(LONG OVERDUE) Update on My Babies

I've been meaning to do an update post on Rylee and Ryan for FOREVER now, but I just haven't gotten around to it. (I know, I know... I'm failing miserably at my motherly duty of documenting every second of their lives. Believe me, I'm not happy about it either.) They are both growing SO fast. It's pretty ridiculous, actually.
First, I'll attempt to catch you all up on how Rylee is doing these days. I say "attempt", because she has grown so much in so many ways the past few months that it would be impossible for me to mention it all. I'll do my best to include as much as I can think of, but it'll probably be a bit all over the place as things pop into my mind, so just buckle up and hold on for the ride. Okay... here we go...

As of four days ago, Rylee is now 21 months old. That means in just three short months, we'll be celebrating her second birthday. How is that even possible? I seriously can't believe it. I only thought the first year of her life went by quickly - and it did. But this second year... holy cow. It feels like we just celebrated her first birthday a few weeks ago. It CAN'T already almost be time for her to blow out candles again.
Rylee has grown and changed SO much in this past year. I was just telling my mom the other day that I have recently realized she's not even in her "toddler" stage anymore (*insert sad face here*). She is a little girl now. (I know it might sound a little silly for me to say it like that, but I don't know how else to put it. What "stage" comes after the toddler stage?)
She is very smart and spirited and independent.
She is learning more and more every day how to communicate with us, and she is comprehending things that I really didn't think she'd be able to understand for another year or two. She just blows my mind. Her vocabulary has sky-rocketed the past couple of months. I've lost count of how many words - and a few phrases - she can say, and she's to the point now where she can try to pronounce anything we ask her to say. It's also a good reminder to us that we really have to be careful what we say around her now (no, we don't cuss... I'm simply referring to more personal, "adult" conversation), because she may very well repeat it back to us - or worse, someone else - at some point.
She loves to read and sing and dance and play with her toys.
She loves watching game shows (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that in a post about her before).
She loves her baby brother, though she is often jealous of him (which I know is to be expected at this age, when he is demanding so much of my attention). She likes to help me burp him after he eats, and she will ask to hold him every now and then (which is quite a sight, since he is already almost as big as her). She pronounces his name "Ry-ee", and I think it's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. (You'd think she was actually saying her own name, based on that pronunciation, but she actually pronounces her name as "Ly-lee". I don't know why she makes the "R" sound for Ryan's name, but not her own.)
She loves her mommy, but she is a TOTAL daddy's girl - she has him wrapped around all ten of her fingers, and she knows it (and Jordan wouldn't have it any other way, either). Anytime we ask her "Rylee, who do you love?", she replies with "Daddy!" every single time. He has ruined her. (That was a joke... sorta...)

Rylee and Daddy, Feb. 28th

She is still wearing size 18-month clothes, but I'm expecting to move her up to size 24-month/2T clothes around her birthday. We'll just have to see how much she grows between now and then. She's tall and lean like her daddy. According to our bathroom scale, she weighs about 25 pounds right now, give or take a few ounces.
She looks almost spitting-image of how I did when I was her age. It's a weird feeling for me, because every time I look at her, I feel like I'm looking into the past at myself.

This is me when I was around Rylee's age.

She still sucks her thumb. I have a feeling she's not going to be letting that habit go any time soon.
Her facial expressions crack me up. She is so expressive.
She has it in her mind that my cell phone is HERS, and there are scratches and teeth marks all over it to prove it. I'm ordering a new cell phone later this week (we're due for our upgrade), and I'm determined to keep it away from her. We'll see how long that lasts...
She has really started coming into a "little helper" stage. She loves helping us throw trash in the dumpster or put dirty clothes in the washing machine. I'm embracing this time, because I know she is learning how to do different household responsibilities without "realizing" it yet, and therefore complaining about it. (I know that day is coming...)
I can't remember if I've mentioned this in a previous post, but she has officially learned how to climb over the chair wall Jordan "built" to keep her contained in our living room when she first became mobile (i.e. started crawling). That was a sad, sad day for me. I now constantly have to chase her all over the house, which is not always that fun/easy when I'm in the middle of nursing Ryan or something. I can't remember when she first figured out how to climb over the chairs, but I think it's actually been a month or two now (maybe even longer than that... I really don't remember), and since then, she has actually figured out she's strong enough to just move them/pull them away from the wall so she can just walk around them. So either way, we can no longer keep her contained in the living room.
There are still a million more things to mention, but I feel like if I keep going, I'll never get around to updating about Ryan, so for now, I'm just going to stop here on Rylee. On to Ryan...

