Baby Steps

I am learning to appreciate small accomplishments, especially those that are small steps to a larger goal. Here are a few from this week:
1. William is able to entertain himself for at least a few minutes now (and I don't have to close us all in his room and let him pull out all his toys to feed Hazel when I'm home with them by myself).

2. William likes to read to himself now...he flips through a book and says what he thinks each page should say. In his 3 little pigs book, he says "puff and puff, blooooooow the house down" on each page. When he was flipping through his Bible this weekend, he said "Jesus" on every page. I'm glad he knows the main point of the Bible is Jesus.

3. I really don't even count this as a small accomplishment...Hazel is finally sleeping through the night. Way to go, Hazel!

William got into a little scuffle at school...

Hazel in the carrier...so glad to be outside again!

That's all for tonight. Have a great week!

Don't know where he got this idea...

The Weekend in Pictures

(Click to enlarge)

Late Night

I love Thursday nights. I have conferences on Wednesday and Thursday, so I am usually studying after we put William and Hazel down on the other nights of the week. It's not technically a weekend night, but it almost is. In college, Thursday nights were for "Late Night" at the fraternity houses and maybe even a trip to Waffle House in the early morning because you knew you could catch up on your sleep over the weekend. Now, we get excited about eating pizza and watching The Office and 30 Rock. Lame? I certainly wouldn't trade it for anything...although a cheese and steak breakfast sandwich from WH does sound appealing. Hazel certainly likes a snack in the "wee smalls"...despite my best efforts, she still is not sleeping through the night.

Here are a few things I meant to document and didn't:

William's first shiner...so interested in taking pics that he's yawning

Trying to get a cousin pic with Santa...hilarious

L to R William, Hazel, Shepherd

Cooking Confessions

First of all, I'm just posting this pic first because (a) all three people are looking at the camera and that is a major accomplishment around here and (b) I love these cute freshly bathed kids.

So, here goes my first goal/domestic/confessions post. Until about 2 months ago, our nightly dinner strategy had turned into a disaster. Basically, I bought a bunch of random stuff at the grocery store (every few weeks) and then I got home about with William (before Hazel was born) and tried to decide what to make. If you have ever tried to plan a meal and then actually cook a meal with a tired and starving almost 2 year old, you know this was a disaster waiting to happen. Usually, it ended in crying (mostly on William's part but I won't say I did understand how he felt). So, when Hazel was born, I decided we needed a plan.

I started planning all the meals for the week on Sunday and then actually buying the food that I needed to make those meals...I know, genius. And, I started using my crockpot regularly on the days that I work later. I really did not think this would make that big of a difference, but it has. I am less stressed because I know what's for dinner, I am cooking at home more, we are actually using the groceries we buy and therefore saving money. I put all the meals on our google calendar, so HJ can see what we're having, too. We have also instituted Pizza Night on Thursdays because a certain little someone LOVES his pizza, and he especially loves taking a walk to the pizza place in our neighborhood.

I know everyone elso probably already did this, but if you don't, I would recommend trying it for a while. Here are a few new recipes that we have tried and liked:

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes

Spinach and Brie Chicken

Curry in the Crockpot

Autumn Sausage Casserole

If you have any favorite (and relatively easy) recipes...please share!

catching up...

I've gotten a little behind on the blogging, and, though this is not my top priority, I do want to keep it going for several reasons. One, I love being able to look back and see what William was doing at each age and want to be able to do the same with Hazel. Two, I know the fam likes to get some updates on the kiddos. I would like to think that I could also add some other things to the blog in the near future (crafts, upcoming house renovations, more serious thoughts on life, etc, goals -thanks Meg for the inspiration). But, in the spirit of not being overly ambitious, I will start with some Hazel and William updates and move on from there.

William:
William turned 2 on January 20th. He requested an airplane party, which is why he has on a size 12mo airplane t-shirt in his birthday pictures. It was the only airplane shirt he had, so he wore it. He also ate part of his birthday candle, and then said, "I want mo candle!" He has recently started talking none-stop, and we are loving the hilarious things he says. Here are a few conversations we have had lately:

W (pointing you-know-where): That's my tee-tee.
Me: uh-huh
W: Its a BIG tee-tee! (This sentiment must come on the Y chromosome!)

Me: What's Daddy's name?
W: Hunna
Me: What's Mommy's name?
W: Supah Why (Super Why is a show on PBS)
Me: No, it's Emily.
W: No, Supah Why.

W: There's Hazel's nose (pushing Hazel's nose rather forcefully)
Me: You have to touch Hazel softly.
W: No, touch Hazel loud!


Hazel:
The Haze is 3 months old today. I seriously can't believe it. She is such a happy, dimply little gal now, and we are loving her little personality. She loves to coo back when we talk to her and have little conversations with us. She rolled over for the first time this morning! At her two month check up, she weighed 11 lbs 4 oz.

Those are the updates. Enjoy the pics and have a great weekend!