NYC Trip-Day 1 (Tuesday)

Tuesday morning Leila's Auntie Jen came over to begin Leila's-fabulous-adventure-of-being-showered-with-attention-by-a-ton-of-people-who-she-loves-and-who-love-her :) Was she sad to see us go? Um. . .no! In fact, she had looked forward to this day with anticipation! We had talked to her for a week about how mommy and daddy were going to New York. We then told her that she would be going to my cousin's house, be taken care of by her Aunt and eventually make her way to Grandma's house where she would stay the last couple of days. After telling her the agenda a few times, she had it down. The conversation went something like this:

"Leila! Where are Mommy and Daddy going?"

"Nort!" (New York)

"Good! And where is Leila going?"

"Teah's house! . . .friends!. . .toys!. . .Grandma's house!"

Then she would randomly tell me throughout the week:

"Mommy go Nort!" (with a very sure-of-herself tone and nod of the head)

"Yep! Mommy's going to New York"

"Daddy go Nort tooooo!?!?!"

"Yep! Daddy's going to New York too!"

"But we'll come back and give you lots of hugs and kisses!!!"

*Disinterested stare*

Here's a sample of what that might look like. . .as if she's saying "mmm hmmm. OK Mom. Does the fun end at that point?"

When we left her with Jen, they came out onto the balcony to wave goodbye. As has been a ritual lately, I yelled up to her "who loves Leila?" to which she confidently replied "Mommy!"

Good! I hope she doesn't forget it :)

We then embarked on our journey, first driving to Nana and Pa's house so that Pa could drive us to the airport and we could leave our car behind. It was nice to start off our trip with hugs from those two!

It was business as usual, flying from Salt Lake to Denver, but then there was a storm warning in Denver and all sorts of airplanes were advised to land at other airports until the storm subsided. This increased our layover by two hours :( But hey! Why complain! I got to spend it with my best friend!

Originally we were planning on arriving at the first apartment at around 11:30pm, but the extended layover pushed that to about 1:30am. We let our host know and he was super nice about it.

We took a taxi out to Chelsea and met Stark! He didn't seem put out at all by our being late. In fact, we were surprised to find out that we weren't even keeping him up! He stayed up and watched a movie and went out on the town at 2am with his friend. He said he does that most nights--stays up until about 4 or 5, then sleeps in until noon. Oh, the exciting night life of a New Yorker!

Left: Robby is standing underneath the loft.
Right: A warm welcome from Stark after a long trip!

Here is our lovely loft bed!

Us and Stark! After spoiling us like he did, the other hosts had big shoes to fill!

Stark was SUPER accommodating! He showed us our room-- with a loft bed, and showed us the little goodies he had gotten for us--little shampoo and conditioner, a chocolate bar, a fruit bowl, a bowl of chips, and a refrigerator full of yummy juices! Free food!? Sold! My mindset is that if you want an extra star when I rate you (whether it be a restaurant, hotel, whatever) you offer me free food! I was one happy  pregnant lady! 

Anyway, we went to bed happy with how our trip had started and excited for the adventure to begin. And we were so tired that if there was any big city noise going on outside, we were too comatose to hear it!

NYC Trip (the intro)

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamt of visiting New York City! I've always loved big cities, particularly city lights at night and tall sky scrapers. I think this dream was inspired by the many movies I watched as a kid that took place in NYC, or any big city for that matter. I could hardly wait to experience the excitement for myself--lights, broadway, food, crazy traffic, scary people, the whole lot! This May, my dream finally came true! My husband and I, along with my sister-in-law, Heather and her Husband Tanner, spent a week in the big apple!

One of the most exciting elements of our trip was our accommodations. Rather than paying for expensive hotels, we opted to find abodes through airbnb.com. This website allows people who have extra space to rent it out (whether it's one room in their house, an extra apartment, cabin, house boat, tree house, teepee, converted hippy bus etc. (really, those are all on there!) Last year we used this site to find a hostel in Thailand, where we each had our own single beds in a room where there were three additional beds with strangers sleeping in them. It was a great adventure!

