10 Months

Elaine has had a big month! We welcomed 2 more teeth (the middle top), she had her first overnight away from Mommy and Daddy (look for a future post on our fun anniversary get away!), she has successfully mastered the sippy cup, she eats almost all finger food (with the exception of things like oatmeal and yogurt that are supposed to be eaten on a spoon), she has started cruising... and the list goes on. The fun is trying to keep her contained! I was VERY spoiled with Elizabeth who at this age would sit engaged with Praise Baby for 30 minutes Elaine, however, is a mover and a shaker and will most likely be my ER baby, just because she seems to be much less aware of danger. Diaper changing on the changing table is dangerous these days! As for her development, Lainie's receptive language is very good! She loves to put everything in her mouth, but most of the time, when I request her "treasure," she will remove it from her mouth and crawl over to put it in my hand! She responds to "No ma'am" most of the time and even responds by saying "no no!" She actually calls Kyleigh "no no," I guess because that is what we are often telling Kyleigh when she tries to share Elaine's food:) Speaking of food, Elaine still has a distaste for the banana flavor, including bananas themselves, strawberry banana yogurt, and banana puffs. She loves most other flavors of yogurt, peas and carrots, o's, black beans and rice, and scrambled egg yolks. She loves to pull Lizzie's hair, take whatever Lizzie is playing with, to be outside or wherever the big kids are, and to look at herself in the bathtub faucet. She has a definite strong personality and determination which I love; we are just going to have to learn how to guide her in a positive direction! Precious girl!

with her buddy Milo

mac and cheese hair!

one of her many HILLARIOUS expressions!

i have found that the park is sooo much more fun when

Elaine is contained in her mini jail o' fun and not eating mulch!my helpers:)

It's A Keeper- March

Here it is... I actually threw this together on a whim a couple of years ago, and it has stood the test of time. I typically will freeze half for a quick meal down the road, or it is great for when you are having people over.

(sorry about the Mexican theme... just a fave around here!)

Chicken Enchiladas
9X13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray
12 flour tortillas
2 large chicken breasts cut in bite sized pieces
(or 2 cans chicken if you’re in a hurry!)
2 cloves garlic
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 can black beans
1 can rotel
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small jar/can salsa verde (green in spanish!)
1 cup shredded cheese (I use Colby jack)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet with some olive oil cook chicken on the stove, seasoning with garlic. Add cream cheese, black beans, and rotel with ½ the juice. Mix this together until cream cheese is melted thoroughly. While this is cooking, mix together cream of chicken soup and salsa verde and set aside. Spoon a good amount of the chicken mixture into each tortilla, roll it, and place snugly in the baking dish. Pour the salsa verde mixture over the tortillas and cover the dish with foil. Bake 25 minutes on 350. Remove and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven uncovered for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

I leave you with our most recent family pic and a couple of others from Justin's dad's retirement party. He retired after 35 years and was a captain for the Dallas Fire Department. We had a great time and really enjoyed Papadeaux afterward!

Yeah, I was "that lady" who asked the waitress to take our pic. We needed documentation of our celebration!

Jenn and Brandon:)

Elaine is looking pretty serious-
actually, she is just a couple of hours overdue on a nap!

Psalm 19:14

Elizabeth's memory verse for March- we practice and talk about it each morning at the breakfast table, hence the bedhead! Melts this Momma's heart:)

Another reason I love my two year old...

She can go from this....


to this in a matter of minutes!

Oh the infinite joys of being a little girl! Dress up is a daily occurrence, pink is her favorite color, the "Barbie song" is sung so often that I catch myself singing this catchy tune, and she wants to be like Mommy! What a huge responsibility and blessing to raise a precious little girl in the ways of the Lord.

Recent quote:
Lizzie-"Mommy I like Jesus better than God."
Me-"Well, Lizzie, they are actually the same." (Thinking oh wow, am I going to have to begin explaining the trinity to a two year old!)
Lizzie- "Oh, Okay." (Ahhhh, that child-like faith!)

9 Months for Lainie K!

Precious Elaine is at it again- GROWING UP! This has been a fun month to see her personality unfold and her skills increase. Elaine is definitely my feisty one! Staying still on the changing table- forget about it, letting you buckle her easily into her booster seat- not without a fight, staying on a blanket outside- are you kidding me?! She has a zest in her that is just precious, but I can already tell that she is going to test me in very different ways than Elizabeth has!
Elaine is a master crawler and puller upper now, so very little is safe. For this reason, I have had to teach Elizabeth about "choking hazards" and boy do they seem to be everywhere! Elaine is beginning to associate meaning with sounds. For example she knows "Mama" gets my attention, when I tell her no, she stops what she is doing periodically and will respond with "na na", whenever Kyleigh walks by, she says "Daaah!", and she has mastered "buhbuh" and a wave when she or someone else is leaving.
After a bout with a tummy bug, we dealt with some nasty diaper rash and terrible sleeping at night, but I think we are finally settling back into a routine of some sort.
I would still categorize Elaine as a "gaggy girl," having a hard time keeping everything down. This has made transitioning to table food rather difficult. Even thickening the food that I make for her has proven a challenge... oh well, we'll get there someday.
Elaine loves her lamb chop, giggling, attention from Elizabeth, music, and sitting big in the shopping cart.
Elaine does not like being confined and not getting to play with Lizzie and Addie.
Our sweet girl gives us so much to smile about!


Quick story: Monday, Granny and Nana came to visit. At lunch, Nana was feeding Elaine her green beans, evidently not quickly enough. The following are the results.

so proud of her accomplishment!

messy nana!

happy kyleigh!!