Birthdays

The good thing about waiting three months between blog posts is that you can include all of your family's birthdays in one post.

Way back in June we celebrated Elliott's third birthday with an ocean-themed party.  We might have gone a little overboard (ha ha--get it?) with the food.

We had several activities for the kids to do, but Elliott was mostly excited about the food.

Oh yeah, and the sprayground.  Elliott and Elijah had a ton of fun playing in the water.

In July, Bridget threw me a surprise party. She created a whole story about how she had a meeting at the park, and I totally bought it. Little did she know that the party would take place during a HUGE thunderstorm.

The food was excellent--even if it was a little water-logged.

I don't know how much fun the adults had, but the kids sure had a great time. Especially Elliott. Man, that kid loves water.

All in all, it was a fabulous surprise. Even if it was during a hurricane.

A couple months later came Elijah's first birthday. His party was pretty simple, with a few other one-year-olds. Bridget did a great job of making a bumblebee party.
 

We spent way too much time making these little fondant bees, but we were pretty happy with the result.

And the judge? He seemed pretty excited about it. Although I must admit that we was more excited about using a fork than he was about his first taste of cake. He is certainly turning into Mr. Independent.

Luckily Elijah is nice enough to be content with just about anything. I think his new toys lasted about ten seconds before Elliott claimed them as his own.

Last but not least was Bridget's birthday. By this point, we were done with parties. So all Bridget got was a store-bought cupcake.

 

Just kidding. I invited a few friends over as a surprise (and I am still getting grief about having people over without cleaning the house!). I forgot to take pictures, but at least you can tell that Elijah had a good time:

(Don't worry--if you look closely, you can tell it was Martinelli's)

Did we miss anyone? I sure hope not!

What is wrong with this picture?

a) The windows are dirty

b) Elliott's bike has been left outside

c) Elijah is nine months old and standing like a pro

Maybe all of the above. But seriously, we never knew that Elijah could be so motivated. He was actually a little slow rolling over, which was just fine with us. But then he reached the nine-month mark and said to himself, "Hey, Elliott gets to run all over the place, so why can't I"? And that was the end of any concept of tranquility in the Nelson home.

Now, he insists on walking everywhere. He only crawls if he needs something right away. Otherwise, he is walking . . . and usually following Elliott around the house. He also gets very upset if the blinds are down and he can't see the backyard.

Honestly, though, we can't complain. He's pretty dang cute.

A Miracle

I would venture to guess that most people do not describe the bar exam as a spiritual experience.

And for me, the first one wasn't. I was just amused by the person next to me who was extremely upset that the bar examiners would not allow him to set up a shrine to Shakespeare during the exam. By the time I found out I had passed the exam, I had already started another year of school. And the results were so slow in coming that I had almost forgotten about the test.

But this time around--wow. When Elliott got a fever a few days before the test, I wasn't that worried. Elliott gets sick fairly frequently, and it usually doesn't bother me. So imagine my surprise when, the night before the bar exam, I feel myself getting a fever. And not just any fever--the crazy-high, fill-your-body-with-chills type. So I didn't sleep much at all that night. And the next morning I was having trouble standing up let alone concentrating. By the time the exam started, I was pretty freaked out.

But, somehow I completed two days of the exam. As luck would have it, I felt much better by the end of the second day. As the next few weeks went by, I really wondered if I had passed. Bridget was pretty sick of my whining.

And, yes, I did actually pass. I'm not exactly sure how, but I did. And it may not be the parting of the Red Sea, but in my mind it was definitely a miracle.

What We've Been Up To

February was a busy month!

Elijah has been keeping himself busy by saying incredibly wise things,

and refusing to roll over (even though he has already),


but spends most of his time giggling and trying to get some attention from anyone in the house.

Elliott has been mastering the skills of feeding himself . . .



. . . and enjoying the Fresh Beat Band. Seriously, we are so sick of that show. If you have not experienced it for yourself, consider yourself lucky. But just so you can get to know Elliott's best friends, here is a little taste.

As you can tell, Kip has been diligently studying for another bar exam. Stay tuned for a summary of that joyful experience.


Finally, Bridget has been trying to keep the boys under control . . .


. . . and subtly voicing her opinion through a novel medium.


All in all, it was a good month. Although we weren't a big fan of our visit from this little friend.

Defeated

Any idea what's in these baskets? I'm guessing that you would not assume they had lychees or pork rinds or whole coconuts. But that's just what six aspiring chefs found on the latest rendition of Chopped Redemption. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can get a little background at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/chopped/index.html)

30 minutes; 4 mystery ingredients; 2 chefs; 1 winner.

