Random Catch Up

So, I've been missing for awhile - I know. At least from blog land. I find it so much easier these days to pop onto my Pinterest account for a few minutes of delight until Sophia finds me that I'm afraid I've neglected my blog. Here are a few pictures to bring you into the here and now and tie up some loose ends.

I've been spending my days (as usual) with this crazy girl. Her chirppy little cadence and cabbage patch cheeks bring delight to me daily. She currently uses expressions such as, "I'm serious, Mom." and "Can you please keep your voice quiet? I'm on the phone." And  she keeps herself busy aquiring miscellaneous bonks and black eyes by pogo-ing everywhere, including off the toilet right into the side of the bathtub. We have been having a grand time going on shopping sprees at Value Village and Goodwill collecting cheap, yet like new baby clothes and preschooler games such as Hungry Hungry Hippos and Barrel of Monkeys. Life is full and good.

 And here I am at 22 weeks pregnant. I had such good intentions of keeping a bump diary, but this is only the second time I've ended up on the right side of the camera since becoming pregnant. Still, I figure if I can get a picture at least once every 10 weeks it will be somewhat fun to look back on. Although I think we are on the verge of some major growth here in the next month. I have no weird cravings, but am just hungry in general most of the time.

And here are a few shots of the finished patio after it was poured early this Fall. Ben's wheels are already turning on ideas for a patio cover, which will probably be our next all consuming project. But for now I thought I'd better show you a few pictures of how it sits currently since I posted quite a bit on it this summer. 

 

So, there you have it. Now we are somewhat caught up and I can start posting here again. If not, come find me on Pinterest. :)

Amanda

Baby Colton Is Here!

We just got home from visiting Jeff and Andrea and their new baby boy, Colton James! We are all totally in love with this little guy as you might be able to sense after looking at the pictures. We spent the weekend snuggling him, burping him, changing him, swaddling him and doing his favorite little rock and bounce motion until he drifted off to sleep. He is a very content baby and only fusses or cries when he needs something. And my favorite part is how snuggly he is! He loves to be held close and to rest his head in that little space between your chin and chest. I even got to take a nap with him on Saturday. 

Jeff and Andrea are doing really great. They are naturals when it comes to newborn stuff and Andrea did such an amazing job of actually letting everyone help with the baby so she could get the rest she needs to make a recovery. I plan to follow her lead and be much better about that this time around. I know I was giddy with excitement to get so much time with their little man.

 Here he is. Check out those long legs and arms! He's definitely all Acker when it comes to this.

Sophia LOVED holding her Baby Cousin. 

And she was a natural at it!

I was surprised that my high-energy little girl actually set still for chunks of time so she could hold the baby.

See. She could even watch T.V. at the same time.

And here she is. Tiffany herself holding the baby. I think we're alone now.

 And Uncle Ben was sure to get in his turns too. 

Despite his overwhelming popularity we did manage to give him a little bit of space with some time in his swing.

He stretched.

 

He yawned. 

And fell right to sleep.

Sophia and I are planning a trip back to down to see him again in a few weeks. Until then we'll have to make due with the pictures we have I guess. It'll be rough, but it will give us something new to look forward to. 

So, hip hip hooray for new family members! I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this little guy right here on my blog, so stay tuned. :)

Ultrasound Pictures

Here are the ultrasound pictures I promised. I know if you've seen one ultrasound picture you've seen them all, unless you are the Momma, Grandma or Aunt. So thanks to all the rest of you for playing along. :)

Ultrasound News

Unfortunately I do not have pictures in electronic format yet, but I did have my ultrasound today and it was very cool. They wanted to verify how far along I am and guess what?! I will be 13 weeks along as of this Wednesday, which is almost two weeks farther along than I thought I was. The hills are alive with the sound of music! I'm all for shortcuts when it comes to my first trimester, which will be officially over as of Wednesday. :) They gave me an adjusted due date of March 29th, which is also my Dad's birthday so I am all smiles about that. 

The baby looked great; so much more developed than I expected. The baby is 2-1/2 inches from head to rump now, about the size of a peach. It was really fun to see the little peanut jump around in there and the ultrasound tech said everything looked very good.

