Project Discovery

Jack is all over the place now, so Saturday I finally bought some baby gates. So far, we've only put up two, one as you enter the kitchen by the door to the backyard and one as you enter the hallway to his room and the stairs. They seem to be working pretty well, but if he can't go to the kitchen or the hall, he will surely find something else to get in to. This is how I found him this afternoon.

Yep, he's under a table trying to get his books. 

The books are behind the table, because before his daddy moved his couch back into the family room, my rocking chair sat in that corner and that's where I'd read to Jack.  Now, he has other books scattered all about, but apparently he's tired of reading Peter Rabbit.

and The Picnic Train.

So, now his basket of books is within his reach,

and he's one Happy Little Boy!

Although the gates have only been up a few days, and most of the time they are effective, he has learned that there is another entrance to the kitchen and is beginning to use it more frequently.  I guess since I'm not going to be able to keep him out of the kitchen (at least not until I get another gate), he should learn the joy of tupperware! 

This may be my new favorite "toy" while we're cooking dinner! 

Watch the video to see why!

He played with those bowls for almost an hour!

One Busy Weekend!

I know we're almost to another weekend, but o'well, I thought I should write a quick post about this past weekend.
Friday afternoon, I went to happy hour with my friend Dave and boy have things sure changed since we used to go to HH.  We were the duo that was at our favorite HH spot a few times a week, and we were usually there for a while longer than just an hour.  HA!  But times have changed and apparenlty, we've gotten much older and those at the bar have gotten much younger.   We shared a few laughs about old times, then it was time to get home to the little one!  Dave did come over though, so the fun continued.  Randy grilled fajitas over at Scott's and they were so good we had them again Saturday night, and no, not left overs! HA!

Saturday I did a little shopping, then Ashley and Kendall came for dinner.  If you have never tried the Kroger brand fajita meat, you should!  Both the beef and chicken is soooo good!  My home-made pico wasn't too bad either. 

I think Jack had fun watching Kendall run around and liked her loving on him.  I only have a few pictures, but if I find my other camera (either I misplaced it Sunday, or someone stole mistaken it for their own) I think there are more pictures on it.

Kendall helping "push" Jack along.

Kendall and Ashley

(she's chewing on a flower, not a sucker)

Ohhhh, I see another flower!

Not happy about the gate.

Jack hasn't figured out what's going on yet. HA!

Sunday we went to the track (this is where I "misplaced" my camera) to watch Scott race.  We had a really good time and I think Jack enjoyed all the action.  I wore him in the Baby Bjorn most of the day, but he did finally sleep for a little bit in the pack-n-play.  Plus there were plenty of people there who wanted to hold him and play with him. 

It was a beautiful weekend in Texas, hope yall's was nice too!

And so it begins...

The birds are chirping, the days are getting longer, the weather is warming up, and the flowers are beginning to bloom.  Spring is in full swing - we even had a thunderstorm last night. 

So, this only means ONE thing...

SUMMER is just around the corner...

and my BODY is not ready!!

And, so it begins. 

The countdown to summer. 

Sweet Boy was tired after our walk.

I started today. My goal is to lose 15lbs by Memorial Day weekend, which is about 9 weeks away. That's an attainable goal, right? If I'm able to do this, I will be at a weight which the scale with me on it, hasn't seen since my sophomore year of college - that's 10 years ago!!  WOW!  And the scary part is that I am already 10lbs lighter than I was when I found out I was pregnant with Jack.  I must have been a fat ass healthy girl! HA!


So, this is how I'm going to do it:
~ only one Dr Pepper a day (since being pregnant, I'm now addicted)
~ fried/mexican food only one time/week (have you read my blog?  we eat way too many fried foods!)
~ go for walks everyday it's nice outside - at least 3 times/week
~ do Jillian's 30 Day Shred - at least 3 times/week
~ no more cookies at work and no more tasting everything that's made (just a taste adds an inch to your waste)


Hopefully, these few changes will add up to big results and a smaller me!


