Harper & Mama

To beat the 105 degree heat we met some friends at frozen yogurt this week for a cool afternoon treat! Both mama and Harper were very happy with our yummy selection! :)

Maternity/Family Photos

My friend Janice took maternity/family photos of us with the South Congress area of Austin and Zilker Park as our back drop, loved the locations! Unfortunately, even though we took the pics in early June and it was 7:30 in the morning, it was still hot and humid when we took the photos which made for a cranky three-some! But Janice proved what an awesome photographer she is by still managing to get some great shots of us! Here are some of my favorites, enjoy!

To the memories!

My friend Heather from high school posted a pic of us Buchanan tennis gals last night on her Facebook page...it brought back all kinds of great memories! I had so much fun playing tennis in high school and made some really great friends that way! I don't know what the heck was going on with my hair though ;)

Baby love!

Harper loves her babies. I recently made one corner of the play room a "snuggle corner" until we have to put the pack 'n play back there. H and I have been snuggling over there quite a bit...but today it was where we put the babies to bed. We went and got the babies a blanket and put them to bed, so cute! She keeps waving to the babies and saying "night, night babies!" She is definitely preparing for being a big sister!

Not long now...

Not much time left now before we get to meet our little man! I am 37 weeks pregnant but I feel like I could pop any day now! At my doctor's appointment today she estimated that he will be somewhere between 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 pounds when he is born. I am about 1/2 centimeter dilated. I have been having conversations with Gibson that he can come a little early though...we are ready for his arrival and it really sucks to be this pregnant with it being 100 degrees every day! It's really exciting to know that soon we will be a family of 4, with the addition of Gibson our family will be complete!

Shredded Pork and Pineapple Tacos

Here's another version of shredded/pulled pork in the crock pot. I have to say, this one is mighty tasty. We garnished with diced pineapple and cilantro and it was perfection. Tomorrow night, pulled pork pizza!

SLOW COOKER SHREDDED PORK:
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (3-pound) pork shoulder (or butt), trimmed of excess fat
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2 yellow onions, diced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Combine the tomato sauce, chili powder, brown sugar, coriander and cumin in the base of your slow cooker. Stir to combine and distribute the spices evenly.
Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper and place it in the slow cooker. Using tongs, turn the pork to coat it evenly in the sauce. Add in the garlic and onions, stir again. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook until the pork is tender and beginning to fall apart, on low 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 6 hours.

Transfer the pork to a serving bowl. Allow to cool slightly, and then shred using 2 forks, removing any excess fat.

Skim any excess fat off of the sauce remaining in the slow cooker. Stir in the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Add the shredded pork back into the slow cooker and mix it with the sauce that was created during the cooking. You can store the pork in its sauce for 3 to 4 days.

Cooking Books

Harper got into my cooking books after dinner tonight...too bad I can't get her in the kitchen yet to make mama and dada dinner! :) I told her to say cheese and she looked right at the camera for me...what a ham!

My 18 month old

Today Harper turns 18 months old! Here is a little list of what she is into right now...she is turning into a little person so quickly, it's pretty amazing!


-weighs 20 pounds, 7 ounces (5th percentile)

-has lots of words in her vocabulary & is
starting to put words together

-is starting to learn her friends names

-likes to point out things she knows the words
to wherever she is at

-loves being in the water

-has 12 teeth

-loves her baby dolls- feeds them, pats
their backs, kisses them

-favorite snacks- blueberries,
strawberries, dried fruit, fish crackers

-is very tan from being out in the sun
(she has her mama's skin)

-loves being on the boat

-likes Elmo, Mickey Mouse & George

-may need her first hair cut soon

-loves to dance to music

-likes to sit and read books

-likes to dress up with necklaces, hats &
her pink cowboy boots

-can still wear 12 month clothing

-wakes up around 6:30-6:45 (no sleeping
in for mama)

-takes a 2-3 hour nap every afternoon

-loves to give kisses & hugs to mama &
dada, also likes to blow kisses

-knows how to ask for help & says please

-knows where her major body parts are &
can say them all too

-can repeat the ABC's back to mama

-has started saying her numbers

"new" toy

So my friend and I had a fabulous idea to try out a toy swap and so far it has worked out beautifully! We traded toys for our little ones to try out and they are loving it! We felt like our kiddos were getting bored with what they have so instead of going out and buying new toys why not just swap instead! This is one of the toys that we have borrowed...it's a kitty cat piano that makes lots of noises and it also has a microphone that really works, that is Harper's favorite part!

Super girl!

Old school toy

I went to a local consignment store today to sell some of Harper's clothes and while I was looking through the toys I came across this super cool old school Fisher Price toy that is like a TV, a picture moves across the screen and it plays a couple songs...I have a feeling I might like it better then Harper but for $3.50 it was worth the gamble! I think she likes the fact that she can pick it up and carry it around with her and she of course likes that it plays music so she can dance to it! Anyway, I like the idea that this toy has a history, it makes me wonder how old it is and how long it was in someones family!

Changing Table

I bought a changing table for the nursery/guest room off Craigslist because we had to get rid of the large dresser to save space (we were going to use the top of the dresser for the changing table). The table was white but we wanted to paint it black to match the other furniture...Chris gave it multiple coats of black spray paint and I think it turned out really well, you be the judge! :) We also picked up some shelve liner today at Lowes to add a little something to do the shelves. Fun, easy and cheap project!

Before:


After:

Bruiser!

My little bruiser! She took a nose dive onto a toy this morning...her nose had red marks on it, swelled up and was black and blue...thankfully when she got up from her nap it didn't look as bad!

Pool buddies!

Happy 4th of July!

Our friends The Brown's had us over for a pool party to celebrate July 4th...it was another hot day so being in the pool all afternoon was perfect! We tried a new floatie for Harper and she loved it, it was her own little lounger :) We had lots of fun just hanging out with friends, eating and enjoying the pool, it was a great day!

Tot BOP magazine

So I snapped a pic of H's buddy Cooper at a playdate this week and someone commented that he looked like he should be on the cover of a teen magazine like BOP...it prompted Cooper's Daddy to create a really fun magazine cover with Cooper as the "teen heart throb" and pics of all his little girlfriends too! Oh, did I mention that Coop's Daddy is in advertising ;) So cute and clever!