Playing in the dirt and a new way to eat!

I'm not sure how it happened, but it has been so long since I've blogged. I'm sorry!! We had a great weekend. It was so nice to have Josh home on Monday. Over the weekend we drove to a nearby town and ate a Chili's and ran a few errands. My grandparents came to visit on Sunday. We went to church and then grilled burgers. It was a fun visit. Josh spent lots of time working in our yard. Our yard is so nice, Josh takes such good care of it!!

Gus is just so much fun, as I always say! I have lots of pictures of him to share from the last few days.

"Mommy- that flash is bright!!"

Someone crawled into the laundry basket.

So- my mom's dog likes to dig, and we had a new hole in the yard. (It's not a big deal!! We are planning to do some changed to that area anyway). Last night, Gus decided to just play in the dirt. He loved it!!

Later in the evening, we had a little fun in the sprinkler, which I will share pictures of later. The clothes had to come off, but play time wasn't over. So back to the dirt in a diaper.

Doodle loved playing with the water. Gus watched.

Today at lunch, I decided to give Gus his spoon. He caught one immediately and started feeding himself. He was so proud!! It was fun. I probably should have let him try earlier, but it was messy :)

I'll try to be better about posting, and plan to do a pregnancy update next week!

Easy Summer Dinner

This week I tried to get a little more creative with our meals and use food we already had or was in the freezer. One of the meals I made was Shrimp de Gallo Tostadas. As we were eating, my husband Josh told me it was a great summer meal so I thought I would share it. This is easy to do and very yummy.

Shrimp de Gallo Tostadas

First, I made the Shrimp de Gallo from Pioneer Woman- recipe HERE . One thing to remember is that if you make this ahead of time, leave out the avocado because it will turn very quickly. What I did was cut up the avocado separately and left it to the side, then if we had any of the shrimp mixture leftover, I could just put it back in the fridge. 

Tostadas or Tortillas chips

Cheddar or Mont. Jack cheese

Sour cream and jalapenos- optional

For this I used tostadas, which are basically large tortilla chips. You could also just use tortillas chips. I put cheese on the tostadas and baked them in the oven until the cheese melted. If you broil them, just keep an eye on them so that the tostadas don't burn. Then serve with all the toppings! This is the picture from Pioneer Woman's website- I don't have a camera this good!!

The Shrimp mixture is nice, cool and refreshing. The meal isn't super heavy either- perfect for a hot day. It would also make a great appetizer for a party.

My yard man

Today will be short and sweet, just like this little yard man :)

My Little Mister

Today, it's about my little man Gus. Wow- how much you have grown and learned over the last few months! Each day it seems like there is something new you can say or do. You are amazing! So many milestones are being passed each day- I must take note!

 

Last weekend you went to your first birthday party. You played and played outside. I offered you a cupcake, but you were too busy exploring to think about food. You mostly just played by yourself, you weren't too interested in the other kids. You were worn out afterwards and fell asleep in the car on the way home.

 

 

You made my Mother's day very special. I'm so lucky to be your mom. 

 

Who could resist this beautiful face??? You are precious!

 

MiMi came to visit, and she showed you how to call her dog "Doodle." You learned how to pat your hand on your knees. You also learned how to say "Doodle" instead of what you usually call him- "Do." You are obsessed with this dog. Every time he barks, you say "Do!" 

 

 

It feels like we are constantly at war, concerning the dog's water bowl. In the house, you put your toys in it and stand in it. Outside, you put sticks in it and dump it out. But sometimes I just can't argue anymore- because you are such a cutie. 

You now have 4 teeth, they are the cutest teeth I've ever seen. 

You pretty much understand everything when we are talking to you. We tell you to go get a certain toy and you go get it. You are so smart! I love when you play your xylophone for me. 

You are currently saying the words- Daddy, Momma, Doodle, diaper, hungry, and cracker. I have heard you say thank you before- but you don't say it all the time. When reading one of your books that asks what a lion says, we roar and then you roar back. So fun.

You have started dancing!! You start the music on one of your toys, and then the bouncing begins. You also move your head sometimes too. I just love it so much. 

You are such a good napper. We tell you it's time to go take a nap, and you will walk with us to your room. You love your crib, blanket, and teddy bear.

I love you so much. You are precious to me and your Daddy. Just don't grow up too fast.

12 Weeks

 I'm so thankful for this new life God has placed into our family!!

 

How far along: 12 weeks

Size of baby: Peach- 3 inches long

 

Maternity Clothes: Maternity jeans!! I have a pair of maternity shorts but haven't worn then yet. I still wear a few regular shirts, but I usually have to wear a long shirt underneath so it is long enough to cover up the little belly.

