Cake and Songs

I think with both of my kids my favorite thing is when they start to sing.  This is Harper singing "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" from school.  This song is a standard for Utah kids.  Helena and Harper both know it, although Harper has the words a little off.  I enjoy his improvising. :)

(Real Lyrics):
I looked out the window, and what did I see?
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!
Spring had brought me such a nice surprise,
Blossoms popping right before my eyes.
I could take an armful and make a treat,
A popcorn ball that would smell so sweet.
It wasn’t really so, but it seemed to be
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

Birthday Season

The past couple of weeks we celebrated Ash's & Helena's birthdays.  Ash had a bit of a subdued celebration as he had a project due the week before and the week after.  But, we still had cake and chicken marsala (his favorite).

Helena had a great day on Thursday, her actual birthday.  She took yogurt tubes to school for birthday snack and then we repeated a lot of the celebration from last year with a trip to Jump & Bounce and then off to a dinner of hamburgers and french fries.

We opened presents and ate the tinkerbell cake. :)



Opening her giant unicorn from Grandpa Ash & Grandma Maggie (can you tell she liked it?!?)

Showing off her tinkerbell crown and basket for her bike.

My pride & joy - nut/dairy/egg/gluten free chocolate cake. :)

Everyone liked it!!

On Saturday, she had a party at the Little Gym with her friends.  We had a fun group of kids who ran around and had a blast.  :)  That part wore us all out.  I believe I fell asleep on the couch at 8:30!

Showing off on the balance beam...

I'm 5!!! (And I couldn't stop eating long enough to pose for this picture!)

Happy Birthday Helena!  You're the coolest little girl we know - love you!!

- Emily :)

Dinner Snippet

Tonight at dinner we decided to battle with H about eating something other than bread, cheese & meat. 

Anyway, tonight Ash was trying to get her to take one little bite and H was being monumentally stubborn.  At one point Ash pointed out a consequence for her behavior followed by, "Just try me, Helena."

Helena replied, "But Dad! I'm not going to eat a bite of you too!!"  Crazy parents!

-Emily :)

P.S. - The verdict on the lentil was that it wasn't 'too bad' and 'tasted like a bean.'

Sorry about that....

Whoa! Almost 2 months of not blogging.  So sorry!  (I hear echos...).  So in order to feel 'caught up' on my blogging you're going to get the last 2 months in pictures.  We've been busy with some traveling, a new school year, Ash working a ton (fingers crossed on the two projects he hears back on this week!).  And now we're gearing up for Helena's 5th birthday and a few family visitors in October.

So, a recap:  We met up with my brother Evan & his girlfriend Kailey and two other friends as well as our good friends Erin & Todd & Alex & John in Moab, UT for a long weekend in August.  We visited Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park and had a grand old time.

Family pic in front of Mesa Arch - Canyonlands.

Helena & Kailey

Picnic!

Alex, Helena & Harper - don't everyone look all at once!

Double Arch - Arches National Park

 I also went on a girls trip to Santa Fe with Aimeeliz and Erin.  We had a lot of fun eating, drinking, shopping and horseback riding.

Oh, and wine tasting.... yummy!

Erin & Aimee leading the way to the sunset on horseback! 



Our rancher / guide - Russ "the buffest cowboy in the west!" He was awesome and smelled like whiskey.

Ash went to Detroit over Labor Day to his step sister Susanna's wedding.  We were sad the rest of us had to miss it.  Looked like such a beautiful and happy day.

Maggie, Ash Allen, Ash & Grandma Claudene

My mom visited us as well, and we took a little trip to the Uinta Mountains here in Utah.  Hiked to Wall Lake...beautiful!

Helena & Harper - first day of new school year.  Helena in her last year of preschool and Harper in the 2 year old class. :)

Helena was stoked to get her face painted at the farmer's market.

Harper taking a break from throwing things in the pond / climbing on the landscaping at the farmer's market.

