treasured friends....

We have been so blessed to have friends like the Smiths... Shane, Stephanie, Adeline, and Adam... They are great friends to us, and their sweet little kiddoes LOVE Ella and are so wonderful with her. Adeline is almost 4 - going on 14 - and has taken great care of Ella since the day she was born. Adeline holds Ella by herself, knows just when to get the pacifier, helps change diapers, sings to her, brings her toys... a GREAT 'big sister'! Adam just turned 2, and he gets more and more excited to see E every time we see him. He loves to hold her and kiss her and play with her. He talks to her and calls her Elalalallaa . Bean absolutely adores them both and lights up every time she sees them. These are a few pics of these three sweet kiddoes....

parenting at its finest...

Yes, this is my sweet child asleep in her floaty after a short afternoon at the pool. We have a fold up tent that I was going to lay her down in, but I was afraid she would get too hot.... So, when she fell asleep in Mr. Crab, I just let her stay there. She was zonked! Like I said, what great parenting, right? Who lets their kid fall asleep IN the pool?!

Crockpot Chicken

First, lest any of you think I actually know what I'm talking about when I post recipes... don't be fooled! I do not cook nearly as often as I ought to, and I only cook when something is ridiculously easy! So, when I find something that tastes good and meets that criteria, it deserves to be shared. This is courtesy of my dear friend, Steph, who does cook a lot, and she is WONDERFUL at it! So, you know this has to be good!

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
8 oz package of cream cheese cubed
4 1/2 oz can of chopped green chilies
1 package dry Italian Salad dressing

Put all ingredients into crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours. (Stir occasionally to melt cream cheese.) Steph serves this over brown rice. I serve it over wide egg noodles. It's DELICIOUS! The chicken falls apart and is really tender, and the sauce is creamy with just a little kick from the green chilies... kind of a Mexican/Italian dinner. YUM!

just a few pics....

As promised early on... I'm usually not overly witty or clever, and I rarely have anything really interesting to report... but I've got a really cute little munchkin, so I'm posting a few of our favorite pictures from the last few weeks. Ella is still army crawling ALL over the place... she is addicted to the laptop cords and any pair of shoes that happen to be laying around. I can move her away repeatedly and give her something different to play with, and without a doubt, she wiggles right back to those darn cords. Easily amused? Stubborn? Don't know where she gets that.... She has another tooth now... two on the bottom so far! We loved her toothless grin, but this one is pretty addicting, too! In the last week, Bean has started talking in consonants - lots of baba-dada-kya-dede.... you get the idea. Jason is convinced that her first word is dada... I think it's just a coincidence! :) It's hilarious to hear her babble like a real little person. She strings together syllables and raises and lowers her pitch... really adorable. We've reached the stage where we can't eat anything in front of her without sharing. She can have eaten a whole jar of baby food just minutes ago, and she will still grunt and groan (LOUDLY) when she sees us eating. It's either share, or listen to her moan in the restaurant. We've created a monster!

Our little "getaway" to San Antonio

At the Riverwalk in San Antonio ~ Jason had an overnight meeting for work, so we tagged along and joined him for a little getaway at the Crockett hotel near the Alamo. It was a lot of fun!

Notice E's little hands. She has played with her hands like this since she was
born. It's really sweet and delicate to see her hold her hands together... she
moves around so much now that it's rare to get a shot of it!

My Mom took this picture when they were here last week. Yes, that's a Cheese Nips
box in the picture, and no, I'm not ashamed that my child would rather play with a
cracker box than any of her other toys. Wouldn't you know...... :)


An afternoon in Fredericksburg

Awww.... family pic...

Alligator Pie...

So... not really alligator pie. That's just the title of a silly little song my aunt taught me to sing to E... Moving right along... My Mom and Dad have been here a couple of times this summer, and Dad's got this great pie recipe that we keep making while they're here... really, we made 3 pies in the 8 days they were here! It's that good and easy. So, inspired by a fellow blogger's post, I'm sharing our super easy pie recipe....

