SpLaSh!!!

We recently met our friend Kelly and her daughter Ella at the Splash Pad for an afternoon of water fun!

Because of Ava Grace's fair (and sensitive) skin, we have kept her out of the sun for the most part, but she LOVES being outside!!!  We found a nice big tree with lots of shade to park under so that Ava Grace could enjoy the beautiful day and being outside without worry of irritating sun screen.  She loved it!!!  She stayed wide awake for 4 hours with no a single whimper or whine!  She was too busy looking all around her and exploring her world!

Lily, on the other hand, is a sun (and water) lover and spent minimal time in the shade and maximum time splashing!  :-)

This little girl is a water bug!  She couldn't wait to get in there and get splashing!

 Chris and I took turns sitting with Ava Grace in the shade and splashing with Lily in the sun.  Ava Grace's big accomplishment of the day was sitting up!!  This is the first time she "sat" unassisted by us!  She used her arms to prop herself up! 

 Lily was timid at first... it was pretty crowded...

...but once she got wet, she was ready to go back for more!

Ella jumped right in!  This wild girl is her own person and she doesn't need anyone to help her have fun!  Okay, maybe she needs her Mommy from time to time, but other than that she was going and doing her thing and it didn't bother her one bit who was or wasn't watching and who was or wasn't playing!  LOL!  I love her sweet sense of independence!

 At one point Kelly looked up and told me to look over at Chris.... he attracts a crowd wherever he goes!  He had his own little Daddy daycare going on, it was hilarious!

Even though Ava Grace didn't get in the water, we let her wear her bathing suit and shades! 

It was a BEAUTIFUL day to be outside!!!  I think we all enjoyed the fresh air and extra dose of sunshine!

The day wasn't just all about water either... but it was all about fun!

We played in the water and on dry land!

Chris went to the gas station around the corner and got us all slushys! 

 Now where did she get such a long tongue...

 ...I do believe she got it from her Daddy! 

What do you think? lol

 Ella showing off her red tongue!

Ava Grace pushing up.  It's hard to believe that this was just 3 weeks ago and now she is getting ready to crawl already! lol 

two peas in a pod 

We are the two biggest water bugs in the family!  Lily and I would be happy swimming and splashing all day every day!   

Thank you Kelly and Ella for a fun day of sun and splashing!  We can't wait to do it again!!!!

6 Months Old

Ava Grace turned 6 months old this week! 

WOW!

How has time gone by so quickly?  She is growing like crazy and changing every single day, seemingly by the hour!

Sweet girl, you are our pride and joy!  You now sit up unassisted for extended periods of time.  You have excellent posture too!  You like to reach for everything around you - we really have to watch, especially at the table!  You can even lose your balance and catch yourself before you fall and push back up to sitting.  You haven't figured out yet how to go from laying down to sitting, but I know it won't be long!

 You love water!  You love bath time and don't want to get out of the tub.  Now that you can sit up, splashing is even  more fun!  We can't bathe you in the Kitchen anymore because you splash too much and every time we gave you a bath everything was wet - us, the floor, the counter... everything!  You also experienced the swimming pool this month!  Oh my goodness!  You absolutely LOVED it!  You are going to be a little water bug just like Mommy and big sister!

You are so close to crawling!  You completely skipped over army crawling and scootching and went straight for the real deal!  You are up on all fours and rocking back and fourth.  You even dig your toes in and lift your whole body off the floor with nothing touching but your tippy toes and hands - what muscles you have!!  You can go backwards super fast, but you can't figure out how to go forward yet!  Daddy says he bet's you are crawling by the end of next week... we'll see!

You are the happiest baby!  Everyone that meets you comments on how happy you are all of the time.  The only time you fuss is when you are hungry or tired... and sometimes when loud noises/crowds scare you.  You don't take great naps, you prefer short naps throughout the day to one or two long naps.  We'll work on that now that you are a little older.  Dr. Johnson said we should be glad you are a good night sleeper and not worry about naps so much - he says you'll get the sleep you need!  You are very good at playing by yourself.  You'll do anything for 20-30 minutes on your own... this includes playing in your bouncy, sitting/playing in your feeding seat while we eat dinner, playing on your blanket int he living room, etc.  You also get very excited when we break out a new toy - it's so cute to watch you get excited and anticipate!

