My Cuties...

Memorial Weekend

What a beautiful, hot, relaxing, and perfect weekend.  With the mercury climbing past 90 we escaped the the city and ventured to the coast of Pure Michigan.  The fresh lake breeze was so exhilarating.  Summer has arrived (regardless what the calendar says). 

I have so enjoyed watching many of Baleigh's "firsts".  It seems that we have been experiencing a LOT recently.  Last Monday she decided that it was time to start crawling.  So at 9 1/2 months my baby is crawling.  Well kind of.  It's a mix of a crawl and a gimp leg drag.  Adorable, that's what I call it.  Just adorable.  Now that she's crawling that also means that she's pulling herself up on EVERYTHING.  I love seeing those chunky legs pulling herself up.  They make my heart just melt.  Watching her walk up and down the side of the couch is just mind boggling.  I can't believe all of the developments and milestones that are reached in just 10 short months.  A-mazing. 

This beach trip was her first...granted there was no swimming involved (the lake was a frigid 40 degrees! No thanks), we did dig our piggies down in the cool sand.  Baleigh had a great time discovering all of the fun things to do with sand.  Here are a few pics from our trip

 

She had constant smiles the whole time

I love all things ruffles for baby girls. Sun hats are no exception

My fav. 

Daddy burying her piggies in the sand. I think she was amazed.

My favorite thing ever...Kaleb wrapping his arms around our little girl

sleepy babe

A little bit of May

A few exciting things that have happened in May...
Baleigh has learned to pull her self up on what seems to be everything.  She has now mastered her crib too.  At 9 months of age this is the first sign of moving herself that she's given.  No crawling, no scooching, can't even sit from a laying position, nothing yet.  Which means for me a immobile baby, which means a less worried Mom. 

We "caught" her standing for the first time in her crib.  She thinks she is such a big girl. 

In the beginning of May my brother moved home from Virginia.  I would be lying if I said that I wasn't SO EXCITED that he was moving back.  It has been so long since we've been close enough to just "hang out" without hours of driving and high $ bills of gas. I've been soaking up the time we've spent together and taking in every moment. 

Baleigh trying on his class ring

Not a huge fan of the hat

This is what I've been waiting for ALL summer.  A good ol' bonfire and S'MORES!

Is he annoyed? Probably.  Do I care? Not in the least. 

That's what sisters are for! To capture the finer moments in life.

My first Mother's Day was such fun.  I was able to enjoy my little family and then the whole big family.  I love days like those!

These two just melt my heart!

Tulip time was the next big event that took place.  We ventured out to explore the tulip town but we didn't have much luck with the places that we visited.  I think we went at the wrong time.  But the tulips were beautiful!

Sunscreen...check



football stripes, and mohawk...check, check



I'm pretty sure they should have had a sign that read "Please don't eat tulips"

Maybe not as tasty as they looked



A Royal Note

I can't hardly believe that May is almost over!  There has been so many exciting events happening, and so many pictures taken, that my poor computer has been on overload and down for the count.  I'm hoping that I will get this posted before it decides to nap (again!).  Fingers crossed...here we go.

So, this doesn't really count as part of May, but it's close enough.
April 29, 2011 was a pretty big eventful day around the world as eyes watched the wedding of the now royal couple.  Although the festivities began at 4 am with live coverage I opted out to witness the first viewing of the future Princess and "the dress".  With my wonderful sister n law snoozing on the other couch we began to watch the royal event fold out in front of us.  Well, at least I did.  It was a truly magical wedding that left me with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face.  Despite getting a few eye rolls from the hubby, I'm so glad that I woke up to watch the wedding at 6 am.  Well worth it! My princess woke up in time to witness the royal couple coming out to give the highly anticipated kiss.  My sis n law and I are not present in these pictures for a reason.  We're not cute that early.  My princess is always cute and ready for a snap shot.  This will be so fun to look back on with her some day when we read stories of magical kingdoms, princes, and princesses.

[ Good Eats ] rootbeer chicken and potato chips

I do love to cook.  Sometimes I can get a little carried away.  BUT as of late it seems the quicker, easier and tastier it is...is good enough for me.  This recipe is one that is super easy and tasty.  Now there are a few different variations that can be done, and I've tried.  It can be turned into a Weight Watchers meal by using a diet soda (cola or rootbeer), but since I didn't have that on hand we settled for regular rootbeer.  Ok, ready for the ingredients? Here it is:

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts

1 c. catchup

12 oz. soda

1 medium onion (optional)

Simple right? YES. I know the ingredients seem a bit odd...but stay with me, it's yummy...promise.

Place the chicken in a pan on medium/high heat.  put catchup on top of chicken and pour 12 oz of rootbeer (or whatever soda you choose) over catchup and chicken.


Let that simmer covered for about 8 mins.
Turn over chicken, and then leave it uncovered until the liquid resembles a BBQ sauce and chicken is cooked through.



Now for a few sides.
We love fries, but they're not exactly the best choice for healthy eating SO we make our own potato chips. They're not fried but baked.   Here's what you need

Ingredients

3-4 potatoes (1-2/person)

Olive Oil

Sea Salt (or whatever you have)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Prick the potatoes and put them in the microwave for 5-8 mins.  They're "ready" when the surface of the potato is soft and not hard (DON'T OVERCOOK).

Slice them about 1/4" thick.  If they fall apart, they're probably overcooked BUT you can still use them.  They'll just be trickier to work with. 

Place them all on a sheet (we use our cooling rack. Works the best)

Spray with Olive oil.  Spray you say? Yes, spray.

Let me take a second to introduce to you one of my favorite new finds. the MISTO.

TAA  DAA!

This little bottle is a-mazing.  We bought it at JCPenny I believe for $10.  You just pour your oil, vinegar,

water, or whatever you want "sprayed" in and then pump the top 10-18 times.  That then pumps air into the bottle and when you push the nozzle it releases a fine mist of, in our case, olive oil. No chemical aresole can.  It's awesome. 

Ok, enough about my a-mazing MISTO.

Spray both sides with olive oil and then lightly sprinkle with salt.

Put in the oven for 15-20 mins until lightly golden and crisp.

You can get creative and use sweet potatoes and other root vegatables with this method too! YUMMY!

One more side that we enjoy are green beans.  Instead of loading them up with butter and salt we like to put a little minced garlic right on the beans before they're cooked.  So D-lish!

Now plate all this yummy goodness up, sit down with loved ones, eat & enjoy!



Easter

A little bit of Easter with Baleigh