Baby Christmas Party

Last week I put together a Baby Christmas party in honor of Gabriel's first Christmas. I unashamedly stole the idea from a friend who threw a baby Halloween party:) It was a lot of work to put together but it was so fun when all the babies (and mothers of course) came. We had 8 babies there! I thought it would be crazy with that many babies but all of them were really good and for the most part kept out of the places I didn't want them to be. I planned a few activities, the first being a get-to-know baby game. Moms and babies pulled a random ornament of the little cardboard tree I made and we all answered the questions:

Then we had a baby race (Gabe got third place!) to the tree in the front room (where there is nothing besides a piano). I didn't have enough time to make the prizes for babies who placed (cheerio necklaces-something they can put in their mouths) but oh well. I also wanted to have bubble time but the bubbles the I bought at Walmart were crappy and messy and didn't work at all. Lastly, I pulled out all of the baby toys while us moms got some yummy food to eat (sorry I forgot to take a pic of the food). Baby race! Go Gabie Go!

Gabie to ornament: "why wont you fit in my mouth?!"

Gabie wins 3rd place!


Gabe and his goofy faces!



All the babies lined up!

My New Favorite Treat

I discovered this recipe in the Better Homes and Garden magazine. They're super easy to make and so delicious I could seriously eat all of them. They're called "Chocolate Tarts with Peppermint Creme" but you can flavor the cream anyway you want. I flavored mine orange. I'll probably be making these every year from now on.


Here's the recipe in case you're interested in making your own:

You'll need:

• 2 pkg (15 shells each) frozen mini phyllo shells- I just bought them in the freezer section in the grocery store. They're actually pretty cheap.
• 1/3 C + 3/4 C heavy cream, divided
  
• 4 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet (I like semi-sweet) baking chocolate, cut into chunks
• 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp sugar, divided
  
• 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract (or orange, raspberry, lemon...whatever you want)

Microwave 1/3 C of the cream and chocolate in microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute, stirring after 30 secs. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minute or until chocolate ganache starts to thicken. Spoon a heaping teaspoon ganache into each tart shell. Cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and 2 tbsp of the sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat remaining 3/4 C cream, remaining 2 tbsp. sugar and extract in medium bowl and electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Add 1/2 of the whipped cream to cream cheese mixture; stir until well blended. Gently stir in remaining whipped cream.

Spoon about 1 tbsp of cream into each tart. Garnish with chocolate shavings, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 30 tarts.

Videos For the Family

Here are a bunch of super-cute videos of Gabe. He is growing up so fast.


Gabie the Grinch. 1st week of December '09


Ready, Set, Giggle! 1st week of December 2009



High Five! First week of December 2009



Gabe grabbing at the tree. Dec. 8th '09



Gabie the Piggy. Dec. 9th '09



Gabe learning to pull himself up. Dec. 12th


Gabie loves his ball! December 13th '09


Gabe having fun with daddy! Dec. 14th '09


Gabriel after his bath-Dec. 16th 2009


Gabe was so tired he fell asleep in the middle of the floor, in the middle of eating his baby cheetos!

More Bad News...But Some Good News Too!

Earlier this week one of the family cats, Coco-Brownie, died of Kidney failure :(

That's all of the bad news.

The good news is that we managed to retrieve many of our lost computer files, thanks to Norton 360 that somehow stored our files online. Yay.

Also Gabe learned to pull himself up to standing position using support from things like coffee tables, chairs, our legs, or whatever he can get a hold off. I guess this is bad news for a clean house, but I'm still counting it as good news ;)

Sad News

While we were in St. George last week for Thanksgiving break I happened to read the local newspaper that announced some guy had gotten stuck in a cave and died. I thought that was terrible news but didn't think about it much more until we got home and my email inbox was filled with messages from my old BYU married student ward regarding the death of the very same guy I had read about. Well it turns out it wasn't just any guy-I knew him and his wife-John and Emily Jones.
I can only imagine what poor Emily is going through. That is seriously one of the worst things that can happen, in my opinion. John was a med student and they Emily is pregnant with their second child. I'm so depressed about this tragedy and I hope nothing like this ever happens again, especially to someone I know.

