Our trip to Louisiana...

On Friday July 17th my Mom, Sister, Makayla and I left for a trip to Louisiana. Not only was this Makayla's first time meeting my Moms entire side of the family but it was also her first plane trip. She did much better then I expected. She played with all of the new dollar store toys I bought for her, each one only lasting 5 minutes or so but still she did rather well.

On the plane.The first few days we spent in Port Allen which is near Baton Rouge with my Aunt Michele and her family. She loved playing with Melissa and MichealMelissa and MakaylaMakayla and Micheal and Pixie at the bottom.

Then we were off to the town where my Mom grew up. Bunkie. We stayed with my Aunt Donna and her family. (My mom has 4 sisters) She was so sweet to open her beautiful home to us and treated us like queens. She even has this magic fairy that lives in her house and picks up after you. It's amazing. Makayla got to meet all of her cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone. It was wonderful.

My Aunt Donna, Makayla, and I

The Entire "Roy" Family

Every summer I used to go and stay with my Aunt Donna and Uncle Tinker at there home. I had the best time. I was so excited for Makayla to experience all the things I love growing up. She got to play in the crop fields, swing on old swings, ride on a John Deer, ring the old bell, and just be with family. Everyone loved her and she loved them. All in all we had a wonderful visit with my family and we can't wait to go back. Just hanging out!

Riding on the tractor with Uncle Tinker Makayla Loves Grandmom

Playing with Cathrine.

These are just a few of the pictures. Click here to see the entire album from our visit.

We also went to Disney this past weekend for my Mom and Sisiters Birthday I will try and post all about our Disney trip in the next few days so be sure to check back.

We're Back....

I know I have been a total slacker with the blog the past 2 weeks. We were traveling and enjoying family but I am back and ready to blog. There will be a bundle of new post the next few days so keep checking back if you want to read and see LOTS of pictures of all of our summer adventures thus far. Hope all is well with everyone.

We are doing great. Ohh and Makayla is a full time walker these days so there is no sitting still for me. She is a CLIMBER. She even climbed in the dishwasher yesterday. Let the adventures begin!

Tickle Your Taste Buds Tuesday

Summer grilled Veggie Salad

Remember when I first started my blog and I had my recipes in the right side bar? I first posted this recipe there. I have since then gotten a few request for this recipe so I wanted to add it in so that if you want it later on you an click the icon that is now in the right side bar and it will be in the collection of recipes.

This is one of my favorites. There are a few steps but it’s really easy. You can serve it as a main dish just add some chicken or shrimp. Or as a side to your favorite meal.

1 bunch of asparagus
1 container of mushrooms
1 container of cherry or grape tomatoes
garlic
evoo
sugar
Salt and Pepper (S&P)
Favorite seasoning----I use Mrs. Dash and a Italian seasoning blend
Lettuce(I like to use spinach or mixed greens)
Goat cheese or your favorite soft white cheese
Sliced almonds

Dressing
Splash of white balsamic vinegar
Lemon Zest and juice
S&P
Green onions
Dijon mustard
Evoo

Cut the asparagus and mushrooms into bit size pieces toss in evoo, a little pepper, lemon zest and Mrs. Dash.
Lay evenly on a bar pan and and roast at 350 for about 15-20 min. You want the asparagus to still be crunchy but cooked through.
After they are cooked remove from pan and refrigerate.
Cut tomatoes in half length wise and toss with Italian seasonings, evoo, 3 cloves crushed garlic, (I like a lot of garlic) and salt & pepper and I sometimes add a little crushed red pepper. lay out evenly on the bar pan you already cooked the other veggies on. sprinkle with a small amount of sugar (it helps them caramelize)
Roast them at 350 until they burst. About 45 mins or so. You can stir them after about 30 mins. When they are done you can cool them as well but you can serve them warm also.

For the dressing you just whisk everything together.
Toss just the lettuce with the dressing then layer in the veggies and then the tomatoes.
Top with slices of goat cheese and sliced almonds.
This salad is really good to serve at a party and you can make everything ahead of time. If you are bringing it to a party, dress the lettuce and layers it all together once you get there.

