Vegetable inspiration from baby food. Prepare to be awed.

When Leah was a baby (now she's a toddler.  Try to keep up, people.), I used to make her a vegetable puree that she went ga-ga over. 

It was broccoli and cauliflower pureed with a cheese sauce, and it was yummy enough that even I liked to sneak a little. Somehow, it didn't actually taste like vegetables.  It tasted like... well, like junk food (is that even possible?).  Maybe it was the cheese sauce.

Today, I resurected some of that recipe - without the puree this time around - and it was awesome. 

What you will need:

Cauliflower, butter, flour, milk, shredded cheese and any desired seasonings.

You'll have to forgive me, because I didn't measure anything I did today, so instead I'll give you my best guesses. 

Original Cheese Sauce recipe:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1/3 cup grated cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour to make a rue.  Gradually stir in the milk, bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes until thickened and smooth.  Stir in the grated cheese until melted.

I used half the bag of cauliflower, steaming it in the microwave for 6 minutes.  Fresh would be even better, but I don't keep it on-hand anymore... maybe I should.  I made about half the recipe for cheese sauce, adding a pinch of garlic salt and thyme.  And, since I didn't measure it out at all, probably a LOT more cheese than this recipe calls for.  It left me with a pretty hefty cheese-to-cauliflower ratio, but that might be part of what made it so delicious.

The result?  It's veggie mac-and-cheese, made to order.  Life as we know it may never be the same.

You're welcome.

There's a snake in our bush and other domestic occurrences

No, this is not some kind of sneaky, slightly-graphic euphemism for trying to get pregnant.

There really is a snake in our bush.  The one in the front yard.  The one that everyone has to walk by in order to reach the front door.  The one that's right by the garage door, prompting me to take the garage door opener on our daily walks... you know, just in case that tricky snake gets it into his ugly little head to slither into my garage.  God forbid.

No, seriously, I would die if that happened.  It's one of my nightmares.  You would see a very distinct Melissa-shaped hole in our garage door.  Hopefully I would remember to push the stroller along with me, but it's very possible that Leah might be on her own.  That's how much I hate snakes.  (Kidding... mostly.)

We had to buy snake repellent.  Didn't know there was such a thing, but it turns out, you sprinkle a bit of this strong smelling powder and all snakes will supposedly vacate the premises.  The snakes are Moses and our house is Egypt.

I'll let you know how that one turns out.

In happier news, I have a daughter who asks for kisses all the time.  It's bliss.

She is also beginning to string words together to create a single idea.  Mostly simple ideas like, "Hat." "On."  The intent of that one was pretty clear.

When we were at the zoo, she was absolutely in love with the peacock.  So she followed it around with her little arms outstretched repeating, "Peacock."  "Home." 

It took me a while to connect the two, but I'm pretty sure she wanted to take the peacock home. 

She has also made a pre-potty-training connection: she now announces each and every time she poops.  Yep.  There's a cute little squat-and-push-face that goes with it, which I have yet to catch on camera.  Then, she declares: "Poop!" which comes out sounding like "pup," with extra emphasis on the P.

Who knew that watching someone in the act of pooping would be so delightful?

So many things I'm trying desperately to etch into my forever memory.  So many things that bring my heart unspeakable joy.

The snake... notsomuch.

The one with all the rocks

Ouch.

That would be the noise my rear-end makes every time I take a step.  (Rear-ends make that noise, you ask?  Yes.  Today, that is the noise mine makes.)

Because yesterday, we road-tripped it down to Colorado Springs and the Garden of the Gods, which, if you haven't visited in a while, looks something like this:

Pretty awesome!  And free to visit, to boot!

Our day began with a little bit of hamming it up for the camera.  And even though it's not exactly time for her teddy bear photo, I couldn't help but smile when I saw this.

I was a bit apprehensive about the drive, since it's close to two hours from our house.  I knew that by the time we got there it would be nearly nap time.  Fortunately, Leah played it cool while in the car.

This is how Leah road-trips it.  Looking mightily like her daddy, I might add.

I packed lunch and took a nice big blanket, hoping that she would settle down and take a nap at a park after a nice picnic.  We accomplished a lot at that park:

...but unfortunately, none of it included napping.

Instead, she took a short nap in the car while daddy and I drove through at Dairy Queen.  So in the end, it worked out for everyone!

When we arrived at Garden of the Gods, I had anticipated hiking trails.  I thought we would be able to load Leah up in the backpack.

We learned an important lesson: our backpack hasn't grown since last summer.  Seems like a no-brainer, right?  Except that, Leah has grown since last summer... so much so that she barely fits into this thing any longer.  I think we'll probably get one more use out of it this year, and then it will have to be packed away in hopeful anticipation of a new little occupant one day. 

