Supper Club

Last Saturday night, Bryan and I went to our first ever Supper Club dinner. Loosely based off of Iron Chef America, some friends get together quarterly with three other couples and each is responsible for preparing two courses towards a themed meal. Sometimes the meal is themed to an ingredient, other times to a type of cuisine, and one of the two courses each couple brings is paired with a beverage. The club was down a couple for this month, and we quickly agreed to participate as subs, despite being slightly overwhelmed by the theme - Moroccan cuisine!

As our only experience with Moroccan food is couscous and the offerings at the Epcot Morocco pavilion at Disney, we were slightly clueless as to what we should make. Especially since we were told that the point of the dinner was to go bold, go big! If we failed, we'd order pizza, so we were supposed to cook something different than what we would normally do. After scouring pinterest and the internet, I decided on lamb meatballs with a spicy Moroccan tomato sauce for our appetizer. For our side, we made a sauteed eggplant dish and msemen, Moroccan flat bread. None of this sounds super fancy, but Bryan and I were each cooking for 2.5 hours straight to get it all together. While it was fun to cook (and a little overwhelming at times), the best part of the afternoon getting ready was watching our little people play nicely together. We put on Lion King, shut the gate between the family room and kitchen, and let them watch and play with their toys. Noelle even helped Kellen with his dinner (a messy endeavor!) and the time gave us great hope that we have turned a corner and may not have to constantly entertain our children in the coming months and years!

After cooking, we quickly got ready to leave, got the kids ready for bed, greeted Lisa and Emme, our babysitting team for the night, and took the opportunity for a few pictures (which Noelle wanted in on also) before heading out.

Dinner was excellent! We knew 2 of the 3 couples there, and the 4th was lovely, and the food and wine were delicious. In addition to our dishes, we feasted on carrots pickled in Moroccan spices, a lamb stew, beet, carrot, and fennel salad, a couscous and lamb meatball main course, another kind of Moraccan bread, and a dessert that paired oranges with a really tasty bread pudding like pie that I don't know how to describe except to say it was wonderful. The lesson we learned - 8 courses paired with 4 wine tastings was simply too much! We were in a food coma for the rest of the night and a good bit of Sunday as well. But it was yummy, and worth it, and really fun. If we continue this with a new group of friends in the new year (we were Gourmet Supper Club substitutes after all!) I think we'll tone it down a bit. 6 courses is my limit!

Our bread, eggplant, and the main course!

Thanks to Bethany and Adam for thinking of us -we had a great time!

School Days!

Bryan and I have gone back and forth about whether Noelle would attend preschool at all. We like our daycare, the price is right, it is nearly impossible for me to pick up the kids at two different places by 6 on bad traffic days, and worrying that she is behind with learning has never been one of the problems we have had with our daughter. We recently decided that some additional structure and a change of scenery would be good for our little girl, so last week she started her first day of preschool. Because of our schedule, she is going one afternoon a week for now, on Fridays, my day off. This means I get a little less time with Noelle each week, but that Kellen and I can spend a few hours on our own, something we rarely get to do. Sorry Kel - your Friday afternoon nap will be on the go now as I knock my weekly errands out with just one kid in tow!

At lunchtime last Friday we took some pictures to mark the occasion and Noelle headed off to big kid school!

When we got there,  Noelle was a little nervous. She asked me to help her trace her name, the first activity of the day. I helped, we hung it up together, and then when I asked if she needed me to stay she let me know that she was fine and I could go watch Kellen at home! Great! When I arrived to pick her up a little later (she had to leave early for our dentist appointments that had been scheduled 6 months out!), her teacher said she had done great and she was happily building with a little boy. She even asked to go potty there without any problems.

Noelle told me "School was great mom" as soon as I picked her up. She loves being in big kid school and is really proud she gets to go. Unfortunately, that translated to a bad day at daycare on Monday. Apparently Noelle wants to go to big kid school everyday. Unfortuantely that can't happen this year, and likely not next either. I am hoping that Noelle adjusts to this new routine and continues to appreciate both big kid school and the fun and friends she has at daycare! Tuesday and Wednesday were much improved so there is hope!

Twins!

No, not ours - we have enough on our hands right now! Although, our kids aren't much younger than Tracie and Kevin's two little girls. The Saxton cousin clan grew by two Saturday morning when the twins made an early arrival. Tracie was exactly 34 weeks pregnant when they made their way in to the world.

Annabelle Kay arrived at 4:46 am and weighed in at 4 pounds 1 ounce and Micah Bryce said his hello's at 5:06 am and was a bit chubbier at 5 pounds 11 ounces. Tracie and the little ones are doing great and we are all hopeful they will be released from the NICU this weekend when they reach 35 weeks!