Wish me Luck!

I'm a Big Boy Now!

I can hold my own sippy cup.

I can hold my own spoon.

I can get the spoon in my mouth.

I can get the food all over my face.

And, since I'm still a baby...

I can smurk about it when mama has to clean it all up!

Little Stinker just thinks he's a BIG BOY now!

*************************************************************

Thanks Grammy for the Rodeo t-shirt. 

We love getting goodies in the mail!

I'm too tired to blog...

Let me start off by saying, I don't know how people work 10+ hours a day! It is definitely NOT for me! And, thankfully, most of the time I don't have to.

My day started with Jack screaming because he bumped his head on the corner of the wall. He was crawling all over the place and apparently couldn't decide which way he wanted to go and ended up on the loosing side of a fight with the wall. Poor baby!

But don't worry, the crying only lasted a minute and daddy was there to wipe away his tears (I was getting ready for work when it happened) and we had our happy little boy back.

Then, it was off to work for the longest day I've worked in a LONG time!!  My hospital just celebrated their 5th Anniversary, so tonight was their little social hour celebration and we provided all of the hor d'ouevres and beverages.  I think all of the food turned out great and was so impressed with everything!  A special thanks to my entire staff and all of the other directors who came to help. 

The Chefs - My Chef, Francisco and Nathan

Gourmet Cheese Tray

Boursin, Claret Cheddar, Sage Derby and some other I can't remember

Seasonal Fruit Tray

Star Fruit, Honey Crisp Apples, Champagne Grapes and Berries

Curry Chicken Salad on Endive Lettuce

Arepas with Barbacoa and Tomatillo Salsa

(These were my FAVS - think tamales on crack!)

Crab Wontons with Sweet and Spicy Sauce

(I made these - all 210 of them!)

Roasted Vegetable Flatbread with Goat Cheese

Mascarpone Cheesecake Stuffed Puff Pastry

(I put these together - SO YUMMY!)

Frangelico Apple Spice Tarts with Hazelnuts

White Chocolate Berry Tarts

(I made these too - way too tedious for me!)

The display

I'll post recipes later, but tonight I'm too tired to blog and I have DVR'd American Idol waiting.  Night, night!

Spring is Here!

Or, so the calendar says, but we woke up to about 4 inches of snow this morning - CRAZY, even by Texas standards for crazy weather! Hopefully, this will be the last snow and cold weather for a while! I'm ready for summer!

In honor of warmer weather on the horizon, I gave my blog a little face-lift. Thanks Jenn for the super cute design ideas and embellishments.

We haven't had a very exciting weekend. Friday night we did make our boneless wings again, and this time they were much better. We'll keep perfecting our method before I post any recipe, though. HA! That was the excitement of our night!

Saturday was a pretty lazy day for us. Jack and I slept and played and slept and played while Randy went to help a friend. His friend is opening a new hearing aid business, so Randy's been doing all of his computer work and helping to get everything ready for the office to open tomorrow. We did however, eat dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant. And, it was soooo good. I cannot remember the last time I had Mexican, so it had definitely been too long. I ate Mexican at least 3 times a week when I was on maternity leave. Talk about one happy girl!

Today, I had to do a little shopping for work, so I went to Sam's and Babies-R-Us, while Randy watched Jack. Nothing too exciting. But I did manage to take a few videos of Jack today. This one is of him laughing - it's one of my favorite sounds! You can't hear it very good, but he does say "bye bye" at the end. He has also learned how to scream for no reason. We no longer live in a quiet house! HA!

Even though we didn't have a very eventful weekend, it was good. Sometimes it's nice to stay at home in our jammies all day long!

Happy 8 Months Little Man!

