Wyatt's Birthday Session

My sweet baby Wy is a ONE YEAR OLD!! His birthday party was the weekend after his birthday, so on his actual birthday I dressed him up in his birthday outfits and did his birthday photo session (wow I said birthday five times in that sentence!)

First up, since we were throwing him a cowboy party, I found a cute cowboy onesie with a stitched in bandanna and sheriff's badge.

I also tried to get Noah in on the action for a matching brother-cowboy picture, but getting the both of them to cooperate lately is nearly impossible

Next, I changed Wyatt into his cow print tie, diaper cover, and hat for his more official birthday pictures. It was super windy on his birthday, so it was really hard to get a good picture where the balloons weren't flying in his face and he was actually paying attention to me, but I managed to get a few cute ones. Because of the wind, his hat also wouldn't stay on his head.

Finally, I brought out his smash cake and let him have a little fun

Animals and Renaissance Faire

Two weekends ago we really packed in the fun and took the kids to the Zoo and then Renaissance Faire. We had just renewed our zoo membership again since the whole family will be going in a couple weeks and decided, hey let's just go now too.

Noah looks a little freaked out to be in the pouch of this huge marsupial.

He was upset because the wolf was burning his butt

Wiped-out Wyatt

We were wondering what Noah must have thought when he set foot inside the Renaissance Faire, but he seemed to really enjoy it and didn't think it was at all weird to see so many people in character. I was excited that kids were free until I realized that every ride/experience was about $5 once you get inside. Well played Renaissance Faire. We let Noah do the ponies, a butterly ride, and the petting zoo, which of course also had a separate astronomical fee to feed the animals. It is nice to see that Noah is no longer afraid of [most] of the animals.

Wyatt and I waited in the "free zone" outside the pen

 There was a giant pirate ship for Noah to run around in.

 Watching some of the festivities

 Noah had a blast trying on an assortment of medieval hats

Hello Fresh

Life is a little busy right now and we have a hard time planning out a healthy meal to prepare when we finally all get home every night. A friend recommended a new meal delivery service called Hello Fresh and we recently tried it out for two weeks. Once a week the company sends you a large box of fresh ingredients and easy to follow recipe cards for three meals. The ingredients are in the exact proportions needed for the recipes so all you have to do is grab the bag for that night's meal and get to work.

I wasn't sure how it was going to work out because while I love baking, I am like a clueless clown when I try to cook a complex meal. So far we have tried two weeks worth of dinners and I am proud to say that I did every single thing all by myself while simultaneously watching two loony children. And the meals have turned out great. So far we have had:

Crispy Spiced Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Salad:

 Miso Glazed Cod with Broccoli and Ginger Rice:

Mexican Tortilla Stacks with Black Bean Salsa:

Smoky Chicken Skewers with Potato and Corn Salad:

Pork Quinoa Chaufa:

Penne alla Norma:

We put the program on hold the last two weeks and are going to start up again next week. It's nice not having to think about what to make for dinner every night!