A modge-podge of the last six months

We've since cut Domenic's hair, and I've already forgotten how he looked before his first haircut. But boy, he was (and is) such a cutie!!!








Quinton loves to take pictures. However, I am the type to get dressed and showered only when necessary (such as before piano lessons, or when Antonio is getting home from work!). Hence a lot of pictures of me in my pjs and bed head.



A classic Quinton face.



Romancito (can you tell he's my son? Eyes half closed)



Hanging out



Couldn't you just eat him up?!??



So I walk by the dining room window one day, and out of the corner of my eye I see this dark thing on the window. After a big double-take, I see this monster beetle on the screen! I was too scared to get it all by myself, so I called the neighbor boy down the street (this was when school was out) to help me out. We managed to get it down from the high screen and get it in a plastic container. There was no way I wasn't going to get this guy since my nephew collects bugs.



Here are some pictures of Quinton's swimming lessons. Despite all of Quinton's craziness, he is very skittish around risky things, swimming included. I was so thrilled with how well his instructor worked with him!





My friend Olympia and I started a little business called "There's No Taste Like Home." We got a booth at our local farmer's market. Here we are on our first day. We sell baked goods such as individual sized pies, cookies, and mini-cakes. We also make "grilled breads." We incorporate ingredients into fresh bread dough and then grill it to order on the spot. Our most popular breads were the Crazy Greek (garlic, spinach, olives, feta, and fresh oregano) and Breakfast in Bread (eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese and chives). Our first season went well, we'll see where it takes us!


Scott, Olympia's son, aka the "Slave Driver" ;-)




So I woke up one morning to see this: Roman telling me "I make BIG mess!"

Domenic's First Birthday

Antonio's mother and sister came to visit during the week of Easter. The week also happened to coincide with both my mother-in-law and Domenic's birthday.

The birthday stars!



Domenic seemed more interested in making of a mess of his cake than actually eating it!





Roman and Daddy having a good laugh.



Such cuties!!!



Quinton and Abuela



Hi Roman!!!



We tried to pull the package out of his reach until we could clean him up a little!



Abuela opening her gifts.




Quinton's card to Abuela






Checking out all the loot!

Easter!

I had an itching for baking something fun, but it was still a little early to do Easter-themed treats, so it seemed like the perfect time to make these cupcakes that I have been wanting to do for years, every since I saw them in the "Hello, Cupcake" cookbook. They turned out just like the pictures, which is always very satisfying!




My mom saw this great idea for a Peeps flower in Woman's Day magazine. We made them one afternoon. I saw the carrots in this year's Martha Stewart, and I thought that they were a good combination.



Here is the finished display:



Quinton and I had a great time making our family into pinecone bunnies!



Anyone who knows me well, knows that I LOVE marshmallows. Several years ago I bought a silicone mold for Easter (it was on clearance at Wal-Mart; I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it yet, but I thought it had potential). I was thinking about how much I love chocolate-covered marshmallows, and it occurred to me that this mold would be perfect to make my own. They turned out so-so. I think next time I would use extra-dark chocolate instead of milk and white chocolate. The combination of milk chocolate and marshmallows was just a little too sweet - even for me!





I love making iced sugar cookies, so I thought it would be fun to make them for Easter and not just for Christmas. Coincidentally we had some new neighbors move in, so I made them a tray to welcome them to the neighborhood.

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Of course, there was an Easter party at Quinton's school. Here he is eating his special lunch.



The Easter egg hunt!



Taking a rest after running around!



They had all the kids participate in making cookies, relating each step to a part in the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.



Coloring eggs with Tia Bertha and friend Adriana. We employed a fantastic idea that my mom used to do: Since everyone always wants to color lots of eggs, but I don't necessarily want lots of hardboiled eggs to figure out what to do with afterwards, we color raw eggs. Well actually, Quinton colored hard-boiled eggs, and the adults colored raw eggs.



Okay, so Quinton brought this Easter craft home from school. I have no idea what it is supposed to mean, and Quinton wasn't sure either. I don't know if it is supposed to say "sin" or if he just put some letters on or what. In any case, I get a laugh out of it every time I see it on the refrigerator.



Easter morning. Roman wasn't awake yet, so I didn't get a picture of him in the morning (we have very early church - 8:30 AM), so the kids didn't even really get a chance to eat anything until afterwards. Domenic seemed more interested in the pretend cookies for the play kitchen.