and more every year :)