The Iverson's

Catch-up

2015-10-27T12:59:00.001-05:00

Well our little blog was neglected for quite awhile. Oops!! Life has been busy 😀

A catch up since our last blog

May 2014- we found out we were having baby #2. Just like last time we waited until the baby was here to find out the gender.

2. We put our house on the market, it was shown a few times, never sold. We took our house off the market and are still figuring out where we will be going in the future.

3. My job that I had worked at since just before we got married was eliminated. Thankfully I knew enough in advance about the elimination I was able to find something else. My new job, that I started in April 2014 is a much closer location and I'm really enjoying it.

4 we took a little mini vacation in March 2014

5. The best thing of all- we welcomed another baby girl on January 27 2015. Halynn Elise was born at 8:57pm weighing 6 lbs. Blair is a great big sister!!

6. Jeff and I celebrated 5 years of marriage!!

Back?

2015-10-20T11:34:00.003-05:00

I'm contemplating re-joining the blogging world to keep family and friends up to date on our family and hoping to include some extra yummy recipes :)

It's been over a year so I'll be back soon with all of our life/family updates

Favorite Blogs

2014-03-05T13:01:00.000-06:00

I'm always on the lookout for new blogs to follow and read. Some that I read regularly I have found through other bloggers, some I have just stumbled on. Most of the blogs I frequent are people that are in the same season of life as me- new mom, working mom, moms of small children, farm girls...etc.... So here are my favorites (And no- I have never met or talked to any of the bloggers!).

I'd love to hear about other blogs that are great or just that you think I'd enjoy!

1. Blonde Ambition- I love reading what Leslie has to say about being a new mom and a working mom. She's also a fashion blogger and I love to see some of the outfits she puts together. Too put icing on the cake- her daughter is adorable!

2. In This Wonderful Life-I started reading Megan's blog shortly after she had her son, Cohen. Cohen was born with a congenital heart defect and unfortunately passed. Megan now has boy/girl twins that she blogs about and has recently just started her own business that has adorable stuff!

3. Kelly's Korner- I don't remember how I found Kelly's blog, but she's a godly woman with 2 little girls. She has a weekly link-up that is always fun too!

4. Kristi's Blog- This was the first blog I read- it was Kristi's blog when her and her family were traveling to China to adopt their daughter Piper, they've since brought home Presley and I think they have their hands full :)

What are your favorites??

Window Shopping

2014-02-13T09:37:00.000-06:00

I love to just look at things that would be nice to buy at some point- most of which is when money is no object- so I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'm not a spender- if I buy something it's either a) Needed, b) a gift, or c) not for me. So today I'm going online window shopping for me and Blair!

First up for Blair:
Hunter Boots- are these not the cutest things ever! I think ever little farm girl should I have a good pair of "wellys". They are just so stinking cute and all of the colors I love. Maybe for Easter or another reason she'll be getting these but I absolutely love them!

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A little North Face fleece-Again, I think this is cute. I will not be buying on though- I cannot justify the $45 for a fleece jacket. We have a fleece jacket from The Children's Place that is very similar and very good quality. This is definitely just a looker for us.

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A Plasma Car- I'm kind of kicking myself for not buying these on super sale last fall on Zulily. It's not that we need another ride on toy to sit in the house right now, but I think Blair would like it when she's older. They come in lots of colors, so I'll be watching zulily again for a good deal (hopefully!).

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Now for my window shopping: My stuff is obviously more expensive and won't be purchased at any time in the near future :)

1. I've looked at these boots for probably 2-3 years, but I can in no way, shape, or form justify the cost :( They look like a good classic riding boot that could be worn for a long time, and be comfortable. Maybe someday I'll slpurge, but for now they stay on the window shop list :)

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2. Another thing I've looked at many times, but still haven't completely decided on is a Maxi dress. They look so cute on others, and I will admit, I've never tried one on because I'm so short. But this Lily maxi is adorbs!

And since I've never really had a high-quality purse- the Coach Borough Bag. It comes in a grey color which I love because it's so neutral. But the almost $600 not coming out of my pocket!

