1) On Izzy’s second birthday, she sang the alphabet song all the way through, by herself.

2) After Izzy’s second birthday party, she sang, “Happy Birthday, two years old” for several days.

3) She still talks about cake.

4) Izzy is really getting in to role playing. She loves to change her doll’s diaper and put all her babies to bed.

5) Pretend games are happening more and more. She would often “feed” me a bowl of strawberries at bedtime. Her latest favorite is playing tea party with the new tea set from Green Toys.

6) This kid is getting a little sassy. Our conversation went something like this:
Izzy: Mama, I need a bicycle for my bath.
Me: You don’t need a bicycle for your bath.
Izzy: Whatever, Mama.

7) Izzy is starting to give me kisses and tell me she loves me without any prompting. I am in heaven.

8 ) She’s losing her adventurous spirit with food. It’s all about the cheese and crackers now. She won’t even eat her beets anymore. I’m so sad.

9) Whenever I draw something for her (kitty, bunny, fish, octopus), she needs to give it whiskers.

10) Now that we have noise muffling, blackout blinds in her room, she’s falling asleep faster and sleeping in later.

Up next: major eye rolling, stomping out of the room and slamming of doors.

As a small token of our appreciation, we hosted a dinner party last night. I made Halibut en Papillote and Quinoa with roasted veggies. It was easy to prepare and rather tasty! It was fun to hang out with everyone since I usually don’t see anyone because I’ve already left for work. The girls were a bit wild during dinner though. I thought we could set up a kids table, and it started off okay, but within minutes, we realized that we really should have strapped them down in the high chairs. They’re just not quite ready for that kind of freedom yet.

Halibut en Papillote.

1 zucchini
1 crook neck squash
1 carrot
1 small red onion
4 cloves garlic
1 lemon
2 halibut steaks
salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary

Preheat oven to 400. Slice zucchini, squash, and carrots. Slice red onion into rings; cut rings in half. Halve garlic cloves. Toss vegetables with spices and divide among two sheets of parchment paper. Place a halibut on top of each stack of vegetables. Squeeze fresh lemon over fish and vegetables. Top with a slim pat of butter (optional) and a slice of lemon. Fold parchment paper into a package and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes. Remove from paper (watch out for the steam) and serve.

Quinoa and Vegetables with Citrus Vinaigrette

* Cut 1/2 pound asparagus into 2-inch pieces and place on a shallow roasting pan with about 1 cup cherry tomatoes
* Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
* Roast in 425°F oven, stirring once or twice, until tender (about 15 minutes), then cool to warm
* While veggies roast, whisk together 2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice, 2 teaspoons mild honey, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl
* Add 4 cups cooked quinoa, roasted vegetables, and 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint to the bowl and stir gently to combine

Generous pinch of saffron threads
1 cup dry white wine
17.6 oz fresh pasta or 8.8 oz dried pasta
1 tbsp oil
6 spring onions, sliced
1 stick of celery, chopped
1lb peeled prawns, cooked
17.6 oz FAGE Total Yogurt
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
Small bunch fresh dill, chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Soak saffron in 1tbsp wine, while the rest of the ingredients are prepared.
2. Cook pasta according to pack instructions.
3. Meanwhile, cook spring onions and celery in oil in a frying pan for about 1 minute.
4. Add wine to the pan and boil over a high heat until reduced by two-thirds. Stir in FAGE Total Yogurt, mustard, saffron and dill.
5. Drain pasta and serve into warmed dishes.
6. Add seafood to the mixture in the pan, heat through and pour it over pasta.
7. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese.

Chef’s tip

Prawns can be substituted with smoked salmon, or cooked chicken pieces

I found this recipe on the Fage USA site and it sounds pretty awesome and easy to make. I actually went to the site today see if there was a contact us or suggestion box and was pleased to find a recipe section. I’m always on the lookout for a new, easy to prepare and nutritional meal. They have quite a few recipes that I want to add to my repertoire.

