Papa's Birthday

The family got together last Friday to celebrate Glenn's 65th birthday. It was a win-win for everyone...we had a night out without Lilah (and I think we were still in bed around 10ish....so wild and crazy) and Lilah had a sleepover with granny. She did great, and had the best time (as did granny).
It was nice to not have the distractions of all the kids (as much as we really love them). And great to celebrate Glenn.

I Will Call Them...New Baby Burritos!

I see a lot of my friends put recipes on their blogs, and thought it's such a great idea. I love trying new things and instead of sending recipes via email many times, I can put them on my blog for everyone to enjoy. :)
My favorite recipe to make families with new babies is from Rachel Ray and are called Turkey, Tomatillo, and Bean Burritos. They're delicious, the recipe makes quite a bit, they're easy, healthy and I can also vary the ingredients for a little different burritos. Here's the recipe:

Turkey, Tomatillo, and Bean Burritos
4 12-inch flour tortillas (I usually use the smaller tortillas, and use 8-10...I don't even think 4 is enough to hold all the insides of the burritos)
2 tbs. vegetable oil (I use olive oil, and not even this much)
1 pkg. ground turkey breast
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (I have also used black beans, or a mixture of different beans)
1 16 oz. jar tomatillo salsa
2 tbs. fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (I sometimes put a little more, because I love cilantro)
1 10 oz. pkg shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever you have is fine)

* If you are going to cook this right now, then preheat oven to 350 and just cook until hot, about 20 minutes. If you want to refrigerate to bake later, I would say same temperature but more lik 30-40 minutes depending on how much you pile into one pan. Also, spray your 9x13 pan with cooking spray before you put the burritos in.

Preheat a large nonstick skillet with the oil. Add the ground turkey and break it up with back of a spoon as it cooks and browns, about 4 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, bell peppers, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock, beans, and 1 1/2 cups of the tomatillo salsa (that's about 3/4 of the jar). Turn the heat up to high and continue to cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro, stirring to distribute.
Pile the turkey mixture into the tortillas, sprinkle each with 1/4 cup of cheese(maybe a little less for the smaller tortillas), and then roll them up. Line your casserole dish with the burritos, seam side down. Top each burrito with a little bit of the remaining tomatillo salsa and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake at the above temp and time,depending on if you refrigerated this or not. :) Enjoy!

More Jumping

I planned a playgroup date at Kidz Bounce last week...and what a hit. Well...it was a hit for some. All of the kids were almost two and a lot of them this was their first time at a place like this. Clara, Lilah and Paige were the daredevils. I think they had the best time. Most of the others were either scared to even step foot into these huge blowup, frightening contraptions or were much more cautious than my daughter. I didn't get too many good pictures because 1. a lot of the kids stayed on the floor and didn't get into the bouncy things where we spent a lot of our time and 2. my camera stinks and takes way too long to snap action photos.
Anyhow, we had another great time and I was reassured again that I have a child that has very little if any fear. Oh great. Although I know that when she gets old enough to go to a fair that her and I will be laughing out heads off on the Zipper while her daddy watches us trying not to get sick. Ha!

Child Labor Laws....Not at the Wileys

Here's what I do when I am taking care of two toddlers and a 4 year old....put the toddlers to work! Lilah especially loves to have her own "cleaning rag" to help me clean. ;)

6 inches!

I took the leap and got my hair cut by the lovely Johnny today...I would guess about 6 inches fell to the floor. I was super nervous, but totally let him do it. Now I'm working on growing my bangs to be a little longer.
I totally love it, and it's so healthy and super cute.

First Play-Doh Encounter

And it was pretty fun. I made worms (like Oscar's friend Squirmy) and we made balls and squished them. Lilah and granny played with it while I went to get my hair cut. A success I think, as long as it doesn't end up ground in our carpet.

Lilah's Lingo

I was laying in bed last night thinking about all the words that Lilah says that only we could know. She is slowly starting to say some of these the correct way, or closer to the correct way and it actually makes me a little sad. It means she's getting older and bigger. :( I decided that if I didn't document some of these that we would forget once she actually says things with correct sounds. Here are some (this is mostly for us to look back on, so you can skip reading this post if you so desire):

Her friends and family:
Samson "Sheepa"
Crosby "Poppy"
Julie "Gigi"
Auntie Mandi "Mimi"
Granny "Didi"
Mike "Mite"
Grace "Dace"
Grandpa "papa" (I have a feeling this will be grandpa's name from here and on)
Emily "Emmy"
Luci "Shi shi"

Sesame Street pals:
Elmo, just sounds like Elmo...she's been clearly working on this for a very long time
Big Bird "Bibi"
Count "Tont", like in rhymes with "don't" or she says "ah ah ah!"
Bert "Bit"
Cookie Monster "Titi"
Ernie "Eenie"
Oscar "Ohjosh" (weird one)

Everyday Lilah words:
milk "mit"
high five "high bye"
fork "choat" (we really struggled last night trying to figure this one out)
draw "daw"
thank you "ti ti"
truck "tut"
water "wawa" (pretty typical for kids, but took her so long to say this word)
brush "bush"
comb "tum"
cookie or candy (both sound the same to me) "titi"
yes "sess" (always paired with a huge head nod)
coffee "cotee"
Cheerios "chee chee"
I love you "I I" ;)

I'll continue adding as I hear or think of them. :)