simply sweet life.

{ embrace the camera : 2.9 }

2012-02-09T08:38:00.000-06:00

Linking up with Emily for Embrace the Camera...

Me and my goofy little love. This is truly an ETC photo... post shower, wet-ish hair, still in sweats... but look at how cute HE is!! :]

[ 12 months! ]

2012-02-04T21:33:00.001-06:00

My oh my... 12 months old! I haven't taken Ryan's 12 month pictures yet... but I thought I would update anyway, because wow, has he learned a TON lately!

I had a proud mama moment the other day... I put him on his little potty after his nap, like I usually do. This time, he not only peed on the potty, but he also signed "T" (what we use for toilet) at the same time! I was seriously blown away... he has been picking up on signing so well!

His signing vocabulary now includes...

...milk
...more
...please
...thank you
...toilet
...book
...all done

And his verbal vocabulary includes...

...mama
...dada
...moo
...ball
...up
...buh [for nums]

I'm not sure on his weight/length... I'll have to check! He was 16.3lbs at the end of December... I'd say he's close to 17lbs now. But I've been wrong before ;] He's been mostly wearing 6-9 month pants, 9 month sleepers, and 6-9 or 9 month onesies. And size two shoes! Tiny shoes are so adorable...

Another huge thing: he is walking. He's pretty much got it down like it's no big deal, too. It is SO CRAZY to see him walk around the corner of the room... it makes me do a double take sometimes because I'm so used to seeing him crawling! He doesn't need to crawl over to a couch or shelf or anything to stand up now... he just pushes himself off the ground, sometimes with a toy in hand. Little multi-tasker.

One of my favorite things he does is when I ask him to go get a book (verbally and by signing). He stands up, stops for a second with his hands in the air like "Where's the book? Where IS the book? I'm on a MISSION!" and walks over to the shelf where the books are... and then he pulls one off, smiles, and carries it back to me to read for him. SO ADORABLE.

He definitely loves the kitties. He loves to snuggle them and chase them. I think they really like him too :] I hope they continue to be pals as they get older. I think it helps that we have super needy (er, cuddly) kittens. He just loves that they are all over him all the time.

He still loves to eat... I wish I had a metabolism like he seems to have. I'm not sure where he puts it all!!

Still only four teeth but he's working on 2-4 upper teeth. Teething seems to come and go. I kind of wish they would just come in already!

I think that's about all of the "new" stuff... but it's late and I'm probably forgetting some things. *yawn* This post is subject to being edited in the morning when I am more coherent...

Crayon Art { tutorial }

2012-02-04T17:24:00.000-06:00

If you're on Pinterest, there's really no doubt that you've seen crayon art floating around... like this:

Source

I made one a while back that turned out pretty cool, I think:

I had intended on putting it in Ryan's room. I still could, but... eh. I decided I wanted to make another one specifically for his room... using only the colors that are in his room: white, orange, brown, blue and green. I've seen some people add painter's tape to part of the canvas so that it doesn't get covered in crayon, and I wanted to give that a try.

I like the look of the unwrapped crayons, so I did the same with this one. HINT: put the crayons in a bowl of cold water and {most of} the labels will just slip right off! All of the slid off for me, except for two of the orange crayons. Annoying. Oh well.

If you want step by step details, then you can go here... I'll just show you the photos of what I did.

I hot glued the crayons on the canvas, and then cut out a lowercase letter "r" (for Ryan, obviously!) out of painter's tape. I stuck it to the canvas, and then got to work with my hair dryer.

I wanted the "r" to stand out a little bit more, so I outlined it with a marker.

And here it is, in Ryan's room. It may stay there, it may not... but I don't have anything else to put there at the moment... so it stays, for now at least.

And hey... there's a sneak peek of the curtains and cornice that we made... at some point I hope to find a white glider that I can recover; then his room will be complete! And then I can share pictures ;]

cake.

2012-02-04T10:37:00.000-06:00

On Sunday, January 29th, we had a family party for Ryan at GiGi and Grandpa Jim's house. Our day had an interesting twist to it: Ryan's first trip to the ER.

During lunch, I noticed that he wasn't signing "please" and "more" like he usually does. I didn't think much of it; I just figured he was being kind of reserved in front of people. After lunch, I saw that he wasn't using his right arm at ALL... and that it was completely limp to his side. He "seemed" okay, other than being a little more anxious about being away from me than normal. I looked at his arm closer, and his finger, hands, elbow and shoulder were all swollen. Jake and I decided that we should take him in to Urgent Care. We didn't know if it was dislocated or if it was broken... so we put the party on hold and we took him in.

Long story short: it was only dislocated. "Only" is kind of a silly word here (it was extremely painful for him to get his elbow put back in), but we are very thankful that his arm was not broken or that there was infection. It was an easy fix! Two and a half hours later, we headed back to my grandparent's house to continue the party, since he seemed to be feeling fine.

And feeling fine he was... he was acting like his normal self when we got there, and he opened up his presents (well, Jake did; Ryan isn't too interested in that yet)... and enjoyed eating his cake!

I made him a modified version of a carrot cake... it was super healthy but super delicious! The yogurt was made out of greek yogurt. Not very frosting-y but it was sweet and covered the cake, so it did its job. Here are some of the pictures of Ryan enjoying his cake!

["ALL DONE! Please!"]

On Your First Birthday

2012-02-03T10:15:00.002-06:00

Dear Ryan,

I remember the moment I met you for the very first time, face to face. You were handed to me, crying, and I laid you on my chest... "Hi, buddy!" were my first words to you outside the womb. "He's here, I can't believe he's here!" I excitedly said to Jake, your daddy. You were so little... so beautiful... and so perfect. After so many months of waiting and preparing for you, here you were!

I remember how you pooped all over me not long after you were born. "I guess this is my initiation into motherhood," I said with a laugh. You probably would have weighed 2 more ounces had they weighed you before you exploded all over me. But it was okay... I was so happy that you were here, I didn't mind the sticky mess.

I remember the first time you nursed. You seemed to know what to do, but I was hesitant. It was a beautiful moment I will never forget, the way your little hands grasped me; the weight of your little body in my arms.

I remember the first time our family came to meet you... I wanted so much to share you with everyone, but I missed you the second you left my arms! I couldn't take my eyes off of you, not for one second.

I remember our first night in the hospital, when your daddy and I laid you, snug as a bug in your swaddle, in the bassinet. The responsibility of you... of loving you, of raising you... weighed on me heavily, but also with peace. We can't do anything without Christ... we wanted to keep him the center of our family... and keep Him the focus with how we raise you.

I remember when we took you home for the first time. It felt so strange to leave the hospital with the three of us, our little family. You cried on the way home, so I sat in the back seat with you so you wouldn't be afraid. "Mama's right here, love."

I remember rocking you or nursing you to sleep every night. It was an internal struggle to put you down. I wanted so much to hold you all the time! It just felt so right to keep you close to me.

So many things to remember.

I didn't want you to grow up. I wanted you to stay my tiny baby forever. But very quickly I realized that your growing up was something I needed to embrace and not fear or resist. It became a bittersweet thing, but mostly sweet. I was able to look back with a smile and remember all the beautiful things about your life... but yet look excitedly towards the future, to see where God would bring you.

Last night, I cried as I put you to bed. Both sad and happy tears. Tomorrow you were going to be one, and my heart swelled with happiness. You've done so much growing and changing in this last year, love... it has been so much fun to be your mama. You light up my life in so many ways. I can't express to you how much I love you.

I hope and pray that someday you will realize that there is One who loves you so much more than I do. As much as I want to be needed in your life, I want you to need Him more than me. As you relied on me for breath inside the womb, I pray that someday you will rely on Christ for your every breath. I beg God that he would open your eyes, and that the gospel would transform your life. I'm not perfect... I will mess up as your mama... but God's grace is perfect, his mercy is perfect, his gospel is perfect... please cling to Him through all things. Today and every day, I give you back to Him and ask that he would use you as He sees fit.

Little Ryan, as your first year comes to a close and your second year of life opens, know how much I love you and cherish you. I am so proud to call you my son. You have already taught me so much! I am so blessed. God has richly blessed me with YOU.

I love you,

I love you,

I LOVE YOU.

~Your mama

{ embrace the camera : 2.2 }

2012-02-02T08:17:00.000-06:00

Today I am embracing the camera with the love of my life :] Last week, he took time off from work and we got to spend A WHOLE WEEK together. It was wonderful! We went to the Wisconsin Dells... you can see all the pictures from that trip here. Ryan really enjoyed it, I think! I only took one picture of Jake and I the entire time, but oh well... it was a good one! I love my husband so much. In March we will have been married for 4 years... wow! I am SO blessed. Thank you, Jesus, for such a hardworking, loyal, selfless, considerate, helpful man!

