Catch-up Post Drew turns one!

Drew turned one on October 10th.  I had a hard time with that one, as we plan on him being our last.  It's just so weird to think that we are moving out of the baby stage :(  We love our little Drew so much.  When he turned a year, he wasn't walking like his big sister Jillian was at a year.  In fact, he is now 14 months old and he still isn't walking!

He says some words:  more, hi, bye, thankyou (one word and hard to understand), mama, hida (hi Dad), Max, Snowball (the babysitter's dogs), Kaleigha (which he shouts and it sounds like k-yeah), Jill-Jill.

He still doesn't have much hair.  But, he has this soft little fuzz on his head.

He is so sweet and he loves to snuggle with us.  He is so very affectionate.

Drew loves ice cream and doesn't like drinking his milk cold (kind of a contradiction there... ha ha!)

His eyes are still a really dark color and when ever we are out, people always comment on how cute he is.  He has a super sweet dimple in his cheek that hasn't gone away.

For his birthday, we did a Vintage Circus Theme

My sweet little boy showing off his dimple :)

Ahhh, I just LOVE him so very much!!  We are so thankful that God has blessed us with his sweet little soul!

Creamy White Cheddar Cheese Mac

THIS IS YUMMY!!! 

To be made in the crockpot.  It could easily be modified for the oven though :)

















Creamy White Cheddar Cheese Mac:

16oz box of Pasta of choice
8 oz Vermont White Cheddar shredded (equals over 2 cups shredded)
10 oz of Velveeta Queso Blanco
2 - 3 T butter
1/3 c whole milk
2/3 c chicken stock
1/2 c sour cream
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Dash of Parsley for top

Boil the pasta for 6 minutes and then drain.

Melt the butter on med. high heat and then add cheese and Velveeta.  When the mixture has thickened into a sauce, add the milk and the stock to the mixture.  Put the pasta into the crockpot container and add the melted cheese mixture and then put the cream cheese on top of this.  Mix this well.  Sprinkle a dash of Parsley over the top and then place in crockpot on low for 2 1/2 hours. 

Chicken and Homemde Noodles

Chicken and Homemade Noodles

Great Sunday afternoon recipe, especially on a nice fall day like today.

Recipe:
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
3 cups of water
1 cup of shredded cooked chicken
1 carrot diced
1 stalk of celery diced
1 cube of chicken bouillon
dash of Lawry's Seasoning
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1/2 of Homemade Egg Noodles 

Combine everything but the noodles.  Cook for 30 minutes until cooked down.  Add noodles and cook for 6 minutes (homemade noodles cook fairly quickly).

Yum!  We all loved it and since I modified the recipe, I wanted to be able to save it :)

Mo Willems' Pigeon Birthday theme party

We had a Mo Willems Pigeon birthday party for Jillian when she turned 3 this past weekend.  We love the Mo Willems books - so we designed her birthday part around Mo Willems' books: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus & Pigeon Finds a Hotdog. 

We of course served hotdogs, brats and metts - with assorted hotdog toppings. 

Pigeon Puppets

Hotdog Cupcakes

"The Bus" from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

The bus was a hit with all the kids!

Happy 3rd (!!) birthday Jillian

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Doctor, when the doctor says no more monkeys jumping on the bed.

Where do you want to live when you grow up?

Ohio 

Where do you want to go on vacation?

To the restaurant

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?

Play with Mommy, because I like to jump around.

Daddy?

Play

Kaleigha?

Play with her, my toys.

Drew?

Play with his toys.

What is your favorite place to go for fun?

The ice cream place

What would you do with a million dollars?

Give it to the lady, the other one that we saw (?); Put it in the cash register.

What was the best thing about being 2?

Reading

What are you going to do now that you are 3?

I'm not your baby, I'm a big girl now.

What did you learn about Jesus this past year?

We pray to Jesus. 
Who does Jesus love?

All the little children.

What are you looking forward to about being 3?

Playing and ..... ?

Favorites:

Favorite Store?

 Target

Favorite Song:

"Jesus Loves Me, Yes, Jesus Loves me, Yes, Yes"

Place to eat?

Chic-fil-a

Food?

Um, peanut butter jelly sandwich

Color?

Orange and pink

Toy?

Baby ( a little soft doll that my Aunt Claire gave her when she was born)

Book?

Dora the Explorer & I Broke My Trunk

Thing to wear?

Pony 

Your pony tail in your hair?

um, yup

Is there anything else you want to say at the end of this interview?

Thank you for coming over to my party...  (pointing to the picture) Ha ha, you're right there Mommy!

Jillian, you have brought so much joy to our lives.  You are happy and so energetic.  You have such a zest and zeal for life.  You are passionate and determined.  Whatever you do little girl, I know you will do it with full force and strength.  Jillian, I am so blessed to be your mommy and I am glad that I get to watch God grow and develop my little girl.  We love you so very very much!

Reds Opening Day

We were going to go down to the parade for opening day.  But, of course I got a low grade fever last night, so I didn't feel like doing something like that this afternoon.  We still ate cracker jacks, hot dogs and peanuts for lunch and the kids were all decked out in their Reds wear.

Mother of a Boy

I read this article this morning about boys and combat that a friend had posted.  As a teacher, I discourage little boys from playing "war" on the playground. I actually hadn't thought about what I would allow my son to do when he gets older regarding guns etc.  One poster shared how she had envisioned raising her son to be peaceful with no toys guns.  She stated that he would turn his french fries into guns and legos into swords.   With a five year old daughter and (almost) three year old daughter they don't pretend to shoot, nor do I think they would even be interested in playing a war game.  Lest you think they are all about tea parties and pink boas - my Jillian is quite the climber, LOVES to wrestle and makes a good little car sound. 

This made me start thinking about all the other things that I would get to experience as a mother of a son.  When he gets married, I will get to have that mother/son dance.  His sweet dark blue eyes will turn from me being the most important woman to his bride.  (Made me say a short prayer that his future wife will be a blessing and love the Lord!)

It makes me wonder what my boy will be like when he goes through that awkward stage in junior high.  Will he still want to be around his mother or will he just want to hang out with dad? 

I also pictured a cute little six year old boy holding a too big bat stepping up to try to knock the ball off the T-ball stand.  Will he wear a blue hat?  or green?  red?  gray?  

Drew was dedicated this past week at church and we had to claim a life verse for him.  Josh and I chose 1 Chronicles 16:10-11... "Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.  Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always."

Yes, little boy, seek His face always.  Get your strength from the Lord.  Glory in Him.  Grow up to be a lover of the Lord so you can also lead your family with truth, faithfulness and compassion as your father does. 

I love you, Drew.