Oh So Good!

This morning we decided to make our World Famous Pumpkin Pancakes again! Well, I guess we can't really take all the credit for these since I didn't create this recipe, but they are absolutely delicious so I highly advise that you make them if you haven't already. And if you have, I highly advise you make them again. Click here for the recipe!





Hello you pumpkin-y delightful beauties! Get ready to enter my belly!



Cam's excited to eat as well! Come to think if it, he may have just been saying, "So big!"



The perfect accompaniment to any weekend morning is this coffee! You can find it in most any store, including Super Target.



As we prepared breakfast, Cam assisted in the feeding of the dogs. He hand feeds Stella her kibbles, piece by piece! And yes, that's a heating pad in her bed! It was cold last night! Okay, maybe she's a bit too spoiled.



And here's something even sweeter & tastier than the pumpkin pancakes we were enjoying! My BB Baby Boy!

Perno Pizza Friday

Last night for Perno Pizza Friday, it seemed as if we had a million ingredients going on. We topped our wheat dough with spinach, fresh mushrooms, toasted pine nuts, pepperoni, pre-cooked/sliced chicken, goat cheese, & tomato sauce. The finished product was delicious & we ate as we caught up on taped shows.

It was the perfect way to relax after a hectic week!







Mike even made a wheat pretzel out of the leftover dough! How cute & tasty!

17 Months Old!

My little boy is not so little anymore as he is 17 months old today & more than half my height! Today Grammy got him out of bed & after Cam had his milk, he came into our room & "helped" me blow dry my hair as I was getting ready for work. He loves to brush my hair & loves it even more when I wave the air of the dryer over his head.

Cam gives the sweetest kisses & now that he's getting older, they're not as sloppy & wet; it's so cute to see him with his lips pursed, waiting for a kiss. My favorite thing he does so far is the way he says, "Mama." It's not your typical "Mama" but more like, "Maa-Muh!" His day care teachers laugh each day I pick him up & tell me they've never heard anything like it. But every time he says it, my heart is filled with love.

I call him many names just as I do with our pets. He's referred to as, "BB, Beebs, Da Beebs, Beeb-a-licious, Bubbas, Bubs & Bubby."

I wish I had more time with him; working five days a week weighs heavily on me, but at the same time, makes me cherish the time I do have with him that much more. We try to do as much as possible during the week so our weekends can have some fun in them, but many times, that's much easier said than done. But we cherish our weekends, especially Saturday mornings when we eat breakfast together, hang out, go to the park & basically do anything else but rush around like we do Monday through Friday.

I wish Cam was able to see his extended family more; he rarely sees my parents which makes me feel very sad. In fact, he hasn't seen my dad in over two months; he's been working non-stop since we've come back from Christmas in Chicago. But on a happier note, he does get to spend an amazing amount of time with his grammy who lives in Chicago. Funny that the person who lives the farthest sees him the most of anyone. We're so blessed to have Grammy in our lives. Being a new mom was not easy for me & she was there for me & I'll never forget that. Sadly Grammy will heading back to Chicago tomorrow but we look forward to her coming back in a couple of months.

I've learned a lot over the past 17 months & am so thankful to have my wonderful baby boy in our lives. I can't imagine what my life was like before him & never could I have known that I'd love someone as much as I love him!

Sunny Patch Cheech!

Stella loves finding any sunny spot on the floor & lounging in the warmth!



Look at her funny under-bite! Love those snaggle-teefs!



This picture makes her look evil. Which is rather accurate! Well, that depends if she knows & likes you; if she does, it's all good, if not, cover your jugular!

Wonderful Day

Since I worked late on Monday & Tuesday, I was able to leave work early today & go exploring in downtown Dunedin with Grammy & Cam. We strolled around the shops, enjoyed some tasty ice cream & took Cam to a local park. The park overlooked the marina & it was a very bright, crisp day. We had an absolute blast!









Cam got himself into a bit of a pickle here! Luckily I was there to bail him out of his playground jail!



We bumped into these cute, friendly pups & Cam loved saying hello. Look closely & you'll see the teeny tiny, 10 week old miniature Poodle I'm petting. His name was Asher & he was utterly adorable.



It may look like Cam is afraid of this tiny pup, but it's just the way the picture happened to be snapped. I wanted to keep a close eye on Cam since I didn't want him to accidentally trample this minuscule animal!



We ended the day by meeting up with Mike in a cute, tasty & authentic Mexican restaurant called, Casa Tina. Cam became a bit ornery during dinner, but we ended up getting him under control before he made a scene! Dining out with a 16-month old is NOT my idea of fun! But, overall the day was great & it was so nice to get out of work early & enjoy some extra time with my baby love!

Sack of Potatoes

Lately Cam has been seriously amazing us with the rapid pace he is learning & growing each day. Since Mike & I have been commuting to work together to leave Grammy a car, we came home Monday to a rather surprising sight. Our child was literally bouncing off the walls. I suspect that Grammy may have shared a tad too many sugary treats with Cam!

As we walked through the door, he literally came running to us, frantically pointing out dozens of items in our house that he figured we'd be interested in seeing; random pictures on the walls, light fixtures on the ceiling... you name it. But that was only the beginning. We then learned that during the late afternoon, as Grammy turned her back for only a moment, Cam grew a bit too quiet which immediately called for attention. She found the little devil attempting to climb out our bedroom window! You may ask, "are you people scavengers who don't have screens on your windows?" Nope, we do. Somehow though, he managed to pop the screen out & Grammy found the stinker with one leg out! It's not as bad as it sounds though since our house is only one level & our bedroom window sits extremely low to the patio. But, still!

