Toddler Tales #1

It's been a few months since I designated a post just to updating y'all on Bitsy, so I decided it was about time.

I typically like to post after we've had a doctor's appointment and once we have new stats for our growing girl!

So here goes it, Bitsy just had her 15 month appointment and here are her staggering new stats:

She weighed in at 28 lbs and 8 oz (up 1 lb 11 oz from her 1 year check up....she's slowing down)

She is a whopping 32-1/8" tall (6.125" of growth in 3 months!)

She is over 100th percentile for her age group, but the doctor said she's healthy and taking after her tall parents.

All great news!

So what else is new with our toddler?

Well she is an expert at standing all on her own, but when it comes to walking....not yet.

She graced us with about 3-4 steps a handful of times and on Christmas we got 7 WHOLE steps before she returned to the crawling position.

Let me tell you though, I am in no hurry for her to walk.

I hear all the parents who say that once they start walking life changes in a whole new level and I have no doubt!

I've also heard that kiddos that take longer to walk develop better eye hand coordination and let's be honest here I want her to be coordinated!

In all honesty, the Dr asked me to put her down so he could see her walk at her appointment.

I kindly informed him of her lack of walking and so he wanted me to hold her hands and walk her that way.

I did and she took off.

It was then that he told me, "I would never play pool with this girl, she's snowballing you.  She knows how to walk, she just doesn't want to".

That being said it looks like we'll have a REAL toddler on our hands soon!

Having Bitsy in our lives brightens our days.

It's hard work being a parent, but even after tantrums (I fear we are entering that stage), learning curves, etc., watching a little one grow is the most awesome experience!

I recently turned to Bud and said, "We created her".

I was awe-stricken.

He kindly reminded me that God created her, but yes it was with our help.

I am still waiting for Bitsy to start using more words, she still seems VERY fond of "Dog, Dad, and Hi".  She only seems to call out for "Mama" when she is upset.

She is signing "More" and "Finished" when she eats which is fun.

More often than not though she seems to get away with pointing at things and saying "Ah ah ah".

I get it now, Mom's know what their kids want and it's easy to fall prey to just giving it to them when they point.  I'm working hard to at least say the name of the object before I give it to her.

I'm also trying to ask her if said object is what she wants, sometimes she will shake her head "Yes" (which is adorable!).

Well that's all I have for you on our silly toddler!

I hope you all had a Blessed Thursday!

My Dad!

I love having house guests!

I especially love when my Dad gets to come visit!

I just saw him in Michigan back in October, but we were fortunate enough to get him to come up just before Christmas to spend a few days with us.

It was nice because he finally got to see the table he helped Bud start, finished.

My Dad wanted to make chocolate covered Peanut Butter Balls, which if any of you know I've made a version including crushed pretzels before.

I excluded the pretzel part and we got started.

 Unfortunately, the peanut butter dough was melting in Dad's hands when he attempted to roll it into balls.

We had to stop and put our dough back in the freezer so that it was easier to work with.

 Then came the fun of dipping each frozen peanut butter ball into the chocolate.

We had to work fast, because the peanut butter balls were thawing and the toothpicks didn't want to stay intact!

 We finished them though, chilled them again, and enjoyed the RICH peanut butter, chocolate flavor.

Bitsy enjoyed having her Grandpa here.

Especially, when she got a shot at playing with his sunglasses!

 "Sunglasses are cool, Mom"!

 Dad's visit was short, but filled with fun.

We wrapped a few presents together.

We got away to see "Rise of the Guardians" one night.

My new favorite Christmas movie!

Dad helped me run errands and pick out a couple gifts for Bud this year.

I forgot to mention he brought his 100lb chocolate lab named "What" with him.

What got a long with Cappy & Pup and more importantly Bitsy.

She loves dogs!

I am definitely a Daddy's girl and I relish each and ever time we get to spend together.

Bitsy seemed to enjoy it too ;) 

I hope you had a Blessed Weekend!

What We Did....A Painting Class

I finally get it.

