Birthday fun!

I had an amazing birthday this year!  I had to work on Friday (which was my actual birthday) and arrived to find that Kyle had left me a boquet of flowers and a balloon- he started my day off so nicely!  I usualy take my birthday off but I had a manager meeting that I had to go to so I had to this year.  It was actually fun working- my assistant manager, Elisabet hung up a fun banner so everyone knew what was going on that day and I got a lot of "Happy Birthdays" thrown my way and the tips were improved too...sweet!!  When I got home, Kyle had me open my gifts.  I can't remember the last time I actually asked for something specific for a gift and this year I have been a bit obsessed with this designer.  Her patterns are so fun, colorful and just pretty!  So I asked for a sewing machine (and Kyle got me one!)and now I can shop at this adorable shop and make way to may cute things for all my friends and family (I can dream, right?) ...just after I get over the intimidation factor that this thing has.  "Parker" got me a stinkin' adorable pair of these UGGS!  by the way, Kyle has said before that he hates Uggs so I know that I am loved :)  After gifts on Friday we went to dinner at Swingin' doors and, another surprise, my sister Monika and her husband Dan were there to eat with us.

 Saturday Kyle and I got up early and grabbed coffee and doughnuts and took Parker to Greenbluff.  This has become my birthday tradition and I intend on kepping it especially now that we have our own little family.  We got some adorable pictures of Parker, picked pumpkins and shopped in all the little craft booths. 

That night we took Parker to his first hockey game with us and Dan and Monika.  Parker had fun waving "Hi" to everyone and he really did watch all the hockey players fly around on the ice- we had fun chattting watching Parker and watching the game too.  Sunday we got to go to church together then run our usual day off errands followed by a bit of football.  My gift to myself was to take Monday off of work so after our crazy busy wekend we spent the day trying to clean the house and relax. 

I had such a great weekend and I am so appreciative to all our friends and family for the well wishes, cards and love.

So long September....On to October!

I LOVE Fall!  This has been a beautiful one and I am very hopefull that it will stay around as long as possible before the "W" word or the "S" word come around.  (Winter and Snow)  September is such a great month- It starts like summer and ends in fall- how can you loose!?  We enjoy the fall and all that comes with it.  The cool, crisp breeze, turning on the heaters for the first time in the house, cozy sweaters (I steal Kyles), the beautiful colors that the trees turn, and eating home made soups for dinner on a regular basis.  I am anticipating October and all that goes with it as well.  We get to celebrate birthdays and go to greenbluff and Halloween is right around the corner too.  Speaking of yummy soups, we had Taco Soup for dinner tonight and it was so good- you have to try this recipe!  It's incredibly easy and makes a ton of soup so it's great for leftovers, large dinners or to freeze for later.  Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:

2lbs hamburger (I like to use turkey burger to cut a few calories- still yummy)
1 large onion
28oz diced can tomatoes
16 oz can pinto beans
16 oz can black beans
16 oz can of kidney beans
14 oz can of corn
1envelope of ranch dressing mix
2 envelopes of taco seasoning
10 oz can of tomato & chiles

Brown burger and chopped onions together.  Add all other ingredients (don't drain any of the canned items)
Add water to desired thickness
Simmer 30-45 minutes
Serve with shredded cheese, totilla strips and sour cream- YUM!

 
~Now for a little brag session....

Parker is now 10 months old and had his 10 month well-check with our new pediatrician on Friday.  His appointment went great.  He is now 22 pounds and 30 inches long which puts him in the 75th percentile for both his height and weight.  He is more and more fun every day!  He is now pulling himself up on everything and crawling around like a pro.  Free standing and walking are soon to come I just know it and honestly, we arent doing much to encourage it yet- he's fast enough on the ground!!  He is eating "big people food" and wants nothing to do with babyfood anymore, drinks (chugs) out of his sippy cup all by himself, says "mama" and is working on "dada", waves hello to everyone, including strangers, "helps" with the dishes, has 4 1/2 teeth, fake laughs to get you to laugh, tries to give you raspberries (they may be kisses but it's hard to tell yet), claps his hands, loves balloons and all animals and has developed quite the little personality!  I can't believe my little baby is growing up so fast! 

I am still trying to do some catching up on my blog so here are a few more pictures from September..

                                                 

Have a FUN fall!!!                

Someday I will blog again.....

I have been trying to get back to blogging for a while now- I am sorry that I have not kept up on this thing. I think that when I get super busy and fall behind on writing a blog about even one event that we have going on I seem to have them pile up and then all of a sudden it's been months and no blog- so again, sorry.
I believe I have not blogged since the end of JUNE! So I will give just a small run-down of what has been keeping us so busy
July-
*Kyle and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and I love that man so much more every day!
*I threw my sister, Monika a super fun bachelorette party
August-
*Monika married Dan after 12 years! They got married out a place called Boyer Park- it was beautiful and so much fun! We went fishing and swimming and hung out at the campfire (I even took the whole week off of work- crazy!)