- Emily :)

Quotes of the Week

After crying / whining in the car for 20 + minutes I say to Harper, "Buddy, I'm about at the end of my rope!"  Harper: "Rope? What rope?  I don't have a rope?  Where's the rope?!?  I want a rope..."

Helena to Harper during a diaper change:  "What's your penis doing today?  Your penis is ugly."

-Emily :)

On Eating...

I believe I have neglected to mention here that we've had another little allergy hiccup with Harper.  We started seeing a new doctor (a naturopath) who suggested we try to take him off of dairy and wheat as well to see if that would alleviate some of his remaining allergy symptoms (mainly eczema but also a constantly runny nose). 

So, I took him off dairy about a month ago and his eczema got a little better (although not completely gone), his nose shut off, and weirdly his crazy earwax that he's had all his life (seriously, it's always been like a gooey brown science experiment in there) is all of the sudden COMPLETELY GONE.  Like, I keep trying to get earwax out of his ears and there's just nothing! Weirdly, I miss it.  Kind of how one might miss popping their teenage sibling's pimples.

(I have since read in a couple of places that this is oftentimes a sign of a dairy intolerance / allergy). 

I have yet to get the gumption to also take him off of wheat as the doctor recommended because I honestly don't have the energy or meal planning ambition.  We go back for a check up tomorrow and this may be the next step.  The doctor is hopeful that his gut can heal eventually and he will be able to eat at least eggs & dairy again when he's older.

So, if you're keeping count we're 'off' of eggs, nuts, dairy and gluten (for Ash only, really...).  Good times. 

That said, here are some recipes I'm digging lately....with modifications, in most cases.

Whole Wheat Pop Tarts - Great snack/quick breakfast for the kids!  I made with vegan Earth Balance butter today and I couldn't tell the difference from the last time I made them with real butter.

Kale Lemon Pesto - I made this just for Ash & I, and I was the only one who liked it.  I'm sticking by it, though.  If you like kale & lemons (Ash is a little iffy on lemony stuff sometimes), it's a good one.

Asparagus Brie Soup - I made this also for just Ash & I after we scored about 2 pounds of leftover roasted asparagus at a wedding we went to a couple of weeks ago (hmmm, that sounds weird now that I type it out.  oh well!).  Anyway, unlike the pesto, Ash says he'd eat this every day.  I substituted a GF all purpose flour in place of the regular flour.

Homemade Granola Bars - I also made these this weekend and they were a hit with everyone.  It's very hard to find nut free granola bars at the store.  Ours had oats, soy nut butter, dairy/GF chocolate chips and coconut.  Yum - O!

Allergen Free Chocolate Cake - I made this awhile back and just got the 2nd round out of the freezer to eat.  Hands down the best allergen free cake I have tried.  Moist, doesn't feel like you're missing something.  I used a GF all purpose flour blend and Ener-G egg subsitute.  I didn't make the frosting (because I'm lazy).  :)

I'll keep ya'll updated on our 'progress' - in the meantime if you have any recipes you want to share, I'm all ears!!

-Emily :)

Helena -- 4 & 3/4

Thought I'd post a little update on what Helena's up to.

I'm currently listening to her making Harper play school -- with fake nap time included! -- and that's one of the coolest things about having two kids.  Mine generally play so well together.  Helena is nice to Harper (yesterday, she even shared her pretzels with him) and they kind of freak out a little bit if we ever take them places separately.  It's cute.  She's a great big sister.  She even helped Harper pee on the potty for the first time yesterday!

Tolerating Harper in the reading tunnel at the library.

She is also very into drawing lately.  She definitely draws better than I did at this age (or possibly now, I totally suck at drawing).  Here is this weekend's rendition of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics:

No rendition of a parachuting queen, but good otherwise. :)

She also loves riding her bike with training wheels.  Her and Ash go on 'adventure rides' in the evenings sometimes.  One evening last week they went three miles!!

