Mr. Awesome

So last Friday night we took Preston to his first football game. We met some friends down at the Hoover Met for the Hoover vs. Mtn. Brook game. Blake's boss' son is the quarterback for Hoover and he had been wanting to see him play anyway so we thought it was a good time to introduce Preston to the world of football. I was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed himself. He had refused all but 30 minutes of a nap the entire day and was already fussy on the way to the game. I wasn't planning on making it through the first quarter...but as soon as he caught glimpse of the busy field and all the people around him he was fascinated and totally absorbed in the chaos. I have this love for ball park hot dogs (It's a must for any athletic event) so we made our stop by the concession stand and headed towards this grassy area in the visiting section. We had a whole section of bleachers to ourselves with a huge area of grass in front of it. I spread out our blanket and Preston was free to roam.

Preston dined on a scrumptious meal of french fries, diced apples cheerios and cookies while I devoured my hot dog and nachos, yum. Blake graciously shared his fries with Preston so he wound up with a second trip to the concession stand. That's how I ended up with a huge tub of popcorn too...and did I mention I brought a huge batch of oatmeal scotchie bars for everyone. Gotta love eating at the ball park. Anyway, enough about food.

Meanwhile...a few boys (around 10 or 11 in age) were hanging around by us and caught the attention of my husband. Anyone who knows Blake can tell you he never meets a stranger and this includes people of all ages. He has this gift of being able to befriend someone immediately. It's quite amazing to watch. So anyway, they start talking baseball and football and then the boys make their way back towards the main crowd. A little while later they are back but with more boys. They start throwing a football so of course Blake joins in...before we know it Blake is arm wrestling with these boys on the bleachers and just having a great time with them. Preston is having a blast just watching them run around and play, probably wishing he could join them. I'm watching these boys rough house and get grass stains all over their clothes and wondering if I'm ready for this in the future. I guess I better get used to it :) So anyway, after a while, one of the boys walks up to Blake and they have the following conversation:

Kid: "Hey, so what's your name?"
Blake: "My name's Blake"
Kid: "Oh, cause we were just calling you Mr. Awesome"

Ha! It was so hilariouis. Blake had the biggest grin on his face after that. He loves kids and I'm so proud that he takes such an interest in making a kid's day. Those boys would just light up when Blake would talk to them about their sports and they seemed surprised that he was actually interested in their responses. I'm so thankful that Blake really is "Mr. Awesome" to Preston and I and I look forward to him playing with Preston and his friends one day like he did with those boys. Fun times ahead! But for now, my baby boy is a Mommy's boy and that's just fine with me :)

Guy on the Go

So I'm having to adjust to my son's new found mobility. He has hit exploration mode in full force. I'm used to him being content just scooting around a room playing with his toys. No sir, not anymore. He follows me to the bathroom, chases the cat into the closet or just excuses himself from the room and starts padding down the hallway. I'm sorry, when did you become so independent, Preston? His two favorite things to do are close doors and play with cords. Safe, right? What a stinker. So now all the cords have to be put away but not sure what to do about the doors. He gets mad if they are open just a crack so he slams them shut...geez. He likes our dog because she tolerates him but he loves the cat because he can't actually get to him. I guess it's the "hard-to-get" that fascinates him. Preston goes as fast as he can to catch him, excitedly calling "ki-ki" (kitty kitty) but as soon as he's within arm's reach, "ki-ki" scadaddles (sp?). It really is a joy though to watch him "find the world" and see where his curiosity takes him, under supervision of course. Preston's first birthday is two weeks away from today and I can't believe this first year is almost behind us. I'm so thankful for every moment that I get to spend staying at home with my boy...even if he is a little mischievous :)

Hashbrown Casserole

This recipe has always been one of my go-to dishes for potlucks. We had a girls movie night this week and boy did we have a smorgasbord of tasty treats. I love pot luck! So anyway, I took some pictures of the hashbrown casserole while I made it so enjoy! It's definitely one of my favs!

You will need:
30 oz bag frozen shredded hashbrowns
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
4 tbls butter, melted (optional)

Mix first four ingredients until completely combined. I also add the melted butter to give it a little more flavor but this is completely optional. I also add salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Crush Ritz crackers and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Side note: I have also made this without the Ritz crackers and it's still delicious, just a little creamier without the crunchy topping.

11 Months Old

Yikes! My baby is almost a year old! He has started so many thing this last month. I can't believe he's changing so quickly. We're slowly but surely moving into toddler-hood and I'm just not sure I'm ready. I love seeing him learn so many things though - makes a momma proud! I really don't know his weight and length but we'll get those stats at his 12 month check-up.

Let's see what all our little stinker has been up to...