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Oh to window shop. I love looking and knowing that I can dream!

Getting to Know You!

2014-01-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm linking up today with A Blonde Ambition for a fun little "Confessional Friday"
Getting to Know You Edition - Post Template

1. Your name: Natalie

2. Where you're from: Illinois- not anywhere close to Chicago :)

3. What do you do with your days? (Work, SAHM, student, etc.) I work as an assistant and plan events large and small

4. Tell us about your family (photos are great!) I've been happily married to my Husband Jeff for 3 1/2 years. Last January we welcomed our Daughter, Blair. We also have one pup-child, an English Mastiff, Kuba.

5. What are your dreams and goals- My dream is to figure out what I want to be when I grow up ;) Okay, so maybe not, but my dream is to raise a centered child that loves her family. My goals is to be the best mom I can be to Blair and any future siblings.

6. Why did you start blogging? I started blogged to chronicle our life as newly-weds and now parents. I also started to hopefully gain some bloggy friends. I've slacked on blogging the last year, but can hopefully turn that around.

7. Maybe tell us some random facts! I have horrible fashion sense and look to fashion bloggers for ideas/tips/great buys. I would wear a sweat, shirt, boots, and jeans every day and be fine! :)

Blair is 1!

2014-01-20T08:54:00.000-06:00

This is a few days late, but we were soaking up every single moment of Blair's first birthday! Pictures and more coming later today :)

Blair,

You are 1! My, oh my, how the last year flew by! You are amazing little girl with a great personality, and you are SO SO SO LOVED!

We go to the doctor this afternoon, so I'll update with all of your 1 year stats :)

You are in size 2 diapers still, you wear 6-9, 9-12 and 12 month clothes- it just depends on what brand we have and what size you need. You are in size 3 shoes and have the cutest silver glittery shoes.

You are still nursing, taking a bottle, drinking from a sippy cup, and loving your "real foods." You aren't a fan of pasta at all, in fact you will put pasta with meat in your mouth and figure out how to spit the pasta back out at us. It's really funny and Daddy and Mommy laugh each and every time! You love yogurt, any kind of meat, and cheerios.

You are walking, running, and starting to climb. You are completely given up on crawling, because you have figured out that you can run and get there faster. You are such an explorer- you love to just walk around the house and look and touch things. You know exactly where your room is and where your book basket is and sometimes if we just let you go, you will walk in there and sit on the floor and look through your books. You also know how to close doors that are open, and love to do that repeatedly.

In your 11th month, you got to celebrate Christmas, New Year's and just this past weekend your birthday. You were very cautious at Christmas at first, but learned that opening up your gifts was a lot of fun. You are very loved by our friends and family and Mommy and Daddy weren't sure all of your gifts would fit in our house. And then we had your birthday party and we were even more sure that we will need a bigger house soon! For New Year's, we stayed home and Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Tim, Anthony, and Jimmy came over for dinner. You went to bed at your normal time and all of the adults stayed up.

You are typically down for bed between 7:30-8 and are back up for a feeding around 3, then back down until 6:30 or until we have to wake you up. Some nights when you are really tired you will just walk into your room and up to your crib and we know you are ready for bed. We have been able to transition you from being rocked to sleep to just putting you down tired and you've started sleeping better since that.

You have been the best baby and we are so lucky to be your parents. We were slightly scared at the beginning knowing that we were going to mess up or do something wrong, but we quickly learned that what we were doing was right, even if it wasn't by the book. It was what you wanted or needed. Most of all we love you more than you will ever know. You made us Mommy and Daddy, titles we love having. You are the happiest girl, and we know we are so lucky to have that. We can't wait to experience many more firsts with you as you grow into toddler-hood. You will always be our little tater.

We love you!

Mommy & Daddy

Blair is 11 months

2013-12-19T09:23:00.004-06:00

Blair,

You are 11 months. It's so hard to believe that in under one month we will be celebrating your first birthday!!

We are guessing you are around 18 pounds and 27 inches. You are in size 6-9 month clothes, size 3 shoes, and size 2 diapers.

