Happy Leap Day!

Today is Drake's first Leap Day. While this is not a holiday or something to celebrate, the 29th of February only comes around every four years and who doesn't like getting an extra day in their birthday month? Leap Day is an occurrence that does not happen all that often in a person's lifetime. I heard on the news this morning that a woman who is turning 84 years old today has only had her actual day of birth 21 times.

So to celebrate an extra day in Drake's life, here are a few pictures from February...

Sound asleep at the Women's Basketball game

Watching his Daddy do yard work while pulling leaves off the plant

A young Thor in training

Sliding! He LOVED the slide and did not want to leave the park

Neverland

This was a very busy weekend for us, but a lot of fun, even with all three of us suffering from a weeklong bout with a cold. David got over his symptoms pretty quickly because he took cold medicine, but Drake and I had to suffer through. I had still been nursing Drake every morning and some in the evenings, which preventing me from taking any cold medicine. I realized though that he is getting very little milk from me at this point, so finally on Friday I too took some cold medicine.

Our weekend began with an elementary school rendition of Peter Pan on Friday evening. Our niece was playing the role of one of the Baves in the play and it really was very well done. I was amazed that this was an ementary school production because it was the full play with three set changes and 70 kids! It really exceeded what I was imagining and was evident all of the time (5 months+) that the students, staff, and volunteer parents put in to the production.

I was not sure how Drake was going to respond to the play and I thought it might keep his attention for a big but that he would get restless. I sure was wrong...he LOVED it. He kept his eyes on the stage for the entire hour and thirty minutes, danced to the music, and clapped when the audience clapped. He has always really enjoyed watching other kids and dances whenever he hears music, so I guess I should not be surprised, but we may need to start crashing elementary school plays all over the Upstate!

Saturday we went to the basketball game and saw Clemson beat NC State in overtime. After the game, we headed back to Greenville to visit with David's family who had all come to town for the matinee showing of Peter Pan. It was great to see everyone and we are looking forward to our next visit.

I did not take one picture this weekend, but here are a few form the past week. We had great weather so we were able to spend a lot of afternoons playing outside...

Meatless Meals

David and I have decided that we are going to try and eat at least one vegetarian meal a week and buy the majority of our meal form local, natural sources. I have never really been much for vegetarian fare, but I really enjoyed the two meals that we have had this last week.

Quinoa Patty with Cheese and Avocado, Tomato, and Corn Salad

Quinoa and Black Bean Burger with Oven Cooker Sweat Potato Fries 

I have found the recipe for the entree online, making some simple modifications. I thought of the sides on my own, but they were not difficult concepts at all. One thing I did learn was that the recipes call for measurement of quinoa in its uncooked state...maybe I should read a little more clearly.

If anyone has suggestions for vegetarian meals, I am open to more ideas!

I wrote this post at the beginning of the week but did not have the pictures with me. Last night we used the leftover burger to make soft tacos...delicious!

King Cake for All

Happy Mardi Gras everyone! It is very unfortunate that as long as I am in the job that I am, we will never be able to make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. David has suggested that Clemson schedule a basketball game at Tulane during Carnival, but that is not likely to happen since this is ACC playing time. Hopefully one day we will be able to make it.

My cousin Lindsay (http://www.withalittleloveandluck.com/2012/02/wednesday-recipe-mini-king-cake.html) had a great idea in making a King Cake by braiding Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls. This was such a great idea and I have made 4 cakes in the last few days. One was for us to have at home, one for work, and two for a bake sale at a church that I do not attend but play softball for. I am not sure if they sold in the sale, but I do now that people at work loved it and I was able to give my co-workers a lesson on Mardi Gras traditions and that it is more than just a party.

While I think I need to work on my food color ratios to get the correct coloring, I think all in all, this was a successful bake!

Frist Birthday Party

Drake's first birthday worked out very well, being on a Saturday, so we were able to have his party on his actual birthday. As I have mention numerous times, I am one of the least crafty and creative people you will meet. Prior to his party, people would ask me what the theme was going to be. It is a first birthday party, the theme is going to be "birthday party".

