FIVE

This morning, as he left for work, Jason kissed me goodbye.  Most mornings I fall back asleep, since he has to be at work at the crack of dawn and well, I don't function before 6 AM.  But today - I went ahead and got out of bed.  I was excited and couldn't sleep - we have a date tonight!  Dinner AND a movie (something that hasn't happened since 2008, no joke) because it is OUR ANNIVERSARY!

FIVE years.  Big milestone, I suppose.  It seems like we have always been together. And at the same time it seems like it was just yesterday I was trying to eat homemade french toast made by my Daddy on my wedding day.  Time really DOES fly when you are having fun.

What have the past 5 years meant for us?  Here are some memories that come to mind -
*A wonderful honeymoon in Maui.  A room at The Four Seasons - I will never in my life be able to stay there again but I am so thankful for that chance.  It was spectacular, to say the least.

*Buying our first home, that looked something like this -

and making it look more like this (I need a more updated picture, since our landscaping has really filled in) -

* Getting new jobs and working long hours - coaching volleyball and soccer for me, becoming supervisor for him

* Trips - Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Orange Beach/Perdido Key, St. Louis, Chicago to name a few

* Buying my first car- Max the Maxima (and it will be paid off pretty soon, woo-hoo!)

*Practicing parenthood with pets -

Jasper (who died right before Lilli was born)

Cooper

Brady

* Graduating with my Masters and Jason getting another promotion (and less hours for both, woo-hoo)

* Telling our family about this -

J+A =Baby

and getting through the heartbreak when it ended in miscarriage...

* Thankfully giving birth to Lillian Brooke less than a year later!

Who now looks like this

*Getting another one of these

Who now looks like this - 

Due in October!



We have been blessed to have many more ups than downs in our 5 years of marriage.  But the top 10 tips that we try to remember are these -

1. Put God first in your marriage and family.  Sin can easily enter in, especially in the early years.  We have grown closer to God, our church, and our church friends over the years and it has created a solid foundation for us.

2. Always tell each other how your day went, including details that no one else really cares about

3. Make each other laugh.  Jason is my favorite comedian and he thinks I'm pretty funny (that is an awesome compliment to me!)

4. Back rubs (for him) and foot rubs (for me) should come without asking

5. Raise your children as a team.  So far we are not perfect but we are committed to giving Lillian (and Baby Pumpkin) a life of love and support. Sometimes that means one of us has to compromise OR parent her in ways that others around us don't agree with.  As long as WE are in agreement, that is what is important.

6. Embrace the old fashioned.  This is not for everyone, but for us, it works.  I cook dinner, he cleans up after me.  He mows, I do laundry.  We like gender traditional roles - but BOTH of us contribute to keeping our home up and that is important.

7. Cliche but true - never go to bed angry and always kiss before you leave for the day.  One day, several years ago, Jason left without kissing me goodbye (in a hurry, I guess.)  I cried all morning...true story.

8. Be 100% honest with your finances.  We are committed to living debt free (other than house and car) and this is HARD.  I have to remember to be patient for the material things I want...but more importantly I am trying to remember that material things are not what I should focus on.  Being debt free helps with that, but can cause lots of problems if the couple is not on the same page.

9. Romance - hard with little ones but not impossible.  He writes me beautiful letters and cards, which I keep and will always treasure.

10. Respect the wedding vows you said - which means for better AND worse.  He loves me in spite of my dimple-ly thighs that weren't there on our honeymoon and I love him even when he drops my laptop and breaks it.  But even deeper - we are all sinners. God loves us, flaws and all.  This is the mentality you must have with your spouse. 

Last year I posted this - 4 Years Ago about our wedding day - it has lots of pictures of the gorgeous day we shared with family and friends!


I can't believe it has been 5 years.  On our wedding day, I gave Jason a watch. Inscribed on it is "85 years begins now" - which relates to a story we heard while we were dating of a couple that were married 85 years.  I realize it is practically impossible - but we are setting the bar high.  So, only 80 more years to go!



The start of summer!

School is out for summer (although teachers still have 1.5 weeks to go) so my goal is to blog ONCE a week.  In each update I hope to include a recipe (or two) that I have tried that week, as well as some pics of Lillian!  So here goes!

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  We didn't have anything planned, which ended up being the best part!  We grilled burgers, we swam in a blow up pool, we napped, we spent the entire weekend together AS A FAMILY.  I love when we are able to do that!

