Sloppy Eating

Ella has recently started feeding herself, I love how independent she think it makes her. As soon as I lay the banana slices I've just cut up for her on her tray, she wants to be on her own, the master if her own banana consumption. 

Sometimes things get a little sloppy, and I love her precious face as she tries to get food off her herself. 

Sorgels Fall Fun

Yesterday we went to Sorgels for the very first time, and as we parked I was struck with the idea that this would be the first of many trips with our sweet Ella and my sappy mommy emotions took over! 

We started the morning off with amazing Amish doughnuts, and capped it off this way too! I tried the pumpkin and plain glazed, glazed was my favorite. 

We explored a bit and walked through the kids area with games, picture scenes, and plenty of things to crawl on. 

I loved walking around the adorable gift shop and their speciality food store! The cider press was pretty amazing as well! But my favorite thing by far, was picking our own pumpkins! I've never done that before! 

Thanks Sorgels for a fun day, we'll be back! Thanks Leah and Collin for spending the day with us. 

Ella's room - finished

I was finally able to get Ella's room all set up and decorated! I love all the bright color and think it looks great up against the grey walls.

Thanks Josh for hanging the mobile! 

Shout out to "giant Minni" from our sweet realtor. Thanks Aunt Katie for the custom-made art! 

Aunt Rachel & Aunt Lauren gave us the decorations for this room, thanks!

Ella loves her darkness for sleeping, so I've got quite the curtain situation going on here. We have RV window tint sheets up, a giant piece of fabric folded up over 3 tension rods to make an easy, no see roman shade. Then draped over top is a banner made by Ella's aunts, thanks Dee, Rachel, and Katie. 

Same dresser from here old room, new decorations provided by Gram B and my Aunt Carol! 

Downstairs Hallway

When we bought the house, the entire downstairs was a bright (I'm talking sunflower) yellow. Since our first weekend of ownership, we have been working to change that!

We painted the living room and dining room first. This past week we tackled the entry way, the hallway, and stairs. 

We had previously painted the baseboards white, but finally finished the job this week. 

We painted the hallway and stairs "toasted oatmeal" by Behr. I love the way it looks! 

Josh bravely painted the stairs using his brand new ladder. 

My wonderfully math-minded husband graciously hung up family photos - now it is finally feeling like home. 

Here is the photo collage in the hallway, on the side of the stairs. 

This mirror and frame hang on the bottom of the stair landing.

I also sprayed the metal elements with rustolem. Yeah for an easy fix to remove gold! 

10 Months Awesome

Ella is crawling, exploring, standing with assistance, and even babbling a little!

Hiding

Now that Ella can stand she loves hanging out on the couch looking longing outside. Oh yeah, and hiding in the cushions and giggling.

Soup #2 - Minestrone

 [Amazing] Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth [next time, I'm going to double the broth]
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes [all I had on hand were garlic & olive oil flavored - it added a nice flavor]
1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini or navy) beans, drained [oops, I only had pinto]
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage [I didn't have any sage, so I used savory]
2 bay leaves [I still don't have any whole leaves, just flakes]
Salt and ground black pepper
2 cups cooked ditalini pasta
1 medium zucchini, chopped [I didn't have any, so we did without]
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions:

In a slow cooker, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, sage, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Thirty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add ditalini, zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top.

Jail

"Let me out, let me out!"

#cribfail

Entry Way Wall

Boo!

Yippee!! 

Thanks, Dad G for our awesome Christmas present! We love our G and are so glad it has a home, literally.

Chicken Barley Soup

I love soup! But....I rarely make it. I don't really remember my mom making lots of soup, so maybe it just doesn't come to mind, or maybe I'm just nervous because I don't do it very often. This fall, my goal is try out 5 new soup recipes - what is your favorite?

I tried this one last week - it was great.

Modification:
- I doubled the crushed red pepper (warning it definitely had a zing)
- I didn't have whole bay leaves so I just added a 1/4 tsp of flakes
- I simply used a can or shredded chicken - so easy!

Leave the Carseat Behind

We pretty much both love shopping without the GIANT carseat!

NH vacation

Ella had the pleasure of exploring the greatest state in 'Merica last week - here is a super fast overview of our New Hampshire journey.

We flew for the first time - with no crying.

There was much rejoicing. 

And minimal touching of other passengers' heads. 

We picked apples. 

Enjoyed the fresh air. 

Learned to drive. 

Ate ice cream. 

Played with cousins. 

And celebrated Christmas!

 

And received new animals to chew on!