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Payton’s Birthday

We surprised P this year by decorating her bedroom for her to wake up to. I had a different vision but as I was shopping at Target into the 11 PM hour I spaced and only grabbed one bag of balloons. Jim and I wished the entire floor was covered but honestly that bag of $1.99 balloons was the best gift and form of entertainment. I love the way it turned out and she was so excited! It really got her to understand that it was her birthday and how special she is. The video below is long but it’s more for the grandparents & family in New Jersey :::waves hi:::

While she played with the balloons I whipped up her fav eggies with cheese and she got a yummy pink sprinkled donut from Peterson’s. We put in a candle, again, to make it more special and for her to understand the birthday concept. We sang happy birthday and then she went to town on that scrumptious piece of fried dough.

I don’t know what’s going on with her newly found cheesy grin

After we took on more than the daily caloric intake we headed to Seaworld where we spent a few hours. We braved the dark skies and the little bit of drizzle. After Seaworld we went home for naptime and I made some cupcakes and cleaned the house.

After naptime we gave her another gift (new sparkle shoes) and headed down to Corvette Diner. We met Geoff, Jinger and welcomed Papa, Grandma, Rosemarie and Ken home from their cruise. I wasn’t sure if P would be interested in all the hoopla but she did and got a little jelly of the birthday girl next to us who got her crazy straw hairdo. She kept saying, “try” and watching all the girls. I guess our server assumed that a two-year-old wouldn’t enjoy a balloon animal or a fun ‘do.

After dinner we headed home for her to open the remaining presents, sang happy birthday for the third time and ate some cuppies. This little girl is so spoiled: a kitchen, multiple pairs of shoes, a wagon, a radio flyer 500, clothes, uggs, and a movie.

happy 2nd birthday, sweet p

Oh, my sweet little Payton, today you turned two. It is absolutely insane to say out loud that you are officially a two-year-old. While I still look at you like my little baby girl you are anything but a baby. You have blossomed into a little girl who has an opinion (a pretty heavy one already), we can converse and hold a little conversation. Though typically when you get annoyed with your mommy and daddy you just keep giving us the “no” statements but as of last week you started “stop it” when we try to sing or you plain just don’t like what we have to say. You have also taken on Cartman “whateva” replies. When you aren’t giving us a funny negative statement we can find you exclaiming, “awesome, I love it” for just about anything these days. You love giving us major squeezes and we find you coming up to us several times a day with a cutesy chagrin saying, “hug. puhhlease” and following it up with a “I love you mommy or daddy”. You have a kind heart and you love your little brother to pieces. You are so worried about him if he starts to cry, if you are at the dining room table and he is in his swing crying you yell out, “baby, okay?!?!?. . .coming!” You are a goofball and know you are funny. You love to color, play with blocks, trucks and trains. You have to watch Wonder Pets before nap time and bedtime but Little Einsteins is still your fav. You recognize about everything now and know what it is by name. You love singing along to your many shows and you love to wiggle-wiggle, wiggle-wiggle (yeah) along to mommy’s music. You love swinging from structures, jumping off steps and free falling. You’re still our daredevil. Earlier this week we had your two-year well baby checkup. Dr. Martinez always love seeing you and was surprised to hear about everything you are doing. Of course, we couldn’t be any happier to know that we aren’t doing that bad of a job raising you despite a few curse words that have slipped out of your mouth as of late. You bring such joy to our lives and we love watching you grow everyday. Happy Birthday, Sweet P!

Two Year Stats:

3′ .417″ Feet – no percentage, officially off of the charts.
28 pounds 10.6 ounces – 75th percentile, long and lean
Size 7.5/8 shoe
Size 5 diapers – hopefully we won’t get to size 6
Hand/Eye coordination is advanced according to your Pedi, says you are going to be a great athlete.
You can count from 1-12 in English & 1-3 in Spanish
Know all your animals and their sounds
Know all your colors
Can sing along with the ABC’s
Understand emotions
Understand the possessive “I”, “me” and “mine”
Has gotten into the “why?” stage
Shows interest in the potty but not pushing it until you are fully ready
Knows right from left, big from small and short and tall

I know there is a ton more and will think of it once I hit the orange button. Happy Birthday little girl, there isn’t a day you do not amaze us.

pictures to come from your birthday tomorrow. . .

