Being A Daddy

Nine months of parenting has been an educational experience to say the least.  Here are some things I have learned since becoming a father:

     - How to change a diaper

     - How to repress my gag reflex while changing a poopy diaper
     - How to dress a baby girl with color coordinates that, according to DeeAnna, are
            socially unacceptable on a level comparable to mullets

     - How to speak baby
     - How to act like a complete idiot just trying to get a laugh (thankfully nobody
            else sees me)
     - Kids don't have to go to the fair to get their faces painted, dinner works just fine
     - I will never sleep again

But more than all of that, I have learned what it feels like to love your own child.  From day one, I knew this girl could never do anything to stop me from being her father and loving her.  Most of all, this has given me a closer glimpse at how my Heavenly Father views me.  I am learning how He can unconditionally love me and how He is mindful of my needs and wants.  I am understanding how badly He wants me to turn to Him.

"Of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to deity, He has asked us to address Him as Father." - Quorum of the Twelve

Counter-Top Cooking Companion

I was pretty young when I started climbing up on the counter to help my mom in the kitchen and I remember loving it.  So, it only seemed natural to start Brinlee young too.  And so far, she loves it.  The kitchen is just so cool!  

Yesterday evening we made a salad.  I always thought I knew how.  But Brin's 3 step salad plan is way more fun than mine.

Step 1: Examine your head of lettuce thoroughly

Step 2: Make sure you check its durability

Step 3: Definitely taste it a few times

And voila!

Today we ventured back into the kitchen and Brinlee had her first go at wheat bread making.

 

She didn't think the dough actually felt as cool as it looked.  In fact, she was a little weirded out.  But it made for a super cute little loaf.

If cooking wasn't fun before, it sure is now.  I have the world's best little kitchen companion!

A Beautiful Thing

Right now, outside, it is 23 degrees...

sweet bliss!

Who would have thought 23 degrees would ever feel like a heat wave?

But it's a drastic improvement from the -13 it has been most mornings lately.
Such a chilly winter.

My car sat outside all night and I didn't have to scrape windows this morning.

Now that, is a beautiful thing!

On to New Favorites

Not that long ago, I posted here about Brinlee's love for her friend Bumbo.  She's a little bigger now though (read: growing way too fast!) and has since moved on to more mature relationships.  Bumbo now holds a shelf in her closet, and in its place sits a new friend:

Highchair

Highchair lets her see everything like Bumbo did, but it's for big girls, and comes with the added bonus of a tray perfect for treats and toys.  She loves it!

Brin's first love however, is rolling all over the floor.  For a long time, tummy time consisted of a few minutes of "ahhh..." followed by several minutes of "AHHHHH!"  But she has mastered the art of rolling over and has learned that tummy time means a chance to get away and get into stuff.

Her hands and knees are starting to figure out what they're supposed to do, so she'll be off and crawling in no time.  I'm told baby mobility gets tiring.  But for now, watching that chubby little roller is my first love!

Pizza and Fondue and Smores, Oh My!

As promised, photo proof that we are dating and love it!

Week One: Home Made Pizza
Even down to the crust and sauce, yes sir this was a true blue homemade pizza!



Week Two: Theme Night
Tim did all the planning on this one and I was treated to a Night in Italy, complete with fondue (which may actually be French...), Pavarotti, and the movie Letters To Juliet.  So fun! 

Week Three: Smores
How convenient that for Christmas we got marshmallow roasting sticks.  Tonight we pulled those bad boys out, fired up the stove, and enjoyed a huge sticky mess.

Huge coincidence that so far, all of our dates have been food related...
We haven't picked yet for week four, but I'm finding myself a little giddy about it!  This new year's resolution may actually go all the way.

And now the how-to's, so you can date too.

Pizza Crust:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes

2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Pizza Sauce:

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

6 fluid ounces warm water

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.

2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

Fondue:
1/2 pound shredded swiss cheese

1/2 pound shredded Gruyere cheese

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup milk and a splash of lemon juice as needed for texture

Simmer milk and lemon juice in fondue pot. Add Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese, 1/4 pound at a time. Stir after each addition of cheese until melted. Stir in flour. When all the cheese has melted, stir in salt and nutmeg. Serve with cut-up French bread.

Let's Date

Our 2013 tree of resolutions is starting to show life and a few of our leaves have begun to bud! (because that's what leaves do, they bud...right?) 

One of the new leaves we had decided to turn over this year was to be more creative daters.  When we got married a fairly common bit of advice was to keep up with dating each other.  Yes!  But with work/school/baby/budget/etc, it can get tough.  And ice cream and a movie every Friday night was getting a little old.  So, we made a jar.

It has 52 pieces of paper (one for each week of the year) each with a simple date idea.  Every week we pull one out and, if it is weather/season appropriate, we have to figure out how to do it with minimal planning and minimal cost. 

We are nearing week 3 and so far, it's a success! 
Pictures to come.



The Digger

I thought we still had some time before we had to face this lovely habit. 

But it seems Brinlee is a little advanced for her age...

...and so ladylike

Christmas with Tina

Did I mention we LOVE our new camera?!  Tina is so much fun!  Again, not super savvy with all of her tricks yet, but she's awesome!  Now that I have some pictures uploaded I'll let her speak for herself now with a 2012 Christmas recap.

New Year, New Toys

In review, our Christmas was dazzling!  We enjoyed lots of family (both Lords and Borup), laughs, some snow, and loved watching Brin experience the magic of the season.  And, we even got out with a few pretty awesome new "toys".

Item 1: Actual toys. Brinlee adores all of her new stuff.
Item 2: Insanity workout.  Arrived today, to begin Monday.  So far I am not completely motivated...
Item 3: Sewing Machine.  This one was actually gifted to us.  Well, to me really.  And I am SO excited!  Thank you Reed and Melody!  I already have a list of projects I can't wait to start!
Item 4: New Camera!  Her name is Tina and we love her.  She is a Canon EOS Rebel T4i and I know pretty much nothing about her.  Tim does a bit better.  But, even in our photography ignorance we captured Brin's first Christmas better than our other camera would have done.

Today we took down our Christmas tree and replaced it with a list of 2013 plans.  I told Tim a while back that this year I wanted to turn over a new leaf.  After seeing the list he says it's more like we're turing over a whole new tree... may be true.  We ended up with quite a few leaves.  By the end of the year we should have a beautiful looking tree though.  I'm pretty excited.

How blessed we feel to be entering the new year healthy, happy, and together.

2013. Here's lookin' at you kid!