Blake is 2yrs.9mo. Today!

My little Blake William is 2 years and 9 months old today! In three short months I will have a 3 YEAR OLD!! That seriously just blows my mind!! I feel like I JUST found out that I was pregnant for him!!

I tried to take some pictures of him last night for this post.....talk about MAJOR fail. I didn't get one since good one. He is at that age where he is on the go, go, go. Actually...he has been at that stage for sometime now!!

He weighs exactly 30 pounds and wears a size 2T....he is almost tall enough to be in a 3T now! Still pretty skinny though!!

He has moved up to the Tike room at school and has been doing GREAT with that transition. No issues at all. We are TRYING to work on potty training....but we are not succeeding. He will sit on the potty...but will not go in the potty. He says that he is scared! Hopefully he will get over that soon. I think that the diaper thing is mostly a security issue at this point.

He is SO lovey-dovey. Always kissing and hugging. I bet he gets that from us always loving up on him!!

His hair is crazy. He needs it cut AGAIN. It grows like a week and is still blonde and curly!!

He is a very social kid and gets along with anyone! He still does good with his baby sister. Since she is on the move now and into his things there is starting to be a little jealousy...but you can really reason with him, and he totally gets it!

His appetite is all over the place. Sometimes really good...other times not good at all!! You just never know.

He loves to be outside and is quite the runner!!

He is sleeping just great in his toddler bed...we have no issues there. He has always been a good sleeper!

He is SMART...of course I say that because I am his mama....bu sometimes he blows me away with the things that he knows, retains, and repeats!

We just love this little guy SO much!!

'Cousin' fun!

My cousin Casey, his wife Alicia, and their daughter Ellen came and visited us yesterday on their way back home from vacation. We had a perfect day on the lake. The weather was beautiful and the kids had fun playing and swimming!!

Blake will be 3 in December, Ellen will be 2 in December, and Olivia will be 1 in December. It is CRAZY the difference a year makes at that age! Blake and Ellen had fun and did really good playing and interacting with each other, seeing that they rarely see one another!

--these pictures uploaded HUGE and are 1/2 cut off....I will try to fix them later!!

Blake and nana having fun swimming!

Casey and Ellen



Blake has become very brave in the water! The swimming lessons paid off this year!!







We tried to get a goot pic of Blake and Ellen....pretty hard at this stage!







Looking at the fishies!


Blake and daddy!

Ellen checking them out from the boat!







Livi was a good girl and just hungout in her stroller!

Ellen loved the juice boxes!!









Playing at the picnic table!

What'cha got cooking?!

This post is all about food!! I am not usually a food blogger...so I must be hungry or something!! anywho....

I am ADDICTED to pinterest....seriously addicted and I have just been pinning and pinning and pinning. SO, I made a deal with myself that I HAD to try at least one new recipie that I have pinned each week!

I am happy to get back into the fall routine of cooking dinner, being home, and fall-ish foods!! I have reached or beaten my goal of 1 new recipe the past 2 weeks...so I am on a roll!!

I have already made my menu for next week and bought all of my groceries (just today)....so I am ready to roll!!

Here is what is on the menu:

MONDAY:
Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
-I LOVE cooking in the crock pot...esp. during the week while I am working!
-We are not big pork chop eaters in our house....but we like them..maybe I just havent had a good recipie yet....this looks good!
-Blake LOVES mashed potatoes and gravy...so thats a bonus here!!

TUESDAY:
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
-Another crock pot recipie!! cha-ching
-Ryan loves anything that has to do with rice!
-I am craving any kind of soup or "fall" food...so I am excited about this

WEDNESDAY:
I bowl with my girlfriends...so Ryan and the kids are on their own! I bet they will eaither get McD's or have leftovers :)

THURSDAY:
Baked Parmesan Spaghetti
-I typically use a recipie for Baked Spaghetti that is similar to this...but not exact. This one adds fresh basil...so thats a bonus and I am sure that it will be a delicious addition to an already good recipie!
-We have TONS of ground beef in the freezer...so I am always trying to use that in my menu.

Here are a couple of the recipies that I pinned and made last week:
Crockpot Italian Chicken
-Good...will probably make again with the addition of a couple more ingredients. It was a little bland!! BUT, super easy...and good!

Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
-Super easy and a good side dish. We had with Sloppy Joes. It would be a good dish to take to a pot luck or something.

You can click on any of the pictures and it will take you to my pin where you can link to the recipies. I will let you know how these new ones turn out!!

‘Fall’-ing behind!

We have been super busy and my blog has been getting swept aside! I will get back in the swing of things soon! I need to start snapping some pics of the kiddos. They are looking so OLD {and CUTE} lately!!

It went from summer to fall overnight. I am loving the cooler weather, but wondering how this happened so quickly! I need to get some warmer clothes for the kids. I keep sending Blake to school in shorts….and then I worry that he is cold the whole day!

Ryan and I had a great time in Nashville and Gatlinburg with friends this past weekend. Our friends got married….and the rest of us celebrated!! So fun. I will post pics soon. The kids stayed with the grandparents and they all had a great time! I am so lucky that they are so cool, calm, and collected wherever they stay!!

The work week is flying by and I am looking forward to a weekend at home!!

Feeding the ducks!!

Blake and nana feeding the ducks!!

These two SURE do love each other!!