Saturday, February 28, 2015

February Highlights

February brought a few snowstorms for us. However, overall it was an ok month. February is usually kinda hard for our family for various reason. Here are some of the highlights from our month!
{Davey and I watching the Super Bowl together!}

{This certainly depicts their relationship! HAHAHA}

{I bought two of these mugs: one for me, and one for my mom. Not only do we both love donuts, but now we can think of the other whenever we use it :)}

{Davey and I lounging before we have to go pick up Jillian at preschool}

{That face, that face, that fabulous face!}

{Teaching them right: Jillian "reading" Calvin and Hobbes :)}

{After a rough start to the month, we got a nice surprise at the McDonald's in Stroud: Phil got to pay for our breakfast with McLovin'! All he had to do was give Jillian a kiss! Thanks McDonald's :)}

{Phil finally taking me to a TU Basketball game ;) We had to take a picture at his favorite spot on campus}

{These are the Valentine's Day cards I made for Jillian's class. They came out pretty good, if I say so myself! She can only do the letter "J" so I had her do the J, and I wrote "illian" after on the back ;)}

{My poor feverish boy. At least I'm getting some snuggles}

{Jillian's Valentine's Day at preschool was a success}

{Davey doesn't like super cold treats, but he certainly loved the Hostess cupcakes I brought home!}

{I only asked for two things for Valentine's Day from Phil. 1) This necklace....}

{and 2) a box of caramel filled chocolates, (size does not matter), that I don't have to share. I'd say he did a fabulous job :) I was having a rough day, so I got my Valentine's Day presents a day early ;)}

{For Valentine's Day breakfast, we had donut holes and bacon hearts. Please ignore the messy house...}

{We make sure Phil buys Jillian a rose for Valentine's Day every year. He even got her a balloon this time!}

{The Valentine's Day goodie bags I hid outside for everyone}

{I'd say they were a hit ;)}

{It was so nice outside on Valentine's Day that we just hung out in the driveway for awhile}

{Group picture for Valentine's Day <3}

{And of course, something for the adults - beer for Phil and flowers for Courtney :)}

{Getting set up for our 2nd annual Mardi Gras dinner! I found this at the party store and thought it would be perfect!}

{Jillian earned enough stickers from potty training to get a tea party with mama!}

{She had fun drinking lemonade from the tea cups. She wasn't all that impressed with the rest of the spread, but that's ok :)}

{Those curls, y'all!}

{Another round of snow in February}
{I really love this picture}

{This reminds me of those trail cartoons from Family Circus! HAHA}

{Making snow ice cream for the first time!}

{It wasn't too bad :)}

Thursday, February 26, 2015

David the Toddler

As of February 12th, David is officially a toddler. {No more Baby Davey :( However, I can call him Davey Boy!}

When I was picking him up from the nursery after hand bell practice at church, he suddenly walked to me unassisted! We caught two videos of him walking, and it was so exciting! Here is the first video:

David's First Steps 2/12/15 from Courtney on Vimeo.
{He fell over because he was trying to throw a cute face to the other mom by the door. What a flirt ;)}

Of course, in true Davey fashion, he only started really walking again this past Sunday, February 22nd.

Having a second child is fascinating in the sense of just how similar and different things can be from your first child. For example, he and Jillian are the same in that they both have to know without a doubt they can do something before they even try. They are different in that, Jillian will then do said skill from then on, whereas David will only do it when and if he pleases.

David is a little more daring than Jillian was at this age. Sure she climbed things and got into stuff, but David is always trying to climb anything taller than him! Luckily, he's a bruiser and rarely gets hurt. Jillian, on the other hand, would cry or fuss anytime she couldn't do something or barely fell over.

I can tell David gets frustrated, but it seems to happen more when he's trying to communicate than any other time. He can vocalize pretty well for this age. However, he is very much attached to his pacifier. That may need to be remedied sooner rather than later.

Overall, I feel a little pressure to get him more vocal. At the same time, I am content in knowing he will get there. If Jillian taught me anything, it's that kids really will do things when they are ready to do it. Even if something came up, I know there's help around me :)

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

New Recipes FTW {Meatball and Spaghetti Soup}

I've been on the look out for some easy dinner ideas since the beginning of the year. I knew Phil was going to have longer work days for a few months, so dinner would be completely in my hands for myself and the kiddos.

Now don't get me wrong, I generally like to cook. I enjoy trying new recipes too. However, David is very much attached to me, and is also very hungry. I mean, he wants whatever resembles food, and he wants it whether it is cooked or not. {This is not an exaggeration either.} That being said, I needed things that I could potentially prep during his nap, or would not take much time to prep before I threw it in the oven or Crock-Pot.

Every so often, a few of the blogs that I follow will have their meal plan for the week posted. Sometimes they have links to the recipes, and sometimes they don't. Other times, what they list is something I know not many of us will eat. I am thankful to those of you who list what you eat, because I have had 3 successful new dinners that are relatively easy to cook that the whole family likes! I still have 2 more recipes to try, but I'm pretty confident these will go over well :)

I'll post about the others later, but I thought I would start with the first one I made. It is Meatball and Spaghetti Soup.

Now, I know what you're thinking because I felt the same way. Really? Meatball and Spaghetti Soup? So you took a messy meal and made it even messier?! Hear me out on this.

1. Yes, it is messy. The way we got around this was by giving the 3 year old minimal liquid, (i.e. barely 2 Tablespoons worth), and we gave the 1 year old the noodles and meatballs on a plate.

2. As strange of a combo as it sounds, it works! All four of us had seconds, which is a big feat for Jillian.

3. As much as it doesn't sound like things will cook properly, they do. Trust the instructions. We even tested the internal temp of the meatballs and it was cooked thoroughly.

I found the recipe from this blog, and the recipe was found here. Here is a picture of our final product:

Try it for yourself! I promise you won't be disappointed :)

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

A Snow Day Vlog

For something new, here is a vlog showing our real life during a snow day. Enjoy :)


Snow Day Vlog 2/24/15 from Courtney on Vimeo.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Lent 2015

We are now two days into the season of Lent for 2015. I have mentioned before that I will sometimes add something to my life as opposed to taking something out. This year was no different.

I was inspired by another story that was included in our church's newsletter. I'm doing something similar, but not exactly the same. I have made a list of 40 individuals or couples, who have made an impact on my life. I am picking one every day of Lent to prayer over them. There is one person on my list who is deceased, but I thought I could pray for their family instead.

Do you observe Lent? Are you doing anything in observation of Lent?

{Too bad we can't give up winter weather for Lent amIright?!}

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Super Bowl Sunday 2015

I'll be honest and admit I was not super excited about this year's Super Bowl.

I saw a few funny commercials before the game, and I figured it wouldn't get much better. With the Patriot's #Deflategate and the Seahawks appearing for the second year in a row, the game itself didn't sound exciting.

While the game was not thrilling, but I did enjoy watching with my little family while feasting on Summer Sausage, Colby Jack cheese, and Triscuits. {It's was my dad's favorite thing to eat for Super Bowl Sunday}

In the end, the Patriots won. Another Super Bowl has come and gone.

Did you watch? What was your favorite part?

But I Know What It Feels Like

This post is going to be awfully vulnerable and hard for me, but I really want to finally say it out loud. I got permission for my daughter ...