Friday Fill-Ins




1. I was not wanting to get out of bed this morning.
2. Nick and I left my book at the store because why would I buy a book—I'm not a book reader.
3. Why has this week been dragging on and on and on and on and on.
4. My hubby was in my thoughts today.
5. One of my father's favorite sayings was pull my finger (haha, yeah we're a classy family!).
6. Anxious--I know that feeling!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to shopping with my MIL and SIL, oh and Hannah, tomorrow my plans include dressing up in my new dress and going to a wedding and Sunday, I want to get all of the weeds pulled out of our flower boxes—if the rain holds off, that is!


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Play Kitchen

Our neighbors gave us their play kitchen and Hannah absolutely loves it! Nick and I were just talking the other day about how we should get one for Hannah so it was really awesome that our neighbors offered us their kitchen 3 days later. It is all that Hannah has been playing with since we set it up in the living room.



It's amazing how she can play make-believe and how she knows what to do with some of these things (ie. the microwave) when we've never shown her how to use them. She just picked up one of the play grapes, put it in the microwave, pressed the 'buttons' on the microwave, took the grapes out and then held the 'cooked' grapes up to our mouth so we could taste them. It was pretty freakin' cute!  :o)




She loved tasting all of the food! :oP 



She also loves cooking things on the stove...maybe because it makes noise...but she'll put a little pot up there and stir it with a spoon.

I love watching her play! It's a lot different from her baby play mat days of just laying on the floor looking at toys! She is getting so big!  *tear*

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Meal Plan 4/26-4/30

Not sure what our plans are for this week yet, but I went ahead and planned for a few meals. They are simple...nothing too exciting, so I'm sorry for that. I'm just trying to use up some things that have been in our house for awhile. I'm sure next week will be a grocery shopping week. Ugh!

Chicken Jambalaya
recipe photo

Spaghetti with turkey meatballs

Chicken Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

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18 Months

Yesterday my little girl turned 18 months old. How can she already be 1 and a half years old? It's crazy.

I thought I would do a little post to update you on what Hannah is doing, eating, saying, etc.

DOING:
—walks and runs (and can even walk backwards)
—manages to go down two steps without plopping on her butt or falling
—can almost get onto the couch by herself...she can if she uses a pillow as a step stool
—knows how to eat using a spoon/fork although its not very pretty at times
—loves to put her shoes on all by herself...as well as my shoes, dada's shoes and papa's shoes
—can throw a ball overhand
—loves kicking balls around
—loves to 'talk' on the phone
—puts finger to her mouth and says 'shhhh' when we tell her someone is sleeping
—draws with crayons (kind of)
—can rock herself in a rocking chair
—can go up and down a slide but likes to go up more than down
—loves to pick flowers and smell them
—will 'read' a book
—loves to dance
—loves to ride on her choo-choo and her horsey
—helps mommy brush her teeth and hair
—plays make believe (feeds mommy and daddy invisible food)
—knows where her body parts are located
           —ears           —eyes                —nose
           —mouth        —tongue            —teeth
           —toes            —finger              —belly button
—knows different animals and the sounds they make
           —'ooo-ooo' for monkey           —'bralooo' for elephant
           —'moo' for cow                        —'neigh' for horse
           —'quack' for duck                    —'caw-caw' for parrot
—listens and responds to simple tasks/questions
           —will get a specific book when asked (ie. the cat book)                         
           —will give hugs and kisses
           —goes to bathroom when I say its time for a bath
           —goes to bedroom when its ni-night time
           —goes to bedroom when we ask if she went potty
           —will get her wubby when asked
           —will get her shoes when we says its time to go bye-bye
           —goes to back door when asked if she wants to go for a walk
           —will feed a toy when we tell her said toy is hungry

EATING:
—pancakes               —waffles                  —french toast
—grapes                   —bananas                 —grapes
—cereal bars             —apples                    —oranges
—yogurt                   —oatmeal                  —raisin toast
—bagels                    —eggs                      —peaches
—chicken nuggets    —fish sticks              —sweet potato fries
—pb&j sandwiches   —grilled cheese       —hamburger
—pears                      —avocado                —carrots
—peas                       —cheese                   —crackers
—graham crackers     —animal crackers     —lunch meat
—mac and cheese      —pizza                     —pasta
—jello                        —mashed potato       —pickles
—olives                     —cucumber               —strawberries
—watermelon            —blue berries            —kiwi
—applesauce              —rice                        —raisins
—plus, she will eat the things that we make for ourselves

SAYING:
—mama                     —dada                       —papa
—dog                        —cat                           —dodger
—duck                       —quack                     —turtle
—purple                     —cow                        —moo
—hi                            —bye-bye                  —ni-night
—sock                        —shoe                       —coat
—more-more              —up                           —uh-oh
—buckle                     —more-more             —grape
—waffle                     —side(outside)           —bubble
—choo-choo               —cracker                   —cheese
—truck                        —poo-poo                 —diaper
—egg                          —ball                         —boo-boo
—ouch
She's even pairing words together now:
—mama up (or dada)
—more-more cracker (or whatever she wants 'more-more' of)
—ni-night dada (or mama)
—bye-bye dada (or mama)


So, there is the list of things that I could think of right now. Some things she has been doing for quite some time (and I think I've even done a post like this before a long time ago) and other things she just started to do. From what I read on Baby Center, Hannah seems to be on track with her developmental skills, etc. so that's all I really care about.

