Car Seat Chat

We are looking at carseats for Vivian...or should I say I am looking at carseats for Vivian. When I had Austin, I only wanted a Britax because I had done the research and they had the best reviews. I know they are pricey but I have been very happy with Austin's Britax. Graco has come out with a new carseat that is quite similar. The prices are definitely a big difference. Has anyone tried either of the two carseats below? They will both fit a child up to 65 pounds, which I like. I am very particular with the carseats I use so any and all advice is appreciated. I of course think Vivian will look just great riding in both carseats as they are both pink and will coordinate with her outfits. :)

Graco My Ride, $159, 4 stars



Britax Lauren, $329 5, stars

Cool handwriting site

I just thought I would share this pretty neat site that teaches kids to write. You can type in any word or saying it it automatically makes the worksheet for you in either basic print or cursive. You just type in the name you want to practice and the program does the work for you. I haven't found a site that does numbers but let me know if you know of one. Austin is loving writing his name, mama, dada, poop, you name it.

http://handwritingworksheets.com/

And Another One Bites the Dust

With sympathy on the loss of your 20's Honey. I just wanted to wish Nick a Happy 30th today! We celebrated with some of his friends and family last night. We had dinner at his favorite steak house and then came home and watched some t.v. What partiers we are, I know!

Here are a few pictures of his celebration and of Nick throughout the years.



What a cute baby he was



Already a sooner fan!



At prom..he had a hot date that night :)




Gotta love cookie cake


You can't see half of the table, but oh well.

10 months

Vivian is 10 months! I know I just posted her 9 month post last week but I want to get back on track....lol. She isn't doing much different from last week other than she figured out how to clap which will be good for cheerleading. :) She has had a cold all week so we have stayed in for the most part. I will leave you with a few pictures from this week.

Vivi is 9 months

Our blog can be Vivian's baby book, right? I have done better updating the blog instead of her baby book! Oops. I like to keep record of all the things she is doing so I don't forget. They grow up so fast and life is so crazy and this will help me remember all these great memories.


She is 26 inches and 17lbs.
Laid back personality
Sleeps 12-14 hours at night and takes 2 naps on most days
Wears 6-9 month clothes
Has tiny feet and most shoes will not fit right
She pulls her bows out now and chews on them
Has her two bottom front teeth
Favorite baby food is apples and cherries but eats anything and everything!
Feeds herself finger foods and her bottle although we still hold her and act like she needs to be held and rocked while she gives her bottle to herself.:)
Crawls all over the place. Wanders off with brother to the bathrooms and plays camp out underneath the jumparoo.
Absolutely crazy about Austin
Goes bonkers and starts bouncing up and down when Nick gets home from work
Says mama..Jan 9th
Kicks like crazy during diaper changes
Loves to put her fingers in your mouth...drives me crazy
Pulls herself up, stands holding on to furniture
Enjoys her bath and splashes all over the place
Waves hi
Wants to touch everything...loves phones and has made a call or two
Loves to be praised and clapped for
Is shy around new people and will bury her head in my shoulder
Looks up when she hears her name
Loves her pacifier
Watches Praise Baby videos...zones in on them
Tries to play with Austin's cars

9 months old today!



Those darn shots!




LOVE THOSE LASHES

What we've been up to

Well we are probably moving...not sure where yet. Nick's job is transferring half of his office to Midland, Texas. We found out before Christmas but with the holidays I tried to focus on the positive and was for the most part in denial. He has an interview in OKC tomorrow. It is with another oil and gas company and we kinda have a connection there (my nephew's mom's, step-dad) is a big wig there. Keep us in your prayers. We know we definitely don't want to go to Midland and so far there is nothing in Tulsa. If you know someone looking for a house ours just might be up for grabs soon! I really don't want to get stuck here with the kids alone trying to sell the house. I know God will take care of us.

We have been having lots of Wii action lately. It is so cold we have just be staying at home more and the Wii is free entertainment. Well, not completely free but you know what I mean. We had our good friends, Jon & Liz, from church over this past weekend and played some Rock band and Just Dance. We definitely got a workout with Just Dance and Nick killed us all believe it or not!




I started something new with Austin yesterday. He is slowly beginning to eat better. We used to have to make him something different at dinner and now he will eat all kinds of things. Especially since Vivian can have a little more he wants to do what she does! I got this idea from another blogger but can't remember the site. She calls it Munchie Muffins but I wanted to do Munchie Mondays but he attends pre-school on Mondays so I'm not sure what we are going to call it yet. Anyways, the idea is do choose a theme to do for lunch. It could be all things heart, all things green, all things cars, all things cold. The idea is to get your kid excited about helping preparing it and then hopefully eating it! We did circles yesterday. I said, "what else is circle"? He said, "marshmallows"!!! So we had marshmallows with our lunch, lol. He did however eat his first entire peanut butter and jelly sandwich and all his fruit. He wasn't so happy about peas so they didn't make it in the muffin tin. Anyways, if you give it a try, let me know how it goes.




Vivian' said Mama this week! Boo ya...she said Mama first!

Cheeseburger Soup

A few friends asked for this recipe today so I thought I would post it. It is my friends, friends recipe if that makes sense. It is super yummy...definitely not a healthy soup but really good. Austin even loves it. We don't like our potatoes chunky so I usually take my masher and mash them up after they have cooked and are tender.


Cheeseburger Soup

SERVINGS: 8
TIME: Prep: 45 min. Cook: 10 min.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups diced peeled potatoes (1-3/4 pounds)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (8 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta)
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream
Directions:
In a 3-qt. saucepan, brown beef; drain and set aside. In the same saucepan, saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tablespoon butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from the heat; blend in sour cream. Yield: 8 servings (2-1/4 quarts).

Pantry Challenge

Nick and I were doing our beginning of the year budget on Sunday night and we discussed getting back into the habit of doing a two week menu. This helps with only going to the store every 2 weeks instead of every few days when I realize I am out of something for a recipe I want to make or try. I talked about going through our pantry and freezer and making meals out of the items we have already bought. I was able to make a menu for 2 weeks out of the ingredients in my pantry and freezer except buying a little produce of course. A few weeks ago one of Austin's friends said, "You have a lot of food". I didn't really take that as a compliment for some reason.

I didn't know there was a specific name to this method until my friend Jay told me about the "pantry challenge" today. I buy stuff all the time because I can't remember if I have it, it's on sale, or because I like to have extras because we use a lot of it. Have you done this challenge before? How long could you eat strictly out of your pantry or freezer if you had to? We are on day 3 so I will let you know how it goes.