December 2012

Wow, I cannot believe it is already December. This year has flown by for us. I think having a child does that to you... watching them grow up and change so quickly makes time fly by! 

So let me give you some updates starting with Aiden.

He is a crazy, fun, loving, into everything, all boy 15 month old! He's very talkative, unfortunately it's all baby babble to us. We normally can figure out what he wants (mainly cause he points to everything now!) but there are some days I just have no idea. :)

Favorite Foods:

Pomegranates

Bananas

Oranges

Apples

Green Peas (or green balls as Nana calls them)

Goldfish

Cheese

Fried Eggs (just discovered this morning)

Oatmeal

And any sweets mommy and daddy are eating!

He also has this thing for wanting Eli's beer....

Favorite Activities:

Chasing LaRue

Chasing the dogs at work

Throwing toys

Playing with LEGOs

Reading/Looking at books

Rough housing with Daddy

Snuggling with Mommy & Daddy

Getting into every cabinet and going through all it's contents :)

Eli & I have just loved watching Aiden grow, develop and learn. It's crazy how quickly they pick things up. Like, waving goodbye, high fiving, playing peek-a-boo (with his hands and hiding behind things), blowing raspberries, and making animal or car sounds.... not always with the right toy though!

*the other day it was a tiger making car noises*

I unfortunately could not get him to roar when he was a lion for Halloween. Isn't he a cute lion though?

As you can probably tell, we're the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion & Wicked Witch of the West.

We had a fun time putting our outfits together. Eli's was pretty awesome!

Next update: Eli

Eli joined the ranks of "old people" this year when he turned 25 in August! I still think he is a handsome young stud. :)

He is still working for Xerox and is really liking it. Not only for the freedom it gives him during the day (driving from location to location with just himself and music) but he also enjoys the problem solving and working with his hands. 

Eli's newest venture is selling LEGOs on Ebay. Who knew that there was such a profitable market there?!?! It's nice cause not only does he love LEGOs and putting them together, he likes the extra income. Because of this extra income we are going to Hawaii in January (woohoo!) and he is also able to save up for his next tattoo. 

And last but not least: Courtney (me)

I turned 23 earlier this month. I DO NOT feel, or even think I look like I'm 23. Somedays I look in the mirror and still see a teenager. Maybe that's good.. I don't know. 

Still working at Oopsie Daisy. Still enjoy it. Somedays are hard with Aiden but other days are just fine. We're pretty busy right now with Christmas but this is probably one of my favorite holidays. All the wonderful smelling christmas greens, everyone saying "Merry Christmas & Happy New Years!" and I really love most of the arrangements we do this time of year. 

Outside of work, what do I do? Go to the gym. Haha, I wish I was that committed. I try to go 2-3 times a week. What I actually do is try to keep the house clean, or should I say at least kinda orderly? Make dinner (homemade chicken noodle soup tonight, delicious!) and spend time with friends. I've been going to a wednesday ladies coffee/playdate and really enjoy it. It's nice to just sit and chat with friends, let the kids play and run off energy. And we pray together. I truly believe praying together really brings you closer as friends and to God, especially when you are willing to open up and let the real you come out. At least, that's how I feel. 

Overall,

we are blessed. 

Stay tuned for more exciting news and pictures, coming in the next few weeks!

Summer Squash Toss

It's actually more like a Fall squash toss for us! We are officially done with summer. :( There's a chill to air, the leaves are turning colors and some fresh snow on the mountains up the valley. And the wonderful wind storm last night only helped push us into fall. Winds were up to like 40-60 mpg, more in some places. It sounds like all of Anchorage, Eagle River & Chugiak lost power for some amount of time! 

Summer Squash Toss

1lb pasta, cooked

1 med. zucchine, sliced & halved

1 sm. yellow summer squash, sliced & halved

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp. garlic

2 tsp. oregano or italian seasoning

Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a shallow frying pan. Add garlic and oregano and simmer until garlic is golden. Add zucchini, summer squash and mushrooms to the pan. Cook until desired doneness. Pour squash mixture over pasta, toss, sprinkle cheese over the top and serve. 

I didn't have any garlic, so I did 2 tsp. oregano and 2 tsp. italian seasoning, to give it enough flavor. 

Yum! 

It was a delicious side dish. I paired it with breaded baked chicken and garlic bread. 

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

I tried making stuffed peppers once in my crockpot... it was a failure... 

So I was a bit nervous, concerned, scared, etc. when I decided to try them again, using a different recipe of course.

I hate when recipes don't turn out well cause then I feel like it was a huge waste of time and food. And when you're on a budget and weekly menu, having a failed recipe is just.. annoying, frustrating.

But, this time was different.

Starting off, I was nervous. I wasn't following a "true"recipe. More like, "I threw together some left overs and random spices and put them in the peppers". If you know me, I have a hard time trying a new recipe without a step by step guide. This was definitely hard for me. :) 

I had some left over black rice (super yummy & healthy), chicken with fajita seasoning and found some corn in my freezer. Mixed all of that together, then stuffed it in the peppers (which I had sauteed lightly ahead of time, just enough for the edges to get darker). The original recipe had grilled them, but I didn't have time to do that but I think I will next time. Topped it with cheese, but only on Eli's, of course! Then put them in to broil for just a few minutes, to warm it all up and melt the cheese. And they were delicious! Even as left overs the next day. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to get an after picture. But trust me, it was good. 

Memorial Weekend 2012

Well, this is very out of order... but here are some pictures of our camping trip to Jim's Creek for Memorial Day.

It was also Aiden's first camping trip!

These are all the 1st time campers! 

Dipnetting July 2012

So I decided to take a break from blogging for the summer. But now I have tons of stuff to share! You'll probably see several posts from me in the next few days! :)

Back in July we went dipnetting. Which I have never done before so this was new (and exciting) to me.   I technically didn't fish, but still enjoyed it.

These photos should give you a hint of how fun and dirty dipnetting is!