Avalyn - 28 Months

Avalyn, you are 28 months old. I wanted to take a minute and record some of the sweet things you say and do so that we don't forget them when you are older!
You are a great big sister to Harper and lately have been asking to pick her up and move her. You want her to be wherever you are. You are a wonderful helper in the kitchen, putting your laundry in the basket and putting things in the trash.
You love going to the zoo to see the giraffes and feed them lettuce. You really like to watch baseball and to throw your ball outside.
You are sure to tell us "um yuv you" (I love you) and your compliments at dinner are so sweet, "Very dishus" (Very delicious) and "yummy."
You got to ride the carousel at the zoo the other day and you loved it. You cried when it stopped and didn't want to get off!
You are learning how to share your toys and take turns. Not always fun but you are doing a great job with figuring this out.
You can count to 5 on your own and to 10 or sometimes 20 with help. You can identify quite a few letters on your own too.
We love you Avalyn and are so thankful for you and your sweet spirit!

Just keepin' it real here.

 

 

   

Fall Quinoa Pilaf

I made this for dinner last night and it was so delicious and pretty too! It paired well with grilled steak and green beans with a small salad on the side. You can easily eat quinoa as a main dish or with a small amount of meat mixed in and it will really fill you up.

I should have taken a picture but you will just have to make it to see for yourself- the golden quinoa, the orange potatoes, the deep red cranberries and light brown of the toasted almonds make it beautiful!

We love quinoa here at our house and if you have never had it before, I highly recommend it. Some information on quinoa is here and here.

Fall Quinoa Pilaf from Cooking4Real
1 cup quinoa
1 T. olive oil
½ cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup dried cranberries
1 small-medium sweet potato (¼-inch diced)
½ cup slivered almonds
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. While water heats up, toast almonds in dry pan on stove. Add quinoa to boiling water and cook for 12-15 min. until tender.

In frypan on medium heat, sauté cranberries, onions, garlic and sweet potato in olive oil until lightly carmelized. Transfer quinoa to a large mixing bowl. Gently fold in cranberries, sweet potatoes and almonds, Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Honor Flag

Last week the Honor Flag visited Colorado Springs and Josh got to participate in the ceremony. I decided to take the girls to the ceremony since it is a piece of history for our country. I actually didn't even get a glimpse at the flag because of where we were standing to watch the procession but it was a very nice ceremony with about 80 people in the honor guard and a pipe and drum escort as well. Harper wasn't a huge fan of the bagpipes at first so I didn't get any pictures once it started. Here is Avalyn waiting for the ceremony to start. :)

Harper - 7 months

Harper, you are 7 months old now! You are getting so big! At your 6 month checkup you weighed 15 pounds and 12 ounces (average monthly growth is 1 pound) so I know you are at least 16 pounds and probably well on your way to 17. You are switching in mostly 9months size clothing and we had to buy bigger diaper covers this week! It seems like you are starting to understand eating more now and you really like to try whatever food we are having too.
This weekend we went to Famous Dave's with Grandma and Grandpa E and you ate chicken and a few pieces of corn and also tried collard greens, I think you liked it!
You like blueberries, yogurt, and oatmeal which is not surprising since it is still what Avalyn eats for breakfast most days. You also enjoy avocados, roasted carrots, green beans, and roast beef.
You can scoot backwards and roll/spin all over. We think you are trying to figure out crawling because the past few days any time we get you out of your crib you have had your knees up under your belly and are pushing your belly up too. You are a little chatterbox and you light up when you see your sister. You recognize your name when we say it and like to give kisses!

We love you, Harper!

Fallen Firefighter Memorial

Josh had the chance to participate in the IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial last weekend. He was in the honor guard and I think he really enjoyed it. The memorial is held every year to honor those who have died in the line of duty. Since it is hosted by our local IAFF chapter, CSFD gets to present the colors and lead the honor guard.

 

 

 

 

new favorite pattern

Found this lovely earflap hat pattern and love it. I already made one in teeny tiny size for our good friend's little guy who will be born in January. I got most of it done in one nap time so it really is a simple pattern to follow. I've already got one going in purple for one of my sweeties too. Great way to use up my yarn stash!

For baby BST

random pictures

I imported the photos from my iPod this weekend and found quite a few that I had forgotten about so I thought I would share some of them today. Of course the pictures are a little grainy because they were taken with the iPod.

Also, experienced a a first today...went to the feed store to get chicken feed and straw by myself. And I was wearing heels. Awesome.

Harper eats green beans

Avy eats cantaloupe, pre recall. ;)

Avy and I, fun with photo booth and my new glasses.

play dough

I made play dough!

