Monday, March 18, 2013

:: family fun day on the plaza ::

Lucy standing watch.. she is so protective of the girls, it's so cute!
We got down to the plaza nice and early Friday morning to meet dad, Papa, Ashley + Paisley at the 'Classic Cup' for breakfast {my favorite!}.. Lillian was waiting patiently for our table..
and then of course got up and was ready to eat right when our food arrived.. never fails, I swear!
There were so many fun animals around for Easter, Isabelle couldn't wait to get over and touch them once she saw them!
We had to throw the pennies in the fountain!  She loves water with fountains and thinks you have to throw money in every time we see one.
love this of Iz + dad.
Cousins having fun together!
Me and my girls :)
Little side note with me holding Lillian.. we didn't bring our stroller that the car seat snaps into {fail}, so we carried her around pretty much all day, I thought my arms were going to fall off and my back was going to break!  I meant, she's not the lightest little babe ;)!
We told Iz she could pick out a toy at the toy store, that's the first time we've ever done that and now we know why ;).. that would have been my dream when I was little!  We probably put back about 10 babies {some secretly that she didn't even realize} because we have so many at home and really wanted her to pick something else out.. so we left with this little purse with a dog in it named 'Cupcake', which was so appropriate because she loves cupcakes!  Oh and those fancy sunnies!  Isabelle was so happy and I think it was special for her to be able to pick something out on her own {with some parental assistance}.
We got back to Sue Sue's and played outside for awhile because it was so nice out and unfortunately Iz refused to take a nap.. probably because we got back too late and she was past the point of taking a nap.. total bummer for me, but I should have gotten us home sooner!
She just loves to play with all my old earrings and 'wear' them.. these just cracked me up, I couldn't resist the pic.. she had on the longest earrings and a purse, just playing outside.


Basketball weekend in KC!

We got up early Thursday morning {even had to wake Iz up {hence the jams} and we very rarely do that!} to meet a guy  in KC and get Jacob to the hotel in time for the game festivities.  I turned around and Isabelle was double fisting her breakfast, made me laugh.
We stopped by Sue Sue's work after dropping dad off because Lillian was screaming {so fun for driving} and I had to feed her.  Isabelle had so much fun 'helping' Sue Sue on her model.. it was fun to watch her explore everything and learn about what Sue Sue does at work.
She just looked so big!
It was a beautiful day so we played outside a little bit before Iz's nap and she just loves running around with Reggie and I love watching her.. just so happy!
We went to play with Henry after her nap and it was such a fun time!
They were so cute to watch together..
Lillian had her first ride in the Baby Bjorn- success!!
We were probably a funny site to see.. we had our hands full!
Isabelle was so insistant on pulling Henry so it took us much longer to get home than it did when we walked to the park.. Henry just wanted her to ride with him {as did we!}, but she pulled him the whole way home!  I was pretty impressed!
Some pooped kiddos.. having their pre-dinner snack.
My mom was working late and it was not very fun to try and get Iz bathed if Lillian was awake {which happened often} by myself, so Kellie had the wonderful idea of Iz taking a bath with Hen- ahh, thank you {and for lending us some jams.. especially Elmo ones}!  They were so funny in the tub and getting ready for bed together.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

:: roasted red pepper + goat cheese pasta :: the girls ::

Passed out.. literally!
We woke up to this.. what?!
Iz saw the snow so she had to wear her snow boots!  Oh and pick up this snazzy hat to do a little shopping.. with her own cart of course.
Like, don't let it blow away.. ha!
Jacob found this recipe on Pinterest for Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo, sounded good, so I made it!  Red peppers are just so pretty, especially on that shiny foil background- ready to be baked!
The sauce...
Izzy girl helping out with the cheese..
As I was still cooking Iz told me she was going to go upstairs to get ready to go to the gym and came down in this.. told me she was in her basketball clothes, ready to play basketball... it was so cute and hard for me not to laugh... I was like, well, the shirt is right for playing basketball, but I don't know about that skirt... she said, "yeah it is mom".  She had just taken her pony out so her hair was looking extra good too ;).
Posing!

Voila!  The finished product!  It was pretty good, I added spinach to mine which made me feel a little better about eating all that cheese!

INGREDIENTS:

2 whole red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil {I used coconut oil}
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fat free half & half {I used almond milk because I didn't have half & half}
4 oz. garlic & herb goat cheese
2/3 cup grated parigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 cup artichoke hearts (optional)
1/2 lb. linguine, cooked to al dente
salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place red peppers on baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes until peppers are charred. Remove from oven and cover with foil 10 minutes.
In the mean time, saute onions and garlic in olive oil 7 minutes or until tender. Pour in half & half, goat cheese, salt & pepper. Stir to melt goat cheese into sauce and keep warm over low heat.
Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop into large pieces and place into sauce along with parmesan cheese. Stir to melt cheese and remove from heat. Pour sauce into food processor and puree, or use an immersion blender. Place back into hot pan and toss with cooked pasta. Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with more parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and parsley, if desired.

I still couldn't get over turning on the monitor and seeing Iz in a bed and not in her crib:(.
2 of my 3 girls- out.
Isabelle was walking around with the burp cloth on her shoulder, patting her babies back, saying she was going to sleep.. she's so funny, she says everything to me about her baby that I say to her about Lillian, like, 'shh, she's sleeping, try to be quiet', or 'she's crying, she might be hungry', or 'she's poopy mom, I need to change her diaper'.. it all just comes full circle!
I just liked these pics of Iz sitting on the stairs {not really that part, we do teach her not to play on the stairs} with her balloon she got from Sherry {our PATs person}..


Saturday, March 9, 2013

Izzy girl at 28 months + the big girl bed!!

