Life as we know it.....

It has been a busy few days around our house. On Friday night we went to the high school football game.
Or maybe I should say we attempted. The first time the crowd cheered, Gus got very scared! We got him settled down, but each time they clapped and cheered, he cried. It is very quiet in our little world, he is not used to loud noises besides like a blender or garbage disposal :). We left before the 1st quarter was over.

On Saturday night we had a Sunday school party at our house. In pharmacy school I had friends over all the time, so it was fun to have company. Everyone seemed to have a good time, except for Gus. He spent most of the night in his room in his swing or bed. He just doesn't seem too sure about this socializing thing.

Sunday we went to church and then went to a Bible study during the evening. A couple at church had invited us, and the Bible study is for young couples. The older couple that teach it talk about marriage. We really enjoyed it and look forward to meeting other people there. There were a lot of stay at home moms there which was encouraging to me!

On Monday I attempted Pioneer Woman's chicken fried steak! I wonder how many people have made chicken friend steak since her show aired on Saturday. Josh enjoyed it, and I think it was a good learning experience and I will do better next time!
The only thing I didn't like was the huge mess it made it my kitchen. Luckily Gus was napping while I was cooking because I got a bit frazzled!

Yesterday afternoon we received something exciting from the UPS man, Gus's new car seat! He has been needing it for quite a while. I sat him down in it to see how he looked, and he promptly spit up on it! I guess it was his way of breaking it in and marking it as his. :)

The rest of time I have been entertaining this guy, which is a full time job!


And that's what is going on in my life...

Happenings

The last two days I have just been playing with Gus and doing housework. Gus has been spending time on his mat:

Playing with Samson:

And Bear too:

Eating sweet potatoes and liking them even though this picture doesn't look like it:

Getting ready for football season:

A few days ago I wrote about a new game Josh and I were playing called Ticket to Ride. We were really enjoying it, and then Josh kept winning every game. Now if you know us very well, we are both extremely competitive. We weren't sure we could still play anymore :) So, during the day I have been playing the game to practice, and we played several times yesterday and I didn't lose!!!! I thought this was funny and decided to share..... Practice makes perfect ;)

Playmat

Since Gus likes to sit up and play now, I have been wanting a foam mat for him to sit on in the living/kitchen so he wouldn't bump his head on the hard floor. I found one that would work and wasn't too expensive online at Mardel. It arrived yesterday, and I set it up.

I didn't want him to have his mouth all over the foam since I have no idea if it is really safe, so I put a blanket down for him to sit on.
He seems to really enjoy just sitting and playing on it.

Last week I wrote about starting to feed Gus food. I had a plan to start vegetables like the dr. had said. That idea went out the window when Gus did not like carrots or squash at all. Josh tried giving him some banana, and he really liked it! So, we have been feeding him banana and mixing in some carrots. I know you can plan all you want, but it does not mean things will happen that way. I will still work on giving Gus vegetables, but I have to feed him something we will eat or he will never learn!

This morning I vacuumed the house and took Gus out for a walk around the block..... exciting stuff I know! I also made a cake for a girl who was having a birthday at the pharmacy. It is really easy and tastes great. You spray at 9x13 pan and put coconut and nuts on the bottom. Then mix up a German chocolate cake mix as directed on the box and pour over the nuts. Next mix 1 stick of butter, 8 oz of cream cheese, and 3 cups of powdered sugar. (you will have to melt the butter and cheese a little to mix it). Then just put the butter mixture into the cake. It will be thick, so what i do is just scoop some out of the mixing bowl with a spatula and drop it into the cake in chunks throughout. You will have the yummy chocolate along with the creamy butter mixture, it is so good! Bake it at 350, it will depend on what kind of pan you use on how long to cook it. It took longer for me since I used the insulated pan. I just test the cake with a toothpick to make sure it is done (although make sure you don't put the toothpick in the cream!). It will also start to pull away from the edges when it is done. (around 50 minutes to 70 minutes)

I have to share this picture because it is so cute. This was before the real playmat came in the mail, and I had a makeshift one with a comforter. The playmat is not just for Gus apparently....

Quiet day and Love

Today has been a nice quiet day at home for us. This morning I was in the mood to clean and organize. I worked in Gus's room for a while and in his closet. It is amazing how messy things can get in just 1 year! I also mopped our living/dining/kitchen and did some laundry. I can now relax a little since I did so much this morning. I am making enchiladas for dinner, nothing fancy.

