Fabulous Food Friday: Blueberry Coffee Cake

I saw this recipe on none other than...you guessed it! The Paula Deen show on Food network. The taste was spectacular. The only problem I had was getting the center of it to cook. I don't know if it's the altitude here or if I did something wrong. But it tasted heavenly! I also baked it in a 8x8 and used an 8 bisquit can instead of the bigger size. You can find the recipe here!

Springtime ?

I am really hoping some warm weather is around the corner and is planning on sticking around. It snowed pretty bad Friday night and then again a couple of nights later. It makes me not want to go outside. And where I'm from, I'm used to sporting shorts and sandals by this time of year...not winter coats, gloves, and hats!! Today for the first time in several days, we went to the park. We didn't stay long because Livie needed a nap. But I did manage to get some spring pictures of her. And I must say, this outfit is one of the CUTEST outfits ever! I've had some bum genius (maker of our cloth diapers) leg warmers for a while that I didn't have anything to match with but this little outfit I bought while we were in Louisiana was a perfect match!

The Curious and Creative Case of Carter P

The things this boy comes up with.....

Things that have been heard, seen, and done in our house in just the past week alone include:

Carter trying to bowl with our giant exercise ball and glass jars of baby food...not a good idea!

Carter tying his jump rope to Olivia's highchair and trying to pull her across the kitchen as seen here: (sorry these pictures aren't the best quality)





Building numerous block creations, including this one where princess Annie is inside the castle:



Making a new breakfast creation by dumping his chocolate milk in his peach oatmeal.....and then eating it!

Drawing "self portraits":



He never ceases to amaze us! I love the mind of our three year old (most of the time!)

Looks Who's Talking Sitting

Olivia has been sitting on her own briefly for a couple of weeks now. I finally managed to run in the office quickly enough the other day to grab my camera and snap some photos. She didn't topple over either! I still can't leave her for long periods of time (more like more than two or three minutes) because she still doesn't have the greatest balance. But this is a start!

In other Olivia news, she is finally starting to feel better. I guess those antibiotics for her ear infection are working. Let me tell you, this was the week from HELL! Just ask Theo :) I am thankful to be back from the brink of insanity...just kidding, well, not really! I have the

Fabulous Food Friday

Ok, so I'm going to try something new. I am going to attempt to post a food recipe every Friday. I have been watching a little Food Network (as evidenced by Carter screaming out in mass one day, "Does Jesus love Paula Deen?"). I am also trying to get out of a food rut and would appreciate any new recipe ideas you all have. So for my first week, I am sharing something simple. I hosted a playdate last week and had a few snacks...one of which was some fruit. So instead of serving pineapples out of the can, I came up with this little fruit tray as a way to make it pretty! What do you think? No recipe here....it's self-explanatory :)

Firsts

Unfortunately, this is not a developmental milestone first....Olivia has her first (two) ear infections. She was really irritable yesterday off and on. Then last night she spiked a 102.2 fever, screamed for literally two hours and then refused to nurse. Let me tell you, last night was awful. I was giving her until 12:30 a.m. and then I was going to take her to the E.R. and thankfully after much begging and pleading with God, she finally fell asleep at 12:17! Fortunately, we were able to get her right in to see Dr. Lisa this morning and Olivia has ear infections in both ears. Her left ear is only a little red but it's the start of one and then her right ear is pretty bad :( She is good spirits this morning though as long as she can see me! We'll go pick her antibiotics up this afternoon and hopefully after a couple of doses, she'll be feeling better.

Just Because

My sweet husband brought these home for me this week....and we weren't even fighting! Tulips are my favorite and these are beautiful!

Fun Friday

Today, we had a good day just hanging out. This morning, Carter and I went the the Y while Theo stayed home with Olivia. For the past few weeks, I have not been able to leave her at the Y childcare area because she screams the whole time I'm gone. I've decided it's not worth it so I won't workout unless Theo can stay with her. Fortunately, he was home this morning and I managed to squeeze in a 2 mile run while Carter had fun playing on the bouncy castle.

We spent the rest of the day playing and shopping. I found Carter some cute swimsuits at Ross for dirt cheap! I got a new dress for $9 and some sandals. When we got back home, we talked to Omaw and Papaw on skype and it was awesome. So if any of you want to chat with us, please download skype for free and let us know! Carter really got a huge kick out of it.

Theo has had his nose in a book on a computer screen lately working on a big paper for his Master's class. We've been trying to stay out of his hair so he can concentrate but Carter has really enjoyed playing with his daddy this week and Theo is happy to oblige him. God is also really pouring out favor over Theo's professional life! It's such a testimony to how God can turn things around that once seen impossible to overcome.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Seven Falls {part two}

Fish out of in the water

Carter started swim lessons last week. These are some pictures I finally managed to snap yesterday. Again, let me just say, the boy marches to the beat of his own drum but loves every minute of it!

7 months old!

Olivia is seven months old today! She celebrated the day by hanging out by the pool while Carter had swimming lessons, having a luxurious lunch of more sweet potatoes, and finally napping in her crib. Last week she was pretty crabby, I assume because of teething. But the past several days, she's been (mostly) back to her happy ol' self.

At seven months she:

-is still only gaining about 1/2 pound a month but that's okay

-is still waking up once a night (sometimes more) to nurse

-nurses 5 times during the day

-takes 2 good naps

-sleeps about 12 hours a night

-loves fruit more than veggies

-thinks her brother is the funniest thing on the planet

-saw her first waterfall

-still is chewing on everything she can fit in her mouth and even some things that can't

-is already almost too long for some of her 6-9 month clothes

-had a great first Easter

-can roll over both ways but doesn't do it that often

-is working on sitting independently. She can do it but I can't leave her side or she'll topple over!

-has a bottom tooth that has finally broken through her gum (discovered today!) but it's not all the way in. The left bottom tooth is not far behind it

-is generally still a happy baby but is already experiencing some separation anxiety. She doesn't want to be out of mommy and daddy's sight.

-still brings us so much joy that we can't even put it into words

Happy seven month birthday baby girl! We love you more and more every single day.

Seven Falls {part one}

Yesterday we had a fabulous day having family time. We decided to head to Seven Falls. It's a good thing we did because they are closing on Monday until June! I took so many amazing pictures that I'm not going to put them all in one post. We have been to Garden of the Gods, the AF Academy chapel, and other beautiful places here but this place was spectacular. We climbed over 400 steps to reach our destination. Unfortunately, the hiking trails at the top of the falls were closed because of snow and ice but we still had an incredible view. Carter did amazing considering how many stairs he climbed. Olivia was as happy as could be with daddy holding her. The weather was absolutely perfect...not too hot, not too cold. They also light up the trails at night during the summer. So that is on my get a babysitter and do for date night list!