Hanna: a year in review

We celebrated Hanna's 1st birthday at the end of December!  I thought that it would be fun to showcase her life month by month.  We love to look back and see show she's grown.  Hope you enjoy these photos as you watch her grow with us!

 Your arrival was about a month early but, outside of the first tenuous few days, that was fine with us.  We had, after all, been waiting for you for quite some time!  
December 29, 2010; 4 lbs 8 oz & 19 inches of pure sweetness!

Sleepy girl after her bath

2 month girl snuggling with her Daddy

At 3 months- first time to Eastern WA & the first time she slept through the night!

4 months at Easter

Nice evening outside at 5 months old

6 months at "our" waterfront access to the Sound

Love these animated faces at 7 months

Sitting on her rocking chair in her room

8 months at Crater Lake, OR

9 months on the Oregon Coast, her second visit, but first taste of sand!

10 months- she loved picking at the pumpkin's stem

11+ months playing with her toys

Almost a year, perfect time to introduce Hanny to coffee, right?

Happy 1st Birthday!

Our beautiful & sweet little blessing

Here's what Hanna is up to:

• Stand up & push anything on wheels (ok, wheels aren't required-- perhaps, she's just figuring out how to work her own)
• LOVES to look at books, turn the pages and will sit for a bit while we read them
• Unload the tupperware and other kid-friendly cabinets in the kitchen
• Laughing while she pets Jack and plays his chest like a big drum
• Giving kisses
• Getting attention from strangers. It's amazing what a social butterfly Hanna is.  She unabashedly stare until she is acknowledged and gets a smile.  It's fun to watch some overly serious-looking adults (of all ages) "give in"; eyes brighten, frowns or smirks become smiles- as if you can see hearts being softened a bit!  

Exploring her surroundings-- wipe out!

• Pick her nose-- it's true!  It's inevitable...I'm sure we will be visiting Daddy for extraction of a raisin or pea (or other nasal foreign body) someday. And she thinks it's the funniest thing... sigh
• Playing with the dog bowls (and she loves the hand washing that she gets after, too!)
• Her words:  Dada; Mama; "ack" (Jack); "nigh","nigh" ('nite, 'nite), "na,na" (No) and her new letter is "G"
• Signs with her hands: "all done", "more" and sometimes "milk"
• Makes animal noises: doggie (arf) and monkey (ooh ooh, ahh ahh)
• Stands up in her cribs and nestles into us when we pray at her bedside each night.  Then, once we kiss her goodnight, she collapses backward and goes to sleep.

Feeling grateful

Gratitude wall

We had quite a week! And, while I didn't capture many images with my camera, I'll give you a quick run down. About a foot of snow fell on Wednesday followed by a lovely ice storm on Thursday. The ice storm was just too much for the trees in our area-- with many of them falling, we lost power for about 30 hours.  It really wasn't so bad.  Scott was able to stay home for 2 days and he worked diligently around the house to clear the driveway, start up our gas fireplace for warmth and made some delicious AeroPress coffee (you gotta check out this coffee-making contraption)---and, many other tasks.  The word that best sums up this week for me is "grateful".  I'm so thankful for a God that has provided us with a home and kept us (and our home) safe, a husband that made our powerless home cozy & fun and the return of electricity!  

This past week also reminds me of our magnetic chalkboard wall in our kitchen. (It's yet another sign of Scott's handy work around the house-- a bump-free wall that was meticulously painted with several layers of chalkboard then magnetic paint.)  While our wall is often covered with our "to do list" or a meaningful verse from that week's sermon, it's currently riddled with a phrase (or a word) that reflect our thankful hearts.  

Some of my favorite sayings include "a beauty like Hanna Grace"; there's a magnet of a dog that looks like Jack and a phrase next to it that Scott added "welcome home giggles (Hanna) & wags (Jack & Jill-- yes, I, too, get excited when he comes home); other phrases added by Scott were "a chance to help", "a career" and "kitchen dances that outlast the song".  Some of mine included: "motherhood", "early morning runs", and "friends & family".  This work of art has been up since Thanksgiving and this blog has been a great way to remind me to be thankful for what I have right at this moment. You never know what tomorrow brings...for today my heart is full with thanks!  

