Alright, so I am slowly catching up! The good news is that these December photos represent the last of the photos that are still stored on the old, slow, cantankerous laptop (next project--cleaning old laptop up and transferring appropriate files to my new one!). The bad news is that I don't seem to have any photos from the actual Christmas holiday---but suffice to say that there was plenty of food, family, love, laughter, and delightful gifts (especially for one little girl in particular). Be sure to read to the end of this post for a very special video or two. Oh..and one more cute thing (I'm trying to limit myself)..the word of the month is "up" as in "up up up up up up up!"
Ah, the magic of Christmas lights! Steve and I didn't get a tree since we were worried that we'd spend the whole month extricating Lorelei from the tree (also, I was feeling just a bit lazy), but we did do some light, more or less baby-proof decorating. Lorelei, of course, was a perfect angel and completely ignored the tree at my parents' home (or anywhere else) and was content to play with her full basket of "touch" Christmas goodies.
Helping Papa Bob celebrate his birthday!
Lorelei's first time on Santa's lap was at the Carondelet Breakfast with Santa. We had so much fun (and they did such a nice job) that I'm sure it will become a family tradition. Our tables were waited on by elves, each child got a gift or two, we wrote letters to Santa (and received a lovely reponse a week or two later), ate delicious food and caught up with old friends. Not to mention checking out the amazing trees filled with goodies!
Lorelei is enthusiastically singing "5 Golden Rings" at the breakfast.
More singing with Gramma!
You've got to love this bedhead.
Lorelei likes to play "Granola Bar Factory Worker". This entails a daily visit to the "factory" where she inspects the granola bars for flaws, occasionally placing some in her shopping cart, sometimes offering Steve or myself one, and then (usually) putting them back in the box. This was a morning ritual for quite a long time.
Look at how long her hair is getting---pony tails and braids are just around the corner!
We were treated to a visit from Ed and Sue! Here, Great Uncle Ed helps Lorelei run her laps around Gramma and Grandpa's living room. She loves to go up and down the step into the den. Notice how she is holding on tight with both hands--trust me, she has got quite the grip.
Reading a book with Sue
Lorelei absolutely adores shoes. Even though she wasn't walking yet, she would insist on putting on everyone's shoes (or bringing you your shoes to put on--even if they weren't from the same pair). If she couldn't figure out how to try and get them to stay on her foot, then she would crawl with them on her hands. I accidently left my closet door open and walked in to find her in seventh heaven.
And finally, the moment we waited and waited for....Lorelei's first steps! We were doing our usual circuit at my folks' house on Christmas Eve and Lorelei was feeling brave--she would let go of my hand and stand, alone, and giggle. Then I took a few steps back and the result was her first official, not falling over, all on her own steps (as captured by my super awesome brother in law on his iPhone--thank you!)
This is the second dish I made from the same Real Simple article. I am not a big meatloaf fan, but the pictures looked so delicious and I am always looking for something new to do with ground turkey. This dinner was fantastic!! (Which is good, because it makes a lot for two people!) Turkey Meat Loaf 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey (I used however much was in the package, closer to 1 pound) 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 bunch fresh spinach, thick stems removed and leaves chopped 1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or your favorite mustard) 1 large egg kosher salt and black pepper 1/4 cup ketchup Several button mushrooms, chopped (leftover from beef stroganoff night; not called for in the original recipe) Note: I only used 1 pound of turkey, and adjusted the amount of onion, spinach, and parsley so that it seemed about right to me. The original recipe only called for the egg white, but I used the whole egg and I think, based on the...
So, I'm off to a great start with my new year resolutions (granted, it is still the first week of January) and for my first cookbook challenge I will be exploring Simple Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. Okay, so I know that it is already clear that I love this cookbook (see earlier posts), but truly, I've had it for almost 2 years and have only made 5 recipes from it (Beer Pizza, Black Bean Chili, Orange Almond Cake, Spicy Peanut Noodles, and Nantucket Cranberry Cake). So last night I made Sweet Potato Chili and Flaky Wheat Biscuits for dinner. The chili was really good, but was so similar to the black bean chili recipe that it didn't really need its own recipe. I think in the future that I will play more with the black bean chili recipe and substitute a diced sweet potato for a can of beans from time to time. The flaky wheat biscuits were yummy and easy to make. Overall, both recipes were winners and will be included in future dinner rotations. Flaky Wheat Biscuits 1...
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