Family Vacation : Wisconsin Dells

2012-01-27T21:02:00.002-06:00

Winter isn't the most ideal time to go to the Wisconsin Dells. Unless, that is, like us, you happen to prefer less people, less traffic, less busyness... so it was the perfect time for US to go! The Dells was our alternative to Florida... ;] We decided to go to the Dells because it would be significantly cheaper, we found a good deal on a hotel that had a water park, and we figured that as long as we were all together that it didn't really matter what we did :] We had a really good time! Of course the trip had some down sides, like a teething little boy and a sick-to-his-stomach husband (both of which easily persuaded us to come home a day early)... and we did get a little bit bored, but I think the boredom was good for us. It's just so hard for us to relax because we are busy ALL THE TIME. But it was nice. And it's also nice to know that Jake still has the rest of the weekend with us before he goes back to work... so vacation isn't over yet! Here are some (okay, a lot!) of photos from our little trip.

We stayed at "Hotel Rome at Mt. Olympus."

We relaxed, hung out, and played in our room. Ryan was pretty frustrated because he wasn't able to walk well on the slippery Pergo flooring... who has non-carpeted floors in their hotel rooms, anyways?!

Our "themed" room. We just wanted something with two beds and this is what we got. Ryan loved looking at and pointing to the paintings.

*happy sigh* I love him.

NAPTIME!! Naps are glorious.

Learning to brush his teeth!

We went to a candy store called "Goody Goody Gumdrop." Just for something to do. Ryan liked looking at all the colorful candy.

I think the pink, bugged-eye monkey made him a little nervous ;]

The hotel had a (kinda lame) indoor "theme park." We only went there once, but Ryan enjoyed people watching, playing with the nerf balls, and watching papa drive a yellow car around a race track :]

We spent most of our time at the water park, I think. Ryan wasn't too sure what to think of it at first, but he warmed up to it after a while. I think the noise took him by surprise. He loved watching people and splashing in the water, but he didn't really care to sit in the water. In his defense, it was pretty cold, which was unfortunate.

Having spent time in Kenya sure has changed my perspective on water and it's usage, though... it was hard for me to swallow that here we were, PLAYING in hundreds of thousands of gallons of water... yet so many people die every day from lack of clean drinking water. *sigh* Being out of your "element" sure puts things into perspective sometimes.

We also went to a cheese factory that said they offered tours... well, the tour ended up being us watching workers from behind a glass window, and then watching a 5 minute video. Some tour! But we got to taste some cheese at the end, so it was okay. Now I wish we would have bought some of the cheese curds, though! Ryan really liked the cow ;]

Ryan was a sleepy boy on the way home. He did so well in the car, both on the way to and from Wisconsin. It was kind of a surprise... usually he hates being in his car seat unless it's nap time. I was very happy that he was content for a majority of the ride :]

And... Dunkin Donuts is awesome. That is all. :]

{ embrace the camera : 1.19 }

2012-01-19T08:12:00.000-06:00

No words today, just the photo. :]

Embrace The Camera with Emily @ the anderson crew

A project from long ago... {tutorial}

2012-01-18T13:03:00.000-06:00

When our old computer died, I was really sad because there were a ton of pictures (mostly of Ryan) on it that had not yet been saved to our external hard drive. I plugged in the external hard drive today to see what was on it... and I think that most of the pictures actually made it on there! I was so happy. I know I haven't posted a tutorial or a craft in a long time so I thought it was about time to post one, since I found the pictures.

This is a project I worked on a few months ago, when we first moved into our new house. My mom had given me a wooden stool that, I think, she got for free somewhere. I thought it was cute but needed... something.

I decided to paint it using the "technique" I posted about a while ago, in my blog post titled "Making New Stuff Look Old." I've heard you can use other techniques but I haven't tried anything else yet.

I already liked the base color, so I decided to skip the first coat of paint that I used in my other blog post. I just went ahead and used the soap on various parts of the stool that I wanted to look worn. After I was satisified with the amount of soap, I painted the entire thing with a pretty shade of grey-blue that we just happened to have on hand. I thought it had a "country" feel to it.

After I painted the entire thing, I let it dry completely. It didn't take too long because the layer of paint wasn't very thick.

Then, when it was dry, I took a piece of sandpaper to the areas that had the soap on them, and the paint easily came off to show the color underneath. I don't have any pictures of this part of the process... but it's easy ;] I sanded it until I was happy with the result, and this is what I was left with:

I really like it! It has a worn look to it, which I really like... I like old looking things, as you know from the post I linked to... and I just think this looks pretty. :] I think it looks nice in my kitchen.

Papa's Little Helper

2012-01-16T20:42:00.000-06:00

After a small paint fiasco in Ryan's room, we weren't really loving the color that was on the walls. Since it wasn't an expensive fix, we decided to repaint.

You can see the "ugly" green in the above photos. It looked a lot darker than that in person, but yet had a neon tinge to it. It just wasn't a great color.

The dark green color may look decent on the screen. In fact, I actually kind of like this picture. It looked way different in person, though. We wanted to go a lot lighter because the dark neon green color just didn't seem to "fit" in our house. It made the room seem much smaller than it already was, too. So the lighter color in the above photo is what color it is painted now. Against the dark green, it looks kinda lame and very yellow... but since the walls are completely covered now, we have nothing to compare it to... and it actually looks really nice, I think. It's just a light, airy shade of green with a tiiiny hint of yellow. The room looks so much more spacious now, and the suffocating feel is gone. It feels a little more gender neutral, too, which is good because this won't be Ryan's room forever.

Ryan wanted to get in on the painting action. He was extremely interested in the paint brushes and thoroughly enjoyed flailing his arms around with the brush in hand.

[Ryan and papa painting]

(disclaimer: no, we didn't really subject our child to paint fumes. There is no paint on the brushes.)

[I love all the original wood in our house... I think it's so pretty!]

A few days after the paint job was completed, we put together Ryan's new dresser from Ikea. Well, Jake put it together. Ryan crawled all over the place, stole screws, played with the hammer and drill, and watched papa like a hawk. I just sat there and took pictures :]

[always has to keep his eyes on daddy]

It warms my heart to see Ryan watching his daddy so intently... I'm so thankful for the godly, hardworking, selfless example for Ryan to look up to. I am blessed!

[ 11 month photos ]

2012-01-12T07:18:00.002-06:00

Ryan is 11 months old! It really doesn't feel like it has been that long. He seems so grown up, but yet he's still just a little guy... he's still my baby!

He got over his need for baths twice a day, but he still enjoys them. He also still really loves to eat... I can't believe how much he eats! And he's getting pretty close to walking... but he's pretty cautious, so it probably could be a little while.

He's finally wearing mostly 9 month clothes! He still fits into 3-9 month onesies, but he has to be in 9 month sleepers because 6 month ones are too short. 9 month pants are the perfect length, but they are forever falling off of him! My peanut weighs 16.3lbs; I thought he was closer to 18lbs now, but I'm a terrible guesser. I must have been way off on my "guess" for his 9 month weight (16.4lbs), too, or maybe he has lost some... I don't know. I'm not worried because he is getting to be a lot more active and he's developing just fine. I need to check his length sometime... he's definitely taller!

He has four teeth now. It has opened up a whole new world for him in regards to eating... biting things in half is so much easier now! Unfortunately, solid food isn't the only thing he has been biting... but we're working on it. ;]

He says: mama, dada, moo, up ("buh"). He signs: milk, more, please, all done. We're working on a few others but so far, he likes to sign "more" for absolutely everything.

Here are his 11 month photos! I have to add that these were (obviously) taken outside.

In January.

In MINNESOTA.

We definitely haven't had much winter (well, up until yesterday!). It was 47 degrees on this day... and it was BEAUTIFUL. Ryan and I had such a blast being outside! I was just snapping a few photos but decided to use them for his 11 month pictures because there are a ton of them ;] I'm not joking... there are a ton! Ready??

{ embrace the camera : 1.12 }

2012-01-12T06:37:00.001-06:00

I need to get better at doing this. I don't know why, but Thursdays seem to be the busiest days of the week sometimes for me! And then I don't post because I know I won't have time to write on other's ETC posts, so I don't feel like I should post my own!

Anyway.

One of my goals for 2012 has been to blog more, in general. As you can see... that hasn't been happening. Oops.

I was hoping for a lot of great pictures during Christmas time, especially because it was going to be Ryan's first... but the little guy just so happened to be not feeling well for basically the entire week of Christmas. He didn't want to be more than 2" away from me all week. I liked the snuggles :] but I was sad that he didn't feel all that well. Teething plus a cold... no fun!

So for today's ETC... this was Christmas Eve, and it was one of the many "Mama, hold me; I don't feel well!" moments that we had.

I like it, even though he looks so sad, because snuggles are such an important thing :] You absolutely cannot snuggle too much.