You go to bed at night around 730-8 and are usually up for the day between 630-730. There have been nights you sleep all night and others we are up a couple times, but you have been doing good sleeping through the night. Mommy is very happy about this!

You love to feed yourself. You eat pretty much whatever mommy and daddy have for meals, but your favorites so far are chicken and meatloaf. The other night we had meatloaf and you kept wanting more! You still take bottles when you are with grandma, but we'll be moving to all sippy cups soon.

You are such a curious little girl. You are into everything and trying to figure out things. It's so fun to watch you find something new or learn a new skill. You walk all over the place, but know that you can get places faster crawling, so when mommy or daddy comes to get you you take off crawling.

We have done lots of things this past month, we went to another wedding, we went to the festival of lights in Peoria, we had your first thanksgiving, put up the Christmas tree, went to see Santa, played in the snow, and had lots of fun!

We love you so much Blair.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

10 months

2013-11-24T18:44:00.001-06:00

Blair,

You are 10 months old. It's so hard to believe in just 2 short months we will celebrate your 1st birthday!

You are 17 lbs and 26.25 inches long. You are still our little peanut.

You are still breastfed, take bottles during the week. You love dinner time when we all sit at the table and have dinner together. You love to eat whatever mommy and daddy are having. Your favorite things so far are ground beef and beans. You have a jar of puréed as well as whatever else you get in your mouth. You do really well using a sippy cup so hopefully that makes the transition from the bottle easier.

This month you got 3 teeth! Now you have 5.

You are in size 6-9 month clothes, size 3 shoes, and size 2 diapers.

We've had a busy month and next month will be wen busier. You were baptized and had a family celebration. You had your first Halloween and dressed up as a black cat.

One of the biggest things that happened is you have started to walk in your own. You are growing up so fast!

Ranch Chicken

2013-11-11T06:39:00.000-06:00

A new favorite recipe for our house is Ranch Chicken. This was given to us by a family member in our wedding cook book, but we had never tried it until a few weeks ago. It's very easy and we could probably have this once a week and I'd be happy!

Ranch Chicken
3/4 Cup crushed cornflakes (I use crushed rice krispies)
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 envelope dry ranch dressing mix
8 boneless skinless chicekn breast halves (Approximatley 2 lbs.)
1/2 cup butter, melted

In shallow bowl, combine crushed cornflakes, parmesan cheese, and dry ranch dressing mix. Dip chicken in melted butter then roll in the cornflake mixture. Place in greased 9x13x2 baking dish. Bake uncovered 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

It's so moist and yummy! Blair LOVES it- last night she just keep reaching for more. We have also coated pork chops in this and it's good too.

No pictures, but I wanted to share this super easy meal.

A month Collage

2013-11-09T15:22:00.000-06:00

I'm hoping to get back in a blogging mode, so to start a collage I made of Blair from the day she was born until her 9th month.

I cannot believe she'll be 10 months next week!

I've been in a blogging rut, just don't know what to share or topics to begin with. On top of that life has been crazy! I know it will only get worse with the holidays, but I hope to keep up better than just once a month.

Blair is 9 months

2013-10-18T11:53:00.000-05:00

Blair,

Today you are 9 months old! I can't believe that in less than 90 days we will be celebrating your 1st birthday!!!

As far as weight and height, I think you are around 18-20 lbs, and I have no idea on height. You are in a size 2 diaper, Size 6-9 month clothes, and a size 2 or 3 shoe.

You are still nursing, but love your solids! You eat solids at least 2 times a day, and take bottles while with Grandma. You still only have 2 teeth, but I think more are on the way. You love feeding yourself and usually eat at least a few bites of whatever we are having for dinner or lunch.

You go down for the night around 8 and are usually up once in the night to eat and then we have to wake you up most mornings to get dressed. You aren't much of a morning person- just like mommy & daddy.

You are MOBILE!!! You crawl every where, pull up to everything, will stand alone next to something without holding on, or even in the middle of the room. You are getting so strong. You are also a climber- you have figured out steps, how to climb into your car seat, and try to climb up into the chair or on the couch. We have so much fun watching you explore.