This picture (forgive the blurriness) was taken at about 1AM when we arrived at our hostel in Bangkok, Thailand last year. We were shown to our shared room where a snoring stranger lay sleeping on one of the five beds. If you'll notice--there's a beer bottle sitting on his locker (sketchy)! . . .Actually he turned out to be really nice :)

This year, we used airbnb to find 4 different accommodations while we were in NYC. The first was in Chelsea, NY the second in Union City, NJ, the third in New Haven, CT, and the fourth was across the street from the South end of central park (no kidding)! So we stayed in 3 different states on our trip!

Finding sleeping accommodations this way was a fantastic idea for at least a few reasons--first, it allowed us to see how the locals lived, and even meet some of them. Secondly, it meant we had access to a full kitchen everywhere we stayed; and third, it was WAAAY cheaper than a hotel. To give you an idea, our best deal was at the apartment across the street from Central Park. The four of us had a one bedroom apartment plus a sofa bed in the front room for less than $200 night. The JW Marriott just a few doors down offers a similar sized space (1 bedroom plus a sofa bed in the front room) MINUS the kitchen for $899/night! Oh how I love good deals!

Above: This map shows a general idea of where we stayed in NY/NJ.

Below: On one of the days we rented a car and drove to New Haven, CT ( Robby's birthplace). We also stopped by Greenwich, CT (Heather's birthplace) on our way up there (more about that later).

 We got to do/see/eat so much that I think it would be best to break it down into separate blog posts for each day. . .although I admit that's a little optimistic of me--hopefully I'll make time to sit down and write that many blog posts before burning out. But the take-home message is that it was a fantastic trip! It was wonderful to spend so much time with the love of my life and to travel with Heather and Tanner who we don't see often enough!

Mother's Day 2014

This may not have been my first mother's day as a mom, but it was my first "real" mother's day as a mom. You see, last year my husband and I were living it up thousands of miles away from our posterity, in Thailand! So on that particular day I wasn't being much of a mom (at least not in practice).

This is a picture of us last year getting a foot massage at Chatuchak Market in Thailand. . . FYI--Thai massages are the painful (but. . .good) kind of massages, not the relaxing kind :)

In contrast, this year felt like Mother's day in many ways. My daughter, with her almost-two-year-old antics, made it loud and clear during sacrament meeting at church, that I am a mom. When I picked her up from nursery, she proudly handed me a mother's day present--a scribbled "I love you mom" picture.

She thoughtfully personalized the picture by sucking on the edges and crumpling it up a little :)

Normally after church we go straight home and I put Leila down for a nap. But since it was Mother's Day we were planning on going up to my mother-in-law's house, during which time we hoped that the little girl would take her nap. When we left church and approached the car, Leila pointed to the front seat, indicating her desire to play up front. In an effort to kill some time I figured "why not?" So she stood on the front seat while I sat in the back. She thought that was pretty funny!

Hoping to capture her cuteness, I thought of what we could do that would make for an interesting video. Her language abilities seem to be improving exponentially. Every day she is learning one or more words, she uses phrases often and is even starting to speak in broken sentences. Despite these positive indicators, I was still skeptical that she could, or more likely would, say "happy mother's day", but I asked her to say it anyway. She said it wonderfully the very first time! "Happy Mudders Day!" But she whispered it. After I clapped and cheered enthusiastically, her confidence blossomed! She smiled in pride! I asked her to say it again. . .and this was the result:

Oh man!! Of course, I almost died of cuteness overload! Leila just loved the praise I gave her for it, so she just kept saying that sentence over and over (with the word "day" gradually escalating in volume until she was practically yelling it!)

We made it to our destination and Leila was in family heaven. As the only great-grandchild/grandchild/child/niece, she gets copious amounts of attention and she just eats it up!