The boy is big. Very big. I took Ryan to his 2-month check-up with his pediatrician on March 5th. He weighed 15lbs. 3oz. and he was 24 3/4 inches long. Both measurements put him in the upper-90th percentiles on the growth chart. Apparently I've got some rich breast milk.

waiting for the doctor

It cracks me up when he goes cross-eyed.

double-chin grin

lady-killer

He will be 11 weeks old tomorrow, and he is already wearing sizes 3-6 months and 6-month clothes. (As you can imagine, the OCD in me is having a fit over this. I mean, it is just NOT right for a baby to be wearing 6-month clothes if he is not actually 6 months old yet.)

This photo was taken on March 9th. He's wearing a size 3-months onesie and size 0-3 months jeans. As you can see, they were too small/tight on him.

I've been trying for the past two or three weeks to get Ryan on a schedule. It's going so-so. He still wakes up at least once a night for a feeding (usually around 3am), even though he's technically (according to the schedule outline from the doctor) supposed to be sleeping through the night by now. Oh, how I wish that were actually the case... (I will say that he has slept through the night once, which was actually the very first time we put him in his crib in his room. I couldn't believe it. I thought we were finally getting somewhere... but it only lasted that one night. Not sure what that was about, but hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon.)
He is such a SWEET baby. I just love him to death. When he smiles, his eyes - with those beautiful, long eyelashes - just light up, and it melts my heart.

March 16, 2012

He loves getting kisses from Mommy (or at least I think he does...).
He has been cooing/babbling/gurgling at us for a few weeks now, and I love it. He always gets the hiccups a few minutes after he "talks" to us, though. Never fails. I guess it's because he sucks in air when he does it...?
We are still giving him 1 milliliter of Zantac twice a day to help with his reflux. It seems to be helping better since we upgraded (per doctor's orders) the dosage from 0.8 milliliter twice a day.
When I lay him on his floor gym, he can wave his arms in the air and hit the ball on the monkey toy that hangs down from it, causing it to play music. Smart boy.
I am still swaddling him when he sleeps, but he is pretty strong and always seems to break out of it, no matter how tight I do it.
There are a million more things I know I could say about Ryan, too, but I've been working on this entry for several days now, and I'm just ready to post it. I'll try to do another update post on the kids soon. For now, though, I hope this is better than nothing. (Sorry the information in this post is so all over the place. I told you it would be.)

Southwestern Spaghetti

Since I know you are loving all the recipes I've been posting lately (Right? You're loving them, right?...), I'm going to post ANOTHER one. And get ready, because I've got two more to share after this. That's right. I'm just blowing your mind, aren't I? You're just so impressed with all this cooking/baking I've been doing lately, huh? I know. Me too. Anyway, this recipe is called Southwestern Spaghetti. I expected it to taste basically just like Steak 'n Shake's Chili Mac Plate. (Have you ever tried that? It was the only thing I used to order from there when I was little. Well, that, and a chocolate milkshake, of course.) It was similar to it, but I have to say the Chili Mac Plate (apparently they actually call it "Chili 3-Way" now... whatever) has a lot more flavor in my opinion. Still, it was another good recipe to try and have on hand for an easy meal idea in the future. Below is the recipe. Follow the link above for the original recipe (as usual, I omitted one or two ingredients).


Southwestern Spaghetti

Ingredients:
8oz. spaghetti noodles, cooked
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1lb. ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1tsp. chili powder
1/2tsp. cumin
1/2tsp. oregano
1/2tsp. salt
2 (8oz.) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation/Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl (or in the pot you boiled the spaghetti in), combine the drained, cooked noodles with milk and egg. Mix well. Pour into the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch casserole dish.
In a large skillet, brown ground beef and garlic. Drain grease. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and cook for 2 more minutes.
Spread the meat sauce evenly over the spaghetti noodles. Top evenly with the cheeses. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Pizza Casserole

I'm back with another recipe I tried recently. It's called Pizza Casserole, and it's basically baked spaghetti with pepperoni on top. It wasn't my favorite recipe I've tried so far, but it was still good, so I figured I'd share it on here. For the original recipe, please follow the link above.


