Thursday, August 29, 2013

Just a Little Update!




This morning we were excitedly expecting some dear friends over for a play date so I had made muffins to share. Right before they arrived Abigail came to the kitchen asking for one. I told her that her friend was about to arrive and she replied: "Aww... I love her Mommy. Her my best friend!" My heart melted as I heard those sweet words come from her mouth! This was her first time to say on her own that someone was her best friend!



Our current season of parenting a two, almost three year old, and a fifteen month old is full of so many fun moments, new memories, crazy emotions, and frequent opportunities to trust God and lean on His grace!



Our girls are growing up so much! Abigail will talk till you're blue in the face when she gets on a roll and literally this week Kaitlin has suddenly decided to start talking! She's been saying "dada" and "mama" and "dish" (this?). However TODAY she said "ba" for ball for the first time ever! The last day or two she has been trying to say please too! It sounds more like "peese"! Haha... I am SO excited to hear her little voice as she starts articulating more! She has started babbling a ton at fifteen months too. I guess this is her gearing up to be our second little chatter box!


Abigail has such a caring and sweet heart for her sister and friends! Even though some days I feel like my girls have constant cat-fights, the love I see them pour out on each other is just precious! Abigail loves being our helper and can really do so much on her own! Plus... She is such a "Potty Princess" as she calls herself (thanks to a potty training moving she saw about potty princesses!)!! It seems to finally be clicking with her to pee in the potty. I still usually have to prompt her (although several times she has told me when she needs to go) but she has many days now that we have no pee accidents! We're still working on the other part. Haha...


Abigail is also so girly! She loves shoes, purses, fun clothes, sparkles ("sparklies" as she calls them), playing tea party, making pretend coffee, helping me make dinner, etc...

Some of her cute sayings right now:

"I want.... it's my favorite!"
"Actually... No." Or "Actually... Yes." Or "Actually... Sure."

When praying: "Dear Jesus, Mommy's a girl, Daddy's a boy, Sissy's just a baby and A-gurl (Abigail) is a Potty Princess. Jesus loves me. Amen" 😃

Abigail is one of the most genuine and loving little girls ever. While she shys away from new people and is most animated when she's around her closest friends and family, she still loves to be around other kids and join them in playing. Recently, we babysat a sweet little three month old girl and Abigail just loved it! She brought her toys, talked to her, told me about her nose, mouth, and eyes, and gave such sweet little smiles as she watched me feed the baby her bottle. I could quickly tell that whenever we Lord-willing, have another baby, she will be a marvelous little mommy to it!


Kaitlin is our little one who is FULL of life! This little missy loves people, loves exploring, loves being outside, loves snuggling and giggling, loves climbing, and loves being "just as big" as her older sister!



She does not miss a beat in life! When she falls she rarely cries much, she loves doing her own little thing and being in her own little world, and she is so chilled! (Until she gets upset, and then people, move out of the way! Haha! This kid has some lungs!😉)


So many times I have found Kaitlin hanging out by herself in Abigail's room. She takes her snack and just goes and sits all by herself at their little table and chairs. Haha... At first it surprised me but now I have come to realize that if I don't see her there's a good chance she's just hanging out in her sister's room. She loves it too! She's so happy just doing her own little thing! I love it!


I love watching her little personality unfold as she gets older. She loves to watch Abigail and try to do things like her. She wants to help push the stroller too, or ride on the bike, or eat the whole apple, or play up in Abigail's big girl bed.



Kaitlin is also pretty fearless! She chases the vacuum, goes straight to the edge of steps (and gives that mischievous grin, knowing she's not supposed to be there), carries around a 5lb. ball, carries a play chair from the back of our home in A's room out into the living room, etc... She just goes with the flow of life and embraces whatever her little heart wants to do.



This also has recently included taking things from Abigail and running full speed away from her. Oh, the fun days ahead of training our sweet but "stinkerish" little second born that she cannot have everything she wants. 😀

Parenting our little girls is truly such a blessing and the absolute best job in the world!! I wouldn't trade it for anything! Even though the days can be long and ever so tiresome, they are blessed days, filled with many reminders of my desperate need for God's grace in my life as I seek to point our daughters to Christ. I am so thankful to have a godly husband who could not be a more wonderful father and example to our littles!

I sure love life with our sweet little girls!

Monday, May 6, 2013

It's Tea Time!!

My church's women's ministry put together a wonderful tea outing this weekend. It was our first time to go to Sisters Tea Room and it was so wonderful!!! They have a fun little gift shop plus a photo area where you can try on fun big hats, gloves, scarves, and jewelry to pose for pictures. We had a blast!
I was so excited to take my mother-in-law, Kay, and Abigail. Abigail did a really great job and even drank several cups of tea!

Here are some fun pictures from our time. Abigail is in the middle of teething her two-year molars so many pictures have her hand stuffed in her mouth, but they still turned out cute!

