and I love her

Getting so excited for this baby girl's party! I took these pictures on her birthday with Avery's help (Carter won't smile for anyone like she smiles for her big sister) and they turned out so well! I love her bright blue eyes! I am printing and cutting and pasting and brainstorming around the clock to make her birthday special (and Beatle-rific) and I want sooo badly to give you a sneak peek... But I won't.





Okay! Okay! Just one. Yesterday I spent an hour printing and cutting labels for juice boxes that I will have at the party. What do they say? Why, BeatleJuice, of course!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

weeee

Happy Birthday my wild, crazy, beautiful, hilarious baby girl!!

I love being your mom.

don't float your boat

Broil it!

Dinner tonight.
Greek salad and broiled baby zucchini boats.It is not yet crazy zucchini season here, where you stop answering your door because you are 99.9% sure that it is one of your neighbors bringing you ginormous zucchini from their garden. But I have been working in my garden all day, and I bought some zucchini the other day, and, well, it had to be eaten.
and eaten.
and eaten.
This recipe is AMAZING!! Try it now.
I am going to run to the store tonight to buy more zucchini.
Must have more.
Broiled Baby Zucchini Boats
Recipe by Mollie Katzen

1 TBS Olive Oil
2 TSP Minced Garlic
4 small zucchini or summer squash, halved lengthwise
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat broiler. Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet on medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook 10 seconds, until golden. Do not brown. Arrange zucchini halves cut side down in skillet; season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium and cook 8 minutes, or until caramelized on cut surface and just tender. Turn over; sprinkle cut side with cheese and cook 1 minute longer. Transfer skillet to broiler; broil until cheese is melted and golden* brown, about 3 minutes.

*Note: Some cheese will miss the zucchini. This cheese with get melted, then golden, and become little cheese crispies. Save yourself some time and "accidentally" spill another 1/4 cup of parm around your zucchini. I was warned about spilled milk, but no one ever told me how addictive spilled cheese is!

In hind-sight I will leave the stems on next time because I think they will be 30% more cute and I definitely plan on serving this to friends. Do what you want with them, but, trust me, you want to eat your veggies this time.

i was alone i took a ride i didn't know what i would find there

My baby is one year old on Friday!!! Where has the time gone?

Carter is THIS CLOSE to walking, loves to chatter and say WEEEEEE!!! on the swings and slide and while dancing. She is my little thrill-seeker for sure. She is bouncy and always in a good mood (except for when she's not) and she is the loudest baby on the planet!! We love her so much. In fact, we are throwing her a big ol' first birthday bash in a couple of weeks while we are at the beach in Southern California with my family. It is going to be amazing!! Here is a teensy sneak-peek...

That's right, we are going CARTERMANIA on this first birthday!! I am so excited. Pics to come for sure. Until then we are going to be here working and waiting and counting down... Oh! And loving life with this little sweet Beatles fan (though she doesn't know it yet).

self-portrait

It's a true likeness, isn't it?

A self-portrait of Avery in two mediums.
Can't believe how much this girl has grown up.

if you don't know, now you know

Today is my mom's blankety-blank birthday!!! ...What? You think I'd divulge her age to you!? I don't have a death wish.Just kidding! haha Sorry, I had to. Love that pic. Anyway...

I thought you should be let in on this special occasion because, I have got to tell you, my mom is a pretty special person. She is the kind of person who has been happily married to her sweetheart for nearly 30 years (this February!!).

She is the kind of person that puts her family above all else. I mean, we're a super good-looking group, so you can't really blame her. But when we open our mouths!? That's when you have to give her lots of credit for putting up with us.
She is the kind of mom who would make a usually six-hour drive from Vegas to SLC in about three-and-a-half when her daughter took a little LifeFlight down the the U of U Hospital, just so she could be there when she got out of emergency surgery. Just so she could be the first person to lay eyes on her two-pound granddaughter and be the first person to fall in love with her. She is the kind of person who would only leave after things were stable. Who would make that drive about six more times in the next two months just to hold that baby and make sure her daughter wasn't alone.

She is the kind of grandma who makes her granddaughter feel special every minute they spend together. Who comes up to Idaho in the freezing cold or stifling air-conditioner-less heat. The kind who has never missed a birthday or special occasion.

The kind of grandma who is there for the birth of each subsequent grandchild. Who calls every other day to hear the new things that her babies are up to, just so she won't miss a single funny story or milestone.

The kind of person who is so insanely busy with work and service, but who will ditch that stuff to plan special activities with her family. Who will go to the blazing hot desert to check out a petting zoo that her grandkids will love, or who will hang at Disneyland for 11 hours in the pouring rain with her granddaughter to make sure she gets the chance to meet Tinker Bell and ride all of the rides. Twice.

She is the kind of mom who would come out to that same blazing desert to watch her daughter sweat, even though she thinks said daughter is crazy/masochistic.

She is the kind of person I am trying to be like. She is my best friend and champion, and she backs me up no matter what. I love her with all of my heart, I am grateful for her selfless service and love, and I want to be just like her when I grow up. Happy Birthday Hot Mama (she's freaking hot, right? I mean, it's not just me?) Love you.