I love their yogurt because it is so tasty and the nutritional values are excellent. I’ve also been using it as a substitute for sour cream for a while now. Izzy totally loves Fage yogurt (with no sweeteners added!). I hope the Fage folks make a kid friendly tube that is easy to grab when you’re on the go.

She learned about wine over a week ago when my friend, Jaime, came over for dinner. We opened a bottle, poured ourselves a glass and said, “Cheers!” while clinking our glasses. Izzy thought this was the most awesomest thing she’s ever seen and now raises her sippy cup and shouts, “Cheers!” whenever she’s drinking.

The funny thing is that I don’t drink anything other than water. I may have an occasional root beer or a cup of tea, but that’s about it. It’s only been recently that I’ve started to drink wine again after about three years. The previously mentioned bottle was the first I’ve opened since I found out I was pregnant.

Tonight, Izzy got a little confused when I pulled out a Guinness from the fridge to have myself a little St. Paddy’s day toast. She pointed and asked wine? And I replied, “no sweetie, this is beer.”

Now everything is beer, and I am trying to teach her how to say Sláinte. Does that make me a bad parent?

My mom said I picked up the same word when I was a toddler. She said she started to say Sugar Honey Iced Tea instead. I don’t think I’ll remember to say that many words when I’m upset by the rotten cat.

Fortunately, I was prepared with Plan B. I brought her backpack stuffed full of toys she hadn’t seen in weeks, books, crayons, paper and an iPhone filled with Disney movies. I pulled each item out one at a time and was able to keep her attention in 10 minute increments.

Once we cycled through all of the toys, I brought out snacks–Goldfish, raisins and pumpkin pancakes. When her belly was sated, we cycled through the toys one more time. The flight was just over two hours and we made it through without much fuss.

The second leg was much shorter–35 minutes. Daddy was in charge of her for that trip. I used that break to my full advantage and ordered a glass of wine and watched part of a grown up movie with cussing and everything! It was awesome. One of these days l’ll be able to finish that movie.

We had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa Cowboy’s house. We played in the snow, went swimming, played with the kitty, and took lots of naps. Oh yeah and I came down with a lovely case of Pink Eye.

The flight home was just as easy–no, actually easier–than the flight out. She fell asleep for the second, longer leg of the trip. I took advantage and ordered a cocktail. I tried to finish the movie I started on our way out, but my headphones weren’t working. It didn’t matter. I had my drink and a little bit of peace among the dull roar of the plane.

We have determined that Izzy is an awesome traveler and we’re making plans for our next trip to San Diego.

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The other day Izzy was playing quietly with her toys. She was wrapping her stuffed animals in a blanket and lying them down. I asked her a question–maybe inquiring if she was hungry. I just don’t remember because i was taken aback by her next move. She raised her finger to her lips and she shushed me! SHUSHED ME! She was putting her babies to sleep and didn’t want me to wake them.

I immediately felt scandalized and elated at the same time. No one likes getting shushed, but that was one of the funniest things I’d seen her do. I broke out into laughter (wrong wrong wrong) so now she does it whenever she plays her sleeping game with her babies.

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My kid is typical. Potty humor makes her laugh. When ever she passes gas, she screams, “farting, farting, farting,” and laughs maniacally. I don’t know who taught her this trick, but it was hard to stiffle a snicker (wrong wrong wrong), so she just got encouraged to keep it up.

I’m trying to not raise a savage, so for the last few weeks, I didn’t laugh or smile when she did this. You have NO IDEA how hard that was. It really is funny to hear a little a kid chant farting, farting, farting.

Tonight was a little different. My sweet little angel farted during her bath, and then she said, “pardon me.” What?! And then she repeated it. That’s right. Pardon me. I showered her with praise and hope this trend continues.

I’m so proud of my little girl. I just might succeed at raising a child with manners after all.

When they bagged up the pajamas, they left them on the hangers. When we got home, I gave them too her. She’s been playing “shopping” ever since. It’s the cutest little pretend game ever! She picks up the PJs one by one and inspects them, oohs and ahhs, then walks around house showing them off. Too bad I need to take them from her so I can send them to laundry. I’ll just have to put something else on the hanger so she can continue the game.