I just went to sonic to get my daily dose of Dr. Pepper and listened to a new cd in the car. I am a big fan of Colbie Caillat. Her new cd is very good. Her love songs are such a great reminder about how much I love my husband. It is so fun to think back how our relationship came into being. One special memory I have is the first time Josh said "I love you." People throw that phrase around too easily these days. Josh and I began dating in February of 2009. In June of that year, he went on a two week mission trip to Costa Rica. Where he was, there were no phones or Internet, so we pretty much had no contact while he was gone. I took one of my state board exams to become licensed as a pharmacist while he was gone and I was looking for a job. This was a very stressful time for me. Luckily, I got to pick him up at the airport when he flew home. I was so happy to see him. He gave me a big hug and told me he loved me. I couldn't have been happier and told him I loved him too. I am so thankful each day that God brought us together. When did your husband first say "I love you"? I would enjoy hearing your stories.

Whew! It's Hot!

It was very hot in our house last night and this morning.... Our AC broke yesterday afternoon :( However, the repair man was able to come this morning, and it was an easy fix!!! Yay cool air!!! You often do not realize how important something is until it is gone for a little while. Gus gets hot easily, so he woke up 4 times during the night which was fun for me. I am just so thankful it is fixed!

We had a really nice weekend. We visited my grandparents and did some shopping. I found a really good deal on the formula we use at Sam's Club! It looks like I will be shopping there for formula in the future. Gus enjoyed getting attention with his great-grandparents.

I love this picture!!!!

I am making something easy for dinner tonight from 101 Things to Do with Chicken. It is called Bacon-wrapped Chicken and only requires 4 ingredients:
Bacon
Cream Cheese
Green Onions
Chicken

Pound out the chicken. Mix the cream cheese and green onions together and put in the chicken and wrap. Then wrap bacon around the chicken and secure with toothpicks. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes until brown. You can broil it for a little while at the end to make the bacon crispy, although I usually don't. If I have some of the cream cheese and green onions leftover, I usually put it on top of the chicken before cooking too. Yay for an easy dinner! I think I am going to serve some salad with it.

We had a milestone this morning. Gus and I went to the grocery store, and Gus sat in the cart!! We tried a few weeks ago, and I ended up carrying him half of the time. But today he was very happy and sat up really well. My little boy is growing up.

Gus has really started to want to sit up all the time now. I made him a spot in the kitchen today. I plan on getting some foam puzzle squares to put on the floor to make a play area for him very soon.

5 Months Old!!

My little boy is 5 months old (yesterday), where has the time gone? I was watching him yesterday just thinking how amazing it is that he has learned so much in such a short period of time.

Growing: Two weeks ago at his 4 month appointment (the timing was a little off for the appointment) Gus weighed 18 lbs. 2 oz. I think he might have gained a couple of oz since then. I think he has mostly been growing taller! He measured 25 in. at his appointment, but his fat rolls seem to be getting a little smaller.

Eating: Gus is eating 5 oz every 3 hours. We started giving him a little cereal a few weeks ago. Last night we tried real food- squash for the first time! He did not love it, but he did not dislike it. I tried it again this morning, and I am not sure if he likes it or not. We will keep trying!



Here is his first bite:

Sleeping: The only major change in sleeping is that Gus is sleeping in his room at night. He still sleeps from about 11-4 or 5. I am patiently waiting on the day when he start regularly sleeping through the night.

Playing: He is sitting up really well now. He enjoys sitting in his room and playing with his toys. He still plays on his mat, sits in his chair, and sits in the bumbo.

He seems to already have a temper. He screams sometimes when he is mad. He still fights to take naps sometimes.

We had a sad day this week:
Gus has used this puppy pacifier since he was born. This week it broke. Thankfully we have transitioned to another animal paci easily. But, we have called his paci his "puppy" for so long I don't know if we will change the name or not.

Many times when I pick him up now, he will give me a hug! He also puts his mouth on my check, and I like to think of it as a kiss. I love this little boy so much!! He makes me laugh every day. I constantly pray that I will be a good mom for him, and that he will come to know the Lord my Savior. He is truly a gift that I cherish every day.

Wonderful Weekend, Dips and Bear

We had a great weekend!! It was so wonderful to be able to wake up on Saturday morning and neither of us have to work. I cooked us breakfast and then we drove to a nearby town to eat and do a little shopping. We ended the evening playing the game Sequence. Now Josh and I are both very competitive, but we had fun playing a game together. There was nothing on tv to watch so playing a game gave us something good to do.

Here are some pictures of Gus playing in his room:



I love this train! I found this at a little locally owned store near here.