To celebrate, we had all of our immediate family along with neighbors, my aunt, and a few other friends. I think Drake had a great time playing with everyone and was exhausted the rest of the weekend. Thank to everyone who was able to come and help celebrate Drake's first year. We are so lucky to have all of the people that we do in our lives. 

Drake and our neighbor Julia

 



Bishop Cousins

Granddaddy!

Playing with new toys with Aunt Genevieve and Anna with Nana and Papa watching

Aunt Ginny, the Great

Sending All My Love

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

She's Crafty

I am the anti-crafty person. I have very little creativity when it comes to decorating or just general craft projects. The entent to which I have any creativity comes out when I cook. But, for Drake's birthday party, I tried to do a couple craft-type projects.

My first project was a birthday balloon wreath. I'm not sure where this idea popped into my head from, but I had the thought and then searched Pinterest for ideas. I was able to find complete instructions and the wreath actually turned out great and I got a lot of complements! It was very easy to make, using a straw wreath, floral pins, and about 150 balloons. I think I could have used more balloons to cover the base a little better, but I used all that I had.

My second project was less of a craft project, but I am still going to add it to my crafty post. I created a poster, wishing Drake a happy birthday. One the poster, there is a picture from each month of Drake's life. I had the general concept and then had my friend Lindsey help me to dress it up a bit. I think it turned our great and it is really nice to have access to a plot printer at work. Too bad we have to pay for print jobs now...they used to be free!

With the success of these projects, maybe I will try some more in the future...

One Year Old

It is crazy to me to think that a year has already passed since your arrival. You turned one this past Saturday and had a great day with your family and friends (sorry some were sick and not able to make the party). You still continue to change by the day.

- You now weigh 22 pounds (37th percentile) and are 30 and 3/4 inches long (85th percentile)

- You can wave, clap, give kisses and hugs. I love when you give me a hug...your kisses are kind-of wet

- You are letting go of objects now when standing and have learned to balance. This week you have been standing, clapping, and dancing along to music

- Your first word was this past week also and is dog ("gog"). When you hear Luke bark, you will look toward outside and say "gog"

- You are still a great eater, although it has been a little more difficult to find exactly what you want to eat. You have a new love, strawberries, so I make sure you have those once a day. I am actually surprised you weight so little because you eat, a lot!We started some cow's milk over the past couple weeks and you liking it so far. I have not really figured out how we are going to fully introduce milk into your diet, but I am finished pumping. We have one more freezer bag and then you may nurse a little in the morning and at night for the next couple of weeks.

- When you are relaxing (sitting with us on the sofa or even in your car seat), I have noticed that you cross your feet. Your legs are extended, but crossed at the ankles. It is very cute and how both your daddy and I sit when relaxing.

We have had so much fun with you this first year and can only imagine what this next year will bring us. Has everything since your arrival been easy, no way. Do I miss my sleep, very much so. But the joy that you have brought us makes everything so worth it.

Wordless Wednesday

Maybe it's time for some shoes...

You've Been Chopped

For Girl's Night Out this month, we decided to do our own version of the Food Network show, Chopped. We had 6 chefs, two for appetizers, two for entrees, and two for desserts. When I agreed to cook, I was thinking that we would find out what out ingredients were that night and have to come up with something. As the host, I should have thought better than that...how would I be expected to have a fully stocked kitchen? As it was, the ingredient list was sent to us a week prior and we just had the food prepared for dinner. The ingredients were:

Appetizer: Strawberries, Frozen Waffles, Sun dried Tomatoes

Entree: Quinoa, Spam, Pretzels

Dessert: Breadcrumbs, Boxed Brownie Mix, Stone Ground Mustard

All of the food turned out really good! I was assigned to dessert and decided on homemade brownie ice cream with a mustard caramel sauce and a breadcrumb cookie. While my first attempt at the caramel souce was a horrible desaster, David lit a candle to get rid of the burnt smell and I rallied to make what turned out to be a pretty tasty sauce. The ice cream was a Ben and Jerry's cream base to which I added the cooked brownies. For the breadcrumb, I did an internet search to find a recipe for a cookie, which was chocolate with wheat bread crumbs. While it tasted pretty good, I think it was the weakest component to my dessert.

While we did not decide on winners, I think everyone did a great job and this is something that we will do again in the future.