He's here!

Sleeping in my arms is the most perfect little boy I've ever seen. He arrived at 3:32am on Monday morning. He's absolutely beautiful and looks a lot like his big sister when she was a baby. Big sister, by the way, just adores Callen Patrick. I'll just share a few pictures. Many of these have been posted on Facebook and Instagram.

Countdown to baby - top 10

1. Well, I wasn't so sure I would be able to accomplish my long to-do list before baby's arrival, but the list is dwindling, and I'm actually feeling prepared.
2. Today is the 36.5 week mark...so a few more days will make full term. I wouldn't mind having the baby this weekend, but I think celebrating a new baby and an ND win over USC NEXT weekend would be even more fun. :)
3. A sub has been found! I am so lucky to have a reliable, capable person able to take over my crazy job at a moment's notice. I have all kinds of worries and reminders running through my head at any given moment, but I know she'll do just fine. What a relief!
4. Speaking of ready, my bags are PACKED! It's crazy to think that the time to meet the new little one is almost here.
5. Packing a bag when you don't know the gender....is difficult! I'm a compulsive overpacker anyway and this is not helping the situation. We have ND onesies/hats, pink hats, grey/yellow mittens, girl outfits, boy outfits, and probably five headbands and four different colors of bows/flowers. So baby's bag is definitely full, but he/she will only be using or wearing half of it.
6. As of last weekend, the baby's room is "finished"...for now. I can't wait to add accents and decor based on baby's gender. Pink/fuschia for a girl and teal/aqua for a boy. I already have items in my shopping cart from Target ready to purchase!
7. I am so ready to be able to move around like a normal person again. Let's just say that entertaining and playing with a toddler is WAYYYYY more difficult 8.5 months pregnant. I just want to lie on my belly and color with Landen....
8. I think Landen is feeling the impending arrival of the baby more and more as we set up furniture, the swing, the carseat, etc. At one point I felt bad because all we kept saying to her was "No, that's for the baby." We had to start taking a different approach to these issues. We did get her a baby to open when she comes to visit at the hospital. That way she'll be able to take care of her baby while we take care of the real one. I'm hoping this helps a bit.
9. On a positive note, she's doing well in the potty training arena. She is going at daycare a couple of times per day and every few days for us. We're still not really pushing her too much because I think she's JUST grasping the prior recognition of having to go. But stickers and skittles are being awarded for her successes. Oh, and I'm fully aware that regression is a complete possibility when baby arrives...
10. Please keep not only me, but also my cousin and sister-in-law and our babies in your prayers as we'll all be reaching our due dates within the next couple of weeks.

Happy Halloween!

This week included a lot of Halloween celebration starting off with our pumpkin painting last Sunday. Landen painted her pumpkin a beautifull array of rainbow colors while I tried a puffy paint technique I saw on Pinterest. Both turned out pretty good, but we later found that neither were waterproof. :(  Luckily they were on the porch and only partially exposed to the elements...

Landen enjoying the painting process.

My puffy paint pumpkin...all those dots!!!

Next up was Trick-or-Treat on Thursday evening. We knew Landen might be a bit young to go all around the neighborhood for candy she didn't really need to eat, so we just planned on taking her to a few neighbors' houses to get the idea. She did it, but daddy had to carry her everywhere...all of the "strangers" talking to her made her a bit shy. Surprisingly, she remembered her one line at all or most of the stops on the way and even managed a "thank you" to most. 

If you can't tell, she is dressed as the character "Olivia" (a cartoon pig). Landen's obsession with Olivia started with a few books she got for Christmas last year, but toward the end of the summer we realized Olivia was the star of her own cartoon show on NickJr. So when Landen gets to watch TV, her most frequent request is "Olivia, please." When I saw this as a costume option, there was no convincing Landen of anything else (I even tried). She LOVES Olivia.

After our short journey we headed back home to distribute candy to the masses of kids canvassing our neighborhood. About one hour and 300+ pieces of candy later, we were out of stock and the remaining Trick-or-Treat-ers were out of luck! 

The best part of passing out the candy was that Landen had a blast helping out. She LOVED giving out candy to the other kids and would just look at them with hopeful eyes as she held out candy to put in their bags. Some of the bigger kids weren't too sure about accepting candy from a toddler dressed as a pig, but most gladly took her offerings.

Landen and Ava...not so sure about all the costumes but loving their suckers!

Finally, our weekend ended with a visit to the nursing home to see Great Grandma Betty for their Trick-or-Treat celebration. Oh.My.Goodness! I don't know why kids would waste their time going door-to-door when they can walk around one (or more) of the gathering areas in the nursing home and get a piece of candy every two feet! There were soooooo many people and so many kids lined up to get their treats. The residents were having a wonderful time seeing the little (and big) ones all dressed up as well. Even though the line was long and moving at a steady pace, we were able to catch a picture with Grandma before she had to get back to her duties. :)

And the fun isn't over yet...we have dress up day at school AND dance class this week. Sheesh!