In case you can't tell from their hats, Annabelle is on the left and Micah is on the right. We love them already and can't wait to meet them and see their big sisters, Rubie and Charlotte, sometime this winter!

Eleven Months

My little guys turns 1 in four weeks. How did that happen? Time just keeps moving faster and faster and I want it to slow down so I can enjoy my last little baby. Kellen has other ideas though, and decided to spend his 11 month birthday weekend practicing his newest skill - taking steps! I won't say he is a walker yet since he really needs someone to help him get started most of the time, but Kel has built up to about 8 steps in a row over the last two weeks or so. He still doesn't stand up on his own without something to pull up on, so he'll need to master that to be a true walker, but I think my big boy is close!

Quick update on Kellen otherwise at 11 months:
K loves to talk and repeats a lot of sounds. He definitely knows what dada, mama, Kel, go, and uh oh mean when he says them. Otherwise he says things but I don't know that he knows what he is saying.

K has 5 teeth out, is working on his 6th, and is a drolling/teething machine.

He eats everything! Like a little pig! Ok, he did reject my homemade strawberry quinoa and isn't a huge fan of raw tomatoes, but really he shovels food, any kind of food, in his mouth. He is at the point that he eats whatever we are having and he has had everything but raw honey and peanut butter (although he has had peanuts). He is finishing up his last week of stored breast milk at daycare with one bottle during the day and will transition next week to whole milk once a day. We know he likes this as he has stolen some from another sippy cup in the past so I think it will go fine! He also loves water and drinks that throughout the day. I am still feeding Kel before he goes to bed and when he wakes up and will continue that for a bit as long as he continues to want it and not bite!

K is a decent sleeper. He goes down between 7:30 - 8 and generally wakes up between 4:30-5 to eat and then goes back down til about 7. He sometimes wakes up during the night but generally gets back to sleep on his own within 2 or 3 minutes. His naps remain inconsistent in their number, length, and time.

Kellen is my sweet cuddly little guy. He loves his mommy (and pretty much everyone else) and we all love him. I  guess I need to get ready for the big birthday coming up and for my sweet little baby to be a sweet little toddler. No formal party though since we will be in the Saxton Family Happy Place for the big day!

So That's How It Works...

This is pretty much how I feel when my daughter bounds in to my room at 6:22 am on Saturday mornings, when I sit staring at my computer at work every afternoon, and when Kellen is getting ready to get in to his crib at 7:42 pm each night. And Kellen even slept through the entire night without making a peep last night and I am still drained! Energy again in 2017?

Bathing Beauties

My two little people both loved the pool and the ocean during our recent NC adventure. We had a lot of rain while we were away, but most days had sun or at least not active rain for a few hours so we hit the pool, beach, or both for a bit most days. Noelle still doesn't like to get her face wet, and Kellen would highly prefer to have his face totally submerged all day long, but they both enjoyed themselves tremendously!

Green Bean!

Kellen loves green beans and broccoli more than anything else. Last week, Noelle cheered green bean, Kel laughed and danced, and we all chowed down!

Sunday, Funday

Since it was an absolutely gorgeous day, we decided to spend some time outside as a family. First, we headed to downtown Catonsville to pick up our veggies and fruit at the farmer's market and strolled around the Arts Festival. My little ones traveled in style!

Then, after "naptime" we went to one of the local parks to play with some friends. Kellen was quite the fan of the slides. He actually preferred climbing up them, but down was fun too!

Noelle is getting so big and can do everything on her own now without me worrying about her falling and cracking her head open!

I love September and October weather!

Let's Go to the Fair!

A few weeks ago, Bryan and I took Ellie to the Howard County Fair for a little mommy, daddy, daughter time. We left Kellen in the awesome care of our friend Lisa and her daughter and headed off for a few hours of fun.

We started the day checking out the farm animals.

 

And then watched the pig and duck races. Yes, ducks raced around this track. It was hard to capture them on film. Crazy stuff!

Noelle checked out the tractors and other farm equipment.

And then we spent a zillion dollars for three rides! Ellie rode the tea cups to get ready for Disney!

And the ferris wheel was a really big hit!

But the big win of the day was Noelle's first ever pony ride. Who knew this would be cheaper than a ride on the carousel? And way cooler!

We partook in some yummy fair food. Noelle was a fan of funnel cake, just like her mom and dad!

Ellie posed on the way out of the fair.

And then fell asleep about 5 seconds after getting in the car. I guess the day was a success!