Menu Plan



Tropical Chicken Packets - rice - veggies

Kielbasa Chicken Kabobs - Almond Rice Pilaf

Meat Loaf - baked potatoes - corn

Bacon Cheeseburger Rollups - sweet potato fries - salad

Egg Scramble - cinnamon rolls

Grilled Pork Tenderloin - Cheesy Potatoes - fruit

Spaghetti & Meatballs - green beans - french bread

Baked Chicken - wild rice - fruit

Curried Chicken with Spinach & Tomatoes - rice

Honey Baked Chicken (Buhler cookbook) - oven fries - veggies

Kung Pao Chicken - egg rolls - rice

Scratch his tongue?

The other afternoon, we celebrated Curtis' birthday by having cake out in the shop...of course all the dogs were there.  Dad had to let Scratch and Chilie lick the rest of his pop out of the can.  We noticed blood on Scratch's tongue...poor dog cut it on the pop can!  (Just a little bit...I'm sure she's fine now!)

The next evening, Lane and Curtis were messing around.  Somehow Lane got a little cut on his tongue and I said..."Like Scratch's tongue!"

Curtis looked at me strange...then leaned over to Lane and did this:

Yep, he thought I told him to scratch Lane's tongue, like that would somehow make him feel better. 

The picture above is a re-enactment...Curtis had a much more skeptical look on his face the first time :)

Shiny rainbows

Lane and Katelyn have been fascinated by this:

A large "diamond" that Curtis took from Brent and Christi's wedding.  It was left in the sun one day...and Lane noticed something different....

"Bow? Bow?"  he kept asking.  I explained to him what was going on...that the sun hit the diamond and shot rainbows all over the ceiling. 

Katy loved them too...apparently they look much cooler upside down :)  She kept making "happy" noises and waving her arms the whole time we had the diamond out.

I bet we sat there for almost 30 minutes...naming the colors, spinning the diamond, and trying to touch a rainbow.

Who knew such a simple thing could be so amazing to a baby and a toddler?

An Imagination!

All of a sudden, Lane's imagination is just exploding...he comes up with the craziest stuff.  Now that he can talk, I actually know what he's trying to do!

He saw an episode of Curious George where George helps a farmer shear sheep for wool.  All day, Lane "sheared" sheep, then washed the wool, then dyed it, dried it, spun it into yarn, and finally knitted it into a blanket.  See the blankets piled between him and Katy?  Yep, Lane thinks he "made" those :)

Lane also "gardens" alot these days.  He grabs all my kitchen utensils and plants seeds all over the house.  Later, he comes back to "pick" his veggies.

Yesterday, he spent most of the morning "baking" muffins.  He found some muffin tin liners at my parents' house the night before that he just had to take home.  We've baked quite a few muffins together, so Lane knew all the steps!  When they were done, I asked him what was in them.  "Juice...milk....water...spices."  Yum yum!

It has been so fun to watch him come up with new ideas to play. 

How to Swaddle

Rachelle, this is for you since I totally forgot to show you how on Saturday!  Just pretend that George the Monkey is Garrett :)

Both of my babies liked being swaddled.  Lane was only swaddled at night for about 6 weeks (in hindsight, I probably could have kept him swaddled longer and he would've slept better).  Katy, on the other hand, loved to be swaddled and often that was the only way she would be calmed in those early newborn days.  I have several pictures of her swaddled in her bouncer...if she wasn't swaddled, she was screaming.  So I got lots of practice those first several weeks!  I found that the best thing at night for her was a Swaddle Me...with the velcro, I didn't have to worry about it coming undone.  I almost tried the Miracle Blanket, but I thought they were a little pricey.  During the day, I just swaddled her in a blanket since it was July and pretty warm out!

Here's step-by-step instructions for my sis-in-law:

Using a Swaddle Me

Lay the baby (monkey) on the Swaddle Me with feet in the pocket...

Hold right arm flat against body (try to get it as straight as you can - if they can bend it, they're more likely to bust out of it).

Pull the right arm flap across body (tightly!) and tuck under the left arm.

Make sure the left arm is tight against baby's body, pull across, and secure the velcro.  Done!

Using a Blanket

Lane was a pretty willing helper to show how to swaddle with a blanket.  He loves to be swaddled...well...for about 1 minute, then he's had enough :)

Lay the blanket on the floor with one corner pulled down.

