Well, hello again :)

Did ya miss me?? Or is anyone even still reading since I went on such a long blog hiatus?! I don't really have an excuse...time, I guess. I don't have any :) Ha! It's definitely not lack of content. I feel like our 1st eight weeks here in NC have been so busy that they have absolutely flown by. Do I say that a lot? Maybe I just feel like life is flying by at the moment. I look at my sweet daughter and wonder how she is almost 2 years old. I think about having another baby in 5 months and I'm just in shock! I try so hard to savor every moment, but sometimes I feel like they speed by so quickly that my moments seem like milliseconds. Do y'all feel that way, too? Any tips on how to slow it down?!

Let's see...where do I even begin?? Well, we decided that once we got settled in, one of the first things that we wanted to do was enroll E in Mother's Day Out. The thought was that it would give her a chance to interact with lots of other kids, and would give me a little chance to catch up on mommy things.

Here she is on her first day of "school":

She LOVES it! We chose a really well known program that is run through a local church. We love Ms. Karen, her teacher, and feel very blessed that there was a place for Elli there. I; however, haven't left E there for the full 4 hours yet!! I just can't seem to do it...weird, I know. I thought I would relish the "alone time", but truth be told...I just miss her!

Next up...Easter!! What a fun one we had this year! Had I not left the Easter eggs out all morning to be filled with ants by the time the kiddo's picked them up, it would have been a total success! Ha! Luckily, they weren't biting ants...and as soon as I realized the issue, we promptly ended the "hunt" :) I just gotta say...it's so typical of me!

My girl and I on the BEST holiday of the year. He is RISEN!!!

Elli in her Easter dress and bonnet...I just love little girls in Easter bonnets. Oh, and her daddy picked out the dress! Great job, if you ask me :)

And E hugging her friend Myla. Elli might be the hugging-est little girl I have ever seen. She LOVES a good hug! Just liker her Mama :)

Shortly after Easter, my little brother came out to visit us and we had a GREAT time just hanging out together. I think by the end of his trip he was a little overwhelmed at how tiring a toddler can be :)

Here we are at the Kinston Indians baseball game:

It was E's first one, and she was a big fan (especially of the hot dogs, ice cream & french fries!).

Over the week that Travis was here, Elli also got to go to her very first birthday party :) Happy birthday, Asher!! **She loved the bounce house until the boys wanted to play, too!**

We also went to UNC...a gorgeous campus, and a great day!

And finally, we celebrated Travis's 23rd birthday. I just love him...especially because he didn't mind that I put the candles in his birthday brownies before they had cooled. Ooops :)

So I guess that's it for March & April. I'll pick up in May...hopefully sometime soon :)

Show Us Your Life ~ Toddler Food

It's been awhile since I've participated in Kelly's "Show Us Your Life" blog linkup...but what better way to start back up than with food!!

Miss E is a little bit picky. By that I mean she usually eats pretty well, there are just days when she's not "feelin'" something in particular. Like chicken...sometimes she'll eat it, sometimes she won't. We usually have pretty good luck when we give her some ketchup to dip it in...she's just like her daddy, she thinks everything is better with ketchup!!

Breakfast...this is pretty standard (though she'd already eaten half of her fruit and toast). We go with fruit (usually strawberries, blueberries, or bananas), a 1/2 piece of toast (dry, most of the time), and some type of cereal (she loves oatmeal). On the weekends, or whenever I feel like cooking in the morning, we'll give her a plain waffle and let her dip it in syrup, or a biscuit with a little bit of jelly. She eats A LOT in the mornings...more than any other time of the day.

Lunch varies from day to day. Sometimes she'll have 1/2 of a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, sometimes just lunch meat & some cheese. She loves quesadillas, & ham/cheese/tortilla roll-ups. We do applesauce, ritz crackers, grapes, goldfish, or pretzels for her "side"...just depends on what we have and what she's in the mood for.

Snacks vary as well. Jello is a big hit, as are Nilla Wafers (mmm, yummy!). Goldfish and Multi-Grain Cheerios are easiest, and I like to put those in little containers that have the plastic "vent" type things on the top. You know the ones...they keep stuff from spilling out, but make it easy for toddler hands to reach in and grab a handful. We've done graham crackers, and I just got a box of Annie's Organic Bunny Grahams. Those suckers are tasty! Fruit always goes over well, and so does cheese. Basically, she likes what I like...makes it pretty easy!

This is a E's typical dinner. We like for her to try whatever it is that we're eating, and provide her with enough sides to keep her from being hungry if she doesn't like it. She's a big fan of tomatoes, and will eat just about any fruit that we put in front of her. Peas, broccoli and green beans are okay if they are mixed with something (like spaghetti sauce...or ketchup!). Asparagus is iffy, and zucchini & squash are no-go's. Basically, she's not a big fan of veggies. Sadly, I think she gets that from me! But I keep trying, and that's what counts right? Right?!

Hope you got some good ideas...and I'd love to hear some of y'alls! I'm not very good at branching out, so I'm totally open to suggestions! Oh, and be on the look-out for the recipe for the pasta dish above. It's one of my favorites, and is oh-so-easy! I'll be sharing that soon :)

Dinner Impossible

Maybe "impossible" is too strong...but it's definitely becoming more and more difficult! So, dear blog-y friends, I need some tips on how to deal with a toddler while fixing the evening meal :)

Let me just start by saying that my child is great at playing by herself. She likes listen to music & dance while I'm doing chores here and there in the morning. She can sit and "read" herself books if I'm folding laundry. She loves to push her baby around in her stroller if I'm trying to dust in the living room. But as soon as I start dinner...all bets are off!

We have a cabinet that houses all of our tupperware that she can play with. She has free reign over all of the pots, pans & spoons. We have a farm animal toy on the fridge that makes cute noises and sings songs. And she even got her very own cooking set for Christmas! But do you know where she wants to be when I start for the recipe cards? Just guess :) Under my legs, like a cute little monkey. She doesn't necessarily want to be held, though she'll start whining if I don't acknowledge her presence. It makes it very difficult to move from the stove to the sink, and don't even get me started on what it takes to get her untangled for long enough for me to open the oven! It's crazy! And I'm not a gourmet cook or anything, the meals I make usually only take 15-20 from fridge to stove/oven. Maybe that's too much to ask of a 16 month old?! Poor Chris, we're going to have to start eating cereal every night :)

Any of you mommies out there have the same issue? I'd love to hear your tips & tricks to alleviate some of the mealtime stress. You guys always have the best ideas :)