But, we did get some good hiking in.  That is, we took a quick hike around, mostly for the purposes of getting family pictures.  We tried...

And tried again...

And finally had to enlist the help of a passer by.

At this point, we decided to hike back to the car to get the stroller, largely because I was worried the backpack was cutting off the circulation in Leah's legs.  And that's where the fun began, what with off-roading and looking for trails, and pushing the stroller up some pretty steep hills in the dirt. 

Can I just mention: thank goodness our stroller can do all of those things!  It wins the award for durability after the tests we put it through yesterday. 

And, for pushing the stroller plus child through all of those adventures, Mommy wins the award for buns of steel. 

(Ouch.)

The second fourth

I am glad to report that Leah's second fourth of July was so much better than her first!

A complete one-eighty from last year, we had a wonderful time celebrating America's birthday with great friends.

And the food.  Oh, the food.  De-lish.

Sadly, the only pictures I got of the food, I took before our guests arrived.  But rest assured, it was good.  Caprese and pasta salads, veggies and fruit and pita chips and dip and guacamole and corn on the cob and cupcakes and burgers... basically, everything you'd expect on the fourth of July. 

We only invited a small few - largely because that's about all our deck can hold while still allowing for comfortable firework viewing.

 Someday I'll be mellow about hosting holiday gatherings.  I won't obsess.  I won't run to 15 different stores at the last minute.  I won't overdecorate.  In otherwords, I'll fight all - and I do mean all - of my natural instincts.  But, all that will have to wait for another year. 

We enjoyed good food and good company until some of us found it a little too overwhelming (and much past our bed time!).

Leah had to bow out early, so she missed the fireworks for a second year in a row. 

Everyone else settled in to watch the many fireworks shows that dot the skyline and can be seen from our house.

Perhaps a little too comfortable for some...

It was a lovely evening.  We are lucky beyond words to be able to share these days with such wonderful people. 

As I sat there in the glow of a dozen fireworks shows with a full belly, surrounded by my husband and our friends and their children, it absolutely took my breath away. 

This is my life.  Wow.

Fortunately, I had the mess of cleaning up all that holiday fun to help bring me back down to reality. 

What Daddy missed

Casey is coming home tonight (thank goodness!) after two weeks away.  Unfortunately travel is just a part of his job, but I thought I'd recap a few things he missed while he was gone.

Leah's playdate with her friends Ella and Ava at the Children's Museum.  We love to play dress up!

 

LeeLee and a sleeping baby James.  I heart those two!



My little cowgirl



A little more dress up.  I love this picture, partly because it reminds me of this and makes me laugh:



(Sidenote: is it wrong to compare my child to Jim Carey in a tutu?  I digress...)

Guess who learned the word COOKIE?

The little and her little (teddy, that is)

Playing in the water.  The best part?  I built it myself!  It was sunny when I started building this contraption, if that tells you anything.

And, to wrap things up, a video of our sweetpea.  We were eating lunch and naming body parts, and this was supposed to showcase how much she knows.  Except that when I turned the camera on her, she got a funny look on her face and clammed up.  So instead, it's just a cute video with a few randomly-named body parts mixed in.  I swear, she knows them.  Honest!

Yes, I am clearly an award-winning cinematographer.  I will await your fanmail complimenting me on my mad skills.  (Focus?  Which button is that, again?)

While I was waiting for you

Hoping for those two little pink lines

that would tell me you're there.

Longing to feel the swell of my belly

and watch the numbers on the scale rise.

Thub-thub-thubbing on a doctor's monitor

making me completely forget I'm in an uncomfortable position.

Little nudging on the inside

like a bubble bursting.

Being brave.

Being strong.

Talking to you in the car.

Daddy reading to you at night.

Teaching your sister how to be gentle

and just a little bit more grown up than she might be otherwise.

Knowing I have to be patient.

Knowing I'm not just waiting to be pregnant

I'm waiting on you.

Another perfect miracle.

Not just any baby.

My baby.

You're exactly the one we prayed for.

Exactly the one I've been praying for all my life.

And I know you're on your way.

If only I can wait.

Just a little more.

Take the L Train to L Town

We're gonna need a bigger car.

By the time I muscled two baby gates, a stroller, sassy seat, dog food and dog bowls in the trunk, there was hardly room for the dogs themselves.  Let alone the two bags, basket full of diapers, bag full of books and eating paraphenalia, diaper bag and pack-and-play that were resigned to the back seat. 

And our car's not exactly petite. 

It was a lot of stuff to haul.  But we had a great week in Littleton. 

Oh, and grandma and I had fun, too.