Here's a link for more information:
John Jones' Body Will Be Sealed in Nutty Putty Cave

If you are interested in making a donation to Emily and her children, here's the info:

Checks can be mailed to:
Emily Jones Children's Education Fund
Zions Bank
111 North 200 West
Provo, Utah 84601

Piano Recital

Last Friday was my first piano recital for my students! It went well despite the fact I was sick from food poisoning and I'm horrible at getting up and talking in front of people. Most of the kids played well. It was A LOT of work to get together even though the recital was fairly small. It's quite a relief now that it's over! Here are some pics:


The piano cake I made:


Cupcakes too!


All set up

The recital


Me and the students that played

More Videos!

Here are some recent cute videos for the family :)

Tues, November 3rd:


Wed, November 11:


That same night:



Thurs, November 12:




Sat, November 14:

25th Birthday!

I'm way behind on my blog but since our last computer died I think I have a good excuse.

Anyway, a few weeks ago it was my birthday (Nov. 2nd). It was definitely a great birthday. Erik made me a nice breakfast and gave me my presents. He picked that shirt out all by himself! He also got me Mario Kart, a few books that I've been wanting to read, the new MC cd, and some beautiful lilies. I have such a wonderful husband. My friend took me to lunch (which was so nice of her---thank you Ashley!!) and some others called to wish me a happy birthday, and so did my parents and ALL my siblings. Also the mom of one of my piano students gave me a plate of chocolate chip cookies and Reeses...my favorite! I'm so grateful for such great friends and family!

You've Got To Be Kidding Me!

So I was at the library the other day looking at books for Gabe when I ran into this little gem. I want to know how the publishers got away with this. Seriously, if it were the other way around (you know what I mean) I'm sure the media would have a hay-day and this book would be burned. Because only whites are racist. And for that matter, greedy.

New Computer!

We got a new computer! Its so so nice. The monitor is bigger than our TV, seriously. So our Christmas shopping for each other is done. Now I don't have to stress about getting Erik's Christmas presents. Its all taken care of. On the flip side, no more Christmas presents for me, lol (at least not from Erik)!

Also I got my iTunes library back, thanks to a smart husband who figured our how to get the files directly from the ipod to the computer.

We have not, however, figured out how to retrieve our lost files from our hard drive. Erik tried a bunch of stuff that he was told to do by a few friends who work with computers, but so far nothing has worked. So it looks like we'll have to do without or pay a bunch of money to restore our lost files, pictures, videos, etc. Hopefully Erik can figure out something, because I know pretty much nothing about computers. Heck, I barely know how to work my blog!

Sorry, My Computer DIED

So for about a year our computer has been making this weird whirling noise. Do we bother to check it out? NO. Do I bother to back up my pictures, music, and other files? Big, fat NO.

Last night, on my birthday of all days, I turned the computer on and up pops that "blue screen of death" that people sometimes talk about. So as it stands, we have lost everything that was on our computer, which includes all of our pictures-dating, wedding, Gabriel, and what I'm most upset about, Gabriel's cute videos. Also lost is my entire itunes library. I'm not worried about my purchased songs and I have most of my music on CD, but I have so much music on itunes that it would literally take MONTHS to get everything back how it was.

I am glad that I uploaded *most* of Gabriel's pictures and the cutest of his videos here on this blog. At least I have those.

So here I am at the library. I'm not going to cry about anything until I'm certain all is lost. There is some hope of restoring all our lost stuff. But for now, don't expect many posts. At least not any posts with pictures.

Sorry!

Halloween!

For Halloween we went to a friend's house who has a baby around Gabe's age. We went trick-or-treating with our cute little boys and got lots of candy (for ourselves...!). It was fun dressing up again, eating, and just hanging out. I love Halloween!

Oh here's the cake I brought over. It's okay. I posted it on facebook as well. I accidentally cut a chunk of the cake off and had to put it back together with frosting, so it looked really lumpy. I also added too much water to the fondant so it was a sticky, gooey mess to work with.

Baby Mozart

Gabe loves music! Here's a cute video of him listening to his favorite piano piece. It's so cute how he just sits and listens. Watch for his big grin at the beginning!

Trunk or Treat

Our ward had its annual trunk-or-treat a few days ago. It was fun to chat with friends and eating chili, but the best part was dressing up! I love dressing up for Halloween! I don't know why, but I always have. We brought tons of candy to hand out but there were so many kids that it didn't last long. I also went trunk or treating with Gabe and got some candy. For me of course. I'm so happy to have a baby so I can go trick or treating again!

