I know, I know....it's been nearly a month with no new photos......more are coming soon but for now here is THE BEST RECIPE EVER! You can thank me after you make it for dinner TONIGHT! Love,

Annise

GUMBO by Dr. Margot

2 yellow onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 zucchini squash, sliced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
½ smoked turkey sausage, sliced

1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Cajun spice (Weber grill creations N’Orleans Cajun Seasoning is very good)

1 package of frozen okra
1 small package of frozen corn

2 large sweet potatoes, cooked & mashed
________________________________________________________________________________

Put first 7 ingredients in a LARGE pot. Cover with water , so that ingredients are immersed in about 1” of water. Cook until onions are soft/translucent.
Add tomatoes and Cajun seasoning. Stir well.
Add okra and corn. Stir well.
Add mashed sweet potatoes a little at a time. Sir well. Heat on medium heat until it comes to a slow and steady boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about 45 – 60 minutes. The longer it cooks the thicker it becomes.

Serve as is or over rice.

Here's what we were up to this weekend.....

http://parlettegazette.blogspot.com/

thanks to our wonderful neighbor Michelle for posting it!

:-)

For You Grandpa Jim!

FEBRUARY PHOTO CATCH UP:

My boy with the "harry potter" hair.....
Little niece wearing the dress I knit for her :-)
Yes, snow in Texas! It was amazing....we had 12 inches! The weather broke all kinds of records that day....

And for your entertainment:

Hello? Can you hear me now? This Remote Control Reception stinks!
The baby days are far behind us......

My little man is SO BIG!

Today my baby is 14 months old!

Here is the latest and greatest......

I'm okay!

Happy Birthday to me!

Our garbage disposal went kaput....again. This time, hubby said it was more trouble than it was worth and did I want a new one?.....YIPPEE!

So I got a new disposal, a BIG sink and new faucet.

What an WONDERFUL gift. Hubby and FIL even installed it in time for me to show it off at the family birthday dinner.

Then my niece and sister stopped by to wish me a happy b-day today and I just could not resist putting her in the basket of balls.....I think she liked it

And then JJ went off for a nap.....
I think that is it.....you're all caught up on the good stuff.....

And there has been some hard stuff too:

We lost our cousin this past week (my in-laws god-son and nephew). He was 18 years old.... . It was a tragic loss to our family. Please keep the Jonas family in your thoughts and prayers as they remember Andrew and come to terms with his passing. He joins his father, grandfather and grandmother in Heaven.

Catch Up Post TWO:

Baby's First Haircut: January 5th, 2010, thirteen months and three days old....Amy at The Kid Salon in Allen, did an awesome job! She kept the curls (yeah!) and trimmed it up so that he can see :-)
The two most handsome men in my world.....

Catch up Post ONE: Christmas

Merry Christmas! Look what Santa Brought! (with a little help from our local consignment shop) :-)
Papa Jim, can you put this together for me?

I LOVE Lego Rock Band!

Another favorite from Santa.....BALL!

Retro Rocket....this thing has THREE buttons that make noise, making it a favorite in our house....that and it has WHEELS!

We had a wonderful Christmas, lots of visiting, celebrating and reflecting on 2009

Have you heard of www.5dollardinners.com?

I love her blog, it's great for healthy, varied and cheap dinner ideas.

Enter her contest this week to win her new cookbook!

...more photos soon...

Dear 2009,

I'm sure I'll look back and be in awe of all the things I learned from you, but right now.....PLEASE pack your things and GO!

Dear 2010,

I'm looking forward to your arrival......but please be a kinder, gentler year.....I'm worn out!

Annise

Hey! Merry Christmas to ya!

Family Photo Day:

Auntie Jen took beautiful photos of the family at a local park.....can you believe the smiles?
We LOVE having Grandma and Grandpa close by.....not only for the help but for the FUN. With a quick phone call we are all having dinner together, or telling jokes or getting an extra hand with projects around the house or to chase down our little RUNNER!

Our little man is in LOVE with his grandparents, he squeals when they arrive....it's so much fun to watch. We feel truly blessed by their arrival in Texas. We know it's been a sacrifice to leave family, friends and steady jobs....but I just can't thank them enough.

Yes, we really are this handsome in person too! HA HA HA!

The little man is getting FASTER and FASTER every day.....he tells us "get set, GO!" almost every morning......we used to giggle at his new words and now we take it for the WARNING that it is......

One Year Check Up Today!We have come a LONG way from the tiny infant stage.....

JJ is 23 pounds, 30 inches long and has a nice big head (his doc says he has a big brain like mommy and daddy)

JJ started walking at 10 months, to date he has 18 words, two signs (finished and bye bye).....Doc says he is PERFECT....doesn't want to see us for six months!

