growing...

Weston is just growing so much every day!! He weighs about 13 pounds (lil’ guy is only in the 10^th percentile). He now eats rice cereal around dinner time every night. Soon we will be giving it to him in the morning as well. Then…. the fun stuff- fruits and veggies! I bought this awesome baby food book- Cooking For Baby by Lisa Barnes

I cannot wait to start making my own baby food. Hopefully one day I can even have my own vegetable garden too! My sis made me an AWESOME baby food scrapbook. I can record Weston's reaction to eating the new food and add a picture of him trying it for the 1st time too! Such a cute idea!!!

We have also been propping Weston up against cushions to help him practice sitting up on his own. It is so funny. He will just topple over and laugh. Silly kid.

Sometimes when Weston is cranky, we will have Norma come over to him and keep him entertained. He just LOVES her. The other day, she even gave him a ride on her back!! ;)

Mmmmm.... Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

A few weekends ago, we had a baby shower for our friends here in C'ville. I made some cupcakes and found this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website. It was very yummy!!! I love posting the recipes I like on here that way I can find it easily when I want to make it again. And of course so I can share it with you too!!

WPC- Rural

Week 17 of the photo challenge is RURAL. On my way home from my photo shoot on Monday evening, I stopped to take a picture of this farm. So pretty!!!!

Easter

I hope that everyone had a fabulous Easter! We sure did! The Easter Bunny hopped through the little house on the farm and left Weston an Easter basket full of toys! He even got a camera just like his Mommy!


In the morning, Weston hung out at his Mumsy's house. While Weston napped, we dyed the chicken eggs from the farm (loved the way the colors turned out on the brown eggs), made some yummy parsley potatoes to go with the rest of the delicious food for lunch, and took a nice stroll around the farm. Weston loved looking at the chickens and cows!!


Later in the afternoon, we headed for my parents house. The day was just beautiful. We had a cookout and then Weston had his first Easter Egg Hunt!!! We had lots of fun! We even managed to get a picture of my parents and the boys. And everyone is looking and happy! Yay!

WPC- Simple

Wow! It is week 16 for the Shutterboo Weekly Photo Challenge! I cannot believe that 16 weeks have went by so fast! I started at week 4 and hope that I will find the time to challenge myself to 2 photos a few weeks so I can do the words that I missed in the beginning.
Well, this week's challenge word was simple. I waited to take the picture until today because I knew we were coming to the farm. The farm is one of my simple pleasures. The sound of the "moos" from the cows, calves nursing from their mamas, kitty sleeping on the porch swing, purple martins nesting in their bird houses, and the warm spring air rustling against the work jeans on the clothes line. Life is so much more simple here on the farm. It is crazy to think I will be moving to NYC. Guess I need to get used to the hustle and bustle. I know where I can go to slow down a bit...

Decluttering some more!

Weston playing in his Jump N' Jive while Mommy organized the kitchen!

It feels fabulous to get rid of all this stuff!! I was working like a crazy woman today decluttering some more. Will I ever be done? Probably not because I am a HUGE HOARDER! I seriously have a problem and I am trying to nip it in the bud. I pitched about 2 trash bags of clothes that I no longer wear. After organizing my closet this morning (by the way… thank you Weston for taking an awesome nap) I headed for the kitchen to tackle the cabinets and shelves. I ended up clearing off the top of my jelly cabinet that was full of stuff (tins, birdhouses, pottery). Most of that stuff went into the Goodwill box. I also got rid of more than half of my cookbooks. Really… why do I need all of those cookbooks? Most of the time, I look up recipes on the Internet anyway. I still kept quite a few, but not nearly as much as what I had. I started an area in the basement for all of this JUNK that will soon be going to the Goodwill.

So did I mention I was a hoarder? Look at all of these old ball jars. Yeah… well I just could not separate myself from them! They can be used so many different ways: flower vase, dog treat jar, candle holder, etc. When I have Weston’s Baptism party, they can be used as centerpieces with flowers in them. See! I know there is a reason to keep all of these jars. They will have to get stored at my parents’ house though… no room for them in New York!

OK. So I know I did not do so well getting rid of the jars, but I did a wonderful job donating clothes, cookbooks, and home decor today! Good Job, Me.

Another picture of Weston and his new best bud, Norma!

Puppy Love

Weston is just now starting to LOVE the dogs. He likes to watch them play with each other, but especially loves to pet them! Pepper does not trust Weston quite yet. She stays away from him as much as possible. Norma is close to Weston's side all of the time. I am not sure if it is because Weston has all of the cool toys or if she truly likes him. Now that Weston has more control with his hands, he is more interested in Norma. He grabs her fur and jowls and PULLS like crazy! I think he likes the way she feels. Poor Norma. She looks at me like "Mom. Really?" Weston will have handfuls of Norma's fur in his hand and Norma will just let him keep tormenting her. Thank you Norma. Soon, Weston will be your best bud and not so much of a nuisance.

Yummy Meatloaf

Yesterday was such an icky day. After our baptism class in the morning, we came right home and changed into comfy clothes so we could just be LAZY! Before I knew it, it was already dinner time. I had a ½ pound of ground beef in the fridge that needed to be used. So I quickly made this yummy meatloaf recipe and meatloaf sauce to go with it! Mmmmmm….. it was delish! I used an ice cream scooper and scooped out little balls of meatloaf. It baked a lot faster in the oven too!

WPC- Movement

Again I am a day late submitting my Weekly Photo Challenge picture. This week's challenge word was MOVEMENT. Poor Chad. Last week I had him blow bubbles as I took pictures and this week I had him write using a lighter! I slowed the shutter speed down low and then snapped the pic as Chad wrote the word "love". It was a nice way for Chad to practice his penmanship! ;) He did an awesome job!

Easter Bunny

Weston met the Easter Bunny yesterday!!! The bunny was running a little late. He was supposed to be there at 11 and did not show up until 12. Chad and I think he must have been out partying with his peeps the night before!!

Jump N' Jive & A Walk in New York

Today Weston tried out his Jump N’ Jive for the first time!! He LOVED it! I still think he is a little small for it, but it is something new. It plays different instrument sounds when his foot touches the colorful music pad. So cute.

A few days ago, Chad bought Weston the book A Walk in New York by Salvatore Rubbino. It is the perfect book for us!! It is about a father who spends the day in Manhattan with his son. Chad read a few pages to Weston today. We learned about Grand Central Station and the New York Public Library. Did you know that Grand Central has more platforms and more tracks than any other railroad station in the world? And here is an interesting fact: The New York Public Library gets 10,000 new books that come in every week and there are 88 miles of bookshelves inside!! I cannot wait to take Weston to the library one day next year. I hope they have a fun children book area.

I also took Weston's 4 month pictures today. It was the perfect day to take them too! Sooooo warm outside. I am using one of the pictures for his baptism invite. He is such a cutie!

AND most importantly, Happy Birthday to the most beautiful angel. Court, we miss you so much. Love this cookie cake she made last year for her birthday camping celebration. Too funny.