12-1/2 weeks

Here's the first of my baby bump chronicling. I didn't do this when I was pregnant with Sophia and I have regretted it. All of my pants are pretty uncomfortable and some shirts too, so I figured I was looking pretty obviously pregnant, but I think after looking at this picture not so much. Just a little thick in the middle. Big thanks to Miss Jenny for her retired pregnancy wardrobe that still has plenty of good mileage on it for me. The jeans are already coming in very handy.

So, I'll keep working on trying to get those ultrasound pictures up. I have an old scanner, I just have to hook it up and figure out how it works, but you're worth it!

New Developments

There is something I need to tell you, but I don't know how. Maybe you can guess?

• For once in my life Beyonce and I have something in common. 
• I now buy convenience foods like Eggo Waffles and Hot Pockets.
• I should start a load of laundry in the wee early morning hours, when I am almost always up peeing and/or eating peanut butter.

What do you think? Need a few more? Okay.

• Me and protein - we're really tight. 
• I bought Ben some really cozy looking long-sleeved shirts for Fall/Winter and I have plans to borrow them. 
• My flowers are all dead, except the Zinnias. Zinnias are really resilient little flowers you know. Plant them and don't water them for two weeks and they are still going strong. 

Well now, I'm sure you've guessed. Maybe you already knew. It just seemed like I needed to say it officially, so here ya go.

All joking aside, it is with excitement and joy that I tell you we are expecting a new family member sometime in early April. I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday where I heard a good, strong heart beat and they have me scheduled for an ultra sound on Monday. I am 11 weeks as of tomorrow. Food and I are starting to be friends again and my energy level is starting to rebound.

My fingers are crossed that they will give me the ultrasound pics on a disc next week so I can post them here for you to see. Until then!

Whistle While We Work

 I am a rainy day blogger, as you have probably noticed. Like most of you we try to fit as much as possible into our summers, which leaves me no time for blogging but lots of good material to blog about. Hopefully this post begins a slow trickle of highlights from our summer for grandmas and aunts and friends.

I am happy to report the patio project is steadily moving forward now. Ben and I decided we would not turn down opportunities to have fun and be outside recreating this summer just to finish up the patio. Summer is way too short around here and we do the best we can to protect these golden days. So for the bulk of the summer our backyard resembled an abandoned construction zone. But in the spirit of a true worker bee, Benj managed to do whatever he could after work and the few weekends we were actually home and ladies, I am happy to report we will be standing on our new patio within the next few weeks!

 

Two weeks ago Ben ordered two dump truck loads of gravel and had them dumped in front of our house. There's something about raw materials; the men of the neighborhood all came out with glassy looks in their eyes to give their grunts of approval. 

 

And I'm sure you guessed we would find some way to involve heavy equipment, right. Right! I am just as much of an advocate for machinery as Ben because it gets the same job done in a fraction of the time with ease and even a little fun. I loved looking out the window at Ben "working". He couldn't quite keep that wild little boy smile off his face as he ripped around our yard transferring gravel from the front to the back. 

As you can see Baby Doll got to help. 

 

Hi-Ho! Hi-Ho!

 It's off to work we go!

 Benj was going to use pavers, but after much debate we have decided to go with an exposed aggregate concrete. Which means something very beautiful ladies; we are going to hire someone to come in and finish it out and within a day or two of the pour we will be enjoying our new patio! Amen!

Stay tuned for new developments!

Images of Summer

Our summer is off the a shot gun start. Here's an update in pictures to show you what has been keeping us from blogging lately.

My new wheels courtesy of Benj on my birthday.

All my brothers and sisters and family friend Laurel at my Dad's for a Father's Day BBQ.

My big sister Lynda and me shopping around in Leavenworth on my birthday.

Funny hats.

Mom and Burdy at Dry Falls on the way home from camping at Banks Lake.

Three of a kind.

Sophia throwing rocks into the lake with Aunt Lou. (aka Lynda)

My Grandpa Baskin taking us fishing.

The Metolious Fish Hatchery.

One cute boy trying his luck on Banks Lake.

