LittleK is 17 months

Wow! LittleK is 17 months old. Where has the time gone?

She is 18.4lbs. Not sure on the height, she was too busy to get her to stay still long enough to get it.

She loves:
Mommy milk, marshmallows, beans, pasta, her sister, daddy among other things.

She can/will:
Give high five (newest accomplishment) drink from a straw, wave hi/bye/night night, will lean in for kisses when you say night night, climb on just about anything, dances to music, use sign language to tell us more, walk while holding your fingers,  can push her stroller like a champ.

What she's working on:
Rolling over(she can, but still struggles a bit), putting objects in containers, stacking objects, and learning consonant sounds.

She's still receiving OT, ST, and play therapy. The developmental pediatrician we were referred to is out on medical leave for an undetermined amount of time so we have been referred to specialists at Children's.

Easter 2014

(Pictures are in reverse order...)

HE IS RISEN!! He is risen from the dead and is alive! 

Easter wouldn't be complete without pictures of the girls in their new dresses. I'm thinking this may be the last year BigK will let me get away with matching dresses. I was only able to get one decent picture of the girls together. BigK wouldn't smile or wouldn't open her eyes. LittleK was busy and on the move. We took these before church, which is good because LittleK's diaper didn't get put on all the way at church before we left and ended up peeing all over her dress, the highchair, and the floor. At lunch. At a restaurant. (At least it was on wood floors.)

C had to work today so no full family pictures. I'll make him reenact it later. HA!

Last night after the egg hunt and pizza, we dyed eggs. Even LittleK got in on the action, which is huge since this dye was sticky, and she is against all things sticky.

Yesterday afternoon, we went to my parents' church for an egg hunt. We had prepared BigK that there may be a lot of kids and that she may only get a couple of eggs. We were pleasantly surprised when both girls came away with a basket full! (Not that we needed 2 baskets full of eggs, but they had fun.)



Yesterday morning, the girls woke up to Easter Bunny surprises. C had to work today so the bunny decided to come early so that he could see the girls.


My parents and I took the girls to the Easter Bunny earlier this week. LittleK did much better than I expected. She wasn't thrilled beyond measure, but she didn't freak out either!

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matt. 28:6

I hope your Easter was blessed!

SUYL- Pasta!

This week over on Kelly's Korner, her Show Us Your Life topic is easy pasta recipes. In this house, pasta is always a favorite! Both Big and Little K can eat their weight in in. C and I enjoy it too. So without further ado, some of our favorite pasta recipes!

Baked Spaghetti:

I used a pack of shredded Parmesan cheese

One jar of my favorite spaghetti sauce

One pound of hamburger meat

Enough spaghetti noodles to feed my family

After I cooked the meat and noodles, I layered my ingredients. I started with sauce, then cheese, then meat, then noodles, and continued until all was layered. Baked at 350 for 15 minutes. We ate it all. BigK even had seconds!

Found this next recipe on Pinterest...where would we be without it?

Cheesy Crock-pot Lasagna, because I LOVE my crock-pot! I use it at least 2x a week, and with me starting work again soon, I'm sure it'll be even more.

What you'll need:

1 lb ground beef

1 jar 24oz spaghetti sauce

15oz ricotta cheese

8oz mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 egg

6 uncooked lasagna noodles(I get the no boil oven ready kind personally)

I also added a package of chopped spinach

What you'll do:

Brown your meat

Add sauce to meat

Mix all the ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp parmesan, egg, and spinach if you decide to use it

Layer meat sauce, noodles(broken to fit), and cheese mixture in the crock-pot

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hrs

Cover with remaining cheese and serve

Original post

So there you have it. Two yummy and simple pasta dishes!

2 weeks

I have accepted a job. A job that will start in 2 weeks. 14 days. An outside of the home job is something that I haven't had since going on bed rest with LittleK, in August 2012.

2 weeks left of being a stay at home mom.
2 weeks left of having no real routine, all though, we've got to get this figured out sooner rather than later!
2 weeks left of being here for LittleK during her therapy sessions. C will take over.

1 week left of nanny-ing the little girl I watch.
1 week my parents will be here.

Then it's back to work. Back to the grind. Back to a set in stone routine.

There have been tears. There will be more. My emotions have been, and probably will be, all over the place since getting the phone call saying the job was mine.

I went back to work after BigK was born, but it was part time. When I went to full time, it was at the same place she was.

This job. This job is full time. Away from my girls. C will have more time with them now. I'm jealous.

Did you know?

Did you know that 1 in 8 babies is a preemie(born before 37 weeks)?
Did you know that adds up to 9.5% of all births, or just over 13 MILLION babies EVERY YEAR?
Did you know that BigK was a preemie? She was born at 34 weeks.

Did you know LittleK tried to start making her appearance at 26 weeks?

Did you know that  76 cents of every dollar raised for the March of Dimes goes to research and programs to help prevent premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality?
Did you know YOU can help? Will you help?

You can go to my page and donate there.

Baby Bunny

Saw this idea on Pinterest and of course since LittleK is sitting up and still little enough, I had to do it!

I found the ears and tail in the dollar section of Target and the sign at WalMart.

Wordless Wednesday- Autism Awareness

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. While we don't know for sure if LittleK has it, the prospect of her having it has opened our eyes to it.

How bed rest changed me...

I was on bed rest with BigK for just over a month, including 4 days in the hospital. With LittleK it was 13 weeks. 13 very long, boring weeks.

(BigK was my bed rest buddy)

Other than family and a FEW very close friends, I can count on one hand the number of people who reached out and helped.

Those 13 weeks, and really the past 16 months has really shown me who really cares. I don't know if that number would change now or not...

Before I was put on bed rest, I had a job. I had [what I thought were] friends. I had self confidence.

I wouldn't trade LittleK to have those back, but it changed my perspective on things.

Don't tell someone you'll bring food and then not. Don't tell someone you'll call and check in and then not. Don't tell them you'll take their older child(ren) to do something and then don't.

They are on bed rest. They won't be going anywhere other than the doctor's office. Call and let them know you're thinking about them. Call and see if you can come over. Pick up their older child(ren). They get bored too, and depending on their age won't understand why mom is home but can't do anything. Bring them food, especially if they have other kids. They are on bed rest for a reason. Standing and cooking for their family, while they probably want to, they probably shouldn't.

When someone is on bed rest, they thrive for human interaction. Before my mom was able to come down to help, I watched 4 seasons of Grey's Anatomy because it was just me and BigK when C was at work.

Check on your friends who are on bed rest!