You love to see Kuba play and just laugh like its the funniest thing ever.

You are "talking"- your favorite thing is to say "Hi DaDa!" We are working on MaMa, but you usually just laugh at us when we say it to you. You jabber all day long, but when we are home and Daddy isn't you just say dadadada over and over until he's home. When you see him you squeal and crawl toward him- it melts our hearts.

You love to play, and be on the go. You are such a good baby, and we have had so much fun this fall doing fun activities.

Reflections....

2013-09-30T14:13:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we went back to my hometown, to see my parents and brothers and the rest of our family. We had family pictures taken for the first time in a long time!

Going back to the place I grew up and all of the things I remember can be hard sometime. While at my parents house, Blair and I were up in my old room. It's kind of hard to go up there because that was my bedroom for 20+years. Much of it is the same, however things have changed. There are still some of "my things" hanging on the wall, even though I've been gone for almost 4 years now.

Being in that room, I remember having my friend Liz over and playing with our Barbies or cabbage patch dolls. I stood in there with Blair and reminisced about all of the old memories.
I admit, my room wasn't the cleanest growing up. There would be days I would decide to clean my room, I'd open the windows and turn on my radio and clean, and clean, and clean.

The Christmas mornings, waking up and going to the other bedrooms to see who was awake.

The sleep-overs with friends- we would stay up too late talking and playing games.

The year I decided to paint my room blue with clouds.

The year I decided that my dad wasn't moving fast enough on ripping out a wall, so I did it myself.

The day I opened my closet to find that the old plaster ceiling had fallen in.

The newspaper clippings from high school.

The high school year books.

The countless pictures of my childhood.

All stored in four walls, memories that I will never forget. memories I get to share with Blair when she goes to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Lots more great memories in the town, sadly many things in the town have changed that just make me sad that I have to rely on my memory to see/do them again.

What I want Wednesday

2013-09-25T10:24:00.000-05:00

Ok so this is not to sound needy, but I have seen some things recently, that I'd love to have in my house if money were no object and there weren't other things to take care of. So without further ado,

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A pair of Frey Boots. They are gorgeous boots and they have lots of different options, but the price tag- around $350.00! So not even anywhere close to a possible in my budget!

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A new pair of running shoes. These are Nike Free Run's and I think they are pretty cute- and they look like my old Reebok's that I had that made my shin splints disappear! Not to bad for just around a $75 bucks.

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A week or heck even a few days in Jamaica with Jeff and Blair. Yes, I would take her with us, we loved Jamaica the first time we visited, and we will be going back in the future.

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A home that looks like this at the holidays- I absolutely love this tree! Yes its over the top, but I think its gorgeous!!! And yes, we are a Christmas family and I can't wait to get our decorations us and spend Blair's First Christmas with her! (PS-if anybody is awesome at decorating and wants to help- I'll take it ;))

September 21, 2013

2013-09-24T20:53:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, we packed up and headed to the Chicago suburbs for our very good friend's wedding! Jeff was the Best Man and I was a bridesmaid.

Jeff and I took off work Friday and headed to Naperville in the early afternoon to celebrate Tim & Lindsay's wedding weekend! We had a great weekend!

Friday evening we had rehearsal dinner and rehearsal. Blair was so good during the dinner and the rehearsal she slept :)

Saturday was a busy day of girls getting ready. Blair spent the time with the bridesmaids in the morning. In the afternoon we were fortunate to have our friends Amber and Maggie keep Blair and take her with them to the ceremony and the reception. I will say I think she may have been a little spoiled :) Tim & Lindsay's wedding was gorgeous and we were all so honored to be a part of their special day!!

Photo By Amber Langhoff

8 Months!

2013-09-18T11:03:00.002-05:00

Blair,

Today you are 8 months old!!!

You are such a joy in our lives and becoming quite the awnry little girl ;)

We aren't for sure how much you weigh, but based on our scale around 17-18 pounds. You are in size 6-9 month tops and dresses, 6 month bottoms, and size 1 or 2 shoes. You are in size 2 diapers. You go down for the night between 7-7:30 and are typically up to eat around 2-3 then back to sleep until 6-6:30. You have slept through the night a few times, but you do not do that every night.

