mama and little man.

my little helper.

so i am going through a cleaning phase.  i am trying to rid my house of all the unnecessary piles of crap.  i wanted to start with our bedroom because what was my sanctuary, has now become enclosing chaos.  so, i have been purging the crap.  

well, as i have been working on cleaning said chaos, my little helper has been right by my side....distracting me.  last night, he was distracting me with peek a boo.  it gets me every time.  

i tried to get back to work but cole decided to help me some more.

he recently has taken to burrowing into things (such as the above bathrobes, clothes in the closet and any piles of clothes)

this little guy is so fun.  i don't get much done when he is around, but he sure is a hoot.

obsessed.

so cole has been obsessed with his pacifier since he was born.  i have no problem with him loving the pacifier, seeing as it has allowed me to get some wonderful sleep over the past 14 months.  you might say that it has been my close and personal friend as much as it has been his.  he carries a pacifier (or two or three) around the house with him, switching them out and playing with them.  he has recently taken to stuffing them in between the couch cushions and then discovering them over and over, at which time he squeals in delight like he has just seen a long-lost friend.  

but it is about that time that we take a small step back.  a step away from the paci.  not entirely, but cole no longer needs one all the time and so we are starting to limit the pacifiers just to nap and bedtime (note the plural there, as we throw a handful into his crib when he is sleeping.  more pacifiers = less crying = more sleep for parents).  i am not being really strict on this yet, but overall, the paci is not used as much as it once was.  but, bless his little heart, his love has not diminished for those plastic suckers one bit.  

my precious.

museum.

this morning, since there was no school (do you spell yippee with one "p" or two?), i went with a friend to our local children's museum.  cole and austin get along really well, although they are really too little to actually "play" together.  they just kind of play next to each other.  and take each others' toys.  

cole liked to drive.

 and drive.

 and drive some more. 

 and then he finally let austin in the car. but he wouldn't let him drive.

  i am thinking that 2025 is not going to be a good year for me.  

something for the taste buds.

i have been having a lot of requests recently for my chicken poppyseed casserole.  i have been making this recipe a lot since it is my go-to meal that i make for families, like who have had a baby or just a surgery or something.  and there have been a lot of babies recently!  so, here is the requested recipe.  it is not the healthiest one out there.  i calls for one can of cream of chicken soup.  i am not a big of most canned sups for the ridiculous amount of sodium (and usually all the fat too).  but this is one of only two recipes that i use with cream of chicken so it won't kill me.  yet.  and i do use the healthy request version of this soup.  and since i do, i use the full fat sour cream so as to not lose too much of the good fat-flavor.  okay, on with the recipe.

chicken poppyseed casserole

you need:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 8 oz container of sour cream

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken

 (if in a rush i will use 1 rotesserie chicken instead of cooking the chicken myself)

1 palm full of poppyseeds

1 1/2 cups crushed ritz crackers (one of those tubes of crackers)

1/4 cup butter, melted

what to do:

preheat oven to 350.

combine first 4 ingredients; spoon into a lightly greased dish (i usually use 8x8).

combine crushed crackers and butter; sprinkle over chicken mixture.  

Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes.

and let me tell you that kids love this meal.  it is a great mild and tasty casserole and i have never had anyone not like (to my knowledge).

i made a double recipe for our home group over the weekend but took no pictures.  sorry.  but seriously, try this.  it is easy.  trust me.  i am trustworthy. you will love it!

i realize it has been several days since i have posted a picture of cole and that some of you must be going through cuteness withdrawal.  these should do ya.

his cuteness is re-donk.

country scenes.

on the way to the gate, about a mile from the house, we pass a windmill which i often stop to look at.  while there is nothing particular about windmills that i find fascinating, but i do enjoy watching them when the wind is blowing and they are busy pumping water.  i don't watch too long.  the scene tends to be repetitive.  but when i took these shots, about an hour apart, i had to stop and admire their classic country beauty.  

i think i am going to have this one printed on a canvas and hang it in our country chateau. 

B & W.

i am trying to work on editing my black and white photos better.  i love this one of chewy!

just a shot.

this kid's cuteness is off the charts....but i am a little biased...

oklahoma plains.

we are back in oklahoma to finish off the rest of the christmas break.  but it wouldn't be a vacation without drama.  chewy found another porcupine (no pictures this time as straight to the vet he went and let's face it, by the time you have matched a 3rd porcupine, the drama has really died down).  can you sense the sarcasm? but it wasn't too bad this time.  score?  chewy = 3; porcupines = 0. 

 but i know what you are thinking.  why don't we do something about these porcupines?  well, trust me, we are trying.  first off, chewy is bound to the leash from now on unless we are way far away from the trees.  see, for those of you who know nothing about porcupines, let me fill you in.  they live in trees and stay curled up in a ball so they are pretty hard to see (until they come down and taunt your dog).  and they are between 25-35 pounds...that is one large rodent.  oh yeah, and they are also covered in spikes.  just to put it in perspective, chewy has come away with an average of 200 spikes being stuck in his face after his encounters and the porcupines looked like they weren't missing any when we found them post-battle.  so we are working on eliminating these spikey furballs.

moving on.  we love the country and all the wide open spaces.  it has been cold.  like bunchie long johns under your jeans cold.  (the lows here have been 9 degrees!)  but on a rare above freezing afternoon, we took a stroll through the hills.  

cole was ready to battle the temperature.

 complete in his wranglers and boots

he was a little top heavy with his puffalump coat, so dad and to help him stay upright at times! 

 best view in the house

dad is just so funny sometimes!

happy new year!

well, 2010 was a great year.  it was the first entire year that we had with cole and i look forward to many more!  this was a shot of cole one year ago on new year's day, when he was 2 months old. how cute is this little guy? (i love the little baby double chin)

here is a picture from new year's day this year....see any difference?? 

oh my, oh my, how he has changed.  (and not just his obsession with my cell phone) 2011....this is the last year that he will be considered a baby (but of course he will always be my baby).  that makes me sad!  but none the less, we are ready to jump into the new year with both feet (after a quick phone call of course...)

happy 2011 ya'll!