I made two dips on Sunday to go with our fajitas. The first is one of my favorites. I love the dip at a restaurant in Dallas called Chuy's. I looked for a copy cat recipe online and tried it. I thought it tasted great! I have since lost the recipe I printed, but here is how I make it and I do not usually measure the ingredients, I just guess....
Sour Cream
Mayo
Green tomatillo salsa
Fresh cilantro, chopped
A jalopeno, chopped and seeds removed
Ranch dip powder packet
I put all these into a blender, and that's it! Very easy, and so good. If you want it more tangy, use less sour cream and more mayo. I take the seeds out of the jalopeno otherwise it would be really spicy! It is good to dip all kinds of chips in or you can put it on tacos, fajitas, etc.

The next dip we made was a bean dip. Josh wanted me to make sure and say this was his idea :) He made something similar to this from a recipe a few weeks ago, but we just put this together with what we had in the house.
1 can of bean dip
Sour cream (we only had a little, but you could put how much or little you wanted)
Part of a taco seasoning packet (we have tacos a lot so I keep the envelopes of seasoning in our pantry, I probably put about a tablespoon in with this)

Mix these well, cover in grated cheese (I used cheddar jack)
Bake in the oven (I did at 350 degree) until warm and cheese is melted
We ate this with tortilla chips, very yummy!!

I was thinking last week that I have not talked much about our dogs in a while, so I want to spend some time talking about each of them. I will start with Bear. Bear is two years old. I had always wanted a yorkie, and my sister's husband's mom had yorkie poodle puppies (yes I know that was a complicated conection!). I could not believe how tiny he was when I got him.
At the time I was single and living alone. Bear was such a fun companion.
Bear gets along great with Samson. Josh and I were dating when I got Bear, so Bear met Samson when he was very little and they became fast friends. Bear makes us laugh a lot.


Facts about Bear:
1) He weighs 6 lbs.
2) He doesn't wag his tail much, but I know when he is happy
3) He only wants to be held or cuddle at certain times, he is independent around the house. However, if he is scared he runs to me.
4) When he wants something, he will bother you until he gets it
5) He is protective of Gus
6) He sits on my feet when I am getting ready in the bathroom or washing dishes
7) When in the car, he has to be in a lap
8) He loves to bark at toads in our backyard
9) I cut his hair myself :)

And with that, I will end this random post!

Why I Blog and It's Friday!!!

I was just reading Kelly's Korner and wanted to write about blogging. Now, I know that I don't have a whole lot of people that read my blog, but I really enjoy it. Being a stay at home mom, I feel like it connects me to other people, especially my friends that read it. I do not claim to be an expert at blogging, so I am just going to write the reasons I blog:

1) To let my friends see Gus growing up and know what is going on in my life- I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere so I have lots of friends I do not get to see very often! It also helps me remember what has happened in the past because I have never been good at keeping a journal.

2) I love to write about the things I cook. Cooking is a hobby of mine and I am always trying new recipes although do not always turn out. I enjoy seeing new recipes on blogs to give me ideas

3) I am a new mom. I write about my experiences in watching my son grow. I enjoy reading other blogs about raising kids so I can learn and be a better parent, or at least know I am not alone in my struggles.

4) The more I blog, the more I enjoy it. I used to only write a few times a month, but now I am always thinking of things I can write about. I hope it helps me become a better writer to engage people who read it!

I am very excited it is Friday! Josh is off work tomorrow, and I think it is the first Saturday we will both be home since probably May. We will probably do some things in the yard and then maybe drive to a nearby town to eat.

Last night I fixed chicken Caesar salad for dinner. Our store did not have the dressing we usually buy, so I decided to make some! It turned out very good (and I used some more of the chicken I had bought for the chicken salad). I also made a buttermilk pie for dessert. I knew the salad would not be super filling, so I thought a pie would be nice. I have made this pie for years and it is very good- just let me know if you would like the recipe.
I also decided to just get out our china to eat it on :)

This morning I cooked breakfast for Josh. Josh loves biscuits, so I have made them lots since we have been married. Many times when I have made them, they have not risen when baked. This is so frustrating! I think I have finally mastered them though, and the last several times they turned out fluffy! Here is his breakfast- bacon, egg, and biscuits (which he ate with apricot preserves he made)

Many of the recipes I make are from this book: The Betty Crocker Cookbook- Bridal Edition

I registered for this when we got married. Nearly every recipe I have made from it has been good. It has all kinda of recipes, and most of them don't have too many ingredients.

