Delicious.  A Dutch Baby is our newest discovery of an amazing breakfast, and I am here to share with you this easy, fun recipe.

2 eggs

1/4 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 cup of flour

Mix all ingredients together.  heat over to 400%.  While oven is heating, melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a round cake pan in the oven.  When the butter is melted, pour mixture into pan on top of butter and return to oven.  Bake about 12 minutes.  Now remember, my oven is very different form yours, so play around with temps and times, but the result, is a very fun french toast/pancake type breakfast (or desert) that can be eaten plain or with syrup.  It looks really different than you would imagine, but just go with the flow and let me know if you try it.  We eat this 2-3 mornings a week.  (Actual dutch baby outcome may vary from the picture)

Today we went to a mall that had an amazing amusement park inside - roller coasters, ferris wheel, arcades - you name it.  They also had an area for small children to play.  We weren’t sure what EB woudl think - she has never played anywhere like this before - this is the first time we have been somewhere since she was old enough to appreciate it.  So, once again, for the grandparents (and Jessi), here is a video of EB having the time of her life!

Sorry for the mistake on this video - here is the real thing…

After dinner, after the dishes have been washed, right before EB’s bedtime - EB comes alive with laughter and fun, and DB, EB and I play and laugh.  THis is the best time of most days.

Unfortunately, there is one aspect of our nighttime routine that is failing.  EB does not like to be read to.  She loves to play with books, and look at them on her own, but if you start reading them, she gets really upset.  She takes the book out of your hands and crawls away.  If you try to force her to sit and be read to, she cries the whole time.  If I give her one book to look at while I read another, she wants the one I am reading.  Any ideas on what to do about this?

We came to Dubai with our team for a bit of relaxation and fun.  I was very excited about a week full of fun and rest - the beach, the pool, a water park, and shopping for some much needed items.  Unfortunately, our second day here EB was throwing up, listless, and had a high fever and scary cough.  A visit to the doctor confirmed our suspicions that EB was pretty sick with bronchitis.  After several days administering 6 different meds, the fever dropped, the throw up stopped and the cough subsided.  EB has been sleeping alot and day by day perking up to her usual self.  We are thankful that we were here in Dubai for the sickness where there are good doctors and reliable medicine.  Unfortunately for us, DB and I have not gotten to do most of the fun stuff planned for the week.  Even as I type this, the whole team is at the water park while EB naps away in the other room and DB and I download things from the internet.  

The thing is, I just get really excited about things.  I always have.  I think that looking forward to things is about half the fun of them.  But then I get SO disappointed when they don’t turn out the way I had imagined.  I remember not being able to go to the New Kids on the Block concert in the fifth grade with my best friend Morgan because I got strep throat, and not being able to go to some Christmas lights celebration when I was six because I was sick.  Clearly, I have been traumatized by these occurrences.  This time I am not traumatized - mainly I am just glad that my little girl is going home tonight healthy - but just a little sad.  I think as a mother, my expectations need to change drastically.  Instead of looking to the next BIG thing to make a special family memory, I need to constantly look out for precious moments to treasure - like spending two whole days cuddling with my sweet baby girl while she recovered, or riding a roller coaster inside a mall with my handsome husband.  This trip was not what I expected, but still will remain a marker in our lives, I hope, as a much needed time of rest and rejuvenation before we return home to real life.

You may have noticed that I am taking the opportunity while I have good internet to upload a bunch of videos from the past four months.  This one is from around EB’s first birthday.  She has a little quirk that she is only ticklish at night.  I love this laugh so much I made a video of this to share with everyone else who loves this little girl.

So I read the other day that I should be letting EB feed herself no matter how messy it is it is good for her.  So, here she is eating oatmeal and then spaghetti.  She loves it - she claps and laughs the whole time she is feeding herself and was a “pro” from the start.

Well, I am here to admit that in more than one way I am truly not a good mom.  I often do something and look at DB and say, “by the way, that is bad parenting.”  For example, when I wasn’t watching and EB crawled out the door, down the front steps and we found here playing in the yard by herself.  (We do have a wall around our house and yard, so she was in no danger of getting in the street or kidnapped - just eating some dirt).  (And technically DB was supposed to be watching her, so it wasn’t really my fault, but it happened all the same).  Another example is displayed in this video.  EB has displayed a bit of a telephone fetish for several months now, and I have fought it because of the “everything-goes-in-her-mouth” syndrome.  She has recieved many reprimands over this until I truly gave up.  I decided it really wasn’t worth it.  So I gave in.  Not only did I start letting her play with my phone, but I also gave her her own phone.  

Watch this video and see how much she loves it.  She talks and texts and laughs and shares the phone - it has improved her little life, and even though I know there could be resulting problems in the future, i have decided to cross that bridge when we come to it. (Again, long video mostly for benefit of the family)

Well, it has finally happened - EB is really walking.  Sorry to everyone but family - it is long - three different clips of the little cutie toddling around - but I thought the grandparents and Jessi would love it!

A.   We are living in our new house, still getting settled in. 

B.   We received and opened our crate, and everything is accounted for, including EB’s play kitchen, which we are saving to give to her at Christmas.

C.   We have a language teacher coming to our house everyday from 7-9 AM starting next Saturday - we are so excited because we won’t have to leave EB for half a day AND after 9:00 we get to have real days like normal people.  We can study, exercise, have guests over - really live life!  We are very excited about this!

D.   We are in Dubai for a week and it is awesome!  We have really good internet, so we will be updating facebook, downloading things, and in general loving it!  We will be going to the beach, a water park, and a pool as well as doing lots of great shopping for things that we need.  

E.   This is one of the least interesting updates I have ever done, but we haven’t posted since Feb 28th, so I thought I would let you know that we are alive and well and very busy.

F.  And finally, what everyone really wants to know about - EB is doing great, as cute as ever, very happy and exploring everything with curious little eyes and busy little hands.  Her favorite thing to do is put a sock on her head ( a particular fuzzy blue sock) and walk up and down the stairs.  She laughs and smiles all the time, loves to sing and dance, and still loves people.  She spreads love and smiles everywhere she goes!