Chub-Chubba

I didn't have a too specific plan for weaning Vince but, I decided to not nurse him to sleep on Sept. 28. He went to sleep just fine without me. I wasn't sure how I was going to do physically but, surprisingly there was no engorgement whatsoever. But, the next day being Sept. 29, and a special day for previously mentioned reasons, I wanted to nurse him one last time to sleep on this day.

I say "nurse him to sleep" though he rarely falls asleep nursing anymore unless he is really tired. Well, that night he was really tired and he fell asleep nursing in my arms. I felt it was a tender mercy- that is one of my most favorite things about nursing. Our last time was indeed very special and sacred to me. And of course, I wept. 20 months and he is weaned!

At Azure's soccer practice

He calls most fruits "ah-po"s (apple). I love the way he says that. He also calls out Azure's name in frustration frequently. At church a little boy took a toy from him and he screamed, "Azure!" I just had to laugh because he obviously didn't know the boy's name and since Azure is usually the only one that does that to him, it's just second nature to scream her name in frustration!

I can't tell you how many times I've kissed those cheeks, and those lips, and that nose, and forehead!

Such a happy boy!

He is the sweetest little boy. He comes up to me multiple times a day with puckered lips making kissing sounds and reaches up for my lips. He grabs on tightly to my legs when he reaches me after running away from Azure. Though sometimes it drives me crazy that he is such a mama's boy, I do love it. It won't be long before he thinks it's gross to kiss his mama. I love my little man!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

On Thursday, September 29, Charlie finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Azure. The night before I was at Target doing some shopping alone and came across a Wonka Chocolate Bar on clearance for a dollar something. Knowing they were about to finish the book, I bought it so they could eat it together in celebration of finishing it.

We told her we had a surprise for her and that every child who finishes the book gets a gift from Mr. Willy Wonka. "What is it?!" she exclaimed. When I brought out the chocolate bar to them she asked, "Is this really from Mr. Wonka? From his factory? How did you get it?"

Then we asked her to open it very carefully to see if there was a golden ticket inside. It was such a fun experience! We got her reaction on video. She was so excited! Doing stuff like this for our children reminds me how much I enjoy being a parent. Such a privilege and a joy! (when I remember moments like these :)

We plan on watching the movie (the old version as we already watched the new version with her before reading it) as soon as we can get it from the library. We've now started reading her 3rd chapter book: Charlotte's Web. We hope to instill in her a love for reading. So far, so good.

An update on the last post about her reading- she has slowly gotten over her fear of making mistakes. I have been making a conscious effort to point out the mistakes I make (losing my temper, making a wrong turn, forgetting something) to show her that everyone makes mistakes and that it's apart of life. Heavenly Father sent us here to learn from our mistakes. I think it's been helping her to feel okay making mistakes while reading; because she has been brave to tackle words like: kingdom, softly, telephone.

She's even been reading "Goodnight Moon" all on her own to Vince! She usually gets every single word right, but I think she's mostly reading from memory. 

Yay for reading!

The Family Proclamation

I have yet to mention the Family Proclamation Celebration that went on again this year as September is the month of it's anniversary.

And since today is the last day of September I figured I better hurry and post this.

September 29 is a special day in our family history. My Papa, Rocco Joseph Gulino was born in 1928. I remember him reading the Bible, specifically the New Testament, every morning. As a child this had a big impact on me. I credit part of my early search for religion in my life to watching him read the scriptures consistently. He is a good man.

On September 29, 1979 my parents were married. I always thought it was so cool that they had gotten married on my Papa's birthday. I used to tell my Mom when I was little that I wanted to be married on her birthday. Even though that didn't happen, I did have Azure the day before her birthday.

(when Charles and I were engaged I wrote DML+CSJ on this copy of the Family Proclamation. hee, hee)

On September 29, 2005 Charles and I told each other that we loved each other for the very first time. I remember that night vividly. It was a cool, crisp autumn night in Provo. I had shared with him a couple verses in 2 Corinthians Chapter 12. Specifically 9 & 10. Later we chose it as our wedding scripture.