And now we have come to September- not just September, the middle of September!

I cannot believe that summer is well, let's face it, come and gone already. In the last couple months Parker has also begun crawling and has some new teeth too! He is so much fun and has made life wonderful!
My goal is to keep this thing a little more up to date even if I just toss a little note on every now and then. I like having a bit of a "journal" to keep track of all the fun stuff in our lives and to those of you with a blog too- thanks for sharing!

Our new favorite sound....

Father's Day Festivities

What a great Father's Day weekend!!! We definitely kept the Lewis Family busy over the last few days. To kick off the weekend, we had a great BBQ with my family on Friday. Kyle got to show off his "skills" and made some amazing ribs and his homemade barbecue sauce for everyone. The weather cooperated and we didn't see rain. It did get a little chilly so we broke out some sweaters and still got to hang out and enjoy the patio together. It was the perfect kickoff!

Saturday, Kyle had to work in the beginning of the day so I got to hang out with some of my favorite people- Traci, Chandra and her little girl, Micray and Chandra's mom, Sue. We met up for coffee and got to do some catching up. While Kyle was at work, he ran into a coworker who had 4 tickets to the Spokane Indians season opener game he wasn't able to use so he offered them to us and poof!- plans for Saturday night! We loaded up Parker, called my sister Monika and her fiance' Dan and met up with them at the game. We had a blast!! The seats ended up being box seats on the third base line and because it was opening night, they had a fireworks show after the game. Parker seemed to enjoy himself, he only cried once at the beginning of the fireworks then once he noticed all the pretty stuff in the air he was fine. We also ran into my Dad and his girlfriend at the game. They got to kidnap Parker for a bit and got him his first baseball cap while they were out showing him off. Parker got to stay up way past bedtime and finally passed out on the walk to the car. We are for sure going to catch a few more games this summer!

Sunday was a bit of a catch up morning for me while Kyle was at work. I got some housework done then headed out to Kyles Parents for the day. Kyle met up with us out there and we all got to hang out and have dinner together with the whole Lewis gang.

Monday ended up being a nice "family day" for just us. Both Kyle and I had the day off together- We got to sleep in (Parker slept in until 9:30 Sunday and Monday morning!) then we went to the rockwood bakery to get a coffee, then we took a walk around Manito. Parker got to ride in the front carrier and had a great time discovering all the different things at the park- it was so fun to see! After that, we ran a few errands and ended up having a nice relaxing evening at home.

Kyle is such an amazing Dad. I love seeing him enjoy every day with Parker- it was great to celebrate and I can't wait for more!

"Is he really only 6 months old?!"

Oh our little man is now 6 months old!

He is growing and learning and making us smile every day! We had his well baby check up last week and he impressed the Doctor with his sitting up abilities ( he had to check Parker's file to make sure he was really only 6 months old) as well as his how well he can reach and grab- Parker demonstrated these new tricks a couple times for the office. A few times trying to "eat" the doctors papers and another when he grabbed the nurses hand and pulled it (mind you, it was holding a loaded NEEDLE in it) down and right into his leg! It scared him, of course, and the nurse as well who exclaimed. "Oh my! Most babies his age can't do that!" Poor thing- he had to not only endure that jab but 3 more. But we did end up with a clean bill of health and a good nap (for Parker). His 6 month stats: 26 inches long, 18 pounds. We were told to watch out for yet another growth spurt soon to come! Not too surprising since eating seems to be another thing that he has perfected... and we are waiting for those teeth to come at any time!

Too much fun!

Last week I got to take Parker to the Farm Chicks show at the fairgrounds. We went with my sister, Monika and her fiance, Dan. We had a great time just walking around looking at all the great booths set up there-my favorite were the Barn Boys. I got to carry Parker around in my little front carrier/backpack thingy (love it) so he could look at everything, he was a good boy and I was able to find a few things too! I picked up a cute little half-pink glass milk bottle, that I plan on using as a flower vase, a small glass urn with a lid and a pair of old cowboy boots. Not sure if the boots will get much use but I thought that everyone there looked so cute in theirs that when I found a pair for $10- i had to get them. The best thing I went away with was just decorating inspiration! I really want to fix up our back patio and make it a really cozy place to hang out this summer (pictures of my "project" to follow-once I get time to start it!) I have all kinds of ideas now but I am figuring out that I will need to get a plan going or I may never get to working on stuff- those farm chick people are amazing!! I can't wait to go again next year!!

This is a picture of my little "shopper" with his "Auntie Jo" pooped out on the way to the car