Helena just switched classrooms / teachers at school in the beginning of June and is doing really well in her new class.  We had debated starting Kindergarten early with her, but decided against it for a lot of reasons.  She still loves school and is very focused for the most part on her 'works'.  One day this week she built a tower out of some beaded cubes and her teacher said she sat there for like 10 minutes just looking at it.  Her teacher said to her "Looks like you're waiting on something, Helena.", and she said , "Yeah, I'm waiting for my mom to come so I can show her what I did." (Her teacher then called me down to look at her 'masterpiece'.)  So funny.  She is sounding out short words now and is very good at writing her letters -- probably from all of the incessant drawing!  And she just went on her first official field trip last week -- to Discovery Gateway in downtown Salt Lake.  Mom went along as a volunteer! :)

Building at Discovery Gateway in SLC.

Helena is also in swimming lessons right now.  It's going a lot better than last summer.  We have a few sessions left so hopefully I can get a video at some point.

Helena and Ash at the lake in June.

She has also recently found out about Disneyland (more specifically Cars Land) and is insisting we go ASAP.  We have told her that Disneyland is a lot of money, which has come in handy when she wants something i.e. "Well, that's coming out of the Disneyland fund....oh, never mind." ;)

At one of her friends' princess parties with "Rapunzel."

 Speaking of princesses, Helena as become a little more girly the past few months.  We went weeks only wearing dresses.  She insists her headband matches her outfit exactly. And the more glittery the better.  We own a pair of gold glitter dress shoes that she has worn a hole into.  But I still make her wear her adventure sandals with her dresses just to irritate her aunt Jess. :)

I can't believe in the fall we'll have a 5 year old.  Holy. Cow.

-Emily :)

Harper's 2nd Birthday

Harper turned two this past Sunday.  He ended up having two parties -- one when we were in Kansas and then one on the day of.   In Kansas, we had just family (& Tracee!) over to a park building for cake and hot dogs.  Then this past weekend we celebrated with a trip to the pool on Saturday and some fun backyard times and cupcakes on Sunday. 

Harper requested a 'fishy cake' from grandma Teresa.  So cute!

Cute & egg-less. ;)

Harper & Papa Larry

He wasn't so sure about all of the attention.

Opening presents with lots of 'help'.

Cool tractor from Ellie & Kane.

Tracee (one of my college roomates) and her sons Theo (here) & Anderson made the trek from Lawrence to stop by!

Birthday party kids: Helena, Kane, Theo, Anderson, Harper & Ellie

Somehow this birthday turned into Christmas up in here present-wise. Harper made out with a new workshop toy, car racer and a train table & train set that mom & dad scored for super cheap (used). ;)

Train table & track that Ash is more stoked about than the kids. :)

 I asked him what he wanted on his cupcakes and he said "sprinkles!" And then I asked him what he wanted for birthday breakfast and he said "sprinkles!" (We had bacon & pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes.)

He waited patiently for the cupcakes until about 4:00 when I caught him sneaking some fingers of frosting.... (Oh, and is sporting a new buzz cut).

Attempting to lick off the remnants.

Happy Birthday little buddy!  We love you!

- Emily :)

P.S. - Here's a fun look at Helena's 2nd birthday party.  She's so little!!!

P.P.S - I found a cake mix that is egg/nut/gluten free (you didn't even have to mix in any eggs or egg substitute) to use for the birthday cupcakes and it tasted great!  Yay, Cherrybrook Kitchen products!

Sing Songy

Since I started working so early in the morning, Ash has had the job of waking Harper up.  Poor Harper, he likes to wake up on his own...he'll even say "Mom, I still sleeping!" or "Mom, I want sleep more!" just like a teenager in the mornings.  :)

Anyway, Ash sings various songs to him to wake him up.  (Fun Ash fact:  He's very 'singy' in the morning.  And he's very good at making up songs).  His old preschool songs are usually the go-to ones.  Harper knows about five songs and has started getting better at singing recently.  (Currently he can sing the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Up on the Housetop (yes, the Christmas one), and Itsy Bitsy Spider).  Here's he & Helena singing the "Good Morning to You" song at dinner time.

Lyrics: Good morning to you!  Good morning to you!  We're all in our places with sun shining faces....good morning to you!

