Our pad

For any of you that haven't been to our place, this is our little house. Our street is only 3 blocks long (Ogden blocks are long and skinny, we're on the skinny end) so we don't get much traffic, which is nice. There is about 3-4 feet of snow in this picture. The sad, skinny little tree in the front yard is the ONLY thing growing on our lot that is not grass (or weeds). For me, you know, this is a tragic thing that needs to be fixed ASAP. But, alas, as we are renting, I don't have much control over the situation. I am, however, working on a plan with our landlords to get some plants in the ground and hopefully a garden in the backyard this spring. Oh, and in case you are thinking, "hmmm, that house doesn't look very big,"- it's not! But we are happy here and have made a comfortable home.

William report

William is so strong! He loves to pull up on anything and everything, reach his hands as far as they will go, and pull whatever he can reach onto the floor. We have about a 6-inch clearance around the edges of our desk and counters at this point. Greg blames me for this behavior because my parents said I did the same thing when I was a kid, but at least we don't have any china for him to find like I did!

Will can feed himself with a spoon and says Uh-Oh whenever he drops something (even when it's on purpose). If I ask him to show me he can point to the light in any room, mommy (sometimes), the kitty, a window, and a picture of a star in his room. He sat down at a piano for the first time on Saturday and loved playing the keys. I think he has a real connection with the music, but we'll probably wait a couple more weeks before starting lessons :)

Yummy

We have discovered the best brownie recipe ever. I am not necessarily the biggest brownie fan, but these are excellent and only get better with age. They are easier than they sound (let's be honest, if I can do it, anyone can), so give them a try!

1 1/4 cups cake flour (I just used all-purpose)

1/2 tea. salt

3/4 tea. baking powder

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 6 1-inch pieces

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1. Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth.

3. Remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla.

4. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.

5. Transfer batter to 9 x 13- inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread with spatula until even. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack 2 hours.

Happy Birthday Will!

Little Mr. William turned 1 on Jan. 4. We celebrated with a little party at Grandma and Grandpa Buroker's house. Will was very pleased with all his gifts and enjoyed his cake. He's normally a neat eater, but who can resist smearing frosting around?

We got Will into his 1-year doctor's check-up a couple weeks late, but as his mother I am pleased to report he came in at an impressive 28 lbs (95th percentile), 33 inches (99th percentile), and a head size in the 100th percentile!

William is a proficient crawler and enjoys chasing or being chased around the house. He can cruise along the couch and around the coffe table, but he knows crawling will get him where he wants to go the fastest. He waves bye-bye, plays patty-cake, and his favorite toy is the computer mouse which he can just now reach (despite the fact that he has a bucket of toys 3 feet away and filled to the brim...) Will is a very good-natured little boy and the center of our family.

Snow!!!

We have so much snow! Greg measured 28" last night, but it's still falling. Will is 33" tall, so you can see how much there is from the picture. The snow banks along our driveway are up past my waist. We tried to play with Will in the snow but he doesn't really like it. He can't walk, so he just sits there and gets cold.