Pizza Casserole

Ingredients:
2lbs. ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1tsp. Italian seasoning
2tbls. olive oil
2 (26oz.) jars spaghetti sauce (I used Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian sauce)
16oz. rotini pasta, cooked and drained (I used a vegetable blend)
5 cups (20oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese (I think I only used 4 cups...)
8oz. sliced pepperoni

Preparation/Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, add olive oil and heat to medium-high heat. Add ground beef, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Cook until beef is browned. Drain grease.
Stir cooked pasta, sauce, and 3 cups of cheese together with the meat. Place the mixture into two greased 9x13-inch baking dishes. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese and top with pepperoni.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Chicken Parmesan Bake

Alright, folks... I'm back with yet another recipe from Pinterest. I know, I know... but I promise I will post something other than a recipe SOON (Ryan has his 2-month check-up with his pediatrician on Monday, so I plan to post an update on that). Anyway, for now, I wanted to share this recipe for Chicken Parmesan Bake. This was another recipe that I was really eager to try, because it looked/sounded so good based on the picture and the ingredients it called for, and it was super quick and easy to throw together. I made it for dinner last night, and it smelled SO good while it was baking in the oven. However, I must say I was a tad bit disappointed when I actually tried it. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't bad by any means. It just wasn't AS GOOD as I thought it would be (especially after smelling it while it baked for 35 minutes). So, I just couldn't help but feel a bit... bummed, I guess. The good news, though, is that I ate it for lunch this afternoon, and it tastes much better (in my opinion) as leftovers. So anyway, overall, it's another good recipe to have on hand for a quick, easy meal. Below is the recipe I used (as usual, I omitted an ingredient, and I added extra of a few of the ingredients). For the original recipe, click on the link above.


Chicken Parmesan Bake

Ingredients:
2tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 raw, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depending on size)
1 (23.5oz.) jar Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian sauce
basil seasoning, to taste
8oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
5oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
2 (5oz.) packages croutons (I used one bag of Seasoned croutons and one bag of Garlic and Butter croutons)

Preparation/Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drizzle olive oil in a 9x13-inch baking dish, and add minced garlic. Mix and spread evenly to coat the bottom of the dish.
Place raw chicken breasts in the dish over the olive oil and garlic.
Spread entire jar of sauce evenly over the chicken breasts.
Sprinkle with basil, to taste.
Sprinkle 4oz. mozzarella cheese and half the Parmesan cheese evenly over sauce.
Spread all croutons evenly over cheese to make a crust layer.
Top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
Bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Well, apparently my blog is becoming a recipe blog since I can't seem to find time to post about anything else lately. Anyway, I tried yet another new recipe from Pinterest for dinner last night. It's called Chicken Enchilada Pasta, and it tastes basically exactly like the Cheesy Enchilada Casserole I made a week or so ago, but in pasta form, and with chicken instead of ground beef. Go figure. It turned out yummy, which was no surprise to me since I'm a fan of enchilada dishes, and it was nice to try a Mexican-style pasta dish for a change, since most pastas I've had are Italian recipes. I'm sure I'll probably make it again someday down the road. (Although probably not anytime too soon, unfortunately, since I'm breastfeeding, and it seemed to upset Baby Ryan's tummy last night. But that's another post for another day...) Anyway, below is the recipe I used if you'd like to try it. The original recipe (I omitted some ingredients... y'all know how I am) is included in the link above.


Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Ingredients:
2 to 3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2tbls. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2tsp. salt
2tsp. chili powder
1tsp. cumin
3 (10oz.) cans mild enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup (8oz.) sour cream
1 box penne pasta

Preparation/Cooking Instructions:
Boil pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pot on stove. Add minced garlic, and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently so as not to burn.
Add cooked, chopped chicken, cumin, chili powder, salt, and enchilada sauce. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add shredded cheese, and stir until cheese is melted and heated through.
Add sour cream, but DO NOT bring to a boil. Cook on low heat, or sour cream will curdle. Stir until sour cream is mixed well and heated through.
Drain pasta, and add to chicken and sauce mixture; mix well.
Garnish with shredded cheese, tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream, etc. if desired.

Crescent Roll Casserole

In case you haven't been able to tell by a few of my recent posts, I've been on a trying-new-recipes kick lately. For dinner last night, I decided to make ANOTHER new recipe that I recently found on a recipe blog. This recipe is called Crescent Roll Casserole. I had never tasted this dish before, but based on the ingredients involved, I had a good feeling it would be something Jordan and I would like. Boy, was my intuition right! It was SO yummy! It is a tad bit time-consuming to whip up, because there are a few different steps involved, but it is WELL worth it in the end. I cannot wait to make this casserole again soon. If you've never tried it before, you MUST! If you do, let me know what you think! Here's the recipe:


Crescent Roll Casserole


Ingredients:

2 (8oz.) cans Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

For sauce:
1 (10 3/4oz.) can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup whipping cream

