06 January 2009

not enough pictures...

I was worried that I wouldn't have enough pictures of Colin to make a very good post, but lo and behold I had plenty. You might not believe this, but there are actually MORE pictures that I didn't even post! Nate would say that I wasn't being very discriminating with my choices, but believe me, I was.

We start our photographic journey on Christmas night. Colin was having so much fun playing with his new dinosaur blanket.


As always, there's a nice trail of drool going down his chin. I keep thinking his top teeth are going to come in, but nothing is there yet.


What a face! He almost looks like he's ready to attack.


I think these next few are from right after Christmas. Colin's sporting one of his cute new soccer shirts. I guess I do need to tell you that it's a soccer shirt because his arms are covering up that part of the graphic.


Sometimes I feel like a mean mom because I get such a kick out of putting strange clothes on poor defenseless Colin. Really, what was I thinking with his outfit? (But before you go calling Child Services on me, keep in mind that he only wore this for about two minutes.)


The face and the hair work really well together in this one.


He looks so mischievous peeking out from behind Nate's hand. I think he's trying to chew Nate's thumb. Colin basically isn't happy unless he's chewing on something.


Another cute new shirt, this one courtesy of Cousin Donovan. I know he's leaning in this one, but he really is getting good at sitting up all by himself. If he gets too excited or upset he'll topple over, but for the most part he's solid as a rock.




Colin likes playing with his penguin punching bag that Aunt Hannah gave him. My favorite part is when it bounces back and hits him in the face. He looks kind of confused when that happens.



I stole this one from Granny's blog. How cute are these two? I wish we lived closer to Colin's cousins. He has a great time watching them, and soon he'll be big enough to actually play with them!


New Year's Eve morning, Colin and Scott tried to break out from behind the stairs.


Colin's newest trick? Chewing on the food tray on his exersaucer. He really likes to do it when he's being fed in there. He'll take a bite of food, then a bite of the tray, then another bite of food.


Another new soccer shirt. He looks so grown up in this picture.


I think Colin recognizes his name now. He'll turn and look at me when I say it (most of the time. Sometimes he's too interested in his toys to care that anybody is talking to him).




Huzzah for solid foods! Colin LOVES eating his rice cereal and vegetables. He's already had squash and peas, and he seems to enjoy both. He screams at me if I run out of food and he hasn't finished eating yet. He really looks like his Uncle Grant in this picture. Maybe it's because of the food on his face...hmmm.


I think this is one of my new favorite faces.


Colin is an avid reader. He's very interested in the safety instructions for the exersaucer. He probably understands the French and Spanish instructions too. He's pretty advanced.


Don't worry. The diaper on his head is clean.


What big teeth you have! And what a cute new shirt! Too bad he's growing so fast that his clothes only fit him for a few weeks, if he's lucky. His hair is getting out of control too. Any suggestions on how to cut a wiggly baby's hair?


And now we've caught up to the present. In other family news, I am now a Wii Fit Yoga Master, Balance Champion, and Calorie Incinerator. I borrowed my in-law's Wii Fit and get a kick out of playing around with it. Nate made up for lost time in the World during the break. Last I heard something was going on in the battle ground with a group of twinks and his new character Meltsface is like level 37, so things must be going well.

02 January 2009

Recipe Friday

Spinach Alfredo Sausage Lasagna

I really liked this lasagna. It seemed like a lot of work (probably because I don't make lasagna all that often), but it was tasty. Nate didn't care much for it, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. He was against having sausage in his lasagna. Weird. 

12 oz. lasagna noodles, cooked according to pkg directions
1 lb. pork sausage
10 oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
17 oz. jar alfredo sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown and drain sausage. Add spinach, alfredo sauce, salt, and pepper. In separate bowl combine egg and all cheeses except mozzarella. Mix well. In ungreased 9X13 pan layer 1/3 sausage mix, 1/3 noodles, 1/3 cheese mix. Repeat 2 more times. Sprinkle top with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

31 December 2008

6 months old!

On Monday Colin had his 6 month birthday and doctor's appointment. He weighs 18 pounds (50%), has a head circumference of 18 inches (85%), and is 28 inches tall (87%). Colin still only has two teeth, but in the last few weeks he has mastered sitting up and scooting around in circles on his tummy to get his toys. We're starting to feed him solid foods now, and we pray that his digestive system can cope with it. I guess that's all for now. Stay tuned for pictures of the most adorable little boy in the whole world next time!

