Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is hosting a "Crockpotalooza" on her blog today! What a great idea! I am so excited to link up and get some more slow cooker recipes.

It's SO hard to cook dinner with two kids! I SO need easy and quick recipe right now.

So I am going to share this recipe for Pot Roast! Kelly's BFF Laurie posted it a long time ago and it is SO good and easy! It's the only way I make pot roast now! Try it, you are sure to love it!
Get a tender chuck pot roast and place it in a crock pot on low.

Add one packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix. Sprinkle it over the roast.

Add one packet of McCormick Aux jus gravy mix or you can use a brown gravy mix. Sprinkle that packet over the roast as well.

Then place a stick of butter on top of the roast.

Let the roast cook at least 8 hours and DO NOT ADD WATER!!!

Love my weiner dog corn holders. They crack me up every time I use them! So fun!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Just To See You Smile!

Today has been a great day. I had planned for us to go to the park and have lunch but I got a migraine this morning so I decided we needed to stay home. Wish I could say that I got tons of cleaning and laundry done but sadly that didn't happen. Instead I played with Ryan, exchanged smiles with Colton and read stories with Ryan.

Ryan is getting more into reading books lately. I used to never be able to get him to sit down and read a story with me. He was just too busy. Now he will bring me a book and want me to read it to him. Love that! Today he took his "God Made You Nose to Toes" book in the car and he was chatting and reading the book to me from the backseat.
Ryan helped me make a chocolate pudding pie! I let him lick the spoon with the cool whip on it. He LOVED that and thought it was the best thing!

I love this picture! He was totally cheesing it up! He was saying "cheeeeeese". I think he looks like me in this picture!

Colton man was just precious as usual today. We had the best night yet with him last night. He slept from 10-5:30, made a few noises then went back to sleep til about 7:15.

The only sleeping issue we have with him is it's hard to get him to go to sleep at night. He is still in his bassinet in our room. When we put him to bed one of us has to stay upstairs with him until he falls asleep. We don't hold him, just keep having to put his paci back in.

If he keeps sleeping well I'm hoping to move him to his room this weekend. Today he took TWO naps in his crib. I am so happy about that!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Two Month Check Up

Today we had Colton's two month check up. He weighs 11lbs 5oz and is 23.5 inches tall. He is 50th percentile for weight and 70th percentile for height. He takes 4-4.5oz every three hours during the day.

I can't believe how fast he is growing. The last two months have flown by. The pediatrician said he is doing great and looks perfect. Of course we think he's perfect!

(Ryan was 11lb 7oz and 22 3/4 inches tall at his two month appointment.)

I think Ryan has come to realize that his little brother is here to stay and he's not going anywhere. The last few days he has acted AWFUL! Basically acting out to get our attention. I'm trying not to lose my cool, be firm with him and tell him it's unacceptable behavior. It's so hard! Definitely one of the hardest things about having another baby!

I am trying to spend more one on one time with Ryan. And when he is getting into everything I try to distract him and direct him towards something else. I know it's a phase and he is just adjusting. I know he and Colton will be best buds one day.

Would love to hear from you moms with two or more kids.

I love these two boys so much and wouldn't trade a day in our life for the world. I love that Ryan is saying more words all the time. And I cannot get enough of Colton's coos and smiles.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Colton is Two Months Old

Colton - you are TWO months old!!!!
How is that even possible! Feels like yesterday we were at the hospital awaiting your arrival!

We go to the doctor on Monday so we will find out your stats then. You are wearing size 1 diaper, 0-3 months clothes. If I had to guess I would say you weigh around 10-11 lbs.

You are really the easiest and sweetest baby. You are pretty content unless you are hungry.

You go everywhere and have been to church the last 4-5 weeks.

You are a great sleeper. You nap several times during the day, mostly in your swing but sometimes in your crib. You have been consistently getting up just once during the night but you have slept through the night (til 6am or so) the last few nights. I started you on the 10pm dreamfeed again a couple weeks ago. Hoping you will be sleeping from 10-6/7am really soon!

