Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful man in the world. You are...

my best friend,

an amazing father,

fun,

exciting,

an amazing entrepreneur,

a wonderful provider,

a hard worker,

handsome (but Madeline would say, "no he's daddy"),

our trash man :),

"the carry everything up from the car" man,

"the jump right in to the family when you get home from a long day" man,

my better half,

my encourager,

our spiritual leader,

the man I admire,

the man I respect,

adventurous,

good at everything you try,

29!

I love you so much! Happy Birthday!

Ouchy

Madeline had just fallen and hit her head. But, since Andrew seemed to have the snuggling and comforting under control, I lovingly stood by with my camera :) I think the daddy hugs worked because she was back to herself in no time.

Overheard At My House

A friend of mine does "Overheard at my house" over at her blog. And I think it is so fun to read. So, I thought I would start my own. I hope you don't mind Sara-Beth?! (It's kind of like a blog carnival.)

Today at Michael's, I was probably out much later than I should have been. It was definitely Madeline's nap time. So, she was whining a little bit. So, I said, "Madeline, please stop whining or we will go home and take a nap right now." She responded with, "I'm not whining, mommy! I'm just making funny noises." How did she get to be so smart for her own good?

Gigi...

(pronounced with a hard g, as in "golf")... and Pawpaw came for a visit last week. I don't get too many pictures of mom with the kids. So, when I saw my sweet boy passed out on her shoulder, I had to capture the moment. Unfortunately, I didn't get any of Pawpaw. I'm sure he was off somewhere being bossed around by a sweet little Madeline who might happen to have him wrapped around her little finger.

Boys vs Girls

We had a little photoshoot at our house this week.

Happy Valentine's Day to Naomi, Madeline and Oliver!

I love you so much! Happy Valentine's Day! You are the best family in the whole world!

Also featured on howtomakeadollar.

Ergo

I have heard lots of great comments/reviews on the Ergo Baby Carriers. But, they can be a little pricey. So, when I saw the opportunity to win one, I signed up. Head on over to Lydia's blog to see for yourself!

Pludo!

We ventured to Target Tuesday morning before the second snow storm came. Andrew found some Play-do and thought it would be a fun activity for Madeline while we were snowed in. He was right! It has been fun for the whole family.

Madeline has asked for her "pludo" many times already. She really wants to eat it. She has also gotten a lot of scissor practice since she discovered she could cut it with her scissors from her doctor set. She also likes to step on it with her feet.

Andrew has shown his talent with play-do as he is able to juggle it and make cinnamon buns, snakes, butterflies and below you will see his doggy with a ball and pacifier.

I can make snowmen, which can be very difficult when someone keeps stealing your head and buttons.

Hitchin' A Ride with Daddy

When are kids supposed to outgrow these thing? I never used the Bjorn with Madeline while she was little. It always hurt my back. But, Andrew uses it with Oliver sometimes. And of course, Madeline now wants a ride as well. Her legs look about 10 miles long in this thing! I need to get a back pack for her. (or maybe an Ergo, wink wink, Cristen)

Oliver enjoyed hangin' out on Andrew's shoulders yesterday. I think he liked to eat his hair.

And no, these pictures were not taken in the late afternoon with all of us still in our pajamas. Well, actually there is no picture of me. So, you will never know that I stayed in my pajamas all day long as well.

3 Months Old

Oliver turns 3 months old today. I feel like he's not a little baby anymore (although I know he is). But, he is growing and doing so much.

He is sleeping pretty well. At night, he sleeps in his bed and he usually goes to sleep sometime between 10 and 11. He will sleep until about 5 or 6 in the morning. I will feed him and put him back down until about 9. During the day, he mostly takes naps in his swing. He stays asleep much longer than in his crib. He curls up on his side and waits for us to put a blanket up next to his face. Then he drifts off to sleep. He seems to be a pretty sound sleeper. His swing is out in the living room around us and we never close the door to his room while he is sleeping in his crib. So, he gets pretty used to all of our noise. He will also sleep really well in my sling. So, he sleeps most of the time when we are out shopping.

He smiles so easily. It just lights up my heart. He even started giggling last week. He loves to look at himself in the mirror. He usually sits in the Bumbo and looks at himself while I get ready in the mornings. He is very social and will coo and smile back when you talk to him. He does not like to be left alone. He wants to be around people.

He loves his daddy a lot. (It must be the coke that he gives him. He's a little late getting his first sip though. Madeline got her's at 2 months.) He is very happy in Andrew's arms. He has also been smiling a lot at Madeline as she goes about her day.

