tom's a blogger, too

recently, tom has been invited to be apart of the blog, www.twoinstitutions.org. it was started by two gentlemen that tom and i had the priviledge of meeting at providence baptist church in raleigh, nc, mike hall and blake hickman. this website is chocked full of resources to help individuals support the family and the church, the two institutions ordained by God to produce spiritually mature men and women. check it out, i think that you will find it encouraging.

playdate

caleb and i had our first playdate this morning! i know, i know, good mommies would have organized playdates before now, but we've just been trying to keep our heads above water in a new city every year...ha! paula was kind enough to have 4 mommies and 4 boys (ages 9 months thru 20 months) in her home for lunch and a little playtime afterwards. the boys all seemed to have a good time...and i know that this mommy did, too. i've included some pics. the cast of characters includes, ethan (he's the oldest and showed everybody the ropes), caleb, baylor, and blaine(they're the incredibly cute twins).

sneaky food

i love to cook and recently, i have started expanding my repitoire. with my birthday money, i purchased a food processor and a cookbook entitled "The Sneaky Chef." the basic premise is to learn how to incorporate healthful foods into the foods kids love without them being able to detect a difference. because as adults and kids both know, mac and cheese sure tastes good, but has very little nutritional value. that is, until you add some pureed cauliflower to the cheese sauce. i've tried several recipes and have had good success. the tricky taco soup, breakfast cookies (the texture is more like a muffin top-yum!), and quick fixes for brownie mix are spot on. i'm going to have to tinker with the mac and cheese recipe though, i didn't find it gooey enough for my liking. i will still serve vegetables au naturale, however, if i can eat fruit in my brownies (and still have them taste like brownies), then make an extra batch b/c i want to be healthy :)

snow day!!!

friday night, we got about 3 inches of snow in nashville...and saturday morning, caleb got to go outside and "play." i use the term play loosely because when you're just learning to walk and have neither waterproof boots, nor gloves, there's not too much that you can do. despite his lack of proper attire, he seemed to really enjoy walking around. in case you were wondering, those are socks on his hands...and yes, they are navy to match his jacket. caleb will be sooooo embarassed one day :)

professional family pics

we got our first official family pics made 2 weeks ago. caleb did a great job. he definitely hammed it up for the camera...wonder where he got that trait?!? after seeing these pictures, we think that you'll agree that he is the cutest 1 year old--EVER!!!

everyday moments

since i am a complete slacker when it comes to taking holiday pictures (case and point, it is february 20th and i don't have pics of any of our valentine's day presents), i hope that this post will fill the void. is it horrible to stage holiday pics after the actual holiday has passed? hmmm, i think not...especially when dealing with a 1 yr. old. holidays are hectic and sometimes "weird" for them. why force them to look at the camera and smile if they are already missing their nap time?!? take the action shots the day of and save the posed pics for another day, complete with appropriate attire...at least until caleb is old enough to know the difference :) so, i hope you enjoy the everyday moments.

28

friday was my birthday and i officially turned 28. it's hard to believe that i'm 28 years old...i always used to think that grown-ups were 28...guess i was wrong. for anyone who knows me, they know that i really to celebrate my birthday. in fact, i claim the entire month as "my birthday." in keeping with that tradition, we ate at the cheesecake factory TWICE this weekend. i'm ashamed to admit it...not really...and yes, i had two pieces of cheesecake...all to myself-yummy!!! on to the important things...the presents! tom got me a new marmot fleece. i was really excited since it has been about two years since i've had one. my mom and dad got me an iron and ironing board. not too exciting, but very practical and very needed. i hate to iron, but since i'm a "grown-up," i kinda have to...tom and caleb's dress shirts look much better now! adam even got me a present (i like the fact that he has a job). he got me some perfume and the most excellent card. on the front, a little girl is feeding her baby brother a bottle telling him that after that, it was going to be time to eat dirt. adam was kind enough to add his own commentary in the card stating that maybe the sister should color on the table and blame it on the little brother next. i can't believe that he's still bitter about me getting him in trouble after all these years...j/k!!!! it was a great birthday and a big thanks to all who gave their best wishes!!!