1 Graham Cracker pie crust
1 tub (regular size) of cool whip
1 can of Eagle Brand milk
6 oz frozen juice concentrate (lemonade, lime, strawberry, margarita, etc.)

Mix the cool whip, milk, and juice together. (The recipe technically says to fold it all together.....) Pour mixture into the pie crust. Freeze overnight.

YUM! We've tried all those juices above, and the lemonade one is our favorite. A great way to add a little flair is to include some food coloring to the mixture. Anyways, these pies are super easy, and really delicious! Super summery! Enjoy!

i love these girls!!!

Amber and Ella

Just hangin' out...

Sarah and E

Curious little punkin!

How did this little thing ever fit in my tummy? I am still amazed....
Look at her face! She thinks I'm crazy! (Forgive my pjs!)

Can I just say that I am so grateful for good friends! When we moved here two years ago, we knew no one, and it was really, really sad! God was so good to quickly bless me with some dear friends... girls that I made deep, meaningful friendships with in an incredibly short time. Last week, Ella and I went into Austin to hang out with them, and we ended up having a sleepover that was so much fun! I know, I sound like a high schooler, but I stay at home all day, and it is SO GOOD to get out of the house and hang out with good friends! Anyways, we had pizza on S. Congress for lunch, went to some of the trendy shops nearby, then went back to the house and hung out so E could take a little nap. We had grand plans of going to the free concert in Zilker Park Thursday night, so we grabbed some sandwiches and blankets, and headed over. Little did we know that Thursday night concerts in the park are a BIG DEAL. The traffic was horrific.... HORRIFIC... at 7:30 in the evening. Ridiculous! So, we ditched that plan and just headed to another nearby park, met up with some friends, and enjoyed our sandwiches and good conversation. Ella was a doll, and stayed up to hang out with us like a champ. We headed back to the house and watched old episodes of Project Runway (which starts a new season Wednesday night... YEAH!) and some show we stumbled on call Shear Genius. It's a dumb hair show on Bravo, but now I'm hooked, and must keep up with it 'til it's over. I have a bad addiction to pointless, meaningless reality tv. I mean... a bad addiction.... hence Shear Genius. Are you kidding me? Who watches this stuff?!?! Me.... late at night, when the Bean is in bed.... Ridiculous. Anyways, we had a great time, Ella slept through the night like a trooper, and we can't wait to do it again. Here's to you, Sarah and Amber! Thank God for great friends!

O'er the Land of the Free... and the Home of the Brave!

We had a great 4th of July with our little E-bean.... another stupid nickname with no known origin.... Jason stayed up super late Wednesday night trying to find something family friendly and fun for us to venture into on Friday. We ended up going to Washington-on-the-Brazos for the day, and it was so much fun! There were food vendors, historic farm tours, free Blue Bell ice cream and popsicles, a great Texas museum, music, and lots and lots of families. Ella was a doll, and handled a whole day of adventure really well. She fell asleep before the show began, but we woke her up just in time to see her first fireworks display, and she sat and watched wide-eyed the whole time. It was just precious! She truly seemed amused to see the sky light up with all the bright colors... she MUST be my child! I have always LOVED fireworks... I'm like a giddy little kid on the 4th of July. It's probably one of my favorite holidays simply based on the 15 minutes of fireworks that happen every year. I absolutely cannot be somewhere on the 4th where fireworks are not present... and I'm not talking about the dinky fireworks you buy on the side of the road. I want the bursting, noisy, bright, awe-inspiring waterfall kind that make you want to listen to patriotic music and sing the Star-Spangled Banner! I simply can't get enough! Already looking forward to next year.........

First experience with a Popsicle. She pitched a fit when I took it away!

P.S. The 4th always makes that lump in my throat well up in gratefulness for our freedom, but this year was especially sensitive for me, as my little brother is currently serving in Iraq. He's been gone since April, and will be there until next July. This is his second tour... he was supposed to be OUT of the Army in March of this year. But, since his unit was deploying in April, the Army stop-lossed him and wouldn't let him out in March. Instead, he was required to stay an extra FIFTEEN months to serve another tour in Iraq. I'm not bitter...... *said with a sickeningly thick drip of sarcasm*. He was married last October, and he and Crystal are expecting their first baby, a little girl, this October. Thanks, Ev, for all that you do. I do not know how to tell you enough how much we love you! Please keep them in your prayers!