You love your carseat and you always fall asleep when in the car. You are usually out before we get out of the driveway.

You LOVE your swing!!! You sleep SO good in it.

You have smiled at us a few times. You like to "talk" to us and make sweet noises.

You love to watch your big brother Ryan. He loves to bring me your paci, or bottle or blanket. He is so sweet and loving with you.

I love Ryan so much but my love has doubled with you. I am so in love with you and can't get enough of you ever day. I am so thankful every day for my sweet precious boy!

We love you so much and so happy you are apart of our family!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Thursday Thoughts

I took Ryan to get his haircut on Monday! He needed just a little trim around the ears and just a shape up. It was quit traumatic and Ryan was not thrilled one bit. It was awful! He completely freaked and screamed the entire time. I'm thinking about taking him to my hair stylist next time and see if that helps. Thankfully it turned out cute and handsome.

We've had a revelation around here!!! Ryan can finally tell me "yes" and "no". Can I get a alleluia??? It's made things so much better when I ask him, 'Ryan, are you done eating? or Ryan do you want this or that?'. It's fantastic and I'm SO proud of him! His vocabulary is growing every day.

Here is a picture of Colton above and Ryan below! Ryan is 9 weeks old in this pic. As you can see they have the same outfit on. I think they look like brothers but they also have their own look. Colton's has more hair than Ryan did and it's darker.

Colton is on the verge of smiling at us. He smiled at me this morning but hasn't the rest of the day. Love a smiling baby! I love to listen to his coo especially in the morning. He is just the sweetest thing!
I bought a couple of canvas' and some paints the other day at hobby lobby with the hopes of getting both boys' hand/foot prints. I love doing little crafty projects like this!

I showed Ryan the paint and canvas and explained what we were going to do and he seemed to totally understand but when I went to paint his hand he wanted NOTHING to do with it. Oh well, guess we won't get his prints anytime soon.

It wasn't easy getting Colton's prints. He wasn't exactly cooperative and honestly it was a little tricky not getting paint all over the place. They aren't perfect but you know what, we got em. I'm going to add some ribbon to the canvas and hang it in his room.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Finding Time


It seems lately that I am always trying to find time. Find time to workout, to clean, do my quiet time, organize, blog, make dinner...the list goes on. I know it will get easier as we get into our groove. Many of my friends who have two kids tell me you find your groove around three months.

I am a planner by nature. I like to know what's ahead of me and like my days to be predictable. Right now I go to the gym on tuesday nights and saturday morning. The other days I run on our treadmill during naptime. Of course Colton isn't familiar with my workout during naptime routine but he is slowly getting the hang of it. He sleeps best in his swing. Yesterday I let him nap there in the afternoon and he slept for two hours unintirupted. Ideally I would like him to sleep in his crib. Today he took an hour and half nap in his room.

I clean the kitchen in the morning while Ryan is having his breakfast and Colton is napping. I vacuum, pick up and clean bathrooms during naptime on the days I don't workout. It's so hard to find time to clean and even harder to keep a house clean with a busy toddler running around.

Ryan will start Mother's Day Out one day a week next month. I am so excited for him. I think he is going to love it and benefit so much from it. When Colton turns three months I can put him in the gym childcare so I will be able to get my workout done in the morning a few days a week. I love the summer and the carefree days but I'm looking forward to the fall and a more structured schedule for us.

Tonight when I came home from the gym Ryan was hanging on my legs and wouldn't let go. He was so sweet when I was putting him to bed. He wanted me to keep reading his books then he kept giving me kisses. I just love that little boy so much!

I LOVE staying home with my boys. I always wanted and desired to stay home with my kids. It's definitely the hardest job but most certainly the most rewarding.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Weekend Recap


We had a great weekend! The highlight of our weekend was Friday night. Our friends, the Joseph's, from church were throwing an end of the summer bash. It was so fun! They had two sweet young girls 'babysit' the kids. They had all kinds of stuff to do with the kids from a slip n slide, water balloons, water guns and even little goodies bags for all the kids. They were fabulous.
Ryan had an absolute blast playing in the water. He loved the slip and slide but his favorite was the water hose.
We had a fun time eating pizza along with other yummy snacks and sitting around chatting with everyone.