We're currently working on teaching her colors, numbers and the alphabet. :o)

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Friday Fill-Ins



1. Where are my ___manners lately___?
2. If wishes were horses ___then I would have quite a few living in our backyard___.
3. I'd like to see ____anything on the west side of the Mississippi___.
4. When I was a teen, I thought ___that 10 years sounded so far away...turns out it was only right around the corner___.
5. One of my mother's favorite sayings was __"You'll see!"__.
6. I'd have a hard time doing without my ___family—they are my reason for being___.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __making a nice meal for the hubby: Moroccan Style Chicken Crescent Casserole (YUM!)___, tomorrow my plans include __staying in my pjs ALL day, maybe doing a little crocheting—it's supposed to rain___ and Sunday, I want to __get completely caught up on laundry so I can have a day or two of not having to worry about piles of clothes in the basement___!





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Goofball!

I just wanted to write a random post and catch up on some photos that I have taken. I'm really kind of at a loss for things to write about so there's really nothing better than a photo post with a video bonus! :o)


I just love this top that Hannah has on! It's a Janie and Jack shirt and if you don't know anything about Janie and Jack, I will just tell you that they have super expensive clothes. So how did she get this shirt, you ask? We got it at Once Upon A Child. A shirt that normally would have cost $30.00 was only $4.00. :o) Love it!

I love her more than anything!

What's this mom?

Sometimes our little girl can be quite the goofball. We're not sure why she does some of the things she does, but we sure do get a good laugh out of them! :oP


For some reason she found the need to crawl into the hamper. She liked poking her fingers through those  holes in the netting.

And because I don't post too many videos on here, I thought I would post one I took a few weeks ago. We're not sure where she learns these things... walking backwards??? Like I said...she's a goofball!


Untitled from Jennifer Loving on Vimeo.




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Wish List Wednesday


I would really love to be able to plan and throw a party. I would plan out the menu. I would make the food. There would be cute decorations around the house and deck. We would set up the fire pit. We would just enjoy the company of family and friends!


I would also love to get some photos printed, framed and hung. We still have wedding photos that I want printed, as well as our family photos we took last fall. I am so behind.


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Meal Plan 4/19-4/23

I'm really sorry for my lack of weekly meal plan posts lately. I'll try to get back on track.

Here is what I plan to make this week:

Moroccan Style Chicken Crescent Casserole
Moroccan-Style Chicken-Crescent Casserole

Porcupine Turkey Meatballs


Slow Cooker Dump and Go Chicken
Slow Cooker Dump and Go Cheesy Chicken Recipe


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A Trip To The Zoo

Yesterday we packed ourselves into the car and headed to the Indianapolis Zoo. We met my bestie, Sara and her husband there. :o)

We had a lot of fun... although I think Hannah had the most fun! It was such a huge difference from 4 months ago when we last went. This time Hannah actually knew what the animals were. When we saw the ducks she would 'quack', when we saw the elephants she went 'braloooo' (yeah, its the sound effect in one of her books so we just went with it. I don't really get it but ah well.) She's pretty cute making the sound and she'll even raise her arm up like the elephants trunk! :oP

Hannah looking at the ostrich!

Hannah and mommy looking at the lion.


Elephant!

She is so stinkin' cute!

Hannah loved petting the goats. 


Family Pic.

We also stopped by the gardens. All of the tulips were in bloom and they looked beautiful!

The first thing you see when you walk into the gardens.

I thought this turtle was cute! :oP

Hannah and daddy looking at the tulips.

And a group shot of everyone.

Hannah was so good the entire trip and got by on only a 20 minute nap. You'd think she would have slept the whole car ride home, but NOPE! she was wide awake just looking out the window and talking up a storm. She is such an awesome kid!

It was a really fun day! And I'm so glad I was able to see my bestie. 6 months was too long but we're getting better. We'll see each other again in the beginning of July! :o)


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Our Next Big Project!

Other than the trees and our new fence, we have one more super huge project we are starting. It is by far the one I am most excited about but it is also the one that will take the most work.

We are finishing our basement!

Yesterday the studs were delivered for framing the walls so we can't turn back now...unless of course we want 100 studs to sit in our basement. :oP  I made a floor plan about a month ago so we would know how many we needed. The pink walls are the new walls we are putting up.


We will almost double our living space. We won't be finishing the bathroom or laundry room right now, but Nick and I will get our own office space (YAY!) and we'll have a play area/family room. We'll also be able to set our pool table back up which will be nice. This will clear up the current office space upstairs so we'll be able to use it as a future nursery. 

It will be so nice to have a 15 x 13 foot space to call my own. I've never had that before. As I'm sure Nick will love his own space— his 'no girls allowed' space!  :oP  It will also be nice to have the majority of Hannah toys down in the basement where she can play with what ever she wants and mommy and daddy won't have to look at the 'mess' in the upstairs living room.

Who knows when this will get finished. The ultimate goal is to have it finished a few months before our second child arrives (so I have time to set up the nursery) and since I'm not pregnant yet, that means we have at least 8 months to get it finished. :o) We'll work on it little by little. 

Is it bad that I am already thinking about paint colors??? Ha Ha!

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Our New Trees

This past weekend Nick, Tom and Travis helped move three beautiful trees into our backyard! I just love them. I can't wait until they get their leaves and look so pretty in the fall!  :o)


We still want two trees for our front yard but those will come in time. I think maybe now I should concentrate on getting our grass to grow! :oP

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Wish List Wednesday


I've never had a full blown pedicure before and with flip-flop season upon us, my toes would sure love some pampering!


Speaking of flip-flops, I would really love some new capris. I'm not a shorts girl but I love capris. I could really use a few new pairs for this summer.



And because sometimes its just nice to have some new 'bling'! A new ring perhaps! :o)



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