For crescent roll filling:
4oz. cream cheese, softened
4tbls. butter, softened
1/2tsp. garlic powder
2 large cooked chicken breasts, chopped
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2tsp. seasoning salt
4tbls. whipping cream


Preparation/Baking Instructions:

Step 1 (making the sauce): Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9-inch casserole dish. In a saucepan, mix 1/2 cup of whipping cream, 3/4 cup of cheddar cheese, and can of cream of chicken soup over medium-high heat. Heat just until cheese melts. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 2 (making the filling): In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add garlic powder, chopped chicken, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, 4 tablespoons of whipping cream, and seasoning salt, and mix until well-combined.
Step 3 (preparing the dish): Drizzle a small amount of the chicken soup mixture on the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Unroll the crescent rolls, and place 1 heaping tablespoon of the chicken mixture on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end. Place into the casserole dish seam-side down. Repeat until all of the crescent rolls have been filled up. Drizzle the remaining soup mixture over the filled crescent rolls, and sprinkle 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Bake in 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

6-Week Postpartum Check-Up

Monday morning, I had my 6-week postpartum check-up with Dr. Dupre. Everything went well, and thankfully, I was in and out pretty quickly. I weighed 116 pounds, so I still have nine pounds to lose before I'm back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Hopefully I'll be able to get it off soon, but with the way my eating habits have been lately, I'm not so sure... I've had the BIGGEST sweet tooth (which is not at all uncommon for me, a self-proclaimed "chocoholic", but still...).
Anyway, Dr. D came in, checked out Ryan (who was asleep in his car seat), and talked with me for a bit about how I've been doing. He said I healed up well from my episiotomy, and that I could resume all regular "activities" (just in time for Valentine's Day!). We also talked about what my options were as far as birth control. I had really been going back and forth in my heart and mind about whether or not I wanted to go on some form of birth control, and if so, what kind. I've never been on birth control of any kind before, partly because I originally didn't think I would need it. When I was diagnosed with PCOS five years ago, I was told that there was a good chance that I would struggle with infertility, and that, if anything, I would probably need medical help to conceive. Well, four months after Jordan and I got married, I found out I was pregnant with Rylee. I was quite shocked, to say the very least. I was not on any type of medication to help me conceive - it was all God. Then, the day before Rylee turned 11 months old, I found out I was pregnant with Ryan. Two pregnancies in less than two years. Needless to say, it doesn't look like I need medical help to conceive. I think God knows what He's doing. So anyway, even though I'm very thankful for my two unexpected blessings, I started talking to Jordan about the pros and cons of me going on birth control. I've never been comfortable before with the idea of being on birth control, partly because I don't like the idea of a foreign object being inside my body or taking some type of pill that could have all sorts of side effects (not to mention the fact that I've always had a difficult time swallowing pills, no matter how small they might be), but also because I just wanted to leave it in God's hands as far as if and when I got pregnant. I just never actually expected to have two children under the age of two. Although they are incredible blessings, it is also very overwhelming at times to juggle the responsibility/challenge of taking care of both of them, especially because I'm by myself with them all day during the week while Jordan is working. My body also needs a break. I went from being pregnant in 2009/2010 with Rylee, to breastfeeding her for 11 months, to being pregnant with Ryan in 2011, and now I'm breastfeeding him for hopefully at least the first year of his life. So my body has not been "my own" for over two years now. Although I know this is partly what God created me to do, it has still been quite a physical strain. So anyway, after much thought, I decided to go on the "minipill", which is safe to take while breastfeeding. In a way, I feel guilty and selfish for being on birth control. I know it clearly says in the Bible that the Lord opens the womb and the Lord closes the womb, and that children are a blessing from Him, and I feel that, by being on birth control, I'm not truly surrendering control of my life to Him. But at the same time, I believe He gives us a choice about this, and I just feel that this is what is best for me and our family overall right now. I know that, if I were to have another baby soon, God would equip me to handle it. I guess honestly, though, I just want a break for a little while. I want to be able to truly enjoy the two children He's already blessed me with for a while, instead of always feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. If being on birth control means missing out on another blessing from God, that's just something I'll have to deal with/accept one day when I get to Heaven. And I know that if it is in God's plan for us to have another baby before we feel we're "ready", He's not going to let a little pill stop Him. So anyway, ALL of that to say that I am now on birth control. Woohoo.
Anyway, that was the extent of my appointment. I have to go back in April for my yearly "female exam", but until then, I'm done with my frequent visits to my OB's office. Until next time...