This is one I made up hope you enjoy

Do you have a recipe you want to share? Email me at slbower(at)gmail(dot)com, or leave me a comment below. I am always looking for new recipe ideas. Let me know if you try this one or you have a suggestion.
Did you miss out on a past recipes? Just click on the picture at the top of this post or in the right side bar and you can see them all. Give one a try tonight there are some good ones! Make sure to check back every Tuesday for a new recipe and don't forget to let me know if you try one.

And the winner is....

Well Makayla went to her 1 year appointment today. The Doctor said she is more than healthy and looks great. He asked about her walking, yep she is doing that. He asked if she is off the bottle, yep and the paci, she is also already switched to whole milk. He asked about her sleeping, yep she does that well too. Then he asked about her talking...can she say at least 2 words clearly, YES she can say over 10 words clearly. Then I asked if she should be imagination playing yet and he said she is a little young buy yes she could be. Well she does that pretty well too. After talking some more about diet and actions and reasoning, he said it seems like she is more on the level of a 15-18 month old. He also said a number of times "you are really going to have your hands full"

All of this "Makayla is ahead of the game" talk makes me so happy. I am so proud of our girl. I am also so scared of what the future brings for us. She already wants her way or no way. Ohhh we have a long road ahead of us. Life as never been and will never be boring for us with her around. I am excited about what the next few years have in store. The challenges that will be put in front of us will only make us stronger.

And now to the good stuff.....drum roll please......Her weight is 19 lbs even..and her height 29 1/2 inches long which means....we don't have a winner :( No one got it right on. The closet was Bridget (the vest family). but no one got it spot on. I might still have to send Bridget a little something for being the closest.

So Makayla is in the 65% of height and 19% for weight. She is a growing healthy girl and I couldn't be more proud! Her iron is still a little low, but is getting higher. She will still have to stay on iron for another 2 months until we test again.

Thank you all for your guesses. That was fun wasn't it? I might have to have another contest soon that there will for sure be a winner.

Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for checking in.

Summer Fun

As most of you know we live in Florida where the days are long and the sun is hot. I have been trying to fill our days with fun and inexpensive activities. Here are some of the things we do through the week to fill our time.


We finger paint, which leads to baths in the sink which Makayla thinks is so funny.

We play outside in her tent with her new bubble machine.

We get ice cream snowcones from the icecream man.

We play in the pool. M got a pool for her birthday that we broke out this past week. Might I add that Steve blew this up by mouth by himself. Steve and M stayed in the pool for 2 hours just splashing and playing. She didnot want to get out but it was time for dinner.

What do you do to fill your summer days?

One Year Appointment

Tomorrow is Makayla's 1 year appointment. Can you guess how much she will weigh, and how long she is? Leave your guess in the comment section (you can also email me if you don't want to leave a comment)--- who knows if you get both right you might just win something fun. I have been known to give out a few Pampered chef items here and there. I might even send you some cute hair clippies. You will have to guess and see. So make sure to get your guess in by 10:00pm on Thursday the 9th. I will post the answer and if anyone got it right on Thursday night, after I close the comments.

Here is a hint. She weighed 17.2 lbs at her 9 month appointment and was 27 1/2 inches long.She is now off of formula and on whole milk. Happy guessing. I can't wait to see all the guesses and see who wins!!

Tickle Your Taste Buds Tuesday

Chicken Wings

This recipe is brought to you by my wonderful husband Steve!

This is easy and yummy.

Ingredients

1 package of chicken wings (or as many as you need to feed your hungry eaters)

Salt and Pepper

Your favorite Chicken wing sauce we use Frank's

Directions

Heat the over to 350. Lay out chicken wings and drums on a bar pan or cookie sheet and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

Bake until almost cooked through. It takes 30-45 minutes depending on the amount of chicken and the size of the wings.

Heat the BBQ to a med heat.

Remove the chicken from oven and put the wings in a bowl and toss with wing sauce. Coat pretty liberally.