{ 25 }

2011-12-19T19:57:00.026-06:00

It's my 25th birthday today. I first got to celebrate by eating raisin bran at 2:30am with my 10 month old. He was very restless and would not sleep (darn teeth!) so we got up and had a little snack. Thankfully, after being awake for two hours, we went back to bed for three... so I feel mostly human today ;]

Last year by this time, we had almost 3' of snow... and this year, we've had very little. I can count on one hand how many "brown birthdays" I've had... I used to wish relentlessly for it when I was younger, but now I don't care. It was nice, however, to be outside in 47 degree weather yesterday!

Check out how brown it is outside... no snow!

[my friend abri made me this beautiful wreath]
[hello, baby boy in the window]

Jake, Ryan and I spent the afternoon at Ikea. We bought some things to finish Ryan's room... a new floor bed (because his mattress was too big for my comfort; I wanted something lower to the floor), a dresser, and a lamp. It was fun wandering around the store, and there were very few other people there... such a bonus to going on a week day! We tried out a bunch of chairs and beds and let Ryan explore. He had a blast.

Other things that made my day great...

[a birthday card from my love]

[i am blessed to be married to a man who buys me fun wrapping paper to wrap my presents in, instead of christmas paper!]

[coffee!!]

We had a really nice day together. I am so blessed to have another year... thank you, Lord, for giving me every single breath that I have breathed, and for everything in my life. <3

[ 10 month photos ]

2011-12-12T13:39:00.020-06:00

10 months already, he is (well, on the 3rd, he was. I'm not very good at posting on the day of!). Can you believe it? I can't. The last 10 months have been so precious, so cherished... and they have flown by! I am so thankful for him. So much growing has been done by this guy. He stands alone so often, and walks, unsteadily, while holding our hand... it will be a little while until he cruises on his own, but he is definitely far from immobile.

Here are his 10 month photos :] Went with a little Christmas theme this time, since it is December. He was far too intrigued by the shiny lights and ornaments to look at me or the camera much... but they are still pretty cute!

[ 9 month photos ]

2011-12-06T15:47:00.000-06:00

Here are Ryan's 9 month pictures!

Terrified.

2011-12-02T13:55:00.022-06:00

That's how Ryan felt about the Christmas tree when we put it up. We have an artificial tree, and it scared Ryan pretty bad when Jake took out all the pieces and laid them on the living room floor. Ryan wanted to be held by Jake, but Jake was setting up the tree... and Ryan didn't want to get near the tree. He'd look back and forth from Jake to the tree, as if he was deciding if it was worth it to crawl to papa.

He sat down on the floor but didn't know the top of the tree was behind him... it scared him so bad when he turned around to see the green prickly thing! He touched it a few times and seemed to decide that it wasn't all that bad.

He had more fun playing with the kittens in the tree box.

[yes, he has a naked butt... don't you let your kids run around naked sometimes?]

He wasn't so scared of the tree after a few days, though.

And he loved sitting with me on the couch, in the dark, gazing at the beautiful lights :]

{ embrace the camera : 12.1 }

2011-12-01T07:11:00.000-06:00

I know I say it every year around this time... but boy, December sure came up fast! In just two days my little boy will be 10 months old... this has really been one of the most fun years ever! It has also come with a lot of challenges, as any parent knows... but I am so blessed to be a mom to this little guy.

Lately we've been dealing with teething. Ryan already has his bottom two middle teeth, that he got around 7.5-8 months... but now he's working on his top two middle teeth. It's been four days of very obvious discomfort. I feel so awful for him! He's been snacking on frozen grapes a lot; that seems to help some. Other than that and just spending most of the day snuggling, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do... it's kind of one of those things that just needs to happen, I guess. He's been sleeping with us the past few nights (and I've loved every minute of it).

Anyway, my husband Jake snapped this picture when Ryan and I were snuggling on the couch on Sunday. Ryan had just woken up from his nap, and I went in to get him... and he nuzzled into my arms and fell asleep again. We snooze on the couch for 45 minutes. I love my snuggle times with him :]

Linking up with Emily for ETC... Emily is pretty much my hero right now. She has 5 littles under the age of 7 and she's anout 39 weeks pregnant with their sixth. What a rockstar!

Ryan's 1st Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T13:48:00.001-06:00

We had Joe, Jake's dad, over for Thanksgiving lunch. It was my first time making a holiday meal for company! We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls and fruit salad. I forgot to make the corn. Oops.

Ryan LOVED eating the Thanksgiving meal! He wasn't too sure about the big turkey before it got cut up...

...but once he tasted it, a long with all the other goodies, he was instantly a fan. And it totally wore him out, too.

We tried getting a nice picture of him with Grandpa Joe, but Ryan wasn't too excited about that, either.

I personally think this is the best one, but Grandpa begs to differ. Too bad, my blog :]

What traditions do you have for your little ones during Thanksgiving?

{ embrace the camera : 11.17 }

2011-11-17T07:17:00.000-06:00

Linking up with Emily for Embrace the Camera...

I knew this day was coming... this month would be here before we knew it. My friend just had her baby... and 9 months ago, when she told us she was expecting, I thought to myself... "Ryan is going to be 9 months old when her baby comes! Whoa! That seems so far away..." but I knew it would be here before I realized it. Well, her baby is here... and my baby is 9 months old.

And as someone said here, he's been an outside baby as long as he was an inside baby, give or take. ;]

Thinking back over the last 9 months... and all that we've been through, or are going through, as parents... I can't help but get a little emotional at all the "growing up" my little boy has done. It makes my heart so happy to see him thriving and loving life.

He's gotten a lot more snuggly lately.

I guess, that when he was a baby and couldn't "go" anywhere, he seemed snuggly then... because I held him a lot.

But now that he's mobile and on the go, he actually comes to me for hugs and lovin'. He lays his head on my shoulder and just looks at me with his big brown eyes.

{rubbin' my hand... "it's okay, mama, i'll be your lil' guy forever!"}

I love the sleepy, snuggly moments we have together. I really do treasure them. And I'm trying to treasure everything... even the middle-of-the-night wakings, and diaper changing battles, and when I feel like I just need 5 MINUTES ALONE... I know that one day, I'm going to miss it all. I try to remember that all of these opportunities are God-given appointments that he has blessed me with to help grow, shape and mold this little guy.

Oh, I just love him!

{ 9 months old }

2011-11-15T08:24:00.000-06:00

Ryan is 9 months old! We've known him on the outside as long as we did on the inside... give or take ;] I don't know his "official" stats this month, so this is an {educated} guess... I don't really feel like taking him in to the clinic and exposing him to all the sick people there just to get a weight reading!

16lbs, 4oz

28 3/4"

He wears mostly 6-9 month clothes (6 month onesies, but anything with "feet" needs to be 9 months because he is so long).

Things he loves:

BATHTIME! Any time I wash the dishes, he gets mad because he thinks he is getting a bath! Baths have definitely become a daily (or twice daily, if he is having one of "those" days) thing for him.

{I should start putting dishes away before he gets a bath, but he loves digging out everything on the other side of the sink}

KITCHEN UTENSILS! I've been looking here and there for small extra kitchen "things" for him to play with. I plan on cleaning out one of the kitchen cupboards so he has a space to "destroy" while I'm in the kitchen.

CLIMBING! He is really turning into a little monkey :]

PLAYING "SOOOO BIG!" It's fun that he "gets it" now ;]

MAKING SILLY FACES! He's a natural.

EATING! Here he is eating home made guacamole. He LOVES it. He's really been enjoying eating in general lately... some of his favorite things right now{besides guac} are raisins, rice Chex, waffles and the rice bowl with chicken from Chiptole {complete with corn salsa!} ;]

WATCHING OUR EVERY MOVE! Ryan loves to be around people {except when he needs to relax; he likes his alone time and being in his own space, just like his mama!}... so he is always following me or his daddy around to be with us. Here he {joined with the kitties} was watching me clean the outside of our glass door.

STANDING! AHH! He doesn't do it all the time yet, but when he wants to, he can stand on his own {and play with toys at the same time!} He's going to be walking before we know it!!

That's all for now... off to love on my little guy who just woke up from a nap!

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits {yum!}

2011-11-15T07:57:00.000-06:00

photo source

Oh my. I made these last night to go with our BBQ chicken. They were {and are, as I am eating one for breakfast as I type this...} soooo good. They were so good, that I didn't even stop to take a photo of them.

Hence the photo above, borrowed from the original source of the recipe.

You really have to try these! Some say they are comparable to the Red Lobster biscuits... but, I don't like seafood {even the smell gets me}, so I've never stepped foot inside a RL.

I wish I had another one...

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

INGREDIENTS:

{biscuits}
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons butter, cold
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

{buttery topping}

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Lightly mix in grated cheese. Mix in buttermilk just until moist (dry spots here and there are ok – the biscuits will be tough if they are overmixed). Drop the biscuits onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browned and golden. While the biscuits are baking, in a small bowl combine the buttery topping ingredients. Right when the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the butter/herb mixture over the biscuits evenly (alternately, you can dip the top of the biscuit into the butter mixture). Serve immediately.

