Happy 10 Months Troy!

Every month seems to fly by faster than the month before! I cannot believe you are already 10 months old . . . so close to a year already!

Your personality really continues to grow! It amazes me how much difference I can already see between your personality and Ella’s personality. You are both so precious in your own way!

You love being outside (even though it really hot outside!). In fact, you can be incredibly sad and tired (to the point of crying), and we can take you outside and you’ll instantly calm down. You love for your daddy to swing you and throw you up in the air. You are pretty funny when your dad throws you up because you curl up almost in a ball on the way back down!

You love Ella, and I love watching y’all interact. You aren’t too happy if she takes your toy away (we’re working on that on her part), but she almost always brings a smile to your face.

You still inchworm around, and it is so funny to watch! You don’t try to crawl in a traditional manner – you just inchworm/bellyflop. You are getting really fast though, and you love to explore. I think you must have good eyesight because you are constantly going after the little leaf or stick on the ground to put it in your mouth. Your legs are getting stronger everyday, and I’m already making bets that you’ll walk before Ella did (she didn’t walk until she was 14 1/2 months old).

 

You finally started sleeping through the night this month, and you have also been taking more consistent naps. It sure has been nice! ; ) You still aren’t fond of the car, although sometimes you’ll be happy if you have a toy. I’m really hoping you get past your car issues soon. It makes trips (long or short), pretty miserable at times.

You have been loving swimming. The first time we put you in the pool, you immediately flopped onto your belly and tried to crawl (except you were almost underwater!). You did that several more times after we kept sitting you up! It was pretty funny. You love to splash and play with Ella in the pool.

 

You went to your first Family Bible School this month. You did pretty well even though most of the classes started about the time you like to be in bed when we’re at the house!

 

I haven’t gotten a good photo of it yet (I’m determined to get one!), but you have the cheesiest smile at times. It cracks me up! You also love to screech when you get excited or happy about something.

 

Troy @ 9 Months

Photo Challenges

Summertime @ The Paper Mama:

 

Hair @ The Trendy Treehouse:

 

Menu Planning Monday

• Taco Soup
• Pasta with meat sauce
• Chicken Fried Rice
• Tamale Pies (we ended up making this crock-pot cream cheese chicken recipe last week instead of the tamale pies)

As one of our sides last week, I made this “Best Broccoli of Your Life,” but also added in carrots to roast with the broccoli. I love how the broccoli and carrots roasted up in the oven, and it was very easy to make. I will definitely make it again!

 

Last week I also made these s’mores cookies, except I didn’t bake the cookie dough on the graham crackers. The cookies were delicious – I would actually make the batter for just plain chocolate chip cookies. A word of warning though, rather than mixing the marshmallows into the dough, I’d stick a few on top of each ball of cookie dough right before you put them in the oven. If the marshmallows were in the dough, they had a tendency to seep out and stick to the cookie sheet (because I didn’t cook the dough on the graham crackers). An added bonus to putting the marshmallows on top is that you get that golden brown s’more marshmallow goodness on top of every cookie!

I Heart Faces: Water

 

“I already did it! I already said it!”

Lately Ella has been adamant that once she has done something she’s not going to do it again or once she’s said something she isn’t going to say it again. For example, we’ll ask Ella to repeat a word that she’s learning for the first time, and she doesn’t want to repeat it because she thinks she’s already said it correctly. The words “I already did it!” and “I already said it!” are commonplace around our house lately.

 

I’ll admit that her attitude has been a bit frustrating to me. I have to remind myself that she is only 2 1/2, and she has so much to learn. It occurred to me that one of the reasons she probably says those things so often to me is because I say them to her. When I tell her for the fifth time to put her shoes on (it is absolutely great that she can do this now, by the way!), I know that I tell her something along the lines of “I already told you to put your shoes on.” Or when she asks for the tenth time in a five minute span what I am doing, I know that I respond with, “I already told you what I am doing.”

I need to have patience with her. I’ve said it before, and I know that as my children get older, I’ll only say and think it more often, but raising children is hard work. I have to be patient, yet firm and steadfast. I have to let her know that I mean business when I tell her to do something, and that it is important for her to obey me, but I have to show her that with a loving and caring attitude. I have to remember that there are times she’ll need to be reminded to do things more than once. After all, don’t we all need to be reminded of things at times? I am humbled when I think of the many things that God reminds us of over and over again in His Word. I am so thankful that God has left us His Word to guide us as Psalm 119:105 states: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”

Photo Challenges

Black and White @ The Paper Mama:

Sweet Shot Tuesday @ My 3 Boybarians:

Edit Me @ My Reflection of Something Photography:

(My edit is first, followed by the original photo)

In Lightroom 3, I cropped a bit, and straightened a tiny bit. I converted the photo to black and white and added a slight split tone.

