Pictures from feeding brother

Sweet brothers

Christmas decorating

Our decorating and shopping is all done! It's Christmas time here!

Moose's 2 year old checkup

Moose also went in to the doctor today, and had his 2 year checkup.  He is doing great!  He weighs 29 pounds, which puts him in the 80th percentile.  Quite a change from when he was a baby and at the very bottom of the charts for weight.  He is 37" tall, which puts him at the 98th percentile.  He has always been a very tall boy!  I did some research and found that in most cases if you take the height of a child at 2 years old and double it, you will know within an inch or two how tall they will be as an adult.  Using this method Moose should be 6'2", but it wouldn't surprise me if he was a bit taller as my side of the family is very slow growing.  But for now he is still Mommy's (not so) little baby!

Levi's 4 month checkup

Today Levi had his 4 month check up.  He weighs 15 pounds 5 ounces, which puts him in the 41st percentile.  He is 26" long, which puts him in the 85th percentile.  He is both longer and heavier than Moose was at this age.  The doctor said he is doing well, and he doesn't go back until he is 6 months old.

Line them up

Moose loves lining his toys up. He lines them up on the table, in front of the TV and even in the bath.

Sweet boys

Levi was laying on the couch watching TV with his blankie yesterday. Moose snuggled up next to him and said "Take picture, Mommy!" Of course I did!

A funny little guy

Yesterday Levi was sleeping in his crib during nap time. Moose wanted his work boots, so I snuck into the room to get them. I saw that Levi had his blankie on his face and was asleep. I quickly took a picture because it was really cute. I figured I better gently take the blankie off his face, so I did. The little squirt was laying there grinning at me! Pleased as punch that he had been "hiding" so very quietly! I snapped two pics of his happy little face right away!

Moose words

Yesterday I was cooking and Moose was playing in the living room. I dropped something on the counter. From the other room he yelled "gosh dang it, Mommy!" it was beyond adorable in his little voice. I couldn't stop laughing!

Levi rolled over

He did it all by himself. I laid him on our bed and went to take a shower. When I came back he was really proud of himself, laying there on his tummy!

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a fun Thanksgiving out at my parent's house today. Moose had a great time playing with Grandma, Papa, Auntie and Uncle! Little Levi also got some play time in, but spent a lot of time napping, too. Branden and I put up Christmas lights on Mom and Dad's house. It's our yearly tradition! We had a delicious Thanksgiving meal mid-day and then leftovers again in the evening. Yum! It was a fun day spent with family!

First nap of the day

Second nap of the day

Moose loves driving his truck!

Quick break from putting up Christmas lights

Me and Branden while putting up the Christmas lights

Moose with his new hat from Grandma and Papa (early Christmas gift!)

Orange Oatmeal Pancakes

Orange Oatmeal Pancakes
Serves 4, 3 (4-inch) pancakes per serving

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup nonfat milk
3/4 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons canola oil (I used olive oil)
Non-stick cooking spray

Directions

1. Measure and combine both flours, oats, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Mix well.
2. Crack egg into another bowl, and beat lightly with a fork.
3. Measure and add milk, orange juice, and canola oil to egg, and mix well.
4. Coat a large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray, and heat pan over medium-high heat.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Do not over mix.
6. Use a measuring cup to pour 1/4 cup batter into hot pan for each pancake.  Adjust heat as needed to avoid burning. 
7. Flip pancakes when bubbles appear on top of the batter and the edges are slightly browned.  Cook until second side is slightly browned.  Serve warm.

I made these in our Cooking Matters class and then replicated them again at home.  They are so good!  We had them in class with mashed berries on top, which was really good.  At home we had them with butter and syrup, which was also very good!

Source: http://cookingmatters.org/

Napping

Moose was so cute today napping at Grandma and Papa's house. Precious little angel!

Moose Words

From this morning-
(giggling coming from the boys' room)
Mommy: What's so funny in here?
(Moose and Levi laying in their sides looking at each other through the crib slats)
Moose: (pointing at Levi) Brother Lie-lie funny!

Also from this morning-

I was brushing my teeth and Moose said "Brush teeth?" so I gave him his toothbrush.  He stood there with it in his mouth doing a fake gag over and over (imitating Mommy).  He looked so proud!

This evening as we were driving out of Grandma and Papa's driveway-
Moose: Bye bye Grandma.  Bye bye Papa.  Bye bye Uncle. (pause) Bye bye goats.  Bye bye dogs. 

Daddy and his boys

Fun at the park

My grandparents

Pop and Gram came to visit last month, and I totally forgot that I had these pictures on my camera.  I love the one of the boys and me with Pop and Gram!

Moose's 2nd Birthday Party

We had a get together with our friends and family for Moose's 2nd birthday party!  He had a great time running around playing with his little friends! Happy Birthday Moose!

Levi had rice cereal

We started Levi on rice cereal tonight. It was past his bedtime and he was more interested in sleeping than eating. I ended up putting some cereal in his bottle. I hope this helps with his daytime fussiness and wanting to eat all the time. Poor little guy is hungry!

My clean babies fresh out of a bath

They both smell so good!

Tara's Green Chili (Chile Verde)

I entered this recipe in a chili cook-off recently and won!  It's really, really delicious!
 

Tara's Green Chili (Chile Verde)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds cubed pork stew meat

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 small red onion, diced

8 cloves of garlic, minced

27 oz can Hatch Chopped Green Chiles (mild)

(2) 4 oz cans hatch Chopped Green Chiles (hot)

28 oz can Muir Glen Organic fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juice

3 cups La Victoria Thick-n-Chunky salsa verde (medium)

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried oregano

(2) 15 oz cans pinto beans, rinsed (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper to taste, then place into the hot oil. Cook until golden brown on all sides. Once browned, remove the pork and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in the onion and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Return the pork to the pot, and stir in the green chiles, diced tomatoes with juice, tomatillo salsa, and chicken broth. Season with oregano. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. After 20 minutes, remove 2 cups of the soup (ensure there are no pork cubes in it), and pour into a blender. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree until smooth, and then pour back into the cooking pot. This will create a thicker texture for your chili and will eliminate some of the chunky bits of chiles. Stir in the pinto beans.  Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until the pork is very tender, at least 35 minutes more.      (Serves 12)

Moose and one of his birthday presents

Our friend Shirley sent Moose a birthday present, and he opened it a couple nights ago.  It was adorable how excited he was.  I'm glad I got it on video!

Birthday dinner for Moose

Moose turned two today! We are having his party this weekend, but he had a special birthday dinner tonight. One of his favorite meals: chicken mcnuggets, French fries, apples and Hi-C!