Bye Bye Bottle

After a little coaxing and a few sippy cup sessions watching Mickey Mouse Club 

to distract him, Owen is officially weaned from the bottle.

 

 

I can hardly believe how fast he is growing into a little toddler!!

 

 

Master of the Walker

These days Owen's favorite activity is walking (with a little help of course).

Whether it is with one of 3 different walkers we have in the house, or just a helping hand,

he loves walking back and forth across the room.  

He's been doing it for a few weeks now so I have a funny feeling solo walking 

is right around the corner.  Then the fun really begins.  :)

 

Be Patient

We are in the middle of a bathroom remodeling project, 

so unfortunately my blogging has taken a back seat.

Between taking Owen next door for all of his naps 
 

and 

being sectioned off to the front living room for our play time, 

things have been a bit chaotic, to put it mildly.

But, in the meantime, here's a little smile to tide you over.

Blogging will be back in full swing in just a few days.  :)

Daddy and Me

Nothing beats a little daddy bonding time.  :)

People always tell me he looks just like Ryan.

I'm not sure I see the resemblance.  Ha!

They even have the same expression in this picture.

 

"Don't I have the best Daddy ever?"

Maxwell Joseph Kalita

The much anticipated arrival of the newest baby Kalita is finally here.

Welcome to the family 

Maxwell Joseph Kalita

Weighing in at 10 lbs 8 oz and measuring 23" long,

this little guy decided to make his entrance on February 7, 2013.

 

We all took our turns visiting with him in the hospital.

 

And who wouldn't want to snuggle with a face like this? 

 

  

The funny thing is he looks just like Ryan's dad.

It's like Joe Kalita in baby form.  ;)

Awesome job Val.  Thumbs up for all your hard work.  

 

 

Splish Splash

Ryan and I decided to have our bathroom remodeled.

Demolition started today which means as of 9:00 AM this morning,

we are without our upstairs bathroom.  

WHAT?!?

My neighbors have been kind enough to let me shower at their house,

Ryan set up a makeshift shower for himself downstairs,

and Owen's bathtub is currently relocated to the kitchen.

 He doesn't seem to mind in the least.

When you're this much of a bathing beauty, the location simply doesn't matter.

 

Banana Muffins

Coming up with different things to feed Owen has been quite challenging.

It's not so much coming up with things that is the hard part,

but rather getting him to try or eat more than a single bite of something.

For breakfast his staples are Cheerios, cinnamon toast, yogurt, and pancakes.

I'll cut up fresh fruit to give to him, but after one bite he wants nothing to do with it.

So I figured I would try something that allows me to sneak some fruit into

his breakfast, but still give him the carbs he loves.

Banana Muffins!!

My sister gave me the recipe and they are absolutely delicious!

I gave Owen his first taste at dinner tonight and he loved them too.

I need to write the recipe down somewhere I'll never lose it, so here we go.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

3/4 cup margarine or butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 mashed bananas

1/2 cup sour milk (i just add 1 1/2 tsp of vinegar to my 1/2 cup milk)

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl cream margarine. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas.  In small mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add alternately sifted flour mixture and sour milk to the wet ingredients.  Add chocolate chips.  Pour into greased muffin pans and bake approx. 30 min.  for bread, bake 1 hour (makes 2 loaves)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shadowless Groundhog

The groundhog didn't see his shadow today which means two things:

 1)  An early spring....YAY!!

2)  We need to take advantage of what little snow we have before it's gone
 

Sure we might only have 2 inches of snow, 

but to Ruby and Owen that's plenty!

They took turns riding in the sled,
 

They admired the snow,
 

They took turns pulling each other (with some help),
 

And by the end Ruby was pulling Owen on her own.

I even got the rare opportunity,

after an attempted hug

and a nearly stolen hat,

 

to get a great picture of Owen and Ruby both smiling!

Enjoy the snow while you can little guys.

Doesn't look like it will be around for long.
 

 

Birthday Dinner for Two

As a special surprise for Ryan's birthday I hired Personal Chef Eric Daniel 

to come over to our house and cook us dinner.

He was FABULOUS!!

We got to sit, relax, chat, drink wine, and ask him questions

while he cooked a fantastic meal. 

 

He was so personable it was like having an old friend there with us.

An old friend who just so happened to be an amazing chef.

 

Let me walk you through our dinner:

 

First Course:  

Quartet of tomatoes and radishes on a bed of spinach with balsamic vinaigrette

Second Course:

Crab tower with avocado and roasted bell peppers on an avocado cream sauce 

 Third Course:

Braised beef short rib with a red wine reduction sauce.

Served with cheesy polenta and braised kale. 

Fourth Course:

  Puff pastry filled with caramelized apples and fresh whipped cream

 I have one word....AMAZING!!

Everything was so delicious!!  The fact that it is not even 10:00 PM and 

Ryan is currently snoring like a freight train on the couch next to me, 

deep in a food coma, is a testament to how wonderful the food was.

Thanks for an unforgettable meal Chef Eric!!

Hopefully we'll be seeing you again soon!

 

 

Birthday Boy

HAPPY 32nd BIRTHDAY RYAN!!

You are an amazing husband

and an even more amazing dad.

We hope you enjoyed your day today and look forward 

to all this next year of life has to bring us.