A couple weeks ago we started writing our Family Mission Statement for Family Home Evening. We still haven't finished but, the spirit was strong even though the children were screaming and running around. It was a confirmation that what we are doing is important. That writing a mission statement, making goals as a family, and working towards them is important and the Lord's will for us.

I know The Family: A Proclamation to the World is an inspired document written by prophets and apostles. I know that all the words contained therein are true and is God's will. Oh, how I love that document.

We are far from perfect. We yell. We constantly make mistakes. But, I love us! And I want this print hanging up in our living room.

Happy Conference weekend. We are looking forward to a yummy breakfast tomorrow morning :)

Fall entertaining

Saturday I was in the kitchen almost all day. Note to self: next time listen to music while cooking! Part of the reason for the "cook fest" was for Amie's bridal shower- which turned out quite nicely. Except for the fact that the video I made of Gery wouldn't burn onto a DVD, so we had to watch it on the laptop. Oh well. She loved it!

I asked my friend Becky to be in charge of the decor and she did such a fabulous job! I found this cute "Choose your love, love your choice" free printable and thought it would be perfect for the shower. (Pres. Monson quoted this last General Conference too.) Was gonna provide the link so you could print a copy too but, now I can't find it. Sorry.

I made probably my most favorite appetizer for the shower called Cheese Canapes. I first had these when I was at BYU. Our Stake President's wife (who is Italian from Italy. Represent!) made these for a group of us. I couldn't stop eating them. Every time I make them people ask me for the recipe. Without fail. So, I figured I would share it here on the blog since the season of entertaining and get-togethers is upon us.  It's always nice to have some extra arrows in your quiver when it comes to bringing an appetizer/treat that is sure to please. So, without further ado, here it is. You can thank me later ;)

Cheese Canapes

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (not a bottle of Kraft, you gotta use the real deal)

1/3 cup finely chopped onion (I use my food processor)

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup mayo

1 large baguette sliced (it is a PAIN to slice it yourself. Buy a baguette from the bakery in your grocery store and ask them to slice it for you. It's free and will save you time :)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Place sliced baguettes onto a cookie sheet. Spoon the creamy, cheesy deliciousness onto baguettes. Place under broiler until bubbly and brown (about 5 mins). I triple this recipe for 15+ people.

I also made a salad that I just made up. So, to be fancy this is the name I'm calling it: Harvest Apple & Walnut Salad with brown sugar and cinnamon dressing. How's that for fancy? I am one of those people that doesn't follow recipes. There is good and bad to that. The good- I can make some really super tasty things that I just make up in my head with ingredients that I have on hand. The bad- since I don't measure and it's not written down I can rarely duplicate my culinary masterpieces. So, here's my attempt at remedying that and providing a recipe for the salad. Keep in mind, I didn't measure, so these are all approximations.

Harvest Apple & Walnut Salad with brown sugar and cinnamon dressing (hee, hee)

1 bag of Italian Salad (usually romaine lettuce with the red radicchio. maybe some arugula?)

 1 Gala apple cored and diced (I leave the peel on for color)

About a cup of walnuts coarsely chopped

Dressing

About 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar

2 TBS of olive oil

1 TBS brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Dash of garlic salt

Dash of pepper

Mix all dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour over salad just before serving or you run the risk of it getting soggy and wilted. 

For the drink I made some lemon water and displayed it in a pretty drink dispenser. Since it has lemon extract and citric acid in it, it has a real citrus kick that I love.

Citrus Water Punch 

{recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe}

2 tablespoons citric acid (it looks like rock salt & can be found in natural food stores or perhaps a gardening center since it's good for sprouting)
5 quarts water
  1.5 cups sugar
2 tablespoons pure lemon extract
3 sliced lemons
3 sliced limes
Crushed ice

In a large pitcher or punch bowl, stir water, sugar, citric acid, and lemon extract together. Add sliced fruit and ice.