Makes about 10 biscuits.

My alterations:

I don't have any garlic powder, so I used garlic salt and omitted the salt {in both the biscuits and the buttery topping}. I also don't buy buttermilk, but you can make a sour milk yourself by adding one tablespoon of vinegar {or lemon juice} to a measuring cup and filling it with milk to equal one cup. I added a lot more parsley, and will probably add more herbs the next time I make them... because, yes, there will definitely be a next time!!

Sophie and Bella

2011-11-11T12:18:00.000-06:00

That's what we named our kittens, who unfortunately aren't very kitten-y anymore. I guess that's what happens when you feed and water something... it grows!

{ sophie }

{ bella... she tends to look like she maybe has had a liiiittle too much catnip }

{ oh, bella, that's better }

{ "one of these things is not like the other..." }

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-11-11T12:10:00.000-06:00

{this is a post from about three months ago. for whatever reason, i forgot to post it. so don't come to my house expecting there to be chocolate cookies. kthanks.}

My husband said to me the other day, "You should make me cookies."

Since I like him so much (really, I do), I decided to fulfill his request.

But I was kind of bored with the same kind of cookies that I normally make...

...even though they are DELICIOUS, like the recipe for chocolate chip cookies from Jake's grandma Bonnie that I posted about here. They are good... but I wanted to make something different.

I found a recipe on Pinterest that looked good, so I decided to give it a shot. I think Jake is going to like them!!

They look like a typical chocolate cookie...

in all of their crackly, sugary glory...

...until you bite into one and discover...

PEANUT BUTTER!

Fortunately for Jake (and the guys he works with, because I'm sure some will get taken with him to work tomorrow), I don't really care for peanut butter cookies. But like most things I bake, I usually just like the baking part and not so much the eating part. I'm a salty kind of girl (chips and guac, anyone?!) more than a sugary one. I need to find people to give my goodies to. Any volunteers?! Anyway, here is the recipe. I tasted one... it's good, I guess, and coming from someone who doesn't really care for PB cookies, that's sayin' something, I think.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more for rolling)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together sugars, butter and 1/4 cup of peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg, beating to combine. Stir in the flour mixture and stir to combine, blending well. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, mix together powdered sugar and remaining 3/4 cup of peanut butter until smooth.

5. Pull off a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough and flatten with your hands. Take about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter mixture and place it in the center of the chocolate dough. Wrap the chocolate dough around the peanut butter center, pressing to seal. Roll the cookie into a ball and roll the cookie in the sugar. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten each cookie to about a 1/2 inch thickness.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes. Let stand on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

green onions {don't throw them away!}

2011-11-11T12:02:00.001-06:00

We use green onions a lot in our house, so we are forever buying them... but I recently saw this idea on Pinterest! I had no idea that you could just stick the green onions in a jar/glass of water and that they would continue to grow. It's kind of a "duh" / "why didn't I think of that?" thing.

I had cut these almost all the way down to where the green meets the white (they were in a shorter glass at that point)... just a few days ago. These things grow like weeds! Just snip 'em off whenever you need some green onion goodness. You can occasionally change the water and rinse off the roots, otherwise they might get a little slimy.

It's so colorful and pretty... and it's a good way to save a few bucks, too!

{ embrace the camera : 11.10 }

2011-11-10T06:18:00.000-06:00

Cardboard boxes are so much fun, aren't they? Ryan had fun being pushed and pulled around in a diaper box the other day... of course we had to take a few pictures, because that's what good first time parents do, right? Take pictures of their first child's every moment? ;] In all seriousness though, I hope we take as many pictures of our next littles as much as we do of Ryan.

{cat getting ready to attack ryan}

{cat escaping. and yes, my 9 month old wears size 2 diapers. he's kind of a peanut.}

{papa and ryan}

{"sooooooooo big!"}

Link up with Emily over at The Anderson Crew for ETC! Their adoption of Elsa was made official yesterday... yahoo!!

The BEST waffle recipe

2011-10-31T09:48:00.001-05:00

This is my favorite waffle recipe. It seriously makes the best waffles I have ever had! Top them with fresh fruit and whipped cream, go simple with just butter and syrup... or let them cool on a wire rack and make ice cream sandwiches out of them.

Grandpa Joe, you'll have to come over for waffles sometime soon!

3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup melted butter

Optional: chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, etc.

Seperate the eggs; the yolks into a large bowl and the whites into a small bowl. Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside. Combine the rest of the ingredients into the bowl with the egg yolks. Carefully fold in the egg whites. If you want to add chocolate chips or nuts, just sprinkle them on the batter before you close the waffle iron.

You'll have to guess how much mix to use depending on your waffle maker. I use a Belgian waffle iron; it's probably a 6 or 8" one, if I had to guess. I use a bit less than a half of a cup for each waffle.

Ryan loves 'em!

leading by example

2011-10-27T07:39:00.001-05:00

Ryan mimics me sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time.

When I shake my head, he shakes his.
When I flip the pages in the book, he tries to do the same.
When I smack two blocks together, he also has to do it.
When I take a bite of something, he needs to try.
When I give him a kiss, he lunges toward me with an open mouth to reciprocate.
When I clap, he claps, too.
He follows me all over the house, when he is in his walker or just by crawling.

He wants to know what I'm doing, all.the.time.

It's kinda scary that a not-yet-9-month old sees my actions and imitates them. He is just such a little sponge, soaking in everything... it's how he learns. How else is he supposed to know how to "do" things? Soon he is going to be saying what I am saying, "doing" the things I do, and acting in imitation of my life. It sure puts into perspective how careful I need to be in what I do... what I say... how I talk to and treat Jake. There are all sorts of things I want Ryan to learn. I want him to grow to be a godly young man; one who seeks the Lord with his whole heart. But how is he going to learn those things if I am not continually reflecting them? Am I leading Ryan by being a good example?

Am I honest?
Am I dilligent?
Am I hard working?
Am I intentional?
Am I humble?
Am I patient?
Am I honorable?
Am I trustworthy?
Am I faithful?
Am I kind?
Am I grace-ful?
Am I respectful?
Am I gracious?
Am I seeking God daily?

Ryan teaches ME so many things. It's not always only the other way around.

My little sponge... soaking it all in, learning, growing, developing... I need to lead by example.

{ embrace the camera : 10.27 }

2011-10-27T06:08:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it is already the end of October! My little guy is almost 9 months old... whoa! The past few months have been such a journey. I'm so blessed to be his mama. He is such a treasure! I pray that he will grow to be a young man who follows the Lord with all of his heart.

My sister was here while I was taking Ryan's 8 month pictures, and I asked her to snap a couple of Ryan and I together... they are now some of my favorite pictures of us!

Link up with Emily for ETC over at The Anderson Crew!

meow.

2011-10-22T14:58:00.000-05:00

Look who joined our family yesterday!! Aren't they cute?! We had only intended on getting one... but when we saw how cute they were when they played together, Jake suggested we get two. We both were a little hesitant at first, but now I'm SUPER glad we got both of them; they play together and keep each other entertained. I want to keep our room and Ryan's room as "cat free zones," so now I don't feel so bad about making them sleep out in the living room, since they have each other. ;)

Their names were Kiera (above, left) and Nala (above, right), but we would kind of like to change their names... any suggestions??

Home made laundry detergent

2011-10-22T11:09:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to make our own detergent for a while... but I was waiting on a 5 gallon bucket! I'm cheap and didn't want to buy one. My mom brought one over recently so I decided it was time to get to work. Ryan and I were up early one morning (who am I kidding, we're up early *every* morning!) so I started this project around 6:30 and was done by 6:45. EASY PEASY.

Here's what you need!

a five gallon bucket and lid
1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap
1 box of [Arm and Hammer Super] Washing Soda
1 box of [20 Mule Team] Borax
a plastic stick or long handled spoon *
a plastic bag **

* since this mixture gels, you need to stir it every now and then. Using a stick or spoon just shy of the height of the bucket will allow you to leave it inside. A plastic stick is recommended, because wood may rot or metal may corrode.

** as much as I like enlisting my husband to help me with things so he knows how much I need him, I can't always wait until he gets home to open the 5 gallon bucket every time I want to do laundry. My poor fingers would not be happy if I tried to do it myself. So instead of opening and closing a 5 gallon bucket all of the time, you can cover the bucket with a plastic bag and them just lightly push down the lid so it seals. The mixture will evaporate if you don't cover it, so either do this method or close the lid completely.

