Avery's 9 Month Photo Shoot

We LOVE all of these pictures!  We are so happy they turned out so great.  We are really looking forward to doing Avery's 12 month photo shoot with a birthday smash cake.  Thanks so much Tiffany Cross Photography! 

brewing, sprouts, bath, food

This morning, Eric got up at 4am to start on his double brew day.  I was impressed he stuck to his plan and got up that early.  It is just too hot here to be working outside later in the day.  Avery and I didn't roll out of bed until 8am!  Here is Eric stirring the grain with the hot water to extract the sugars. 

Boiling a double IPA.

This is called the mash.  All the malted barley and hot water. 

More of the boiling IPA.

Measuring hops on his cocaine scale.  KIDDING PEOPLE.  That was funny though.  All his gear set up on the table in the garage.  He worked out there brewing and then cleaning everything up until around noon.

The brew dog hard at work supervising.

This afternoon once Eric was finished, we all headed over to Sprouts for some groceries and to check out the store.  We had heard good things about Sprouts, but have never been before.  We loved it!  They have great prices on produce and lots of other goodies we eyeballed.  I'll definitely be going back to do more grocery shopping there.

I had to get some pictures of Avery in the tub tonight.  If you look closely, you can see the eggs and cheese stuck in her hair and eyebrows!  She made a huge mess with her dinner tonight.  She just loves bath time. 

Playing with her favorite rubber ducky.  I had to buy Avery some new bath products since her skin is really dry.  I got her this nice smelling Johnson's body wash with baby oil in it.  It is working much better than the plain body wash.  I also had to buy the lavender smelling Johnson's shampoo.  I love that stuff!

My kid has lost her pants.  Seriously.  I have no idea where the matching purple butterfly pajama bottoms went that match this top!  I have looked all over the place.  They aren't in the laundry room, Avery's room, our bedroom, I looked through all the other clothes in the wash to see if it got stuck in something and nothing.  I guess the washer ate them.  I *think* every toy we own is on the floor and in this picture.  What a mess!

Avery loves crawling up to Rolo while he is in his crate.  She tries to get in there with him.  Here is Rolo giving Avery a kiss on the hand while she touches him. 

Our dinner.... delicious beer....

and some awesome home made wheat crust veggie pizza.  It tasted so good!  Eric added some Parmesan on top to give it some crunch.  

I also inhaled a Toblerone candy bar after dinner.  I'm obsessed with those right now.  YUM!  Have a wonderful night. 

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken

4 frozen chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can pineapple ring slices - juice reserved
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 jar BBQ sauce (something a little more on the spicy side tastes great!)

Place chicken in crock pot.  Whisk together garlic, pineapple juice, ginger and brown sugar.  Pour on top of chicken.  Top with BBQ sauce.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove chicken and shred.  Place back in crock pot and switch to warm for 15-30 minutes.  Serve over brown rice and top with cold pineapple rings leftover from can.  ENJOY!

hawaiian chicken and snot bubbles

This morning I decided to try out a new recipe I saw online.  It is Hawaiian Chicken in the crock pot.  I got everything together this morning and in the crock pot so it could cook on low for 6 hours. 

Avery and I did some playing in the play room this morning.  She just loves her books.  She always takes them off her book shelf to look at them.

The book she is looking at is pretty cool.  It has different textures to touch on every page. 

Avery didn't want to take a morning nap for me.  Eric decided to take her up to the fire station real quick to take care of something.  I stayed home and showered and had some lunch.  It was nice to shower and eat in peace.  Once they got home, I decided to head over to Super Target to pick up a few things we needed.  While I was gone, Eric got Avery her lunch and finally got her down for an afternoon nap. 

Avery enjoyed her dinner of scrambled eggs, black beans, shredded cheddar cheese, and pears.  If you enlarge the picture (double click it) you can see as she is eating she is also blowing a huge snot bubble out of her nose!  HA! 

Here is my Hawaiian Chicken all shredded and simmering in the crock pot.  Our house has smelled great all day! 

And here is the finished product!  Dinner turned out fabulous.  We'll be making this recipe again for sure.  Recipe to follow.

Eric and I are going to try and be productive this evening.  We really need to get some cleaning and laundry done, and Eric is preparing for his brew day tomorrow.  Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Now the mama is sick

I woke up around 3am feeling like death this morning.  I had the chills, a fever, was restless and weak, and had stomach issues.  I'm sick.  And I hate it.  My first thought was my new medication was making me feel this way, but I'm leaning more towards having a virus.  Maybe I got whatever Avery has had, but my body is reacting to it differently.  I'm really tired.  Today hasn't been a great day.  The only positive... my new pretty white iPhone 4 is arriving this afternoon. 

take me to the beach!

Avery is sporting her new Ron Jon Surf Shop t-shirt that grandpa Rick and grandma Liz sent her from Mexico.  It is a size 2T!  She has room to grow in it, but it fits now.  She is ready to go play at the beach!  Maybe next summer we can do a beach vacation. 

Avery seems to be feeling a little better today.  We kicked that colds butt! 

avery has her first cold

Avery's been sick.  She has her first cold.  She woke up at 11pm Sunday night crying really hard and was really congested.  I had a rough night on my own with her.  She was up every hour to two hours needing her nose to be suctioned and just to be held.  Monday during the day she still wasn't feeling well, but was eating normally and playing normally.  Today she hasn't been happy at all, has taken a few naps, and isn't eating much as far as solids go.  She still wants her bottles which is good. 

I feel so bad for her.  I know how crappy a cold makes me feel.  I hope she starts feeling better soon.  I miss my happy girl!