I don't know why but I can't upload video's right now:( So we will have to due with pictures.

I'm very much in love with baby gowns that have elastic on them. So easy to change her bottom in the middle of the night. Not to mention how freakin cute she is in them! There's no hiding that big round belly. Did I mention she's wearing 3-6 month old clothes at 10 weeks old? We upped the size last week. By next week I'm pretty sure she'll be in the 6-9 month onesies. She's at 14 pounds.

I'm concerned that by the time she can hold her melon up steadily she will be to fat for her Bumbo. It's a good thing we're having more kids and that most of the stuff is unisex or everything would get only one or two uses. Check out that mid-forearm wrinkle.

Who needs swaddler's when you can just untuck the arms. A baby strait jacket.

Yet another awesome recipe I got from my sis-in-law Emily (who just had a super cute baby). We had this when we were visiting them in Indiana. It was good to munch on, eat as cereal or sprinkle with berries. I made it today for Mike to take as a school snack. I'm going to send it with Gogurts:) Try it. I promise it will be the best home made Granola you've ever had!!!

Granola

7-8 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup wheat germ (I found it in the cereal isle)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 cup honey (measure the oil first then the honey won't stick to the measuring cup)
1/4 cup water
2 T. vanilla
2 tsp. salt
2 T. cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened coconut (optional)
Also optional: Almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, or whatever kind of nut you like.

Mix all of the ingredients together (with your hands--do NOT use a Kitchen-Aid) and spread out on two greased cookie sheets. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Stir and bake another 15 minutes. Scrape the bottom of cookie sheet as soon as it is done to prevent sticking. Cool and then store in an airtight container.

Someday.......

.....I'm going to Greece. And it will be the inspiration for the decor of one room in my house:)

And I'm also going to Tuscany just cause.

Also, if you're not already in love with Tuscany you need to see Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane. It came out in 2003 and was nominated for a Golden Globe. I also just found out it was first a book.

Note: There is a love seen in it but I've never seen it cause I always skip it:) Just a warning that I have no idea whats involved but IMBd says there's no nudity.

Check out our dang cute new niece Madeline Susanne Wells.

The last 2 days have been big days for Ruthie, Mike and I. We finally made it to the Dentist which was years over due for me. I had 5 cavities!!! They tried to drill without happy gas cause they don't have it or numbing me. After about 20 seconds it was obvious I needed to be numbed. I'd never had a cavity before or had a drill in my mouth grinding away at my teeth so even after they numbed half my face I wished they could completely knock me out!!! Nasty. It took 2 hours to fill 3 cavities so I'm going back tomorrow for the other 2 and I'm wishing I had gotten some Valium like Mike did.

Ruthie had her immunization shots today which was pretty traumatizing for both of us. It's a three needle process and when the first one went into her thigh she looked shocked then opened her mouth as wide as it would go and sent out the most ear piercing/heart breaking wail I've heard. Then she turned bright purply-blue and didn't breath for like a minute. I about cried for her. Not looking forward to the next one.

Ruthie Stats

At 9 weeks old

Weight: 13 pounds 11 ounces (>97%) + Length: 23 3/4 inches (>95%) + Head Circumference: 43 centimeters (>95%) = 1 Big Baby!

Mike and I had our 2nd Anniversary on Monday and it was soooo fun. Mike wore his new birthday clothes and I wore my new anniversary date clothes. Thanks Amanda!!!! We got some yummy curry at Twisted Noodle and then went and saw The Expendables...so romantic:) But it was lots of fun and there was lots of blood. What more could you want on a date?

We drove 5 hours to Manassass Virginia where we started off dinner with a visit to Dunkin Donuts. Dessert before dinner is the new hip thing. Think about it? After dinner there's no room for dessert so get it before dinner. Smarty! We got ribs and the best Kabob's ever!!!

Um. I think I need this? Our first stop in DC was at the Natural History Museum. They're holding this crown for me till I have somewhere safe to keep it. Aren't they nice?

