Oh, Riley

I know I have posting a lot about Riley, but she has been funny a lot lately.

Riley likes to twirl anytime that she gets into a dress or skirt. Last night, after her bath, I put her "dress" pajamas on. Before she would let me comb her hair she had to twirl around for me. Every time she twirls around it is mandatory for someone to tell her that she is gorgeous, so of course, I did. "Yes, Mom, I'm beautiful. I'm a princess."

Head, shoulders, knees and. . .nipples?!

This morning we were invited out to the playground to play with Molly and Anna Eccles. While getting ready to go out, Riley, who has been obsessed with this body part lately, lifted up her shirt to point out her nipples to me. Then she pointed to Justin and said, "Daddy has nipples." Yep, Daddy has nipples. "Mommy has nipples." Yep, Mommy has nipples, too. "Molly has nipples." She then lifted up her shirt again, pointed out her nipples and said, "Riley show Molly nipples." We then explained to her that, yes, Molly did have nipples like Riley, but no, she couldn't show them to Molly. To say the least, she wasn't thrilled with this answer.

Thank you Sponge Bob

Riley had to go to the bathroom during Sacrament Meeting today. She loves going to the bathroom because she gets to get up, run around, get a drink and because the bathroom echoes when she yells. I try to keep her reverent, but it doesn't always go so well. After choosing a stall--which can sometimes be a lengthy process--we went in and I asked her to pull her panties down. Her response was, "Ay ay captain!" After finishing, I asked her to wipe, again her response was, "Ay ay captain!" I"m beginning to think that our day of cartoon vegging may have been to big of an influence!

strawberry picking

here we are picking strawberries at greg's u-pick.



riley and i at our picking best!



valen inspecting her most recent pick.


i'm not sure what my thought is on this strawberry, but it tasted good when we dipped it in chocolate.


a good harvest and a good time!

riley

so my excuse for not blogging lately has been that our camera broke. once we got a new one we didn't know how to format the pictures correctly. now that i have let justin work out all of the kinks and figure things out, i can post stuff once again!


here is riley enjoying a hot dog BUN at valen's frienship day.



here we see not only riley's cuteness, but also justin's amazing photographic talents. i once told justin that we need to take more pictures of him, but he told me that in an artistic sense you can see him.



here is riley enjoying a store bought packaged brownie. i know, i know what you're thinking, but it was a special occasion.



here is riley enjoying a bath.

riley is enjoying the new camera almost as much as justin is. every time we pull it out, she insists on taking a "smile," and then seeing it afterward.

Simple Quinoa and Wild Rice Pilaf

This one has quickly become a favorite around our house. It is simple and packed full of nutrition and protein.


Simple Quinoa and Wild Rice Pilaf

~ ½ C wild rice
~ 1 C quinoa
~ 1 vegetable bullion cube
~ 2 T butter or margarine
~ 2 scallions, thinly sliced
~ salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Combine the rice with 1 ¼ C water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
2. Add the quinoa, bouillon cube, and 2 C water. Cover and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, 15 minutes.
3. Stir in the butter and scallions. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Smoothies!

I needed to type these up for a friend, so I thougt I would post them. They are from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook--one of my favorite cookbooks.

Sunshine Smoothie
~ 2 ripe bananas, broken into several pieces
~ 1 C pineapple juice
~ ½ C orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
~ 1 C lemon or orange yogurt

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed.


Cinnamon Apple or Pear Smoothie
~ 1 ripe banana, broken into several pieces
~ 2 medium soft apples (such as Cortland or Golden Delicious) or ripe pears, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
~ 1 C vanilla yogurt
~ 1 C apple juice or apple cider
~ ¼ t ground cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed.


Nutty Chocolate-Banana Smoothie
~ 1 large banana, broken into several pieces
~ 1 ½ C chocolate milk (chocolate soy, hemp or almond milk works well too)
~ 1 heaping T peanut butter or cashew butter

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed.


Hope you enjoy!