Here are some pics from the past couple weeks with most recent pics at the end -

Caught messing with "Dorothy" the goldfish!

Pretty girl before Church

 She loves her Daddy! 

One day I gave her my favorite childhood anytime treat - an oatmeal cream pie.  She loved it!

 Nana and PaPaw got her this water/sand table for her birthday.  She loves it.  We have yet to add sand, I plan to do that when she is a little older (and the water gets boring!)

 Her favorite part - pouring water on our feet

 Last night we headed to the park next door.  We had a picnic after church and told her we would play when we were done.  She took one bite and screamed "DONE!" - we had to laugh (then get her to eat a few more bites!)

Finally she was able to swing and slide.  Her daddy is always right by her side!

 This was not staged - I caught it on camera!

 Another birthday present - this awesome pool!  We blew it up today and she loves it, as did Mommy!

Finally, I made "Strawberry Shortcake" Popsicles - yummy!  Scroll down for recipe

Strawberry Shortcake Popsicle

•1 ½ cup pureed strawberries
•½ cup crushed vanilla Oreos
•2 cups vanilla yogurt

Instructions:
1.Puree strawberries. Place Oreos in a food processor and pulse until cookies become fine crumbs. Alternatively, place Oreos in a Ziploc and using a rolling pin to crush cookies. Add crushed Oreos to the yogurt and mix until combined.

Assembly
1.To assemble as the seen in the picture, layer the yogurt portion first and let freeze for 30 minutes before adding the strawberry layer, let this second layer freeze for 30 minutes and then add the last yogurt layer. For a quick assembly, pour each layer on top of one another without any freeze time in between and then use a skewer or fork and gently swirl for a swirled Popsicle look.

Taken from Bakers Royale

Last week my new recipe was "Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos" - from Our Best Bites

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese
small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.
Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip 'em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or this dressing.




Well that is all for this week!  I hope I can keep this up - so stick around!

Better late than never!

Two posts in one week - you readers should be proud!  (All 12 of you!)

Last post was all about Lilli.  I didn't want to take away anything from her so I created a new post for this -
 We are having another baby in October!

That makes me almost 17 weeks - almost halfway done.  So yeah, I'm a little late in updating and hopefully most that read this already know.  If not, surprise!  I told Jason by writing "due 10.23.11" on a small (fake) pumpkin - which led to the nickname "Baby Pumpkin."  Since Lilli was "Baby Peep" (due on Easter) this just fits!  I am very sure that Big Sis expects an actual orange pumpkin to pop out of me and for that she will be disappointed.  But she sure is adorable talking about Baby Pumpkin and rubbing my ever growing belly! 

We are not finding out the gender of this baby until delivery.  We have our big "growth and development" ultrasound on Tuesday, May 24.  It IS very tempting to find out what is growing in my uterus but ultimately, we are holding out for one of life's true surprises.  Besides, it drives my mother and sister batty and I love it. :o)

As for how I'm feeling - BETTER!  Better than I was at this point with Lilli.  Better than I was just a month ago.  Better than I expected to feel.  So yay for that!  The 2nd trimester is typically the best in the pregnancy, and I am hoping to enjoy it this summer.  Laying in the pool, traveling to St. Louis with J and L, and playing outside.  Once August comes I will be big as a barn and NOT happy about going back to work, but I am trying not to think about that.  After baby arrives in October I won't return to work until the following school year in August, which will give me lots of time as a stay-at-home mom to 2 kids.  I figure by August 2012 I will be ready to go back to teaching!

I hope to update more now that school is almost out.  My pictures are all on my laptop and facebook, neither of which I can access right now.  So sorry for the picture-less post. 


Here are some topics I plan to post about in the coming days/weeks:
*VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-Section) Planning,
*Potty Training
*House decorating - new nursery + new big girl room + new playroom = one busy summer

Stay tuned!

Once upon a time...

I had a blog.  The Lilli Pad.  Remember it?  Apparently I don't - because when I went to update it today I could not even remember how to even ACCESS the site!  Wow, that is bad.  I am the worst blogger ever.  Do you think there is an award for that? :o)

I wanted to come in and finally update about Lillian Brooke, who is now TWO.  TWO!  Seriously, I have no idea how that happened!

