Dear Andy

Dear Andy,
Today is the last day, the very last day that you will be a baby. In just a few short hours, the clock will tick away at your title of baby and you will become a toddler. I will miss every moment of it. I'm excited for the future, of what you will become. I look forward to you sleeping ALL the way through the night EVERY night. I look forward to you walking and running and picking up your toys and everything else in the next year to come. But, I will miss oh so dearly the first tender moments we spent in the hospital together and the hours that we spent up together during the night. I'll miss the nights that you slept in bed with me and daddy because that's where you slept best. I'll miss you learning to sit up, roll over, army crawl, and then just when I thought you never would, crawling. I'll miss your long hair that we cut away because it was just too long. I'll miss those little not so smelly diapers that have all too quickly became big, oh so smelly diapers. I'll miss your tiny little outfits that I never thought you'd grow into that are already too small. Andy promise me, PROMISE ME, that whatever you become, wherever you go, however old you grow that I can call you my little baby, even if it's just a secret between you and me. Tomorrow, I'll sing you Happy Birthday with all the enthusiasm that I have. There's so much to look forward to. I love you.

Love,
Mama

Vacation

And all that comes with it. I admit I've been on a bit of a hiatus from the blogging world. We were on vacation from the end of September to the middle of October. It was wonderful. We went to Disney World and spent time with family. It was a great vacation for me. Marcus got to relax for the first time in I think years and my parents got some much needed "Andy" time while I got a much needed break. Here are some pictures from vacation.

Andy Getting Ready for the Trip

I love, love, LOVE this picture. It was "It's a Small World" and he just looked at everything. Most of the rides were still above his interest level but not this one.Me and my dad waiting for the monorail.

Just some pics.

I know you're thinking "Two posts in one day?" but I just have some pics to share from the last couple of weeks so enjoy!

Andy's Haircut before and after

Just a cute pic from our trip to the beach
And... a cute soccer bum. I love my little man.

Yummo!

We had a ward picnic on Wednesday and I tried a new recipe I found in Woman's Day mag. Here's the result.


It was delicious. It had the texture of a really moist coffee cake on the inside and a crispy crust outside.

Here's the recipe if you're interested.

Apple-Walnut Cake with Cider Sauce

By Woman's Day Kitchen from Woman's Day

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sugar

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1⁄4 cup apple cider

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda

1⁄2 tsp salt

3 cups flour

2 large Granny Smith apples (3 1⁄2 cups), peeled, cored and sliced

1 1⁄2 cups chopped walnuts

Cider Sauce

2 cups apple cider

1⁄4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 10-in. tube pan with removable tube insert with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk sugar, oil, apple cider, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until blended.

3. Stir in flour until blended. Stir in apples and walnuts.

4. Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes.

5. Let cool in pan on wire rack 1 hour. Remove sides of pan. Cool completely before lifting cake off bottom of pan.

6. Cider Sauce: Whisk cider, brown sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan until blended. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Boil 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla; stir until butter melts. Let cool to warm or refrigerate until serving.

It's 12:14am. Do you know where you children is?

Haha! I know that's bad english but my dad left that on my answering machine way back when while I was in college. My roommates and I laughed at that one. I love my dad. As for the time? Yeah, I'm up. Serves me right for taking a nap today. There isn't too much that's exciting in my life right now. Life, though in constant upheaval, is good, steady, and fairly predictable. Marcus has the day off tomorrow which just makes it better. We're going to Disney World (yay!) at the end of the month and as a result I get a two and 1/2 week vacation. I know, you're jealous. I've got things on my mind but nothing major. I want to get my finances in order. I want to get my food storage going. And, as always, I want to get in shape. I really don't have anything to post about. Just checking in and making good on my Aug 28th promise to post more. Have a good night. Hopefully you're all in bed dreaming sugar plum dreams. I'm heading back to bed to see if I can dream a little too before my little bug wakes me up for a late night snack.

And zoom! It's gone.

So all of August I've been meaning to post. First on my birthday (Aug 3) Then when we went to the beach (two weeks ago). Next on my anniversary (Aug 19--I love you Marcus!) now it's the 28th. I have to make posters for a church activity and I have to write a talk (yikes!) so this is pretty much it. I just wanted to let you know that I am still here and happy as a clam and just a little busy. I promise Sept. will bring more posts.

Caution...self awareness ahead

I'm sitting here on my little patio in a rare moment of quiet. My baby is long asleep and my husband is too. The dishes are done. The laundry is folded. The floor swept. My "life" is in order. That's where the trouble starts. I'm realizing more and more that while I love my life and who I've become, there is no depth to me. I'm sure you, my friends, would beg to differ. (at least I hope) However, you are not there in the small hours of my life. The defining moments. Am I more then the titles I've been given? Are they what defines me? I have goals; though they are little known. There are so many things that I aspire to that I haven't even begun to do. My main goal: to be passionate. I want to have fire in my life. I want something to consume me. I don't want it to be something that I disregard my "life" for but I want to do something with a fervor that I've never felt. To be perfectly honest, I feel a little dead. Where do I find that passion that I see in so many others? Is it something I can acquire or am I out of luck? Am I dumb to even want this? If you have any suggestions, please send them my way. Until then, I'll keep you posted.

{me}