:: potty time ::

Picture taken right after T's first successful "dropping off of the kids at the pool" (he is excitedly telling daddy all about it on the phone.)

Okay, so it wasn't THAT bad!

In fact...it was pretty smooth sailing teaching Tate how to use the "big boy potty." Tate and I spent the better part of the first week in the bathroom, having quality potty time together. I don't think we left the house at all for that week, let alone the bathroom. It was fun teaching Tate all about using the potty and that gas (which Tate calls "grass" while waving his hand in the air to show that it is just that) is not one of them. I love that he calls his business "yellow" or "BIG poops!" And yes, the automatic flushing toilets do cause a big scare. After two weeks of continual trips to the bathroom, positive reinforcement, little chocolate chips, and running around the house naked he is officially potty trained. =)

What a good little boy I have!!!

:: artists ::

I think Tate is quite the artist (must be the Browne side of the family)!


I've been meaning to cut their hair for months now...but look at that little face!

Lou coloring his very first picture/eating his first crayon.

kissable fingers...

& toes.

:: The BEST Caesar Salad ::

Creamy Caesar Salad

6 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup mayonnaise
5 anchovy fillets, minced (tastes great without these too!)
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups day-old bread, cubed

1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

*Read the entire instructions below before beginning (I didn't the first time I made this and really messed up!)

Mince 3 cloves of garlic, and combine in a small bowl with mayonnaise, anchovies, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cut the remaining 3 cloves of garlic into quarters, and add to hot oil. Cook and stir until brown, and then remove garlic from pan. Add bread cubes to the hot oil. Cook, turning frequently, until lightly browned. Remove bread cubes from oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place lettuce in a large bowl. Toss with dressing, remaining Parmesan cheese, and seasoned bread cubes. ENJOY!!!

:: XoOxXOooXxxOX ::

We had the most amazing sky here in Lehi...breathtakingly beautiful!!! It had been raining off and on and the combination of the clouds, colors, lighting, and mountains made for a scene right out of the movies. On our drive to Costco for some shopping and a slice of pizza, I pointed it out to Tater. He loved it too!!! He held his toy tractor on his lap and pointed out something to me- all the other tractors by the church under construction near our home. He was very excited about the close resemblance to his toy and that they were also "orange." And then out of no where moments later Tater peeped out from the backseat something I love, and it went like this...

Tate: "I wanna talk to Jesus...Jesus in the sky"
me: "Okay, sweetie...just say a prayer and you can talk to him!"
Tate: "...and kisses too."
me: "awe."
Tate: "I give Jesus BIG hug!!!"
me: "Someday you will give Him a big hug, honey." =)
Tate: "okay."

me: "we love Jesus!"

Tate: "I love Jesus soooooooooo MUCH!"

:: you're the good things ::

...thanks to my Annie for capturing my sweeties!

:: i want that ::

:: adorable top from Anthropologie ::

:: plate or...

these vintage ABC Charts (actually anything) from one of my favorite online shops, Three Potato Four ::

:: Linda & Harriett 2010 Calender ::

:: Sheree's Running Play list ::

:: mypublisher...a good way to make photo albums ::

:: stylin' chore chart from Martha Stewart ::

:: acrylic drawer organizers from the container store ::

:: A Little Sussy's favorite polishes: strawberry margarita (toes) and spaghetti strap (fingernails) ::

:: Hang'em Awl ::

:: I have got to get my hands on these adorable/clever Bentos lunch boxes...they take packing lunches to a whole new level ::

:: this drink that can (hopefully still) be found at Costco ::

"You can't make footprints in the sands of time if you're sitting on your butt, and nobody wants to make buttprints in the sands of time."

-from my friend, Spencer Tompkins' Blog

...LOVE IT!!!

:: kids do & say the funniest things ::

While hanging out with my boys on the floor I hear Tate toot.

me: "Tate did you just toot?"

Tate: "no."

me: "Tate...you tooted."

Tate: "My poops talkin' !!"

...so true, so true.

