introducing...

vivien michelle gough.
born 05/22/12 at 12:19am
7lb 9 oz of cute

a lot happened that day and i can't fully put it into words just yet.  maybe in a month.  maybe in many months.  who knows how long it takes to digest sudden events like that.

however, she is here.
she is the light of our lives.
we love her so much and are constantly amazed by her.
bivi is precious and we are thankful for her.

first family photo.

fully cooked?

i'll soon be marching toward 42 weeks and have no signs that my baby wants to vacate the womb.

i'm ready.

aaron's ready.

i've tried lots and lots of things, but no progress.  i'll just apply patience and see what happens.

images from mother's day

per request, aaron drew me a picture for mother's day.  i love his artwork.  i have a binder going and our walls are lined with his framed pieces.  he did a beautiful picture of the san diego temple for me as a valentine's day gift while we were dating.  i knew i was pretty lucky at that point.  i love seeing this pile of all his carefully gathered shavings which represent his hard work. 

he was sick the night before so he didn't go to church that day.  as i was walking in from the car, i smelled delicious chocolate wafting through the courtyard and i thought, 'man, i'd love it if that smell was coming from my house'.  however, knowing aaron's disdain for anything kitchen related, i was sure it wasn't.  wrong.  he was melting dark chocolate (using a double boiler, no less) so he could dip some strawberries for me.  i had to capture the beautiful and delicious results.

                                                 

bow tie

i had a meeting before church the other day, so I wasn't around when aaron got dressed.  he sauntered into church wearing this.  i wasn't even aware he owned a bow tie.  but i love it.  many compliments followed and he has requests to wear it again.  sometimes it's great to have a husband very concerned with fashion, but it's times like these that i realize i need to step up my game.

Mount Helix

About two weeks ago we decided to head to outdoors on a Sunday afternoon and put our new camera to use.  We know about 1/16 of it's functions, but wanted to get the basics down before the baby comes.  One of my 5 outfits that still fits.

Aaron took this lovely aerial shot.  The toes are so long gone.

killer brownies

I have to preface this post with the comment that I know it seems like I'm baking a lot lately. It's because i am. However, most of it doesn't stay in the house. The gluten free peanut butter cookies were for my young women. And this next recipe I gave away 3/4 of the pan. Aaron, the baby, and I are not eating all of this. Just had to let you know. I stumbled upon a new brownie recipe. Brownies are my kryptonite. I love them. This recipe is dark and delicious and quite dense. A little goes a long way, but I rarely eat a little.

saturday service

On Saturday we participated in Mormon helping hands and had a blast. Here is a sample of what we did. We found some pretty interesting stuff in the creek beds, like mattresses, kids play towers, couches, etc... You know, stuff that totally belongs in the ocean anyway. I looked super cute in my yellow vest with a bowling ball underneath, but it was in the name of service!

super good

i was in search of a gluten free recipe and came across some peanut butter cookies that had stellar reviews.

even better, they require only a few ingredients.

the recipe doesn't call for butter and i was immediately skeptical.  what cookie recipe could be tasty without butter? 

i was proven wrong.  these are intense peanut butter cookies.  the smell and taste is all peanut butter.  everyone i shared with loved them.  they come together quickly and easily.  no mixer required!

the best part?  they last for days.  i'm assuming the lack of flour helps keep them fresh.  i made them last saturday and we've been enjoying them all week. 

give them a try!

never ending debate

we can't agree on any names.  

like, none.  

he has some favorites, as do i, but they aren't the same favorites.

before we discuss names, we have to set some ground rules so things stay friendly.  

we don't discuss it often, but today we took the plunge.

since we don't know the sex of the baby, we have to make two sets of names.  while discussing boy names, i mentioned oscar, but immediately took it back.

children chanting 'oscar the gough' on a playground flashed through my mind.  

we laughed pretty hard and slashed through one more name that won't make the cut.