Movement: None yet, but I can't wait.

Sleep: I tend to have heartburn very often before bed. I usually keep Tums on my side table! I am just very tired lately. I enjoy sleeping, but am awakened each morning by a sweet little boy. I have tried to start taking naps when I can in the afternoon when Gus naps.

Symptoms:  My all-day nausea has subsided a lot!! (not so good for the scale :)). I have been having some back pain and abdominal soreness.

Food cravings/aversions:  Since I have felt nausea so much during this pregnancy, I haven't had a whole lot of cravings. I have wanted a lot of ice cream bars. A few weeks ago I wanted peanut butter cookies, and last week I wanted strawberry cake. A few weeks after I found out I was pregnant, my tastes had changed so much I didn't even want Dr. Pepper. (I know- emergency!!) I really don't want meat much at all. One strange thing is I haven't really craved chips and fast food like I did with Gus. Maybe it is because it is still pretty early.

What I am looking forward to: I cannot wait to find out if it is a girl or boy and have another sonogram. I absolutely love hearing the precious baby's heartbeat!


Very soon- I'm going to do a post just about this little man- He's just so cute and doing new things every day!!

Vlog- Stop and Smell the Roses

Today I'm doing a blog link-up with :


  

I thought it would be fun to do a vlog since I haven't done one in a while! 

  

I did not get all dressed up for this- and I didn't fix my hair! 

We have had a really nice last few days. We went to visit my grandparents over the weekend, and I had a wonderful mother's day. 

My mom came to visit for two nights, and Gus really enjoyed having her here. I am going to put up a bunch of pictures of Gus soon- I think he gets cuter every day!! 

Hope ya'll are having a wonderful Wednesday!

Dreary

It's a dreary day here- outside and in my heart. I'm so thankful for the little rain we got and all that is still coming- Praise the Lord.

My heart is very sad. I lost a woman very dear to me this morning. I called her Nanny Gay. She was my grandmother's best friend, and a grandmother to me. She never forgot my birthday growing up. She taught me how to drink coffee- with lots of cream and sugar! She used to buy me gum balls decorated to look like animals. She was a strong woman. She was always put together. I loved her very much.

It's hard getting older, watching people you love leave you. Everything you knew changes. And it's just hard. This last year has been tough. I lost my grandfather almost a year ago. And we have had some other losses in our family too. There are so many great things- watching Gus grow, new babies on the way. And still, there is pain. I am glad that my Nanny Gay will not have to endure any more pain.

Here she is holding Gus not long after he was born. I'm so glad she was able to meet him, and see him grow.

I love you Nanny Gay, and I am going to miss you. I hope I can be a strong, loyal woman like you were.

Now that the news is out....

Thank you for all the congratulations!!! We are just so excited to be blessed with another precious baby!

This pregnancy has probably been the main reason I haven't been blogging much lately. First- I am tired!!! I have energy in the morning, so I usually work as hard as I can around the house to get a few things done. After about 1 pm, I feel done for the day. I rest and sometimes nap while Gus naps. I am so lucky that he has been a good napper.

I have been wanting to do more posts on meal planning, but cooking has just not been very high on my list lately. I try to get dinner on the table, but it usually hasn't been very exciting. I have had some nausea, but it definitely isn't "morning" sickness because it lasts ALL day and is sometimes worst in the evenings. It is already getting much better. There have been days where I just didn't want to look at Pinterest and see the pictures of food or look at a cookbook. I especially don't like meat right now.

I had an appointment this week and got to hear the precious baby's heartbeat. It never ceases to amaze me. Because I haven't been hungry, I haven't gained any weight yet- yay!! (of course I never lost all my baby weight from Gus) And that will probably be the ONLY weight update I will give during this pregnancy!

At about 6 weeks, I was showing a little already. Note to self- do more sit-ups after next baby! I'll start doing belly pictures soon.

We are so glad Gus and the new baby will be close in age. My sister and I are 19 months apart, and we have been best friends for our entire lives. I hope and pray that our children will have the same great relationship.

Now I'm going to go tackle the never ending piles of laundry, dust, toys, and dishes!

Exciting News!!!!

Gus wanted to show you something:

  

That's right!! Gus will be a big brother in November! We are so excited :)


Linking Here

Random thoughts

Random post alert!

- Anyone watching The Voice???? I think Chris Mann did such an amazing job last night!! I'm ready to buy his cd when it comes out. I hope he wins!

- We had a pretty quiet weekend at home. I was exhausted on Sunday, and Josh took care of Gus so I could take a nap, it was so nice!