It was so easy and I was bummed when I realized I only had blue, yellow, and green food coloring so I couldn't make more fun colors! Oh well, Avalyn still loves it and it won't be long until it is all mixed together anyway.

Here is the recipe I followed. They also have a recipe using jell-o but I was afraid the scent would make it much too appealing to Miss Avalyn.

choose joy

There is a blog I have read for a few years now and I was brought to tears last night when I read the update that Sara is moving toward Heaven. Soon.
It appears that it will not be much longer for her here on earth and I have been praying for her family, friends and all those who have been touched by her blog. She is a great of example of choosing joy in all that life brings even if that means being home bound for years. Her writing has been encouraging and inspirational to me through the years since I happened upon her blog.

Join me in lifting up Sara and those close to her as they travel this road.

Choose joy.

Link up here.

Hello from Harper

Harper wanted to say hi and show off her new pearly whites!

 

 

Avalyn's photo shoot

Avalyn came up to me the other day and said, "Avy, neeeeeed camera." So give her the camera I did. She soon made clear that she wanted her picture taken. Here are her lovely poses. Of course she chose a day that she wouldn't let me fix her hair!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glory of it All

Can't get this song by The DC*B out of my head lately.

Everything will change, things will never be the same, we will never be the same.

Am I allowed to link to youtube on here? Here is a video of the song if you would like to hear it.



I am thankful.

Helper Tower

Josh built the helper tower last week and Avalyn has been loving it so far. She can climb in and out on her own with just a few days of practice. Here she is helping to clean up after spaghetti the other night. She even slides it over to the table and wants to stand and eat instead of sit in her chair.
Josh used this tutorial and it was very straightforward. We had to buy everything including screws and paint and it cost just $40 for us to build. Pretty good deal compared to this.

family

Here is a great picture of us with my sister before she left for her new home overseas. We had a great time with her before she left. We have been able to skype a few times and she is doing great and we are doing fine with her being so far away!

sisters

Avalyn and Harper are really doing so great together as sisters. I know the future may bring struggles just like I had with my sister but we are the best of friends now and I pray that my girls will be the same.

garden

I harvested some tomatoes the other day...finally! I have been making pesto at least once a week because our basil is growing so well. We have lots of parsley so I guess we will probably freeze some of that to use through the winter. Our peppers are looking good too.
We have been talking about keeping a garden since we bought our house and finally this summer had a small 6x6 box that we built. We have quite a large area that we would eventually like to fill with box gardens and next summer is our goal to have that all ready to go. I was looking around on (big surprise here) pinterest again and found this yard full of gardens and chickens and immediately had a picture of our yard in my head. So we got out the grid paper and are plotting our boxes so we can get them all built this fall and winter and put in place. Then in the spring we will have a load of planter's mix delivered and get them all filled.
Here is what we hope to see next year in our yard...

Source: goddesshobbies.blogspot.com via Annie on Pinterest

hello!

Hope you had a nice long weekend! We had a great time and enjoyed a BBQ with family. Josh had to work some of the time but it was nice to relax when he was home.
I also found out about the greatness of pinterest this weekend.
So...Today we are starting a new project! The tutorial looks pretty straightforward and I have been thinking about something to make it safer for Avalyn to help us at the counter because last week she stepped right off a chair when she was helping me. We have a counter height table so the chairs are higher. She got quite the knot on her forehead. Now to decide what color to paint it!

Source: ana-white.com via Annie on Pinterest

Show Us Your Life - Favorite Blogs

Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner Blog for Show Us Your Life - Favorite Blogs.
Hope you find something that is new to you! This is the list straight from my reader, I left a few out but I read mostly mom blogs and sewing/crafty blogs.

Adventures in Babywearing
Bakerella
The Cloth Diaper Whisperer
Such The Spot
Ask Moxie
Bring The Rain
I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar
Going Home To Roost
 Total Mom Haircut
We Are THAT Family
The Pioneer Woman
When Hello Means GoodBye
girlymama
finding my feet
All Things Chic
 cloth diaper blog
Willams Family Blog
You Can Call Me Jan
This is Reverb
The Macs
Sewing In No Man's Land
nordgrains
Nesting Place
Skip to my Lou
Musings of a Housewife
Made By Rae
Sew, Mama, Sew! Blog
MADE
Little Birdie Secrets
Kelly's Korner Blog
 

thursday thought

Colossians 2:6-7; 13-14

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Today is a special day for me and I am thankful for strengthened faith this past year. I have learned so much and feel like I am alive again. I can't help but be thankful for what was nailed to the cross that day.