Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah)

Oh, yum! It's a quinoa night!

Mmmmm...


What a mess. Somebody clean me up!

It took me about 20 minutes to clean all this up! Next time, I'll feed it to Kevin instead of letting Kevin feed himself, although he doesn't really like for me to feed him anymore!

My new favorite food... Quinoa! A complete protien. A great alternative to rice for some dishes. A little crunchy. Super yummy!

"Quinoa, an ancient grain from South America, is full of good carbohydrates -- the body’s preferred source of energy -- as well as high-quality protein, potassium and iron."

"Technically quinoa is not a true grain, but is the seed of the Chenopodium or Goosefoot plant."



One of msnbc.com's top 5 foods to boost your muscle power!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26777340/?pg=5#Health_COT_musclemass

Yummy Quinoa Recipe....
http://www.traderjoesfan.com/Articles/Articles/Quinoa:_The_Mother_Grain/ (Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry with Quinoa, Peppers and Basil)

Or just cook with chicken broth and add some dried italian seasonings while cooking. Then, once its cooked, add lots of chopped, fresh basil and chopped ripe tomatoes! Yum! Yum!

Princess Party

Our neighbors had planned a princess party for the girls - dressup, hair, painting nails, etc. They had to cancel the party, so Ellie and I had our own princess party! She asked me to take these pictures. She said she'd give me her best smile! :-) I didn't expect to have such a girly-girl, but she loves dresses, princesses, and shoes.

The Arboretum

Ellie watches as Chris pretends to get lost in the hay maze. She looks mezmerized by her Daddy!

We took a trip to the Arboretum this weekend for the fall pumpkin patch! They had a band playing music, and it was a beautiful day! While we listened to the music and relaxed, Kevin kept walking about 20 feet away and standing right by another family! We sent Ellie down to get him once, and she thought she was so big!

Trip to Austin

We went to Austin to visit family a few weeks ago. I asked Ellie to help me pack her clothes. We counted the number of days we'd be gone, and then Ellie went to her room to get 3 of everything - one for each day! She then lined everything up on the couch in nice, neat piles all in a row. I didn't ask her to do this. She definitely gets this skill from Chris and not me!!! She was so proud!

Ellie and her cousin, Pug, had so much fun together! I don't think they had a single disagreement, and they played so well together! When we came home, Ellie said, "Pug just knows so much about everything!" She was impressed with his knowledge of bugs, Star Wars, dinosaurs, and other random things! They slept together for two nights in the same bed... very cute! They stayed up until past 10pm just talking!

A Trip to the Zoo!

We went with our neighbors and a friend from CA to the zoo last week.

Kevin and Violet rode together in the stroller. They were very cute together. Violet wasn't feeling well, and Kevin kept touching her leg and patting her. I think he was trying to help her feel better. But he also grabbed her pacifier and put it in his mouth! Violet is about 3 weeks younger than Kevin, and it's very cute to see them "play" together!

A Geography Lesson from Ellie

"Mommy, did you know there are 7 continents? But some of them died, so now there are only 50 states. And our continent has so many people on it that we dont know what do with all of them. Did you know that, Mommy?"

She is learning about "Earf" (Earth) at preschool. It seems as though some of it is sinking in (and getting a little mixed up as well)!!

Kevin Loves the Dishwasher

Kevin - 13 Months

Kevin loves hats. He finds this hat and then puts it on immediately!

Kevin loves to do whatever big sister does...

Kevin eats lunch with the big kids...

Kevin's first day of Mother's Day Out...

Kevin feels so big when is allowed to feed himself with a spoon...

"Yeah, for me!" Kevin claps.

Spitting out the spoon. When the food is all gone, the spoon becomes a toy...


Kevin's favorite toy for the month... He loves to put the lid on and take it off.


First the lid goes on...

Then it comes off... Wow! What fun!

Kevin after his first haircut...


Grandma introduces Kevin to chips...

Granny tickles Kevin's cheeks...





Kevin and Ellie coloring...

Ellie put a bow in Kevin's hair one morning and called him Kevina, her baby sister, all day!


About a week after his first birthday, Kevin got his first haircut and learned about 5 new words in one week! Throughout the rest of the month, he's learned a few new words, but he doesn't use many of them often. Dog and Duck are among his favorites!

Da - Dog (He LOVES dogs! He says, "Da, da, da, da!!!")
Du - Duck (He also loves ducks!)
Bu - This was great because he was calling birds "du" for a while!
Hi
Bye
Nana - Banana
Nigh Nigh - Night Night
Eh-Yee - Ellie (he's only said this one a few times - when we went to get Ellie from preschool.
Mo - More

He loves touch and feel books! He also loves the books where you can press the buttons and hear songs.

He learned to scribble and made his first drawing for me. Completely on his own, he opened the marker box, picked up a piece of paper, scribbled on it, and walked to me in the kitchen with a big smile on his face, a marker in one hand and his drawing in the other. So sweet!

He's very into putting items inside bowls. It's cute and fun to watch him try to put large objects into small ones! It's fun to see the wheels turning as he learns that books don't fit in yogurt containers!