Here are some stats and milestones -
*She is 35 inches tall (90-95%ile) and if you take the old equation to double their 2 yr old height she will be around 5'10"!  Tall like her Daddy!
*She weighs about 26.5 oz (45%ile) which is where she has consistently been on the charts.  Thin - also like her Daddy, haha.
*She wears 2T clothing, size 6 or 7 shoe, size 5 diaper
*Sleeps through the night, about 11.5 hours.  Goes to bed around 8:30
*Naps once a day for 1.5-2 hours
*Has all teeth but 2 year molars (from what I can see!)
*Her eyes are almost brown - but with a little green/hazel in them.  I think they are still changing, even at 2 years old.  Her hair is getting long enough to go in pigtails/ponytail but is very thin at the top, just like mine.  We still have not cut it.  I think it will get lots lighter this summer.
*Favorite foods - anything good for her, she loves fruits (grapes and strawberries especially) and veggies (corn and green beans, avacadoes/guacamole) and she loves hot dogs lately.  She doesn't eat much meat at all so I try to get her to eat peanut butter and other protein.  She is not picky and will eat off our plate at a restaurant.  She doesn't like things with breading (nuggets, etc)
*Uses a sippy but can carry a cup with a straw easily.  Drinks whole milk, has chocolate or strawberry milk once a day for a treat, and one sippy of diluted juice a day.  Enjoys and asks for water, especially mine
*I couldn't even list her vocabulary here, but I'm sure she knows over a hundred words.  My favorite phrases - "Mommy, hold you?" "Pooker" (Cooper the dog)" "Nana, come back here!" "Daddy moanin?" (Daddy mowing?) and so many others.  She says most things correctly but when she gets consonants switched it makes for a really cute phrase!  She knows all the words in her picture books and also knows her shapes and colors.  She does get confused every now and then, but not enough that makes me think she doesn't know them.
*She can count to 15 - although I've only heard her do it a few times because she doesn't like to do it when I ask!  She counts when she is playing alone alot.
*She knows all her family members and has said a prayer for them, both when I was watching and once when I overheard her.  She asks for a prayer every time she goes to sleep and also when we eat.  She also holds her hands in prayer.  She loves church and Tick Tock (class) and has recently started going to Sunday night class where they often make adorable crafts
*Favorite toys - her "B" (lovey bunny), Melmo, button (pacifier), blankie, pillow, as well as her blocks, BABIES and all that goes with them, and stuffed animals.  She is only attached to the things she sleeps in her crib with.
*Just recently started singing songs - her favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and she knows some of Jesus Loves Me.  I have tried to get her on camera but she is shy about it! 
*Loves to watch cartoons - Curious George, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Carebears, and a DVD of songs are her favorites
*Draws with chalk outside - typically uses her left hand - and plays with her water table.  She loves being outside
*Can run, jump with both feet, climb stairs and crawl into her highchair by herself. 
*She adores Cooper and Brady and they are both good with her.
*She shows concern when a baby cries.  She will usually say, "Baby crying? Mommy hold her and give her bottle?" Talking about the baby's own mother, not me. 
*Loves to Skype with her Auntie Ashley and will ask to "Talk to Auntie?"
*Has an excellent memory - she will often talk about things we have long since forgotten
*She loved the Easter Bunny and gave him hugs and kisses and still talks about him
*We have started venturing into potty training - she went once in her potty but then was sick so I backed off.  I plan to do a Potty Bootcamp this summer when I am off. I think she will respond well, she has been flexible up to this point with other transitions
*Had a wonderful 2nd birthday party - which she also still talks about.

Here are some recent pictures from her "Happy Bee Day" party

I put the last one because Jason wants her to be a Vet someday - and she is well on her way.  She likes to "give medicine to make it all better" to all of us, including the pets!

Overall she is a loving, happy child.  She is so easy to take out and about - we are still shocked that we can do things we thought we wouldn't be able to do.  However, I am pretty strict about her napping and we plan accordingly.  So that helps, I think.  We are beyond blessed to have her and are having more fun each and every day!

Lillian at 21 months

I am a little late, but wanted to upload some info about Lilli's growth, development, and milestones at 21 months!