My cute little froggie



This is the only pic I took during the trunk or treating. You can see why. It was too dark to get decent pics.

There must not be a lot of people who watch the Simpsons, because only a few figured out who Erik is supposed to be (in case you don't know...its Dr. Nick Rivera!)


My costume on!


I kept kissing this frog, but he just stayed a frog. He sure was fun to kiss though!




Just can't get enough of this cute little guy!

Baby Halloween Party

A friend of mine had a great idea-a baby Halloween party! All the babies dressed up in their costumes and did things like pin the tail on the cat, frost cupcakes, and play with toys. If she doesn't have a baby Christmas party, I think I'll have one...baby parties are so much fun! Here are some cute pics:

Gabe was a super cute frog!All the babies lined up.



Toy Time!



Playing pin the tail on the cat.

My cute froggie.


Trying to frost cupcakes while Gabe eats the plate

Gabester and friend Coleman

Prunes, Anyone??

So Gabriel just finished all the vegetables they make for babies, and now we're on to fruits. I bought all the fruit flavors available, including prunes. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought prunes! Or what Gerber brand was thinking. You think Gabriel looks messy now? You should have seen it after it came out the other end! Not pretty. That was one of the biggest messes I have ever cleaned up in my life...including when I worked as a CNA for 2 years! I should have known better. I still have two more prune jars left. Any takers?

Bath & Butt

Just another cute video of Gabie being his cute self :)

Laughing Gabe

Here's a super cute video of the Gabester laughing. He is so much fun!

Jump, Jump, Jump!

As of last week, Gabriel figured out how to use his jumper. Now he LOVES it and can't get enough! And neither can we! It's really funny when he jumps because he gets SO excited about it.

Scooting

Here's a cute video of Gabriel scooting. This was taken only a week ago (Oct.12), and he has already gotten so much better!

Sad Gabe

This is what happened when we picked up Gabe from a nap---who apparently wasn't done sleeping. Poor little guy :( We put him right back to bed as soon as I shut the camera off.

Sittin' Up

Here's a cute video of Gabriel learning to sit up (taken Oct. 5th). He didn't like it too much at first but he's getting better and better everyday!

My Little Maestro

Lately it seems that Gabriel is only interested in things that he sees me use. Like the phone, water bottles, toothbrush, cups and... the piano! He LOVES the piano. I'll let him hit the keys and he's just so happy! I'm glad he likes the piano so much. It helps to have a baby that is so cooperative when I need him to be, most especially during my piano lessons .

More Videos!

Here are some for videos for the family. This guy is so stinkin' cute and so much fun!

Gabe-General Conferences

Gabe was 5 days old during April 2009 General conference in the first video. The next video he is 6 months. It's amazing how fast babies grow! I can't believe that's the same baby!

Halloween, Here We Come!

We're all ready for Halloween! I bought the froggy costume for Gabriel at Walmart for like $8. Since Gabe is going to be a frog, I thought it would be cute if I were a princess. Well turns out finding a princess costume---let alone one that looks decent, fits right, and wouldn't make me go broke---is currently not possible. So I decided I could just make my own. The pattern I used was Simplicity 2827, and lucky for me it was fairly straightfoward. I did have to alter it somewhat in order for it to zip up in back, but I think it turned out fine and I'm way excited to wear it!

Six Months Old

1 day old

Gabriel just turned six months old. I can't believe it! He's already half a year old...it seems like I was pregnant with him just yesterday! Here are some things Gabriel as accomplished in his mere six months:
smiling
blowing bubbles
laughing
babbling
screaming (happy screams)
holding weight on legs
rolling over
scooting
grabbing
reaching
eating solids
sitting up (almost-still working on it)
He has learned so much! And still lots more to learn. We love Gabriel so much! We're so happy he joined us. He is so sweet and silly.

6 months old

The Most Boring Museum on Earth

Last Saturday it was free museum day. I found out about last minute, but there was one museum close to our house-The Challenger Space Museum- that was participating that we had been curious about. Well we went. As it turns out, it was the lamest, most boring museum I have ever been to. Seriously there was NOTHING there. Just posters on a wall. I am not kidding. Good thing it was free. Regular admission is $6 a person. I guess we saved ourselves $12 but wasted a good hour. At least I got a few good pics:
Here's my favorite pic!



Erik and Gabe



Me and Gabester up on the viewing deck.



Erik and Gabe...I don't know why Erik has this scary look on his face!