- We had a 70% chance of rain this morning, but the sun is now shining. It has been months since it rained. When we walk through the grass, dust flies. We'll just have to keep praying....

- I really do feel like I can never keep all the toys picked up. I need a giant vacuum to suck them all up at night, or maybe a magnet to pull them into a toy box??? Tripping over toys in the middle of the night is just never fun...

- We rented Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol this weekend, and I really enjoyed it. Quite entertaining.

- Gus is having a tough time this morning. He woke up at 5:30 and finally went back to sleep in bed with me. He then woke up at 7:15 and is already back down for a nap. Poor guy- we have another tooth coming in on the bottom and another one coming in on top. He really hasn't had much trouble with teething, such a trooper.

- I really can't believe it's May already. Wow.

- Last summer we had a bird next in the light on our porch. We got a new light fixture, so the birds decided to just build their next right on the house. I bet we will have some baby birds soon!

Enough randomness. Gus isn't going to sleep- he's talking in his room..... this may be a long morning!

Living in North-West Texas

Today I'm linking with Kelly's Korner, and so I'm going to write a little bit about myself and where I live.

My name is Catie, and I'm a stay-at-home mom to my little boy- Gus- who is almost 15 months old.

 I've been married to my husband Josh for a little over 2 years.

Josh and I met in pharmacy school. Not long after Josh graduated, we moved to a very small town in North-West Texas for a job opportunity. Although I live over an hour from a Target or a mall, we at least have a Sonic in town so I can get a Dr. Pepper! Living in a small town has been really good for us.

I wrote just a few days ago about the climate where we live- prairie/dessert/plains. I like our dry climate, and that we have all seasons, including snow in the Winter. We even had a white Christmas last year!! Yay!

God has really blessed us, and I feel like I'm living my dream life being a wife and mom. I enjoy writing here about Gus growing and learning, our home, and cooking. I really enjoy cooking (except when I'm really tired!) and try to share pictures, recipes and ideas.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Where I Live & a Big Boy

On our trip last week, we traveled to North and South Carolina. Whenever I have traveled to the South and East, I am always amazed at the trees and hills. I grew up on the prairie- as in you could see the distinct edge of town. There were only a few trees, mostly flat farm land, and then canyons. I almost feel claustrophobic when I'm driving down a road with huge trees on either side, and I can't see where I am going. It was difficult to tell where towns began and ended on our trip. I know some of you live where there are trees like that. And so today, I wanted to show you what it looks like where I live. I put up pictures of our yard, but that is not what the land looks like around our town.....
Here is our city park, and you can see the grain elevators. That's how you identify towns in this part of the world- grain elevators:

Here is a picture just a few blocks from our house:

And here are two pictures I took on my walk this morning:

Gus and I went to McDonald's for lunch yesterday with some friends. I have always kept Gus in the high chair, although there are lots of other kids older than him always playing. He was very interested in getting out of his highchair this week. So towards the end of our lunch, I decided to let him explore. Another family there had daughter a little older that kept close to him, and kept him from eating food off the floor.
Oh......
My.......
Goodness.......!
Gus thought this was the best thing in the whole world. He walked over to where the kids were, and looked back at me with the biggest smile on his face. He was so proud of himself. He kept running back over to where I was grinning from ear to ear. It was a big day, a very happy one, for my not so little boy. We have crossed another milestone! 

I can honestly say- each stage with Gus has been so much fun! I love watching him learn and grow! I can't believe how fast he is growing.

Yes, I'm finally posting

I feel like I've been the worst blogger lately!! We have been pretty busy around here, and then my internet decided to stop working yesterday.... So, here I am!

Last weekend we visited my grandparents and spent Saturday night. We always love going to visit them. We are very sad because they are actually moving in a few months! They are moving closer to the rest of their family and friends, which will be better for them. But..... we are going to miss them so much!! I was talking to Josh about it, and I have lived within an hour of them for most of my life, so I am not going to like this at all. Of course I want what is best for them, and I truly believe this is. We are excited for them and their new adventure!

 

Josh was off yesterday because he had a meeting in the afternoon to go to. It was nice to have him home in the morning. I went to the grocery store by myself. I really felt like I was missing something, and everyone kept asking where my little helper was. Josh got home from his meeting at 5:30 which was great. He usually doesn't get home until 7. We had dinner and then enjoyed spending time in the backyard.

Gus just seems to be learning more each day. It is so much fun. He really likes to be tickled, and here is the proof:

Gus is now only using sippy cups!! He also now has a tooth on the top, and I think another one coming in on the bottom! Such a big boy!

I'm really going to try to be better about blogging- don't give up on me :)