Embrace the Camera - And the Outdoors!

Hello Thursday!

Time to embrace the camera over at Emily's blog!





Last week the weather was gorgeous!! So, today's pictures are all about embracing the outdoors!


Me and my girl at the park.

love those lashes, yes that's a leaf on her lip :)

love this face!

 Daddy pushing her on a walk.

love these two

And a strange sighting on our walk.

Random, but makes me smile.

Happy Thursday!!

lesley

So We Went to the Zoo

Sweet P had a play date at the zoo and it's a good thing she's so young because she won't remember that most of the exhibits were under construction and most of the animals were somewhere else!

We had a great time anyway. The day was warm and sunny and we enjoyed just being outside.

We saw a peacock! I have a fondness for peacocks.



We also saw this mini deer-like-thing. I took this picture with my phone so I could send it to the husband.

You don't get the scale in this picture which is kind of sad because it was so small and cute! It's almost the size of my little 7lb min pin.

And, we saw a massive snapping turtle. This picture makes me laugh because now that P is crawling and pulling up on everything, that's all she wants to do. She does not like being confined to a car seat or stroller. So, she was a little fussy all afternoon, trying to squirm her way out, but when I took out the camera and pointed it at her, she gave me a big cheeky grin! Ha! That girl knows what to do for the camera.

I think we'll have to go back to the zoo when it's warmer and everything is constructed!

Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

Thank you for the kind comments yesterday. I feel like a goober. Duh, mop bucket!

Anyway, today is more adventures in homemade baby food: cooking spaghetti squash.

Here's a little perspective. This was me pregnant at 22 weeks with Sweet P. Supposedly, she was the size of a spaghetti squash.

photo by ashleyann

Hmmm.

Anyway, around here we love spaghetti squash. I've cooked it a number of ways from microwaving to baking. As a side, it's easier and faster in the microwave. But for last night's dish, I baked it.

I cut it in half, removed the seeds, put a little butter and salt in each half and baked it for 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Meanwhile, I browned some hamburger meat and added some spaghetti sauce. Once the squash was done, I just raked a fork all over the inside and then poured the meat sauce directly on top. Then I had to top it with some cheese!

Add a little side salad and your meal is complete!

Sweet P got spaghetti squash too! I just took some of the strings and put them in the Magic Bullet and bada-bing. Baby food.

 I'm curious, how do you cook spaghetti squash?

lesley

Flea Market Find

I took $20 to the flea market and came back with this.

I have no idea what it is! But it has wheels! And it's big enough to store most of P's toys!

And since she's crawling now, yes, she's a crawler! I imagine she'll be using it as a walker one day!

Here's my little gal on the move.

Way to go girl!

yesterday

I introduced this little beauty to grass. Dead grass at that.

She checked it out but decided it was not for her.

Then I went to happy hour. At Sonic. It was good.

Then I took the little beauty to a nearby park. This time we brought a blanket.

She tasted leaves, twigs and dirt for the first time. Daddy was proud.

 

I'm sure people out there are appalled by this. You may think I'm a bad mom for letting my kid snack on leaves, but she'll do it eventually!

And this little guy stopped by to say hello.

We left and came home to make this.

Hello Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti! It was delicious.

I did a lot of other stuff, but those were the highlights.

Happy Friday and I hope you enjoy the weekend.

Embrace the Camera - New Hair

Wow, Thursday already. This has been a crazy fast week.

Monday was obviously Valentine's Day. We celebrated with our girl and food. Surprise.

the "heart" is our baby's booty stamped in paint :)

Eric grilled steaks. It was almost therapeutic to smell the smoke coming out of the grill again. I made salad and twice-baked new potatoes. MMM.

I had chocolate covered strawberries from my dad for dessert.

Then Tuesday we had the annual Love Feast at my husband's grandma's house. She makes cheeseburgers, potato salad, baked beans and red velvet cake. Sorry, no pics from that so you'll have to take my word for it that it was delicious.

Sweet P had a rough time with her morning nap on Wednesday and the rest of the day was a blur as I prepared for our evening activity. Nana watched P and the husband and I spent time with other adults and it included Mexican food. Delicious again.

And now it's Thursday! That means it's time to "Embrace the Camera."










One with me and my new 'do! I had to capture my hair this week because it has new color (lighter to lessen the paleness of my face from the lack of sun) and it's fixed (um, because this is when I got home from the salon). Amazing but it will most likely go back to ponytails and hats.

And one with dad from the blizzard days. They were both napping and she was holding his finger. Love.

And now I'm off to enjoy the beautiful weather!! Our yard last Wednesday and a high of 17 degrees.

And yesterday! No snow and back to the 70s!

I like you again, Oklahoma.

This is For Nana

The many faces of Sweet P over the last month. I must say, she's quite expressive.

I'm chewing on a spoon, a photo of this, really?

I love life

look mom, I'm sweet

I think there's cat hair on my tongue

I'm touching the cat and he's not running away

determined and a little mad

do you hear this noise I'm making?

wow this flower is large

That's my girl.