It's hard to believe Abigail is so big!
Three Generations of Roland Ladies

Big Hat!
Sitting at our table! I felt like I was wearing a Derby hat! 
Mimi and Abigail! I LOVE this picture!

Teaching Abigail to stir her tea! 
Sipping Tea
 
Abigail's confused look when she said: "Where'd the sugar go?"
She liked to eat the sugar cubes out of her tea and didn't understand when they dissolved. Ha! 

Such a big girl! So proud of her!

Eating tea cakes (and animal crackers)! 

Kay and our beautiful tea tray!

We had a table all to ourselves and got to sample three different types of tea!
Fairy Dust was our favorite flavor! It was a vanilla spice tea. 

Nom, nom... 

Sampling a Mint Julep Cupcake! Perfect for Derby Weekend! 

Kay looking beautiful! 

Trying on the fun hats... 

So pretty and stylish! 



Sara Kate being so sweet to help Abigail.




So girly!


Why not end a tea with snuggling a stuffed puppy?!  :-)

Family Time & A Hair Cut for Abigail

This past weekend, Kyle's parents came in town to visit us from Georgia for Kaitlin's first birthday party. We had a wonderful time with them and made many sweet memories!

The girls fell in love with all their snuggles, play times, gifts, and attention! They brought so many fun new toys, including a laughing baby doll that Kaitlin adores, a whole bin of potato heads that Abigail has spent SO much time playing with, a whole trunk of dress up clothes, plus more!
Can you tell we all love pink? Haha... 

Kyle's Mama is a hair dresser so we always enjoy getting fresh hair cuts when she comes to visit. She was able to give Abigail a hair cut for the first time during this visit. Abigail did a great job, sitting really still!! We were all so proud of her!


She just trimmed off the tips and added a tad bit of layering to it. I have really seen growth in her hair since I gave her a trim back in February for the first time! It's lengthened and thickened! 
 Mimi and Papa C bought Abigail a little play princess camera and she loved walking around taking pictures. Here she's taking a picture of Mimi wearing potato head glasses. :-)
Kaitlin enjoying a walk with Papa C!

We are so very thankful for these sweet grandparents! They are a blessing in our little family's lives! 

Photos of a Princess Tea Party with Mimi to come... 

Thursday, March 14, 2013

It's Potty Training Time

One week ago yesterday, Abigail asked (on her own) to go potty on the toilet. I was shocked and excited when she expressed her need to go. We had tried back in December after she turned 2 to potty train and she was not ready at all. I decided to just wait until this summer or until she was closer to 3 after hearing from some friends that it's an easier age to train. So, when Abigail initiated wanting to go potty, I decided that day, as she continued using the potty, that we were just going to follow her lead and do away with diapers and get into this whole potty training thing! It's now been a full week and she hasn't worn a diaper since! She definitely still has accidents and wears pull ups at night, but she is doing fabulous! She even stays dry over nap time in her panties!
Abigail is becoming such a big girl! She chats all the time now. She is doing so much better putting together sentences and putting her thoughts into words! It's adorable and sweet to hear what she's thinking about!

She loves to dance with her Daddy, to role play with her kitchen set, making us yummy meals and drinks (frequent meals are apples or yogurt... haha), to play with her baby dolls,  and to have tea with her tea sets.
I absolutely love how girly she is!!
 She loves hats and purses and helping Mommy shop!


I look forward to many more years of these sweet memories with my girlies!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

March Menu Plan

In our quest to cut out most processed and sugary foods (almost everything from a grocery store that comes in a box), I am aiming to make basically everything from scratch this coming month. I used to cook more like this before kids and even after Abigail was born. However, with a second pregnancy and then baby, it's been so simple to buy some things pre-made or just out of a bag. These things not only have horrible additives, sweeteners, and junk added to them, they are just not as tasty as home-cooked goodness! I am also working to add in some simple weekly dinners that will help keep us within our food budget each month. We love breakfast foods in our family and yummy pizza so these will make up two of our weekly dinners. By soaking my grains and making homemade baked oatmeal, muffins, biscuits, bread, and pizza dough, I can make these meals nourishing, healthy, and yummy!

Maybe this meal plan will be helpful to some of ya'll as you look for yummy new recipes to try. Many of these recipes will be new to me this month, so I hope they turn out yummy!

Bake at beginning of the month to store in freezer for quick access:

Banana Crumb Muffins 
Tater Tot Casserole Muffins - Substitute chopped baked potato for tots
Morning Glory Muffins 
Bread and Rolls 

I have assigned meal types for certain days of the week. There are three days that we are consistently out of the house. It's hard to get dinner on the table for these days and we easily fall into the habit of eating out, so I've assigned these days as my crockpot and freezer meal days.

Sunday - Crockpot/Lunch, Breakfast/Dinner
Monday - Grill
Tuesday - Crockpot
Wednesday - Freezer meal or/Crockpot
Thursday - Breakfast for dinner
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Sandwiches/Lunch, Clean out the Fridge/Dinner

To simplify my life, I have repeated meals on this list. It will hopefully help keep the budget cheaper just to double up on some foods. I also don't stick right to my meal plan. Once I know I have these foods in my house after my first-of-the-month shopping trip, I don't mind rotating around some of our meals to fit best in that week.

