Sunriver.

Park and I have been 'on tour' the last two weeks, which is a lot more dreamy and adventuresome sounding than the reality of sleeplessly living out of our suitcase with a mostly crabby, sick and teething toddler plus a mostly single mother trekking up and down i5 throughout Western Washington, and Central Oregon.

That said, I truly cannot complain about the twice-yearly opportunity we have to join my folks for a beautiful week in Bend. I'm a Washingtonian through and through, however every time I'm in Bend, I ponder how I might possibly manipulate, bribe, or train my Husky loving husband to turn a blind eye to the thousands of multicolored and oversized "O"'s proudly plastered to the windshields and bumpers of every third Subaru and Rav4 we pass along the Oregon highway. Although he would most likely be disgusted to live in the green and yellow land o' the Oregon Ducks, sports teams and car stickers aside, I do believe we'd be mightyyyy happy to call this beautiful and lovely place home. Although for now it's known as our home away from home and very favorite vacation spot, and that'll do for both the Husky loving husband and his Central Oregon loving lady.

Husband of the Year [or just plain crazy] made the 8 hour trek to spend his one day off with us.

"Heeeeeey, grandpa! My parents want me to look their direction so I'm going to continue to lock eyes with you. This Christmas card shoot is overrated, anyways."

What you can't hear or see is the really unhappy camper on dad's shoulders.

But here he is! And why didn't anyone warn me the terrible twos began at one?

Christmas Card Outtake #39

Happy Sweet Treats Day!

92 pictures of my favorite alligator // croc // dragon // monster

And the world's dirtiest sock award goes to ... Parker J!

15 months.

This happy camper is 15 months today! Okay, he's not happy at all, but I'll cut the cutie some slack and cuddle his buns a bit more than usual, as he was poked and pricked a whopping five times at our well child check. While there, we learned he's currently rockin' out in the 90th percentile for height and 15th percentile for weight, with a real big noggin to boot. 

Miss America Cookies.

I am a lover of all things coconut. Coconut La Croix. Coconut Rice Krispies. Coconut Greek Yogurt. Coconut Curry. Coconut Gelato. Coconut Chicken. I've discovered this past year that you can add coconut oil to absolutely anything // desserts, entrees, stir fries, diaper rashes, smoothies // and if that combination doesn't make you want to run to your nearest Costco to pick up a 54 ounce vat of the good stuff, I'm not sure what will ...

Last month, my mom and I cozied up around the television screen to catch the 2013 Miss America Pageant. During the swim suit portion of the evening, I found myself craving some good ole greasy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to add coconut oil to my favorite cookie, but wasn't feeling quite adventuresome enough to experiment on my own, so a quick Google search lead me to Ambitious Kitchen. And my life will never again be the same ...

I have made these yummy chocolate chip oatmeal coconut cookies every week since. And trust me, if I could bake as quickly as I could eat them, I'd be in a world of trouble. 

My mom and I had so much fun watching the Pageant while stuffing our faces with warm, gooey cookies, that I think we'll add a glass of wine and perhaps a few girlfriends next year, and cheers to a new tradition! 

Check out this recipe, and many other delicious ones at Ambitious Kitchen. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened is fine)
• 3.5 oz semi-sweet 60% chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use a Ghiradelli chocolate bar)
• 2 teaspoons milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In large bowl whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In bowl of an electric mixer beat together melted coconut oil and brown sugar until smooth. Add in egg, milk and vanilla; beat again for 2 minutes or until smooth.
4. Add in flour & oat mixture to the wet ingredients; mixing until well combined. Slowly add in coconut and chocolate chunks.
5. Drop dough with cookie scoop or by large rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes or until edges just being to turn a golden brown. Do not over bake; we don’t want crispy cookies! Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. Makes 2 dozen.

DaDaDaDaDa.

A few months ago, as Park was just beginning to baby babble and make Jordan's day by constantly repeating his favorite sound of "dadadadada" the proud papa tried to console me by explaining that the D sound is much easier to pronounce than the M. He must have read it in the latest medical baby babble journal. 

Honestly, I wasn't feeling insecure about the lack of "mama" chatter in the house, because the look on Jordan's face every time Park said "dada" was just too cute to compete. And we all know who Parker's favorite parent is anyway, so why not allow daddio to experience a little extra love in the name calling department? I was all for it. 

But then one gloomy day, it happened. 

My folks dog walked into the room, which instantly caught Park's attention.  He was in Heaven, excitedly waving his arms, with his big blue eyes glued to Nellie the... "DADADADADA!"  Ut oh. Houston, we have a problem. Can't let dad know he's not the only beloved dadadadada in town.

Then Parker's baby babble threw me for another loop. That really difficult "mmm" sound that my junior doctor hubby assured me babies can't pronounce? Well, I now hear it LOUD & CLEAR anytime Parker walks near a screen of any kind, begging for his one and only movie to be played. MAWPAW! Mama is far too difficult to pronounce but those beloved Muppets? He'll shower them with praise and verbal affirmations all day long.

So at the ripe age of fourteen months, Parker is officially over his parents, and establishing some new loves, including the family dog and all things Kermit the Frog. Just in case you're dying of boredom and feel the urge to keep up to date with an incredibly unimpressive list of Park's first words and first loves....here ya have it!

Dadadadada // Dad

Dadadadada // Dog

MawPaw // Muppets

Mo // More

Bob or Bopa // Grandpa

BaBa // Ball

BaBa // Book

Bathing Beaut.

Park is a water baby through and through, and would have sat in this pail all day long, had we allowed it. 

Gotta Love These Guys!

A beautiful open-roof evening enjoyed under the stars, official game ball snatched, free parking scored, creeper crazy selfies taken, hot garlic fries consumed, hat trick won, banana+nutella crepe inhaled,  refreshing fresh squeezed lemonade sipped,  street musicians jammin' and a hubby who rapped the entire ride home made for one really awesome date night. 

A 13//2 loss has never been so much fun. Until next season, Safeco.