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!!

It's A Keeper- February

So, I cannot promise how long this will last, but I am going to try to post a recipe a month that is a "keeper" for our family.
February's recipe is one I recently took to our ladies' Bible study potluck, and it got rave reviews. It is an attempt at On the Border's Chicken Tortilla Soup with a few modifications based on things I like! Hope you enjoy!!!
I am sure there are a lot of modifications that you could make based on what you have on hand or family preferences, but I just noted exactly what I used.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 large chicken breasts
14 cups water
2 tsp salt
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1 bag of boil in bag brown rice
10 oz can rotel
1 cup salsa
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
8 oz frozen corn (1/2 bag)
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
½ onion chopped
1 zucchini squash, sliced thin and quartered

8 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Crumbled tortilla chips

Boil Chicken in 8 cups water with salt and 2 bouillon cubes for one hour. Meanwhile, boil the rice according to the directions and do any necessary chopping, rinsing, etc. Remove cooked chicken from water and cut or tear into bite sized pieces; return to broth with remaining ingredients including 6 additional cups water and 3 bouillon cubes. Simmer for one hour. Top with cheese and tortilla chips and serve.

Where Does She Come Up With This Stuff?!?

Elizabeth is becoming quite the conversationalist! It is adorable to listen in as she has purposeful conversations with her little girl friends or asks and answers appropriate questions on the phone. As we talk, I am getting a better snapshot of her little brain and it is incredible what is going on in there! She is so astute and is always taking things in and contemplating relationships. Here are a couple of her most recent quotes that made me smile and say, "Seriously?"
About a week ago, we were sitting at the table for lunch, and I decided to cut an apple cross ways to show her the star inside. Here is how this chat went.
Me: Look Lizzie!
Elizabeth: Wow! It says Wal Mart!
Me: Huh? (Looking for a sticker or something stuck on the apple) What do you mean sweetie?
Elizabeth: Right there Mommy, it says Wal Mart. (pointing directly to the star)
Me: The star? (Long pause to contemplate) OH! The star looks like the symbol on the Wal Mart bags!
Elizabeth: Yes Mommy! It says Wal Mart!
Me: You are so smart Lizzie Grace!

Two weeks ago we had arrived at church early, so I could get some work done in the office. Elizabeth has made herself at home at CityView's new building, and she just goes her own way as soon as we walk through the doors. Our friends Scott and Rebecca were there too, and according to Scott, this is how his conversation with Elizabeth went.
Scott: Hi Elizabeth! What do you have there?
Elizabeth: (waving an American flag) It's mommy's flag.
Scott: Oh, what is mommy's flag doing?
Elizabeth: I am waving it for Barak Obama!
(She has an obsession with saying his name. I am guessing she equated the flag with all of the recent inauguration events, but really, who knows!!)
We love Elizabeth so very much! I pray that we are able to steer this precious mind in such a way that she honors Jesus with everything in her.
Current Favorites:
Candy Lane (aka Candy Land)- somehow she always wins!!
Teaching Elaine new words:)
Cinderella- we have multiple versions of the book. we get to read them all often!
Clifford books- they are easy readers, so she "reads" them quite well!
Spelling- S-T-O-P stop! G-O go! R-E-D red! she asks how to spell just about every word she sees/hears
Waking up at 7:00!- What happened to our 13 hour a night sleeper? Something flipped, and regardless of how long her nap is or what time she goes down, between 7 and 7:30 a sweet little muchkin hops into our room saying "Good MORNING!"

8 Months

Once again, I am saying how in the world has another month already passed?! Elaine has had many milestones this month and her personality is blossoming! During last week's struggle with a nasty cold turned into double ear infection we did a lot of snuggling, and she was pretty pitiful. However, when her personality was lacking, it caused me to realize how much personality she really has! I am still trying to figure her out in so many ways. She loves to be held and rocked when she is tired; Elizabeth did not! With Elizabeth, we never had to really watch her on the changing table; Elaine is WILD on the changing table! She is super determined! Some "favorites" are surfacing, including the good ol' stacking rings, the sing and play stage, music, Elizabeth, anything Elizabeth is playing with, and tickles! Her dislikes include bananas (still), taking her medicine (until my genius hubby put it in the nipple of a bottle!), any obstacle that gets in her way, and being in the carseat without Elizabeth to talk to. We have been working on a couple of baby signs, and right now, she will say "ah da" and do both of her hands like she is waving at herself for all done. She is babbling all the time saying "da da, ba ba," and an occasional "ma ma" and "na na." Firsts this month include- sitting in a high chair at a restaurant, sitting up in the shopping cart, pulling up to her knees, crawling, big girl bath, and eating a girl scout cookie!
We love our Lainie K!

