Our Best Bites

Dear World:

First off, this is Matt. I figure I should probably clear that up in advance because this fine blog is typically Mimi's platform. Now, onto my message.

I really really really love technology. If you were to tell me that I had to give up my access to the internet and cell phone OR my access to indoor plumbing (which in my opinion are the greatest inventions of the modern era*), I would be hard pressed to make that decision. The quantity and quality (with discretion) of information that is available is incredible.

But, this post isn't a quest to sound like

Kip Dynamite. Let me tell you where this is all coming from: Google Reader tells me when you all put up new posts on your blog, which is great, so I don't have to browse to each individual website just to see if there is something new. Additionally, Reader makes suggestions on blogs I might like, based on the blogs you follow. While I usually ignore these, the other day Reader suggested what has turned out to be my new favorite website, Our Best Bites.

Mimi and I love to cook together. Its a lot of fun to try some crazy recipe and to figure out that its not nearly as difficult as you might have thought. We're always on the lookout for new things to try, and Our Best Bites is a treasure trove of goodness in that regard. Why do I say this? Let me count the ways.

• There are lots of different styles of food--variations on classic recipes, southern food, light food, kid-friendly food, there is a lot of variety, which is great when you're looking for something new
• The level of cooking is just right as far as I'm concerned--the posted recipes are as fun to cook as they are to eat. We're not talking about ridiculously easy recipes here, or about recipes that are going to keep you in the kitchen all day and night.
• The two women who write the blog are also very good with the camera. The pictures they take of their completed food always make it look incredibly delicious, which is always helpful in the inspiration department.

So in summary, I'd just like to say thank you to whoever it is that followed this blog in the first place. Identify yourself, and we'll have you over for some homemade blueberry cheesecake ice cream. That being said, you'd better hurry because its almost gone.

* Yeah yeah yeah. Don't argue with me about when plumbing was invented. I know other cultures had it a long time ago, and blah blah blah. It wasn't available to the majority of the population until the end of the 19th century. And I know its true because the power of the internet told me so!

Two Birthdays

So much to catch up on! Matt and Josh both had birthdays last month (June 24th and June 21st, respectively). Since we were in Redding for both dates, Matt's family had a little Snow family party for them before our trip.

Grandma gave Josh an alphabet delivery truck toy that captivates him for extremely long stretches of time. It's amazing. It makes noises, plays songs, and has a little blond delivery boy that Josh likes to talk to. There is also a mail slot for him to stick the "letters" through, which I thought would be pretty difficult for him. However, this toy has confirmed what a stubborn, persistent, focused boy we have. He will sit there "in the zone" for as long as it takes to get every single letter in the truck. I guess postal workers do have to start training from an early age.

My gift to Matt was one he asked for a long time ago. Actually he wanted the hat, but my dear husband's head is just so large and full of intelligence that Charm City Cakes didn't have a hat that would fit him. (Notice the logo.) The Food Network plays a show called "Ace of Cakes," which is all about this bakery in Baltimore that makes crazy, extreme, custom cakes. We love it! Duff (the main guy) first sparked our interest in cake-making when we saw him using power tools in his decorating. So yeah, we're big fans.


This was Josh's first experience with birthday cake, and probably his first experience with birthday candles, as well. I think he was more interested in the fire than the cake at first. Yep, he's a boy alright.


After finally warming up to the massive cake on his tray, and realizing that Mommy wasn't going to stop him from digging his hands into it, Josh discovered that he definitely likes cake. No surprise there. Is it just me, or does his frosting goatee remind you of an old man baby?

Aunt Stephanie looovvvves rainbow chip frosting! She got a whole extra container of it just for herself to eat with a spoon. Now, if you aren't thinking "Mmmm...I wish that were me," I'm not sure if you can call yourself American.

This is Uncle Andrew's classic way of holding Josh -- feet out, face forward, and one hand under the legs so he can bounce them around in the "Josh dance." Those legs have been flailing around with Andrew since Josh was just a few months old. It's very sweet.

Don't know if you can tell, but these Snow kids sure love pictures. Normal, boring, stoic pictures with blank expressions and little movement. Do you see what I mean?


Lastly, this picture is not from Josh's birthday. I just think it shows a really cute moment a few weeks ago when he was sharing his frozen peas with Grandma. And crossing his little legs, as usual. If he were a girl, I'd call that ladylike, but I'm not sure what it means for little boys. I guess it's just cute??

Baby Talk

My baby boy has started talking! It's been going on for a while now, but his vocabulary has grown so much lately. This morning he was jabbering in his high chair and I thought, "This is so adorable...I never want to forget this stage." So here I am recording his progress like a more organized mother would.
It all started the last weekend of May while I was at Girls Camp -- about six weeks ago. Yes, I missed his first real word. Matt sent me a video message on my phone of Josh dropping things off his high chair and saying "Uh-oh!" I'm sure everyone thinks their baby has the cutest voice in the world, but (from a completely objective viewpoint) I'm pretty sure Josh could beat them all.

Since then, there's no stopping him. I'll point to things and tell him their names while he tries to imitate my words. Of course it's always his own version of the word, but it works for me. I'm so excited that he's trying to become a real person! He seems to understand a lot of what I say now, too. For example, I'll ask him "Where is the tree?" and he'll look up and point to one. It's the same with the objects in his little cardboard baby books. He'll look and point to what I name, as long as it's a word he knows.