Round one: Appetizer

The pressure was on as Chef Nicolle and Chef Greg opened the first baskets of the night. Inside, they found shrimp, canned lychees, lemon cough drops, and spinach. After a few moments of staring at the cough drops and tasting the lychees, the chefs got to work.

Round one was especially exciting because the smoke detector went off. While the judges were opening doors and fanning away the smoke, the chefs continued to devise their masterpieces. And the result?



Pretty good looking, eh? It was a tough decision for the judges, but they were eventually swayed by Chef Nicolle's beautiful presentation and flavorful vinaigrette. And the fact that Chef Greg placed a large pile of unadorned spinach on the plate probably didn't help his cause.



Chef Greg, you have been chopped. Sorry about that.

Round two: Entree

Because we were criticized last time for making our ingredients too easy, we tried to spice it up a little bit with the entree ingredients. But we also wanted to eat something for dinner. So, the mystery ingredients were hot n' spicy chicharrones (aka pork rinds), radishes, coconut juice, and beef round tip steaks. Here is what they came up with:


Chef David and Chef Natalie had very similar approaches. They were both a little stumped by the coconut juice, and they both tried to hide the pork rinds as much as possible. Although the judges were confused by Chef David's random garnishes of lemon and a bowl of coconut juice, he won in the end. The judges were especially impressed that he got his food on the plate this time.



Chef Natalie, you have been chopped. Don't be too bitter! : )

Round three: Dessert

It was finally time for Bridget and me to strut our stuff. Our ingredients? A whole coconut, crescent rolls, nutmeg, and dark chocolate. We could not get the coconuts open for a good ten minutes--which takes a big chunk out of a thirty-minute time limit! Bridget smashed hers all over the counter, while I tried to pierce it with a nail. Definitely should have gone with the hammer.

In the end, which one do you think looks better?



You're right. The second one looks much better. And of course that was Bridget's. In my defense, however, I not only had problems with the coconut, but then I couldn't get the food processor to work . . . and then dropped a bowl with all of my dark chocolate. So while I was busy sweeping up my mess (and apologizing profusely to our hosts who probably hate me), Bridget was working on making such a beautiful presentation.



After what I am sure was a VERY difficult decision, Chef Kip got chopped. And humiliated. Really? Bridget beat me at the DESSERT round? Unbelievable.

Better luck next time, right?

Growing Up

I know, I know--every child grows up too quickly and every parent wishes that the baby would take a little more time growing up. But sometimes it just hits harder than others. I mean, there's still a whole lot of this going on:


And we're still enjoying the smiley phase:


But other things are coming along so fast. For example, our doctor told us that babies are supposed to start eating solids at 4 months now. 4 months? Really? But I guess Elijah was ready, because he loved it. Actually, he grabbed the spoon and bowl and tried doing it himself.


And he's already learning to sit up on his own (usually so he can get a full view of what Elliott's up to!)


And we even tried giving him his own cup of water.


So, I guess we are joining every other parent in the world when we say, "Can we slow it down just a little bit?"

Random

I always try to have some theme for a blog post . . . which is probably why I don't post more often. Bridget says that's ridiculous. So, I'm trying to be a little less neurotic and a little more random. So here goes.

1) Bridget's quote of the day: "Elliott, Elijah does not want your foot on his head."

I don't know why it was so funny, but I was sitting at the dinner table and almost spit out my food. Add that to the list of things that you never thought you'd have to say.


2) Elijah is such a fun baby. Every time we change his clothes, he knows it is "Tickle Time" and will get giddy even before we tickle him. If I ever figure out how to upload videos from our video camera, you may get to see the giggling.

On the other hand, Elijah is not a big fan of tummy time. But he's still pretty cute.



My dad always said that we should read to our kids from an early age, and Elliott has certainly come to love his books (especially Christmas books--speaking of random!). We have started to read to Elijah, but mostly he wants to eat the book and Elliott wants to steal the book away from him.


3) One of the best moments of my work week is when I get a picture message from Bridget with a random picture. Although it makes me sad that I am not home with them, it always brings a smile to my face. Especially when the picture is one of Elliott wearing an apron. Some people are surprised to find out that I like to cook, but they usually give me less of a hard time after they've tried something I made. Anyway, Elliott and I have had some fun times making cookies and watching them bake in the oven. For the whole ten minutes.


4) The other night I was working on the computer, and both of the kids were asleep, and I heard Bridget giggling to herself. I looked up to find that she had Elijah's Bumbo on her head. She thought it was hilarious. Then she said that I had to try it. So, there you go.


Is that random enough for you?