*If you have leftover punch, remove the sliced limes and lemons before refrigerating. The limes and lemons will give the punch an overly sour acidic taste if the punch is stored overnight that way.

Then after the shower I had to return to the kitchen to make some snacks for our Primary meeting after church the next day. Thanks to Pinterest I discovered this easy, tasty, recipe. I thought it would be the perfect snack with the onset of Fall.

Turtle Bites (Rolo pretzel bites)

{recipe & pic from Glorious Treats}

3 ingredients:

Square pretzels (snaps)

Rolos

Pecan halves

Click the link for baking instructions.

Though this is a simple recipe it's time consuming to unwrap all the rolos. If you live close to a specialty grocery store (like Fresh Market) you can buy rolos or any kind of chocolate caramel candy really in bulk and not individually wrapped, cutting down on prep time considerably. These are SOOO amazing! A nice balance of sweet and salty.

I also made mini lemon cupcakes (from a box) for the Primary children. I bribed them with a treat if they listened to their Primary CDs I made them to practice for our upcoming Sacrament Meeting Presentation. The thing is that I only have 1 small mini cupcake pan so it took me about 5 batches to make it all. Note to self: need to buy another mini cupcake pan.

Happy Fall entertaining friends!

Good things on the horizon

A few quick updates...

As of last week Vince is down to nursing once a day (at bedtime). In the mornings he cries for milk; signs it and says, "Mik!" but he seems to be satisfied with a cup of milk.

He can say "up" now very clearly. He calls certain kinds of balls, "bops". Whenever we go to pick up Daddy from St. Joe's, as if on cue Vince will ecstatically say, "Dada!" while looking like he is going to burst at the thought of seeing his father and then as soon as we get within sight of the sphere shaped objects hanging on the telephone line he exclaims, "BOP" emphasizing the B and the P. After about 5 weeks of this every day without fail, it is now a common word in our vocabulary and if the conversation ever lulls Charles or I will exclaim, "BOP!" and laughter ensues. I LOVE us!

 Ward 50's Dance

Vince loves to grab pens out of our pen box by the computer and scribble on stuff. Mostly the table or books rather than paper. He also tried marking on the walls too. I smell trouble with this one.

 "Don't knock down my tower, Vince!"

Azure and Vince usually play quite nicely together. I was just thinking how much I will miss Azure next year when she starts kindergarten because she entertains Vince so well and helps me around the house all day. I will try to enjoy it while I can.

This has been a pretty good week but, whenever those moments come when Vince is screaming and banging on the bathroom door for the whole duration of my "potty break", or Azure has a complete melt down because she can't find any clean jammies in her drawer when I ask her to get dressed after her bath, or more drama from she-who-shall-not-be-named and I think I'm going to lose my mind, I am trying to remember 3 really awesome things that will be happening in the next few weeks.

1) My friend Amie is getting married and she has asked me to be her escort through the temple. My first Sunday in this ward was also her first Sunday ever attending the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we sat next to each other in Relief Society. She even came to Azure's 1st birthday party 3 weeks after we moved to Savannah. She got baptized in October 2008 and now she's getting married and receiving her endowment! She has grown so much in the church and I am thrilled to be able to go through the Atlanta temple with her next Saturday!

 2) Also involves the temple! My best friend Evelyn is getting sealed next month in the Raleigh, NC temple. Our other roommate Catherine is also coming down from DC to be there. Imagining being in that sealing room with Ev and Mike at the altar and with all of Ev's family (who I just adore!) and Catherine and (hopefully) my own eternal companion makes my heart so incredibly happy that I feel like I'm going to burst!!! I can get through the worst days if I just hold onto how happy that moment is going to be. Gaaaahhhhh! Definitely gonna have to bust out the waterproof mascara!