You take 3 bottles during the day with Grandma and nurse when you are with mommy. You are eating 2 solid meals a day- and you love when you are in your highchair to eat! You have tried lots of new foods recently and only a few of them you aren't a fan of- one being Puffs. You have started to feed yourself some things like cheerios and green beans if we put them on your tray.

Last month you were a crawling/scooting machine and this month you still are, but you are more of a "walk along anything you can" girl now! You pull yourself up to anything and everything that you can, and you stand up if there is anything around you to help you get up. You are a climber too- you have crawled into your boucey seat- so Mommy and Daddy had to take that away.

You have 2 teeth- your bottom fronts. The first one came through on August 17th and the 2nd came through on the 29th!

You love bath time and move around the tub and splash and squeal- it's so fun! You also love your water toys.

You really love on Kuba now and will follow him wherever he goes, although he's not a big fan of you touching him. It's so cute to watch because you will touch him and he'll move a little bit so you move and then it just repeats until he gets tired of it and walks away. You just laugh when he walks away!

In the last month, we celebrated Daddy's 30th Birthday, Mommy's 28th Birthday, and Labor Day! It was a busy month! We had so much fun celebrating with you in our lives.

We love you to the moon and back baby girl!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

The last weeks of August

2013-09-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

I've taken a little blog Vaca- much needed and I was able to get caught up on everything that was needed.

Since I blogged last we have:
-Attended the Farm Progress Show
Jeff, Brian, Abbi, and I all went down to the Farm Progress Show on Thursday. We were able to look at all kids of new ag equipment and get lots of goodies. Jeff & Abbi had never been and I think they had a good time and we saw lots of neat things. It was warm, but not too hot. Blair stayed with Grandma because it would have been too much for her and it's not exactly the most baby friendly place to go.

Brian Checking out the new Gleaner.

-Celebrated Jeff's 30th Birthday

We had a party at our house- I"ll get pictures from it uploaded soon hopefully! We had friends and family and enjoyed the evening outside celebrating him!

-Met Sadie & John Luke from Duck Dynasty :) On the way home from work a local radio station was having a trivia contest. I just happened to have a good guess and got through on the phone lines and I was right! YAY! We love to watch Ducky Dynasty so we were pretty excited!

Funny story about Blair's feet! In the Line for the Meet & Greet, I had Blair in her carrier. I had Sadie & John Luke sign our tickets for the game. It was also Blair's first baseball game. John Luke said oh I thought you were going to ask me to sign your baby, he said he always wanted to do that. I saw sure you can sign her and he was really taken aback. Well needless to say he signed our baby and then told us to wait a minute because he wanted to take a picture of her and her signed foot with his phone. So now, John Luke has a picture of Blair! :) We had a good time and Blair enjoyed her first baseball game...asleep for most of it.

-Celebrated my birthday and Labor Day

Blair and Grandpa before the Thresherman's Parade

Nap time before the parade recovering from a late evening at Daddy's birthday party!

-Enjoyed time as a family! Out little monster is so mobile now! It is so fun- she will follow you through the house crawling, we have 1 step in our house and she has mastered that, and she has taken a liking to touching Kuba (not sure he is a fan of that!).

Such a ham!

Camping-August 2013

2013-09-09T11:10:00.000-05:00

Blair's First Camping Trip!

3 Years

2013-08-21T12:24:00.000-05:00

Today is our 3 Year Anniversary! It doesn't seem like it has been 3 years, but they have been 3 of the best years of my life. It seems like so much has changed in just 3 short years and we keep getting closer and closer to our goals.

The morning of our wedding I woke up so excited! I never really felt nervous that day because I knew we were doing the right thing. I was marrying my best friend and vowing to spend the rest of my life with him. The day was perfect and we spent it with all of our family and friends- things couldn't have gone better. It wouldn't have mattered at the end of the day- I was married to Jeff and that was all that mattered.