He is getting better at grabbing things every day. He sits up in his exersaucer pretty well and can make some of the toys make music on his own. He has rolled over from his back to his belly. But, we missed it. We were getting Madeline ready for bed and came back out and saw him on his belly. (Although, my mom and I both witnessed him rolling over the day after we brought him home from the hospital.) He has also rolled from his belly to his back. But, he was mad that I was laying him down for a nap. So, that helped him get over. :)

Oliver is such a joy. He has been such an easy baby. And we thank God for blessing us with him. It's hard to imagine life without him now. We love you Ollie boy!

Not Me Monday...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. This is the first time I have done one. But, it sounds like fun.

I certainly did not go out to dinner this past week for a mom's night out in jeans that my son had just peed on 10 minutes earlier because I thought they were mostly dry by the time I left. That's completely gross and probably stinky too.

And this picture was not taken today. I mean, it's February people! Who would still have Christmas decorations out.

Would you like to share what you have NOT been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me Monday blog carnival over at McMama.

Snow Day

I'm not sure how much snow we have. I will have to go out and measure tomorrow. But, when we went out to play earlier today it was up to Madeline's chest and it was still snowing. She kept getting stuck in it. But, she didn't want to go back inside (even though her hands had to be freezing and her cheeks were pretty rosey). Even Baby Stella got to play in it. She took Stella's hands and feet and put them in the snow so she could feel it. If I laid Stella down in the snow, she would say, "You left Stella!" So, Stella went all around with us. Good thing Madeline likes snow because we are supposed to get more on Tuesday night. I don't think we will be dug out from this storm by then.

Foodie!

Or, most people would call them smoothies. Madeline loves them. Which is good since she just recently decided that milk was yucky. I asked her this morning if she wanted one. But, since she was snuggling with me, she wanted daddy to make it. So, this is how the conversation went.

Me-"Madeline, do you want a smoothie?"

Madeline-"I want Daddy to make it."

Me-"Daddy doesn't know how to make it."

Madeline talking to Andrew-"This is how you do it. You need strawberries, honey and peanut butter."

And then she went back to watching her cartoons while she waited for daddy to make it. She was partially correct. We don't actually put peanut butter in our smoothies though. But, definitely use strawberries and honey. And she keeps her ears covered from the time I take the blender out until it is done because it is really loud.

Springtime

Despite the additional inches of snow last night and the more snow they are calling for this weekend, it is like springtime in our house. Madeline and I found this fun flower at JoAnn's Fabrics yesterday. I told her she could have it if she would let me take her picture. With an additional bribe (a candy cane) she let me take her picture today. And she even took her paci out for me. This is progress people!

The Mail's Here!

Madeline really enjoys checking the mail for us. She needs a little help getting the key into the hole and turning it. But, finding what's inside is so exciting!

The Verdict

So how did the taste test go?

Out of 3 kids (we had 2 friends over today), each plate mostly looked like this. The hotdog gone. The blueberries gone. Part of the red peppers gone. But, the mac n cheese still there. All by its little lonesome. I think it is safe to say that it wasn't a hit.

I will not be dismayed though. I plan on making it again. But, I think I might leave out the cream cheese. Although, I liked it. It does give the dish a different taste. I think I will also make it on the night that I plan on serving it. It wasn't quite as creamy the second night. (I just wasn't sure that I would have time to make it today with 2 extra kiddos around.) So, I will charge ahead at the task of finding a mac n cheese that is creamy and healthy. Not a powder out of a box. (no matter how much Madeline loves the mystery powder stuff)

Here is the recipe though for those of you who were interested. Maybe your kids will feel differently.

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

~1 1/2 cups noodles

~nonstick cooking spray

~1T olive oil

~1T all-purpose flour

~1/2 cup skim milk

~1/2 cup butternut squash or cauliflower puree

~1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

~4 oz. cream cheese

~1/2 tsp salt

~1/8 tsp paprika

~1/8 tsp pepper

1. Make pasta

2. Coat a saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vegetable puree, cheddar, cream cheese, and seasonings, and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.

Deceptively Delicious

At one of Oliver's baby showers, I was given the cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld's wife). The premise is to hide vegetable purees into food so that you can serve your family vegetables without having to have the daily battles over "eating your vegetables".

So, I decided to give it a try. My first recipe?... Mac n' Cheese!

The secret ingredient?... 1/2 cup of butternut squash.

along with other yummy stuff like cream cheese and paprika.

And viola! I now have a yummy, healthier, creamy mac n cheese that Andrew actually approved. The true test will be tomorrow when I give it to Madeline. We are also going to try the chicken nuggets this week.