May in Pictures

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we've had such a fun month! we celebrated mother's day, had a few play dates & several sweet days at home. as the month came to a close, we got busier & busier. Ben & I got to go to a Grizzles playoff game, Lindsay & I got to go to the Michael Buble concert at FedEx forum. we spent several mornings at the park, i spent some free time reading 3 fantastic books, we had a fun play date with Annabelle & Adelyn (our sweet friends that used to live here but moved away). its always so good to see them!!!

some pics from our busy month:

we've had such a fun spring & we are really looking forward to all the sweet summertime memories!!!

Jovie @ 16 Months!!

sweet sassy, you are 16 months old!! everyday you are sweeter, funnier, sassier, cuter & smarter than the day before. i just can't get enough of you!

at 16 months you weigh 22.2 lbs. you are in a size 12-18 month, in most things. a size 4-5 shoe & a size 4 diaper. i love your chunky legs, feet & cheeks. you have a FULL head of hair & i love it! i've even been contemplating your first real hair cut. thank goodness for hair bows that keep your hair out of your eyes & face. my favorite part about you is your dark green eyes. i actually prayed for a little girl with green eyes! i feel like its the only part of you that really, really looks like me and i'm thankful for that!!

you have such a fun personality these days. you have completely entered the toddler stage. you are stubborn, very independent, curious, into everything, trying to throw fits, having a hard time learning to share, sometimes impatient & oh so busy. but i must say, i have no complaints concerning these things. you are still so sweet, very loving & affectionate. one of my most fervent prayers for you & Jack is that you will both be tender hearted & respond well to discipline. i truly believe that slowly but surely the Lord is answering these prayers. i have seen a change in both of you in the past few. you are listening better, obeying faster & requiring a lot less spankings! i realize it may get difficult again, but i'm ok with that. the Lord is teaching me SO much in these phases.

you are a great eater. no, a fantastic eater! your favorite foods are: green beans, bananas, yogurt, peas, carrots, hot dogs & apples. you don't like strawberries or grapes. but you will literally eat everything else, ha!

one major difference between you & Jack is your lack of fear. while he is more reserved & hesitant, you are adventurous & aggressive. you usually don't mind trying new things. sometimes, your wild streak scares me to death! ha! you have walked right off our bed, climbed up on tables & walked right off the pool ledge (thank goodness we were already in the water!) you definitely keep us on our toes!

sweet girl, you are such a joy to our lives. every single day with you is so much fun. you love your brother so much. he can evoke the biggest giggles & grins from you. and your dada gets your most slobbery kisses & biggest bear hugs. but i must say, you are still a mommy's girl through & through. you prefer me over everyone in the room & i love it. i pray that we always have a close, sweet relationship. i'm asking the Lord to make you a young woman of contentment & purity. i pray you always have a deep love for His word, His people & His ministry. you are such a blessing to my heart!

happy 16 months precious baby. i love you with all my heart!

Jalapeno Popper Burgers

this recipe is an ode to cream cheese. i could eat it on/with everything. it is that good. when i saw Rachael Ray make this on her show, i knew i had to try it. my husband loves anything spicy & i love anything cream cheese so this was perfect for us. i did tweak her recipe a tiny bit, to meet our tastes/preferences. but, i've made it 3 times now & it has turned out great every time!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 jalapeno pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

slices of cheddar cheese

8 oz block cream cheese, softened

fresh cilantro, finely chopped

2 tbsp grated yellow onion

garlic powder/garlic salt

divide the ground beef into 4 equal size burgers

place skillet over med/high heat

drizzle EVOO in the skillet

begin cooking burgers

as burgers are cooking, begin working on the cream cheese mixture.

combine softened cream cheese with onion, garlic salt, pepper, cumin & cilantro

mix well & set aside

believe me, this is yummy just by itself!

slice jalapenos. very carefully.

to reduce the heat of the pepper, remove the seeds.

the more the seeds, the hotter the pepper!

i usually leave a couple seeds on mine b/c i like it with a kick!

toss the jalapeno slices in with burgers.

allow them to char or blacken the edges a bit

this just gives it a yummier taste!

the last couple minutes of the burgers cooking, top each one with a hearty spoonful of the cream cheese mixture. just enough to cover the tops.

then place a 1/2 slice of cheddar cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture.

top the cheddar cheese with a couple slices of jalapenos.

allow it to sit just long enough for the cheeses to begin to melt!

how yumm do these look?!

(these are my first batch, i actually made sliders. but i prefer them as regular sized burgers)

place the burgers on buns & voila, yummy cream cheese spicy burger goodness!!

can't wait to make these again! they are so good!!

since we finally seem to have some stable weather around here, we have been spending a lot of time outside. most of the time, we are at the pool because it is SO hot!

a few days ago, i took the kids to my in-laws to swim. before we got in the water, i let them do a little playing outside. Jack & Jovie love to walk around the cove, splash in the puddles & smell the flowers. having toddlers is just so much fun!!!

sweet baby girl. she loves to fun free!

i told him to look at me & smile. so he looked at me & squinted. hilarious.

love this picture. but not loving my sunglasses. they may be a little too big for my face?! ha!

checking out the water puddle

giving sissy some love. so sweet.

loving that they can splash in the water

for some reason my kids LOVE these flowers. i mean, love them! they want to smell them & touch them every time we go over there! maybe i need an azalea bush whenever we get a house?!

he would look at me and say "mmm. smells good, momma!" so adorable.

Jovie mainly just wants to pull the petals off the flowers, give them to me and say "awww" silly girl!!

off for a walk!

my kids are too much fun. love them so much!

sweet days at home

some of my very favorite days are just the days that we stick around the apartment. we play & play, watch a movie, play outside, eat lunch, take naps, go for a walk, cook supper, take baths & go to bed. i love the normalcy of those days. and time spent just loving on my kids & spending time with Ben. so much fun.

i need to snap more pictures on those days. but, i usually forget. that is one of my new year's resolutions that i have just dropped the ball on. (weight loss: check, read more: check, take more pictures: FAIL) oh well!! i'll try to be better!

here are a few pics from our sweet, lazy days at home:

snuggled up on my bed watching Cars.

modeling her new shirt by Auntie Britt.

trying out his new Woody costume!

how cute is this?! Brittany found this for him at a yard sale for $1, and he LOVES it!!

this girlie loves to eat.

hanging out in the tub!

so sweet. its so hard to get her to sit down in the tub.

the cutest boy. loves the water.

so thankful for our times spent together at home. love my family!