My First Pets

I've been wanting to do a post about this for a while now, but I finally decided that it just needed to be done. Even before Lydia was born... my mom bought her these little toys. They are called "My First Pets" and they are SO darling. From the first time that Lydia could really grab and hold onto a toy, these were some of her very favorites. If you pinch the sides/middle of each animal it will make the corresponding animal noise. Lydia's absolute favorite is the little Dalmation puppy who goes "Woof, woof-woof-woof. Woof, woof-woof-woof." I love how much Lydia has loved these little animals. 

I'm finally posting about these little pets because Lydia has slowly stopped loving on them as much. I think that she will probably like to play with them again when she gets a little older, but I am feeling a little sad about the end of their time with my "baby Lydia".  I'm so grateful that my mom bought these for Lydia - because they really are so darling. I'm sure that they will get a lot more love in the years to come.

"Okay, I've had enough of that... what else is there to explore?"

Lunch Date at Kneaders

While house-sitting in West Jordan while Cal and Sue went on vacation, Lydia and I had the chance to go out to lunch with Aubrey, Wendy, and Grandma McAllister. We decided to go to kneaders and we had a great time. Lydia snacked off my sandwich and loved pretty much everything about it. The biggest surprise of the day is how much she liked my tomato. I broke it up into little pieces and she ate pretty much the whole slice. (My mom would be so proud.) Lydia also loved looking at her cousin Aubrey. I'm so glad that we live so close, and I can't wait for Lydia to get a little bigger so that they can really play together. 

Of course, I took several pictures. I just love them. 

I'm lucky that I was able to spend time with these beautiful ladies. Good food and even better company.

It's so fun that Lydia is now big enough to sit in the little high-chairs at restaurants. This was the first time we attempted it, and she did a great job. I also love that I was able to just give her food off my plate. It made for a much happier little girl. (It certainly kept her entertained!) 

Superbowl

Because we were homeless and staying with my parents during the Superbowl this year, we decided to have a fun little party.  Lydia went to bed fairly early and then while David was watching the game - I got my "cook" on. We had lots and lots of yummy things and I didn't want to miss out on documenting all of the fun. And so, in no particular order, photographic evidence of our awesome superbowl party: 

Yummy loaded potato disks. These were gone before anything else was even ready. 

My dad, always willing to help me with my crazy kitchen adventures. 

David, the only one really invested in the game, and thus the one who spent the majority of the time actually watching the game. The rest of us hung out in the kitchen for most of the night. 

Jacob, hanging out at the computer while waiting for the rest of the yummy food. (Note: see that giant dog? Yeah - I think if we let him he would eat my baby. Luckily, he hasn't attempted that yet - and Lydia loves him. Everytime she sees him she starts laughing and keeps her eyes glued to him.)

Football Sugar Cookie Bars

Chicken Bacon Ranch Bites

David enjoying a sugar cookie. 

Okay. So here is the deal. I really really really wanted to make homemade pretzels. Like, really wanted to. So even though we'd already eaten a ton and we didn't really need any more treats, I convinced my dad to help me out. Using several recipes I found on Pinterest, we made our attempt. Seriously, it was a disaster. You were supposed to put the dough into a baking soda/water bath and all that happened was the dough shrank, then got soggy. It was super gross. I was so sad! However, after baking - the pretzels turned out decent. (Other than being stuck to the bottom of the pan, and being slightly over-salted. Ha.) 

My dad is awesome.

I'm so sad that the pretzels were so weird. 

But I'm happy that they turned out semi-okay in the end. 

Happy Superbowl!