He also loves to put on hats! He's often walking around in his cowboy hat or Ellie's big pink Easter bonnet! If he sees a hat, you can bet it will be on his head within seconds!

He still takes two naps a day, and he still needs them both!

He has also figured out how to unscrew the top to my mascara and lip gloss. I dont know how he figured this out, but it can make a pretty big mess!

He started going to "Mother's Day Out" once a week from 9:30 to 2:30. This gives me a chance to go to the doctor or dentist child-free!! I also plan to begin using this time to volunteer at a pregnancy center. That's my goal, but it's been more difficult to implement that I thought it would be. Life is just so busy. I'm working trying to slow things down a bit! We'll see how that goes!

Kevin's First Haircut

Kevin received his first haircut on August 10th! He looks handsome and all grown up. But I prefer the longer hair look, so we'll be letting it grow a little more!

A Mighty Tug!

"Ouch! Ouch! My leg is stuck in my car seat! Ouch! Ouch!!!"

A few seconds later...

"Mommy! I just did a MIGHTY tug and SUDDENLY my leg broke FREE!"

New Neighbors

Our neighbors are truly amazing! On each side, we have two fellow stay-at-home moms with two young children each. A few houses down, we have a family with 3 older children, two of which are babysitters!

The above photos are of Ellie with her new playmate. Ellie and Sophia play several times a week. But Arden and Daniel, don't worry. She still really, really misses you!

Sophia's mom, Pam, and I have been running in the mornings several times a week. Chris and I are just amazed at how welcoming and caring our neighbors have been. We can hardly think of a better situation and never expected for things to work out this perfectly so quickly in our home. Being surrounded by such wonderful families has really made the transition from Stanford so much easier.

But, dont get me wrong, I do miss my Stanford mommy friends. Each of you has a special place in my heart! How I miss all our playground and playdate chats... always challenging each other and searching for ways to become better mothers, wives and friends. You are truly an amazing group of women! Thank you for everything you taught me over those two busy, busy years!! I know I am a better person because of the loving examples you were to me. Sappy, I know! But very, very true!

Ellie as a Loving Sister

Ellie is such a loving big sister. When I give her a cookie or treat in the car, Kevin immediately screams. Then, without any prompting, Ellie gives him a piece. It makes me smile with pride each time.

Today, she said, "I already decided that on this day, I want to do things to help you. I decided that I'm going to have a whole day with no punishments and no bad behavior". I think the favorite thing she helped me do was pick out Kevin's outfit for the day. She was so proud when we put it on him (plaid overalls with an aligator shirt!).

When Kevin falls asleep in the carseat, she immediately says, "Now I can hold his hand, and he won't even cry!" She often sings songs to him while he sleeps. Here is a video of her singing to him in the car after he fell asleep.

Ellie's Generosity

So, after the Monster Tantrum post, I feel the need to post about Ellie's good side as well... She has a big personality to say the least. The same passion that makes her a challenge at times also makes her so much fun and full of love at other times.

About a month ago, Ellie came out of her room one morning with an armful of toys. She said, "I want to give all these things away to the poor. But I dont have anywhere to put them." So, I got the laundry basket (the one we use to transport clean laundry), and she began filling it up. She came out a few minutes later saying she needed another basket. So, I found one. She filled it up as well. I went into her room to find that she had included several of her favorite items - her Clifford dog, her sleeping beauty outfit (the pink princess dress you have all seen before and that she wore daily), two of her fanciest dresses, princess crowns and scepters, etc.

A: "Are you sure you want to give these away? You wont be able to get them back."

E: "Yes, I want the poor to have them. I think they have been wanting some dressups."

A: "Well, why dont you give them these instead (pointing to her Jasmine and Snow White dresses (that she never wears)."

E: "Aww. That would be so sad. Then the poor won't have any dresses that don't itch them."

My 3-year-old is teaching me a lesson in selflessness. I wanted her to keep the Sleeping Beauty dress because I know she loves it. She wanted to give away her favorites so that other children could experience the same joy she finds when she plays with them. She was happy to keep only the dresses that she dislikes and that she thinks are itchy. If that isn't selfless, I dont know what is! She had no ulterior motives. She only wanted to share her favorite dresses with those who are less fortunate.

I knew in my heart that I should foster her desire to generously give away some of her favorite things, but my instincts were for her to keep them. My friend Shannon encouraged me to let her give them away, and so we have!

A few days later, her friend came over to play and wanted to dress up as Sleeping Beauty, but Ellie said, "No, we gave those to the poor. But you can be Jasmine, and I'll be Snow White." After I took off the "itchy" gatherings from the dresses, the girls enjoyed playing dress up!

Ellie chose to give the toys and dresses to the children of a shelter for abused and neglected children. I'd love to post the link to the website, but that would give away our top secret location!!!

I'm still not sure where she got this idea from, but maybe she learned about the poor while at church. Wherever she heard the message, she certainly took it to heart. I was very proud of her generosity and so glad that she reminded me of the true joy of giving.