Put the chicken wings on the hot grill to finish cooking and crisp up the skin. About 10-15 minutes. When they are done, put the chicken back in the bowl and toss again. We like our wings spicy so we toss again, if you don't like them too hot then skip this step and just serve.

After you toss the 2nd time they are ready to serve. We cut up celery and serve them with blue cheese for Steve and Ranch for me! These are super easy and so good.

Do you have a recipe you want to share? Email me at slbower(at)gmail(dot)com, or leave me a comment below. I am always looking for new recipe ideas. Let me know if you try this one or you have a suggestion.
Did you miss out on a past recipes? Just click on the picture at the top of this post or in the right side bar and you can see them all. Give one a try tonight there are some good ones! Make sure to check back every Tuesday for a new recipe and don't forget to let me know if you try one.

One year ago today.

A year ago today I spent the day in the hospital. I arrived at about 11:00pm the night before. I woke up in the morning with some contractions and by 11:00am I was getting an epidural. I went through labor and contracts most of the day. My water broke sometime around 4:00pm and at about 6:00pm I started pushing. After what seemed like days I finally delivered Makayla Ann Bower at 8:10pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 12oz and 21inches long. She was a healthy baby girl and the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Each month as the 6th rolls around I think WOW she is already another month older. Before I know it she will be a year old. Well that day has come and I still can't believe it. We have been so blessed with such a smart, funny, beautiful girl. I can honestly say thanks to Steve working as hard as he does, I don't feel like I have missed a thing. I have gotten to stay home with her everyday and watch her change and grow. It was so important to me to be able to have that opportunity with her and without Steve's sacrifice and hard work it would not have been possible. Thank you Honey. It means more to me then you will ever know.

So many people in our lives have made changes for the love of Makayla. Most of all my Mom has been there for everything. She comes over daily just to see her. She has brought countless boxes of diapers, wipes and formula, which has helped us out dearly. She brings Makayla new toys, and clothes all the time. She has shown Makayla so much love as has Makayla in return. We could not have survived this first year without her. Then there is my sister (Makayla calls her Nenny). Makayla gets SO excited to see her Nenny. Jenn is fun and exciting. They laugh together and play and tell secrets. They dance get down, look at all of Makayla's "pretties" (her clothes and bows), they have fun snacks. Makayla loves my sister! How could she not? Being with Nenny is almost like being at Disney world.

With every passing month M has learned something new. I remember the day she could first hold her head up. The first time she rolled over, the first time she crawled, and talked, and said Mama, and Dada. Her first tooth, her first belly ache, her first steps. Everything seems like it was just yesterday and here we are at her 1st birthday. This 1st year is going to be hard to beat. We have had alot of laughs, tears, new experiences, mess ups, and successes. I can't wait to see what this coming year has install for us. Thank you all for sharing this first year with us. I hope you have enjoyed our stories and pictures, and that you stay around for year #2. I expect it to be even more exciting!

Do you remember what Makayla looked like at a month old? Do you want to take a look back? Look in my right sidebar. See where it says Monthly photo's take a look back? You can click on that and see her photos from each month or you can just click here. I love to see how she has changed, don't you? Thanks again for checking in!

The best Fireworks ever.

Every 4th of July I get so excited to watch the sky light up with Bright flashes of red, blue, green, pink, purple and the many other array of colors the fireworks display we settle into watch shines in the night. I have to say this year was the best show by far, but it wasn't the fireworks with there bright colors and loud booms. It wasn't that we were in the middle of the lake and simultaneously saw 8 shows at once. It wasn't that we were surrounded by our loved ones. It was the way Makayla would light up with every flash and pop. She pointed out each time a flash of light appeared in the sky, she just couldn't get enough. The way her face lit up with excitement each time she saw the bright flashes made me smile with delight. I was watching the best fireworks show I had ever seen---Fireworks through my daughters eyes.

