On the Mend

What a week it has been! Caleb is finally on the mend, but it was a long road. One night we went through three changes of sheets on our bed (thanks to Caleb coughing so hard he got sick!). I am glad we are through it now. And we are blessed that Natalie stayed healthy! Speaking of Natalie, her front right tooth on the top finally poked through after a couple of weeks of working at it, so now she has three. She got her first taste of rice cereal the other day. I had fun watching her figure out what to do with her tongue and how to open her mouth big and wide for the spoon! I love experiencing all of the "firsts" with my children.

I finished my first knitting project and I think it turned out ok! I made a hat for Natalie.

Caleb participated in his first egg hunt this last weekend. He was so excited, he could hardly wait for the "Go!". He did really well and filled his entire Shrek basket with candy!!

Miscellanious News

The last week has brought such beautiful weather to the Pacific Northwest! It is just too bad that Caleb came down with croup yesterday, which has put a damper on our the enjoyment of it. We went to the doctor today for Natalie's six month appointment, and added Caleb on after a night of labored breathing and horrible "seal" coughs. Natalie is now 27 inches long and weighs 17.05 pounds! She is just around the 75% for both height and weight. And, she is just starting to wear 12 month clothes!! Caleb officially has croup and we came home with a prescription for oral steroids and orders to get a cool mist humidifier. Hopefully he will get more sleep tonight (and mom and dad too!).

I am very excited to begin knitting lessons tomorrow at a local wool shop. My mom and dad gave me a gift certificate for my birthday. I am most excited at the idea of making cute hats for my kids this winter! Knitting is something I have always wanted to do, but never could figure out on my own. Yay!

I have another thrifty meal idea for anyone who wants...as the grilling season gets underway a great thing I do is pre-marinate meat for the grill. When chicken (or any other meat of your liking) goes on sale, I stock up and separate it out into gallon-sized ziplock bags (about 2 pounds per bag). I fill each bag with a different marinade. Sometimes I use the powdered marinades that just need some oil and vinegar added, other times I buy salad dressings (Italian, Honey Mustard Vinegrette, Vidalia Onion Vinegrette, etc) and add about a half cup into each bag. This time I did some of both. Then, I stack each bag in the freezer laying flat, to save space. Just pull a bag of meat out into the fridge a day or so ahead of time and you are ready to grill! A great side dish our family loves with these meals is fresh veggies grilled in foil with seasoning salt, garlic, butter, or any other seasoning you prefer. What a great, wholesome meal!

My Aunt embroidered some adorable clothes for the kids, a dress for Natalie and a shirt for Caleb. Here are a few snapshots I took.

A Look Back

My darling daughter is halfway to one year today! I thought it would be fun to take a look at the progression of growth this far. I took the first photo in the hospital, she was about 1 day old. The next one was taken at about 2 months old, it was part of a Christmas present for the grandmas. The last one is from our day at the park a couple of weeks ago. I look back at Caleb's pictures from this age and can hardly remember him being so little! I know it will be the same for Natalie. I pray that I can cherish every single moment.