No more formula, Doc suggested we switch to milk (which I hate to do....wish we were done with bottles all together...at least I can get organic milk).....JJ has been VERY slow to go to solid foods...we think this is because of his very high metabolism (just like another Jason in our family) and his lack of teeth (he has only four, the average is 10 at one year of age). He is still drinking 32-40 ounces per day.

So this week I am going to switch to milk in the day (formula at night, for sleepy parents who can't walk to the kitchen) and encourage more solids.....maybe we'll be bottle free by 18 months? Gotta have a goal eh?

Doc says for a baby who "coded" at birth, he is amazing.....and I must agree!

More Birthday Photos:

JJ had lots of help opening gifts :-)

Gluten Free Cupcakes......yum!

Babies!

Happy Birthday Little One!

On JJ's birthday, we spent the morning remembering his labor, birth and exciting delivery. It was our great honor to go back and visit the fireman who saved our baby's life....to thank them and let them see how their quick action and wonderful training not only saved our baby but how well he is doing.

They were surprised, touched and so thankful to see us. Here we are sitting in the ambulance and of course JJ was thrilled to stand on the firetruck.
We also went to the birth center to show JJ where he was born. When we got to room, JJ started pointing and babbling on.....as if he was telling us the story of his birth.

Here is the BIRTHDAY BOY!

We celebrated "Yo Gabba Gabba" style! (thanks to www.nickjr.com and their downloads)

Happy Birthday, sweet baby boy!

Peek a BOO! I see you!

Thank you cousins for outgrowing such an awesome outdoor toy! WE LOVE IT!

Thanksgiving 2009: no camping this year......a heavy dose of life set in.....hopefully we'll be back camping next year......we threw together a Thanksgiving dinner in 12 hours! it was delicious!

Baby's First Thanksgiving! and yes, we forgot to take photos DURING dinner.....can you believe that? He loved the squash but not the potatoes......no turkey for him this year daddy fried it in peanut oil.....yummy for us, not good for babies.

One Year Ago today: prelabor had begun....we didn't know it but all the classic signs were there: eating a big meal (breakfast at Cracker Barrel after Black Friday Shopping), burst of energy (made a big meal and invited friends) and preparing the nest (insisted that Jason decorate the ENTIRE house for Christmas).....

I can't believe we are HERE, talking about "one year ago today". This year truly has FLOWN by....and we would not be here with a...baby is who is talking, walking (running), eating solids and still not sleeping thru the night... if it were not for our family and friends who surrounded us with LOVE and SUPPORT, brought us food, helped us care for our baby when we needed it, told us that we were doing a good job (even when it felt like we were failing) and reminded us that babies will survive and thrive with LOVE even if you mess up the small stuff. It really does take a village to raise a child and we live in an AWESOME village......THANK YOU!

Coming up: Baby's FIRST Birthday! Please come celebrate with us: Sat. Dec. 5th, 10am

Rotovirus is disgusting!

I had hoped to have lovely photos and hilarious video for you this week.....but instead I have spent the past six days taking care of a sick little baby.

It started out with what I thought was "teething" (low grade fever, fussy baby with loose stools) and progressed in two days to "SICK". Turned out it was Rotavirus/Gasteroenteritis.........and let me tell you....it's was DISGUSTING! (I'll spare you the details).

I did feel blessed to be able to be HOME with my baby.....to hold him and cuddle him and let him sleep in my arms until he was better.

It was a slow recovery but he is finally on the mend.......just in time for Thanksgiving and his BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!

Photos soon!

One More Photo:
My beautiful sister, her beautiful daughters, me and my little man......at the local pumpkin festival.....

Sorry for the delay:

We MOVED! and I lost my camera charger.....so for the past several weeks I have had no camera, except in my phone.....but I'll share some photos that family has emailed to me :-)

We have moved back to our "old" house (where my mom has been living for the past year), which many of you remember fondly. We had to make the decision quickly. So we canceled our dream vacation to Sedona, and started packing and fixing up our house to get it on the market.

We got most of mom's things packed and into storage, packed our entire house, and got it on the market all in less than 10 days. And all of that with a 10.5 month old who decided to start WALKING half way thru the week!

So we are all here: me, Jay, JJ and mom in our old house.

And my in laws have finally arrived. They are officially "snow birds".....staying here in DFW for the winter. We are OVERJOYED!

It's been an interesting month to say the least. We are all still adjusting. JJ could not be happier.....he has all of his grandparents around him and he is walking......or more accurately running everywhere he wants to go.

We are making preparations for the holiday season as well as a party to celebrate the successful completion of our FIRST YEAR AS PARENTS!

Many thanks to family and friends for helping us to move, keeping JJ happy while we moved and helping us to keep our sense of humor about the changing seasons of life.