Official 8 Month Photo

Just one more week and you've been outta my tummy as long as you were in it!   My how time seems to go so much faster now!  Your first tooth started coming in last weekend and it has made you a cranky, pooping little boy.  But yesterday, you were much happier, so hopefully the worst of this toothy is done.  It kinda looks like the second bottom tooth is starting to cut through too, but I can't feel it yet.  I'm gonna miss that cute toothless grin!  I'm still so amazed everyday at all the things you learn and I love to just watch you play and see what you're going to get into next.  You love the remote control, Daddy's TV stuff, my flip flops (or any shoes) and stuffed animals.  Grammy brought you a Glow Worm and it sings you to sleep every night.  I try to "rock" you to sleep, but you'd rather just be laid down in your bed.  Most nights you go right to sleep when I lay you down.  And 95% of the time, you sleep through the night.  Thank goodness!!   

Jack Loves Teddy!

You're "crawling" all over the place now.  It's still not a real crawl, but you've got it down.  You can go really fast when there is something you really want!  You also just learned that you can crawl on the tile, before then you thought you had to stop when you got to it.  I'm not liking you crawling on the tile, but am thankful you have not found the stairs yet.  I'm sure that is just around the corner.  I finally put the plug covers over the electrical sockets, because you were eyeing them pretty hard.  Next up is lowering your bed and baby gates. 

You sit in your bathtub like a big boy now. And you love to play with the rubber ducky and splash water all over me. You'd be perfectly content just hanging out in the bathtub. You also love to chew on the washcloth. I've started getting on out for you to chew on and one for me to bathe you.

I love to hear you laugh out loud and I love it when you get so excited and flap your arms like a wild duck!!  You are so funny!  The only real "word" you say is "ba ba ba."  You say this all the time, despite Daddy's efforts to get you to say "da-da."  I'm sure it won't be long before you're talking up a storm. 

Jack's Stats:

~ about 24.5 lbs

~ about 30 inches long

~ 1 tooth coming through

~ sleeps from 7:00pm to 7:30am

~ 2- 45min naps, most days

~ 4- 8oz bottles

~ 3 baby foods

Such a sweet little boy!

Happy 8 Months Little Man!

We Love You so much!

St Patrick's Day

I left work a little early yesterday because my head would not stop pounding.  I ran to Wal-Mart to grab a few things for dinner and get some Excedrin Migraine - that stuff works wonders- then went home to rest for a little bit before going to pick Jack up from school.  No TV, no radio... just a quiet house.  Oh how nice it can be... for a little bit.

I picked Jack up and went back home.  He has been in a one-of-a-kind mood lately.  I'm not sure if it's the teeth or he's hitting the seperation anxiety phase, but whatever it is, it's making him super cranky!  He played for a little while, had a bottle and took a little nap.  He was a little happier after the nap, but still wanted me to be sitting right next to him playing.  If I got up he'd start whining.  I even brought out the toy basket!

We usually just have a few toys laid out on a blanket, but I guess he's getting tired of them.  Once he saw the basket full of goodies, he didn't know which toy or book he should go after first.  Ha!  Our living room now looks like a tornado hit it!!  There are books and toys scattered everywhere.  I guess that's how it's supposed to be with a little one, though. 

He spotted me with the camera and was on the move!

After we played for a little bit, it was time to cook dinner.  Spring has arrived in Texas, so that means cooking out at our house.  Randy loves to grill and is pretty good at it!  Last night we had Baja Chipotle marinated grilled chicken, squash and zucchini, stuffed jalapenos again and sauteed mushrooms. 

The chicken was SOOOO good. The secret is to grill it for a little bit, enough to get that grilled flavor and color and then put it in foil with the left-over marinade to cook the rest of the way.

Jack liked sitting in the grass, but it didn't last too long because he was trying to eat it.  Not good, considering Randy sprayed for weeds last weekend. 

So, I put him in the Baby Bjorn and wore him for a while.  This is one of his new favorite things.  He can be close to me, but can still see everything that's going on.   Don't know how much longer he's gonna fit in it though because he weighs almost 25lbs and that's a lot of weight to just be hanging there!  Ha!

This was my attempt at a St Patty's day picture of us.  Not the best, but o'well. 

Hope yall had a Happy St Patrick's Day!