Birthday presents for Jonathan

A lovely train whistle from the Fleurys. (Thanks a lot!)

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!
All the whistles on Sodor Island are tooting just for you.

All our love...Hugs and Kisses too!

Auntie Audra, Uncle Dave, Ben and Cate

A cool train mat that zips up to carry all the trains.

Cheesing for the camera while opening gifts from Grammy and Grandpa.

This was a very Thomas birthday for Jonathan and he was VERY happy about that!

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

4 weeks old

3 months old

7 months old

1 year old

16 months old

19 months old

2nd birthday

2 years old

2 years old

It's hard to believe, but our baby boy is another year older! When I call you my baby, you correct me that you are a big brother and that Hannah is the baby. But you will always be my baby boy. You have been waiting for this day for months. You keep saying, "When it be Febawary, I be big!" And that is true. I think you have grown an inch or two in the last couple of months!

Your basic motto is, "If Andrew can do it, so can I." And for the most part that is true. Right now you love Thomas the train and Cars. But mostly you love trains. You talk nonstop. Before your last birthday, we were worried you wouldn't speak. Now we wonder when you will take a break.

You don't walk many places - mostly run or jump. I sometimes wonder if you have springs in your feet. You are very happy, unless you are wronged, and then LOOK OUT! You love your brother and sister very much. And we love you! Happy Birthday sweet boy!

3-year well child stats:
height: 3 ft. 4.8 in. or 40-3/4 inches - 97th percentile
weight: 33 lbs. 8 oz. - 68th percentile

Snow Day Fun

What do you do when there is beautiful snow with bitter temperatures outside? Bring the snow inside! The outside air temp is in the single digits with negative wind chills - too cold to play in! So I scooped a couple of buckets of snow and let the boys play in the bathtub. They thought it was fun, but cold and asked for some gloves. And yes, they are barefoot. I can't keep socks on these boys! Their toes were about as red as their fingers when they were done playing with the snow.

Yummy new recipes

I've tried out a couple new recipes this week and thought I'd share. The first one isn't new, but it is a favorite, especially this cold weather week!


Beef Noodle Soup

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 35 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
1 pound cubed beef stew meat
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup beef bouillon granules or 4-5 bouillon cubes
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 cup chopped carrots
5 3/4 cups water
2 1/2 cups frozen egg noodles

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, saute the stew meat, onion and celery for 5 minutes, or until meat is browned on all sides.

2. Stir in the bouillon, parsley, ground black pepper, carrots, water and egg noodles. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

We like to eat this with mashed potatoes. A flashback to my Carriage Crossing lunches.

Allrecipes.com

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Tomato Soup with White Beans and Pasta

Preparation Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes minutes
Yield: Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes
28 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup tubetini, elbow macaroni or other small pasta
1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1. Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add oregano, stir once, then add tomatoes with juice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.

2. Add pasta, stir, and cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in beans, lower heat and simmer until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, stir in parsley and serve, drizzling each portion with additional olive oil if desired.

I used one can of Fire Roasted tomatoes because it was what I had. I think the Italian tomatoes would also be good in this soup.

All You, JANUARY 2011


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Tuscan Pasta With Tomato-Basil Cream

Preparation Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes minutes
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli*
1 (16-oz.) jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce
2 tablespoons white wine
2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped**
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Garnish: fresh basil strips

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish, if desired.

*1 (13-oz.) package three-cheese tortellini may be substituted.

**1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, fully drained, may be substituted.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Buitoni Four Cheese Ravioli and Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Sauce.

Southern Living, JULY 2007

Another snow day and a quote

This is what it looked like out our windows today. I'm not sure how many inches we got because the wind is strong and causing some drifting. Temperatures have been in the single digits with minus 10 and below wind chills. Needless to say, the kids and I did not leave the house today!

Hard to believe we were enjoying 70 degree weather on Friday and Saturday. The boys were so happy to play outside and now we are stuck inside for a little while. School is already cancelled for tomorrow. I see more games of Cars Go Fish in my future and maybe some cookie baking!

Andrew's quote for the day:
First let me set the stage. Boredom has set in and Andrew is going through my desk. I let him so I can have a few minutes at the computer. He finds my old, red film camera. He recognizes it is a camera and asks me to help him open it, but he can't quite figure it out. I open the back of the camera and try to explain where the film goes and that it doesn't open all the way. "Mommy, What is film?" Wow! Thanks for making me feel old kiddo!

I tried to explain film and negatives for a second and then gave up. Amazing to think that my children will never know about film and waiting to get your pictures developed to see what pictures turned out. Or never know about wishing you had taken more time to capture a moment because the first two tries were blurry. Maybe I'll try to buy some film so he can experience it just once.

Sleep Fighter

This is what happens when little boys try to fight their nap. They end up falling asleep sitting up during rest time. Jonathan has been trying to give up his nap, but I still make him go to his room for quiet time. Usually he falls asleep 2 or 3 days a week. I miss him napping every day, but he keeps reminding me, "When it be Febuary, I be big!" So I guess when you are big, you no longer need to nap. Funny how that doesn't seem to be true for me!

Hannah - 3 month pics

I took Hannah for her 3-month pictures the other day. She did pretty good, but it was nap time and she wasn't really into it. And even though she wasn't super smiley, I still managed to come home with 6 poses. She's only 3 months once, right?!