I am addicted.

One class and I'm already scouring the calendar and upcoming classes to see when I can get another fix in!

Have you ever been to one of those learn to paint classes?

The kind where you bring your own beverages and snacks?

I just recently had the opportunity to go (Thank You GROUPON!) and let me tell you it was a blast.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a posse of friends like everyone else there.

It was just me.

But I still had a blast....

This was about 1 hour into the painting...

...it was a 3 hour class.

It is crazy to see how everything comes together!

The grapes and the trees were my favorite part.

And here is the finished product.
How cool is that?

Here is my challenge to you.
I know that the holidays are CrAzY busy right now, but maybe in the New Year, I challenge you to do something different.
Find one of the painting classes, grab some friends and go.
Or go alone and relish some introspective creativity time.
Painting not your thing?
Find a yarn store and see if they offer knitting/crocheting classes.
Check out Michael's and Hobby Lobby to see if they have any cake decorating or framing classes.
The goal here is to do something different.
Go outside of your comfort zone.
Don't have the funds to take a class, there are free classes if you look for them.
Or find a friend who does something you aren't fluent in and ask them for a lesson.

Anyways, that's my two cents!
I hope you had a Blessed Wednesday!

Pecan Pie

I know that Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, but Christmas is only 2 weeks away and maybe just maybe you make pie for Christmas too?

I love Pecan Pie.

LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

And prior to this year I had a very hard time getting it to set right.

Today I am going to share a recipe that worked!

Here Is What You'll Need:

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup light corn syrup

- 3/4 stick margarine, melted

- 1 cup chopped pecans (I used pecan pieces, I like that better)

- 1 unbaked pie shell

DO NOT PREHEAT...

In a bowl, beat your eggs.

Mix in your sugar.

Then add the corn syrup and butter.

And finally the pecans.

Mix well.

Pour into your pie shell.

Place your pie into a cold oven.

Turn oven to 300º and bake for 1 hour.

Where is the after picture you ask?

I ATE IT!

All of it, Bwahahahaha!

Okay maybe I didn't eat it all, our friends helped, but let's just say I was over eager to dig in and forgot to get a final picture.

Do you make pie for Christmas dinner?

If not, what is the Christmas dessert?

I hope you have a Blessed Tuesday!

Baked Parm Spaghetti

Being a Mom is a hard gig!

Everyone knows that Mom does more than just mother.

We are nurses, teachers, activity coordinators, chauffeurs, housekeepers, and of course 5 star chefs!

Okay maybe not 5 star chefs, but we do have to keep the menu changing to please our clientele, at least until they are old enough to understand that what we give them is what they will be eating.

My little food critique is a special case.

The girl doesn't and has never allowed us to spoon or fork feed her.

No baby food in this house.

She went straight from milk to finger foods.

After a while meal prep for a toddler becomes a game of "What can she feed herself vs. what will she eat".

This dinner was a first for all parties and well....let's see how it turned out:   

First things first coordinate dinner with your little person ;)

Okay maybe not really, but doesn't she look a little skeptical of the menu?

Here Is What You'll Need:

- 3/4 of a box of thin spaghetti

-2 cups pasta sauce

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

- 1 tablespoon basil leaves chopped

- salt and pepper to taste

-1 lb ground beef

-1/2 onion chopped

-3 cloves minced garlic

Preheat your oven to 350º

Cook spaghetti according to package

Chop your onion.

Add olive oil to a skillet set to medium heat

saute onion, salt, and pepper for approximately 5 minutes.

Add your garlic and stir for another minute.

Now add your beef, break it apart and brown it up nicely.

Stir in 1/2 of your pasta sauce...

and 1/2 of your basil.

Mix well.

Remember that pasta that you were cooking...it's up!

Toss in pasta.

Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

Add 1/2 of the spaghetti mix, top with 1/2 cup pasta sauce, and 1/2 of each cheese.

Repeat.

Look at all that CHEESE!

Bake for 20 minutes.