As always, one of the first orders of business was to play with Auntie "Nat". This time it was coloring with sidewalk chalk. Can you see the discrete little message written in the background?

My sweet little Red Riding Hood with pigtails!

Mothers' Day about marked the half way point in my pregnancy of baby girl #2! What better day to get a baby bump shot?!

And there wouldn't be a Mama's Day without a Papa! (And he's a darned good one too!)

  

Then we got to indulge in a special Mother's Day treat--Hallmark of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's one of two days a year we get to Skype with our family members who are serving as missionaries! We love you Sister Sarah Parker!


It was a great first "real" Mother's Day! Feeling the love from my little girl, spending time with my wonderful mother-in-law and Nana-in-law, Skyping with my sister-in-law, and talking on the phone with my mom and step-mom. I've sure got a lot of great women in my life!

Gooey Goodness Bars

1. So I've got a rule when it comes to cooking or baking--if you're going to take the time to make food, you might as well make a lot of it! If I'm cooking, I want leftovers so I can be off the hook for cooking for one meal (don't get me wrong, I love cooking but it's nice when you don't always "have" to. And for baking, I want lots (. . . no. Not just so I can gorge myself on a bigger pan of brownies) so I can try a little, make sure my husband has a good-sized portion, and then either have enough to bring to some friends or take with me to a social event. That said, this dessert violates that rule. I generally stay away from recipes that call for a 8/9" pan and gravitate toward recipes that call for a 9x13" pan.
   However, this time I was searching for a recipe to use up my leftover evaporated milk (from making Oatmeal Cookie Cake with Coconut-Pecan Frosting), so I couldn't be too picky. PLUS the vision of chocolate-peanut butter-caramely goodness lured me in. Not to mention, I have a total weakness for layered desserts

Ingredients

• 10oz. caramels, unwrapped (about 34-36)
• 1/3 cup PLUS 1/3 cup evaporated milk, divided
• 1 box (1 lb. 2.25 oz. ) chocolate cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup- 1 cup mini peanut butter cups (I only used 1/2 cup, but as you can see from the picture, it could use more)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 9- x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt caramels in 1/3 cup evaporated milk in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, about 12 minutes; set aside.
3. Microwave Peanut Butter with butter in medium microwave-safe bowl 1 minute or until melted; stir until smooth. Stir in remaining 1/3 cup evaporated milk and cake mix until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Press 1/2 of the cake mixture into prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, then spoon on melted caramel mixture. Sprinkle mini peanut butter cups on top of caramel. Flatten pieces of the remaining cake mixture between hands and lie on surface of the caramel layer, the batter does not need to completely cover the caramel. Bake an additional 18 to 23 minutes or until top is set, caramel will still be quite liquidy but will firm up as it cools. Cool on wire rack until room temperature before serving.

Note: I have made recipes similar to this one before and for whatever reason, it never set and it was too gooey (and that's hard to do with a brownie if you ask me), but it was more like brownie batter. If somehow this happens to you, don't dismay! When it's all gooey, this makes an AMAZING ice cream topping--I just put it in a container, stuck it in the fridge, and when I wanted some for ice cream I just microwaved some and poured it on. This lasted a good week without going bad. . .I might have to undercook this on purpose just so I can have a gooey brownie sundae!

(Adapted from: yummly.com--a country crock recipe)

Leila's Favorite Holiday. . .Easter!

Just a couple days before Easter, Leila began to understand the concept of hiding things. She had long become familiar with hiding herself (with peek-a-boo), but hiding other things was a novel idea! It all began when I hid one of her bath toys behind another one and asked her "where is it? Is it hiding?" She looked at me with a sober, yet amazed expression and slowly repeated "hiiiiding!"

After she got out of the Tubby she grabbed her stuffed bunny and threw (yes literally threw) it in her room. Then she ran back to the living room, through her hands in the air, looked around and said "bunny?" She shrugged her shoulders as if to say "I dunno where it is!" Then she said "hiiiiding!" Even though I'm pretty sure she was aware that I had watched her throw the bunny in her room, I followed along. I pretended to look around the apartment for it. When I "found" the bunny I gasped and said "I found the bunny!!!" She laughed excitedly. She liked this new game.