1. Unwrap the Fels-Naptha bar and grate it. I've heard you can put it in a food processor and do it that way, but it honestly didn't take long (nor was it difficult) to grate by hand using a small hand grater. O

Oh, that's so grate. ;]

2. Boil 4 cups of water in a large pot.

Once it is boiling (BOILING-boiling, not kinda-sorta-boiling), add the grated soap.

Stir it until it is completely melted. This will take some time, and it may clump together.

Keep stirring it and it will completely melt together, like this.

3. Once it is melted together, remove it from the heat. Take your bucket to the bathroom and fill it halfway with hot water. Add the melted soap mixture, and 1 cup of the Super Washing Soda and 1/2 cup of the Borax.

Get your little helper to bring you your spoon :) and stir it really well.

Then fill it up the rest of the way with hot water. Stir it again, and then cover it with the plastic bag and lid.

Let it sit overnight before you use it. It will thicken like a gel and need to be stirred every now and then.

To use:

Top load Washer:

1/4 cup detergent per load for regularly soiled clothes

1/2 cup detergent per load for heavily soiled clothes

Front load Washer:

1/8 cup detergent per load for regularly soiled clothes

1/4 cup detergent per load for heavily soiled clothes

I don't know the EXACT cost per load of laundry, but one lady calculated hers out and supposedly she said it came to just about 7 cents per load. All of the ingredients I bought cost me about $6, and obviously the two boxes of powders will make SEVERAL 5 gallon buckets of detergent. So it is very inexpensive. I'll have to let you know how it actually works... it's Saturday, and that means laundry day!!

*edited to add* I knew I was forgetting something! The smell! It smells really good; the Fels-Naptha soap has a nice clean scent to it. But I've heard you can add essential oils to it, also, if you would like a certain scent (lavendar comes to mind). YUM! :)

baby led weaning.

2011-10-20T22:05:00.005-05:00

I don't remember the first time I read about baby-led weaning... it was probably quite some time ago. When I was younger, I thought it was just a normal thing to fight a battle with your little one at each meal, trying to spoon a mushy substance into a moving target... all while your own food gets cold and unappealing. When I heard about baby-led weaning, it just made sense to me. So Jake and I decided that this was the route we were going to go with our kids... specifically Ryan, because he's our one and only right now ;]

Baby-led weaning is just simply a way to introduce solids that allows the baby to feed himself at his own pace. The term is a British term, if I am understanding correctly, so their take on "weaning" is quite different than the American's take on weaning. When they say weaning, they simply mean the introduction of solids. When we say weaning, we mean literally weaning from breastfeeding (or bottle feeding), decreasing milk feeds and increasing solid feeds. Baby-led weaning could also be called "baby-led solids," and, in fact, I like this term better because of the association we have with weaning. We aren't weaning Ryan at all, but we ARE introducing solids. I'll probably refer to it as baby-led solids from now on, or BLS.

It's pretty common now days to start your baby on solids when they are 3-4 months old, starting out with a cereal made of rice (please don't even get me started on rice cereal...). Sometimes I wonder if people just "do" things without researching them; they just do something because that's what they were told, or because that's what is "normal." I can't stress enough how important it is to make your own decisions, especially as a parent. But please do your research. Listen to the advice given, do your research, and THEN make your decision.

As "normal" as it might seem to start giving your baby pureed foods between 3-4 months, it's actually recommended to wait until at least 6 months before introducing solid foods... whether or not you do BLS or if you spoon feed purees. This article on kellymom.com explains the importance of waiting until 6 months to give solid foods, because before then, it is very unlikely that the baby's intestines are ready to digest solid food. It's called "open gut." Sure, babies develop and mature at different rates, but the only way to tell if a baby's tummy is ready for solids is to take a peek inside... and since that isn't exactly possible, it's just best to wait until 6 months when most babies are developmentally ready for solids.

I won't get into the developmental signs that show that your baby is ready for solid foods, but you can do some more reading here and here. The last link is the "official" BLW/S website, and it explains a lot about BLW in general.

One thing I love about breastfeeding is that the baby can take in the same AMOUNT of breastmilk, but as the baby grows, the calorie content of the breastmilk changes so the baby gets the adequate nutrition. Not so with formula; the calorie content cannot change... you just have to feed more as the baby gets hungrier and grows bigger. That's why this saying is true, for most breastfed babies, anyways: "Food before [the age of] one is just for fun!" Minus a few exceptions, really the only reason solids should be given before the age of one is for exploration of taste and texture. Babies under 6 months should get ALL of their nutrition from breastmilk or formula, but even after the age of 6 months, breastmilk or formula should still be the primary source of their nutrition until the age of one. Then, as they start "figuring out" how to feed themselves solids, and understand "Hey, this stuff fills me up!" they, on their own, will reduce their milk feeds.

That brings me to... yes... "extended" breastfeeding. It's such a "taboo" topic in our culture... but did you know that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that a child be breastfed until the age of 2, and then to continue for as long as mutually desired by mother and child? Again, referring to kellymom,com, this article on breastfeeding past infancy is golden. Please don't even try to tell me that breastfeeding a toddler is "only for the mom..." I don't know of any woman who is willing to stick her sensitive lady bits into the gnashing mouth of an unwilling toddler "just for her own comfort." :]

Back to BLS... a few of my favorite things about BLS are that...

-Ryan eats what we eat! There's no separate food to make, nothing to puree, nothing to have to spoon feed him... as long as what we are eating is reasonably healthy and is cooked properly, there is no reason why he can't have it.

-I get to eat my food while it is hot (if it is supposed to be hot) or cold (if it is supposed to be cold).

-If I need to leave the house in a hurry, I don't need to worry about packing up jars of food or something that Ryan can eat... I have all he really "needs" attatched to me (haha) and he can just eat whatever food Ihappen to be eating, as long as it is reasonably healthy.

...and, not gonna lie, Ryan looks pretty cute munching on a piece of home made pizza, or expertly holding a cob of corn between his little hands, or using his mastered "pincer-grasp" to pick up a pea or pomegrante and bring it to his mouth.

The only con I can think of is that it can be quite messy. But then again, spoon feeding purees into a moving target is messy, too, so I think that one needs to be crossed off. It can be hard, sometimes, to stand back and let Ryan do his own thing... sometimes I just want to "help" him pick up that piece of... whatever... but he learns quickly when he does things on his own.

Choking... I'll just cover that before anyone asks. If anyone has watched Ryan eat lately, they might be concerned that he is "choking" on his food. Actually, it's called gagging, and it's harmless. It actually HELPS him figure out how to take appropriate sized bites of food. Gagging and choking are two completely different things. Gagging = helpful, but not necessarily fun... choking = dangerous and scary. You know what happens when you stick something too far back in your throat, like your toothbrush? You gag. Sometimes Ryan gets a little piece of food in just the right place on his tongue, and he gags... and sometimes he throws it up. Other times, like lately (now that he has learned how to do it), he figures out how to manuever the food around his tongue so that he doesn't gag. But he definitely isn't choking. Choking is accomplanied by mostly silence with a panicked look on the little one's face. I haven't ever seen it, nor do I want to! BLS is all about common sense... you don't give things to your little one that are obviously dangerous (nuts, popcorn, seeds, etc), but you should allow him to explore. It's all about finding a balance.

And by the way, choking is actually just as likely, if not more, to happen when someone spoon feeds a baby purees:

"This is based on the premise that a baby is able to intentionally move food to the back of his throat only after he has developed the ability to chew it. The theory is that a baby who is controlling what goes into his mouth is less likely to choke than a spoon fed baby, who may suck food to the back of his throat before he is properly able to deal with it. This is why it is very important NOT to assist your baby when eating, should you choose to follow the baby led solids approach. If you help your little one to get pieces of food into his mouth that he could not have placed there by himself then the risk of choking increases significantly."

SOURCE

So what has our little guy eaten so far? Here's a list (in no particular order other than what comes to mind first):

avocado

banana

green beans

peach

nectarine

zucchini

corn on the cob

chicken

onion

green pepper

pear

canteloupe

watermelon

strawberries

raspberries

steak

yogurt

oatmeal

roast beef

tater tot hotdish

pizza

stir fry

sandwich

toast

broccoli

carrots

pea pods

rice

spaghetti

waffles

puffed rice cereal

rice chex

asparagus

chili
potato
goulash
wild rice soup
biscuits
enchiladas
egg bake
bbq chicken
mashed potatoes
chicken pot pie
rice
stroganoff

...I know there is more, but I think that's a good enough list to show you that Ryan has had quite a variety of things to taste. When we first started BLS, he would literally just put things to his mouth, but not eat... which is why it is important to let the little ones decrease the milk feeds on their own... but now that he is older, and nearing 9 months, he is actually *eating* some of the solid foods now. And he really enjoys it! He hasn't started to decrease his milk feeds at all yet, which is fine with me. There is nothing (so far) that he won't try, but he has made it pretty clear which things are his favorite (pizza, zucchini, rice chex, sandwiches, and avocados) and which things he doesn't really care for (of all things... pears!).

