More T-Ball

Here's a few new pictures from Kennedie's t-ball game last week. Each week she gets better and better...her favorite part is still the snacks after the game!

Mr. Fix-It

I woke up this morning to the sound of 'click, click, click' coming from Colton's room. It took me a second to figure out exactly what it was. It was one of the many tools he sleeps with everynight! Here's one from a few weeks ago...

And one from a few months ago!
He is such a routine baby (yes, even at 29 pounds and 2 years old...he IS still and always will be, my BABY) that everything has to be in it's place when I put him down. Manny to his right, tools just above Manny, blanket in his grip, drink, bubbles on his little aquarium on...check, check, check, check, check! I never knew that when I married James, I would one day love another man! This little guy just melts my heart!

My Little Man

I was looking at my not-so-baby baby tonight. He is just a little man! I know, that's a bit much, but really! He's just turning into this adorable little boy. Where did my baby go?! So, I was feeling a little nostalgic and watched some of our old videos. And here you go...
We were trying to get Colton to use his signs (since words were still a few months away). He was getting so frustrated trying to get the lid off of their little milk carton (and check out his little temper!)...

Yum-O Recipes!

I mentioned on my blog last week that I made this great crockpot chicken (K calls it a slow cooker, thanks to her idol Paula Deen) that Kennedie LOVES! She is such a picky eater, it's really quite embarassing. So when I do find something that she'll eat, I'm over the moon excited! Several of you asked for the recipe, so rather than email it out over and over, I thought I'd post it here. (And by the way, this is a recipe I found the morning I was taking my sweet friend Jamie dinner. She had recently had her 2nd baby, sweet Miss M, and I wanted to try to use ingredients that I already had because there was no time for a trip to the store.) So here you go!

Ranch Chicken
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use fewer, since only 3 of us are eating this)
1 can cream of chicken
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp ranch dressing
2 Tbsp flour

Spray crock pot (slow cooker...ha! It REALLY does make me laugh every time! Love that kid!) with Pam. Place chicken in crock pot. In a small bowl, combine soup, ranch dressing mix, and water; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Remove chicken from crock pot. Stir in sour cream, ranch dressing and flour; replace chicken. Cover and cook on high for 20 minutes.

*We used the leftover chicken for chicken soft tacos the next night and they were DELISH!

And because I'm feeling so generous, here's another new one I just tried. =) And, because I'm just sweet like that! Ha!

Peanut Butter Clusters
2 cups peanut butter chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 dry roasted peanuts
1 cup crushed Ruffles chips

In bowl, melt peanut butter chips and chocolate chips (1 minute in my microwave was perfect) and stir until smooth. Stir in peanuts and potato chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined sheets. Refrigerate until firm. Store in airtight container.

Let me know what you think and if your kids approved! =)

Trruucks & Water

We have had the BEST weather lately and have been outside so much! Here's a peek at what we've been up to...

Colton James LOVES playing with his "trrruuucks!" He's just recently started lining them up like this and every time I try to snap a picture of it, he's moved on to something else.

I love the way the editing came out on this one!

After we picked up sister from school yesterday, we went straight to the backyard in swimsuits for some sprinkler fun! Kennedie loved it...but did ask me if I could switch the water to warm instead of cold (like in the bathtub)! Love that girl!

We finally coaxed Colton into getting wet by driving his car through it! He said he was washing his trruuuck! It was a little hard for sister to push him on the grass, so he sort of stalled out right in front of the sprinkler...love their faces in this one!

He was much happier splashing in the water table.

Grrrooowwwlllll!!!

I've been meaning to post about this forver now, and I just remembered!

A few weeks ago, we were at Kennedie's tee-ball game. It was super cold, so we were all bundled up. One of the little sisters of Kennedie's team mate's was wearing this blue, furry, fuzzy coat. Colton kept doing this crazy growl and we just all thought he was doing his dinosaur growl. After several growls, we realized that he was growling at the little girl in the furry jacket! I guess he thought she looked like a dinosaur or monster or something! We all laughed so hard when we realized it! (I actually thought about the monster from Monsters Inc...looked just like that...but C hasn't seen that movie yet, so who knows!)

Fries, Phones & Buns!

Well, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind! We registered Kennedie for kindergarten, enrolled Colton in Mother's Day Out in the fall, have dance practice 3 times a week for the upcoming competition, and tee ball games twice a week. Whew! Here's a few shots from the last week or so...

I made crockpot ranch chicken (one of K's new favs) and made my first attempt at sweet potato fries. They were a HIT! My kids are notorious for being picky eaters and I was jumping for joy at the sight of them eating veggies! They were baked, so I consider them healthy, and we'll definitely be having them again! Here's proof that they were eating and enjoying them...

Kennedie really loves talking on the phone. I walked in the living room yesterday and saw this...

She was talking on the phone to her Granny. I have a feeling this may be a peek at what she'll be like as a teenager! Ha!

We're trying to be consistent with the potty training. I'm trying to not push it on him and I know he'll do it when he's ready. I had to sneak this cute shot in...I know they'll both hate me for taking this one day!

I will try ANYTHING to get this boy to stay on the potty and keep trying. Here's proof...yes, that's a harmonica! LOL!

And I also tried keeping him diaper-less for a few hours to see if that would prompt him...

Again, I just couldn't resist these pics. There's not many things cuter than this little bottom!

And, I'm sure I'll hear it from the hubby as well (he doesn't appreciate the naked baby pictures like I do)...but seriously...aren't those the cutest buns you've seen in awhile?

=)

Easter Memories

We had a fantastic Easter filled with wonderful family and priceless memories. Here's 2 sweet pictures...that don't involve any plastic eggs!

My Hero

This Sunday, April 12th, marks one year since my hero came home from Iraq. Just typing those words brings tears to my eyes. The time that he was away from us seemed like an eternity. To think that these pictures are actually a year old just blows my mind. I have been telling James that I wanted to go to the airport to greet and thank the troops that were arriving on this special day. We made plans long ago to be away on Easter, but are still planning on going next week. Anyone who'd like to join us is more than welcome! I think it would be great for Kennedie to see so many heroes coming home. And I want her to realize that even though our hero is home with us, so many more heroes and daddys are still fighting for us. We have 1 friend (and husband and daddy) who is over there fighting right now and know several others who will leave this summer.

I'm an emotional mess! Seeing these pictures brings back so many emotions.

Thank you James, for all that you do. You are our hero and we couldn't be prouder of you. Thank you for fighting to protect us and our freedoms. Thank you for being so brave and honorable. And most of all...thank you for coming home!!! We love you baby!

Kelli, Kennedie & Colton

So our little princess had her 1st tee ball game yesterday! She was a little nervous, but with a little encouragement and a whole lotta bribery, she did GREAT! She hit a single, and ended up making it all the way home. Her team won! She was also super excited that there were snacks afterward! HA! And I stayed true to my promise (er, bribe) to let her have chocolate pudding when we got home...even though she had already had one after dinner...and even though it was 8:30 and bedtime! You do what you gotta do, right?!

The boys {James, Kyle *Apple's man*, and Daddy}

Yes, she IS a prima ballerina! Skip/running home!