Wedding/Anniversary

Last weekend, my cousin, Laura got married. We went down to Pana, IL (in the middle of nowhere) for the wedding. The wedding was outdoors on her new husband's family's property. The reception followed at a very nice resort.
Laura and Aaron on their wedding day.


My cousin and his little boy.

We opted to rent a townhouse with my sister and her family. It was very nice. It overlooked the golf course. It was a 2-bedroom, 2-bath townhouse with a full kitchen and family room. Spencer was able to take a nap before the reception and Mason and his cousins were able to play in the family room. They had a lot of fun. It was great to see so much of our family.



My sister, Dawn, and her husband.


On Sunday morning we all got together for brunch. My parents celebrated their 45th Wedding Anniversary that day. I'm glad that we could all be there to recognize them and celebrate with them. Enjoy the pictures.


My wonderful parents on their 45th wedding anniversary.


My cousin, Laura and her new husband's baby girl.


Katie and my cousin, Dave.
They were recently engaged.

My sister, Barb and her husband.

6 months

The weather has been absolutely beautiful. We've enjoyed many hours outdoors. We've been taking 2 walks a day, playing in the pool and at the park, had a water balloon fight with the neighbors, picnics, basketball, baseball, and bubbles.

It's hard to believe that our little guy is 1/2 way to his 1st birthday. He continues to be such a sweet baby. He's so good. We love him so much. He is a great eater and a messy one at times. He's been enjoying the Gerber puffs and Zwieback toast. He has cut 5 teeth in less than a month. Mason didn't cut his 1st tooth until 7 1/2 months. I wasn't expecting Spencer to have a mouth full already.



Father's Day weekend, we went to Oswego's PrairieFest on Saturday with our friends. Mason convinced Daddy to ride on the train ride with him and then went on it again with his little friend, *C. Aren't they cute? Daddy had been wanting a Popcorn Popper, so that is what the boys got him. Mason liked watching the popcorn pop.


As you can see by these pictures, Spencer is a pro at sitting up. He loves to play with his toys and interact more with Mason. The picture on the right is for his Uncle Chris, he's a big Cub's fan.

On our last playdate, we took the kids for a walk. We love getting together every couple of weeks. We are so blessed to have such great friends.


Mason enjoying an ice cream treat from the ice cream man. He gets so excited to hear that truck coming through the neighborhood. And it is a special treat when Mommy and Daddy let him get something.

Well, this weekend we have a wedding to go to. My cousin is getting married. We are looking forward to seeing all of the family. Next weekend we are celebrating the first half of Spencer's life with a party. And then, we will enjoy having Tim/Daddy home for the week of the 4th. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

LOVE MY KRAFT FOODS MAGAZINE

I have to share this very yummy recipe that was in my Kraft Foods magazine. It was sooo YUMMY that I thought it was worth passing on to others. I served it with rice and Mexican style frozen veggies that I steamed. I will definitely be making this one again.

Fiesta Chicken Enchilada

Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 35 min

Makes:
4 servings, two enchiladas each

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cooked small chicken breasts (about 1 lb.), shredded (I used the white meat from a rotisserie chicken ~4cups. It was so easy to shred and doing this step the day before made for a quick dinner).

1 cup Thick 'N Chunky Salsa, divided

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed (I didn't read the recipe too well when I made it and used all of the cream cheese, although I used the 1/3 less fat)

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro (I left this out because I'm not a big fan of cilantro)

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese, divided (I used the Mexican 4 cheese).

8 Flour Tortillas

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Heat large skillet spayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 min. Add chicken, 1/4 cup of the salsa, cream cheese, cilantro and cumin; mix well. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese; mix well.

SPOON about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam-side down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining 3/4 cup salsa and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until heated through.

If you don't already get this magazine in the mail, go to their website and sign up. IT'S FREE and comes 4 times a year.

TEEFERS

So Spencer is now cutting his 4th tooth. He has his two middle bottom teeth and now the the teeth to the right and to the left of the middle top. Mason cut those same top teeth, too, before the middle ones. Kinda silly.
Any how, I was able to get a pretty good picture of his bottom teeth as he gnawed on a piece of cold celery. So cute.

Catching Up

Well, we're all feeling better now. We enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL weekend. It was quite warm, but it was nice to be outside.


This was our anniversary gift to each other, a new storm door. It was a pain in the butt to put together, but the end product is great.

Watching Daddy mow the lawn.

Mason's "lucky lasso" aka dog leash.

Spencer is doing great. He loves everything that we have introduced to him: green beans, carrots, squash, peas, sweet potatoes, applesauce, bananas, and even the little Gerber puffs. He has his two bottom middle teeth. He is sitting up by himself. He loves to play with his toys: especially his Leapfrog drum, the star stacker, and the Leapfrog basketball hoop. He is sleeping well at night and taking a great morning nap and two shorter naps in the afternoon and early evening. He has also started having a little stranger anxiety. He doesn't like when Mommy leaves the room or if someone else is holding him (except for Daddy and Mason).

Spencer sitting up all by himself.

Drinking water from a sippy cup. Eating some Gerber Sweet Potato Puffs.

Mason has been working really hard on staying in his bed all night. We finally bribed him with more GeoTrax if he can stay in his bed for 7 nights in a row. He's doing good, only 2 more nights to go. He is also loving being outside. It was so hot on Sunday that we let him run through the sprinkler. He had a ball (and that water was freezing). He continues to make us laugh with the things he says. Here are a few of our favorites:
"It smells aweful."
"It's sweltering."
"It's all in the wrist."
"You're killing me."
"What in the heck?"
The things kids say.

A SpiderMan treat from the ice cream truck.

We've had enough of these cute little bunnies eating all of our new bushes and flowers, so we purchased a HAVAHART cage and caught one the first night. Mason was sad that we had to take it away. I think he was hoping he could keep it as a pet.

It's going to be a busy month. We have a lot going on.