Seriously?

Dear Apricot Snatcher,

You suck. Seriously. Who steals ALL the apricots off an 82 year old woman's tree!?!
Did you know that she cans and makes apricot jam EVERY year and has done it for like the past 20 years? Did you know that she looks forward to it and loves giving away jam? I am so mad at you. You better watch out...cuz if I find you, you're DEAD MEAT! Nobody messes with my Grandma Shaw!

Playdate with Cousins...

Taft and Mama Scarlet at the park. The week before I went back to work I met up with my SIL Lara and her kids, her sister Darci, and two of their nephews. I wish I could do that every week.

It's too bad we'll be moving away in the somewhat near future and Taft won't be able to see his way cool cousins as much. I loved growing up by my cousins. My cousin Rachel and I were best friends when we were little. We each had our "school best friend" but we were each other's real best friend. I wanted to go on a mission but only if Rachel could be my companion. When my dad used to tickle me I would scream, "HELP! Friends! Cousins! Come quickly!!!" Cousins are great...built in friends for life.

We hope you and Mel have a great day celebrating your birthdays together!

SO. GOOD.

Since I've been making dinners and now consider myself a superwife, I've really been into finding new recipes and just food in general. My most favorite cooking thing is baking. You MUST try these Peanut Butter Bars. SO. GOOD.



I made these to give to people who made us dinners after I delivered. I might have had to make these twice because maybe we ate most of them before we could give them away.

I also like to pretend they're not too bad for you since they have oatmeal and peanut butter (good source of protein?).

Peanut Butter Bars-(from Gathering of Friends cookbook)

1 c. shortening

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. water

1 t. vanilla

3 c. flour

1/2 t. baking soda

3/4 t. salt

3 c. oatmeal

Combine ingredients and spread flat on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 10 mins. Cool. Spread frosting over the top, cut, serve, DEVOUR!

Frosting

1/2 c. butter, softened

3 c. powdered sugar

2 T. milk

1 t. vanilla

3/4 c. to 1 c. cocoa

Whip ingredients with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

On another food note...these are so so good too. Found at Costco. I think these actually are healthy-ish.

And another food note...baked asparagus is so much better than steamed. I got this tip from Tamara. I tossed asparagus with a little bit of olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and baked at 400 for 12 minutes. Perfectly crisp and delish.

Apologies...

Dear Co-workers,

Sorry that every three hours you hear a loud motor sound coming from my office.I don't like it any more than you do.

Dear Taftman,

Sorry I'm at work. I'd way rather be outside on a walk with you.


Dear Lanx,

Sorry our couch is uncomfy and makes your bum hurt. Thanks for babysitting.You're a life saver.

Sigh...

Here are a couple of others of my favorite's from the photo shoot my friend Staci did. I just love these.

Two Months!

Taft is now two months, almost two and half today. I can't believe he's growing and changing so fast. He smiles all the time now and I love it. He is happiest when he first wakes up in the morning. I love going to get him out of his crib and see him smiling at me. Taft still hates Tummy Time, but loves being naked and baths. He doesn't like being burped, but loves to eat. His doc said he's growing "gangbusters". At his two month appointment he weighed 12 lbs and grew 4 inches since birth. The shots were so sad but Taft took it like a man and only cried for a little bit. Taft has big eyes and loves to look around. At church on Sunday the kid behind us told his mom that Taft's eyes were freaking him out.

Some tummy time pre-meltdown

Zions with Seth

Visiting Dad at the hospital on one of the nights he had to be there all night

Month in Review

1. Happy Birthday to my mom on May 20. Love her.
2. Happy Birthday to the friend I've known the longest (since first grade), Jamie, on May 18th.
3. Dreading the days I have to go back to work. (5 freaking days)
4. Seth has had to be on-call at the hospital every 3rd night, which means me and Bumksi have been home alone every 3rd night.
5. We call Taft "Bumski" so much that we're afraid he'll think that's his real name.
6. Mother's Day. Shout out to all the moms, especially Taft's Nana and Grammie.
7. Had the flu. Possibly swine. Never found out. Taft stayed healthy.
8. Taft is now almost two and a half months old.
9. Went to St. George at the end of April.
10. Have been going on lots of walks and enjoying this beautiful weather.
11. Becoming domestic. I've cooked more dinner since Taft's been born than in all the time we've been married. I'm SO proud of myself. They've actually been pretty good dinners if I do say so myself.
12. I didn't have candy for a whole week. And I worked out five times that week too.
13. On to the second week and I'm two for two for working out. One for two on no candy.
14. Watched a lot of the Jon and Kate plus 8 marathon over the weekend and watched the season premiere. Did anyone else watch it and did anyone else cry? Even though Kate can be a total beeotch, it broke my heart when she started crying.

