Sleepy little boy

Today I discovered Ian popped through two upper teeth. Well that explains a lot.

Hopefully this will be the end of 30 minute naps and Mr. Cranky Pants. It was definitely looking up today. A two hour twenty minute nap this morning and an hour forty minute nap this afternoon. You would think after that the kid would be ready to go...but no...

He's just the sweetest :)

Spaghetti time

We've been trying to introduce Ian to table food over the past couple weeks. Partly because he needs to get used to eating foods of different consistencies, but mostly because I'm sick of buying baby food. Yes, I know that I could make own. And yes, I know it's easy. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I go to buy the stuff to make my own, something always comes up and I never get around to it.

Tonight we introduced spaghetti and meatballs...

Other than having trouble grasping the slippery pasta, he seemed to really like it!

I LOVE that he is such a happy kid!

An extra special father's day

I am extremely blessed. I have the most wonderful men in my life.

I have a wonderful dad who has taught me all the right things in life (and very few of the bad ;)). He's always there for me, will come at a moments notice to help me take pictures of Ian for Brett's father's day present, and best of all, has set a wonderful example of what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I am a daddy's girl and always will be.

I'm also fortunate in the fact that I have the best father-in-law. Ever. He's sweet and kind and is always happy to help with any home repair project that needs attending to at our house. I can't count how many curtain rods, pictures, etc he's hanged. He's also helped Brett move Ian's room once or twice (long story).  Thanks for keeping our house running, Don!

Last, but not least, my amazing husband Brett. Not only is he a wonderful, loving husband, but he is also a fantastic daddy. The best daddy Ian could ever have.

I have enjoyed watching Brett grow into that role over the past 9 months and I know he will continue to be a Godly role model for Ian to follow as he grows up.

I have to admit, I was at a loss as to what to get Brett for father's day - oops, I mean Ian was at a loss. I ended up taking an idea from something I had seen on pinterest. I think it turned out pretty fantastic and Brett seemed to like it, too!

I bought the letters from Michael's - they were normally $3.00 but on sale for $1.80. The frame also came from there and it was 40% off. My wonderful dad came over and took the fabulous pictures for free! All in all, a great present that didn't cost an arm and a leg!

Here are the pictures by themselves...there were so many good ones to choose from that I had a hard time picking! He's pretty cute if I do say so myself...

We love to read

I try to make it a point to have "reading" time with Ian every afternoon before nap time. We have a plethora of books to choose from, but inevitably, we always read a certain one. Ian's favorite. My favorite when I was little.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood

I know the book by heart so I can recite it on demand. Ian loves to hear it, even without the pictures. It goes something like this:
"Hello little mouse. What are you doing?
O I see, are you going to pick that red ripe strawberry?
But little mouse, haven't you heard about the big hungry bear?"

On it goes to describe what the bear will do to find the red ripe strawberry. I won't ruin the book by telling you the ending, but, it might include sharing.

I'm pretty sure I read it no less than 10 times yesterday. Do you think Ian might lean toward the obsessive side, too?

While Ian and I both LOVE this book, my favorite book to read to him is On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman. It is a sweet book that describes how special each child is. It is based on Psalms 139: "For you are fearfully and wonderfully made.."

The book itself starts out with this: "On the night you were born the moon smiled with such wonder that stars peaked in to see you and the night wind whispered 'life will never be the same.' Because there had never been anyone like you...ever in the world."

I hope Ian grows up to realize that there is no one like him in the world and God has a specific purpose that only he can accomplish.

Lemony goodness

I love me some lemons. I'm pretty sure I've been eating them since I was two. Plain.

Apparently my dad used to give me lemons because he liked to watch me make funny faces. I'm so surprised by that since I never make faces...

Anyway, my love of lemons is nothing new. I almost always have some on hand for cooking since I use them for everything from chicken piccata (my fav) to fettucini alfredo (weird but awesome!) to berry trifles with homemade lemon curd.

My most recent lemony goodness came in the form of frozen lemonade pie (courtesy of the Neeley's) that I made for our last Cooking in Christ connection group. It's a super easy and a perfectly refreshing summer treat. In the words of Rachel Ray - yum-o!