-He started sitting up from a laying down position. He's always sitting up when I go in his room in the mornings or after he wakes up from nap.
-He's crawling! I call it a gimpy crawl. He uses one leg out and "walks" it while he drags other knee behind him. It's so cute to see him getting from one place to another. This also means he's into everything! I feel like "No-no" is my new favorite phrase :)
-We have a TOOTH! His first tooth popped through about two weeks ago and it's adorable! It's not all the way in yet so I can't really get a good picture of it yet. I'll be sure to post that when I get it.
-He's still nursing about 4 times a day. My plan is wean him at a year old so we will see how it goes. I want to do it slowly but I also want to make sure he adapts to cow's milk first.
-He's becoming a picky eater. He loves snack foods, cheese, crackers, puffs, cereal. However, we're having some problems with real foods. He eats a bite or two and doesn't want it anymore. This goes for potatoes, mac and cheese or any other "real meal" type foods. He also refuses some 3rd food baby foods. But I can always get him to eat pureed veggies or bite-sized fruits. Oh well, it's a working progress.
-He loves his musical table and will stand up against it and play for the longest time.
-He is very sensitive to loud noises and will get upset easily over them. When that happens he only wants Mommy :) I'm sure he will grow out of some of that though.
-He loves to ride around in his cars. He has an indoor push/ride car and an outdoor one. He holds onto the steering wheel and is ready to roll!

We're enjoying our first fall with Preston and his first Halloween is coming up! He was born 4 days after Halloween last year so we just missed it :) And his costume is adorable! We went to the Pumpkin Patch and Homestead Hollow with Preston this past weekend so stay tuned for more on those! In the meantime, here's two pictures of Preston in the "big car" and yes, we are parked and the motor was off :)

Bunko Menu & Recipes

I hosted Bunko at my house last night for my awesome group of girls and I wanted to share the menu and recipes. It was about 40 degrees last night (kind of crazy this early into fall) and we played outside. So under the circumstances I wanted to make sure we had some warm comfort food to "stick to our bones."

Our menu consisted of:
Chicken Spaghetti
Oven-Baked Green Beans
Legendary Lionhouse Rolls
Blackberry Cobbler


Chicken Spaghetti - I tried the Chicken Spaghetti recipe from Mommy's Kitchen and it was fabulous! It's a lot easier to just give you the link to her recipe instead of me typing it all again so here it is! Chicken Spaghetti

Oven-Baked Green Beans - I used a recipe that a friend and fellow bunko player made for us one night and it's still my favorite! And so easy! This is not an exact measurement kind of recipe. You just add to your taste.

You will need:
Canned Green Beans
Brown Sugar
Bacon Bits
Butter

Rinse and drain greens beans. Add to casserole dish. Add remaining ingredients to your taste. I usually add a few tbls of each per can of green beans. Mix together and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Stir and serve!

Legendary Lionhouse Rolls - This is also a recipe from Mommy's Kitchen. Can you tell I love her blog? This was my first time making homemade rolls and it was a long but fun experience. It's not hard, you just have to allow time for the dough to rise a few times. I made the dough and rolls early in the day and then put them in the refrigerator until time to bake. My first mistake was not taking them out in time to rise back up before baking. My second mistake was baking them on the lower rack of the oven (the top was full of chicken spaghetti). Therefore my rolls ended up a little less puffy and a little too brown on the bottom. HOWEVER, they still tasted great and I would definitely recommend the recipe. Next time I think they will be just perfect! Here's the link Legendary Lionhouse Rolls

Blackberry Cobbler - This has become my husband's favorite dessert since I made it the first time a few months ago. He made me promise to save him some to eat after Bunko was over. This is a great recipe for this fall and winter. I found it over at Allrecipes - love that website too. However, I did tweak the "putting together" process which I think is lots easier. I have included the original directions as well as my own notes on how I did it.

You will need:
1 cup butter or margarine, divided
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour*
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar

In a 10-in. round or oval baking dish, melt 1/2 cup butter; set aside. In a saucepan, heat sugar and water until sugar melts; set aside. Place flour in a mixing bowl; cut in remaining butter until fine crumbs form. Add milk, stirring with a fork until dough leaves sides of bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead three or four times. Roll out to an 11-in. x 9-in. rectangle 1/4 in. thick. Spread berries over dough; sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up, jelly-roll style. Cut into 1/4-in. thick slices. Carefully lay slices in baking dish over butter. Pour sugar syrup around slices (syrup will be absorbed). Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Sprinkle sugar over top and bake 15 minutes more. Serve warm or cold. (*If self-rising flour is not available, use 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder.)

My Notes: I only melted 1/4 cup of butter in the pan and it is plenty. Instead of doing the jelly-roll style method, I opted for rolling out my dough into two sheets of dough the size of the pan. I put one sheet of dough on top of the melted butter in the pan, added the blackberres and cinnamon, topped it with the second sheet of dough and then poured the sugar syrup on top.

I hope you enjoy!