This is the Joseph's first 'baby' Doodle Marie. She is the sweetest dog. She was in the middle of all the actions the entire night.
Leah an Heather with the biggest bottle of champagne ever, haha! Hilarious!
The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. Saturday I did some fall shopping for the boys. And Sunday we went to church and attempted family nap time but only Ryan and I got a nap in.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Last few days

Last night some of my girlfriends from MOPS got together to go see the movie The Help! It was SO good. I just finished reading the book this week and I loved it! I heard someone say last week that it's almost better than Steel Magnolias and I have to agree. It seriously is one of the best movies i've seen in a long time! I laughed, I cried, it was wonderful! Definitely a must see and must read!
The last few days have been pretty low key. Yesterday we had a stay at home day and I let Ryan play with play-doh for the first time. He wasn't sure what to do at first so I showed him how he can cut our animal shapes. He liked that and liked playing with the animals. He did try to eat it when I turned my back but he quickly realized it doesn't taste good, ha!

Before I had Colton I picked up a few small crafty things that Ryan can do to keep him busy. I found this crayola mess free color wonder kit. It comes with a spiral notepad and three markers. The markers only work on the special paper. Ryan absolutely loved it. He's not big on coloring but he loved these. He kept asking to color all afternoon.

This morning we headed to the zoo with some friends. I only took one picture the whole time. The picture below is of the manatee exhibit. We didn't stay long. It was HOT so we saw just a few animals and had lunch.
Just love a sweet baby bottom!!!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Small Victories

I've been putting Colton down in his room for his afternoon nap after his 1pm feeding. Sometimes he sleeps great, an hour or so and sometimes I am up and down the stairs about six times. Yesterday was one of those days.

Today I needed to workout and he slept so good. I only had to run upstairs twice and on both times by the time I got up there he was already falling back asleep. Yay for Colton!

I didn't start putting Ryan in his room for naps until he was about four months old. Trying to start the routine early with Colton. He seems to like his crib and sleeps well. I was even able to get a shower after my workout!!!
This afternoon I let Ryan play in his water table outside and I turned on the sprinkler to let him play. He wasn't too sure about the sprinkler at first but after about a minute he was running and playing in it. The weather was gorgeous! It was a nice after nap activity.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Pool and Pajamas

This morning we headed to the pool! Ryan is going to be devasted in about a month when the pool is closed. He had a blast as usual.

He is learning and doing new things every day. He will repeat a word when you ask him to even though it's not always clear. He can count to ten! We always count the stairs whenever we go up or down. It helps that he hears Mickey Mouse count all the time on his show, ha!

We are working on our ABC's. He can say a few letters in the song so it's a work in progress. When we watch Wheel of Fortune at night he loves to repeat the letters the contestants call out. What a great way to learn his letters!
There is just nothing sweeter than a baby who just had a bath and wearing footy pajamas. They smell and look so sweet!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Brotherly Love

We had a nice relaxing weekend! Friday we just hung out at home and all went to bed early! With Colton waking up in the middle of the night (still only waking up once around 3 since dropping the dream feed) we are all in bed by 10pm every night! Before kids Matt and I were such night owls, especially on the weekends! We would stay up to 1 or 2 in the morning watching movies before we had Ryan. My, how things have changed, ha!
I had planned on going to the gym for a class on Saturday morning but after feeding Colton at 7 I fell back asleep and got up too late to go. So instead, Matt went to get doughnuts with Ryan. I was glad to do a little cleaning while they were gone.
Sunday I was able to get Ryan to pose with Colton before leaving for church. I love, love, love these pics of the boys. I love how Ryan had to hold on to his toys while he put his arm around his little brother. So funny! Ryan loves to put his finger to his mouth and say "shhhh" when Colton starts crying. Love that little guy! He is such a good big brother!