Let's catch up...

This little guy is all over the place. As much as I try, I cannot contain him! He digs in cabinets, crawls into different rooms to check things out, and is constantly trying to climb on things. 

Colli-bean finally gave in and took his first bottle at 11 1/2 months! I really didn't want to start bottles this late, but I was able to wean him and he basically went without drinking a whole sippy cup for 4 days. I decided to try a bottle with a little warm milk to see if he would finally take it, and he did! He is now eating three 8 ounce bottles a day.

Some friends loaned us a tux for Collier to wear to Uncle Tyler's wedding in a few weeks. I tried it on him the other day, and I just wanted to squeeze this little man!!

Collier's hair is outrageous. I am so jealous for his sister. :) It is thick and wavy...everything that I would love for her's to be. 

Landry is still being her sassy little self and the entertainer for our family. She is constantly singing and says funny things all the time!

All of the sudden, Landry is interested in earrings. She wants to be "like mommy!" and will point to my earrings all the time. I found some stickers that would work, and she wore them proudly all day! She was so excited to show her daddy! 

I'm not sure when we will actually let her get them pierced for real. I was 12 when I got mine done, and I think that was too late. 

Sister likes to get dirty. We were outside the other day, and before I knew it, she was covered in dirt! Literally...

Pepaw came to visit the other day, and Landry was quick to reserve him for reading. She had a stack of books, and they read and read. Love it!

I made my first Concord Grape Pie the other day. It was a lot of work, and I was not a huge fan. Micah loved it and ate the entire pie in two days. 

And....

Last night Collier and Landry stayed the night with Micah's parents! It was my first night away from Collier, and I survived. Micah and I went out on a date and stayed out as late as we wanted...about 9:30. Ha! 

I slept all night long and drooled into my pillow because I knew I wasn't listening for babies over the monitor. :)

We woke up this morning, I fixed us breakfast, and I didn't have to change morning diapers, feed ravenous babies, or get anyone dressed besides myself. It was a really great break. 

It worked out perfectly because I had to come down to Fort Smith today for a Ronald McDonald House Board meeting. I am sitting at Micah's parents now waiting for the kids to wake up from naps. House is quiet, no laundry or dishes for me to do...this is the life! :)

I'm excited to see if they missed me! Honestly, I know I will be disappointed because I am sure they didn't!

Camera Obsessed

Landry went to play with her cousins a few weeks ago and came home with a camera that Aunt Emily let her steal. Apparently, it was her favorite toy of the day. :)

Now, we are constantly posing for pictures or being squealed at to "ook! ook!" (look! look!). 

Her camera doesn't work, but it has entered us into a new realm with me taking her picture. She now realizes that she can see herself in the screen afterwards! For now, this is working as bribery to make her look at the camera, but we will see if that lasts. 

She loves to pretend like she is taking pictures, and she will say "awwwe" when she looks back at the pictures. 

Most of the time, the camera is backwards. :)

Hoping this whole looking at the camera thing sticks...she sure makes pretty pictures! 

Feeding the Animals

My kids love food. It really isn't any surprise because Micah and I love food too! :) I have had several people ask me how in the world we get Landry to eat certain things. Honestly, I think it is luck that tomatoes are her favorite food, but I also think it helps to start offering them a wide variety of foods very early.

So here are a few "rules" that we try to stick to with our kids:

-99% of the time they eat what we are eating...no options. 

-We learn what they like, and don't offer that to them until they have tried something else. We figured out pretty quickly with L that if there are tomatoes or cheese on the plate, nothing else gets eaten. 

-We don't offer fruit or anything sweet until after they have eaten their dinner. 

-I try to offer a wide variety of colors and textures for them to choose from. 

With Collier, I mix his food all around on his tray so that he gets bites of different things in the same handful.   

He ate every bite (with seconds!) before we moved on to dessert.

I love watching those sweet little hands feed himself. 

So, for the meal above, Collier had:

roasted broccoli and cauliflower

black beans

diced cheddar cheese

raspberries

peaches

organic honey grahams

I KNOW picky eaters exist, so I am by no means saying that our way of feeding babies is the only and/or correct way. This is what has worked for us

Happy Friday! I am sure looking forward to the weekend!!

It's the little things...

One of my favorite things that we do at night is go check the mail as a family. 

It has been so hot that some days, this is our only time to be outside. I know that will all change once Collier is walking, but right now it is just too hot for him to crawl on the concrete! So, in the evenings after dinner, we change into our pj's and walk {C gets carried} out to the mailbox. 

Landry loves to hold Micah's hand as they walk, and on a good night, we get to see the sweet "woof" from next door. These are sweet, simple moments that I absolutely love. 

I have been thinking a lot about the little things in life. Our family is in a time of transition with several different things going on. I am trying to take time each day and appreciate the small little blessings {that are really SO big} that I often don't take time to recognize. Here are a few things just from this morning...

-We had two explosive diapers before 8:30 this morning. 

Praise the Lord that we have diapers, I have babies, I have a washing machine, and extra sheets and clothes for the kids that God has trusted me to raise. Little things. 

-Micah decided to cook breakfast for our family this morning. At 8:30, after the two explosive diapers, I walk into our kitchen to find a bomb went off and there were dirty dishes everywhere.
Thank you Jesus that I have a husband who loves us {and who does the dishes 99.9% of the time!}. Thankful that we have money to buy groceries, a kitchen to cook in, and a husband who has to rush out the door because he has a JOB to report to everyday. Little things.