I think that's about all I'm gonna cover for tonight on BLS... I'm no professional, but it's what we are doing with Ryan, so if you have any questions, or if you need clarification, don't hesitate to ask. All I ask of YOU is that you do your research before starting your baby on solid foods, especially looking for information on topics such as "open gut," "breastfeeding and solids," "delaying solids," and "knowing if your baby is developmentally ready for solids." Make the decision that you feel is right for you. Knowing the "why's" behind what you do is what is important. If you've read a lot of information and have done your research but still feel that feeding your baby pureed food is the best, more power to ya! Just know the "why's."

And now for the fun part... the fluff! Here are some photos of Ryan enjoying some food in the early days of BLS, up until now:

8 Month Pictures

2011-10-20T15:11:00.002-05:00

(now I'm finally caught up!)

Ryan is now

months old!

SO much has happened with his development in the past month. During his 8th month he has figured out how to...

...sit himself up

...sign "milk"

...sign "more"

...wave bye-bye

...say "mama"

...pull himself up to standing

...crawl "for real"

...and he also has his first two teeth!

He weighs 15lbs, 13oz and is 28 1/4" long. Still just a (long) peanut, but he is so happy and healthy!

7 Month Pictures

2011-10-20T15:00:00.001-05:00

months, Ryan was:

15lbs

28" long

He started clapping when we say "YAYYY!" and army crawling. He is such a blessing to us and we love him so much!!

6 Month Pictures

2011-10-20T14:52:00.001-05:00

I'm playing a little "catch up" today... if I don't do it now, it won't ever happen! Here are Ryan's 6 month pictures.

months Ryan was...

14lbs, 8oz

27" long

{ embrace the camera : 10.20 }

2011-10-20T07:19:00.003-05:00

tickles and kisses!

Ryan loves being tickled and kissed; he squirms and giggles if I get the right spot. Love my little guy!

I think it's time for a remote for the timer on our camera...

Embrace the Camera with Emily!!

{ embrace the camera : 10.13 }

2011-10-13T07:45:00.001-05:00

Whoa. I haven't embraced the camera in, well... like two months. We moved (wanna see our house?) ... and then just got internet last week! I've missed this!

So, here's my "embracing" photo for this week; Jake called from work. Ryan [who is 8 months now... say what? EIGHT?!] always loves "talking to his papa on the phone. My sister was here so I asked her to snap a photo of us. This makes my heart so happy!!

Ryan loves his papa. As soon as the truck turns the corner to our house, Ryan seems to understand that it's time to celebrate when I say "PAPA'S HOME!" Jake pops around the corner with a "Hi Ryan!" and we cheer and say "Yaaaay, Papa!" and Ryan claps. It just melts me to see how much this little guy loves my big guy.

I love my family. :]

[ house tour! ]

2011-10-07T20:36:00.000-05:00

FINALLY, we have internet and I am able to show you the house that the Lord has blessed us with! I won't waste any time with words... on to the pictures! :)

Welcome to our home!

Let's take a walk around the yard...

Ready to go inside? We're gonna go up into this little porch and go in through the back door...

...which leads into the kitchen!

[that's the back door we came in]

...from the kitchen, we go into the dining room... turn around...

The dining room is open to the living room...

Through that door way is where we will go next.

[front door]

Then we'll take a right and go down that hallway (which also leads to the kitchen again)...

This hallway leads to the bathroom, our room and Ryan's room... I don't have a picture of our room because Ryan was napping in it at the time. To the left, is the bathroom:

And at the end of the hall is Ryan's room:

[the green seems to be an obnoxious color, but it's more olive-y than the picture suggests]

The other door is our room, but I don't have a picture of that. Imagine a room with blue walls, a white dresser, blankets hanging over the windows, a bed, and a closet. That's about it... nothing too exciting. :]

Anyways, remember that stair case by the front door? This one:

At the top of the stairs is a bathroom...

To the left is our "office" (which has yet to be unpacked...):

And to the left of the bathroom is a built in cabinet and my "sewing/craft" and soon to be guest room...

And... I think that's it! The basement is boring... there is a cool cellar for canned stuff, but other than that, it's just the typical basement.

Jake and I pray that our house will be a blessing to others, as it is something the Lord has blessed us with. It is not OURS, but HIS! We are excited to be living here and we hope to be a light to our neighbors. God has already given us some pretty cool opportunities, and it's exciting!!

Come visit us sometime :]

I'm still alive!!

2011-09-25T18:51:00.000-05:00

...really, I am!

We moved into our new house on August 10th and we haven't had internet since then. Well, we are getting internet at our house on (hopefully!) Wednesday! I am so excited to start blogging again... I have greatly missed this "outlet." I have so much to update... I feel so behind!

...but for now... that is all I am going to post. I'm currently sitting in our garage getting chewed by mosquitoes... because a certain little boy decided to fall asleep in the car on the (10 minute) drive home from grandma's house... aaaand I decided that he needed to sleep. He looks so cozy ;]

Stay tuned for updates, recipes, a home tour, photos and crafts! I've been busy... oh, have I been busy!

MOVING!

2011-08-09T20:11:00.000-05:00

We are moving! No, not the blog... like WE are moving! To our own house! We close on it tomorrow. I haven't said anything here until now... but now it is basically pretty much official. I'm so excited! Here are a few pictures of the outside of the house... I can't wait to make it into our home.

{ embrace the camera : 8.4 }

2011-08-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

i'm sick.
again.
third time this year.
let's just say that me and my immune system will be having a little chat once i'm fully functional.

is it cheating to use old(er) pictures for ETC? ...if so, i guess i'm cheating. whoops... my bad ;) i blame being sick. i promise, next week, there WILL be a photo of me from during the week. these pictures were taken around our first year anniversary by a good friend of ours. i love them. i have three albums worth on FB. *grin*

(yes, i'm like 6 feet tall and my husband is like... 5'6". he gets the best view, he says.)

linkin' up with emily... now back to the couch i go where my ice water, cough drops and youngin' wait for me. i hope i didn't get any of you sick :)

Psalm 100

2011-08-01T09:39:00.000-05:00

It's been a rough couple of days. I'm sick (for the third time this year!!)... and we all know that there is no such thing as a sick day when you are a mama. Not gonna lie, part of me misses the days when, if I wasn't feeling well, that I could just lay in bed all day, rest and focus on getting better! Mothering is definitely a call to be selfless... even when you feel like you are dyyying and all you want is for other people to serve you (ask how you are doing, bring you chicken noodle soup, give you a back rub...!). But I wouldn't give up being a mother for anything! I love Goose to pieces. So today we are taking it easy... spending a lot of time playing on the floor with toys and reading... well, that's really a typical day... but I'm giving myself a break (aka not cleaning during nap time!).

Anyway, on toward the reason for this post... this morning, I read Psalm 100 during my quiet time. The "title" of it says "His Steadfast Love Endures Forever." I just wanted to share this with you! I think I needed to read this today.

Psalm 100

¹ Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!

² Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

³Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

⁵ For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

So much is packed into this short chapter! And it reminds me of so many things... to be joyful... to serve Him with gladness... to praise Him... that He is always faithful... that His love is forever... and that He is GOOD! Even when I feel absolutely SICK and selfishly just want to think about myself. :)

And here's a little bit of love to finish this post off...

Making New Stuff Look Old {tutorial}

2011-07-30T11:03:00.000-05:00

It's no secret: I love old stuff.

Coffee cans.
Buttons.
Cigar boxes.
Blue Mason jars.
Books that are falling apart.
Window frames.
Tea canisters.

...but finding those "treasures" can difficult and sometimes expensive. But we all know how much fun creating something yourself is, though, right? I saw this really neat way how to make something look as though it has layers of aged peeling paint, and I thought it looked really awesome! So I gave it a try and got really excited about sharing it. I hope you have fun with it, too!

You need:

An object to paint (I have the letter "H" but you can paint just about anything!)

Paint (I have brown, vanilla and light blue)
Brush

Sandpaper

Bar of soap (like Dove)

Decide how many layers/colors you want on your object. Paint your base color. If your object is already a color you like then you don't have to do this step.

I liked painting it so it looks kind of grainy, like wood.

After it is completely dry, rub a bar of soap in the spots you want it to look aged/peeled.

(I'm not really left handed. This was for photo purposes only. Haha...)

Then paint your second layer of paint.

After it is completely dry, use sandpaper to remove the paint where you soaped your object. Only the paint covering the soap will come off easily, so you can sandpaper the entire thing lightly and it will only remove the wanted paint.

If you want more paint to look aged on this layer, add some more soap, and then your 3rd layer of paint. Avoid the areas that you already sanded. I rubbed some of the blue paint around the edges of the already peeled areas. If you want, you can wait to do the sanding until the absolute end... but you need to remember where you "soaped" with each layer and put it in the same spots. I decided to play it safe and sand it between layers.

