A little bit late...but still blogging

Well, Ada has another cold and we were up for 2 hours on Sunday night with her. I haven't felt so exhausted since Ada was a tiny baby. By Monday night I just didn't have the energy to blog. I took a bath, ate a brownie and relaxed with Paul.

But we are back now! Ada still has a snotty nose, but we are getting some more sleep.

We had an excellent week! Here is the story....backwards.

Saturday:
Every Saturday we go to Farmer's Market. When we get home Ada helps us unpack and inspect all of the produce. Don't worry we don't make her eat all of those carrots by herself.I just discovered these at TJs. So yummy! You just stir in yogurt!
Friday:
On Friday we went for a walk with our friends, the Hesters & Ben Stone. We took the extra seat for the back of our stroller so Ben could ride along.
Cadence & Lyric gettin' ready to ride.
Ben & Ada all ready to roll!
On Thursday Cadence and Lyric came over to our house to play. Ada had so much fun with her friends!
Lyric & Ada learning to share...maybe.
Our big walker!


Lately we have been playing out on our balcony in the late afternoons before dinner. The light is so nice and Ada loves to be outside, high above the world and with the dogs playing below.

Cleaning the house sick in the rain

Well, this week we didn't take many photos. It has been a hard week and there just wasn't much to take photos of.

Ada has been sick with a double ear infection, fever and mucus coming out of her tear ducts. She took some antibiotics and is now better. So we spent most of the week inside with Grandma Judy. We didn't get to play with any of our friends and we had to visit the doctor twice (which Ada hates!).

So I have rediscovered this book and been obsessed with cleaning my house this week. Don't read it. It will drive you crazy! It is totally not realistic with a toddler!...but entertaining during nap time.
This is Ada and Grandma at the doctor's office today.
Please notice how much Ada is enjoying herself. :)
When it was raining this week we helped grandma make a carrot cake for her friends who were coming over for dinner.
Ada really enjoyed climbing up on the stool!
We are so happy the sun is back out in Ventura and we can go outside to explore and ride in our wagon. It has been a long week! We are looking forward to hopefully going to the park to play with our friends soon!

Good Bye Aunty England....We miss you!

Last week Aunty Ruth was still with us and Paul was on vacation! I love when Paul is off and we get to do fun things together!

On Tuesday we went to Santa Barbara for the day.

Here we are on the pier. We were going to get ice cream, but then we decided that we would rather have Wild Cherry after dinner.

After lunch we played at a park.
Ada enjoying her daddy.
Watching the water fountain.
At Old Navy Ada was givin' the dog some love. I think she thought it was real.
On our way home we saw this!!
On Wednesday we took Aunty Ruth to Nature's Grill for lunch before she had to go to the airport. Ada really enjoyed the fans and loud noises.

Goodbye Aunty Ruth! Come back soon!
On Thursday Ada fell asleep in her car seat with her hat over her eyes.
Ada's favorite foods are pretzels and string cheese. Here she is munching away.
On Sunday morning before the rain came to town we cut Paul's hair. Ada loved chillin' on the balcony watching us. Look at that bed head!
Zebra girl.
Ada got a TON of cute clothes from her Uncle Mikey's friend's company, Three Peas Co. Couture this past week. Thank you!
Ada still has her English cold, her molars are coming in, and she has some sort of infection in her eyes. She is in pretty good spirits given all the stuff she has going on. Tomorrow we are heading to the doctor to see if she needs anything for her eyes.

What's for Dinner?

Tonight I made this recipe for dinner. It was super good! Just thought I would share. People always ask what I make that is vegetarian for Paul ....

Butternut Squash Vegetarian Chili

4 tsp Olive oil

1 large chopped onion

2 tsp ground cumin

a tiny pinch of crushed red pepper

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp salt

4 cloves garlic

3 cups broth

1 jar of roasted peppers

1 butternut squash

1 can pinto beans

2 cans black beans

28oz can of chopped tomatoes

green onions

Fage greek yogurt

Heat a Dutch oven on medium-low heat.

Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.

Add onion; cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in cumin, crushed red pepper, paprika, salt, and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add peppers, broth, squash, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer.

Cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans; simmer 25 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle with green onions and add a dollop of yogurt.

_______________________________________

Yields: 6 servings

Serving size: about 1 ½ cups

Weight Watcher points: 6

A Visit from Aunty England

Aunty Ruth came to visit us this week! She came over the "pond" to meet her beautiful little niece. We have had a fabulous time enjoying the sunshine and having fun!

First, Ruth came with a suitcase full of Christmas gifts for Ada!

Here is Ada with the M&S chocolate coins. She is not sure what they are, but she likes them.Ada loves her new books!

Christmas on January 7th!
Can you tell Ruth and Paul are related? :) ....just a little.
On Thursday we took Aunty Ruth to the park to play.

I just love this photo of Ada. It looks like she is running to go down the slide.
Ada playing with someone else's ball.
Cutie Pie.

On Friday we took Aunty Ruth to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Ada LOVES the zoo. (We got a pass so if you want to go with us just let us know! I can get one adult in for free. Kids under 2 are free.)

This porcupine .....
.....made Ada go crazy. She loved them!
Very interesting.


We took a picnic lunch and ate near the lions.
Ada did lots of Tupperware reorganizing while Ruth was here.

On Saturday we took Ruth to Farmer's Market. Ada brought her new wagon along.

We ate some yummy tangerines.
Ada sitting on the curb. :)
On Sunday we worshiped at Reality and went to Ojai in the afternoon. We got to hear some crazy drumming and hula hoop dancing.

We also got to sit in crazy traffic on the way home!
Thankfully Ada slept.
On Monday we went to the beach and cooked a LARGE artichoke so Aunty Ruth could try it.
And then we got Jim & Rob's garden burritos and took them to the beach at sunset.
Ada did NOT like the sand!
She was way too distracted by the birds and dogs to eat any of her dinner.



We had a wonderful week with Ruth! I will post more photos next week. There are still a few on my camera from our trip to Santa Barbara.

Happy Birthday Uncle John! We love you!
We hope you had a great day!