Monday = Fun Day

It feels like summer has hit NC already...and we're loving it! Since Monday is Andy's day off, we try to plan fun family things. Yesterday, we fed the ducks and geese at a nearby park. It was a lot of fun, although I had to keep reminding Josiah that the bread was for the ducks, not for him :)

Andy made some new friends

Josiah loves that his daddy is back home after a week away!

Baby geese

Lots of turtles too!


Yay for fun Monday adventures!

Veggies 1 - Josiah 0

When Josiah was first eating real food, he would eat anything. I was so proud, letting everyone know that my son ate vegetables and fruit and liked it! A few months ago, he started refusing veggies systematically, until we were down to peas (of all things). But, he still ate all kinds of fruit, so I wasn't worried. Last week, the fruits started going. He was even refusing easy things like bananas and applesauce! I will not let food/mealtimes become a battleground for us...yet I want him to eat healthfully.

Enter Jessica Seinfeld...

Andy's parents gave me "Deceptively Delicious" a while ago and I owe them big time! Thank you Gram & Pop! She has all kinds of recipes that incorporate fruit and vegetable purees, therefore the kiddos get the nutrients without even knowing. I had tried a handful of recipes before, but then put it on the shelf for a while. Today, it came back out :)

I had already decided we were having "breakfast for dinner" tonight since Andy is out of town. I started flipping through the cookbook and found "Peanut Butter Banana Muffins", made with banana and carrot purees, so I got to work and made some!

They were super delicious and chock full of good ingredients - natural peanut butter, whole wheat flour, banana, and carrot! Here is Josiah's reaction, I'll let you be the judge of whether he liked them or not...

He wolfed down TWO of them, thinking he was getting a special treat, and I sat there happy, knowing that he was getting protein, healthy fiber, fruit and veggie all at once! It was a relaxing, fun dinner and I did not even care that the applesauce went untouched after one bite.

Now don't worry, I will continue to put whole fruits and vegetables in front of him, work on "no thank you" bites, etc. But, this enables me to ensure he's getting some nutrients while doing that!

So, here's to being deceptive and delicious!

A Real Veggie Garden!

We had another gorgeous weekend in NC and decided it was time to put in our vegetable garden. I've been growing tomatoes and herbs in pots for 3 or 4 years now, but wanted to experiment with a bigger garden. So...Mimi & Papa were visiting and we put them to work!

Papa built a raised garden and he & Josiah filled it with good dirt.

We bought seedlings at the Farmer's Market (have I mentioned how much I love our market?) and planted tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, cucumbers, and romaine lettuce. We also have some pumpkin seeds that will go in later. I'm so excited! I have visions of Josiah & I picking veggies and tending to the garden all spring & summer. Right now, he just wants to keep digging in it and pulling up the plants. I might be lowering my expectations...

Josiah woke up REALLY early on Sunday morning, so we had some extra time before church. We decided to take advantage of the lighting and being dressed up and have a photo shoot! Didn't quite go as easily as planned, but I think we got some good ones!

I'll keep you posted on how our veggies are growing. If you're in the area, you might be getting lots of salsa or zucchini bread this summer!

Happy Easter!!

We wish you all a blessed Easter!

Here are a few pictures from our day...It was a gorgeous day in NC, but for some reason shadows were a problem in most of these pictures.

Josiah wore the Peter Rabbit outfit that Mimi made him.

We had lunch for 13 friends and even pulled out the china! I (Amy) got to play with some creative centerpieces. I got these impatiens at the farmer's market yesterday and cannot wait to plant them in the garden tomorrow.

Our attempts at a family picture...We should probably attempt these on non-holidays when we don't have 13 hungry lunch guests, asparagus on the stove, and a son who is ready for a nap :) Oh well, at least you can see one of our pretty azaleas in the background!

Redeemer's New Website

Check out our church's new & improved website!
(just click on link below)

www.redeemerpca.net


And, for all you thrifty shoppers out there...it's TRIPLE COUPON WEEK at Harris Teeter! From now until March 31st, they'll TRIPLE coupons with a face value up to 99 cents. Amazing! I rocked the grocery game today - $110 worth of groceries for $54!! Reading what I just wrote makes me suddenly feel old and very domestic...I guess that's how life goes...

Tea for Two

I should be working on Pampered Chef things right now, but playing on the blog is so much more fun!

This past weekend I threw a baby shower for our good friend Anne, who is due with her first baby (a boy) in just a few short weeks! She loves tea parties, so we threw her a "Tea for Two" shower - it was so fun!

Kelly (the other hostess), Anne, and my prego self. Now I am reminded why we don't have many prego pictures of me :)

One of my favorite things there - petite fours with baby booties on top

We also made lemon tea cookies for the party. Well, by "we" I mean my mom and Josiah. She made the dough and allowed him to make the wells in each cookie. It was very fun to watch them in action!

The finished product

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It has been raining now for at least 5 days straight. Cold, hard rain...not the kind you can put some boots on and splash around in. Those of you who know me (Amy), know that I do not operate well when I cannot be outside. There is a reason God created me to be Andy's wife and not Noah's! I have apparently passed (nature? nurture? who knows) this trait onto my child, who is starting to go a bit stir-crazy as well. Here are some pictures of our most recent rainy day adventure - getting into Mom & Dad's closet! For some reason, Josiah thinks it is hilarious to put on our hats and walk around in our shoes. At least he chooses my most unisex shoes, right?!?