It's Pool Time

It has really been heating up around here the past week. Summer I think officially starts the 2nd or 3rd week of June but it already feels like summer to me. Marc and I spent yesterday doing some yard work while Eli was napping and then brought him outside when he woke up. It didn't take long for us to realize it was too hot for him to be out.

Red cheeks were the indicator that this boy was playing too hard.

I let him cool down with a juice box while Marc broke open one of his birthday presents from Aunt Stacey.

I had to get a few shots with Eli in his froggy suit and sun cap. He didn't care too much for the hat. :) This swimsuit came from Stacey's fiance's mom last summer after Eli was born. It is too cute!

He had so much fun playing in his new pool yesterday afternoon. It is big enough for Marc and me as well and we enjoyed watching him get so excited. It was like the biggest bathtub he had ever seen. :) I think this pool is going to be Eli's favorite thing all summer. He can see it from our sliding back door and ever since we put it up he just stands there and points and "oohs".

Today we went and visited some friends who just had a new baby girl a few days ago. She was just the sweetest thing and we didn't hear a peep out of her the entire time we were there. It is hard to believe that in 20 weeks we will be doing the same thing. :)

Eli pointed at Gracie a lot and wanted to touch her but when he realized we weren't going to let him he quickly became busy doing other stuff. He loves these balls from his Mama Reenie and has figured out how to hold two with one hand so he can use his free hand to do other stuff. He is so active and is keeping us busy. :)

Hopefully, everyone enjoys a great Memorial Day tomorrow with friends and family. I am so thankful for all the freedom and security that is available to us in this country through the sacrifices of so many others. It is nice to have a day to reflect and celebrate that!

Busy Bees

Life has been BUSY these past few days. Marc has been working some long days in the ER (his least favorite place to be) and had a few call nights as well which always makes life seem busier. Eli and I really enjoyed being outside this past weekend because it was so warm! Here are a few pics from him on Saturday morning (still in his PJs). He just loves being outdoors so he can point at all the birds and trees and pick up any stick he finds. :)

Gotta start it up!

Mowing just like daddy.

Eli has made a full recovery from his most recent ear infection and acting more like himself (and sleeping GREAT again!). This was his third ear infection in the past 4 months which is not good. We are just keeping a close eye on it for now and hoping for the best now that we are through the cold/virus season and almost through the spring allergy season. If he gets another infection we will have to think about ear tubes which aren't a huge deal but still a procedure we want to avoid if we can. When Eli wasn't feeling well last week I bought him some crayons to play with inside since he didn't feel like playing outside. He really liked them but doesn't quite get the scribble thing yet. He mostly still bangs them on the paper.

He did all the green part in the lower left corner and mommy did the rest trying to explain how they worked. :) We should have fun with these for a few months!

Do you keep tabs on world news? Marc and I are keeping a close eye on Jamaica this week. With a month to go until our big vacation I was not excited to see an escalation of drug related violence in Kingston, the capital city. Granted this is the opposite side of the island from where we will be staying (and Kingston has had crime/violence issues for awhile now), a lot could change between now and July so we are just praying for a quick resolution of the issues at hand between the people and government. I just can't wait to get away for a week with Marc to relax and enjoy the sunshine. I keep reading all the great reviews on Trip Advisor for our resort and I just get more and more excited to go and experience it for myself! Hopefully, it will all work out just fine. :)

Pregnancy is still going really well for me. I really enjoy being pregnant. I know some people have miserable pregnancies and can't wait for it to end but I loved every minute last time and hope this time goes just as well. :) We had an ultrasound last Friday at Marc's clinic. Marc did most of the ultrasound himself which was fun. The baby was measuring about a week ahead but looked healthy and very active. We couldn't get a perfect shot in between the legs because he/she was sitting on its feet in breech position. We have a suspicion based on the views we did get but the ultrasound tech told me not to go "paint the room pink" just yet. :) Our official ultrasound will be scheduled when I go for my check-up this Friday.

Week 17

So everyone says that your first child gets way more attention that any that follow because everything is a first for you. Well, I must admit that I have not been taking belly pictures as diligently as we did with Eli and I am sure that will probably be the case with a lot of other things as we go along. This baby is however very LOVED even if I forget to stage its growth through pregnancy. :) Here is a picture of week 17. I am not even going to put up what week this looks like with Eli. All I can say is that at my next ultrasound I might still be looking for that second baby in there. :) In all honesty if I suck my tummy in it pretty much disappears so I think it is really the muscle laxity from the last pregnancy.... or so I will keep telling myself.

