A little June and July

My little baby is growing up!

 One night before bed he was playing at the coffee table.

First he read his book.

 Then he started going around and around it

 squealing and bobbing his head.

 Elijah LOVES to read just like his mama!

 He will sit for long periods of time opening his books and looking.

 The doggies are his favorite page!  Just now he was fussing and I asked him where his doggies were.  He crawled over to his book and found them!  Coincidence?  Maybe, but it sure was cute!

 Look at that little pointer finger!!

 This is Elijah's spot when Daddy is mowing the lawn.  He stands there and watches, occasionally pounding on the window and shouting to get Daddy's attention.  Thankfully Daddy has learned to watch and will wave once in a while, making Elijah's day!

 Tippy toes!

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Southern-Style Oven-Fried Chicken



We tried this chicken last night and it was delicious!!  It was super easy and quick to put together too.  I was impressed with how crunchy the breading was.  We will definitely be having it again!!  Enjoy!

Photo by Taste of Home

Ingredients:

2 cups Ritz crackers (about 50)
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 eggs
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut up

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Place a rack in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan; coat the rack with cooking spray.
In a shallow bowl, mix the first seven ingredients. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk eggs. Dip chicken in eggs, then in cracker mixture, patting to help coating adhere. Place on prepared rack. Bake 20 minutes. Turn chicken; bake 15-25 minutes longer or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. Yield: 6 servings.

Taste of Home Magazine June/July 2014, page 67

10 Months

We've been spending more and more time playing outside.  Elijah loves playing in water!

(If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see the tooth better)

At 10 months he:
-is still crawling everywhere
-can crawl to the top of the steps
-is crawling on top of whatever he can (thankfully that's not to many things just yet)
-gives high 5's
-loves to clap his hands
-loves to play peek-a-boo (he holds up his blanket and covers his face, than yanks it down quick and waits for you to say "boo"
-is eating MUCH better! 
-has TWO teeth poking through
-has not been sleeping as well (I'm guessing because of his teeth, at least I'm hoping that's the issue)
-loves reading books
-loves playing in the swimming pool
-loves banging on the lid to the toilet and crawls into the bathroom as fast as he can
-loves playing on the bed or couch
-loves his Daddy and cries when he leaves the room
-mimics us (he pretends to cough when we do)
-thinks it's funny when he or I sneeze.
We have really enjoyed watching Elijah's personality come out these last couple of months.  He has been a delight!

Water fun inside

Some days I think Elijah gets bored with his toys.  One day when it was too cool to get in the swimming pool outside, we brought the water inside.  I duct taped one of my Tupperware containers down to the table and filled it with some colored water.  I spread a towel out on the floor to catch the splashing and away we went.  He really seemed to enjoy it and it kept him busy for a good 30 minutes.

 He loves that whisk.

His scrunchy face. :)

Catching Up

Some of these pictures are from before Christmas that I just never got posted.

 Wyatt loves to "hold" Elijah

 An ornery grin

 He loves playing outside

 He crinkles his nose all the time

 Wyatt showing him how to drive the bobcat

 Grandpa and 3 of his great grandchildren on Easter Sunday

 Playing outside Mother's Day weekend

 Elijah's start to an evening at the lake

 Cousin Tristyn, the best babysitter around.  (Elijah LOVES sticks!)

 They played in the sand forever

Mowing the lawn with Daddy.  He about fell asleep.

8 Months

Our little Elijah Lee is growing up too fast!  He turned 8 months old in April, so hard to believe!  He was very uninterested in pictures and very interested in my camera.

 He was getting ready to bolt.

 He loved standing!

I gave him Justin's old cell phone.  He thought he was pretty big stuff!



At 8 months he:
-is crawling, crawling, crawling-quickly!
-is a pro at getting up and down
-loves to stand at chairs, coffee tables, and toilets and bang on the top
-tries to crawl up the stairs (He's made it to the third one)
-is not eating solids so well these days
-is consistently getting up only once at night (yay for sleep!!)
-is picking up his Cheerio's and putting them in his mouth (with his left hand!)
-tries to get our attention if we aren't "listening" to him and thinks we should be
-gets very upset if we take away a toy he is playing with
-is still toothless
-is still a Mama's boy, but LOVES when Daddy gets home
-is getting better at responding to "no"
-loves drinking water from his Sippy cup
-has drank from Daddy's cup a couple of times
-sat on Daddy's lap and got his hair trimmed "for real" around the ears by Grandma
-usually says "dadadadada", but occasionally sneaks in a "mamamama"
-is getting better at listening to books
-waves "hi" and occasionally "bye"
-is currently tantalizing Emma as she tries to nap

7 Months

Elijah is getting harder and harder to photograph these days, especially when he's on the sofa. 

 He nearly crawled off several times,

 so we moved to the floor and I gave him a toy.

 He's such a silly boy

 Once again he was trying to make a break for it.

 

I had to add this picture.  He was enjoying some peaches for a snack so I thought I'd take a few pictures.  When I looked back over them this picture kind of scared me.  I saw a glimpse of a "little boy" instead of just baby. 

 

At seven months he:

- is crawling where ever he can

- pulls himself up on the sofa, coffee table, or whatever is close by

- is learning how to get back down to his knees from the standing position

- is eating all kinds of veggies and fruit

- is eating puffs (and a cheerio once in a while)

- loves to "talk"

- says "dadadadada"

- scrunches up his nose

- is a Mama's boy

- is still not sleeping all night long (we seem to go in spurts)

- loves the dogs and will look for them if I ask him where they are

- is still very serious in public

- is afraid of strangers

- is toothless (the little tooth I had felt went back down)

- tries to grab all things electronic

- loves to look outside and play outside (we can't wait for it to warm up!!!)

- is learning what "no, no" means

- has had his Mama trim the hair around his ears twice.



Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Pistachio Cake

I found this cake recipe awhile back on Pinterest and made it with the intention of posting the recipe right before St. Patrick's day.  I'm a few days late, but thought I'd share it anyway.  The pudding mix in the cake makes for a very moist cake!  There is just enough pistachio flavor without it being too much.  It was a very delicious recipe that I'm embarrassed to say, Justin and I finished off way sooner than we should have.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the Cake

1 box vanilla, white or yellow cake mix

1 (3.4 oz) box instant pistachio pudding

3 eggs

1 cup oil

1 cup milk

green food coloring (optional)

For the Frosting

1 (3.4 oz) box instant pistachio pudding

1/2 cup milk

1 (8oz) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

green food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray

In a medium bowl, combine dry cake mix with dry instant pistachio pudding.  Mix those together until combined.

Add in eggs, oil and milk.

Stir just until combined.

Add 6 to 8 drops of green food coloring, stir until it is totally incorporated.

Pour into prepared baking dish.

Bake for about 25 to 20 minutes.

(The cake will look brown when you remove it from the oven.  It will be green on the inside)

Allow cake to cool completely before making the frosting.

Frosting:

Put the instant pistachio pudding mix into a mixing bowl and add in 1/2 cup cold milk.  

Stir until combined.

Stir in the thawed whipped topping. 

Add about 5 drops of green food coloring.

Spread frosting onto cooled cake.  

If you like, sprinkle with some crushed pistachios.  This cake needs to be kept refrigerated.  

Original recipe came from The Country Cook.

Ready for Spring

Last Sunday Justin played disc golf with his buddies after church so Elijah and I stuck around and played in the park.  He had never been in a park swing, but was all smiles.

We played on the blanket in the sun for awhile as well.

 His hat is a little big and slides down over his eyes often.

It was a beautiful day and really gave us spring fever!