but, our bags are packed and we know how to install the car seat.  that counts for something, right?

practice

yesterday aaron put together the stroller and car seat combo.  he did a great job making sense of how to do all of it. 

 i watched while cleaning the kitchen.  

earlier in the day i practiced how to use our moby carrier and used a large stuffed rabbit to practice taking baby in and out of the carrier.  i think he wanted to do the same with the car seat, so only sock monkey would do.

a little creepy?  sure.

feeding smart water to sock monkey while acting as our baby?  a little more creepy.

but, also cute.

shopping

we finished buying our baby registry items today. 

as you can see, aaron was very into it. 

nothing but the best for our baby means quality control.

even while sleeping.

 

waffle justice

i was reading bon appetit yesterday and saw this glorious photo.

which was accompanied by a tasty article.

it touched me. not so much because i'm dying to try this. i'm not big on ham. but, use quality ham and i'd give it a go.

however, the subject of this article, a new waffle trend, felt like waffle justice to me.

growing up, we always made homemade waffles. i'm pretty sure i never tasted an eggo until college. and our waffles had cheese in them. rather, on them. we'd pour the batter, sprinkle a bit (or a lot) of grated cheddar cheese on top, close the waffle iron and anticipate the crunchy delight that would soon be on our plates. the cheese crisps and is in no way gooey. the salty with the sweet of the syrup is amazing.

i thought everyone ate their waffles this way. i still prefer cheese waffles and have to make plain boring ones for aaron. yuck. for years people would give me the crazy eye when i explain our tradition to them.

not anymore. this ham and cheese waffle article in a foodie magazine is solid proof that waffle creations are branching out and soon my family's culinary genius will be commonplace.

can't wait.

i'd like to apologize

for lots of things in this picture, but i won't.

i've been told that when you apologize in situations such as this, you're actually drawing attention to the thing you're hoping people don't notice.

like saying how bad your handwriting is before writing on a chalkboard. (guilty as charged)

back to the picture. i will apologize for one thing because i'm not sure how someone with eyesight wouldn't notice it.

my random grin. if one could call it that. sadly, we took multiple pictures, but the one where i am talking turned out to be the most suitable for public consumption. sorry.

anywhoo, here is a shot of my growing status, per various requests.

i might have more in a few weeks. i might not. in a few weeks the actual baby will be here, so maybe there will be a new star of the show.

Fuzzibunz

We got our first pair of cloth diapers in the mail today (thank you, Katie!).

I almost died. I almost die each time I look at them.

They are so cute. Words are not enough.

And soft. I wish my underwear was that soft.

And cute!

And these are just the white ones. I can't wait to get the grape and kumquat ones!

I am going to freak out when I see a baby's butt in these things.

Who knew cloth diapers could be so cute?!

update: in fact, i took one of them to church the next day for show and tell. kids bring their latest electronics to show their friends and i bring cloth diapers. go figure.

cinnamon rolls

let's start with a story.

a baking story.

a few years ago I decided to conquer yeast. I love baking and have spent a lot of time with cookies, pies, brownies, quick breads, souffles, and lots of other fun stuff. However, yeast has always scared me. I knew I needed to start some place. Instead of picking something healthy and useful, like bread, I chose cinnamon rolls. I wanted to be one of those mothers that whips up delicious cinnamon rolls that their children's friends love. I needed to find a recipe and make it so often that it became second nature.

since that decision I've made a lot of rolls. I've tried a lot of recipes. Pudding in the mix, instant potatoes, buttermilk, cake flour, the whole bit. Yet, I've never been satisfied.

I made this recipe last night. It is by far the easiest roll dough I've worked with. My blood pressure rises to dangerous levels when the dough sticks to the counter, but I had no problem here. I don't like cream cheese so I took that out of the frosting and it still tasted great. The finished product is pretty delicious and I'm taking them as dessert to a friend's house for dinner tomorrow.

Give the recipe a try!