26 December 2008

Recipe Friday, Christmas Edition

This recipe comes from the new food storage cook book I got for Christmas. I haven't tried it yet, but I think I'm going to. It looks pretty simple.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

2 c. wheat or white flour
1/2 - 3/4 c. water
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. oil

Mix ingredients together and knead well. Add small amount of water, if necessary. Let stand for 10 minutes. Knead and pat or slap into the shape of a thin pancake. Add more water or flour as needed. Cook on top of the stove in ungreased, heavy iron or non-stick skillet, turning to cook through, but do not burn. (Not burning it seems like a good tip. I'll have to remember that.)

Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to one and all! We had so much fun spending time with our families over the last few days. Here are a few (yeah right) pictures from the last three days...

Colin is so handsome. I just can't stop myself from taking pictures of him constantly.


Changing time has become a bit of a challenge as he now has to reach/grab/chew everything in sight.


On Christmas Eve we all hung out at Caleb's house for a few hours. The little ones had fun playing outside in the snow and the big ones had fun playing Rockband. I took Colin outside for a few minutes and he wasn't sure what to make of the snow. Naturally he had to grab some and try to stick it in his mouth, but I don't think he liked the coldness so much.


He did seem fascinated by it in general though.


Also, he likes to smile. 


Sara, on the other hand, did not enjoy being outside so much.


Yahoo for playing in the snow!


Donovan had fun being buried in the snow...



And so did Kaylee...


So then all the kids wanted to play.


Doesn't Kaylee make the cutest snow angel ever?


We took it down a notch later in the afternoon and sang a Christmas carol, read a Christmas story, and the children got to open a special Christmas present from Granny and Papa—blankets. Colin didn't get a princess one, but he did like playing in Rachel's. 


Colin's blanket was a super snuggly dinosaur print. He liked playing in his blanket too.




On Christmas day Nate, Colin, and I opened presents three separate times. We got up early and opened our family presents at our house first. 


Colin was very talented and opened his own stocking.


Can you tell how happy he was to get another set of Whoville pajamas?


Nate got some of his favorite tv shows and movies.


Colin loved the gift bags!


Nate and I think so much alike that we purchased the same gift for each other. Anyone interested in buying a set of Arrested Development on DVD?


Later we opened presents with my side of the family. My mom was more interested in playing with Colin than opening her presents. 


Heather got a toaster. She's very excited to make toast.


Seth, Nate, and Ethan all got colored hot chocolate from Disneyland. I hope it tastes like fun.



Nana got a really awesome digital picture frame from all of her kids. I'm sure she'll love it even more once I get some pictures put on there.


Once again, Colin loves gift bags. Probably because they taste like Christmas.


Seth is excited to have his apartment smell fancy instead of stinky.


Ethan is excited to play another video game.


Grant is excited to watch the Muppets.


Kelli is excited to smell like Pure Seduction.


Nate is excited to live the life of a redneck with the Redneck Game of Life. It's a good one.


I guess Nate's also excited to show Colin his new toy.


Later in the day we went to play with Nate's side of the family. DeAnna was so happy to see us!


Donovan being adorable, like always.


We played Nate's redneck game, and it was hilarious! Dang!


Nate took this one. Well done, honey.


Finally something Colin liked that wasn't a gift bag!


That Kaylee is such a cutie.


It took him a while, but eventually Papa got his gift from the kids open. He's excited to fly away and do genealogy whenever the mood strikes him.


Granny got a really awesome digital frame from all of her kids. I'm sure she loves it because it's loaded with tons of pictures of Colin. Who wouldn't love that?


Bryant had a great time with his cowboy dress up stuffs. 


This is his hard core tough face. I don't know about you, but I'm certainly intimidated.


Having a shoot out with Hannah, the giver of the gift.


I think Brad and Donovan are watching someone doing Wii Fit here. 


Colin, being cute, on the floor, back at home. Man that kid is getting huge.


TTFN.

19 December 2008

Recipe Friday

This episode is brought to you by Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup

I can't remember if I've actually made this before or not.

Creamy Pesto Chicken & Bow Ties

3 c. uncooked bow tie pasta
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts cubed
1 can 10.75 oz. cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. pesto sauce
1/2 c. milk

Cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain. Heat butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned stirring often. Add soup, pesto sauce and milk. Bring to a boil. Cook over low heat 5 min. or until done. Stir in drained pasta and heat through.