Merry Christmas and Monkey

My dad came over last night to make good on his Christmas present to us, a gourmet trout dinner caught and cooked by him. I know I've been posting about food lately, but this was just so good. He came over, with all the ingredients and cooked in my kitchen. He wrapped some large scallops in a strip of trout, kind of like fillet mignon. Then stuck a toothpick through to hold it in place and pan fried them. He made a pineapple reduction to put on top with a fresh slice on the side. Then we had creamed red potatoes with onions, and asparagus with cotija cheese on top. I am a big fan of scallops now, they were the best I've ever had. My dad really spoils my appetite for fish cooked anywhere else by anyone else. And for anyone who thinks they don't like fish, I dare you to try what I had last night and not love it. Merry Christmas to me!! Just another reason why I like Christmas all year long. This picture does not look very appetizing, but let me tell you one more time, it was divine.
In other news, Peter has fallen in love with his Monkey. He has had a thing for this monkey since he was 4 months old. He would smile at it when I brought it out and thought it made cool and funny noises to imitate, but that was the extent. Lately, he has learned how to say Monkey and has since grown more attached by the day. He asks for it at bedtime, if I pick him up and don't pick up the monkey at the same time, he'll fuss and reach for it until I pick up the monkey. He hugs it and talks to it, it is so strange to see someone so small attached to something already. It is completely adorable though. I need advice. He isn't to the point yet where if the monkey isn't there is a complete disaster. If I had Monkey take a little vacation, Peter wouldn't care. Should I let him get so attached that he cries and won't go to sleep or go somewhere without this monkey? He already sucks his thumb for comfort, and as cute as it is to see him love this stuffed animal, I'm afraid for it to get too intense. Is that silly? Any advice or experience to share?

You might get motion sickness when you watch this video, just fyi. It's still worth posting though, because after over a year and a half, Peter is finally pseudo crawling. I just about started to cry when it happened the first time. He still doesn't have the stamina to do it a lot, especially since scooting on his bum really gets the job done. But he is there and getting stronger everyday.

Ben and I went out for Valentine's Day, it was the best date we've had since Peter was born I think. Mostly just because we feel (pretty much) totally fine leaving him now, we even allowed a sitter under the age of 20 to babysit. Still, it feels kind of like the thrill of doing something you weren't supposed to as a teenager, I was pretty much giddy to be out for so long, yet feeling calm about it. Peter did amazing with the sitters(we had two since we started early), and the second one said he giggled as she changed his diaper and put him to bed. What? Who is this child? Actually it's not totally uncommon, but with a sitter, miraculous. Speaking of diapers, Ben informed me on our date that he doesn't plan on changing my diapers when I'm old. I thought that was really funny, luckily, or I may have been offended. Forget Valentine's Day, he was just buttering me up to break that news. The Blind Side put me in a really good mood. Such a good movie! I love Sandra Bullock in that role. Ben and I were wondering how the black community would respond though, making her seem like such a saint, even a renegade saint, for what she did. The righteous white woman. Kind of interesting. Anyway, sorry if I'm politically incorrect, I can't keep up with the right terminology sometimes. Here's another recommend: B.O.C. Margherita pizza at Michelangelo's by Brickyard. Delish, and not too spendy.

This is a little catch up post.
Sidenote: to those of you who talked about "Nearer" in the comments, my friend Sarah plays on that album! She is amazing and I'm going to throw a house concert for her in a couple months so you can hear her live! Stay tuned, seriously. Now back to my post.
First off, Happy Birthday to the Kingfish. Peter even learned to say it this week, he says "King-king" like Lainey used to. My dad is the most interesting person I know. That is truth. My relationship with him has become very sweet since my mom died and he was also there for me when I was grieving over the potential loss of my baby and then his complications. It was great to celebrate him this year. Here we are getting sushi at Iciban, a family regular.

Silly. Some of the funniest people I know are at this table.

My neighbor Natalie had extra buttercream frosting and fondant and let me use it to make this cake. It was so fun to do, although I was surprised at how hard the fondant was to roll out, I will definitely attempt this again, and learn a few tricks from Natalie.

In other news, I tried yet another type of milk for Peter. Goat's milk. I think this is the 8th different formula/milk/whatever that we've tried. We've tried everything in the book, even the 50 dollar a can stuff that no one is supposed to be allergic to. He throws up everything, and yet, he's been tested for allergies and has none. Crazy! I used to try putting in all formula, then realized that was stupid so I tried half formula and half milk. Then I thought, well, maybe that's still too strong, so on the next trial I just tried one syringe of formula in a bag of milk. He threw it up. So this time around I thought, I'll put just one drop of goat's milk in the bag, which is pretty much a whole bottle of breastmilk. He threw it up!!! ONE DROP. That is one sensitive stomach. So I am at a loss for what to do. I think I'll be pumping for the rest of my life. I laugh that I commemorated 100 hours of pumping in the first few months. I've probably pumped for a month straight at this point. It's no big deal anymore, which is nice. And I'm thankful for the extra antibodies through the cold season, he hasn't been sick yet this year. Nevertheless, I really hope I can find some other way for him to eat some day in the not too distant future!
Another crazy note, our ward split again. This is the third time. I'm glad though, it was needed and people were falling through the cracks.
I love candy hearts, and usually always like the white and pink best, depending on the brand. But yellow is my new favorite color of candy hearts. Such a surprise. I wait for them to come out all year, and when I can't wait, I buy Necco's. I also wanted to say, if you haven't read The Poisonwood Bible, you should. I just re-read it. It is the most impressive writing I've read recently, so well crafted.

Giveaway to Seattle

Rachel Thurston, an impressive photog, is having an impressive giveaway on her blog, a trip to Seattle! Wha? Here are some of her cool pics. Click here to go to her blog.