Evan and Crystal at Christmas

Evan and Ella in March

some favorite pictures from the last couple of months

Ella and Aunt Caitlin

Ella and Grammie

Getting better at this sitting up thing....

This is Ella's newest trick... she just crawls right in and plays UNDER the exersaucer!

Sweet little angel!

Grumps gave her her first cookie.... oatmeal... YUM!

What a happy little monkey!

She's going to be an avid reader!

Nothing better than a naked baby right out of the bath!

How is June Already Gone?

June was a busy month for us... full of family and friends and lots of fun... but NO vacation! If you really know me, you get my vacation lament! June is usually a busy time for me AWAY from home... by this time last summer, I had been to Amarillo for a week, Michigan, Niagara Falls, New York, Annapolis, Kentucky, Missouri, and back home. I LOVE VACATION! Alas, this year..... we have the munchkin.... and a very loving daddy who does not like for us to be gone from home! He misses his little Bean way too much when we're gone. So... here we are.... still.... in July! We did have lots of visitors last month, though. Jason's mom and brother, Jeff, came to see us for a week in early June; my best, long-time friend, Jenn, and her husband, Scott, came to stay a night. And, then, my parents arrived from Amarillo for a week. It was a crazy month!

I've included some various pics from the last month. You can see how much Ella is growing! She is starting to army crawl, has pushed through her first tooth, and is getting better at sitting up by herself! She'll sit there for awhile, and then start crying because she doesn't know how to get "down" from sitting up without bonking her head. Inevitably, she finally gives in, topples over, cries from the bonk for a second, then rolls around and starts playing again! Too funny! She really is her own little person, and we are amazed daily to see her personality develop.... what a true blessing!


Happy 1st Father's Day, Jason!



Father's Day with my Daddy!

Sitting up with a little help

Hanging out with Grammy

finally giving in...

Well, I finally decided that since I spend so much time catching up on everyone else's lives, I might as well share my own. We're really pretty boring, so I have no idea what I'm ever going to write about, but it sounds like fun, and we've got a beautiful little munchkin to show off. Some updates..... E's rolling ALL over the place, getting better about playing by herself for a little while, eating up baby food (mangos are the current fave.... carrots - not so much), and just genuinely a little doll! She has the best disposition - all smiles, loves everyone, goes to anyone, perfectly content. What a blessing - beyond anything we could ever have imagined!

I had been teaching school for the last 5 1/2 years, but I quit in December after Ella was born. Now I'm just hanging out at home with Bean (our totally random nickname for Ella - no clue where it came from), occasionally cooking, doing laundry, handwashing dishes...gasp!...our 1896 house has no dishwasher... trying to keep up with the dog hair from 3 inside dogs on hardwood floors...a daily pleasure.... all the good "mom stuff." And, I LOVE it! I am so grateful that Jason is willing to work hard and provide for our family so that I can stay at home and raise our little punkin! Speaking of J... he just got a new job as a salesman for Holt Caterpillar selling big equipment. He's selling all those yellow machines you see at construction sites everywhere... such a manly thing! He went from wearing a suit everyday selling pharmaceuticals, driving his little SUV, to wearing boots and jeans and driving a big pickup.... too funny!

Well, that's life in a nutshell at the moment. We'll upload some pictures later, so stay tuned.... Off to feed a little Bean some mixed vegetables and put some clothes on her before her Daddy gets home... true, it's almost 5 o'clock and she's still in pjs. Fun, fun!

P.S. Thanks to Kelly at Fabulous K for designing this blog for me! I've been wanting to start one for a long time, but I was a little overwhelmed with where to begin. She designed my friend Amy's blog, I LOVED it, and she was gracious enough to fix me up, too! She's THE BEST! Check her out! Thanks, Kelly!