So You Think You Can Dance

All right, I admit it. I have a not so secret obsession with the show "So You Think You Can Dance." Usually by the end of the first show I already have decided who's going to win, and so far have been pretty close, if not right on the money, with my guesses. However, the talent this year is scary good and I honestly have no clue who it's going to be. I hate to think I might not get to see any Shane Sparks hip-hop choreography this year- bad move on his part if he's jumped to America's Best Dance Crew (on MTV) permanently. Nappytab's routines have been solid so far, but not as great as Shane's so that will make me very sad.

Sadly, I think I am as obsessed with Cat Deeley's wardrobe on the show as I am the dance pieces. Seriously, how much do I want this dress???

I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has to offer!!

S'Mores Brownies

We had some people over this weekend for some BBQ and beer... sadly I have no pictures to post. That's really pathetic on my part, I know. Anyway, everyone raved about the s'mores brownies I made so I figured I'd post the recipe for those interested. Also, if any of you are ever in the mood for a glass of Pinot Grigio please feel free to stop by anytime... I bought a case and I swear we only went through 4 bottles. With 50 people I have no idea how that happened.

10 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, broken in half (20 squares), divided
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
2-1/2 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
1 cup BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks

HEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil; grease foil. Place 15 grahams in pan, overlapping slightly. Break remaining grahams into pieces; set aside.

MICROWAVE butter and chocolate in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min.; stir until melted. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour. Pour over grahams in pan.

BAKE 30 to 32 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate chunks. Bake 3 to 5 min. or until marshmallows begin to puff. Press reserved graham pieces gently into marshmallows. Cool. Use foil to remove brownies from pan before cutting to serve.

Six month check up

This morning Ella and I were off to Northwest Pediatrics for her 6 month check-up. I cannot believe she's already half a year old! Everything was great... she's weighing in at 14lb, 12oz and is 24 5/8 inches long (tall). Right on track for where she should be. She's a bit on the small side of average, but based on her progress since birth no one seems very worried about it. Basically she's perfect... not that I needed a doctor to tell me that!

Hooray for Sweet Potatoes!

We ended up delaying real food for Ella a bit... at her 4 month check up the Dr. Vapne said we could start her on rice cereal so we tried and it was a disaster. She just wasn't ready for it yet. Well, now I'm starting to think she was ready for food- just not that nasty rice cereal. I made an executive decision to delay the food, partly because I didn't think she was ready and partly because of all the travelling we were doing there was no way we would be able to get her into any sort of routine. So when we returned from Orlando I tried the rice cereal again. Major trainwreck! It was all over the place because she just kept spitting it out she'd get her hands away from me and smear it all over her face and bib, anything to keep from swallowing it. But she was opening her mouth for the spoon so I knew she'd figured it out, it must just taste awful. Monday night we tried sweet potatoes... jackpot! We had figured out that she has a bit of a sweet tooth because she loves to suck the juice off of our fingers if we've been eating fruits. Boy did she go to town on those sweet potatoes! And hooray for her Daddy, who's so good at feeding her! She's a very neat eater, and he's so good about scraping the excess off of her face. And it's a great bonding time for them each night.

Since the realization that she likes "real people food" better than the rice goop we've given her applesauce and green beans too... both were sucessful! I think tonight we'll try a little butternut squash and see how that goes over.

I'm still putting the vitamins in her bottle once a day so the Dr. says she doesn't really need the rice cereal since she's geting iron from that, the only benefit it has is to fill her little tummy. I'm gonna try oatmeal I think and see if she likes that better.

Fun time in Orlando

Yes, we put Ella on yet another plane this past weekend. She's such a great little traveller! We left Thursday afternoon on Southwest headed to sunny Florida, again. Only this time it was just for fun and relaxation. The point of the trip was to visit our friends the Parks. We hadn't seen them since last March, when we went skiing in Breckenridge together. It was so wonderful to catch up with them! Thursday night we went to dinner at a cool place called City Fish, right next door to Michael's office. Angel and Michael are expecting a baby boy, their first, in October so we decided to break Michael in... here he is carrying Ella's seat and Angel's purse. That's my kind of man! And don't worry- we've already talked about an arranged marriage for Baby Parks and Ella.

Friday the girls hung out by the pool in the backyard while the boys went to play golf. Friday was my birthday (the big 30) and Ella's 1/2 birthday. Angel and Michael were so sweet and got me a cake! We went to dinner at Houston's, which is on a gorgeous lake in Winter Park and the food, atmosphere, and company were perfect for the celebration!!
We spent the rest of the evening in thier hot tub watching the basketball game and drinking. I'll let you choose which drink was mine and which was Ella's.

Saturday we were able to see the shuttle launch from their backyard, which was pretty cool. The PIcs don't do it justice but I'll post some anyway. Angel and I went to get pedicures and do some shopping while the boys were on baby duty. Saturday night was more good food and conversation. As I'm going through these pictures I've realized I don't have one of the four of us, darn it! Oh well, we're hoping they'll head up our way late summer and I'll be sure to get some then. Here's a cute one of Angel and Ella. They are going to be such great parents!!!

Steel City

Another trip to add to the books of Ella's short life... a drive to the Steel City, Pittsburgh, PA. Bryan's Aunt Becky got married the weekend of May 23rd. Thanks to Skybus closing their doors we decided to make the drive in the Yukon. We let around 5PM Thursday night, just in time for Ella's nap. Good call. She slept for a good hour and half. The next hour and half I sat in the back seat an entertained her. We stopped in Summersville, WV to spend the night and got back on the road Early Friday morning. Made it to Pittsburgh in another 3 hours or so. Checked into the hotel and we were set for the weekend. All the cousins came in from all over the country (GA, TX, MI, and CA) so it was great to see them all. Friday we just hung out and went to dinner with everyone. Here's a pic of Ella and her 2nd cousin, Chloe.

Saturday we did a lot of sightseeing during the day. We went down town to Pointe State Park. Ella enjoyed the time in the Baby Bjorn, taking in all that the city had to offer. Here a a few shots from downtown.

Ella fell alseep on the way to lunch.

For lunch we went to Primanti Brothers. Great place, total dive. Looking at the menu we noticed that the Philly Cheese Steak was the #2 best seller but no one could find what was #1. So we asked. The number one seller at Primanti Brothers? The beer, of course! The concept of the place is simple, no overhead and no utensils. So they just go ahead and put the cole slaw and french fries on your sandwhich, and serve it to you on wax paper. It was so tasty. Ella really wanted to tryBryan's Cheese Steak.

Saturday night we went to the wedding. Here's Mike, Jessie and Nathan waiting to be seated. And a family photo of us in our Sunday best.

And perhaps my fave picture from the whole weekend.... Ella and her Holcomb men. I love this photo!!!

Sitting up and on the move.... sort of

Ella has just recently started to balance by herself while sitting up. As long as we're close by to keeo her from banging her head on the ground... She's also figured out how to "army crawl" for lack of a better term, she can get her right leg up under her. She pushes with her leg and pulls with her arms, like she's crawling under barbed wire in boot camp or something. Pretty funny to watch. But you've got to watch her, she's quick and will be playing with the electrical outlets in no time if you let her get on her way.