Lay the baby on the fold - top of shoulders even with the top of the blanket.

Keeping right arm straight, pull the flap across the body and tuck under the body.  Then, pull the bottom of the blanket up and either tuck under the left shoulder or under the left arm (Lane was way too big to show you this step!).

Then, pull the other flap across the body, tucking under the body and wrapping around if possible.

Enjoy your happy, content baby!

I've found that the key to their happiness is tightness.  I've read that you really can't swaddle them too tight (unless, of course, they can't breathe!) and Katy would definitely bust out of the swaddle if it wasn't tight enough.  Obviously don't keep them swaddled 24/7, but it works great for naps and nighttime.

Hope that helped, Rachelle!

Katelyn - 8 months

Know how time can seem to fly by yet go so slowly at the the same time?  That's kinda how I feel about Katy - it seems like forever ago that she was a newborn, yet at the same time I can't believe that she is 8 months old already! Her personality is really starting to shine through and she gets cuter everyday. 

At 8 months, Katy -
is actually starting to eat - she loves finger foods and will finally eat a little baby food.
laughed at her brother when he threw a fit.
is crawling!

still loves her favorite toy - a blue pony - but is starting to love her bumblebee.
sleeps from 8 pm - 7 am, but wakes up once or twice to eat.
gets into EVERYTHING - much to Lane's dismay.  Nothing is safe anymore!

loves to see her daddy when he gets home - but doesn't love to see him in the middle of the night.
says "mama".
leans waaay over when she's looking at something.

drinks her bottle best when sitting in her carseat.

finally has a favorite book - Peek-a-boo!
is a very social little girl - she loves to be around people and smiles all the time.

has two bottom teeth and will probably get a couple more in a few days (at least I hope it only takes a few days!).
LOVES her brother. If he is napping and she isn't, she constantly looks around the room for him.

Happy birthday Dr. Suess!

In honor of Dr. Suess' birthday (which was Wednesday), Lane made a hat during craft time.  And we watched the "The Cat in the Hat Knows Alot About That" marathon on PBS.  I thought about making "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" cupcakes...but decided that wouldn't be so good for the diet!

Menu Plan

Here's what's on the next few weeks' menu:

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos - fruit salad

Southwestern Beef Stew - rolls - salad
Chili Chicken Pasta - breadsticks
Sesame Chicken - rice - egg rolls or crab rangoons
Shrimp Jambalaya - fruit
Honey-Dijon Chicken - noodles - green beans/carrots
Hamburgers - oven fries - salad
French Dip Sandwiches - macaroni and cheese
Peanut Chicken Stirfry - salad
Hearty Sausage Stew - bread
Ham and Penne Milano - fruit
Pizza - salad
Mexican Pizzas - chips and salsa

Laura and Bret say "I do"

 This past weekend was a big celebration - Laura and Bret got married!  Even though the couple didn't have much time to plan, the wedding and reception were beautiful.  Lane was asked to be the ring bearer.  He was actually pretty excited about it, mostly because we promised him cake.  I told him he had to do a good job and then he would get cake.  He said, "Two?"  I replied, "Yep, you can have two pieces."  "Hmmm..." he thought for a little bit.  Then held up 5 fingers.  Ok, buddy you can have 5 pieces. ;) Tatum Quiring was the flower girl, and they were so cute together.

I just adored Lane's outfit.  Can you believe my mom found it on sale for only $13??  He looked so grownup in it.  He didn't want to wear it, but again, the promise of cake did it :)

The wedding pictures were hilarious.  The group did really good until the two little ones had to pose.  Lane thinks that smiling is "opening your mouth really wide".  So whenever the photographer would say "Smile!" his mouth would pop open.

She finally started saying "cheese" and that worked pretty well.  She got lots of cute shots and of course I was trying my best to get good ones too!

Casey and I mainly hung out with the babies.  I was so glad that Brooks and Katy are the same age so I didn't have to sit in the nursery by myself!  However, Brooks isn't too fond of Katy.  She likes to touch - he doesn't. 

Laura looked stunning and Bret just looked like he was a little overwhelmed by the whole deal ;)  The reception was alot of fun with yummy food and lots of friends and family to visit with.  Bret and Laura are celebrating in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico this week.  Jealous!

Congratulations, Laura and Bret!