-Oh, let's not forget coffee. So, so thankful for coffee. Little things.


-Other things I am thankful for this morning...
ponytail holders
sweatpants
fresh Okra that I am cooking for lunch
babies that like to nap
a daughter that keeps saying, "want me mommy!" because she wants to be cuddled
a WEANED baby boy that will actually let me rock him now
etc. etc. etc.
Little things.


Take some time today to think about the little blessings in your life! It can certainly turn a bad day around!

Seriously?

Both kiddos have been under the weather at our house. 

It all started with an eye infection for Collier.We started him on an eye drop, but it didn't seem to go away.
We went to have him checked out at the walk-in clinic on Monday night and found out that he also has his first ear infection! Poor baby boy! 

I love this picture I caught of him the other morning. His messy hair and "seriously?" face gets me. I love this boy! :)

Landry spiked a fever late Monday afternoon, so we had her checked out at the clinic also. Sweet girl has her first case of strep throat. When they did the throat swab, I saw how red and nasty her tonsils looked. It made me sad. :( I used to get strep all the time as a kid, and I know it is miserable! The doctor even said she had "pus pockets" on both sides. Gross and ouch! 

Anyway, today is Wednesday and we are on the mend. The kids seem to be feeling much better...besides being grumpy bears from their medicine! 

Oh, by the way, Collier is weaning in the midst of all of this. We started last week, and he went from 6 feedings a day down to 2 immediately. I just quit offering unless he absolutely broke down. I have been giving him "real" food instead of nursing, and he is eating me out of house and home! This boy can put away some food! 

 It has been a bit of a struggle, especially with him waking up in the night with the ear infection. I can't tell if he is waking up because he doesn't feel well or because he is hungry! The past 3 days, I have only nursed him once each night (in the middle of the night). We have made it approximately 22 1/2 hours. 

He is still not really interested in his sippy cup, but we are getting better. :)

Pretend vs. Reality

Landry is stuck in 2 year old land where there is no distinguishing between what is real and what is pretend. She wakes up everyday in a new world, and I love hearing who she is going to be for the day. :) She likes to be animals, princesses,  and a mommy (especially telling Collier "no no" and to go to timeout!). We normally pretend while we are at home, but she rarely leaves the house in her dress-up clothes. This weekend, Landry's pretend world and reality got to collide for a little while. She was a happy girl! 

On Friday night, Landry went to the rodeo with Dado and Nana. She got to dress up like a cowgirl, and she loved hamming it up for the camera! 

On Saturday, cousin Avery had a princess party for her 4th birthday. It was so fun, and Landry got to get all gussied up to go! 

She ate princess food and got to drink out of a big girl cup!

A princess can never have too many tiaras. :) 

It was a fun weekend in fairy tale land for Landry!

And the winner is...

Comment #7....Michelle!

Congratulations! 

Contact me, and we will get your credit worked out. :)

Our July 4th's have changed...

Happy 4th of July!

I was able to find some pictures from the past few years to see how our July 4th's have changed. 

So fun to look back!

2012

 2011

Landry was almost 15 months old, and I had a HUGE pregnant belly! 

2010

Landry was 2 1/2 months old. 

"Daddy's little Sparkler"

2009

We spent this weekend in St. Louis with our friends Brandon and Cassie. We had so much fun! 

AND, we found out 5 weeks later that we were pregnant with our sweet little Landry. 

2008

We couldn't find any pictures, and we can't remember what we did this year. It was 1 1/2 months before we got married. I am sure we were doing something SUPER fun! :)

2007

We weren't married, we weren't engaged, we had only been dating for 6 months. I remember that we got together at Micah's house with his sister, Emily. She had just had Jackson, and Micah and I were so excited because we bought "him" sparklers. Looking back, he was only 2 1/2 months old...I am sure he enjoyed it! Ha!

I can't believe how much our lives have changed in 5 short years! I love pictures so much because as I look back at these, I remember EXACTLY how I felt in those moments. I am blessed. 

**Remember today is the last day to become a "follower" to be eligible for the giveaway that will be announced tomorrow...exciting!!**

Corn Puddin'

I almost started this post by saying something like, "How could anything with puddin' in the name be bad?"  Then, I was thinking of all sorts of things that sound absolutely gross as a pudding...liver, beef, tomato, almonds, onion...anyway, you get the point. Not everything yummy sounds yummy as a pudding, but I promise you, corn puddin' IS yummy! 

This recipe is so simple, but so good...I had to share!

We ate our's with blackened tilapia and a big salad. Micah has already requested this meal again!

Corn Puddin'

8 ears of corn (grated into bowl...along with all the milky goodness that comes along with the corn cobs)

1 medium onion-chopped

3 strips bacon

1/2 cup milk

S&P to taste

Cook bacon in a skillet. Drain on paper towel. Cook onion in the bacon drippings until slightly translucent. Add the corn and juices to skillet and cook for about 5 minutes...stirring regularly. Add milk and cook an additional 2 minutes. Serve with bacon crumbled over the top. 

Yum! 

Don't forget to add yourself as a follower of the blog to be eligible for the giveaway that will be announced this Thursday!