Fall Family Fun

I'm going to go ahead and ignore the fact that I haven't blogged since August. I'm also going to ignore all the blog post ideas I had floating around in my head since then. I'll just fast forward to now and share with you some pictures from our second annual family trip to Lincoln Ridge for pumpkins and fall fun.
We thought the rain might keep us away, but we had decent weather the entire time and only felt a few sprinkles before we left. Thank goodness it held off because I'm not sure when this busy family would have made it on another weekend...

Getting sooooo big!

Checking out some animals up close. 

Mommy and Landen.

Not as cooperative for a family picture this year.

She could not get enough of the trampoline/balloon...would have bounced all afternoon if we let her. We witnessed some impeccable balance...she's not nearly as balanced on solid ground.  ;)

 Picking out some "Landen-sized" pumpkins...

Happy fall, everyone!

It's a....baby!

Our ultrasound was this Wednesday, and we made it through the appointment without finding out the gender! It wasn't too tough these past few weeks leading up to the appointment, but right before I got called back, I saw another couple smiling from ear to ear after finding out what they were having. THAT made my heart flutter and wish we were finding out...just a little bit. Of course Scott had to ask the ultrasound tech if SHE knew what we were having...she said she was "pretty sure". Scott has his own opinion based on the viewing, but I don't think either of us can be sure AT ALL! So we will be surprised in November/December when our little one arrives. 

The best news of the day...confirmation that Landen is WRONG! There are NOT two babies in mommy's belly! Whew.

"You Are My Sunshine" - Landen's 2nd Birthday

Landen's 2nd birthday is tomorrow, but her "Sunshine" birthday party was held today. The only reason I'm able to compose this post tonight is because she went to bed over an hour early. Call it poor party timing by me, but after all the party excitement from the afternoon naptime was a bust. We had one very tired birthday girl on our hands, and she was in bed by 7pm. I'm just hoping this doesn't mean an extra-early wake up call tomorrow.
I'll share some pictures from the big day. As you've read, our theme was "You Are My Sunshine". I've been envisioning a YELLOW birthday theme for almost a year now and it worked out perfectly. :)

Happy Birthday banner...

A delicious cake from Baked to Perfection.





Love some fresh flowers.

Yellow candy party favors - along with some yellow toys depending on age/gender.  :)

Some of Landen's Instagrams from this year along with some sunshine-y decor.

"Yellow" snacks (popcorn & goldfish)...

A little flair for the birthday girl's chair.

Hayes and Landen enjoying the "sunshine".

 Blowing out her birthday candles (I can't believe she's two!)

 LOVING her birthday cake and ice cream. (She's been talking about her chocolate birthday cake for a month.)

 Enjoying some of her birthday gifts...

Landen got so many great, fun gifts that I'm sure she will LOVE! More importantly, she got to spend the afternoon with all of her favorite people in one place. Of course it was a wonderful day, but I'm totally exhausted. I'll post some images from our photoshoots later this week. :)

July Top 10

It's mid-July and it feels like the past few weeks have gone by in a flash. So here's a quick top 10 to share the highlights of our July so far.

1. We took a family trip to Dayton/Cincinnati to visit Landen's Uncle Ryan, Aunt Katie and cousin Hayes. While there we visited the Newport Aquarium. It was a cooler alternative to the zoo or waterpark in the 100+ degree heat. Landen LOVED the "fishies", and was just old enough to get some enjoyment out of all the different varieties of aquatic life, etc. 

2. Scott had the week off work, so we spent a couple of days trying to get some things done around the new house that we've been putting off. The biggest events included hanging curtains in the living room and Landen's bedroom, painting the upstairs bathroom, and deciding on a decor theme for the kitchen. 

3. My belly is getting bigger. Bigger and squarer, I should say. Not sure why, but it gets a flat part right on top, so when I look down I just see a square-ish, weird looking belly. I don't think it's as noticeable to others, but I see it!

4. Speaking of baby...I haven't bought ONE thing for the little guy/girl yet! I think this may be one benefit of waiting to find out the gender...it curbs my spending. Scott is happy.

5. On the other hand, tomorrow will be 20 weeks (1/2 of the pregnancy, 4.5 months - for non-mothers/parents). I'm starting to get a bit anxious because all I've done for the baby's room is pick out a paint color and narrowed the crib down to three choices. That's it!

6. Landen told me yesterday there were two babies in my belly. This has me slightly concerned that she's having some child premonition that I'm actually having twins. She's not the first either! My elderly neighbor thought the same when we met a few weeks ago. Let's just say, I can't wait until the ultrasound in August to deny these claims. 