I got Marc to squeeze me in an ultrasound on Friday at his clinic (partly because I am paranoid about my belly size and partly because I want to know what we are having!). I am hoping the baby will cooperate and we can see what he/she is. If not I will have to hold out until our 20 week ultrasound. This baby is a mover like Eli was so we will hopefully get a good show. :)

Springtime Fun

Marc always talks about how we need more "color" in our plant choices outside of our house. Because our house has very little landscaping I always am drawn towards perennial plants because I see them as a better investment for us in the long run since they come back each year. Marc loves all the pretty colorful flowers and wants one of everything in our front lawn. :) I decided to buy some flowers this past weekend to plant for him. It was certainly less color variety than he would have picked but I think he was pleased with the compromise. I spent all day yesterday afternoon planting away and this was the result. The monkey grass we have had for a few years and it has purple flower shoots that come out of the middle later in the summer which will add a little more color when they bloom. :)

And it wouldn't be spring without a little baseball. We have been enjoying some SEC games and will surely be watching some more Cardinals and Cubs baseball before then end of summer. My son will someday have to choose which team he will stand by but for now he is unaware that his dad and grandfather have very different views on the issue. :) So, my dad probably won't care for these pictures too much because of the hat that has tarnished them but who can resist a cute 1 year old (even if he is wearing a Cubs hat)!

Eli loves getting into our study which I usually call "Marc's room" because of all the junk Marc has piled up in there. I try to keep the door shut most of the time, but tonight he caught it open and snagged Marc's baseball cap. When Marc came back from his trips he kept asking me where "this" or "that" was that was no longer in its place. I certainly hadn't moved anything, but I think I know someone else who might have helped himself when mommy wasn't looking. I am sure it will all show up soon enough probably in the least expected place. :)

Quick and Easy Dinner

So, I didn't have any plans for dinner last night and certainly didn't have many groceries at home in the fridge so I went to some quick recipes for our dinner. We don't eat a lot of fish but it is something I always think of when I want to get dinner on the table fast because it cooks so quickly. So here was the menu for dinner:

Baked Fish in Browned Butter

Twice Baked Potatoes

Grilled Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

So, to give you a realistic idea of how easy this is to get together, I left work at 4:40 pm, drove a 20 minute commute, went and bought groceries, and still had dinner on the table ready to go by 6:15 pm. Marc picked up Eli yesterday from daycare so I could get the groceries and then fed him dinner while I cooked.

We always use Tilapia for our fish filets but you can use any light tasting fish you like. Fish is always best when bought the day you want to use it and coloring is really important. If the fish has a slight yellow tint and the back/spine area looks brown then it is old. You want pink fish with a dark red spine for good taste!

Alright, here are the recipes. I do half most of these recipes including the vinaigrette when making for just the two of us. I bought 3 filets this time to let Eli try some fish and he ate it pretty well. :)

Baked Fish in Browned Butter

Ingredients

2 pounds of fish filet

seasoned salt

1/2 cup butter (the generic brands seem to smoke and pop more when in the oven in my experience)

fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs. white wine

paprika

parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Brown butter in baking dish. This takes about 5 minutes. Do not burn, but let it get dark brown. Watch butter carefully and shake dish as needed when browning. Cut fish filets in serving pieces and season with salt on both sides. Place filets in browned butter and bake 10-15 min. depending on the thickness of the filets. Then, turn fish with spatula and baste with butter. Sprinkle fish with white wine, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, and paprika. Return to oven for another 5 min. until done. Fish is done when it flakes apart.

(Because this bakes at such a high temp, the oven sometimes smokes and may set off your smoke alarm just to warn you. :))

Twice Baked Potatoes 

Ingredients

4 baking potatoes

1/2 cup milk

4 Tbs. butter

1 cup sour cream

1 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Baked potatoes in microwave or oven until soft. Cut potatoes in half and scoop out most of the potato. Mix potato with remaining ingredients in a bowl with a mixer. Return potatoes to skin shells and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Sprinkle extra cheese on top in last 5 minutes.

Grilled Asparagus

Dijon vinaigrette

3/4 cup olive oil

6 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)

1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Thoroughly blend all ingredients.

Ingredients

1 lb. fresh asparagus with ends trimmed
1/2 cup Dijon vinaigrette

Preheat grill. Arrange asparagus in a grill basket with tips toward the outer edge of the basket. Asparagus layer can be doubled if necessary. Brush asparagus with vinaigrette. Grill, 3 minutes, turn, and re-baste.  Cook 3 more minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender being careful not to burn. Serve hot, at room temp, or chilled.

And this is the end result. Delicious!!!

Hopefully, you feel inspired to cook even when you feel like you don't have any time!

Nicaragua and Climbing

Marc was gone for a VERY long time last week. He went to Boston for a medical conference for four days and then went to Nicaragua with some other residents for another six days. I think that was probably the longest we have been apart since he did his away rotations in medical school several years ago. He had a great time but was really anxious to be home again by the end and we were ready to see him!

Marc, a few other residents, and one faculty physician went on this trip to visit a hospital in Matagalpa, Nicaragua in hopes of establishing a relationship for future residents to come and do some training. This hospital delivers around 30 babies a day so there would be lots of experience for someone who could stay a month or so.

The city was much bigger than Marc was expecting. Many of his pictures reminded me of the streets in Guatemala when we went a few years back.