Coulee Dam and Coffee. Oh yeah!

Feeding the fish.

A good little tent camper.

Just looking cute.

Sophia trying on a diving suit at Coulee Dam Museum.

Now we are home and resting up after all that fun. It's always good to get back home and I am so thankful for that.

For the record, I was the poor, mislead Thompson who embraced the idea of not covering our new patio. I would love to allow as much light as is possible into the house, but I can't argue with the Oregon rain that would keep us from enjoying the patio most months out of the year. So we are charging ahead with the idea of covering the patio. The patio project looks pretty much the same as it did in my last post as Ben and I decided not to let a project get in the way of summer adventures. However he did mention his next step will be removing the old patio cover. I'll be sure to post a picture when that happens. Thanks for all your input and ideas. They really help me to look at things from all angles, so keep it coming!

Happy Summer!

The Sequal...

Today Ben rented a sod cutter! It was fun watching the machine take him for a ride. Sorry I didn't think to get pictures of that. Here you can see the outline for the new expanded patio area. We will have to hold off on my favorite step in this project which involves removing the long since expired patio cover (aka leaf and debris catcher) until we can count on drier weather.

Maybe you could chime in on a little friendly debate Ben and I are having. One of us thinks the patio cover should be replaced, using much nicer materials and craftsman ship, of course and the other one of us thinks the patio will be shaded enough by the big tree in the back yard that we don't need the patio cover blocking light and obstructing views. I won't tell you which side of the discussion represents my opinion so when you all comment about how you totally agree with my position it will be more convincing to Mister Man. Okay girls - don't leave me hangin'.

MWA!








Ten-four good buddies!

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch...

Well folks....

Ben has been renting tools.

Here we go again.

Destruction an mayhem.

And one very dusty and sweaty boy.

To be continued....

Five On Friday: My Favorite Food Blogs (Right Now)

I don't know who started the idea of posting your five favorite whatevers on Fridays, but I like it! I've been locked up indoors with my kitchen a lot lately, so cooking and food are keeping my hands busy for now. Here are five fun cooking and baking blogs and a few recipes from each that got my taste buds going.

1.) Elly Says Opa!:

Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos with Avocado and Fresh Cheese -Slow Cooker Meal

Photo Credit: Elly Says Opa!

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef for Tacos (or Burritos, or Nachos, or Tostados) - I love being able to smell dinner cooking from the garage when I get home.

Photo Credit: Elly Says Opa!

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo - Jess, this reminds me of Albondigas with with scoop of rice in it.

Photo Credit: Elly Says Opa!

2.) Annie Eats: Sadly, I could not get you pictures for these ones. But just check out the links, k? Totally fun blog.

Queso Blanco Dip - Party food!

Mini Meatball Sliders with Basil Pesto Party food!

Tortellini Soup - A tasty way to get your leafy greens.

3.) Steamy Kitchen:

10-minute Thai Shrimp Curry - Dinner real quick!

photo credit: Steamy Kitchen


Roasted Cauliflower with Bacon and Garlic - Cauliflower roasted is something else.

photo credit: Steamy Kitchen

Chinese Broccoli Beef Noodle Stir Fry - Why buy take out?

photo credit: Steamy Kitchen

4.) Joy the Baker:

Strawberry Pineapple Crumble - Me loves your pretty dishes, Joy.

Photo Credit: Joy the Baker

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

Photo Credit: Joy the Baker



Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

Photo Credit: Joy the Baker

5.) Smitten Kitchen:

Meatball Subs with Caramelized Onions -Oh, yes!

photo credit: Smitten Kitchen

Iced Oatmeal Cookies - I've never met a cookie I didn't like.

photo credit: Smitten Kitchen

Crispy Potato Roast - Perfection!

photo credit: Smitten Kitchen

I do need to clarify - I only tried a few of these recipes. This is my recipe wish list and it will probably take me approximately six months to a year to actually make each of these things. I'll let you know how it comes out. ;)

Until then what are your favorite topics to read about on blogs and what are your favorite blogs? If you leave me links I'll be grateful....

Happy Friday (and feasting) to you all!