I love Harper's inflection on the "you!".  He sounds like he's trying to increase his range. Ha!  Helena did a great job keeping him going, too!

Another song Ash sings that cracks me up is this one:

We live in Kansas.  Our home is Kansas.
It's the state in the west where the people are the best.
We live in Kansas.  Our home is Kansas. 
I'm a Jayhawker through and through.

I don't remember this from my Kansas preschool / elementary school days.  Does anyone else?  Just curious....  Ash went to montessori school in Lawrence before he moved to Detroit when he was 5, so I think the Jayhawk-ish songs were maybe more popular there?!? :)

Small sidenote:  Helena finished up her 'school year' and we got her 'portfolio' from her teacher.  In it was a list of her favorite this and that.  In the map unit ,she drew a picture and put that her favorite country is.....Kansas.

-Emily :)

Helena's Tap Recital

Helena had a tap dance recital right before we left on vacation.  Here's a snippet of her dance.

She did so awesome and we were so proud of her.  She did tell Ash not to come because she said he makes her nervous.  His feelings were hurt, but he obliged. :)

They did the dance twice and when the teacher asked them if they wanted to do it a second time Helena yelled 'NO!' the loudest.  Needless to say, we're still battling some shyness from time to time.  Which is also why you can tell the video is shot from the 2nd (back) row...less chance of her bolting & crying if I'm not RIGHT THERE.

Next up this summer...swimming lessons.  Then back to dance in the fall most likely. :)  Pretty sure we're not going to torture ourselves with tee ball this fall again. Ha!

-Emily :)

Costa Rica

Hey everyone....(**crickets**)....I know.  I suck a blogging lately.  I have good intentions. But, yeah...life and two year olds, etc., etc., etc., get in the way. 

But, we've successfully been to Costa Rica and back.  The grandparents in Kansas survived taking care of the kids.  Ash & I had our own little 'survival issues' while traveling.

I got stung by this:

Yeah, I'm not kidding.  It was about 4 inches long.  In my bed at the resort.  There was mucho hysterics, but two anti-venom shots later and I wasn't dead!  Yay for living!

Ash fell down a flight of stairs at the resort the day before I got stung and banged himself up pretty good, too.  (Two sore knees, an almost broken wrist, torn rib cartilage, cut on his chin).  This was at the beginning of our trip -- you know, before the zip lining, white water rafting and waterfall diving....so, we were pretty sure we were sitting ducks.  But, all was well.

We had a really great time lots of beach, sun, pool, drinks, buffets, good sister / brother-in-law time, good time making new friends. :) 

Ash in his 'vacation hat' (lol) and me on the beach by our resort.

Jess & Justin getting ready to go on our horseback riding / waterfall diving/ zip lining/ hot springs / mud bath / white water rafting adventure. :)

Hidden waterfall....

Jess & Lauren taking the plunge.  The water was COLD.  But it was fun.

Lauren thinking her hubby has had too much whiskey.  You maybe had to be there... :)

 A silly game we played: we told the waiters almost every night that it was someone's birthday. :)  We always got sung to and an extra cake. :)

After our steak dinner evening....

Me demonstrating that I was taller than my little sister for this one night.  Thanks wedges!!

Chris & Ashley

Us on the last day of our trip.  Sunburn much?  Or as Ash says..."Base tan!"

 So the resort had some lame-o Vegas/Costa Rican hybrid entertainment every night.  The last night we were there we decided to make our own dance party....thanks to one of our travel mates' ipod boom box he packed in his little suitcase.  It ROCKED and we were most definitely the 'people to watch' at the resort that night.  Some might say spectacle.  But it was fun and hilarious.  Anyway, these pics are from our mobile dance party. We definitely livened up the place that night.

Ash & Justin.....

Dance party making its way through the resort from the buffet to the bar. :)

INTO it. (Kristen, Lauren & Bailey)

Here's to hoping it's not another 3 years before we get to take another adults only vacation!  Thanks for all the fun guys!!

-Emily :)