'babies' movie?

I didn't even realize this was coming to theaters till like last week. Shane sent the link over to me during a mid-day chat session (I know, we're bad, but we really don't talk all that much. And sometimes we still get to say more to each other than the rest of the day combined) and that's the first I'd heard of it. just goes to show what happens when you cut cable and rely on hulu and netflix to keep you entertained.

Goodness, this looks like it would have been a fun way to celebrate Mother's Day Weekend. Even though I kind of wince when those cute African kids start batting at each other. I know that's reality but still.

Did anyone go see it? The beautiful cinematography makes me tempted to see it in theaters instead of waiting for it on DVD.

mother's day

I'm lame. Mother's Day totally snuck up on me. Between law school finals and birthday celebrations, I didn't even see it coming.

I'd so love to surprise my sweet mom with these fun flowers to brighten up her "surprise" breakfast in bed.

And maybe even make her a cute little pin to wear at church like this one or this one.

But since my mother lives on the other coast, I'll have to settle with mailing her a card and bringing her a gift when we visit in a few weeks (fingers crossed). (Besides, we all know she's really only looking forward to getting a special phone call from her missionary son on Monday. Wish i could tune in!)

breakfast for dinner

All we wanted Sunday after church was...breakfast. So, we whipped up some whole wheat pancakes (my dad's recipe) and paired it with some of Aunt Patty's famous apple syrup. Yum.

Here's the recipe for whole wheat pancakes, in case you want to try them:

Combine the following ingredients:
3 c. wheat flour
2 tbs. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbs. sugar
5 eggs yolks
3 c. milk
6 tbs. oil

In a separate bowl, whip 5 egg whites till shiny and fluffy. The fold into previously mixed batter and pour onto the griddle. Wait for bubbles to appear and then pop before flipping. These are thick, fluffy pancakes so they may take a little longer to cook through than some. But they are worth the wait, believe you me.

If you want to pair it with Aunt Patty's apply syrup, click here for the recipe.

as promised: birthday footage

We took a lot of video and pictures on Christian's big day. Unfortunately, half of them are on other people's cameras so I have some gathering to do. Here's some raw footage:

Cake time. We did sing. Luckily Grandma Larsen got that part on camera. This is the aftermath.

All-time favorite gift..? Just might be. Not sure how we'll top it.

toothy, goofy grin

Check out our one-year-old's toothy, goofy grin this morning. I got so spend some extra time at home with him before work and he was all smiles.

Notice he's folding his arms. For some reason he's been doing that a lot lately, not just when we coax him to do it to pray. He'll walk around the house with his hands clasped and arms folded, all the while trying to stay balanced. He's so funny to just sit back and watch -- a constant source of joy and entertainment.

visit from grandma amy

we were lucky enough to have my mom in town for a weekend in march after she spent a week in new york advocating for strong family values at the united nations. i wish i'd taken more pics but we managed to snap this before dropping her off at the airport. christian was obviously a little distracted during the morning bustle.

birthday balloons

nope. this isn't a picture from christian's birthday celebration. it's actually from the birthday party of his friend, ben bluey, who turns one this week. christian had a blast at the party saturday, with so much going on and ben was sure cute digging into his "elmo" cupcake that dyed his hands and face red.

i'll post pics from christian's big day soon. we had a busy week last week and an even busier weekend so i'm a little behind.

teaser: christian's one-year photo shoot

we just got a glimpse of a few "teaser" pics from christian's one-year photo shoot and i thought i'd share a couple. this kid totally cracks us up and danelle empey did a great job capturing his fun personality. can't wait to see the rest!

{christian's GQ pose...not sure how/when he did this but she caught it}

his birthday is actually tomorrow (thursday, april 8). my, the year sure has flown. i'm kind of in denial that my baby is really a very capable, sweet and stubborn little boy.

rub a dub dub

Here's a quick shot from Christian's bath tonight. He LOVES the water on so once it gets too high (as in the pic) we have to drain it a bit and coax him into letting us turn it off. He's a total water baby. And quite a poser for the camera at this point.

Wonder where he gets that from?

c'mon, get happy

It's Thursday. I LOVE Thursdays. It's truly my favorite day of the week. There's just something about knowing an entire weekend is before you, and yet, you haven't quite started it yet. On Thursdays I feel like I can do anything -- conquer the world -- because the next day is Friday and then Saturday. I LOVE that feeling.

So, I'm counting down the minutes till I get to leave the office. And listening to Brandi Carlyle on pandora. Have you heard her? I love her voice and style. This song of hers in particular makes me happy:

Let me know if it makes you happy, too.