40!!!

daddy/jerry celebrated his 40th birthday this week!! we had a special night as a family for him, just being together. he loved his book we made him of "40 reasons why he's so special to us". the boys were SO excited to give it to him and gave him a big hug when it made him cry :) we love him SO much!!!!! i'm hoping to share 40 more years with him :)

10 months

whoa...baby girl is definitely proving that infancy will be a thing of the past very soon as she cruises around furniture and eats everything in sight! i love to see her unique little personality starting to shine. she's SO happy and quite the little firecracker. she growls, squeals, laughs, yells, and sings. she LOVES her daddy and will break her neck trying to see where he is and what he's doing, but still would jump out of his arms for mommy. she always wants to be where her brothers are and totally in the middle of whatever they're doing. she has learned to love on her "nee nees" (blankets)and will grab them as soon as she sees them and snuggle. she also seems to have a preference for pillow pets :) she has started to move her mouth as if she's trying to sing when she's hears music or even her rocking horse that sings. she'll rock back n forth as she hums to the music...it's hilarious! her favorite foods now seem to be carrots, bananas, nutrigrain bars, mashed potatoes, and meat. she loves those nasty baby meat sticks...yuck! she still nursing 3-4 times a day, but is definitely very distractable and less interested in it. her naps are consistently 2 times a day whenever we're not at a practice or game of some sort. and i'm pretty much guaranteed that whenever she goes to bed, she'll sleep 12 straight hours. she continues to be an absolute dream baby and is kissed no less than 25 times a day by her adoring family :)

smart cookies

caleb got the student of the month award for "determination" for his kindergarten class! if you know him at all, you know this is right on the money! we like to call it stubborn and i have NO idea where he gets it! his report card was, again, fantastic! he's far above what he should be in his reading ability and is doing well on his first spelling tests too!

eli just received the citizenship award for his class! he also was awarded for his perfect attendance so far this school year, as well as his straight A honor roll performance!

abram got his very first report card this week! his teacher said he is an absolute JOY to have in class and is a natural leader. she said he is very well-mannered and a "kind little boy". we are so proud of our boys!!!

little miss nosey

she has baskets full of toys and yet she prefers the butt cream?!!! how can you resist that face though...ADORABLE!!!!

here it is...

the scrunchy face again...showing off that irresistible fang! gotta love it!

firecracker chicken stirfry

this was DELICIOUS!!!!

1 tbsp oil
1 lb boneless, chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 tsp garlic powder
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 cup snow peas
1/3 cup asian sesame ginger dressing
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 cups cooked brown rice
heat oil in large skillet. add chicken and garlic powder. cook until chicken is evenly browned. add pepper strips and snow peas, cooking 3-4 minutes until tender-crisp. add dressing and crushed red pepper, cooking 2 minutes or until heated through. serve over cooked brown rice.

getting caught, again.