Then sand the top layer.

To add to the aged look, rub some brown or dark paint onto the object.

The finished product:

The H was the second time I tried this technique; I painted this letter D last night, and interestingly, I like my first try better than my second. ;) Unfortunately my last name does not start with a D so I cannot trade. This basket is the start of a birthday gift for a friend who also has the same "rustic/vintage" taste that I like. The mason jar will be turned into... well, you'll have to wait until the next post for that. :)

I think I like that it shows more of the layers of paint... you can see the vanilla color a lot more. It looks more "rough" and I like that!

High Definition? Naw, just last names. :) Maybe I'll "touch up" my H a little so it looks more rough. Yes, I think I will do that...

Enjoy!

{ embrace the camera : 7.28 }

2011-07-28T10:37:00.001-05:00

I'm linking up with Emily today for ETC! You should, too. :]

Here are some photos of me and (almost) 6 month old Ryan enjoying our new swing. He loves being outside!!

Baby and Toddler Leg Warmers { tutorial }

2011-07-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

"Baby Legs" (I think that is a registered trademark, so pretend I didn't say it) are like little leg warmers for babies. They are perfect for use with just a onesie... they make diaper changes and potty trainer easier (quicker access) and protect those tender knees when learning to crawl. You can buy them online, but at $12+ a pair... they are definitely not in my budget! :] So I found a tutorial to make them.

I looked in the "little boys" section for some long socks but couldn't find any... boo. So I wandered over to the girl's section, and was blinded by a huge variety of rainbow covered socks. Like a huge display of them.

Side note: am I the only one who is "annoyed" by the amount of boy clothes vs girl clothes at stores?? I guess "annoyed" is a strong word because it's not like I enjoy shopping anyways.

Carrying on...

I picked out the least girly socks I could find from the girly sock section... but I decided they were still pretty girly. So I'm going give them to a friend of mine (shhh, don't tell her!) who is having a baby girl in around the beginning of November. It's like the perfect time to have cute little leg warmers... she can wear them just with a onesie, or under a skirt a pair or shorts for a cute layered look... oh, it's going to be so much fun for my friend to dress up a little girl!

Another side note: YES, boys can wear leg warmers too... look how cute this little guy is from the Baby Legs website! (although I think MY son would be sweating buckets wearing the shirt + sweater + vest combo )

Anyways. HERE is the tutorial for the leg warmers. I put one of the pairs I made on Ryan, just to test them out... they are pretty much super cute.

Homemade Ice Cream in a Baggie

2011-07-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

source

I found a fun blog recently (okay, a LOT of fun blogs!) and this one had a super simple recipe for home made ice cream in a baggie. Not gonna lie, I do have store bought ice cream in my freezer (per the hubby's request), but some of the ingredients aren't so friendly looking! Plus we all know how yummy home made ice cream is. This recipe is for a single serving of ice cream, made individually... a fun thing for kids to do (or a SAHM who just needs something to do, haha...).

Check out this blog article for the recipe, along with pictures! I made some yesterday but it's back in my freezer, though, minus three bites ;) I like to savor my treats since they are few-ish and far-ish between. ;)

Chicken Pot Pie Empandas

2011-07-25T12:46:00.000-05:00

I tried something a little different for dinner recently. I had the fixings for a chicken pot pie but decided to make them into "empandas." I definitely cheated this time and used store bought crust (shame on me, haha), but I usually make my own. I was short on time so this helped things go a little faster.

Just use any chicken pot pie recipe for the filling, like this one. Cut your pie crusts into quarters and put the filling inside, pushing the filling almost to the corners, but not quite. You need to leave room on the edge to seal them. Dip your finger in some water and rub in around the edge of the crust, and then layer another piece of crust on top, pressing to seal the edges together. Cut slits in the top to let the steam escape.

I baked these at 350* for about 25 minutes.

If you like a lot of crust, this is a good recipe for you. :)

The empandas were pretty big (1/4 of a chicken pot pie, if you think about it)... just right for my husband, but a little too much for me... even though I really like crust. And chicken pot pie. :)

[ five month stats ]

2011-07-22T15:37:00.003-05:00

Ryan may be look petite, but he certainly is gaining weight now! He's been pretty steadily gaining a pound a month for the last 2-3 months. I think he looks "small" because he is so LONG... this boy is going to be tall like his mama!!

five month stats:
a whopping 14lbs

26 1/2" long

That's a pound and a half in a month and a half. :] He slowed down a little bit with his height... but he HAS grown 5" since he was born... that's a lot! Don't ask me about percentiles and all that jazz because I only take him in to get weighed and it wasn't an actual pediatrician appointment. Plus I think those charts are dumb anyways. :]

Here's some eye candy! :]

["MOM! Pulll-eeeeeze give me the camera?! I need a chew toy!"]

["Almost got it...!]

["You know you want to give it to me. I'm so CUTE!"]

["Fine. I'll eat your fingers instead."]

[so blurry; but isn't that just a face you just want to kiss all over?!]

Drool Pads for Ergo Carriers {tutorial}

2011-07-22T15:32:00.004-05:00

Ryan likes being carried in our Ergo carrier, but he tends to chew on the straps when he turns his head... he's at the age where anything and everything possible has one destination: his mouth! I can only imagine that as he gets older and taller than he will want to chew on them all the more. Since I wear him every day (multiple times!), I can't really be throwing the Ergo in the wash all the time to get the spit and saliva off of the straps from his chew-fests. I thought about buying the "official" drool pads with the carrier, but after seeing another tutorial, I figured I could just easily make my own.

The supplies! I don't think I need to list everything off... but you need the basic things (sewing machine, scissors, pins, etc), plus three fabrics (two for the outside and a middle layer, something like flannel) and velcro. I tend to raid the remnant rack at JoAnn fabrics... you can get nice fabric for half price there. Or I go to the thrift store and search there... I'm cheap, I know :]

My outside layer that I wanted to "show" is a soft cotton, the back side is a soft flannel, and the inside is flannel as well. The inside flannel, which is the blue one, is just one of those flannel baby blankets. THRIFT STORE! :] The green fabric and grey fabric are from the remnant rack.

I cut three rectangles from each fabric, for each drool pad. I cut out a 9 1/4" by 6 1/2" piece of paper and used that as my template to sew by, but I left the pieces of fabric with random edges that I would trim later. I like to do things the hard way. If I was doing it easier (and I totally suggest you do it this way), I would have just made my pattern 1/2" bigger on each side and just cut each piece of fabric out from there using my rotary cutter and mat. But no, I like to do things the hard way. :]

Lay each layer of fabric on the table, starting with the side UP that you want facing OUT. Place your second 'outer piece' face DOWN on that, and then finally put down your middle piece.

If you want a strap to hang toys from, cut a piece of fabric, fold it, and sew it. It doesn't matter how long it is.

Like I said before, I like to do things difficultly... so I drew around my pattern and planned to sew on that line. DUMB. I don't know why I did that. The line isn't straight. I've never used a line before for sewing. Like I said before, I should have just made my pattern a little bigger and cut it out with my rotary cutter. OR... I could have used a ruler and made straight lines. That wouldn't have been a bad idea. No big deal, though. The above photo shows how you should place the "toy strap" on the fabric... but you want to place the loop towards the inside, BETWEEN the two "outside pieces" of fabric (in my case, between the green patterned fabric and the grey fabric).

Pin it!

Then you sew around the edges, but leave an opening so you can turn your fabric the right way. After that, you trim away the excess fabric. It's best if you leave some fabric in front of the opening so that you have some fabric to tuck inside when you sew it again.

Turn it right side out. You should iron it flat at this point... but if your iron is still in storage (*sigh*) from when you moved to Kenya for a year... just pull the edges out as flat as you can.

Then stitch around the edge again, tucking in the little flaps in the opening.

Cut two piece of velcro to fit, and pin them on as shown above.

Then sew them on!

Aaaand... you have drool/chew strap covers. Not perfect by any means, but a fun and pretty simple project!

Unfortunately (well, actually, fortunately) my baby is taking a nap so I can't model him in the Ergo with his new strap covers. But I will sometime soon, and post a photo. But for now, you'll have to deal with my chair wearing the Ergo for me. ;]

*edited on 8/1/11 to add*

If you're here from Craft Gossip Sewing... eek! I'm totally flattered and equally freaking out right now! I've never been featured on any other blog before!! Thanks for dropping by my humble little blog... link back to your blog so I can come say hi to you, too!! Oh, and here is one (not so great) photo of Ryan enjoying the Ergo with the toys and strap covers... I keep forgetting to take a better photo!

bubbles.

2011-07-21T17:35:00.001-05:00

My sister Sarah and her daughter Annika came over to visit me and Ryan recently. She pulled out some bubbles and started blowing. I must be a really lame mom because it didn't even occur to me yet that Ryan might enjoy looking at bubbles! Here are some fun photos from our time together.