Jeff- I love you more than you will ever know and appreciate all you have done for me. I know that you will love me until we are old. Seeing our family expand and see you with Blair has been one of the most amazing things to experience with you. You are an amazing daddy to her and best of all a very supporting husband. I love you to the moon!

Here's to the next 80 years! I love you!

Blair is 7 Months!

2013-08-21T08:18:00.001-05:00

Blair,

The last month you have grown and changed so much! We have gotten to experience a lot more firsts with you and look forward to many more.

You weigh between 15-16 pounds and are around 27 inches tall. You just moved up to size 2 diapers. You were 3-6 month clothes, although I have put you in some 6-9 month clothes, but they are still very big. You wear size 1 shoes.

You take a bottle at grandma's house every 3 hours and nurse on demand when at home. You typically go down for the night around 7:30 and wake to eat at 3:00, then we have to wake you around 6:30 to get ready for the day.

You have started solids and love to eat! So far you have had: Bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, apples, peaches, pears, and carrots. You do so good eating!

You are a crawling/scooting machine! We put you down and you are off in an instant. You have mastered getting from your belly to sitting in no time at all. Just in the last few days you have started to pull yourself up on things. You love when mommy or daddy lay on the floor with you because you can pull yourself up on us.

We went camping for the first time last weekend and you did so good! We fixed you a little 'bed' on the floor and you slept very well. You played with Mady, Aubrey, and Sid.

You also got to go to your first fair this past month. You stayed with Grandma Pfoff while Mommy worked. You got to meet a ton of mommy's friends and spent lots of time being passed from one person to another.

You love to take baths. You have started to love to play in the water and it's so fun to watch your face when you splash- you think it is hilarious.

In the last few days you have also started to really love on Kuba. You reach to pet him anytime he is close and try to crawl on top of him when he's laying next to you.

And one of the biggest milestone we have reached is you got your first tooth! It's not completely up yet, but on August 17th we were able to see it for the first time- it goes up and down, but you have it!

We love you so much baby girl. We are so lucky to have you in our lives and we enjoy watching you learn new things and grow each day. You could slow down, but we cherish each and every memory with you and look forward to many more!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Working for the weekend

2013-08-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

Come on 4:30!!!!

4:30 Signals the start to my weekend which means, TONS of family time and FUN! We're all packed and ready and I can't wait to spend sometime with my family.

Blair will have lots of grandma and grandpa time, time with Uncles and Aunts, and cousins.

Mommy and Daddy are looking forward to the lake- me very much so looking forward to water skiing! AHH!

Weekend recap early next week!

Enjoy!

...

2013-08-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

Because I'm in one of those moods....

I'm starting to think that we are one of the few families in today's times that take the time to have a family dinner. I have overheard people lately saying well we all have different schedules so we just eat when we can. In my family growing up we all sat at the table and had dinner together. Grated there were nights that we were all going indifferent directions but that was maybe 1 or 2 times every few weeks. I think it is becoming more and more mainstream for families to become disconnected with electronics involved as well as busy schedules. We are in a work of too many commitments not enough family time in my opinion.

I will say I am a very old school type of person. Families sit and eat dinner together, the tv doesn't need to be on all of the time, when Blair is old enough we will be outside playing or doing something not sitting inside entertained by the tv or computer.

Do I think kids have cell phones way to young ? Absolutely. It's all part of the social stigma. I see no reason for an 8 year old to have a cell phone. I know I will get grief for it but at 8 years old why in the world do they need one? Tell me it's so they can reach their parents whenever- if you are brave enough to send your 8 year old out in the crazy world where you can't get in contact with someone supervising them then I have more opinions of you than you will care to hear.

Today's rant...maybe more late because it's been one of those days!

Almost 1 month later

2013-08-12T09:52:00.001-05:00

Almost one month later and I'm finally feeling caught up enough to update. The last month has been nothing but busy. Busy at home busy at work no down time just go go go. Now that work has slowed down it means no more late nights at the office and getting back to a normal routine. After this weekend I finally feel like I am caught back up on sleep.

The last month we have been lots of places, seen a lot of friends and family, and survived the county fair. We celebrated Aubrey's 2nd birthday.

