Family in Town for the Wedding!

Last week Chris' youngest brother Jeff was sealed to his sweetheart Kayla in the Seattle Temple. It was a really nice weekend to enjoy family and welcome a new family member.

Our little family in front of the Seattle Temple.

My little sweetie!

Everytime Grant sees family statues he has to hug them.

Maddie is 8.5 months. She is now crawling, clapping, and pulling herself to standing.

Grant is talking so much and is enjoying his "back-a-yard". He loves to dig in the dirt, find yucky bugs under rocks and water the garden with me.

The happy couple! Aren't they sweet!

Toddler Conversations and Birthday Boy!

1.) Grant is holding my cell phone.

Me: Hey Grant can you please bring my phone to me?
Grant: (Comes running in) Don't worry mom, my underwear is a pocket.
Me: Gross Grant, get that out of there!
Grant: Don't worry mom, I'll keep it for you.

2.) When Grant was taking a bath I started singing "A hunting we will go" which is a song that uses rhyming words (ex. catch a mouse, put him in a house. Catch a bear, put him in a chair etc.)

Anyway, after a few verses Grant wanted to sing by himself. His verse went like this...

A hunting we will go, a Hunting we will go..
We'll catch some teeth, put em in a mouth.
And then we'll let them go.

3.) Grant and I were getting ready to say his bedtime prayer.
Grant: Mom, I want to see Jesus.
Me: Sweetheart, we can't see him right now. But we can talk to him when we pray.
Grant: But I want to sit on his "Yap" (Lap).

After we finished the prayer Grant gave me a big hug and said "Mom, I think Jesus is really happy with me." - What a sweet boy I have!

I love my Grant man. I like to describe Grant as having a warrior spirit. He is energetic, feisty, super athletic, has a huge appetite, clever, independent, strong-willed, social, talkative, creative, funny, smart, and has some sweet moments. We love Grant and will enjoy our new little 3 year old! Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson took Grant to Build a Bear and Grant created the perfect friend ( A tiger that shoots lasers and doesn't talk back. His name is Mr. Tiger.)

I made Grant a Birthday cake like Andy's bed from Toy Story. We took Grant to see Toy Story 3 in theaters and he absolutely loved it!

Hey, I'm not ready to wake up!

Grant avoiding my picture taking.

My Handsome little boy!

A couple of weeks ago our family and Grandma Anderson went to the Tacoma zoo. Perfect weather that day!

Maddie in her hiking backpack. It doesn't look comfortable, but she never complained.

Almost 8 month and still no teeth! But she likes to chew on everything!

Zoo pictures

zoo pictures

A little of this and that

Toddler Conversations:

1.) I told Grant that he was my sweetheart and he cupped my face in his hands and said, "Mom, you're my meatball head."

2.) Grant and I went to a craft store and he saw that fake netting/dirt stuff they put in fake potted plants and asked "Mom, is that Panda Poop?

3.) Grant: "Mom, is that a monster truck?"

Me: "No, buddy that's a jeep."

Grant: "Is that like a GPS?"

4.) Grant: "Hey mom, my shoe is a foot garage."

Some pics of my funny little kids!

We've been working on different funny faces. This is his favorite.

This wee one really enjoys her prunes.

More please. Madelynn is now 7 months and is feeding herself cheerios and puffs. She is also getting closer to crawling.



Grant loves being a Super Hero. So I made him a Super Grant Cape.






For Memorial Day we had a patriotic cream cheese brownie

I made a diaper Cake for a friend's baby shower yesterday. It's such a fun way to give diapers.

Good Grub!!!

Last night we decided to have a Yummy Cafe Rio inspired dinner. I love the combination of lime and cilantro so this was the perfect meal for me :). For dessert we decided to have Fried Ice Cream which turned out really good! So I wanted to share these yummy recipes- most of which came from Allrecipes.com (My favorite recipe site)! I do love the cooking blogs that take a picture of every single step, but I didn't have time last night to take pics. Enjoy!

RECIPE for PORK BARBACOA (similar to Cafe Rio's)From my good friend Heather!
2-3 lb. pork roast
1 TBS cumin
1 cup brown sugar
12 oz bottle La Victoria taco sauce
20 ounce Coke

Place pork roast in a crock pot, add water halfway covering roast. Cook on low for 12 hours. Drain water and add remaining ingredients. Cook 4 more hours. Shred pork and cook 2 more hours. Per Serving: Place tortilla in oven safe bowl and sprinkle with cheese. Keep in the oven until the cheese melts. Then add Lime Cilantro Rice, Black beans and Pork Barbacoa. Add other toppings such as tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, avacados and sour cream. YUM!



Lime Cilantro Rice -Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (Start with 1 TB and add to the taste)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Directions:
1. Bring the water to a boil; stir the butter and rice into the water. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

2.Stir the lime zest, lime juice, and cilantro into the cooked rice just before serving.


Amusement Park Cornbread- Allrecipes.com

(Last night I halved the recipe and used an 8x8 baking dish)

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/3 cups milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease an 9 x13 baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar, salt, butter and vanilla until creamy. Stir in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and cornmeal. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with the milk. Beat well until blended. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.


Fried Ice Cream- Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 quart vanilla ice cream
3 cups crushed cornflakes cereal or Vanilla Wafers (place in blender)
1 to 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 egg whites
2 quarts oil for frying

Directions:
1.Scoop ice cream into 8 - 1/2 cup sized balls. Place on baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
2.In a shallow dish, combine cornflakes and cinnamon. In another dish, beat egg whites until foamy. Roll ice cream balls in egg whites, then in cornflakes, covering ice cream completely. Repeat if necessary. Freeze again until firm, 3 hours.
3.In deep fryer or large, heavy saucepan, heat oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4.Using a basket or slotted spoon, fry ice cream balls 1 or 2 at a time, for 10 to 15 seconds, until golden. Drain quickly on paper towels and serve immediately.