You are a great eater!  You have tried applesauce, pears, bananas, green beans, peas, squash, and sweet potatoes!!  The only thing you aren't wild about is bananas.  You'll eat some, but I think the thicker texture throws you for a loop.  You didn't like rice cereal at first (same texture issue I think), but now you are warming up to it.  You hardly spill any food and open very wide for each bite... the only mess you make is because you think it's funny to blow raspberries while you eat.  It's hard not to laugh because it is pretty funny, but we are trying to discourage you from doing that when we eat because it goes everywhere! lol.  When we go out to eat you sit in your high chair now.  We are so proud because we don't have to get you out or hold you - you are very good about staying in your seat while others are eating!

You are just precious!  We think you might be a little pistol when you get a little older.  You seem to have a very bold personality!  You have so many fun expressions and a sense of curiosity that is so fun to watch.  You aren't very patient when you decide you want something and you have a determination that is impressive for your age!  You are making consonant sounds - so far you have made the sounds for B, W, and M.  You are starting to try to copy us and it's so cute!  Me and Daddy battle for "Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma" and "Da-Da-Da-Da," but right now "Ba-ba-ba-ba" is your favorite sound and we think that means your first word will probably be bye-bye, or ball, bite, or bottle... we'll find out soon enough I guess.

We sure are proud of you little girl!  And we love you so much!

(p.s. Looking at these pictures it appears that our baby spends an unusual amount of time in just her diaper.  I assure you we do put clothes (super cute ones, I might add) on her every day, but she drools so much in the evening we take them off and let her run around half naked, lol.  We think teeth are on their way!!)

Daddy's Girls...

Of all the things I love about my husband, the thing I think I love the most is what a great Daddy he is!

It doesn't get much better that this...

He would do anything for these girls...

They will always know how loved they are...

And will never lack for cuddles and snuggles....

The girls and I are so lucky to call him ours!

Menu Monday

Chris and I just took two weeks "off" from coaching and opening the gym to enjoy some summer time!  We spent the week that Lily wasn't with us at home relaxing in stay-cation mode!  We did as little as possible, lol.  We have a "Can We Get It All Done Before The End Of Summer" list like Lily's and so we worked on it a little.  My friend Courtney kept Ava Grace so we could go on a date - just the two of us.  We also did a double date night with my brother-in-law and sister(ish)-in-law (only the ish because they aren't married quite yet) with Ava Grace along for the ride.  We went to Cherokee Steak House on the lake and marked it off our list - it was a great evening with great food!  The rest of the week we watched movies, took naps, and just enjoyed being home.  The second week, with Lily, we spent on "vacation" with family!  We spend time in Murfreesboro with Chris' family and then headed to Chattanooga for the second part of the week with my family and the annual 4th of July bash!  It was SO. MUCH. FUN.  All of it... the stay-cation, the vacation, time with both side of the family!  We enjoyed every moment!

Anyway, that explains the long break from blogging.  Now it's Monday and although I haven't been doing Menu Monday over the summer because we are much more laid back and unpredictable during the summer, we have been cooking great recipes at home!  I thought I would share some of our favorites from the past few weeks!  All of these are worth trying out!  Yum!

(Picture and Recipe from Kayotic Kitchen - Click HERE to see original post)



We made stuffed Zucchini the other day!  It was literally a meal in itself - we didn't even need the grilled chicken I served with it!  I was kind of surprised at how much Chris liked it!  It is Zucchini stuffed with onion, bacon, cheese, and spices!  So good!  Click HERE for the full recipe.  They were very quick and easy and the only adjustment I would make is to leave out the curry, but that is just because I don't care for the taste of curry.  :-)

We have grilled chicken a lot lately.  It's one of our favorite foods and we probably have some variety of grilled chicken at least once, usually twice, a week!  There are so many variations of marinades, cuts of meat, and ways to serve!  We do grilled chicken in all kinds of marinades, we like breasts, thighs, legs... we do kabobs, sandwiches, you name it!  Here are two GREAT marinades we have used recently:

Our all time favorite...