[cousins]

["Wheeeeeee bubbleeees!"]

["Okay, I'm done now!"]

{ embrace the camera : 7.21 }

2011-07-21T06:52:00.001-05:00

I've been missing Kenya lately. A LOT. So today for ETC, I'm posting some "oldies but goodies" from our time in Kenya in 2010.

My husband and I were working at a discipleship school with another couple from our church. The discipleship program was for high school graduates. They would come to live with us on the farm for 10 months, and they would work on the farm to pay for their stay. After devotions and breakfast, the students would either work in the garden or take care of the animals. After a break or two for tea, lunch was eaten and then the classes would start. We had two 2 hour classes a day on various spiritual topics. Occasionally Jake and I were able to take the students out on mission trips. Well, they more so took US... it was obviously less of a cultural shock for them than for us!

Anyways, we had a commitment to be there for 11 months, but because I was so sick with this guy, who is now 5 months old:

[grumpy mc. grumperson]

...we had to come home early. I was very sick and we weren't sure if he was being affected in any way... we drank a lot of random water and ate a lot of food that we hadn't prepared. What else are you supposed to do on a mission trip when these people give you all that they have? You eat... you drink... and you pray!! Thankfully, our baby was not in danger... and my sickness lasted for a couple weeks before I felt sick solely from the pregnancy.

Anyways, our experience there was a blast... but it was very hard, too... and we learned so much. I miss so many things about it.

[on a mission trip in meru, kenya. 17 weeks pregnant]

[my good friend phillister (a student leader) and I]

[all of the girls at the school; I was 25 weeks pregnant here]

[me and one of the students, mary]

[with one of my little friends on the farm; this guy died the next day... wah!]

All of my blog entries with Kenya pictures have been tagged, so if you'd like to see some more photos, you'll be able to find them mostly under either "Africa" or "photography" in my labels or other random African-sounding labels... ha!

Remember to link up with Emily!!

5 Month Pictures

2011-07-19T07:10:00.002-05:00

I finally got around to taking Ryan's five month pictures yesterday... I think I should start calling them "___1/2 month pictures" because that's what the trend seems to be!! It's been really nasty hot outside, so we had to settle for indoor pictures... and after last month's outdoor pictures (that I think turned out really great!), these just don't seem to measure up. BUT Ryan is in them, so it's okay... he makes any pictures cute ;) I'm hoping to get him weighed/measured today and we'll see what he is up to now; any guesses? He was 12.8 when he was weighed last month. Here are the pictures!!

{ embrace the camera : 7.14 }

2011-07-14T07:00:00.001-05:00

It's time to Embrace The Camera!! Here are a few pictures from last month that I just hadn't posted yet... reading/playing time with my little guy, Ryan.

[so intrigued by the book... wide eyed!]

["night time for little pookie"]

[now he's intrigued by the camera... wide eyed again!]

[a rhyming bible for toddlers... he loves the pictures!]

[goofy grin and playing with his favorite ball]

[chewing on absolutely EVERYTHING! teething?]

[oh hi, mom...! brown eyed beauty... er, handsome]

Remember to link up with Emily!! It's her birthday tomorrow; leave her lots of love!

Paper Bows {tutorial}

2011-06-25T09:01:00.003-05:00

I recently posted this photo on Facebook:

...and got quite a few compliments on my home made bows, as well as a request for a tutorial. The bows are super, super easy to make. So, here is the tutorial!

BONUS: Can you guess what products are advertised on the paper made into the two bows on the left-ish side of the box?

Here's what you need:

Magazines

Scissors

Tape

Paper cutter (not necessary, but extreeeemely nice to have)

FIRST?

Find a pretty picture, or one with fun colors.

Rip the page out, and cut the page into 9 equal strips. I recommend using a 1" width or less. These were cut to 3/4".

Then, leave three of the strips the full length of the magazine page.

Cut the next three strips off by an inch.

Cut the next two strops off by two inches.

And cut the last one down to 3 inches.

Then I like to fold the strips in half, so I have a midpoint and know where to fold the paper.

And then I fold the ends, about to the halfway point.

Fold both ends of each piece and tape them securely. Loop the last one in a circle.

Then tape them together, separating the longest three to create a 6 point star.

Continue taping each piece in, taping the next smallest strips in a staggered pattern.

...I cheated and added two more strips because it wasn't full enough.

Tape the circle into the middle.

And as my sister Erin would say... "VOILA."
(she really did say it; she's sitting next to me)

You can make different size bows; on this one, I made bigger loops to make a bigger, more full bow.

More clues for the bonus question... does this picture help at all? :]

and:

If you can't figure them out...

...you'll just have to wait.

{ embrace the camera : 6.23 }

2011-06-23T06:32:00.001-05:00

Jake's brother got married a couple weekends ago. I know I just recently shared some wedding pictures, but for the sake of ETC, here are some of just me, my husband and our 4 1/2 month old son, Ryan.

4 Month Pictures

2011-06-16T12:21:00.003-05:00

Here are Ryan's 4 month pictures. :]

{ four months old }

2011-06-14T14:25:00.000-05:00

Ryan is...

months

old!

He weighs 12lbs, 8oz and is 26 1/4" long.

Things he likes...

-his crinkle book

-sucking/gnawing on his fingers/thumb

-"Charlie," his monkey blanket

-tummy time

-bath time

-sitting in his high chair

-smiling and giggling

He can...

-roll over, most frequently from tummy to back (since 3 months), but more recently back to tummy, also

-sit up with some support

-stand up (when he wants to) with some support

...and today, during tummy time, he started sticking his butt up in the air, getting up on his knees and pushing forward with his feet. He turned himself around 180 degrees!

I'll hopefully be able to take his 4 month pictures this week, and I'll post them when I can!

[his new favorite face]

Zac and Katie's wedding

2011-06-11T09:22:00.001-05:00

My brother in law got married yesterday... and now I have a sister in law! Yay! Here are some (okay, a lot of) pictures!

Spicy Peanut Noodles

2011-06-09T14:05:00.002-05:00

Today I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes. You'll have to excuse the terminology... I don't typically measure things that I make, so you'll have to guess. I'll give you an idea of what amount it is, but it's all pretty much a guessing game. It's more fun that way!

I like Asian food. I like spicy food. And I like peanut butter. So a combination of those things would be spicy peanut noodles.

Obviously this noodle dish is ideal with stir fried veggies... carrots, peppers, pea pods, cabbage, peas, broccoli, etc... but I haven't been able to get to the grocery store yet (wife fail), which means I have no fresh veggies awaiting consumption.

So I just made the noodles.

These are the ingredients you will need:

crushed red pepper flakes

rice vinegar

seseme seed oil

peanut butter

onion

garlic

chicken flavoring cube

ginger

...fresh things are always better, hence the ginger. I didn't have any of my own chicken stock made, so I used a cube.

Oh, and you'll need water. Obviously. And these:

Lo mein noodles. Mmm. you could use spaghetti noodles if you wanted... but it's just not the same.

---

First, put water into a medium pot for your noodles and turn it on high to get it to a boil. Put a little bit of oil (1 tablespoon?) and the chopped garlic, grated ginger and red pepper flakes into a small saucepan... here's where your preference comes into play... like spicy? add a lot of red pepper flakes. Don't like spicy so much? don't add very many red pepper flakes. Cook all that goodness until they get a little brown.

While they are cooking (hurry, it doesn't take long), put about 1 cup of hot water into a bowl/big measuring cup and add a scoop or two of peanut butter. Whisk them together. Add a little rice vinegar for flavor, and whisk again.

[Whisk, whisk, whisk]

Once your seasonings are browned a little bit, like this, add a tiny bit of the peanut butter mixture and stir it. Slowly add the rest, while whisking. Cook it until it thickens.

By now, your water should be boiling:

...but don't watch it, because then it won't boil. Or so they say.

Then take your fun lo mein noodles... that look like really thin pieces of wood...

[just a fun shot for photography purposes...]

and throw 'em in your boiling water. I broke mine in half first, because my pot is a little on the smaller side. And they are easier to eat post-cooking.

[...hi noodlies! ]

Then go and snap a few pictures of your adorable 4 month old who is watching curiously from his highchair. Notice the thumb. It's a recent discovery. I'm not going to encourage it, but it's not a battle I'm going to fight, either.

HI RYAN!

...isn't he cute?!

After 7-8 minutes, your noodles are probably done:

Drain them and put them back in your pan. Then add your peanut butter mixture. A little if you just want them coated... or a lot, if you want them... really coated.

Stir, stir, stir.

The finished product?

Ta da!

Now just think of how much more colorful and delicious it would be it was a bed for layer of crisp, stir fried veggies... and topped with some cilantro and lime. MMMM.