:: the BEST cake I have ever made! ::

image via stephmodo

Coconut Layer Cake with Lemon Curd & Cream Cheese Frosting
from the kitchen of Stephmodo

Cake:
3 egg whites + 2 whole eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2 1/3 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
---
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
2/3 cup lemon curd (homemade is BEST!)

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Using a mixer, beat the following ingredients together until light and fluffy:

1 lb. cream cheese, softened
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
zest of one lemon
5 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a parchment circle and butter the circle and sides.

2. Put the egg whites, whole eggs, 1/2 cup milk and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk to mix thoroughly and then set aside.

3. In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, beat the dry ingredients for about 20 seconds to break up any lumps. Add the butter and coconut milk on low speed and beat to combine. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy about 2 minutes.

4. Add the egg white mixture in 2 or 3 additions, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Divide the batter evenly amongst the pans.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for 15 minutes. Then, turn the cakes out and place on a wire rack to cool.

6. To assemble the cake, place one layer, flat side up (bottom of cake) on a cake platter. Tuck pieces of parchment paper under the cake to protect the platter from frosting splatter. Cover the cake with 1/3 cup lemon curd. Cover the lemon curd with approximately one cup of frosting; spread evenly before sprinkling with some coconut. Repeat with each layer.

7. Garnish top and sides with remaining sweetened coconut. Chill cake for about 30 minutes just to set the frosting (you don't want to dry it out). Enjoy!!!

:: your favorite place in the entire world is in my arms ::

How fast the time I have held you in my arms has flown by...you are already ten months old! Before we know it we will be celebrating your birthday and sending you off to college soon after that (and I will cry at both of those events.) I make sure to really connect with you everyday, trying to permanently embed in my memory everything about you: what you smell like, the sound of your sweet raspy voice, that you love pat-a-cake and always clap along, how efficient you are at scudding across the floor army style and sometimes decide to crawl like a big boy, that you climbed your first stairs just the other day at the cabin in Bear lake with many onlookers to cheer you on, the little rash you get under your bottom lip from your Binky, how ticklish your back and ribs are, the way you reach for me every time you see me and cry when I don't take you in my arms, how much you love your Binky/"ba ba"/ "na na"/fingers/ anything you kind find of the floor...basically anything that can go in your mouth, how cute you are sitting in the tub next to Tate surrounded by bubbles and 20 different toys, your intense blue eyes, that you just started giving your first kisses upon request...open mouth and all, the way you say "yeah yeah" and shake your head up and down anytime we ask you a question, the resemblance you have to your Grandmama Weeks and her side of the family, how much you love me and that I can tell you love me more than anything else in this world, that you can now do peek-a-boo all by yourself, how much your personality reminds me of myself, how much i love to nibble on your ears and kiss your neck, the way you look in your crib waiting for someone to come get you with imprints of your "night night" on your red face and tear streaked cheeks, that you can hold your "ba ba" all by yourself...but I like to do it anyways to spend that special time with you, how you always bop along to my silly beats, when you reach your little hand out to anything or anyone that you want, how soft your skin is and your firm round baby bottom, the love you have for your family, how excited you get talking to daddy on the phone and try your best to talk back, that you cry everytime I put you down and giggle with delight when I pick you up, how cute your coloring is, your love for Cheerios, how much you love to dance...especially in the kitchen, that you hate being alone, the way you pull yourself up on something to stand and hold on tight for support, how you arch your back if you don't get your way, the sound of your baby cry and that frequently it sounds like "maaaa ma", how tired you are of rice cereal, when you rub your eyes because you are tired, that you make daddy's day when snuggle with him, how special you feel when you get time with daddy and I all by yourself, that you don't really care for TV and books as much as your big brother, that you like to play with my jewelry (especially my big turquoise ring), how content you are being held by a stranger, that you are a true "mama's boy", and just how strong your sweet spirit is! I want to remember just the way you are at this moment forever!!! And when I am old and grey I can think of you and feel that joy all over again.

Levi Timothy, WE LOVE YOU beyond expression!