But on to some new things Cam is doing these days.. He's now saying moon & Go! He learned "Go!" from Grammy in reference to the pets. Now, we get to see this little boy march around, pointing & saying, "Go!" when he wants the pets to stop doing whatever it is they may be doing. He's also a pro at giving kisses & actually has learned to sometimes kiss without his mouth gaping open. And he loves blowing kisses. He points to his head, eyes, nose, mouth, belly & toes if you ask him too. I've said it before but I'll say it again, he is an absolute sponge for learning!

I'm loving every second of this kid! Well... maybe not some of his dramatic, whiny moments, but you know what I mean. Everyday brings something new these days & I'm just trying to soak up each moment.





This here is a 30 pound sack of potatoes!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This Valentine's Day we ended up making a very tasty meal of Parmesan crusted steaks, twice baked potatoes & roasted asparagus. We've often enjoyed steaks topped with tasty crusts while out to restaurants, but never prepared it at home. I based the recipe off this site, but didn't measure anything out & just used it as a guideline & mixed the topping until it looked right to me. Mike grilled the steaks rather than pan frying them & finished cooking them under the broiler to brown the parmesan crust. The meal was absolutely delicious!

We ended the night by watching The Time Traveler's Wife, sipping champagne & enjoying some chocolate covered strawberries that we picked up from the grocery store.




These are the flowers Mike sent to my work on Thursday. I was very surprised.







We even shared a dance in the kitchen as dinner was cooking. Who could resist dancing to the sound of Dean Martin's voice?

Opening Ceremony Hat

I'm sure many of you watched the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics & admired Team USA's knit hats just as I did. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be getting my mitts on this hat for a number of reasons: A) I live in FL & the need for a woolen, knit hat is rarely there, B) I don't necessarily have $75 laying around to spend on a hat I really won't be able to wear anyway, C) It's out of stock!

Oh well, I tried! But, if you live somewhere cold, feel like spending $75 on a winter hat, keep an eye on this site to see if the hat becomes available!

Date Night

Having Mike's mom in town is always such a treat for so many reasons. When I tell people that my MIL is staying with us for two & a half weeks, I usually get the same reaction, "eek, good luck with that!" But, then I explain that I'm actually thrilled to have her here. Not only does Cameron get a break from day care, but he has such a blast spending each day with his Grammy while we go to work. My MIL is such a hands on Grandma too; she's not afraid to get on the ground to play or act silly to entertain Cam. Plus, Mike & I get a chance to get out on our own since Grammy is always so willing to keep watch over Cam while he sleeps.

Tuesday night Mike got tickets to the Tampa Bay Lightning game & we had such a great time doing something out of the ordinary. We shared a delicious Manchego cheese burger from our favorite tapas restaurant; who knew they'd have a stand at the stadium?! I think it's so important for parents to get out alone & remember what made you fall in love before the rug rats came along. Granted, we end up talking about Cam the majority of our time away, but it's still great!





Look, Ma! I'm a hockey player!

Love

Stella & KC were snuggling & enjoying some doggy/kitty loving! There was another big, empty pet right next to them, but they wanted to get cozy together in the smaller bed.

Perno Pizza Friday

This Friday's Perno Pizza Friday consisted of leftover meatballs from the week, thawed spinach, fresh tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, goat cheese & mozzarella cheese. Mike brushed the dough with olive oil & seasoned the crust with garlic salt & Parmesan cheese & par-baked it so it would have a bit of a crisp to it to hold up to the weight of the ingredients.

I forgot to take a picture of the finished, baked product, but I can assure you that it was delish! Actually, as I type this, we have some of the leftover slices baking in the oven for lunch today. Yum!

Friday Can't Come Soon Enough

This week seems to be endless. Tuesday evening I was absolutely exhausted & seriously felt like it should have been Thursday based off of how I felt. Most weekdays I'm somewhat motivated to get the house straightened up, keep laundry going & make decent dinners. This week I've had a headache & zero energy. And along with that, I've been very emotional & just feeling low.

It hasn't helped my mood that each morning as I ran out the door to get to work on time, Cam reached his arms out to me, crying, "Ma-muh!" I'd start my drive to work with a lump in my throat & a sad feeling in my heart. I'm very relieved that it's Thursday night & the weekend is almost upon us & I'll finally be able to spend some downtime with my family. Plus, Grammy (Mike's mom) is coming into town Saturday evening & staying two weeks which means Cam will get a break from the germs at day care!

This week is also starting to look up as I had some wonderful cuddle time with Cam tonight as he drank his milk & got ready for bed. That is, hands down, my favorite time of day. I get to kiss his soft, fluffy hair & take in his wonderful Cammy smell!

Here's to hoping that my attitude & mood keep on pickin' up!



This is my favorite sleeper that Cam wears; he looks absolutely adorable & so baby-esque whenever he wears it.





And this is the sight I get to see each morning as I get Cam dressed for "school." Of course, he isn't normally wearing navy blue socks pulled up to his knees; that was just me goofing around at his expense! Ahh, he won't mind. At least I don't think he will... only time will tell!

Feeling Better. Hooray, Hooray!

My little love took a visit to the pediatrician today & I'm happy to report that everything came back negative from strep throat to the flu! He had a restful day at home with Daddy & even felt well enough to take a trip to the park this evening after I had gotten home from work. He had an absolute blast; it was a gorgeous evening & he was climbing around the play area like a champ.

Watching him laugh, run around & explore new things turns my heart into a gob of goo! I love that boy with everything & I'm so glad he's feeling better! Let's just hope this sickness stays far, far away. For at least a little while anyway.