Summa Summa Summertime

In addition to raising a baby this summer I have also been raising something else I am almost as proud of...my garden!

This is the before and after of part of the garden.  My dad planted it while I was still pregnant and named the little garden shown "Elliot's Garden."  There is a little sign and everything.  Anyway, the garden really took off and I have spent the last several weeks harvesting zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, jalapenos, and tomatoes.  And even though I have spent a lot of time on the Food Network and Pinterest trying to find recipes to use up all the zucchini, I have quite enjoyed my daily trips out to the garden.  I also attribute some of my weight loss (46 pounds since delivery!) to having tons of fresh produce around.  So in the spirit of keeping summer alive here is the recipe I use for homemade tomato soup.  I found it online a few years ago and just wrote it down, so unfortunately I cannot give its author due credit.  But, it is fantastic and if you have tomatoes on hand I definitely recommend it.  I used cherry tomatoes this last time and was able to eliminate the sugar all together because they are so naturally sweet.  Also, the cayenne pepper gives it a bit of a kick so if you are not into some spice I would only use half the amount suggested.

Fresh Tomato Soup

• 8 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 cups broth (any flavor)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• sugar to taste
• 1/2 cup milk (optional)

Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, cayenne, basil, thyme, & bay leaf with broth in stock pot.  Bring to boil and gently boil for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.  Run mixture through a strainer, reserving the liquid.  Place remaining chunks in blender and blend until smooth.  In the stock pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour to make a roux, cooking until it is a medium brown.  Gradually whisk in a little tomato mixture so no lumps form.  Stir in the rest.  Season with sugar.  Add milk if desired.

Oh, and I also discovered a way to use up my cucumbers and some other things.  My new favorite thing is infused water!  There are several different ways to make it and the combinations are limited only by your imagination, but this is how I do it: fill a pitcher with ice; add the desired fresh produce; fill with water and give it all a stir.  Let sit at least 15 minutes in the fridge and then serve.  I call it party water!  It is a great way to keep drinking water when you get bored with it and want to reach for a frosty diet coke.  My favorite combinations are cucumber and lemon, nectarine and mint, and cucumber and mint.  Try it, you won't regret it :).  Happy hydration!

Time waits for no man...

...or in this case, woman.

Well, the time that I have been dreading and that seemed so far in the future that it would never occur is upon us: my return to work.  I am sad and anxious, and also worried that I will be gone so much she will not like me the best anymore.  I am assured by all that she will always love her Mommy the most, but I am convinced she is going to feel abandoned.  In actuality I know it will be harder on me than it is on her and that makes me feel better...a little.

The last 12 weeks have been the best of my life and I am going to cherish this summer forever.  It was truly a wonderful experience to spend every morning waking up to her cries (even when I was so tired I could cry!) and then spend the day with her and usually with Erik, our new little family figuring each other out.  And while I am sad to see time slip away so quickly, I realize it was necessary to take our bambina from this little bundle...

...to this big girl.

I am so excited to keep watching her grow!  I will be spending the next couple of days enjoying every minute of our time together.  Say a little prayer for us on Thursday!

What a Girl Wants

It has now been two months since the bambina has entered our lives and she has become pretty good at communicating what she wants (and doesn't want!) with us. For example we know she wants:

to lay on her changing pad and chit chat with anyone who will listen,

to go swimming whenever possible,

to sit like a big girl,

to have a comfortable place to rest,

to be silly,

to spend hours playing,

to share secrets and naps with her bestie,

to coordinate her outfits,

and to discuss celebrity gossip with her aunt.

However, she does not care for:

being dressed in a huge, puffy (and I assume itchy) dress for her baptism,

being shoved into her car seat in the same huge, puffy dress for the long (5 minute) ride to church,

the first dip,

being dressed like a nerd (eww, Mom, it looks like I tucked my shirt into my jeans!),

or wearing the adorable, hot pink, baby flip-flops that Mommy carefully selected and pictured her wearing while traipsing about town on our errands, accepting compliments left and right from passersby.  In fact, she rejects all shoes, which might be part of the reason she is screaming in her baptism photos...hmm.

