He's a swingin!!!

Drake had his first swing experience at the park the other day and he loved it!!! I am also including some pictures of why we call him the destroyer.

Baby Food ... Yum!!!

For those of you who don't know, Chris and I love food and love to cook. Chris is the baker in our family, and I cook everything else. With my passion for cooking and food, I decided to make Drakes baby food. It turns out that it is a lot of fun and pretty easy. And who knew that baby food is so good? We have a magic bullet that works great for pureeing Drakes food and then we freeze the food either in tupperware or in ice cube trays. Chris and I both decided that we would taste everything before Drake tries it and we actually really like all of his food so far. Drake started out with the basic one ingredient foods but now I get to be adventurous. Here are some of Drakes' (and mine) favorites:

Guacamole:
1 cup avocado
1/2 cup chopped, peeled and seeded tomato
2 tbsp lime juice

Jambalaya:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup peeled chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup long grain white rice
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 bay leaf

saute veges, add rice and chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to boil, simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool and discard bay leaf and puree.

Chicken and Broccoli
1 tbsp vegetable oil
6 oz chicken
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

brown chicken then transfer to a plate. Saute onions,add mushrooms and saute. Add some water, broccoli and cooked chicken - bring to a boil. Cover and simmer till broccoli is tender and chicken is fully cooked. Let cool and puree. (Chris and I love chicken and broccoli over rice, so I made some for us and pureed the rest for Drake and it was delicious - even when it is pureed)

Drake (and I) also loves a combination of fruit pureed together like peach's, pears and banana's, or any combo.

Let me know if you have any other recipes that I can try!

Firefly Lane

My best friend Minda sent me this book for me to read on my long drive out to Wisconsin. I have to admit that I didn't get a chance to read it on the drive, but started it shortly after we arrived. After that,I had a hard time putting it down. It is about a friendship that lasted over 3 decades. I can only hope that mine and Minda's relationship lasts that long or even longer. Although life takes everyone different places, you always know that you have someone to come back to. I recommend everyone to read this book. I really enjoyed it and hopefully you will too. You can find this book anywhere really and it is by Kristin Hannah. Thanks Minda for sending me this book! I love you and miss you so much.

What's new with us...

So not much has been going on with us. Chris is in the full swing of school now and is a studying feign! His classes are pretty intense and super fast. He is super excited though. He ordered his stethoscope and got a bunch of "doctor stuff" from the residents he used to work for. This dream that both Chris and I have been waiting for is finally here!!!

I started coaching a JV cheerleading squad at a local high school this week. I am super excited about it even though the squad is pretty small. It is nice to have a reason to get out of the house, even if it is only for 2 hours, twice a week.

Drake is still being a little trouble maker and climbing on EVERYTHING. The good news is that he is getting more and more stable when he is standing up, the bad news is that he is also getting more and more daring. He is also still growling and being extremely loud. The other day we had a play date with a 6 month old, and Drake was scaring the poor little guy with his growls. It was so sad, but funny at the same time.

Well, I am sorry I don't have any pictures to upload this time, but I am sure there will be many in the near future.

Our Move to Wisconsin - Sorry, this is a long one.

We have finally arrived and become settled (somewhat) in Wisconsin! The drive took us 3 days but all in all wasn't too bad. Drake was a trooper and didn't really cry at all. We are renting a cute little house that is actually up for sale. So, if this house sells - then we have to find something else. We are hoping that we won't have to cross that bridge any time soon. We are enjoying being in this house, especially since we don't have to share the washer and dryer with anyone!!! The neighborhood is really nice also. The actual city we are in is Wauwatosa ... which is a suburb of Milwaukee. We really like it here so far, so that is good news.

Chris started his orientation week at the Medical College of Wisconsin and starts actual classes on Monday. He is really excited to finally be starting school and can't wait to get into the groove of things!

Chris in front of the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Us at the White Coat Ceremony for Chris. This is where Chris and his class got awarded their white doctor coats and marked the beginning of medical school. Go Chris!

Drake is turning into a little trouble maker. Well, not really. He is crawling really well now and is pulling himself up to a stand on everything. Our whole house has hardwood floors so we really have to watch him. He has already had a couple of falls - but hopefully this will just make him tough.

We are already missing our families a ton and can't wait for Christmas so we can go home and see everyone. We were lucky to have both of our parents drive out with us and helped us get settled. It was super hard to say goodbye when they had to go back to Utah.

All in all, we are excited to finally be here and start our little adventure. I will try to keep everyone updated on what is going on with us (especially with Drake). Thanks everyone for all your help and we miss you all alot!

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to since we have been in Milwaukee:

Drake being silly.

THE DESTROYER!!!

My standing man:

Messy Drake after eating pured peas and carrots - which he loved!

Here are some pics of our house. I just realized there are none of the outside of our house, so that pic will come soon.

Our dining area.

Our family room which evidently doubles as a play room as you can see.

Our kitchen ... which has no dishwasher (i know, not so bad) and no garbage disposal (now that sucks!)