some cuteness from the weekend

We had a wonderfully relaxing weekend after a long, hard week.

Some pictures from today:

We went for a (brief) walk in the snow at Mikey's insistence. It was a sweet idea, but it ended up being too cold & slushy & not at all fun. We made it about a block and half before doubling back and tossing Natalie in the snow for a picture as proof that we left the house at all today.

Then it was inside to make a yummy dinner that all three of us got to eat! Usually, even if we try to eat at the same time, Natalie eats something different than the grown-ups. We're moving into more combined foods, though, like tonight's spaghetti bolognese. It was pretty sweet to see Mikey and his daughter side by side enjoying their pasta.

The recipe is super easy--saute some chopped onion, minced garlic, and grated carrot in olive oil. Add chopped mushrooms and continue to saute for a couple more minutes. Brown some ground beef & add the veggies, crushed tomatoes, a cup of chicken stock, a pinch of brown sugar, and a bit of Worcestershire sauce. Let simmer for 15 minutes or so. I also added black pepper and various Italian seasonings. We served the sauce with plain old whole wheat spaghetti, just chopped Natalie's down into bite-sized bits. She loved it and so did we. It'll be on the menu for her for a couple more nights as she works through leftovers, which will make getting her dinner ready super easy over the next couple of days.

Oh, and if the pictures aren't enough cuteness for you this evening, you can check out this video of Natalie doing a bit of happy chatting, and this video of her showing off her new wiggly dance move that her Grandpa taught her last week.