But one thing for which I am grateful is that no matter what, sometimes all a girl wants is her Mommy.

Happy two-month-day Baby Girl!  We are so glad you came along!

Just to See You Smile

Check out the most beautiful smile of the world!

I think it is safe to say our world currently revolves around doing things to make the babes smile.  You should see us standing over her changing table making goofy noises and faces.  She even makes little cooing noises sometimes, which I believe to be precursors to a laugh or even a squeal of delight!  Our favorite game right now is sticking our tongue out.  I will do it to her, she looks at me with her signature quizzical eyebrow raise, then will study it and carefully move her mouth around and finally...pop her little tongue out too!  Which of course causes me to smile and dole out copious amounts of praise which in turn makes her smile.  Then the whole process starts again.  Good times :).

I was hoping to keep the blog updated more often, but it turns out having a baby is totally a time sucker.  And when we finally get into the groove of things a bit my sister comes home for a visit and the Olympics start!  Speaking of which, I believe I hear some women's synchronized diving calling my name.  So I guess this is all I have time to write about for now.  I will leave you with a few shots of what we have been up to lately.  Happy Olympics everyone!

 Being a Communist dictator

 Playing so hard we fall asleep

 Keeping it cool

 Loving Mommy

 Snuggling up next to Daddy

And, as always, being a little diva.

Rollin' with My Homies

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a rolling baby on our hands!

May I present to you, the rolling stylings of Ms. Elliot Noelle:

I realize our actions border on Toddlers-in-tiaras-esque, but we just want her to be the roller we always wanted to be.  Just kidding.  No babies were harmed in the making of this video.

I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!

Girlfriend is 3 weeks old today!  And so far I find her to be quite lovable :).  There are hundreds of things I love about her, with more to add to the list each day.  But, for the sake of maintaining my readers, I have whittled it down to a top 10 list, in no particular order.  I will include pictures of each lovable action if I can find them.  

Reminder: I am a first-time mommy.  If these are things all babies do, just smile and nod and let me believe my baby is exceptional.

1. On some days, if the mood hits right, I can convince her to cuddle with me on the couch.  We stay there for hours and it is heaven.

2. She almost always sneezes in twos.  It has gotten to the point that when she sneezes we just wait for the other one to follow.  (Not pictured - it is really hard to capture a sneeze, plus, how would we show two?!)

3. Her default position is to have her legs crossed at the ankles, like a true lady.  This was also her default position in the womb.

4. She sucks her thumb, but instead of closing the rest of her fingers while sucking she just leaves them all up and touches her face.  Related to this, when she gets over-stimulated or stressed out she spreads her fingers wide and touches her face.  It is heartbreakingly adorable.

5. She is not bothered by dogs.  She took to Toast right away and has made multiple furry friends since her arrival.

6. Even though she can be difficult to take when she cries, her little wailing face is so cute that sometimes I can't help but laugh out loud.  

7. She is a very curious little girl.  When she can fight back the urge to sleep or eat or cry, she is always taking in her surroundings.

8.  She folds her hands, as if in prayer.  Sometimes they are perfectly laced up and sometimes there is an extra finger where it shouldn't be, but either way it appears that she is thanking God for her food :).

9.  She is a frantic eater.  She attacks her food like a shark in chummy waters.  At the hospital the nurse even commented on how crazy she gets when going in for the goods.  (We are breastfeeding, so for obvious reason, this is not pictured!)

10.  She is a great sport, putting up with all kinds of new parent nonsense.  Sometimes her facial expression says, "someone save me from these two fools!"

Ok, I guess that is all I will talk about.  As I was writing this I kept thinking of more and more things that we love about the babes.  But I think you get the idea.  We love her.  Everything she does is adorable.  Best. Baby. Ever.