Indoor Fun

I've been trying to do something fun and creative with Greyson on the cold days when we don't go anywhere. He can get a bit crazy at home, so little activities go a long way.

I was pretty proud of myself on this one. He loves taking a bath and so I thought he would like giving his animals a bath. He loved it! I think this lasted about 45 minutes (which by toddler standards is amazing). One thing to note for the next time we do this is to not use Little People Animals. We had a bugger of a time getting all the water out of them.



I saw this activity on Pinterest. I thought he would love it since he loves fine motor things. It wasn't a hit, but it might have just been the day.



We just painted in these next ones. He got paint brushes for Christmas and he loves them. Definitely a good activity for the cold days.

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2009

Serves 4

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Hot sauce, optional

Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and slaw.

I made these last Wednesday, and then again on Friday and Saturday. Lol. It was a combination of really liking them and also having nothing in the house. Definitely a keeper.

This picture is Greyson eating the whole wheat chocolate muffins that we made. The muffin recipe didn't make my cut, but he seemed to like it. =)

Our Very Merry Christmas's

24 Months

You weigh 26 pounds. I can't believe that you are finally out of the 5th percentile in weight. I have a chunky baby - 25th percentile!!!! Crazy! You are in the 50th percentile in both height and head circumference.

As you can tell by the weight growth, you love to eat. =) You still won't eat pickles, but most everything else is fair game.

You still sleep 12 hours consistently at night. You sleep about an hour and half during the day. I cherish your nap times.

You are wearing 24 month shirts. Pants are a bit harder. You need 18 months in the waist, but sometimes they are too short. I finally got you a new pair of jeans yesterday and they were 18 month Levis (Skinny version). The skinny pants fit you much better than regular fit. We went up a size in shoe. You scored this week by getting new shoes as well as jeans. We splurged a bit and got you Toms. They are so cute!

You wear a size 4 diaper during the day and a size 4 overnight diaper at night.

You love to do all kinds of things. You love to watch Barney, play with trains, drive the tractor/boat/car/etc., and "tackle" Daddy.


First time trying bubbles in the bath. You were scared of them at first. It took about five minutes for you to warm up to them, but you are in love with them now.


You were scared to death of Santa. No amount of talking to you when get you to sit on his lap. We had to finally take a family Santa picture (which turned out horrible). =)

Playing at Jumpin Joey's with Daddy

You loved coloring the Santa and then gluing his "beard" on.


Your cars had a race day the other day. We had spectators and everything. You loved it.

Happy 2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday little one. I can't believe how fast two years' has gone. Every phase you have gone through has been better and more fun than the last. I loved cuddling you as a baby, seeing you crawl and hearing your first words. But, I love your capacity to love, pretend play and talk more than I have loved anything yet. You give out hugs and kisses all the time. Whether its getting up in the morning and giving me a hug and kiss or just randomly through out the day; you do it all the time. I love when I am randomly the recipient of these special moments. They are the highlight of my days. You sure do know how to make your Mommy and Daddy feel special. I hope we make you feel as special as you make us feel.

I love how you play. I love the thought process that goes in to moving your cars around or pouring me pretend coffee. Its amazing to see the wheels turning in your head. To see the world how you see it. I love how you get in your car but before you leave, you get out of it and come give me a hug and kiss and tell me bye-bye. I love how you drive the bus around the room, but the people have to be sitting in the seats. I love how you get angry at yourself or the bus if you accidentally hit it and the people fall out of the seats.

I love the words you put together. I love how we are driving down the street and you say "Red light" or "big bus" or "green light go". Some of the word combinations you come up with are just amazing. I am constantly amazed at how smart you are. The way you think to say things or the fact that you are thinking about some things in general always amazes me.

Happy 2nd Birthday! Love you!!


(not at all a Birthday picture, but just one of my favorite pictures of you and I)

Annual Chiefs Game

I'm a bit late in posting about this, but better late than never. Last month, we all went to our annual Chiefs game. Greyson has now been every year since he was born (lol - 2) and we hope to continue the tradition. The Chiefs played the Broncos....Tebow did what he does and we lost. =(

Greyson actually did better than we all thought. He watched the game and ate fruit snacks through the first quarter. He went "night night" or tried to on the ground of the stadium with the blanket. You can all guess how well that worked. =) By the second part of the second quarter he was pretty restless. The whole last half, we pretty much walked the breeze ways. The good part is that I think it will only get better going forward.

Lots of people thought his hat was great. I even had someone proposition me to make more to sell. I'm thinking about making myself one for next year. Better yet, maybe all of us should wear them. That would be pretty funny.