It should look a little like this when it's done.

Now for the taste test....

Despite her look of skepticism, the pasta sauce all over her face is proof that she likes it!

She actually loved it.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the mozzarella, but it really doesn't matter the reason :) 

The joys of feeding a toddler are never ending...

well at least until they are older.

But it's fun to watch them try new things and experience new flavors.

What are some of your little ones favorite finger foods?

Bitsy loves hot dogs, scrambled eggs, orange slices, and pepperoni!

I hope you have a Blessed Monday!  

What We Did-Michigan Part 2 & a Winner!

Good Morning Everyone!

Now back to what we do here on Wednesdays...

What We Did....Michigan Continued.....
Last week I told you about how Bitsy got to meet her Great Grandparents for the first time.
Well there were some other firsts and some seconds...and well let me just introduce you to more of the family!

My Dad was fortunate enough to get to come visit at the same time we were there.
We squeezed in some good father/daughter/granddaughter time!

My Dad holding on to Bitsy!

She was in an awesome mood and had a cracker...all she needed was some CHEESE!

...or at least a raspberry!

Seeing my Dad play with Bitsy melts my heart.

It reminds me of how he played with us as kids.

There was one night at my grandparents house when he crawled around behind Bitsy tossing a water bottle.

As soon as she'd get close he'd knock it further away and she would just giggle and laugh and laugh and giggle.

One reason my Dad came to Michigan when we were there was because he was adopting his sisters Chocolate lab.

Bitsy has 2 second cousins who are 2 and 9 months and the Chocolate lab was a big boy who inadvertently ran the kiddos over.

My Dad swooped in to take the pup back with him, to be a MANLY dog.

My Aunt took full advantage of having so many manly men around for sure!

See...her husband just had surgery on his ankle so he was resting...and she needed fencing put up so the horses could safely go out to pasture.

In comes my Grandpa, Dad, and husband to save the day. 

Grandma, Bitsy, and I did some shopping nearby and stopped by to see how the guys were doing on the fence.

Honestly, they rocked it!

We also stopped by so Bitsy could see the animals.

She thought the Moo-ing was funny...

I couldn't get over how cute this little one was!

On the left is a draft pony, then a mule/donkey?, and then Dudley...the horse my Aunt brought home from her 17 years in Australia...he's a beast and he only likes her.

Bitsy was amazed by all the sights and sounds.

So as you can see Michigan isn't just our quiet get away place...

it's our family place.

My Dad, Bitsy, and I relaxing on the back porch at my Grandparents.

Bitsy and her Great-Aunt.

I think they took Bitsy's shirt to heart!

My Aunt & I.

Crazy that we are both Mom's of little ones at the same time!

So many little ones to love.

My Dad, Myself, Bud, Bitsy, and My Grandpa.

Bitsy and her Great-Grandpa!

He's surrounded by granddaughters now days and he's loving every minute of it.

Bitsy and her Great-Grandma.

Pretty sure she likes her too!

CHEESE!

Bitsy and her Great-Grandparents.

It's a lot of work to hold that 27lb baby!

Bitsy was getting tired...if you can't tell.

My Grandpa and I.

I'm the first and obviously the oldest grandchild.

And of course I had to get another picture of my Dad and I.

Sweet moments like this are what our 9 days in Michigan were all focused around.

Nothing fancy.

Just time together.

3 Generations of girls....too bad my Aunt wasn't in this picture, we would have had all 4 generations!

It was a wonderful trip that left us refreshed and renewed...

...okay maybe it left one of us exhausted.

She slept the entire way to the airport.

We felt so blessed to get to spend so much time up in Michigan with family.

It was a comfortable, low maintenance, slow paced, vacation.

I'm thinking it would be lovely to have another 9 day get away post holidays, but that's not in the cards.

Is anyone else running around like a crazy person these days?

I love it to a point, but I am definitely happy when the New Year arrives and the pace slows down again.

Enjoy the season and remember why we celebrate!

I hope you all have a Blessed Friday!