Lemon Martini

We took Olivia to Cowfish for drinks one night.

No lie. 

They said the wait would be 30 minutes.

After grabbing a drink at the bar and waiting 1.5 hours, we left.

They have a lemon martini that is delicious. 

Well .. it comes with sweet and sour mix, which I don't like. If you leave that out, it is delicious. Delicious and dangerous, because its mostly just alcohol. 

At $12 per martini, I was determined to make it at home. 

After four tries and our mouths numb, we figured out the recipe.

You're welcome.

3 parts Lemoncello
2 parts Lemon Vodka
0.5 parts Sprite
(most things say 'splash' of Sprite .. I like to measure)

Mix it all up in a shaker. Add a lemon slice.

I chose to pour it into a champagne glass. I do own martini glasses, but, let's be honest, that's like drinking off of a plate. 

Enjoy.

Five on Friday

1. This is happening.

2. So our table looks like this. Beautiful rubber bumpers.

3. Speaking of tables, this is what a nice dinner in our house looks like.

4. Olivia's new favorite past time.

5. My two favorite children. 

More Eight Month Pictures

Olivia - Eight Months

Weight: 16.5 pounds (30%)
Height: 27.75 inches (80%)

Sleep: She now sleeps 7-7, and I couldn't be happier. For people who tell you you never sleep again, you do. It can just take awhile if you have an Olivia! She naps probably 2-2.5 hours a day - it's not much for her age, but we will take the night time sleep over good naps.

Eating: She loves her milk and drinks a crapton of it a day. She has two meals of solids that are more like a few bites. She doesn't love food. We don't force it. And we have exposed her to SO many different flavors, that I hope she isn't too picky of an eater. But right now, she'd rather play than sit and eat.

Milestones: She's crawling, waving, giving kisses and saying mama. I love her most in the world. 

She stands by herself when holding onto things. I think we've got awhile until she's walking, but she's working on those leg muscles now. 

Clothes / Diapers: Still size 3 diapers, but clothes are all over the place. She's mostly true to size. She has some 12 month pants that fit, and some 3-6 month pants...even in the same brand.

Best Moment of the Month: I am going to pick two. When she said 'mama' on Mother's Day. (Dan is working on 'dada' today). And when she gave me a kiss for the first time. Just when I think I can't love this girl any more, my heart grows even bigger.

Parent of the Month Award: This goes to me. I read a BabyCenter article that children like spices and that you can add (non-salt) spices to their foods. I made her green beans and she really didn't like them. I thought I would take the advice and add the teeniest bit of garlic to her green beans. I mean, I couldn't even taste it, but figured we would start small. When I gave her her next bite she literally burst into tears. She was crying and looking at me like 'How could you do such a thing? I trusted you!' Apparently, garlic is very offensive to Olivia. 

Favorites: She still loves anything that isn't a toy. Right now the favorites are Koda's food and water bowls and electrical cords. We spend our days pulling her away from them. She loves when I make smoothies and she gets to drink them out of a big girl cup. She loves plastic bags and mail - both things she's also not allowed to have. I got her a bunch of bath toys, even one that is a basically a sponge covered in a washcloth. All she wants is the actual sponge or actual washcloth. Preferably when filled with soap. Girl cries over garlic, but Burt's Bee's Baby Wash ... delish!

Overall, she's just such a happy baby. I hope she never loses her joy for life!

Happy Father's Day

Happy first Father's day to Olivia's favorite daddy and hand's down the best husband I have ever had. :)

Olivia loves him so much, she just lights up when he comes home from work. I love seeing them together and the joy they bring each other.

His present from Olivia:

Brew Crawl

We went to Greenville last weekend. Kylie and Justin organized a brewery crawl. Blair and Brett allowed us to ransack their house for a night. It was a weekend we couldn't pass up.

Greenville is only an hour and a half away, but we don't get down there nearly often enough. I wish these girls lived in my neighborhood. I could walk to their house barefoot with two glasses of wine in hand.

Maybe thats why they don't live in our neighborhood.

They're worried I'll stumble over there drunk and shoeless.

In other alcoholic news, Olivia has now toured four different breweries.

The bus was set up limo style where all the seats face each other. I contacted Kylie "'Can I bring my baby on the bus?' isn't in the FAQ." Kylie replied, "Justin emailed the guy. Olivia is in!" 

We showed up with a car seat. A car seat base. A small child. A giant diaper bag that I think I could fit in. The baby bjorn. And a small cooler of milk. We're always that couple. 

The bus started at the Growler Station and then went to three local breweries for tours and tastings, and back to the Growler Station.

Snacks around the neck. What's better?

We strapped Olivia's carseat into the bus seat. Dan wore her in the bjorn for the tours, and back in the carseat for the rides. 

The pictures are so blurry - apparently our tour guide is good at beer, but not photography. 

Swamp Rabit - Dan and my favorite beer:

The brewery owner is the man in black. I couldn't hear a word he said. 

We forgot to take a picture at Brewery 85. But the tour guide (maybe the owner?)'s wife was pregnant and she was so happy to see Olivia. She had hope that her life wasn't over post baby.

Lastly, we went to Quest. 

Olivia started to enjoy my pretzel necklace after having some of Blairs at Brewery 85.

Back to the Growler station we went.

The boys went and grabbed pizza at mellow mushroom and we played games while eating pizza. 

Tour guide is second from the left. Not that you couldn't figure that out. Bottom right is half the crap we brought with us. 

Dan bought a beer that was aged in bourbon barrels. It was delicious. He took a picture so we wouldn't forget it.

Olivia made it almost all day with no nap, but around 830 we headed back to Blair and Brett's to get her to bed. 

Next stop is NoDa Brewery in Charlotte - so Olivia can say she's toured 5  breweries before her first birthday. 

Five on Friday

I want to do these more, because none of the below calls for a whole blog post. So I end up not posting anything. 

Our week, five on Friday style.

1. On my way to work I saw a lady running while smoking a cigarette. A lot went through my mind. But, mostly, I was impressed with her multitasking abilities. 
2. We took Olivia to Cowfish for drinks last night in her monkey jammies and metallic gold bow. She's already starting her own fashion trends.
3. She mauled the bartender that was carrying a bottle of wine and a glass of wine. If she was going for the bottle, she's definitely my child.
4. In a move of desperation, I gave Olivia Dan's iPad. She downloaded Disney's Frozen app and started playing with it. It was $2.99. Wtf.
5. On Wednesday I came home to our hose leaking a geyser of water about 12 feet in the air. My dad's theory? The hose blew out. My theory? An animal thought it was a snake and attacked it. The world may never know. 

Aren't you glad those were not five separate posts?

Happy Friday. Happy weekend. And, most importantly, happy national donut day!

THESE two

I just did a post called "These Two," but seriously ...

THESE two.

I walked into the bathroom for some reason. And walked right back out to get my phone. 

His face.

Her face.

Be still, my beating heart.