So, here you have it!

Week 1

Sunday 
B: Muffins from Freezer
L: Lazy Day Stew & Cornbread
D: Pancakes

Monday 
B: Egg Omelets
L: Leftover Stew
D: Honey-Lime Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Zucchini

Tuesday
B: Banana Pecan Waffles
L: PB&J's and Fruit (Packed lunch to take out with us)
D: Mama Rita's Meatballs, Pasta, and Garlic Bread

Wednesday 
B: Green Smoothies 
L: Leftover Meatballs and Pasta
D: Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole (Freezer), Salad

Thursday
B: Tater Tot Casserole Muffins
L: Leftover Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
D: Biscuits and Egg/Sausage gravy

Friday
B: Banana Crumb Muffins
L: Chicken Salad Sandwiches and fruit
D: Hamburger Pizza (Or Sausage Pizza)

Saturday
B: Oatmeal Pancakes
L: Thyme Meatball Sandwiches
D: Clean out the Fridge


Week 2

Sunday
B: Muffins from Freezer
L: Zuppa Tuscana Soup
D: Eggs/ Biscuits (Biscuit recipe is from Better, Homes, and Garden cookbook)

Monday
B: Egg Omeletes
L: Leftover Soup
D: Grilled Two-Cheese Burgers and Roasted Potatoes

Tuesday
B: Blender Waffles
L: PB&J's and Fruit (Packed lunch to take out with us)
D: Beef Stroganoff (make homemade cream of mushroom soup), Pasta, Salad

Wednesday 
B: Smoothies
L: Leftover Beef Stroganoff
D: Baked Chicken Chimichangas (or Chicken Soft Tacos) and Salad

Thursday
B: Tater Tot Casserole Muffins
L: Leftover Chimichangas
D: Pancakes

Friday
B: Banana Crumb Muffins
L: Chicken Salad Sandwiches and Fruit
D: Chicken Pesto Pizza (or Hamburger Pizza)

Saturday
B: Pancakes
L: French Dip Sandwiches (Or Fried Egg, Bacon, Avocado Sandwiches)
D: Clean out the Fridge


Week 3

Sunday
B: Muffins from Freezer
L: Lazy Day Stew & Cornbread
D: Pancakes

Monday
B: Egg Omelets
L: Leftover Stew
D: Grilled Hawaiian Chicken (Marinate in pineapple juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic/onion powder, and melted butter), sauteed zucchini, mashed potatoes.

Tuesday
B: Banana Pecan Waffles
L: PB&J's and Fruit (Packed lunch to take out with us)
D: Mama Rita's Meatballs, Pasta, Salad

Wednesday 
B: Smoothies
L: Leftover Beef Stroganoff
D: Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole (from Freezer) and Salad

Thursday
B: Tater Tot Casserole Muffins
L: Leftover Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
D: Biscuits and Egg/Sausage Gravy

Friday
B: Banana Crumb Muffins
L: Chicken Salad Sandwiches and Fruit
D: Sausage Pizza

Saturday
B: Oatmeal Pancakes
L: Thyme Meatball Sandwiches
D: Clean out the Fridge



Week 4

Sunday
B: Muffins from Freezer
L: Potato Soup and Rolls 
D: Eggs/ Biscuits 

Monday
B: Egg Omeletes
L: Leftover Soup
D: Maple Salmon, Asparagus, Carrots, Homemade Rolls

Tuesday
B: Blender Waffles
L: PB&J's and Fruit (Packed lunch to take out with us)
D: Crockpot Ravioli Casserole, Pasta, Salad

Wednesday 
B: Smoothies
L: Leftover Beef Stroganoff
D: Chicken Soft Tacos (Chicken breast with salsa in crockpot)

Thursday
B: Tater Tot Casserole Muffins
L: Leftover Chicken Soft Tacos
D: Pancakes

Friday
B: Banana Crumb Muffins
L: Chicken Salad Sandwiches and Fruit
D: Hamburger Pizza

Saturday
B: Pancakes
L: Fried Egg, Bacon, Avocado Sandwiches
D: Clean out the Fridge







Saturday, February 2, 2013

Snow on Groundhog Day!

We woke up to this beautiful snow covered yard this morning! The groundhog Phil is predicting an early spring this year, so we're going to take advantage of this beautiful winter weather before enjoying the warmth of spring.


We just had to bundle our girls up and let them play in the snow!


Our first "family of four" picture in the snow!


Every kid loves to feel snow on their gloves!





Miss Kaitlin! This is her first snowy picture! She was too cold and bundled to do much but sit! Haha...


Pretty baby girl!


Abigail loved the snow!


Kyle showing Abigail how to throw snow up.


So much fun...





Sledding with Daddy


Mommy's turn...


Ready...set...go...


Making snow angels with Daddy



YouTube Video