Here is the extent of his vocabulary so far (from what I can identify as attempts at words):
"Daddy" -- He actually started saying this before "uh-oh," but since almost everyone seems to be "Daddy" to him, I'm not sure if I count it.
"Uh-oh" -- He says this whenever he drops things or does something he knows he's not supposed to.
"Mimi" -- This is what he usually calls me. He knows how to say Mama, but I think he likes that he gets a reaction from me when he uses my name because he always has this mischievous grin on his face. How did he learn this? My sister Stephanie taught him while she was living with us. Intentionally. Thanks a lot, Steph!
"Kahka" -- Cracker. Literally every time he sees me open the pantry, without exception, he points and says this until I give him an animal cracker. It's so darn cute I just can't say no!
"Na-nigh" -- Night night
"Cah" -- Car
"Khiiii" -- Kitty
"Doddie" -- Doggie
"Gah" -- Ball. Maybe this shouldn't really count, but it's what he always calls a ball, and as long as he's assigning some sort of name to an object, I call that talking.
"Tee" -- Tree
Animal sounds -- most recently for horses, cows, birds, and dogs.

I'm just thrilled that he hasn't learned "NO" yet. I don't need no stinking back-talk from him this early in life! Although he definitely knows what "no" means, he seems to take it as a joke. It's the funniest word in the world to him. He gives a big belly laugh when I say "no" or try to teach him not to do something. It makes it really hard to keep a straight face and show him that I'm not happy.

As far as baby signs go, I don't do them very often. However, he does "all done" every time he finishes his food, waves when it's time to leave or go night-night, and recently started doing "duck" when he sees birds outside or in books. My favorite trick is the hand motions he does to "The Eensy Weensy Spider." A few weeks ago, my sister started singing this to distract him whenever she changed his diaper. For a while there, he would start the hand motions as soon as we laid him down for a change, before we even started singing. It is the cutest thing ever. Hopefully I'll get it on video soon.

Do babies just get more and more fun as they grow older, or should I expect that to stop soon?

Wildhorse Pass Resort Vacation

In the first week of June, Matt's family planned a great vacation right here in the Valley. Instead of spending a bunch of time and money traveling somewhere, we decided to take advantage of the hot deals here in Phoenix. All the resorts here have lower prices in the summer because it's so hot -- not exactly peak season. Wildhorse Pass Resort is about ten minutes from our house, which was nice because Matt's Dad could still work during the day and meet up with us for dinner. The rest of us stayed in two adjoining rooms and spent a few days relaxing and enjoying the nice pools.

The water slide was actually really fun! Matt and his brother Andrew must have gone down about thirty times -- after patiently waiting their turn in a line of excited little children. Matt decided to take Josh down because it wasn't a very big slide.

I'm not sure how much he liked it. His hat fell off on the way down and he made a really sad face for this picture, but he got over it quickly. He's generally a pretty tough kid.

Josh had so much fun with Uncle Andrew in the pool!

Although his face didn't show it very much for the camera, he had fun with his daddy too.

I don't think the men liked it very much when I made a comment about "Josh's two daddies" playing catch with him in the pool. They had a really loud conversation afterward about being BROTHERS, urging Josh's MOTHER a.k.a. Matt's WIFE to get in the pool with her son.

Here are the lovely Snow sisters avoiding the camera and relaxing on the comfy hotel bed. Stephanie is really good at making unrecognizable faces in pictures.

What's a family vacation without a little wrestling between siblings?...Or a lot.

I swear I was there, along with Cheri and Murray (Matt's parents). It just so happens that I was the only one taking pictures again. Shucks, none of me in a bathing suit?! (I might have planned that.) Thanks Snow family for a super fun vacation!

June is Craaaaazy

Wow...June was a busy month!! I apologize for being lame and not posting any news lately. Matt still thinks it's dumb when I post pictures without any text, but I was out of town most of the month and literally only had time to copy some family pics from my Facebook album and stick them on here.

Here's a general update of what the past month has been like for us (with picture previews, of course):

Stephanie (my little sister who just finished cosmetology school) was living with us for about eight weeks to see if she wanted to find a job here. Unfortunately, she decided that Arizona was not for her and moved back home to Redding for the rest of the summer. The first weekend in June, my mom came down here to help Steph move out and drive her home. Josh sure misses his crazy "nanny."

Also the first week of June, Matt's family took us on a totally awesome vacation to Wild Horse Pass Resort! Instead of spending the time and money to travel somewhere, we decided we might as well take advantage of the summer deals here in Phoenix. We spent a lot of time swimming, which Josh absolutely loved! More on that later.

The next weekend, Josh and I left for Redding to visit my family for a couple of weeks. While we were gone, Michelle (Matt's youngest sister) left for BYU. We miss her terribly, but hope she is having the time of her life! Also that week, Matt's dad left for Baltimore to pick up his mother from her mission and drive her back to Las Vegas. Yes, I said DRIVE. They spent two weeks visiting historical sites across the country and got back a few days ago. Just their cup o' tea.

The weekend after that, Matt flew out to California to be with us, just in time for Father's Day and JOSH'S FIRST BIRTHDAY! A few days later it was Matt's 26th birthday. My two boys actually got two birthday parties each because we celebrated with the Snows before we left for Redding. I'll post the adorable pictures of these parties soon.

Finally, last weekend was my cousin Oakley's wedding. Oakley is my "best cousin" or "twin cousin," as we call it. We are very close in age and we grew up a few hours apart from each other, getting together as much as possible. I was sooooo thrilled to be able to go to her wedding! She even asked Matt and me to make her cake, which was definitely a challenge, but worth it. Seeing relatives was great fun, as usual, especially since I'm not sure when we'll see them again after we move to Chicago.

And now we're home, busy as ever with my schoolwork, Matt's job, family, church callings, preparing for the big move, and getting everything squared away with U of Chicago. Life is crazy sometimes, and I'm glad I can at least write it all down once in a while and see that time doesn't just disappear.

More pictures coming soon!