I don't even know if people say months after they turn 2, but oh well!  
Okay, I this is awesome, I was laughing out loud when I was reading them:  'top 10 ways you know your little babe is transitioned into a toddler', they are all so true, it's unbelievable!  Felicity Huffman was on ellen and talking about her blog so I had to check it out, she has recipes {she made a delicious sounding cocktail on the show called 'the coco snowball', I guess it's technically a "winter" drink, but I would still have one now!}, parenting advice + all sorts of stuff- highly recommend!
On to my little/big girl...
Look at you Izzy girl, you are so big!  The last time you tried to ride that tricycle, you couldn't reach the pedals and now you run circles around the place!  I almost teared when I saw you come around the corner on it all by yourself!  You just amaze me every day with how 'big' you are, I forget that I have a 2 year old because you are so chatty and smart, it's like I'm dealing with a 4-5 yr old almost.. well, until you have one of your little fits about taking a nap or not getting something you want, then there is my 2 yr old ;)!  What is going on with you..
~wearing size 2T, some 3T, but still some 24 month pants, the shirts are getting a bit short
~size 7 shoe
~you pick out all your clothes, from your undies to your socks and get dressed on your own.. you put your pants on by yourself and try to do your shirts, but need a little assistance with them
~you had your first haircut, started wearing big girl underwear and sleep in a big girl bed.. so many big milestones!
~you sleep from about 8 to 7:30-8 and take a nap from around 1/1:30-3/4.. just depends on the day.
~you go to the potty by yourself now which is huge, you walk in the bathroom, hoist yourself up on the toilet {without your potty, you seem to think you are already too big for that already}, wipe and get off and flush, then walk out.. it's pretty awesome for mom and dad!
~you love to play with kids, babies/dolls, strollers, grocery carts (especially at Trader Joe's and the new Dillon's, "I want to push my own cart"), be outside (all the time!), play doh, puzzles (you can put pieces together on your own, which amazes me every time), coloring, going to the gym, dancing, gymnastics, helping mom or dad make a 'juice', help cook, see/watch everything
~some of your favorite movies are "Ice Age", "Madagascar" {you love the 'rezbra', Marty}, "Buzz and Woody" {what  you call "Toy Story"} and you still like to watch Elmo, and are newly into the Bert and Ernie section.
~you have a love for princesses! You have princess shoes and a book that has all of the princess, which you can name and put them where they go on their outline all by yourself (I was just mouth open watching you do it without my help, you even told me when I was wrong!)
~you have been eating so well and will eat pretty much everything dad and I eat, which I love.. I mean, you eat quinoa w/veggies, rice, veggie pizza, black beans, hummus, carrots, energy balls, yogurt, and of course other things that are more 'kid foods'.. fruit snacks {you say, 'snoot snacks' and I love it}, mac+cheese, pb+j, cheese quesadilla, applesauce, cottage cheese, animal crackers, O's, all dried fruits just like your mom :), suckers, 'nummies', which includes m&m's and other little pieces of candy that we don't have often and are more of a treat.. I could go on, but you get the idea.
~you love to get your own water from the fridge and drink out of 'big girl cups'.. you also love juice, but little secret, I put half water in all of them.. just so it's not as concentrated and you don't get addicted to that super sugary taste ;).
~you say, "I love you so much" and give the best + biggest squeezes before bed now, I love it.. we also have our kiss and a nose kiss, love those too.
~you still love to read books and have memorized exactly what is on the pages of a lot of your books, so you end up reading to us a lot of the time.. no more of you on my lap, with me reading to you, you have to sit next to me {tear} and be in charge of the books.
~you still have some of the same nicknames: love bug, booger, Izzy girl {so cute when you say it}, turkey, monkey.. and you can say your full name, you say, "I'm Isabelle Jeffrey Wilson" {which is also very cute the way you say it}
~you are so anxious to go to school, you say it often.. you even asked me the other day where your high school was.. I was kind of surprised you even knew about high school!
I know there is so much more that you are up to, but I'm sure that I've written about it in single posts and don't want to totally bore anyone with more words {there are already a lot!}.. so I'm going to end with, you are an amazing little girl, you surprise me every day with something new you are doing or saying, you are such a goof ball and make us laugh all the time.  You are one of my favorite people to have a conversation with and I think that's pretty cool.  I am so excited to watch you and Lillian grow up together, you already are a great big sister + helper.  Love you so much!!
Big girl bed!!  We had been talking to Isabelle for awhile about her big girl bed and she eventually got excited and ready to sleep in her bed.. she got to help get her sheets and pick out her comforter (not in this picture, we didn't have it yet).  She talks about and tells everyone how she sleeps in a big girl bed now- pretty cute.  We had a friend give us the idea of putting swim noodles under the fitted sheet instead of buying the railing to help her from falling out, seems to work!  AND, she doesn't get out of bed in the morning (hallelujah!), she calls for us, "mom, I'm up, mommy!".. we told her that's what she should do, but I think her bed is a little high for her so she's afraid to get out on her own, not that she is that well behaved ;).  I definitely got sad looking at her new bed in her room, just another chapter closed and a new one open.. goes too fast.  I guess that's why you have more!
It's so weird to turn on the camera and see this now.. I almost can't even see her when I used to just see her whole body laying in her crib.. we need to find a new spot for the camera.  She is still getting used to having a pillow because she pushes it out of the way and sleeps flat a lot of the time... that would be hard to get used to.
Look at that little scrunched face.. love.
more scrunched sleep faces :).. on Aunt Betsy.
Hello!
Jacob brought the swing out of storage and I'm so glad, she loves it {and we have another spot to put her}!
'The Thinker'
This just made me smile because Lillian seems to be thinking just like Mickey.