He's On the Slide

I was working in the kitchen yesterday while Bri was napping. I looked into the living room to see where Hunter was, and guess what I found?


Yep! Hunter had climbed right up the slide which is meant for Brianna and he was just as happy as could be. So of course I ran to get the camera so I could snap some pictures.




Unfortunately, I got the great idea to video him while he was on top of the slide. He was banging his hands and having a grand old time... until he started coming down the slide! My reactions were not the fastest and he did come down like a roly poly! But no worries, as soon as I picked him up he crawled right back up!

Please note, I was not going to post this video because I don't want to be blamed for the heart attacks of grandparents... but Stephen thought I should do it. So if anyone has a heart attack, it's his fault!

No Time!

Okay, I have gotten emails out the rear end about not posting for almost three weeks!! I do realize this is a problem, but I don't have time to post recently! Brianna celebrated her first birthday on Sunday, the 18th so of course we had friends and family over to celebrate. Those are the pictures I'll post here, although I have tons of pictures that are older that I need to post too.

As I am typing this, she is turning on all of her toys (we turn them off overnight) and deciding which one to play with. It makes me so happy that I don't have to turn her toys on for her anymore! What a smart girl.

By the way, I didn't get a chance to take a single picture. Renee was kind enough to take all of these for me - I haven't even seen them until right now. So thank you so much, Renee, for accepting my camera and taking so many pictures!! (I was in charge of the video camera.)

While the pictures are uploading (takes forever), I have to say that Brianna got some amazing things for her birthday!! I can honestly say that every single thing she got is different from any thing else she has here. Claire got her a bunch of musical instruments that fit into a drum. Right now Brianna's favorite instrument is the recorder. I've been trying to record her playing it but every time I break out my camera she reaches for the camera and quits playing!! Her Grandma Betty got her these really cute animal magnets that are so soft! One of Bri's favorite pastimes is playing with the magnets on the fridge, especially while I'm cooking. This was a great gift and Bri has already spent a lot of time playing with them. I think my favorite thing from Aunt Gail was a charm bracelet with her first charm - Noah's Ark! This will be so much fun to add on to each year. My favorite thing from Steve and Kathy is a flower doorknob hanger that is bouncy. I hung it on a doorknob in the living room and Bri will just tug on it and laugh when it bounces up and down! Entertainment for hours! The big hit from Granny and Granddaddy is in several of these pictures - a tall toy that has spirals for balls to roll down. That's not a very good description, but both Bri and Claire played with this toy a lot on Sunday. It's the perfect height for them and they both love it! The thing from Renee et. al that I can't wait to put to use is beach toys!! We are going to the beach a handful of times this summer and this has the shovel, bucket, everything you need to play in the sand. I can't wait to use those with Bri! My favorite gift from Aunt Joy is a gorgeous gold cross necklace. I haven't put it on Bri yet because I'm scared she'll rip it off right now but I can't wait for her to wear it. And Brianna's favorite toy from Grandma and Grandpa is a toy mailbox. I've never seen a toy like this and it makes me laugh so much! She loves this toy and it's one of the ones that is easy to turn on as well which makes it better.

Okay, overloaded much?? Well get ready because the pictures are ready now.

Stephen's birthday

Earlier I talked about wanting to cook something special for Stephen tonight for his birthday dinner. It's one of our favorite meals but I don't think we've even had it since moving back to NC, which is just mindblowing. Actually, if I remember to, I think I'll put the recipe at the end because it's so incredibly easy and DELICIOUS!!! And awesome left over.

Chicken and Pasta

And anyone who's ever been with Stephen on any birthday knows what kind of cake he gets. A cookie cake. Well, we don't have a Great American Cookie Company around here like we do in Georgia, which is where we usually are for his birthday. So I improvised:

Hence, a big fat roll of cookie dough smushed into a circle (kind of):

And then Stephen creatively made his own cookie cake!

Now that's some sugary sweetness! It was deeeeelicious!

Okay, here's the recipe if anyone wants an easy, 30-minute meal.

Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
3-4 chicken breasts
4-5 carrots
1 10-12 oz package of broccoli florets
2-3 cloves of garlic
12 oz angel hair pasta
2/3 cup chicken broth
basil
Parmesan cheese

1. Heat vegetable oil/olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add chicken. Cook for around 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove from skillet and place on paper towels to drain.
2. Keep oil in the skillet. Begin heating the water for the pasta. Add carrot to skillet, cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add broccoli and garlic to skillet, cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions. Add chicken broth, basil and Parmesan to skillet. I use just enough basil to cover the top of everything - no more than 1 or 2 teaspoons. Parmesan I just shake over everything, stir, and shake again. You'll probably add more when you put the pasta on your plate anyway. Stir, put the chicken back in the skillet, stir again. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes.
4. Drain pasta. Or if you're like me, don't. You can place the pasta in a serving bowl and put the chicken mixture on top, or keep them separate and mix them yourself. I keep them separate because it's less dirty dishes.

YUM!!!

25 years ago today...

Stephen entered this world!

I hope I have the energy to cook something special for him tonight! I have something in mind, I'll just have to see if we have time for it. I can't say anything on here because once every 6 months he checks this blog, and with my luck it would be today. I'll take pictures if I get to do anything for him.

I love you honey!! Happy 25th birthday!

*Any old person jokes I could make at this point wouldn't even be funny because I'm six months older than he is. Drat!*