*She weighs about 24 lbs and is about 34 inches tall. Still about 25-50th percentile in weight and 75-90th in height, which is where she always has been.
*Has all teeth except for her canines and 2 year molars, but I think something is coming in soon
*Hair is getting longer and she has 2 layers of bangs growing in.  Still dark blonde.
*Eyes are hazel, some days looking brown, others mostly green
*Wears 18-24 mo and 2T clothing, size 6 shoes
*Wears size 4 diaper - Luvs during the day, Huggies Overnights at bedtime
*Sleeps 12 hours straight - with bedtime around 9.  Sometimes she will sleep more than that, girl loves her sleep!
*Sleeps with Bunny "B" and "Melmo" and her pacifier, "Button"
*Takes a 2 hour nap, going down 3 hours after she wakes for day
*Favorite foods: cheese, apples, peanut butter, corn, peas, chips/Pringles, gummies, guacamole, chocolate milk
*Knows SO MANY WORDS.  She loves to point out pictures in books, telling me what they are.  She can say multi-syllable words (Brady, vaccuum, diaper) and 2-3 word phrases ("Mommy hold you" is precious)
*She loves for us to sing and can do the motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus"
*Can repeat the alphabet, letter by letter
*Counts using 2, 4 (but thats it!) If you ask her how old she is, she will do "2" with her fingers, ha
*Enjoys playing with her babies (changing the diaper and putting them "night night") and puzzles, nesting blocks and stacking blocks.  She "cuts" her Melissa and Doug fruit (still w/left hand)
*Loves her shape sorter and knows all her shapes.  Learning colors, can sometimes get them right.
*Runs, jumps, gallops, dancing
*She gives the best hugs and kisses, knows how to give "Eskimo kisses" with her nose
*Loves going to "Tick Tock" (Sunday School) and never cries for us
*She reminds us "prayer" and says "Ah-mee" (Amen) at the end.  She will NOT say "Jesus," but instead says "Bible"
*Has bubble baths (daddy time) most nights
*Had double ear infections (first ever) a few weeks ago, as well as the stomach virus (first time to vomit)
*Doesn't like the car at night, and she thinks every time we get in we are going to see PawPaw
*Doesnt't like going out to eat (she wants down and to run around)


Recent pictures -

Jason and I both agree this is the most fun age yet!  We talk about her every night before bed, trying to remember what amazing thing she said or did that day.  There are so many things I am forgetting, but she is like a sponge soaking in each new word or action.  She is most definitely loved!

My fabulous sister, Ashley

I love Kelly's Korner.  A few months ago I linked up with her blog when I was showing off our living room.  Well, tonight I am linking up again with Show us your life: SINGLES

I am linking up to show off my older sister, Ashley. 

She is a 30 year old lawyer living in downtown Chicago. 
What else do you need to know about her?  
1. She eats, sleeps, breathes sports, but especially her C-A-T-S from the University of Kentucky (her alma mater)

2. She loves shoes, handbags, and fashion.  Hard to believe we are sisters.

3. She adores her niece, Lilli, and loves to spoil her.

4. She enjoys traveling, I am quite jealous of the places she has been (Europe for a month - no fair!)

5. She is incredibly loyal - ask any of her friends (here she is on far left)

6. She loves a great adventure, and went skydiving for her 30th birthday!

7. If you have seen Sex and the City, then you can understand the fast paced life she lives in the big city.  She focused on her career, friends, traveling, and experiencing all things Chicago.  Now, I am linking her up, thinking there might be a man out there just as fabulous as she is!

Lilli loves her, as do I. 


Leave a comment and I will pass on your info to her!

Lilli's Play Kitchen

 I cannot believe it has been over 2 months since my last post!  Well, really I can.  We have been so busy with the holidays, then busy going back to work.   No excuse, since I have been online.  I enjoy reading other blogs more than I enjoy posting on mine, but I have wanted to get on here to share with you guys what Jason and I did for Lillian's Christmas gift. 

First, I saw the idea from the genius Ana White .  Her plans are free and we were able to complete Lilli's gift for under 200 and little to no headache!  We had so much fun building it!  Lilli has had fun "cook-een" and I know she will always treasure it!

I have pictures of us building (well, Jason built, I watched.  But I did paint!) But these pictures are more fun- Lilli on Christmas morning, checking it out -

The accessories are from "Melissa and Doug" or made by my mother.  Click any picture to make it larger.

You should check out Ana White's website, even if you don't want to build a play kitchen.  She has every piece of furniture imagineable!  Santa brought Jason a new table saw and I have a long list of projects I am ready to tackle!