My ROCK

I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

What a week I have had! The past seven days have probably been some of the most trying I have had in a very long time. In the midst of it all though, I have been increasingly thankful for my Rock, my Jesus! Although not every tough moment was turned over to Him as it should have been, I can say that through it all, He has carried me faithfully. I have fallen more deeply in love with my saviour because of the events of the last seven days.

Last Friday, around 3:00, I received a terrifying phone call from one of my dearest friends saying that they were headed to the children's hospital ER with her 4 day old baby boy, because of some suspicious spots the pediatrician noticed during a check up. Not knowing what to say, I immediately began praying over the phone. After I got off the phone I immediately began calling our friends to join in prayer together. Following several tests and a couple of LONG days of waiting, the doctors determined that though there was nothing positive, they still wanted to keep him for 2 weeks for preventative care. Newborn + Hospital= no fun! As a friend, I just felt like there was nothing to do or say. For me, feeling helpless and at a loss for words is good. It causes me to turn to the One who is never helpless and always has the right word to speak. It was in this time, as the body of CityView Church sought the Lord, that He gave us multiple ways to bless our dear friends in this challenging time. Seeing how our church has come together has made me love CityView even more and want to scream- this is what Church is supposed to be!!!!

In the midst of me wanting to be there as much as possible for my sweet friend, my sweet Elaine came down with a nasty cold and became increasingly fussy and restless. So... Monday found us at the pediatrician's office being diagnosed with a double ear infection. Poor baby! Then, evidently, the medication the doctor prescribed did a doozie on her tummy, because she had an even more difficult night than before seeming to have tummy cramps. We finally found a medication that was easier on the tummy, and I have gottten more than 1.5 hours of sleep at a time the past two nights.

To add to the week's challenge, Elizabeth has begun to test me more and more. I believe it was Tuesday (but everyday is kind of a blur) when Lizzie was sitting on the big potty (we finally got rid of the little one!!!!). I went to check on Elaine and came back to an entire new triple roll of toilet paper rolled off the roll and sitting on the floor! Are you kidding me?! Somehow (God Himself taking care of me), I still had a twinge of patience in me and hint of ingenuity, so for her discipline, I told her she needed to roll back the entire roll. There was definitely some resistance, but she did it, and did not like doing it! Yes! I was thinking, this is working! However, I got lost in my fog of exhaustion and premature celebration. When I came to, my precious toddler had thrown the entire roll into the toilet!!!! AHHHH! Not my finest moment! Seriously?!?!

So, all this to say that God is so Good! He has lovingly carried me this week. He has taught me new things about His character. He has shown me a clearer picture of what His Bride is to look like. He has revealed sin. He has shown me grace. He has been consistent. Oh how I love my LORD, my Rock.


Just a side note... this is our 100th blog post!

Milestones

This has been a VERY eventful week in the Bassett home!
On Monday evening, Elaine took a random late nap, so she was still awake at 10:00. Justin made the comment, "Maybe she wants to crawl before she goes to bed." He sat her down on the floor, and off she went! Since then, she has become more confident and is able to go farther without collapsing, so she can actually make it to her goal of a toy or Kyleigh or a no no! It is really fun to watch, because she is so petite. Time to get serious about all of Lizzie's choking hazard toys!
For Elizabeth, this has been a big week, because she received her first ever haircut! As much as I loved her pretty long hair, it was getting stringy, and the time had come. So, off we went to Cool Cuts 4 Kids (probably will not return until Lainie's first haircut b/c of the cost), and let me tell you, it was an event! Elizabeth sat in a fire engine, ate a pink lemonade sucker, and watched Dora, pretty much oblivious to what was going on with her hair! I must say, I was a little nervous about how she would do, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised! Her hair doesn't look too much different, but it does seem a little thicker and healthier. Gerri, her stylist was great; however, I think in the future she will come to the salon of Mommy and Daddy:) I can buy suckers, and we definitely have plenty of Dora around here! It's just that whole cutting hair thing...
Here are a few proofs of this week's events.

?


Elizabeth has also become quite the little helper, putting her clean laundry away, giving Elaine appropriate toys, and taking care of Kyleigh. Tonight, Justin and I were both working on dinner, and I asked Lizzie to feed Kyleigh. About 30 seconds later, I realized I still heard food being poured into Kyleigh's bowl! Yikes! Needless to say, at this moment Kyleigh is laying pitifully full on the couch:)