Easter with Grandpa

So when Grandpa hid eggs all around Dean's
beautiful garden, Leila knew exactly what to do!

We celebrated Easter on Saturday this year, so we were out
on a lovely date while Grandpa watched Leila. Meanwhile,
 Leila was  happily searching for hidden eggs to put in her easter basket!

Dean's pet bunnies added to the magic of the occasion as well!

And of course she had to show Grandpa her mad climbing skills!

. . .And Leila loves opening presents! So she enjoyed
the Easter basket Grandpa spoiled her with!

Easter with Nana, Pa, and the Rest of the Clan

As though that wasn't enough fun for one day, we went over to Nana and Pa's house. We had dinner with Nana, Pa, Grandma, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Cal, Nat, Mikey, and Megan! Nana (with Megan's help) put an Easter hunt together for Leila!

Leila couldn't be happier!

She was so proud to show everyone the treasures she discovered.

. . .but there was more to discover than she realized!

With a little help to open the eggs. . .

She found money inside, which she could deposit into either
one of two cute piggy banks that Nana had bought. Whichever
one she liked the best she could keep!

We clapped for her after she put the coins in the piggy
bank--She was pretty pleased with herself!

At some point, Leila must have asked herself, "why look
for Easter eggs when I could look for Easter bunnies?!
I think Leila must have found every bunny Nana had in
the house and congregated them around Grandma.

Leila had a great Easter!

. . .but it's not over yet. . .

Just as we should remember the blessings of Easter every day, not just one Sunday every year, Leila has woke up every day since (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday) and, as usual, announced she was awake. But when Daddy goes to get her, she  says "eggs!" as soon as she sees him. This morning while we lay in bed, we could even hear her yelling the word from her crib. So, like the good Daddy he is, he hides the eggs and they go on an Easter egg hunt again!

The egg thing will probably get old with Leila. But the magic behind a little one discovering things for the first time never gets old!

It's a Girl! (The Sequel)

Finding out the gender of a baby is like Christmas for adults! It's so exciting to find out what you're gonna get. And with this kind of package, you just can't be disappointed with what's inside!

When we were expecting Leila we were sure we were having a boy. Since a boy meant we would be naming him Robert the Fourth, we nicknamed our little fetus "Robertito" (little Robby). We were sure we were having a boy! But we were pleasantly surprised to find out we were expecting a little girl. Though girl or not, just look at her--she's still a little Robby :)

This time, we didn't feel really strongly one way or another. I started out wanting another girl so that Leila would have a little girly friend to play with and bond with. But what I really wanted was a healthy, CALM baby. For soooome reason girl babies don't strike me as being all that calm anymore :) So I started picturing a calm little mini Robby. . .but I really just didn't know! Last time, going in, we would have been surprised to find out it was a girl. This time, we would be surprised to find out it was a boy. . .or a girl! We were just so excited to find out what was in store!

Nervous excitement as we headed into the clinic!

Unveiling the baby bump for the ultrasound tech.

Both this time and last time, part of the surprise was just seeing a picture of a baby come up on the screen. It just doesn't feel real until then--there's really a baby in there!?!?!

Clear as can be--it's another GIRL!!!

After we found out Leila's gender we celebrated by going to Costa Vida! So we kept up the tradition for baby number 2!

As you can tell, Leila is so happy to be getting a little sister! . . .I'm sure it helps that we're feeding her rice too (one of her favorite foods).

"So. . .just to make sure. . . this doesn't change the fact that I'm the cutest little girl in your lives, right Mommy and Daddy?!