Welcome to the 21st Century

We decided to get with the program and pay for internet. We'd been trying to steal it from the hospital across the street, but it was always hit and miss. Hence no posts for almost a month. I'm sure you've all just been dying to know what we've been up to, how cute our baby is now, etc., etc. Well now you'll probably be learning more than you wanted to know.

P.S. How awkward is it when you live in a small condo and have a repair man come over (i.e. the Comcast guy) and have to kind of hide in your room and pretend to be busy while he's working on whatever. Also, way funny, the guy had to leave for a second and he tried to leave through the closet. He thought it was the front door. Ha.

Oh my.

I kept hesitating to put up this picture because I think this is the one I'll be sending out in the baby announcement, but SERIOUSLY...how cute is HE?! My friend Staci took pictures for us when we were in St. George two weekends ago. She is so talented! Taft was having a rough day that day, but she still got some really great shots. Taft accidentally pooped on her husband's shirt during one of the nakie pics. Sorry 'bout that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYTAY!

My witto sisto Taylo is all grown up and turned 18 today. Taylor is one fun girl and you should really get to know her if you don't already. She brings entertainment to every Sunday dinner and has such a bright personality. I'm so glad she's a part of our family and that Taft has such a super cool auntie.

Tates and Lanx took this picture of themselves on the way to the hospital when I was in labor. They were pretty stoked to be aunties.

One Month Old and First Vacay

Taft turned one month old on April 16th. I've seen this on other blogs where you take a picture of your babe next to the same toy each month to see how they've grown. So here's the first picture next to Moe the Monkey. I can't believe how much he's grown already. Taft, not Moe. It makes me sad! We visited some friends that had a baby last night and Taft was ginormous compared to their baby.

Taft has already changed a bunch and is starting to smile at us. I know for a while it's just a reflex or gas or whatever, but for reals, he smiles now, especially at pretty ladies.

We took Taft on his first mini-vacay to Moab. Seth's mom came with us and we had a great time hiking (sort of) around Arches and Canyonlands. Here's a tip for new nursing mom's: Bring a blanket or Hooter Hider EVERYWHERE. If not you might be nursing your baby while turned against a rock at Delicate Arch surrounded by other tourists. Not awkward at all. Taft was a real trooper and did great for so much driving around and he did well being strapped into the Bjorn for most of the day.

Our internet is really touch and go, otherwise I'd be blogging more. I have about a bazillion pictures I would love to post.

Oh yeah, here's another tip for new mom's: If you want to be depressed, go clothing shopping five weeks after delivering. It's awesome.

Cousins

Seth's parents were able to come from Belgium to meet Taft and to visit other family members. Here they are with ALL their grandkids. It was extra special to have all the grandkids together since they live in Utah, North Carolina, and Texas.

Taftman

Taft is 4 weeks tomorrow. So far Taft loves to eat and sleep. He likes to be in his swing, the bjorn, and held. He does not like to be cold, especially right after the bath. He does not like when I put lotion on him, and it think it's because it makes him cold. He has a talent already...super loud burps and toots.

Supermarket Success

I got all this for less than $100...

6 boxes of cereal

4 boxes of crackers

2 bottles of BBQ sauce

4 bottles of salad dressing

4 lbs. of strawberries

asparagus

romaine lettuce

a giant yam

shout

denture cleanser (for my retainer)

2 Bertolli dinners

4 bags of Steamfresh veggies

2 jars of peanut butter

2 bottles of lotion

2 boxes of cake mix

2 cans refried beans

4 bags of pasta

bananas

a huge bag of rice

red onion

4 bags of Lipton Rice/Pasta sides

2 jars of Ragu

beef roast

blue cheese

dry mustard

a big bag of walnuts

6 ziploc containers

Isn't that cool? My cart was like overflowing. I saved nearly $80. I felt so cool.