A Fish?

Washington Monument is SOOOOOOO TALLLLLLLL!

WWII Memorial. Mike really wanted to be in this photo but we said no cause his love of Utah isn't as great as ours:)

The steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

I really wish we could get closer to the White House but no. It was raining earlier so we stopped at Target and got some Goloshes (no idea how to spell that, maybe I should have just put rain boots)

We finished the trip with a visit to the Holocaust Museum which if you are ever in DC you absolutely have to visit. We were in there for 2 1/2 hours. I would have stayed longer but they were closing so we had to hurry towards the end. I really don't know how to put into words what it was like. It's really quiet in there and the lighting is low. And there is so much information about all the stuff in there that it would take all day to read but you would. Pictures aren't allowed which I can understand but it's still a shame. Some of the memorable displays for me were:

-The photo's of the prisoners when the US first entered the concentration camps. Emaciated and barely able to move.

-All the before and after photo's taken of Synagogues before they were destroyed.

-The box car they transported Jews and Prisoners in. It was an actual box car you could stand in and smell. Rusted metal and old wood with very little ventilation and light.

-Piles of belongings confiscated by the Nazi's categorized into piles: brushes, glasses, scissors

-a miniature of how they gassed people at the camps: walk hundreds of people into an underground room and make them undress, walk them into a room disguised as a shower, drop pellets from some shafts onto the floor that would release the gas, wait 20 minutes, vent the room, send the bodies up a lift to the incinerators and burn 10 bodies in each furnace. They could do this to 1,000 people each day.

-They had an actual steel door from one of the gas chambers. Thick like a bank vault with the same type of handle.

-Before and after photo's of all the handicapped and mentally disabled children they killed in the name of purifying the gene pool. Why they did the before photo's I don't no. They stripped the kid down and just made them stand there with the doctor and the doctor was smiling. Then they did experiments on them.

-There was a room just full of shoes.

There was so much more but it was simply to much for me to Blog about and I wish I was more eloquent but that is not on e of my gifts.

Anywho, the trip was great and well worth the unexpected rain and partially crabby baby:)

Baby Bling.

Here is a simple way to deal with pants to short to wear. The idea is from the Martha Stewart site. They have a bunch of cute back to school fashion ideas.

You need to check out The Lettered Cottage. I love blogs like this where you can learn how to make the cutest stuff! The tutorial for this wooden flag is on that site. I may not make the flag but I'll definitely use the painting technique for something else like picture frames and such.

Other fun sites are Knock-off wood and Noodlehead both of which were introduced to me by Emilee Wells.

These are 2 yummy meals we had while visiting in Indiana. My sis-in-law has a knack for good recipes that are clean tasting, meaning I don't feel gross after eating it. I'm planning on making these for my parents when they visit next week.

Note: I copied these from a Cooking Blog that my sis-in-laws and I made. So the "I" is Emilee talking.

Lemony Tortellini with Peas and Bacon

I have adapted this recipe from Everyday Food, which is seriously the best food magazine ever.

1 package cheese tortellini, frozen or fresh, but not dried (about 20 oz.)--the ones you get at Sam's Club are the best
1 bag frozen peas
1/2 pound bacon
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

Boil the tortellini according to the package directions. Don't overboil, or all the cheese leaks out.

Meanwhile, chop the bacon into little pieces and fry in a pan until crisp. When the bacon is all crispy, turn off the heat and when everything stops sizzling in the pan, add the garlic to the bacon grease. (If you add it while everything is still crazy hot, the garlic burns and turns bitter--NOT good.)

When the tortellini are done, add the bag of frozen peas, and immediately strain both the peas and pasta and put them either back into the pot or into a large bowl. Scoop the bacon and garlic out of the bacon pan, leaving most of the grease behind, and add them to the tortellini. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice to the pasta. Salt and pepper to taste. (If you need to, you can also add another tablespoon of the bacon grease to the mixture, since bacon is always delicious.)

