Picture Mail

I'm always feeling a bit homesick when I'm at work and Ian is home with Kade. So I have him send me pictures throughout the day of Kade and his adventures. I just wanted to share this one, it's one of my favorites. Kade is having floor time on the play mat I made him before I even knew whether he was a boy or a girl!

We got our family portraits done at Sears Portrait Studio. I was disappointed, to say the least. We paid over 200 dollars to get our pictures taken for a whopping twenty minutes. Kade was in the wrong outfit for family photos, but we were told "Oh no, he'll match. Don't worry about it." Yes, he matched fine. But it isn't what we wanted! Also, as soon as Kade started getting fussy the photographer stopped the shoot. He is a baby. He isn't going to behave for very long when your trying to pose him and get him to smile. SO, yes they turned out cute. But I could have taken them with my own camera at home. Seven or Eight pictures for over two hundred dollars? That's ridiculous.

Banana Bread Morning!

Kade and Mommy had a banana bread saturday morning! I got the recipe from my mother, who got it from a friend. It is the best banana bread recipe I've ever tasted. However, it is a very temperamental recipe. If you don't do it just right, it doesn't turn out right at all. This time, I left it in the oven for maybe two minutes too long. it's a little dark on the top, but still tastes delicious. I let Kade sit up on the kitchen table and "help" mommy make the bread. He had lots of fun banging utensils together and my house smells wonderful.

edited to include recipe:

5 tbsp butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cup banana
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

soften butter- add sugar, brown sugar and stir until smooth. Add egg, vanilla and banana.
Add cream alternatively while adding dry ingredients. (i.e. throw in some flour, stir, throw in some cream, stir, etc.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes in a bread pan.

*substitute for heavy cream:
2/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup unsalted melted butter = 1 cup heavy cream

Things have been crazy busy around here! I got three days off of work which meant paying bills, running errands, grocery shopping, and squeezing in some time with friends. Kade got to play with little Athena on Wednesday. Athena is my friend Shyeannes daughter, she is six months old. Kade just loves her! Every time he sees her he smiles and squeals. Kade had his nine month check up on Thursday, he is in the 1 % for his weight, but the doctor said his rate of growth is good. And that although he isn't crawling yet, we have nothing to worry about. He is developing at a perfect speed for his size and age. On friday, I went out with Ashley (in later posts I will most likely refer to Ashley as Girlfriend). It was nice to get away from the house and be with my best friend! I needed a good laugh. We've also spent some time over at my grandmas house. The picture to the left is of Kade at grandmas tearing apart a bunch of newspaper. Grandma lets him tear apart magazines and newspaper and this time he has black all over his face and socks from the ink. He had so much fun! This morning, I go back to work. Me and Kade made banana bread and now he is down for his nap and I'm quickly writing this blog before making the bed and getting myself dressed. It's been a busy few days, but so much fun!

A New Blog

Ah! A new blog. It's funny, trying to write the very first post of a new blog. It's complicated. You sit here and stare at the page and think: How do I begin? How do I introduce the world to my life with one post? How can I explain recent events so everyone won't be completely lost? I can't just start up. That would be confusing. So, here are some facts about me and my little family.

My name is Jessica. I'm a redhead with strange eating habits and an unquenchable thirst for life. I'm a CNA at an assisted living facility and I love every moment of my job. I hope to enroll in nursing school to become a pediatric nurse at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. It's a little odd.. doing Geriatrics and then switching into Pediatric gear. But that is what I've always wanted. And of course the whole big house, new car, lots of land American Dream thing.

My boyfriends name is Ian. He is a stay at home daddy, and a wonderful one! We've been together for almost three years. We are NOT married. But, we are very happy. We believe that having a baby is a silly reason to get hitched.

Our sons name is Kade. He is a nine month old with so much love and personality. We call him Bug. He sleeps through the night (mostly), has already had two haircuts (and needs another), and has a smile that will melt your heart. Two and a half weeks ago Kade had open heart surgery to repair a VSD. He is recovering beautifully and the doctors say he now has a normal life expectancy.

We live in Utah.

Life gets pretty crazy around here.
Everyday is full of surprises, but without surprises life would be extremely dull.