Leila decided to celebrate later that day by making a play-doh®  cake, decorated with a bobby pin, some coins, and an attachment to our hand mixer :)

That night we got to share the news (via Google hangout) with my Mom, Nancy; Robby's Mom, Heidi; my brother, Logan; and Robby's sisters, Heather (with Tanner), Natalie (with Mikey), and Megan. Meanwhile, Nana and Pa listened in on the phone. Jen and Matt were in France, our Sister Missionary Sarah was in North Carolina, and neither of our Dad's were able to make it to the hangout, so we called them and told them the good news ahead of time! It was great to share the occasion with everyone!

We're so thrilled to be having another little princess!

A Milestone Birthday and a Marvelous Visit From my Mom and Bro!

My Mom and twin bro came down to celebrate our 30th Birthday! It was a dream come true!

Photoshoot Compliments of Heidi Parker of Memories and Milestones

Three Generations!

Momma loves hugs from her little girl!

Out and About

My mom and Logan got a good taste of Orem/Provo restaurants--here we are at Sammy's, trying hard to be hipster. We also hit up Tucano's for a BOGO birthday dinner, Arctic Circle and Iceberg (for shakes), Bombay House, and Sensuous Sandwich. . . It was fun! But I gotta say, I was happy to get back to home cookin' after all that!

We went to The MOA (Museum of Art) on BYU campus to check out the Sacred Gifts exhibit--the paintings of three famous artists depicting Christ. Leila was sadly not interested. . . but she did like this Asian Ceramic McDonald's logo. She pointed at it as she walked excitedly up to it and said "m". Yep, that's one of two letters she knows, "m" and "o". Coincidence that these are the only letters needed to spell "Mom"?. . . I think not :)

Here is me by "the big love" with "my little love" at the MOA. 

We went to Lou's track meet where she ran the 100 meter dash. We didn't realize until we got there that it was colder than just sweater weather. So Leila got to sport my coat as a full-length dress. I think Leila "wore it best"!

Provo Beach Resort

Leila had been here to Toddler Town before. So naturally she took it upon herself to show Logan and Nana the ropes. She directed all of us to go through this teeny tiny foam tunnel.

Here goes Nana through the foam rollers in the play place! She insisted we all go through before her and made a grunting sound (to indicate substantial effort) as she "pushed" our feet to help us through.

Nana and Leila had fun riding the carousel at Provo Beach Resort.

Both Robby and my Mom love to do Karaoke! We've been meaning to get them together to do it for awhile and we finally made it happen! Robby sung "Ain't Goin' Down 'til the Sun Comes Up" and had the lyrics and speed down so well (which is amazing because the song goes about a mile a minute). And we just loved my moms performance of "Hurt so Good". Our favorite part by far was when she would use the exclamation "huh!" All of us just laughed and laughed with her about it afterward!

Leila just loved playing with her Uncle "Lowen"!

 My cousin Klea and her family put on an amazing birthday dinner for Logan and I. Chicken enchiladas, homemade guacamole and salsa and a killer ice cream cake! Oreo crust. Three layers of ice cream. Strawberry layer. Banana layer. Chocolate bar layer. Topped with homemade hot fudge. . .

Oh baby!

After the celebrations, Logan showed us his break dancing skills on the driveway.
Robby busted some "moves" as well, good entertainment from both :)

We watched Klea's boys, Kent and Richard, tear it up at their basketball game. They were amazing

. . .and yes, they won!

Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point

Leila walks away in nervous excitement from seeing the "moo"!

                                              She was adamant that the horsie was a "moo" too!

               

               

From left to right:

• Wanna know what Leila's favorite part of the farm was? Wait for it. . .the . . .ramp. She loved running up and down it and discovering that she went faster on the way down. Sheesh! We could have saved us some money and taken a trip to the entrance to Daddy's work! 
• Happy girl surrounded by animals. 
• Logan bought some bird seed so Leila could feed the ducks at the pond. As you can tell, it took serious concentration.

    Leila's first pony ride! 

A good reminder on the way out.

We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows in Provo Canyon with Robby's Dad.

Mmm. . .K. . .that's adorable :)