7. Speaking of Landen...she's potty training herself. We haven't been encouraging it too much because I wanted her to be cognitively ready for it and not rushed. She sees the potty at daycare so it has her interested. They've let her try several times with no result...but today, at home, we had RESULTS! Again, her choice, not mine. But that's a good thing. :)

8. She has also been paci free for a month! If you ask her about her "uh-oh", she'll tell you a story about how daddy took them to work (at the hospital) to give them to the babies. Very cute.

9. She's growing up so fast, it has me happy and sad. Sad because my baby isn't a baby anymore. But happy because it's so much fun to see her experience and enjoy so many more things. 

10. Finally, we spent the long weekend at Deer Creek State Park with Scott's extended family for a reunion of sorts. We do this every year, so it's a family tradition. We get to see family that live right here in Delphos along with those that live in other states. It's always fun to catch up with family, and this year Landen got to see some "cousins" that she only sees a few times a year. Here are some photos from the weekend.

Playing with daddy at the pool.

She just LOVES Bailie and Kestley!

Hayes, taking up golf?

 Landen, Annabelle, and Emery (all within about one year of each other) bonding and being goofy girls together.  :)  I like Landen's face in the bottom one.

Easy Recipe: Chicken Tetrazzini

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe. After moving into our new house it took awhile for our appliances to be hooked up and operational, so there wasn't a lot of cooking going on around here. Recently, we had a delicious chicken tetrazzini dish at one of our weekly family gatherings. My aunt and uncle, Eileen and Chad, were in charge of this main dish and, wow, was it delicious! It's one of those recipes that you can really play with, and measurements aren't really that important. (Love those!) 


Instead of making a full batch (full box of spaghetti), I decided to cut it back a bit for our family. Leftovers are fine with me, but I didn't want too much in case I royally screwed things up. Lucky for me, I think that would be difficult to do with this one.


The original recipe calls for the following:

• whole cooked chicken (keep the broth)
• box of spaghetti
• can of cream of mushroom soup
• can of cream of chicken soup
• block of white cheddar cheese (shredded)
• block of colby cheese (shredded)
• butter (a lot - like, a stick)

Here's what I used/had:

• precooked, frozen fajita style chicken (from Schwann's)
• about 1/2 box of spaghetti
• can of cream of chicken soup (I figured I just needed one can for 1/2 the recipe, so I picked my favorite)
• 3/4 block of white cheddar (shredded)
• 3/4 block of colby (shredded)
• about 2-3 tablespoons of butter

Preheat your oven to 350. Plan on baking for 30-45 minutes depending on how much you make and if it's been refrigerated or frozen previously.

First, I sprayed my dish with some non-stick cooking spray. Then I boiled the spaghetti (you can do this in the broth as the original calls for it, but I did not), and heated the chicken. Once these were complete, I drained/rinsed the spaghetti and cut the chicken into smaller pieces (to better hide them from Landen). Next, I placed these items in the dish.

Then I added the can of cream of chicken soup to the dish - I just dumped it in and spread it around some. Next, I added the shredded cheeses and sliced the butter on top of everything.

I prepared this late in the morning, so I covered it and put it in the refrigerator until it was time to heat it up. I think I ended up baking it for about 30 minutes (covered), and that was plenty for this amount. Sorry, I didn't take a photo of the finished product - it basically looks like a gooey, cheesy mess.

And it was a success! We gobbled it up (even Landen), and had some leftovers that didn't make it to the weekend. :)

Enjoy!

Summer Fun

We had an enjoyable Father's Day weekend which included a visit from Scott's brother's family. They arrived Saturday afternoon, so Scott prepared some delicious "stuffed burgers" for dinner. Prior to dinner, Landen and her cousin Hayes spent some time in the pool and ran wild through the house and back yard. 


Sunday included breakfast from Baked to Perfection (yummmmm!) and some family photo shoots before heading to Maimeo and Papa's for Father's Day gifts and lunch. Later Scott, Landen and I visited my extended family for an afternoon by the pool and my grandma's (and grandpa's) famous burgers for dinner. 


I'll share a few pics from the weekend. Most are from our family photo shoots Sunday morning. Katie and I are pretty passionate about photography and finally enjoyed practicing on people other than our own children. Although, we quickly realized that photographing ANY child that has no desire or attention span to stand/sit still is HARD WORK. The entire shoot lasted maybe 25 minutes because our kids were quite squirmy. :)


Landen and Hayes enjoying some pool time on Saturday.

Katie, Ryan & Hayes...

Our family...and some I shot of just Scott and Landen...

My sweet, goofy, one-of-a-kind, Landy...

Hayes and Landen playing in the yard...

Finally, this is what happens when we tell Landen to give Charlie a kiss...She thinks she has to stick out her tongue too...Never a dull moment with this girl!