(seriously, BEST MARINADE EVER)

(picture and recipe from What's Cooking Chicago? click HERE for original post)

Honey Chicken Kabobs

(We use it for kabobs and just grilled thighs or breasts)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

A no-name marinade recipe -

I can't even remember where it came from, but it's so very good:

1-2 Tbs vinegar

2-3 tsp herbs of your choice (I used Crushed Peppercorn and Garlic rub from The Pampered Chef - SOOOOOOOOOOO good!!)

1-2 Tbs Mustard (I use Dijon)

1-2 tsp garlic/onion powder (I use one of each)

1/4 cup oil

salt

pepper

Last night we had stuffed peppers that were really good.  I liked them most because they were NOT a "southwest" stuffed pepper like most recipes and not stuffed full of rice.  Chris liked them a lot too, so I know it's a keeper!  I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but it was very quick and easy to prep. 

Preheat to 350 degrees,

Brown 2 pounds of ground beef

Combine beef with 1 cup bread crumbs, 1 cup cooked rice, 1 Tbs parsley, 1/4 cup milk, 2 Tbs sauce mix (below) and 1 Tbs Cajun seasoning.  Season with salt and pepper as well to taste.

Sauce: Mix 1 can tomato soup, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/3 cup water, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.

Cut 4 bell peppers lengthwise and take out the stems, ribs, and seeds.  Stuff.  Place in a 9x13 dish.  Cover with sauce,cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour.

This recipe made enough for Chris and I to have dinner and then I froze two sets of peppers for meals in the future.  I also made a big batch of twice baked potatoes to freeze for future use.



I have lots more recipes to share, but I'll save them for another Monday!  Hopefully you'll get a chance to try some of these out - I know you'll love them!

Our little American Girl...

Lily is an American Girl!

Grandmommy got her that very first Bitty Baby several years ago and that's all it took!  Since then the collection and love of all things American Girl have only grown!  We don't go anywhere without one (or more) of our girls and she plays with them every single day!

My niece went to the American Girl store in Atlanta for her birthday in January.  Ever since then Lily has been telling us (and everyone else she knows) how much she wanted to go!  Chris and I decided right away we would take her, but we didn't know when.  You could say we had been planning to take her for months, but it wasn't until May that the perfect time opened up in the schedule and the budget for us to go... and how perfect that it was just a couple weeks before her birthday!

Lily had saved up about $150 to spend.  We both thought we'd be in the store forever while she shopped and tried to decide what to buy with the money she had saved.  Boy were we wrong!  Within 20 minutes or so she was ready to check out!  She walked around and looked at everything, picked out what she wanted, and she wanted to buy it and get busy playing!  She chose a "My American Girl" doll that you "design" and named her Addison!  She got glasses and braces and a booster seat and then we headed off to our hotel for even more surprises!

At our hotel, we had the Deluxe American Girl Everything Pink Package!  It was so neat!  After Chris and I checked ourselves in, Lily had to walk the pink carpet and check her and her doll in!

It was a little girl dream!  She even got her own "credit card" to use in their little store!  She had to sign her and the doll in just like a grown up checks in - it was really so neat!

The treats continued when we got to our room and EVERYTHING was pink!  The pillows, comforters, towels... everything!  Right down to pink trash cans and big pink bean bag chair! lol.  There was also a pink travel bed for her new girl to sleep in complete with satin sheets and an American Girl pillow!  The best part?  We got to keep the bed and sheet set!!  So cool!

Here is the newest member of our family!  Meet Addison!  Don't you just love her glasses?