3) My sister and brother-in-law are coming to visit us for a whole week! And. And they are staying in a time share at our favorite beach in Hilton Head. It is going to be SO much fun. I can't wait.

Yay for Fall, and family, and friends, and the beach, and the temple :)

Summer 2011 Recap

Here's our answer to the infamous back-to-school question in pictures (well some in pictures).

"So, what'd you do this summer?"

Said good-bye to Azure's 2 best friends with one last hurrah eating cupcakes. Though Tyla will be returning on Saturday. We can't wait!

Celebrated our Family Sealing Day on Sat. May 21 by riding bikes on Tybee with the kids in tow (literally). Vince screamed the whole time and it was HOT. But, it was still fun. We met up with the Elams on the beach afterwards.

We were housebound for almost the entire month of May because Daddy had the car at his last rotation at the VA before graduating. When you're stuck at home with no car, you've gotta get pretty creative. Like sticking straws into leftover Easter Peeps.

Planted things in our very own backyard. Daddy is so diligent about watering his plants that it's the first thing he does when he gets home from work. 

Played in the dirt (much to our chagrin when she tracks mud in the house).

Splashed in the pool in the backyard (before it got too hot).

The biggest highlight of the summer was Charles' graduation. We were tour guides extraordinaire for Miah and Trini's visit. We went to Tybee twice, attended the graduation ceremonies and a graduation BBQ at Los Alvarez, ate at The Crab Shack, went to Ft. Pulaski (minus me and the kidlets), went down the street to the Bonaventure Cemetery, and took a Trolley Tour downtown.

And we also buried Trini in the sand.

We had a Mommy/Daughter date to see Yogi Bear at the theater. Azure's first movie theater experience complete with popcorn.

Art lessons with Amie for 6 weeks.

We also did some math and reading lessons. Her addition skills blow me away. Last month she said to me, "Right now we have 4 people in our family. If we have 2 more babies we'll have (counting on her fingers- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) 6!"

Vince wasn't too keen on this math lesson.

We are using this book for her reading lessons and to be honest it is pretty painful. She does know how to read (at a very basic level) but, she has some fear about allowing herself to really do it. Positive reinforcement is not working. "Wow. You just read that word. You can do this." "No, I can't!" Hmmmm....

One of my favorite summer memories was reading Little Women to Azure (the short abridged version) almost every night before bed. She loved it! When we finished the book we watched the movie together as a "date." The next book on our list is Charlotte's Web.

Charles has also been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with her every night too. Such a fitting book for Charlie to read :)

Swam with the Coopers at HAAF pool.  Azure loved the slide this year and wasn't afraid to go down it all by herself.

Azure got a haircut twice from Sis. Willis.

We traveled to Macon for a night so Charlie could take "the wet board" to get his Pharmacy license. He passed and now he is a real deal licensed Pharmacist. We are so proud. He's been working about 60 hrs a week since starting his residency on July 1st. That on top of being in the Bishopric has been tough but, we're hanging in there.

 Trying to recreate this shot on the hotel bed:

Is this not the cutest?! We'll have to try it again sometime...

Oh and I can't forget to mention my obessesion with Pinterest this summer. In my opinion it is one of the best online creations. It's a virtual pinboard to keep track of everything that you love. I could seriously spend hours doing it and I will confess that I have :o

This summer was pretty good but, we are looking forward to some cooler temps!

These are a few of my favorite Fall things...

(can be sung to the famous tune)

• BYU Football

Go Cougs!

• Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

• Wearing sweaters and cardigans (and I will add pants after our 4th summer in Savannah!)

• The sounds of acorns popping under my feet

• Fall foliage (not much in Savannah though)

I almost love Autumn as much as I love Spring. Almost.

*oh, and isn't vince just the cutest little man?! and aren't azure's expressions so fun? i adore my children*