Will this winter ever end?

While we love winter for the skiing, sledding and beautiful white wonderland, I have to say....I'M OVER IT! At least we have these sweet faces to see enjoying the snow angels, snow ice-cream and going down the slide into a huge pile of...snow. Ah, to be a kid again and love every second of our real-life "Frozen" tundra.

Emme and Claire enjoying the frozen lake Sylvan.

 

Christmas 2013

What a joyous holiday season we've had...celebrating the love of family and the many blessings we've been given. We've met Santa twice (both involved screaming sessions), visited the Gingerbread House exhibit at Conner Prairie, attended Claire's first (ridiculously adorable) Christmas pageant, and hosted the "Cairns" Christmas for the first time at our house. It was a busy and wonderful season!

Claire's favorite gift: Little People princess castle and cookie-baking set

Paige's favorite gift: baby doll set with carrier

{What We're Eating} Stuffed Pepper Soup

This is one of those Pinterest recipe that I've tweaked to my family's liking, but I keep coming back to! It's full of healthy, hearty goodness.

 

Stuffed Pepper Soup
 
                                              4 peppers, 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange, diced
                                              1 onion, diced
                                              1 tsp garlic powder
                                              2  ( 26 ounce ) containers reduced sodium beef stock
                                              1 ( 15 ounce ) can tomato sauce
                                              2  ( 15 ounce ) cans diced tomatoes
                                              1 1/2 pounds ground turkey or turkey sausage
                                              3 teaspoons worcestershire  sauce
                                              1 teaspoon onion powder
                                              1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
                                              1/2 teaspoon oregano
                                              1/2 teaspoon basil
                                              1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa

         1) In a saucepan cook turkey and add salt and pepper. While thats cooking in -
         another pan start cooking the peppers.
           
       2) In a large pot saute peppers and onion, cook until tender and add garlic and sauté
         for about another minute. Add your beef stock, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce,
         worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, oregano
         and basil. Add your cooked turkey and cook for about 20 minutes on medium
         high heat. Shut the heat off and add rice and stir. Put a lid on the pot for 5 minutes
         and it's ready! Serve with parmesan cheese and a little hot sauce...if you're feeling spicy!

Halloween 2013

Hello, little miss Tooth Fairy and baby hoot owl...Happy Halloween!

Claire 2011, Paige 2013

Paige is ONE!

Our lovely Paige Abigail is one year old today, and having a ball! She is finally crawling on all fours (after three months of army crawling) and cruising like it's her job. She has two teeth, but insists on eating table food only and prefers to feed herself. Her favorite foods are bananas, broccoli and any type of meat. She says "hiiiiii" about a hundred times a day, and if you ask her to say any other word, she simply replies, "dadddaaa!" Paige takes two naps a day and sleeps 12 hours at night...bedtime is typically 7pm- a complete opposite of her night-owl of a big sister (in many ways). We honestly can say that we've been blessed with two amazingly happy infants...the sleeping and crying gods have been on our side! Paige is already showing signs of being a bit braver and a bit more outspoken than Claire was at this age, and we've enjoyed every minute of recognizing and embracing the differences between our two sweetie pies, whose photos look so shockingly similar. Paige's "pumpkin-pie" party was a smashing (pun-intended) success, with tons of food, friends, family and bounce-house chaos. Who could complain about a gorgeous 70-degree day in October!  Happy first birthday, Paigey-pie...May the next year bring us just as many wonderful memories.

It's Great (and Hard) to be THREE!

Our sweet Claire Elizabeth is three years old! And yes, still sweet...with a touch of sassy! When they say three is harder than two, I can see "their" point. Three-year-olds are almost too smart for their own goods! She remembers EVERYTHING you say, talks in complete stories, and can even be a tad bid manipulative. Imagine that! She knows her letters, her family and friend's birthdays, and hundreds of songs! Dr. Boyce was very happy with her verbal skills, and she's completely on track with her motor skills now too. She can jump, skip (more like a gallop) and run, like a girl! She loves to swim, go to the lake, play with her sister, and do any type of art. She weighs 32.5 pounds (58%) and is 39 inches tall (95%). Claire truly has a sweet soul...she says
"I just really love you" constantly, and is always concerned about others. I cannot wait to see what the next year has in store for us. We'll take the tantrums, if it means we get to have millions more lovely memories with our one-of-a-kind, CE!

 

 

 

 

Paige Nine Months

Less than three months until the big first birthday and we're enjoying Paige's new-found freedom and personality. She weighed 17 pounds 2 ounces (38%) and 26.5 inches long (12%). She's nursing three times a day and we've started supplementing with formula for one bottle and on-the-go's. She's taking two consistent naps and sleeps twelve hours at night. Paige loves any and all food! There is yet to be a food that I have put on her tray that she doesn't devour. She's waving, starting to pull-up, putting everything on her head, and loves to say "hiiiiiii!" She also says "dadda," nonstop. Army crawling is her latest talent. This girl can scoot like a champ and has successfully ruined all if her shirts by mopping my floors with them. Thanks for the help, kiddo! What an absolute joy you are, my Paigey-Pie.