May 31, 2011

::recipe:: Cucumber Mint Popsicles

run out to your garden and pick some of this...mint is so yummy!
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and go ahead and grab a sweet helper while you're at it.
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muddle a handful of mint leaves with 1/2 cup of sugar.
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in a saucepan, add your muddled mint, sugar, and 1/2 cup water. bring to a boil. while you are waiting for the mint simple syrup to boil, grab a cucumber, peel it, and slice it in half, lengthwise, like this...
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scoop the seeds out. discard them.
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and chop the cucumber up. by now your mint simple syrup is probably boiling. make sure that all of the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat, spoon the mint out, and allow to cool.
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throw the cucumber in the food processor and pulse until smooth. it will look something like this...
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add the juice of 3-4 key limes to the pureed cucumber.
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once the mint simple syrup has cooled, add it to your pureed cucumber too. give it a stir and pour into your popsicle molds. freeze. this recipe makes enough to fill four popsicle molds. we love them so much that i tripled the recipe :)
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these two were patiently waiting for their frozen treat...
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and when the long awaited suspense was over, it was so worth it!
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they are so yummy and refreshing! it's a new favorite at our house. it's free of all food dyes, doesn't stain our clothes, and they won't even realize they are eating their veggies :)

Cucumber Mint Popsicles

a handful of fresh mint
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
one cucumber
3-4 key limes

Muddle the mint with the sugar. In a small saucepan, combine the muddled mint, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Spoon the mint out and allow to cool. Peel the cucumber. Slice it in half, lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds. Throw the cucumber into the food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add the juice of 3-4 key limes to the cucumber puree. And once the mint simple syrup has cooled, add it to the cucumber puree too. Mix well to combine. Pour into molds and freeze. Makes 4 regular sized popsicles.

May 25, 2011

zoo'in it!

the chimps are my favorite. i could watch them all day. really, all day. this little guy was hanging out for our viewing pleasure. he's the baby chimp. he's 8 years old.
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miss emma got her photo with him.
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and although we were sweaty, we joined in too. it is already so, so hot here.
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emma moved on to kiss a sea turtle. turtles are a favorite too.
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and then, as i perused through the photos, i realized it must have been "take a photo with a statue day" for miss emma. we got emma+rhino...
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emma+giraffe...
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emma+elephant...
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and buddy was just along for the ride.
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we had our daddy with us on this trip, which is always the best.
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we checked out the meerkats...
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the elephants... did you know they can cry?
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and we saw more little bunnies running around than we could count.
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there was a new baby giraffe too. emma says they are just so "precious."
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the giraffes are one of our favorites too...
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bro-bro walked and walked that day...
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and LOVES the carousel!
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sister does too.
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this was my favorite photo of the day...
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we ended with one last statue pic...
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and bro walked some more. i guess practice make perfect, because he took his first steps the very next day! yay for bro-bro!
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we headed to the car and were greeted with these little guys...so cute! cute, but stuck, and that momma duck was justa griping at them. we ended up helping a few up that big ole mountain :)
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May 19, 2011

it's the end of your 3's

dear miss emma, you've graduated from your 3's class. i can't believe how fast the year has flown by. next year is our last before kindergarten. i better stop there :)
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we had your end of the year program, and you did super! bro was the perfect little guest in the audience.
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program photos are never all that great, so i opted to video instead. y'all were just so cute singing and dancing :)
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after the program, it was onto the party. our morning was a little rough. can i say that everything went wrong? your daddy and i both had our heads far, far, far into the clouds.
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daddy saved the day and went home to get the rainbow cupcakes that i had made the night before at midnight and left on the counter in the morning. isn't that just the best? it had been a wild week to say the least. the cupcakes were as requested by you....pink, purple, and yellow, with a little midnight oil added just for fun.
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if we made one mistake that morning, by 9 am, we had made a hundred. i. am. so. not. kidding. we did get a family pic, though. and yes, for the record the cupcakes do have halloween liners. i discovered this at 11pm the night before. there are some things that you just gotta let go.
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you're a special, special girl.
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and you've grown up so much.
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we are so proud of you, and we just love you to pieces. yay for the summer!
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May 18, 2011

Our little boy grew...


and grew! You are 15 months now, and not so much a baby anymore. You enjoy your carousel rides so, so much! Here are a few highlights from the past month, and you'll have to forgive me...these photos were taken after your big 15 month milestone!
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  • On 4.24.11 you stood alone...all by YOURSELF! You were holding onto nothing. You were so proud!
  • On 5.2.11 you said, "Emma," and I think you know who was the most excited about that one.
  • On 5.3.11 you used the word "ba" for your paci. When you want it now, that's what you say :)
  • You can also say hot, home, pop, snack, ball, uh-oh, and go, go, go!
  • You sleep with three paci's now. One in your mouth and one in each hand.
  • On 5.10.11 you started getting your two more top teeth...the two on either side on your front middle two. After these come in, you will have SIX!
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  • Your napping schedule...oh my! We tried the one nap a day thing and failed miserably. I would put you down around noon and you would sleep a whole 45 minutes to an hour. That made for a fun rest of the day. It was the kind of day where the hubby walks in at 6 and says, "has it been like this all day?" After many ups and downs, somedays with one nap, somedays with two, we are back to two naps a day. The first is around 10 am, usually for about an hour, and the second is around 2 pm, usually for about 2 hours. 2 naps=a much happier bro and momma.
  • You can push a push toy faster than I've ever seen, but you haven't started walking yet. I think that when you decide to go, you'll just take off running.
  • I've been so impressed with how you maneuver your push toys. You can avoid any obstacle and change directions whenever you need to. After watching you, I'm convinced that boys are born better drivers.
  • Blueberries are by far your favorite food..."blue blues." You saw them for sale at the grocery store and signed more.
  • You are just too precious.
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  • And you love your milk. Man, can you chug.
  • You also love to hook your tiny little feet on the highchair hook. For whatever reason, I love that.
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  • Your favorite toys are anything that can be pushed.
  • Your diapers are a size 4, your shoes are a size 5, and your clothes are both 12-18 and 18-24 months.
  • You aren't much into snuggling these days, you would rather go, go, go! That makes me so sad.
  • You sign more, all done, drink, eat, and bath.
  • You love the itsy, bitsy spider.
  • And you couldn't care less about ANY tv show.
  • Although, I did catch you and your sister watching your morning cartoons together. It lasted all of about 5 seconds.
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It's been so fun to watch you grow. We love you!

May 14, 2011

the season's end

saturday was emma's very last soccer game.
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i can't believe *TEN* games have already passed us by.
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this is her "running real fast" face...
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and this is one of her sweet friends on the team...
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we ended the season with a party under the gazeebo...i love how she crosses her legs, while in her soccer uniform :)
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poor little bro was oh so tired. he does pretty good at hanging in there...
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miss emma was awarded her soccer trophy...
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she was so proud...
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she's such a sweet girl.
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we brought these cupcakes for the picnic, made with none other than the team colors.
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they were a big hit! and miss emma thinks they are just grand! three cheers for emma and her soccer season :)
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