Monday, September 13, 2010

Family portraits!

Here is a teaser of the family portraits we did with Amanda of AG Photography yesterday. Wrennie was a gem and smiled and cooed for the photos nearly the entire time. We had so much fun and just beat the rain. More to come in a little while...you know I will post them as soon as they are finished :)





P.S. Do you not love Wren's boots? Thank you Daisha for contributing to our daughter's sweet wardrobe!!

Making Tomato Soup

My parents had a lot of extra tomatoes. I begged for some. Now they are ready, and it's perfect timing. Today I had plans to go to Costco (gag me) and then head to a friend's for a play date. We got all packed up and ready to go, and then I realized I had locked my set of keys in the car which was parked in our locked garage. Oops. 

So I made soup.




I used Jamie Oliver's recipe. I can't say it's the easiest, but it's tasty!


I used some of this...


...and put it in that...


Oh yeah, Wren, what is she up to? Just reaching the unreachable as usual.





Continuing on with my mess...



Jamie wants you to peel the tomato skins off for this soup. I don't know why. I doubt it makes a difference. Instead it makes my life suddenly a living hell. Not really, but an extra step like this in an already intense recipe is not fun. I make an "X" on the tomato bottoms because it helps to get the skin off.



Stick those suckers in boiling water for 30 sec...


and go check on the child...folding her diapers for me. Excellent.










Okay, back to the tomatoes. See? The skin comes off easily.




Chop 'em up and throw them in along with your stock.




Throw in your basil that you paid too much for at the grocery store and could barely find because there hardly ever is any left and you almost had to fight the lady next to you for the last of it.
Go ahead and puree it. I will later when it cools.




And then discover your child feeding herself a snack of leftover lunch on the floor that you didn't get around to sweeping up yet. 







Thursday, September 9, 2010

A normal evening

When dinner gets like this...


...she quickly goes into this...



The dentist said she could start using her own little toothbrush without the toothpaste now. I introduced it to her in the tub. I think it tickled her teeth because she had a "shiver" every time she put it in her mouth. So instead of brushing her teeth...she helped clean the tub...



Like the hair?



We say "no standing" a lot. I actually think she is getting it now. I say it, and she hesitates to get 
up...then she smiles...then she tries to get up again. If you are a parent, you know how it is.







And after bath time she loves her stories. We cuddle her into our bed, lay her head on our pillows, and read "Fairy Colours". 


Dad is a good reader and makes stories funny. Speaking of funny...her hair is particularly crazy here! Yesterday we were shopping at the mall and a couple walked into the store, took one look at Wrennie and burst out laughing. I could see one of them motioning with their hand about her hair. Yes, it is truly uncontrollable!



P.S. I did end up getting her weighed and measured for her 9 month appointment. She is now 22 lbs 12 oz and 30.25 inches long. She is a tall one!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Whoa where have I been??

Last time I checked, I posted something 4 days ago. Somehow that time span felt a lot longer. Happily, it was a busy and fun weekend!

Tonight we made Jamie Oliver's Ground Beef Wellington recipe. I can't find the recipe on his website, but I did find his Pot Roast Meatloaf recipe instead and this one I can truly tell you is unbelievable. And don't leave out the rosemary and bacon, they are the best part!

Last night we watched Couples Retreat with Vince Vaughn. It sucked. Save yourself the $5 and get something else at Blockbuster!

We are getting family portraits done next week with Amanda of AG Photography. She just did family portraits for mutual friends at Fort Edmonton Park and they are amazing, check out her new work!

Here are some photos from the past few days:


That was a good dinner! It sort of doubled as a moisturizing avocado facemask.


Reading in bed...aww...


A little Wren in a big bed...



Have a nice short week!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Wren helps with laundry

Wren has realized the drawers in her closet pull out, and that there are small items of clothing that are easy to take out one by one...


such as leggings...


jeans...





 and blankets...




Thank you Wrennie for helping!


I'm all done, can we read a book now?