Mommy spent lots of hours at work. Blair spent lots of time with her grandmas. We celebrated with Tim & Lindsay. We put lots of green beans up and made yummy foods!

Blair is 6 months

2013-07-21T16:52:00.001-05:00

Blair,

You are now 6 months and 3 days old. You has a doctors appointment on Friday. You weigh 14 lbs and 5 oz. and are 26 inches old. You are growing on your own little curve and we are always told you are just a little peanut.

You eat every 3 hours during the day and every 5-6 hours at night. You usually go down for the night around 730 and are up t 3 or so to eat then we have to wake you at 630 to get ready to go to grandmas. You still nurse and take bottles great!

You are a very happy baby! You army crawl all over and crawl sometimes but you are still working on your coordination.

You have been eating solids for a few weeks. So far you have had sweet potatoes, peas, apples, bananas, and carrots. You do so good sitting in your high chair and eating.

You recognize people you see often and give the biggest smiles. You are very vocal too!

Your favorite toys Are your o ball and you exersaucer. You love to play in it and job and squeal.

You are going to be moving up to size 2 diapers as soon as the size 1s we have are gone. You wear 0-3 and 3-6 months clothes. Soon we will put the smaller size away though because they are starting to get to small.

You bring so much happiness to our lives. We love you more than you will ever know!

Try It Out Tuesday: Shrimp Salad

2013-07-11T08:59:00.000-05:00

Edit: This was scheduled to go live on Tuesday and it didn't! UGH!!!! So here's Try It Out Tuesday on Thursday :(

A few weeks ago a co-worker was talking about a recipe she saw on Food Network: Shrimp Salad. She started telling about it and I decided we could try it for dinner. I went online to find the recipe and then of course made my own modifications :)

Ingredients:
1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined
3 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Dash onion salt
Salt and pepper
Seasoning salt
Celery salt
8 slices your choice bread, toasted
Lettuce and tomato slices, optional

Directions
Place shrimp in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Transfer shrimp to a bowl and add eggs, celery, and mayonnaise; mix well. Add seasonings, to taste, and stir to combine. Spread additional mayonnaise on both sides of bread. Heap shrimp salad onto bread and then cut sandwiches in half. Serve with lettuce and tomato, if desired.
Source

It was VERY easy to make, and it made the list of make it again at our house. My changes- I used 2 eggs, and minced fresh onion. I just used a bag of store bought frozen shrimp, thawed them and rough chopped it. The chunks of shrimp were good in my opinion. Jeff thought it was good but he said next time he'd try it with some cheese.

I served these sandwiches on crispy bread, but didn't toast it just warmed it a little bit.

Forgive the quality- it was a quick snapshot before I put away leftovers :)

Weekly Catch-up

2013-07-11T08:57:00.000-05:00

Can we just start calling Thursday's weekly catch-ups? The past few weeks, Thursday's have been my day to recap the week so far, so it may become a trend around here...unless I can get my booty in gear and start doing Midweek Random's with Megan.

This week has been SO BUSY! Between Jeff working a lot of hours, and my busy season in full swing, I wonder how we function. Although, I will say I was worried about us both being very busy and having a baby, it has all just worked it's way and things are no different than when we are working regular hours. Blair has been great with changes and I am so glad!

Jeff has been working a lot of late nights, and I have just been swamped during the days, so we both come home exhausted, but somehow our exhaustion melts away when we are with Blair. I will truly say I cannot imagine a night without my Blair time. We all sit on the floor and play or watch Blair just move all over the place. She can almost get her self to the sitting position, and is constantly on all 4's rocking. We are sure crawling is in our very near future! She's also working on some teeth and those have caused her some pain but she hasn't been horribly fussy with it.

"Our" garden (Shared with friends) is still doing really well. We picked green beans again early this week and will have tomatoes ready soon.

This weekend Blair and I are heading to the Chicago area for a bridal shower and I am so excited to start the wedding festivities with Tim & Lindsay. Jeff will be the best man, I am a bridesmaid, and Blair will be a guest- but she has the cutest dress to wear :)