Getting outside!

This weekend some good friends from college, Jeremy and Casey (plus their daughter Lily) came up to visit. With Saturday hitting 50 degrees, we all knew we had to head outside and do some hiking. My, how times have changed...we used to all hike in college but it is a whole other story with 2 children in tow (but so fun!) We went to Jefferson Memorial Forest (the closest place near Louisville with relatively decent hiking) and did a short loop. Lily was a trooper and with the promise of a playground at the end, she kept up the whole time. Most of these pictures are from Casey's camera and capture our weekend well!

Love that little smile!

Look at that chilly little nose...he didn't mind though!

 

 

 

 

 

What a cute family!

Another cute close up that Casey took

These two sat here like this for well over an hour and played!

 We had such a great weekend and, as I told Casey, it was nice that they understood how it is to organize your weekend around napping and feeding routines, to be content with staying in and ordering pizza rather than going out and how to have fun just walking in the woods. Good times!

My grandma

This picture of me and my grandma (Nanny:) was taken about a year and a half ago and I think it is one of the last ones I have of the two of us. She passed away two weeks ago after battling Alzheimer's for the last few years. To be honest, I am glad she is not suffering anymore and that she is at peace with Christ at this moment.  She was the quintessential grandma to me and my sisters (and other cousins) and a model of a Christ-like spirit in numerous ways. I have so many wonderful memories of her as she was able to be there to watch us all grow up and I already miss her lots.

Last weekend, the funeral was held in Louisville and my grandpa stayed with my parents for several weeks as family and friends came by to visit and plan the details. My mom snapped lots of pictures of him with Andrew and I think the two of them love each other a lot! I am sad that my grandma never got to meet Drew because I'm certain she would have loved her great-grandson!

 

In addition to seeing my grandpa we got to see lots of family and friends who knew and loved my grandma.

 

This one is kind of blurry but my grandpa is in the middle with two of his oldest friends (they've known him for over 70 years!) and I think that is just amazing that their friendship goes that far back.

All the cousins/grandkids (and spouses) made for a full picture! Even though the funeral was sad on one level, it was also good to see so many people who loved my grandma and to catch up with family members we don't get to see as often as we'd like.

Snug as a bug after a bath!

Healthy Cookies?

 I may or may not be addicted to sugar. It's kind of a problem...no seriously. Case in point: once in college I ate an entire cake my friend Katie made over the course of 2 days. In my defense, I thought  my roommates were "helping" the cake disappear along with me, but when I commented that everyone must have loved it as much as I did, I was met with the response that I was, indeed, the only person who had touched that cake. Yikes.
All that to say, I like dessert, but I also try to be healthy. Nothing too drastic; I'm not about to cut cheese out of my diet or swear off chocolate or anything that insane, but having a baby makes you first of all evaluate everything that goes into your body while you are pregnant and then everything that goes into your child. Therefore, I'm trying to reinvent some recipes I love to make them healthy too.

I love that little face peeking out in the background!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp of flax seed (found in organic section of the grocery by the seeds and nuts)
• 1/4 cup of wheat bran (found in the organic section of the grocery by bread mixes/flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• sprinkle of salt
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp of corn syrup (optional but helps hold it all together)
• 3 to 4 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin butter OR apple butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups oats
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional, but let's remember that chocolate makes everything better)

Wow that looks like a lot of ingredients but I tried to replace the  massive amounts of butter and sugar that most recipes call for with healthy stuff. They are very filling because of all that too!

--Mix dry ingredients together and then stir in all the rest. Mix in the raisins and chocolate chips last. --Drop by teaspoon onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes at 350.  Enjoy!

Future Soccer Player?

Falling Asleep

Going...

Going...

Gone!

Time to eat!

I'm ready to eat! Please don't even think of trying to take MORE pictures of me!

No seriously! Get that camera out of my face or else...

The end result:)

Happy birthday Nate!

This is a day late but yesterday we celebrated Nate's 31st birthday...I am still holding strong to the twenties (but not for much longer) therefore I took full advantage of teasing Nate about how old he is:) We were able to go out to eat at Jack Fry's, this cozy little restaurant in the Highlands with wonderful food. It's one of those places that Nate and I have always wanted to try but also one of those places that you kind of have to save for a special occasion too (not exactly cheap) but since it's been nearly 2 months since just the two of us went out to eat, it was well worth it! It was so nice to spend some time together, just us(and of course know that Andrew was being doted on over at my parents' house).

This wasn't taken on his birthday but just a few days ago while on a short hike at the Louisville Nature Preserve. We tested out the baby backpack (thanks Erin and Mark!) and loved it! It's a Kelty Transit for babies and toddlers, and I'd definitely give it 5 stars. Drew was comfortable in it, it adjusted well in all directions to fit him (height and weight) and most importantly, Nate was comfortable hiking it it.  Hands down, one of our favorite gifts!
I also love this picture because it speaks to what a great father Nate is to Drew. He wants him to enjoy all the things he loves (the outdoors, hiking, etc.) and it was sweet to watch him point out birds and tree names along the hike. I feel lucky and blessed to be married to him. Becoming parents has changed a lot in our lives but Nate has never complained about any of it. He really takes such an interest in Andrew and being a father to him, for example, sitting down on the floor to play or read books to him. And I know I've said it before but I am beyond thankful that Nate works so hard to allow me to stay home with Drew and he never complains about how much more "stuff" we could have if I went back full time (example: we kinda sorta need a new car...the 'ole Subaru check engine light has been lit way too long but Nate said he'd take the bus to work if it really broke down or we sold it). See what I mean? He's a keeper! I love the boys in my life more than anything and feel so blessed!