Butternut Squash & Apple Bisque

Butternut squash bisque is one of my favorite soups. I have made it once before but it didn’t hold up to my expectations. As a foodie I try to recreate recipes of food I eat out in restaurants, this inspiration comes from Boudin Bakery. I have searched for a recipe that comes close to their velvety soup and I think I found it! This warm bowl of hearty bisque was paired with tart dried cranberries, crispy brown buttered sage, cinnamon candied pecans and a cool swirl of sour cream. If you love this winter squash as much as I do I urge you to give it a try! Pair it with some yummy savory scones or buttery biscuits for that perfect cold weather meal.

ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup diced white onion
3/4 cup cubed apple pieces
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
salt to taste
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half

toppings:

cinnamon candied pecans
browned butter sage
dried cranberries
sour cream

directions:

In a dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it is shimmering. Add the butternut squash and saute over low heat for about 20 minutes. Keep stirring and if it starts to brown turn the heat even lower.

Add the onions and apples to the pan with the squash. Saute for about 10 minutes.

Cover the mixture with the broth and juice. Simmer for about thirty minutes until the mixture is very tender.

Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until you have reached a velvety texture. Return to pan and add in the cream, maple syrup, salt and curry.

Serve immediately. Garnish with any of the toppings I suggested or enjoy it all on it’s own.

holiday lights

I am obsessed with holiday lights. Ever since I was a young child I have loved hanging Christmas lights, I looked forward to spending the frigid afternoons with my Dad and now I look forward to seeing our house twinkling in the evenings leading up to Christmas. This year has been especially fun with Payton! We started driving the neighborhoods close by that go all out right after Thanksgiving and have done so a couple nights a week to see the progress and that little bit of joy that gets Payton all excited before bedtime. Last year we were introduced to Christmas Card lane and Candy Cane Courts that are literally in our backyard. While they do not compare to some of the nationally acclaimed “tacky” streets they definitely go all out and make the list for our family to visit year after year. We always discuss how our next house has to be in one of these neighborhoods, I would die to have a house like those pictured below, maybe not their electric bill but, oh! the lights! Our close friend has a friend that lives on Candy Cane Court and there is an ordinance that you cannot use your microwave from 5 to 8 PM. NUTS! Do you have a favorite neighborhood you visit? What kind of lights do you decorate with/prefer? LED, classic, crazy colored? I am a classic girl, love the whites and reds. Next year we are adding more, taking on our huge palms and additional elements to create a tastefully tacky holiday house. If you in live in the San Diego area I highly urge you to head on over to any of these North County neighborhoods
for some holiday fun.

Holiday of Lights in Del Mar

We visited the Holiday of Lights at the Del Mar Racetrack, it costs $14 at the gate or $12 at your local Albertson’s. While you can go around the track as many times as you would like the $14 for this attraction is a little steep. Not to mention the free Santa photos at the end or rather their attempt to sell you on the newly remodeled Welk Resort isn’t worth the time with the scary Santa or the ditzy not-to-nice Santa’s ~~bimbo~~ helper. Pay still loved the lights but we joked that when their older they’ll tell us how boring it really is.

Candy Cane Courts in Poway
grab a mug of cocoa, the kiddos and your best karaoke voice. I love that this street is just a few over from ours.
– visit this site for galleries –

Christmas Card Lane in Rancho Penasquitos

There are about 200 families that participate in this yearly tradition that began in 1985. Take a sleigh ride, drink some cocoa, listen to Mt. Carmel High School students sings carols and take in the beautiful Christmas “cards” that are displayed on every lawn.

Point Loma’s Garrison Street

Point Loma’s Garrison Street is fun for Christmas and even Halloween. I loved when I worked down by the bay because this street is amazing! Jim took the kids along with our friend Geoff a few weeks ago while I was out to dinner with my girlfriends. Payton loved it, like we knew she would! Check out her jump at 32 seconds, she is constantly doing this in her boots, I guess she is practicing for her snowboarding jumps!

and our house. Probably should’ve done this first so it didn’t look so boring but there are a lot of small things you cannot see in the photo. More next year!

jingle bells, ismis tree and skittles

Trying to keep a certain toddler entertained these days is a lot of work. We made a trip to Lowes yesterday to pick-up a new vanity for our guest bathroom, this is Jim’s latest project and he is so happy it’s almost over. Well, the majors are out of the way: new tile, toilet is back in place, vanity and mirror purchased. Now, he gets to sand the walls down where our pre-existing vanity and medicine cabinet were, paint and hang new hardware. The whole fam went into the store so I could look at the vanities and to search for the waterless snow globe P fell in love with at my sisters house. After that was all said in done we played in the car while daddy went back in. This kid cracks me up, see for yourself.

don’t judge for me letting her eat the skittle. I think she has put worse things in her mouth at the park. 🙂