Bread Salad
(Mostly we call this bread salad because the kids balk at "green salad", but "bread" is always worth eating.)

1 head of lettuce, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
Other green salad ingredients as desired (radishes, bell peppers, sprouts, whatever)
2 grilled chicken breasts, chopped
1 loaf whole wheat french bread, cubed
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt

Spread the cubes of bread on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil (and my measurements were just a guess), and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, then stir, and bake for about 5 minutes more until toasty brown.

Combine all the salad ingredients together and serve with Kraft Greek Vinaigrette. If you think you'll have leftovers, I serve the croutons on the side so they don't get soggy in the refrigerator.

3 Funny Things Babies Do........

.......With There Eye's Shut.

1- Give the "leave me alone look"

2- Move around like their awake but their not.

3- Puke.....without any reaction.....what so ever.....

Todays favorite Quotes:

"No one will notice that I'm still sporting maternity jeans, right?"

Though your baby may enjoy gentle music, be careful to avoid over-stimulation. It's likely to make her tired, and by now you know that tired babies tend to be cranky babies, which tend to make cranky parents, which tend to make cranky baristas at your local coffee shop, which tend to make ...

Today was Ruth's Blessing Day. She looked so cute!!! She wasn't to impressed with the headband or shoes but we all made it through. Thank you Mom for making the blanket and sending the headband and socks:) Thank you Susanne and Grandma Nielson for buying the fabric and supplies for the dress. Yes, her shoes are pink. I thought it was appropriate because my Blessing Dress had been pink.

Susanne tried really hard to get her to smile but she was having non of it.

Then I tried....which also did not work.

Some Ruthie Facts: Length 75 Percentile, Weight 75 Percentile, Head 95 Percentile

We got a Dining Table and Chairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course we bought it off of Craigslist........for $40! So happy, it's almost exactly what I wanted, almost because the extra leaf is missing but it's rigged for a leaf so maybe we can rectify that some day.

The Chairs are really what sold me on it. They're darling and really solid.

Of course I have to post pics of Ruth cause I just can't help myself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AWESOME HUBBY!!!!!!!! Mike is 27 years old today:)

Yesterday he talked about the first year Grad students which was fun because he is no longer one of them.

My mother-in-law Susanne bought me Piggies by Audrey Wood and Don Wood. Great art and the funnest little piggies concept I've seen.

I found Belly Button Book! by Sandra Boynton at Sam's Club today and loved it! Mainly because the little Hippo in this talks like a toddler. Belly Button's are "BEE BO!" and Balloons are "BOON!" always in capitals with an exclamation point and those were the only words toddler could say. It's darling.

This is one of the Funniest Commercials I've ever seen.

BRILLIANT!!!

I've just struck genius!!! Potty Treats for Mom's!! Mommy's deserve Potty Treats cause Potty Training is hard on Mom to. I'm going to be RICH!!!!

I love books

I first read.....had this book read to me in 5Th grade. I remembered it years later while walking around a Barnes and Noble. I couldn't remember the name at the time and only tracked it down after a co-worker mentioned the story line I related to a Librarian friend. It's a youth reader that's great for a quick trip out of town in the car, a flight across the country or a weekend couch read. Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian is set at the beginning of WWI England. Willie Beech, a young sickly boy unloved by his Bible thumping mother, is evacuated to a small town in the country where he learns to embrace life through his experiences with his new guardian Mr. Tom. It makes me laugh, cry and think, what more could you ask from a book?

I've read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi at least a dozen times (exaggeration but it really does seem like it). It's set in 1832 where Charlotte, an American heading home to Rhode Island from school in England, is about to take a voyage that will change her life. Unknown to her all the other passengers scheduled to sail with her have been scared away by a crew bent on treachery. During the voyage she's befriended by the ships cook and eventually learns that the captain she adores is not who she thinks he is. Love it so much!!!!!!! It definitely makes my list of great reads.