7 Months!

In all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, our sweet Elaine turned 7 months old. She is a very busy girl growing and picking up new skills almost daily! Elaine has mastered getting up on her hands and knees and rocking and sitting herself up, and she will likely be crawling any day now. Her inability to crawl does not stop her from getting what she wants though! She is very determined and rolls/scoots her way to whatever she sets her eyes on. Elaine is also our snuggler, and when she is not too busy, she loves to bury her face in your chest and just let you hold her:) Her laugh is precious, and she is starting to giggle when she recognizes that things aren't right, for example when Elizabeth puts a necklace on Kyleigh or when I am wearing a pink cowboy hat to play dress up with Lizzie. Elaine's diet has expanded quite a bit in the past month. Today I made a big batch of baby food including green peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes and squash, all of which she LOVES! Amazingly, she has a much harder time with fruits; she finally decided that she likes applesauce, and we are working on peaches, but every attempt at bananas has resulted in gagging and an awful face! Elaine was a champ getting her first 2 teeth; her only symptom was night waking and wanting to nurse for comfort. I am not sure how much she weighs these days, because praise God, she has been healthy and we don't go for another well- check until 9 months. She is getting some cute little rolls on her legs, but otherwise she is still long and lean. The spitting up continues, but I have become pretty immune to it and the lingering smell. Someday she will not spit up... someday:) But someday she will also not be a precious baby, so I'll take the spit up and enjoy these moments!

You think they are related?

Daddy LOVE!

Look Kyleigh! I have 2 teeth!

Stylin'

Sisters sportin' their camo! After all, it was the first day of Duck Season!
We get a lot of questions and comments about whether or not Elizabeth and Elaine look alike. I'll let you be the judge. Here is Elizabeth at 7 months.

All I want for Christmas!

What an incredibly fun Christmas we had! I think I counted 6 separate houses where we celebrated our Savior's birth with family! Crazy- I know! Elizabeth and Elaine did great and were their sweet pleasant selves as we house hopped.
The most fun celebration was here, at our own home Christmas morning! For the past 4 months or so, Elizabeth had been talking about wanting a "fwing," aka a "swing." When I told her maybe she could get one for Christmas, she replied, "Let's go to Christmas to get my fwing!" This prompted many explanations of what Christmas is and why we celebrate and why we give gifts. I knew we didn't have anywhere to just hang a swing in our yard, so I began my Craigslist search for a swingset. I came across one that I really liked that we were able to get for a third of the retail price, so one November night, Adam and Taber watched the girls while we went to pick it up! The many pieces in our garage were a mystery to Elizabeth for the next several weeks, and then on Christmas eve, with Adam's help, Justin put the swingset all together in the backyard! Let me just tell you, Elizabeth's reaction Christmas morning was priceless! She was so very excited, and it has been dificult to get her to come inside even for meals! If you ask her what she got for Christmas, she will respond with, "I got TWO swings, a slide, a peek-a-boo house, some steps, and a bar to swing like Nastia!" I think this was a good investment!
All Elaine wanted for Christmas was for her first teeth to pop through and to stop hurting so much! Well, she got her wish! On the 21st, her first tooth made its appearance and on Christmas eve, its partner was made visisble . So cute:) Otherwise, Elaine loved the wrapping paper, bows, and anything else that was shiny or she could get into her mouth.
Justin and I really enjoyed being in our own home this Christmas! I had fun decorating inside, and Justin humored me by putting up lights outside:) What a great blessing God has given us in our new home, close to our church family, and even with a gate that opens into some of our best friends' yard!
It was so awesome to watch Elizabeth soak up the various pieces of the Christmas story and to recall them without even being prompted. For example, when we would see an angel as a decoration, she would say, "Mommy's that's an angel. The angel said, 'I bring you good news! In Bethlehem a Savior is born- JESUS!'" Or, "Look at the Christmas lights! Jesus is the light of the world!" I hope that I am able to continue the consistent conversation about Jesus as we move into the new year and always!
We pray you had a very merry Christmas as you celebrated the birth of our Lord!
The pics that follow are in no specific order, but they show the fun of the season for our little girls!

Since I was Elizabeth's age, I have been baking Christmas cookies with Granny! How cool is it that she is now able to take part in this fun tradition!?!

Paw Paw got the girls matching outfits! Way to go PawPaw!

A peek into our home on our first Christmas on Butterfly Way.

My Christmas Village (we get a new piece from Justin's parents each year) and my snowglobes (Justin has given me one every Christmas since we began dating- this was my 7th!)

Stockings! Lizzie picked out hers and Elaine's new ones for this year.

An impromptu way to display our Christmas cards. When they come down, they will go into a basket, and we will pick one out each night and pray for that family. (A cool idea from my friend Steph)

Elizabeth with her "new friends," Jack and Marin- also her 4th cousins! She and Marin totally hit it off and had a blast together!

Our best gift of 2008!

Our precious girl!

Grammy knows how to make and fill a stocking!

Ribbons are the best!

Oh wow!!!!!

We had both sets of our parents over for breakfast buritos on Christmas morning, and the centerpieces were the homemade gifts of the year- photo trees.

The fun continues...
Where is my space?! Justin did great on the dresses he got for the girls this year (that is his "thing" each Christmas). I can't wait to see them matching!
The end result of Justin and Adam's Christmas eve labor! (You can also see the gate in the background the guys put in)
A VERY THRILLED LITTLE GIRL!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!