Rise and Shout Little Cougar!

Lately, Ian seems to think that when I am changing his clothes, I am actually playing a game with him. When I pull his arms out of his sleeves, he hunches his shoulders and laughs histerically. He then makes a fist and sucks on the cuff.

I like to pretend the bears on his jammies are actually Cosmo, the BYU Cougar mascot.

Scott and I sing the Cougar Fight Song to Ian A LOT. Ian loves to do "Ra, Ra, RA RA RA! Gooooooo Cougars!" And we sing it to him so much that I end up with the song running through my head most days. In fact, last night I dreamed I was at a sporting event, the US flag was raised, and we all placed our hands over our hearts and sang the Cougar Fight Song. A little irreverent, huh?

Ian is such a happy little guy from the moment he wakes up. And thanks to baby sleep expert Dr. Weissbluth, I am usually happy when Ian wakes up too. He is sleeping much more these days, and true to the book is much more "charming, social, and attentive to the world around him."

Focaccia Recipe

This recipe came in a newsletter for new moms when Ian was only a few days old. I remember tucking it away in my recipe box, and wondering if I would ever again have time to take a shower, let alone prepare a meal. Thankfully I think I am starting to get the hang of this mom thing.

Bread Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated pizza dough *
2 cloves minced garlic
2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves *

* I made dough in the bread-maker, and I used a few teaspoons of dried rosemary instead of tarragon. (What on earth is tarragon? Since Wal-mart didn't carry it, I assume it doesn't really exist.)

Bread Preparation:
Roll dough into a circle and place on greased cookie sheet.
Mix garlic, olive oil and rosemary, and brush 1/2 the mixture onto the bread dough.
Cut the dough into quarters (making one horizontal cut and one vertical cut.)
Fold each quarter over, making a triangle out of each piece.
Brush remaining olive oil mixture over the tops.
Bake at 350 degrees fir 15-20 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Chicken Salad Ingredients:
1 Avocado, peeled and sliced
Shredded Chicken (I boiled 3 chicken breasts, and shredded with a fork. The recipes actually calls for a drained 12 oz. can of dark and white meat chicken.)
2 Celery stalks, chopped into small bits
Red wine vinegar
Mayonnaise
2 Green onion stalks

(I think sliced grapes or chopped almonds would be fun to add sometime.)

Chicken Salad Preparation:
Mix chicken, celery and green onions with desired amount of mayonnaise. (The recipe calls for 1/3 cup, but I bet I used more than that.) Add a few dashes of Red Wine vinegar to a create a subtle flavor. (Probably just about 2 teaspoons.) Let refrigerate while focaccia is baking. (Even more flavorful and delicious the second day.)

Sandwich:
Peel open baked focaccia and add sliced avocado and desired amount of chicken salad. (I think a minimal amount is best, so the focaccia's flavor can come through.)

Mormon Night at Minute Maid Park

We like that Houston has a Major League Baseball team (we don't care that they are not any good). Last night was "Mormon Night" at the Astros game, and we headed down there with our friends the Linfords (also recent transplants from BYU). The park was packed with families, and there was a line for the diaper changing station in the women's restroom.

We didn't get there until the 6th inning, but it was just in time to see the only Astros Grand Slam of the game. (unfortunately, the ball park was indoors, and more than incredibly loud when the Astros scored -- Ian freaked out, understandably, and Scott and I spent most of the rest of the game pacing around out by the concession stand.) But the whole retractable roof idea was cool, and the little Minute Maid Locomotive that moved (slowly) across the wall when the Grand Slam was hit was pretty cool. And it's always fun to get out of the house.

New Larson Family Rule: No Larsons shall go to baseball games until at least 3 years of age. Notice me plugging Ian's ear. Amazingly, he eventually fell asleep, and stayed asleep through all of the Astro's victory cheers.

Focaccia

I decided to try a new recipe for focaccia and chicken salad sandwiches. They turned out so beautifully, I just had to snap a picture. (Okay, the bread-maker did most of the work, but still.) And the leftovers gave me a good excuse to have our new neighbor over for lunch.

I have decided that I enjoy cooking. (This was a long time coming.) I attribute it to a very supportive husband who also cooks a lot, and to a dinner group we participated in while living in Wymount. (Thanks for saving us from Maccaroni and Cheese, Lisa!) And to a weekly cooking lesson by a wonderful chef in our ward Relief Society, who helped to demystify the process of handling raw meat.