First snow of the year

Our getting ready to go outside this morning to check out the snow took much longer than the time we actually spent out there, but these images were so fun to capture!

The pink snow suit (better tolerated than anticipated)

Checking out the sights

Attempting to move

A fistful about to go into her mouth

First taste

She's a big fan!

Love my pink snow bunny

Cioppino with spicy mayo

Not going to humble here...this recipe is AMAZING! And, even though it's not mine (back down to reality), it's from a friend at church, and I'm sure that she'd be fine with me sharing. Besides, it's too G-OO-D not to share!

Anyhow, I made this cioppino for the BCS Championship game on Monday, which was a great way to end the college football season--with good friends & food! If you weren't "invited" no worries, we'll make it for you, too. Or you can give it a shot!

Cioppino
serves 4- double the recipe for 6 with leftovers-- you'll be glad that you did.

2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, seeded & chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes (or puree diced tomatoes)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dry white wine such as Sauvignon blanc
1 bottle of clam juice (Gordon's or Bumblebees)
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp each basil, oregano and thyme leaves, preferably fresh2 pounds boneless, lean fish fillets (or use less fish & add 1/2 lb each prawns, scallops, clams and mussels). We used wild salmon and cod (halibut was a bit too pricey and not available).
S&P to taste (really only pepper is needed due to bouillon cubes)
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat oil, add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until veges are soft. Stir in tomatoes with liquid, wine, clam juice, bouillon cubes, basil, oregano and thyme. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Cool and cover-- this allows all the flavors to meld together overnight. Prepare your seafood: cut fish into 1 inch cubes; devein shrimp, if necessary; and soak clams/mussels in fresh water, if necessary. A note about your seafood-- I'm a strong proponent of buying locally caught wild seafood-- or at least seafood that's wild and a "product of the USA". The farmed stuff is less superior in taste and let's face not so healthy for you. When you're about ready to serve your stew, bring it to a boil again, then add the seafood, reduce heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes. Serve with spicy mayo (sounds interesting, ok...gross), but trust me it's delish.

Spicy Mayo
serves 4

2/3 cup mayo
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt

Serve with rustic, thick sliced french bread and a salad. It's not thick like a stew-- and the bread is a nice compliment to soak up all the goodness. Enjoy!

Evans with a B, please!

I've been inspired to start a blog. Perhaps I have Pinterest to blame, I mean, thank, for this inspiration (so many creative DIY projects and delicious recipes-- I, too, would like to be apart of the fun) or maybe, and most importantly, it's because of my friends who share their lives in such intimate ways through pictures and stories. Nonetheless, I feel like 2012 is all about "getting on board" with the things that I've said "Hey, I'd like to to that". Besides, blogging is an excellent way for me to communicate what God is doing in our lives. This process will not be easy for me (I often cringe at the thought of writing an eloquent thank you note). But perhaps this is a process; about more than perfect grammar, poetic words and eloquently related stories. It's about our journey, our lives...exciting, faith-filled and full of many blessings!

Now, about our Blog address:
"It's like evans with a B" is a phrase frequently heard around our family.  I'm not sure what's so difficult about our last name. In the supermarket, I hear "thank you, Ms. Bee-vans...would you like help out to the car".  No.  No, thank-you. I've got it.  It feels so awkward for me to correct people (at least in that setting), but really?  I've seen our name spelled "Blevins" or "Bevins", which I can understand the later since this is how it's pronounced. Over the phone, spelling our last name is even more mind-bending..."was that v-e-v-i-n-s?" "No, Ma'am (or Sir), I reply "it's like Evans with a B". 


I don't want to sound bitter about this-- in fact, it's quite comical. Scott has a name plate on his desk that was given to him by his chiefs during his R2 year that reads "Scotty Eric Blevins, MD". And so, there you have it... our Web address has been born!
Ironically, I must confess that after I initially published our first blog entry on the new URL domain name... I realized that *I* had mis-spelled "evans".  Guess even I need a catchy reminder-- earning my own mumbly "it's like evans with a B!"