 

My photo of my husband and Troy was chosen as a favorite last week at The Paper Mama, and my photo of Ella putting money in the piggy banks was chosen for first place last week at The Trendy Treehouse!

I Heart Faces: Props

Ella and her favorite monkey.

 

Menu Planning Monday

I know it has been quite a while since I’ve posted a weekly menu, but hopefully I’ll be posting regularly again! I’m looking forward to trying some new recipes that I’ve found on Pinterest. Are you on Pinterest? I’d love to follow you, or you can follow me.

• Tator Tot Casserole
• Tamale Pies
• Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo
• Beef Enchilada casserole
• Grilled Pizza Pockets

The photo above is a picture of a s’mores pie that my friend made. It is easy to make and yummy: graham cracker crust, layer of chocolate pudding (let sit in the fridge for an hour before adding last layer), and a layer of marshmallow cream toasted briefly under a broiler.

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

Photo Challenges

Sweet @ The Paper Mama:

Share @ The Trendy Treehouse:

 

Sweet Shot @ My 3 Boybarians:

Let’s Talk About Noah

Teaching my children about God’s Word and hiding it in their hearts is one of the most important tasks I have as a parent. There are so many ways to teach and engage children so that they learn God’s Word, and I want to share a video of one way with you. The video is Ella talking to her dad about one of her favorite Bible stories right now: Noah.  We talk about something like this almost every night before Ella goes to bed, and Ella really loves to talk about these different stories and things from the Bible. Teaching children about the Bible doesn’t always require a formal lesson; rather, it can be something as simple as a conversation.

Let's Talk About Noah from Lisa on Vimeo.

Growing Up Too Fast!

People say it all the time, but it is so true – the older I’ve gotten the more quickly time seems to pass. Time seems to pass even more quickly now that I have children. The fact in and of itself that I have children and not just a single child only emphasizes how quickly time passes to me.

Ella amazes me everyday with something she says or does. She’s not a little baby anymore {and hasn’t been for a long time} but as she goes about her daily activities, it is hard to believe that 2 1/2 years ago she was just a little helpless newborn in my arms. In a five minute span yesterday Ella proved just how “grown up” she has become.

By herself, Ella got up from her nap (from her special palette in our bedroom so she doesn’t disturb Troy during his naptime), took off her diaper panties (aka pull-ups – she’s potty trained, but not fully nap- and night-trained), threw her pull-up away, went to the bathroom by herself, got panties out (although she grabbed them from the dirty clothes pile, ha!), got a clip for her hair, put on a “necklace” (my headband, lol), and came into the living room to see me. When she got in the living room she promptly asked me to put the clip in her hair, help her with her panties, and to get her milk out of the fridge for her.  She also got her play phone out, and started acting as though she was calling someone. It is so crazy to me, that 2 1/2 years ago she couldn’t do anything really by herself, and yesterday I’m watching her do all those things (although little things, still amazing to me). Watching her grow up has been such a blessing, and I am looking forward to continuing the journey as her mother.

Happy 9 Months Troy!

Happy 9 months Troy!

You are quite the little boy! You love to stick things in your mouth; in fact, you are constantly searching for something to grab to put in your mouth whether it is grass, Ali’s fur, a straw in one of our drinks, or Ella’s book. You give us a good challenge because we have to make sure everything is out of your reach!

Although you haven’t been that vocal (unless you count crying) up until this point, the month you suddenly decided to babble up a storm. You talk and talk and talk! I am pretty surprised because Ella talks enough for both of you! You said your first word this month: dada! You still haven’t said mama, but you most definitely know who I am! One Sunday you were really vocal during services. Many folks commented on how talkative you were . . . hopefully you weren’t too much of a distraction! The day you turned 9 months old,  you signed “more” for the first time.

You really love your people, and you don’t like when anyone leaves the room (especially me!). The older you have gotten, the more you have enjoyed playing with Ella. Y’all tolerate each other well, especially considering how young you both are. I love watching y’all play and laugh together. Ella loves to go get you up from your naps. When she hears you peeping over the monitor she asks with great enthusiasm “Can I go talk to Troy?” She even brings books into your room to read to you when she goes to get you up.

You love to be outside, and, just like Ella, you can be very sad, but quickly have a mood change when we take you outside. Too bad it is SO hot these days!

You are really little (0th percentile for weight and 5th percentile for height), but the doctor said you are very strong. You are really difficult to hold at times because you are SO wiggly. You might get that from your mom.  

You started crawling this month. You get up on your hand and knees and rock, then lunge forward and belly flop. You have gotten quite fast at your “inchworming” Although you still need assistance to stand, you seem very strong when you hold my fingers to stand or stand in your walker.

Troy inchworming from Lisa on Vimeo.

Troy @ 8 Months

Quarterly Top Five of Ella and Troy