I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Catching up

I had a few things from last week that I did not get posted that I wanted to share. A wonderful older lady at our church came by last Thursday to hold Gus for a little while. She has such a kind gentle spirit I looked forward to spending some time with her. Thursday was a little bit crazy for me. Gus spit up on me twice, which I ended up having to change clothes. Then I was trying to fix Josh some lunch to take to him, and Gus would not stop crying. I finally got lunch made and drove to the pharmacy, where I stepped out of the car into gum. Do you have days like that??? I am sure you do :) I had been stressed and rushing around to get the house picked up on top of that. But, I had such a nice visit with this lady. Gus was really good and let her hold him for a long time. Then she stayed a few minutes after Gus went down for a nap and just talked to me. After she left, I was thinking how she really embodied the idea of the "older women teaching the younger women." I will never claim to know enough on how to be a good wife and mother, and I know that I need to listen to the Godly women in my life for help. One thing she said to me is that she thought there were really two meanings in Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." She said it is not only important to train them to be followers of Christ, but to help them find their place in this world. To find what job would be best for them, that they enjoy and that they are talented in. I thought this was great advise. I want Gus to have a career that he enjoys and that he excels in. I want to always keep this in mind as Gus is growing up. As I was preparing for company on Thursday and rushing around, I really wanted to just call and change our meeting to another day. But, I knew that I shouldn't and I am so glad she came. Sometimes it is hard to make the effort to get to know new people and change your schedule with a little one, but it is something that I think is important.

Gus has been learning to eat cereal. He is very funny, he makes a face like he doesn't like it at first, and then he smiles. He looks so grown up in his high chair, I can't believe how fast he is growing.


I know this is a struggle for all moms--- those last pregnancy pounds!!! Now I must confess I do not really like to exercise. I do sometimes enjoy going for walks. And I have gone to some aerobic classes that I enjoyed in the past. But on a daily basis, I just do not make it a priority. This morning I went for a very short walk with Gus. I know it wasn't as long as it should be for truly good exercise, but it was a start for me. I went at 9 as soon as Josh left for work. There was a little breeze and it was probably in the upper 70's so not too hot yet. I am going to try to do this at least a couple of times a week. We live in a really nice neighborhood and there actually are some hills so I know it burns a few more calories when I am pushing the stroller up those little hills. I drink coffee most mornings too and usually put real sugar in it. I am going to switch to sweet-n-low as a small effort to cut down on sugar. These aren't very big changes, but they are things I think I can actually do. When I got pregnant, I knew my body would probably never be the same. I also know it may be years before I can get back to where I want to be after having kids. My mom did really well after having kids, and I want to do the same. I have read many times it takes a year to get back to where you were before you were pregnant. That seems like such a long time! But, my family doesn't care if I lose those last pounds, they love me anyway :) Alright, that is enough rambling for now. I am making chicken salad for the first time for lunch. I will share how it turns out!

Vacation!!

We had a wonderful time this weekend in Taos, New Mexico. As I said last week, my parents rented a house and we were able to go stay with them for three nights! On our way there we got to drive through some beautiful rain in the mountains. Here is a picture of us driving into it..

While we were driving through it, the temperature dropped to 50 degrees!!! Yay cooler weather!

We ate out pretty much the whole time we were there. At the first restaurant we tried Gus in the highchair, he only lasted a few minutes.

It is always nice to be with other people because it is another set of hands to hold and entertain Gus!



On Saturday we shopped a little in the morning. By the time we ate lunch Gus was worn out! This was the first time he slept in his stroller like this:

Gus did most of the shopping in the baby bjorn because the stores weren't really big enough to be pushing our stroller through.

Later that night we drove out to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. It is just an amazing sight! I have been there before, but I still enjoyed seeing it again.
Josh likes to take pictures, and he took all of these of the gorge.

On Sunday we spent the day mostly reading and playing games. We did go out to eat for lunch. As you can see, Gus wasn't too happy at this moment but I thought I would put this in here because it is a very common face for Gus :)
He also decided he likes these kind of tables and tried to eat them at two different places we went.

The backyard at the house where we stayed was beautiful with desert plants. The dogs enjoyed playing back there.
Sunday night my parents kept Gus so Josh and I could go out together. We ate at a pizza place with a picture perfect view of the mountains. It was a nice relaxing time to be outside.

On Monday morning we ate breakfast with some friends who had just drove into Taos. I have known them for almost 20 years. They are some of our best friends, we have even gone on vacation with them. It was fun to see them.
Sadly, it was them time to go and we drove home. It was about a 5 and 1/2 hr drive with stops for food.

I had to put that cute picture in here. Gus loves to feel of his daddy's face and also loves beards.

This week I am trying to not cook very much in the oven. It is so hot outside, and when the oven it on the house just gets even hotter. We came up with 3 meals that could be made with just 1 rotisserie chicken. Those chickens bought at the store are not super expensive and you don't have to worry about any cooking. We are going to have chicken salad sandwiches, chicken Caesar salad, and chicken packets with the chicken which will work out to be not too expensive. I have cooked a whole chicken before but it will just save the house from heating up buying it already cooked. (and me time of course!) I will share what recipes I use throughout the week. I feel like I am behind because I missed a few days of blogging. I will try to catch up over the week!