Yikes!

 I was headed back to the house after hanging some diapers on the line when I nearly stepped on this friendly fellow in my flip flops.   The black garden hose was laying there and I've stepped over it numerous times.  I don't know what made me look down today, but I'm sure glad I did.

 He stayed frozen just like he is here while I ran in, grabbed my camera, and came back out to take some pictures.  I'm curious if snakes carry a scent.  Both dogs were prancing around as I was trying to get a good shot.  They nearly stepped on him a couple of times not realizing he was laying there.  Had it been a bunny, or some other critter, they both would have been all over it. 

2 Months

Monday Little Elijah Lee was 2 months old.  It's so hard to believe that it's already been 2 months.  Part of me feels like we just brought him home from the hospital last week and are still trying to adjust, and part of me feels like he's been part of our family forever.  

He is smiling all the time these days and still working on trying to find his voice.  If he's not sucking on his pacifier, he has his fist in his mouth and is drooling all over the place.  There have been a couple of days I've put a bib on him just to keep his shirt from getting soaked.  He's been sleeping anywhere from 3 to 5 hours a time at night.  The first stretch is usually the longest one and after that it's usually 3 or 4 hours at a time.

I thought it would be fun to see how much Elijah has changed, and was surprised to see that Wyatt had too.

This was taken the day Elijah was born.

These were about 2 weeks ago when we were home.

I have to say Elijah looks slightly terrified in the first picture.

Then he relaxed and realized it was just his little buddy that was holding him.  I have a feeling these two are going to be pretty good friends.  I see a lot of fun, ornery filled days in their future.

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Chocolate Peanut Butter Croissants

One night we made cherry turnovers using cherry pie filling and crescent rolls. My ratio of cherry filling and crescent rolls did not come out right leaving me with extra rolls. I had seen this chocolate peanut butter idea on Pinterest and tried it with the left over crescent rolls.  They were delicious!!  

Ingredients: 
1 tube crescent rolls 
Peanut butter
Chocolate chips (I used semi sweet)

Directions:
Unroll crescent rolls and spread peanut butter over each triangle.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over the peanut butter.  Roll up the crescent rolls the same way you would if you were just making plain rolls.  Bake according to the package directions.   

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Marinated Chicken Wings

Justin found this recipe in my Taste of Home magazine.  It was very easy and quick to throw together.  The hardest part was remembering to marinate the wings the night before.  Instead of using the crock pot, we put them in the oven at 375 degrees to give them a crispier skin.  We really liked the flavor of these wings compared to some we have had.  Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

20 whole chicken wings (about 4 pounds)

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white wine or reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon sugar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

Cut chicken wings into three sections; discard wing tips. 

Place wings in a large resealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients until blended. 

Add to chicken; seal bag and turn to coat. 

Refrigerate overnight.

Transfer chicken and marinade to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low 3-4 hours or until chicken is tender. Using tongs, remove wings to a serving plate. Yield: 20 servings.

Happy Happy Happy

Mr. Elijah woke up from his nap today in a happy mood.

 

I laid him on our bed to try and get some pictures.

He never knows what to think of the camera at first.

His little legs and arms were going 100 miles per hour.

He's been working on finding his hands and his voice.  He kept making a little squealing noise today.

And then he was done.  He realized that he was hungry and it was past his dinner time.

Who can resist a happy little baby bottom!

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping and Brown Sugar Glaze

This coffee cake is delicious!!  I once again found the recipe on Pinterest and hadn't made it because I didn't have any Greek yogurt.  Instead of buying Greek yogurt I decided to substitute sour cream.  It was amazingly moist!  I will definitely be making this again!! Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Greek yogurt

For the crumb topping:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the brown sugar glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
To make the crumb topping, combine sugars, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in melted butter. Add flour and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Spread out mixture on parchment paper to dry until ready to use.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Beat in vanilla until well combined.
With the mixer on low speed, add Greek yogurt and dry ingredients alternately in 3 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.
Scoop the batter evenly into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with reserved topping, using your fingertips to gently press the crumbs into the batter.
Place into oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
To make the glaze, combine brown sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons water. Whisk until smooth.
When the cake is done, cool for 10 minutes and drizzle the glaze evenly over the top.

Serve warm.

Original site

The past couple of weeks

I finally got a few pictures taken of Elijah the last couple of weeks.  He was smiling so good for me and I decided to get out the camera.  As soon as he saw it, this was the face he gave me.

I called Justin over and ask him to start talking to Eli in hopes he would grin again.  He gave his daddy a great smile!

A friend of ours is very talented and made Elijah a couple of hats.  Since K-State played today, and it was finally cool enough, he was able to wear his football hat.

Justin asked her to make Eli a lumberjack hat.

You can tell that Elijah is not quite a fan.

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Smores Snack Mix

Smores are something we enjoy all summer long around the campfire.  I was looking for a yummy and easy snack to make for one of our Bible studies and found this one on Pinterest.  It was super easy to make and very tasty, however, the cereal did get stale because of the moisture in the marshmallows very quick.  I would make it the day of so that it's still fresh when you want to enjoy it. 

Ingredients 
12 oz box Golden Grahams Cereal 
12 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips 
10.5 oz bag of marshmallows
12 oz can salted peanuts 

Instructions 
In a very large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container. 

Original post here.