11.9 Months.

So, Joel is going through this temper tantrum stage. Not fun. He seriously hit his head more than a dozen times while throwing little fits. I don't know what to do. I'm at a total loss. He's got SERIOUS separation anxiety and "stranger danger" as i like to call it. It makes it difficult to get much done.

On a happier note, he is, between tantrums, getting really fun to play with. He's started to initiate Peek-a-Boo, and he likes to "attack" you... especially when you're trying to work out. One of his new faves is his walking toy. He goes fast. I mean, this kid will skip walking. He'll go straight to running. What am I going to do?!





On a "foodie" note:

The past two nights i have made this that i have NEVER made before. and they were A: homemade Sloppy Joes
The Sloppy Joes turned out different than i thought but way better than i thought. The recipe said to used grill seasonings... but i already had leftover taco meat.... so i used that instead of buying a new packet of seasoning. I was worried for a while, but it was a nice "twist" to a traditional sloppy joe flavor. sloppy joes will always be homemade from now on.

and B: Pork Ribs.
Let me just say... i RARELY crave meat. especially pork. and let me tell ya... with my house smelling like tasty ribs all day... i craved meat. :) i thought jared had died and gone to his pork heaven.

Because I couldn't resist...

I can't get over his cuteness in this video. It doesn't happen often, but he can do sweet things :)





He used to do this all the time when he had little motor control. so funny.







My dad calls this the Salamander Crawl. :)






I made these Eric Carle inspired canvases for his room and he helped . He was so tiny!






I'm a total sap...

The Countdown Begins....

It's exactly two weeks until my baby is 1! It's really kind of weirding me out. Really... one? Really? It's all starting to go by so fast. Soon he'll be walking and talking and making bad faces at me. In honor of his "toddler-hood" I've decided that I"ll take a trip down memory lane with baby Joel video's that you all can enjoy until the big day is here :)

This is one of Joel's first toys. He loved it... from time to time.... :)




This is when he started to talk a bit. And he has NEVER stopped since.



Ok, I swear the first time I sang this with him, he laughed. But I kind of failed getting a video of it.





I love this picture. more than words can describe.




This is from his blessing.



Easter 2009.




I think that's good for now. I really can't believe he's going to be 1!!!!!

I'm a good cook.

So... I've been kind of branching out lately in my cooking adventures. Mostly thanks to a friend who inspires me. (check her out. her stuff is amazing. Lilliansfood.blogspot.com ) I've made two dishes in the past two nights that have been added to our new favorites.

The first is Creamy Tomato Sauce. All thanks to Lillian, this sauce is a new "toney staple".
the picture looks digusting... but i'm telling you. it is soooo good! i added fresh mushrooms and italian sausage in there and i'm telling you.... divine!

Plus, joel is a big fan of any kind of pasta.



and... so is pippi (my mom and dad's dog.)


But i think the real deal is that my dad ate it. my dad, who is not a fan of pasta, ate two servings.

But then there was tonight. I bought some dried tomatoes and i really wanted to try some sort of creamy sauce to go with them. So i took my very amazing Alfredo sauce and gave it a little twist.

The creation was probably one of my triumphs as a cook.
AMAZING Tomato Alfredo:
1 Pkg creme cheese
16 oz sour creme
1 can creme of mushroom soup
2 cloves of garlic
1 Pkg of sun dried tomaotes
1/2 can of tomato paste
Romano Cheese it to taste
Add as many or as little of mushrooms as you like
season to taste (i use and italian blend.)

mix it all to gether over a warm stove and mmmmmmmmm. sooo tasty.


I made some for Becca (our roomate) and her boyfriend Chris, so i'll have to let them try it and add in their imput.

Talents:
I can cook.

our last day of freedom

today is jared's last day before school starts again. it's a little scary since last semester i barely got to see him.

so, yesterday jared planned a little "stay-cation", sent joel to grandma's house, and we spent way too much money we don't have. but it was really nice to be with just jared. plus we saw two good movies and stayed up way too late. (where the wild things are... pretty good movie. not my new fave.)

so what are we doing to celebrate this wonderful day? the boys are napping and i have the house to myself. it's a pretty good trade off.

Our Family

So, since this is our first family Blog, I thought i would tell a little bit about each of us.

Jared. The dad.
He is going to School for Pharmacy at IUSB and is busy. He's such a great daddy and loves video games.

Emily. The mom.
I love scrapbooking (most of the time), Sewing, and music. all kinds of music. I'm pretty much a stay at home mom. I coach Speech and Debate at a local high school.

Joel. The kid.
Almost a year. and is full of the dickens. 24 lbs and so big! He loves playing with everything but the toys we buy him.

We live near both our parents and love that we have both Grandma's who babysit. we love being a family and watching movies. i'm learning how to make good food and jared loves eating it.


i guess that's it for now. i'll see if there is anything more i can write later.