Eli's latest milestone to reach has been climbing. He learned how to climb on the fireplace at my parents' house over the weekend and can now climb up on our furniture if we take the cushions out. He jumps up and down on the springs in this big chair in our living room and just giggles. :) He is so funny to watch. He is also talking all the time now. Marc couldn't believe how much more vocal he is now compared to before he left. You can't understand a lick of it but he sure talks to you like you can. I think moving up into the bigger class is probably encouraging his speech development.

Marc and I have planned a much needed date night tomorrow night! Last time we planned a date night Eli came down with fever and we had to cancel our babysitter last minute. We are looking forward to dinner at a new restaurant and seeing the new Robin Hood movie. It should be lots of fun!!! I plan on going to buy our favorite movie candy tomorrow to sneak in with us. :)

Graduation and Mother's Day

Marc has been out of town/out of the country for the past week so Eli and I went to Arkansas this past weekend for Stacey's graduation. He did really well on the way there but was pretty fussy on the way home. :( I think he is ready for his Daddy to be home again. We loved getting to see lots of our family this weekend and were so proud of Stacey for graduating with a Bachelor degree in Interior Design. Yay!!! Even though I didn't go to college at the U of A, it was a big part of our life growing up as little girls (wooo pigs!) and I know Stacey had a wonderful college experience.

This is Old Main that has two clock towers, one facing north and one south. The northern tower is taller which (as legend has it) is a reminder of the Union victory in the Civil War.

Every senior that has graduated since 1876 has their name on the "Senior Walk" and my sister's name will soon join them!

Marc took my camera on his trips but I hope to add some pictures of the weekend festivities up later this week when I snag some from my mom and sister.

It was a little sad celebrating Mother's day without Marc but he was sweet enough to think ahead and get a card for me and a certificate for a pedicure! He also got a card for me from Eli that was really cute. On Sunday morning Eli woke up around 7:30 so I pulled him up in bed with me from his pack n play and let him open the box Marc had wrapped. It was a sweet time I enjoyed with him that I will cherish forever. :) This is what my punkin looked like this time last year. My how fast the year has gone.

It is hard to believe that our second baby is steadily growing inside my belly! I feel flutters more often these days which makes the pregnancy more real. I am really anxious to find out what the sex is and after reading about the Intelligender test on this blog I decided to give it a try (especially since my mom offered to buy the $30 test at Walgreens!).

So after I opened my Mother's Day gift and cards I took the test. After reading many reviews I am HIGHLY skeptical about the accuracy of a test like this but decided it would be fun to see. My test results read "girl" based on the color so we will find out in a few weeks if it was right. It was fun to take and gave me something to think about for the next few weeks until our 20 week ultrasound! We are really excited for the next member of our family whether it is a girl or boy. :)

First Haircut

I had noticed in the past few weeks of pictures we had taken that Eli's hair was getting much longer, especially over his ears and in the back. So, this past weekend Marc and I decided it was time to give him a trim. We debated on going somewhere and having it trimmed vs. attempting it on our own at home. I have never cut anyone's hair before but I thought Eli would let me cut it better than someone he didn't know (I was wrong about that one!) so we decided to give it a go.

We moved his high chair into the bathroom and took some before pictures.

And then Eli made sure to tell me exactly how he wanted it cut... "not too much off the sides, mom."

"Are you SURE you have done this before mom?"

"Yes son, hundreds of times." :)

And here is the result! Not terrible considering it was my first time to ever cut hair, and I had a moving target the entire time (See my last post if you are wondering about the big red spot on his forehead :)).

It was a lot of work getting Eli to stay still so I am hoping this cut will last us several months. Ha!

Mr. Personality

We have had lots of fun the past two days enjoying the great weather and our time out as a family. Eli had a little too much fun today playing outside with one of his new toys. His hands slipped out from under him when he was trying to get up and he scratched his forehead on our sidewalk. Ouch! We just got his last head bruise to go away and now we have a new one to enjoy for the next week. :)

One of things Marc and I really enjoy doing is going out to eat and we usually will go out somewhere each weekend. Up to this point, Eli has done really well with our outings, even if they were a little past his bed time. Lately, we have been getting Eli food off the kids menu, but it has been hit or miss as to what he likes. Last night he really liked the warm rolls they served before dinner (our favorite part too!)

And he really liked the waitresses that would line dance to country songs.

But he did NOT like much else and certainly let us (and everyone around us) know. He hated the rest of his food and started throwing it on the ground along with his cup of milk. He literally had a meltdown in his chair. Thankfully, the restaurant was very loud so it was less embarrassing. :) Marc laughed and said Eli is becoming "Mr. Personality." He is learning what he likes and doesn't like and is having less patience with us when we don't understand him and get it wrong or if we don't allow what he wants. I think everything up to this point has been more about taking care of Eli but now we are getting to the tougher stuff... parenting Eli. :) I probably need to start reading a little faster through some of the parenting books we have. Ha!  We did at least make it through our dinner. We'll see how next time goes!