Last year on the 4th I tried to imagine what this year would be like. How my unborn baby would be days away from turning 1. Would she like the fireworks or would she be scared? She loves them. Would she be able to wait up for them and stay awake for the entire show? She never misses a thing. Would she be a daddy's girl or always want her Mom? She loves us both but becoming more of a daddy's girl by the day.

This year has pasted so fast. I never imagined being able to love another person so quickly and so much. Everything is better when I get to experience it through Makayla's point of view.

For the 4th of July we celebrated at my Mom's clubhouse. We swam all day and then went back to her house for a BBQ of Chicken, baked beans, pasta salad, corn on the cob, and a yummy ice cream dessert I made. Then we headed out on the boat to Lake Tarpon to watch the fireworks. We had a fabulous day and evening. I still can't believe it was a year ago today that I was headed to the hospital to deliver my baby and this year I was holding her in my arms.

Here are the pictures from our day. The first few are of Makayla getting sun screened up. Let me know how you like her hair. The others are from our boat trip. Just click on the picture to see the entire album.

4th of July 2009

Mommy knows best?

Ohh so where do I begin? Last Thursday I took Makayla to the doctor for a runny nose and cough they said it was viral and to give her Tylenol and Motrin and lots of liquids, cold mist vapor, vapor baths....blah blah blah....I did not agree with this, but did all I could do to get her better. She was miserable and green and I felt she needed an antibiotic. I called the Doctors office on Friday and asked how he knew it was viral and not bacterial the answer I got..."Years of experience" (whatever) By Saturday night she was horribly sick and her party was the next day, at 10:00pm she was screaming nonstop and when she pooped there was black chunks. I freaked out! I thought she was bleeding from her stomach (there is a warning on the Motrin bottle that if they have black poop they can be bleeding internally) I thought she was screaming because of her stomach. Off to the Urgent care center we went. Makayla screaming the entire 20 minute ride.

When we arrived (M still screaming) the doctor came in looked in her ears and nose and said she has a bacterial and ear infection I will get her an antibiotic and she will be fine.

Me "uhhh I knew it, but ohh she has black poop we brought the diaper can you tell if she is bleeding internally from all the Motrin the past 3 days?"
Dr. "I am sure she is not bleeding and you did not overdoes her with Motrin but Sure I will check"
He leaves and the nurse comes in with her first dose of antibiotic.
Dr. comes back, "Good news she is not bleeding, but did you feed her raisins or prunes today?"
Me, "umm no" Thinks for a second "ohh crap blueberries" Husband--blank stare---"the only thing she would eat earlier today was blueberries"
The doctor put numbing drops in her ear and she finally stopped screaming. We went home she went straight to bed and made it to her party the next day.

Notes to self
1)black chunks do not mean bleeding and is not a cause to bring her to urgent care. Lesson learned.
2) Doctors are now always right, and sometimes I do know best even if this is my first time being a Mom.
3) I need to find a new doctor for Makayla.

It is now Wednesday night and Makayla is doing great. Tooth #3 is trying to make its way through so she is a little cranky but doing well.

She is now a professional at the word STOP. She spends a good amount of time on that timeout mat these days and is beginning to use her imagination. For her birthday she got a little fisher-price kitchen. She loves it. She opens the fridge, pretends to pull something out hand it to me and wants me to pretend to eat it and say MMMMM. We play tea party and she can even "cheers". She really is so much fun right now. We are getting ready for her first plan trip in a few weeks. I am a little nervous about keeping her occupied for the entire plane ride but I am going to bring lots of snacks and hope for the best. Any advise or tips would be great though.

Makayla's Birthday party

This past Sunday Makayla had her first birthday party. We had her party at my Mom's clubhouse so we could take full advantage of the pool. We had a bubble machine and bubble wands for the kids to play with, lots of food and cupcakes and fun party bags for the kids to take home. Makayla was not feeling well the day of her party but she fought through it and had a wonderful day.

Makayla's first birthday Party

We felt so blessed as she opened all of her gifts. Our friends were so generous to our baby girl. She is now feeling almost 100% and loves playing with all of her new toys! Here are the pictures from her party. Her real birthday is on the 6th so there will be more to come.