Tuesday, January 29, 2013

11 Months


Well goodness I'm a bad mommy. I am so behind and it seems like time is flying! Looking back, I realize that the last update was at 7 months!! So where are we at 11 months?

Daily Schedule: The babies start the day everyday around 7:00 am with a bottle.  They eat breakfast at 8am which normally consists of a combination of applesauce, cheerios, grits, eggs with cheese, or toast. They did try Krispy Creme Donuts this past weekend with their daddy.  :0) They still take a morning nap at 9am.  They sleep for about 1.5 hours.  At 11AM they get a sippy cup (formula) and snack (cheese and crackers, Noosa's yogurt, or fruit).  Lunch is at noon. If we would let them, they would eat Mac and Cheese everyday.  They love it. Typically they have left overs or a sandwich for lunch.  Back to bed at 1:00 until 2:30.  Last week, the babies have been staying awake until 2:15 and not napping well. They are getting close to moving to one nap a day. Another snack and sippy cup (formula) at 3PM.  Dinner is at 5:00PM. Bath at 6:30 and nightie bottle at 7PM.  We are down to 2 bottles a day- one in the morning and one at night.  We are going to take away the morning bottle this week.  I will follow the Moms on Call approach to taking the nighttime bottle away the week of their birthday.  

Walking: Anna Kate is walking all over. She only takes around 5-10 steps at a time but is on the move. Foster will stand up in the middle of the living room and look around but sits down instead of stepping out. It is so cute.  



Sleeping:  They both sleep in their crib with the noise machine on as loud as it will go. They are sleeping from 7:00PM- 6:30AM.  Most nights they sleep all night. Other nights they will make little noises but go right back to sleep. We don't go in their room unless they are sick or we can tell something is not right.

Feeding: We are still using Gentlease Formula by Enfamil. I had to buy the soft nipple sippy cups. For some reason, they won't drink out of the normal sippy cup. They eat anything we eat! No allergies so far. They have tried eggs and peanut butter with no issue.

Toys:  Anything and everything. There are toys everywhere. Foster really likes his toy tackle box and fishing pole.  Foster also loves MICKEY MOUSE and watching TV. Anna Kate loves hugging her doll and any stuff animal. Anna Kate also sleeps with a small, soft blanket.  Oh- I almost forgot the babies fight daily over their Christmas present. It is a little dog that they push all over the living room. I included a photo below. They love it!

Sizes: They are in size 4 diapers.  I tried other brands but love the Pampers Swaddle diapers. At nighttime we use Goodnight diapers by Huggies.  As far as clothes, they are both in 12 months and some 18 month clothes.

Teeth: Foster has 8 teeth and Anna Kate has 2 on the bottom. 

Misc: The babies are already in competition with one another. Anna Kate wants anything that Foster has including mommy and daddy.  Today Anna Kate grabbed Foster's face and her fingers ended up in his mouth.  The next thing I knew he was biting her.  She screamed and once he finally release AK had purple fingers with teeth marks.  Hopefully she will learn to keep her hands to herself.

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

Tonight I cooked Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken and served it over pasta.  Instead of using a packet of Italian salad dressing mix I used a packet of Fiesta Ranch salad dressing mix. This was not my plan at all. I thought I had a packet of ranch put didn't.  I also used a can of chicken broth and cream of mushroom soup.

Link to recipe:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-cream-cheese-chicken-recipe.html

View in the crockpot

Served over pasta with grated parmesan cheese 
The Cream Cheese Chicken and pasta was good but wasn't my favorite. I am going to try it again with regular ranch and see if that makes a difference. Jason really liked it and said he would love it again.  It was very easy to make.

Upcoming New Recipes:
-Poppyseed Chicken Casserole
-Cheese Chicken Tator Tots in Crockpot
-Whole BBQ Chicken in Crockpot
-Crockpot Enchiladas
-Crockpot Pizza Casserole

Easy Dinners

The babies are now eating everything!! Anything we eat, they eat. Since they stay home all day, I feel like I must have dinner prepared and left overs so they can try new things and have healthy meals.  It is really difficult since  I am working shift work.

So Jason and I decided to make a list of meals that we enjoy and create a menu each month.  We plan to start using the new menu in February. We will see how that goes.  Until then I am trying a few new, EASY recipes. I found a blog on Pinterest that has great Slowcooker recipes. The blog is called the Country Cook http://www.thecountrycook.net/p/recipe-index.html  She has a list of recipes that look wonderful and a section for slowcooker recipes.

I made the pork chops from the list a few nights ago and I am making Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken tonight.  I plan to blog about each recipe and if my family approves.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Gravy
Link to recipe: http://www.thecountrycook.net/2011/01/slow-cooker-pork-chops.html


The pork chops were wonderful and fell right off the bone.  I used pork chops with a bone and a beef gravy packet instead of pork gravy (thats what I had in the pantry). I served the gravy over rice with a vegetable and garlic bread.  Next time I will add chopped onions and possibly fresh mushrooms to the recipe.  

Upcoming New Recipes:
-Poppyseed Chicken Casserole
-Cheese Chicken Tator Tots in Crockpot
-Whole BBQ Chicken in Crockpot
-Potato Soup
-Crockpot Enchiladas
-Crockpot Pizza Casserole

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Our 5th Anniversary

We started planning for our 5th Anniversary last year. We had big plans- we were planning to go to Costa Rica or even Key West.  But due to life we decided to stay closer to home. I guess we will have a blow out 6-7 year anniversary trip :0) I am happy that we decided to just go away for the weekend to Orange Beach because I really missed my babies. I was actually ready to go home after 2 days!!


Our view when we first arrived at the condo
Yummy oysters at Poppa Roccos for lunch

After the 1000th time, he almost made it :0).
Thankfully, there was a comfy swing to relax.
@ the Wharf 

I don't think I have blogged about how much I love Pandora. I love my bracelet and the memory behind each charm. For Christmas, Jason and the babies bought me the new multi-strand Pandora bracelet.  For  my anniversary Jason bought me a new clip for it. I just love the way it looks.



Our Wonderful Dinner- sushi, egg rolls, scallops, bone-in ribeye 

Friday, January 18, 2013

Happy New Year

Playing at Grandmama's and G's on New Years Day. As you can see both babies are wearing maroon for the MSU bowl game. We all ate our cabbage, pork, and black-eyed peas. I can't wait to see what 2013 brings to our family.


Starting to prepare

The babies 1st birthday is quickly approaching. I'm excited while also a little sad. The theme is going to be Raggedy Ann and Andy.  I started making the banner using the Cricut- I just love that machine.



Color scheme- Red, Teal, and White