We got all the other girls unloaded and set up on the bed for introductions.  Addison sat in the middle and introduced herself and then Lily had each of her other girls go in a circle to welcome Addison to the class and learn about each other!  We played for a good long while before it was time to head back over to the American Girl Bistro for a special birthday dinner!

We got the Birthday Dinner Package which included crowns for Lily and Addison, gift bags with American Girl shirt and balloon and birthday treats to keep!  Dinner was very fancy-shmancy!  We each got an appetizer and an entree...

(even Addison...)

...and dessert of course!

It came complete with a Birthday song...

...all in pink, of course!

We couldn't have planned a better "party" if we had tried!  They truly think of everything - it was a magical experience!

After dinner the fun was far from over!  Actually it was just beginning... we had a whole line up of fun evening activities back at the hotel!

For starters, there was a room service delivery of cookies and milk for Lily and her new girl!

Then...

...a American Girl movie with free popcorn and coke for ALL the families staying the hotel with the American Girl package!  There were little girls and dolls everywhere! lol.  We watched Molly's movie - it was really cute!

Next we headed to the pool for some swimming!  We were relieved that Lily remembered everything we taught her last summer and was happy to hop in and swim without a float!  She did flips and had fun swimming for a good long while!

After swimming and such a big day, we were all worn out.  We bundled up and headed back to our room for a little more play time before bed!

I think Lily was actually asleep before her head even hit the pillow!  She was wiped out!

After a good night's sleep we were up and ready to go to our breakfast - what a spread!  And, of course, with our everything pink package, we got a special table that was... you guessed it... all pink!  :-)

IT was a WONDERFUL birthday trip!  In Lily's opinion it was right up there with Disney World!   Now that's a fun trip! lol

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

We can't believe you are already 8 and we are so proud of the young lady you are becoming!  :-)

May Recap...

May passed us by in a hurry!

Most of the month of May was spent counting down until the end of school!  Counting down to summer is always fun, but if you don't live in a house with kids AND teachers, you have no idea how much summer can be anticipated!  Even with our count down going on and the clock racing each day towards summer, we ended up still having lots of fun!

Ava Grace discovered that she doesn't just like bath time, she loves it!

She also discovered she can splash on purpose by kicking her legs and that's the best part of bath time!

Lily and I spent some time in the kitchen (as always), but this time SHE did the cooking!   

We worked on reading directions, measuring, and mixing!  She did a great job and cooked an entire batch of mini muffins (almost) all by herself while Ava Grace and I kept her company and watched her improving cooking skills!!  (I love how serious she is about measuring each muffin out carefully - look at that concentration!)

 We played some of our favorite games!  A few rounds of Yatzi and more than a few rounds of Pretty Pretty Princess!  Doesn't Chris make a beautiful princess?  ;-)

Pretty Pretty Princes is Lily's favorite game right now!  As you can see from this picture, she won because she had her game piece, her matching necklace, ear rings, ring, bracelet, ring, and the crown... can't be the prettiest princess without the crown!

Ava Grace let Crystal hold her without sleeping or crying! lol  This was a first for them both!

"What's for dinner Mama?"

Ava Grace sits in her feeding seat in the evenings with me while I cook dinner.  Her appetizer?  Index finger on this night!  She loves those fingers

"Seriously Mom, the camera again?!?"

Tummy time was frequent with our new found abilities to roll in every direction!  Ava Grace also figured out she can travel short distances by rolling, although she doesn't exercise this ability very often... only when you lease expect it! lol

 Both girls spent their fare share of time being silly...

 ...its just how we roll!

And we said good bye...

...to Miss Johnson and Lily's first year at Richpond Elementary.  Lily made a home made brownie mix to take to Miss Johnson, it was very sweet.

We made sure to get in plenty of play.  These two are playing together more and more these days.  Lily likes to pick Ava Grace up and carry her around and show her things.  She reads to Ava Grace and gets in the floor with her often.  Ava Grace LOVES the new attention from her sister.  In fact, she loves EVERYTHING that Lily does!

With all that going on,  we had to get in some beauty rest every now and then... but mostly we just did lots of having fun!

So, what was your May like?