messy, messy baby

Last night I was home alone with Caden and I decided to cook him a gourmet meal. I started off by cooking some Barilla Plus pasta, which if you haven't tried it, please do. It is a multigrain pasta in case you aren't in to the whole wheat pastas. This pasta is extremely healthy and has crazy things in it like lentils, oats and even flaxseed. It tastes JUST like regular pasta. Then a cooked up some ground, Jenny O turkey and got some low sodium tomato sauce. Put all of this together with a little bit of fresh, shredded parmesan cheese. We both loved the meal. I am loving how now, we can share food with each other. Caden doesn't really like to be fed anymore, he likes to feed himself, and who ever is sitting next to him while he is eating. Needless to say, it was a mess, a big mess. One that I didn't even really have the energy to run him up to his room, undress him and give him a bath. Instead, I stripped him down and put him in the sink. He loves the sink, and I I took some pictures so you can see this big boy bathing in the sink.

"what's this?"

"hmmmm, lemme see here..."

"are you sure about this?"

"ALRIGHT! I'm in! Let's do it!"

"I know, I'm pretty cute"

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, much love!

Caden's First Thanksgiving

I would like to first start off by saying that I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving with Family and Friends. I would also like to start this post off by sharing a picture of Caden playing with his lion. This particular picture is for my Grandparents across the pond, I want you to know how much Caden loves his lion.

Thank you Nana and Poppa

Bellow are a few of the many reasons why I love Thanksgiving....

Giant pots filled with...

Delicious mashed potatoes!

Dinner rolls....oh how I love thee

Turkey for everyone!

Wonderful women like this that slave away in the kitchen for hours, making delicious food

I love how the family comes in town and we are all under one roof

or outside on the patio

My cousins spending quality time with my son

Watching these two pester each other

Even though this happens at least once a week, it's always fun watching Caden and his Mimi play together

Watching Caden eat his first Thanksgiving meal

Watching him, watch everyone else

Watching two brothers enjoy the day together playing video games...

Having "fine" plastic ware wrapped all fancy in paper towels with a paper ring around it...

Having everyone love the Christmas Cookies I brought/made for dessert

How we get to start decorating for Christmas!!!

As for what I am thankful for........

Caden Joseph Giles

Gift giving

As Christmas approaches, I continuously think about what I am going to get everyone. Usually I am really good at this and most of the time I think I'm pretty creative. This year....not so much. I have been searching gift guides like crazy! But thank goodness I have been looking at all of these gift guides because then I would have never found these...

I am Oh so in love. These classics have had a makeover! But back to that original classic look. I have always been an avid book reader, I have cut back since Mr. Caden has come into my life but my love for books still lives on. My mom has the Kindle, which is basically like an iPod for books instead of music. She can literally download a book from anywhere if she wanted. I personally love holding a book in my hands, and the smell, and the fact that you can put them on a shelf when you are done reading them and BAM before long you have your own little library. The ONE good thing I do love about the Kindle is...most books, even hardcover, new releases are only $9.99! Whhhaaatt??? So just because I want pages I have to pay twice as much?? Alright, at least I get to keep it forever and ever. Eventually, when we get our own place I want a library with a reading chair and everything! Okay okay, not likely. I will take a nook in a room somewhere, I just need a decent size bookshelf.

Not only am I at a loss for what I to get for everyone else. I have no idea what I would like for Christmas. Honestly the only person I have any ideas for is my 10 1/2 month old son, only because that is easy for me, he loves anything that he can chew on and makes noise.

Oh so about those beautiful books, I found them in my Real Simple magazine but you can order them online here for only $20.00!

Much love and hopefully your holiday shopping is going better than mine!

Home Sweet Home

A very good friend of mine, Kristina, just moved into a new apartment this weekend. I went over there yesterday to help her unload and unpack all of here things. She is pretty much starting from scratch and so it was nice to see what she was going to do with everything. And it made me miss having my own place oh so much. I'm about ready to get the house hunt started and in action!

Yesterday Caden stayed at his Mimi's house with Jordan and she took this adorable picture of my boys:

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and enjoying this beautiful weather!

Pumpkin Bread you say?

Last Christmas was actually my very first time to have Pumpkin Bread, I know, it's weird. A guy that I worked with named Craig, his wife made it for him to take to the Christmas Feast at work. Me being 8 months pregnant, ate most of it, shhhhh. So last week me and Jenna cooked the Monkey Bread, which was delish to say the least. I guess we are starting a Wednesday baking tradition because this week we are going to try our hand at Pumpkin Bread.....

Yummmm! I know

I have also heard really wonderful thing about The Ugly Truth so I suggested we rent that for the day and TRY to find time to watch it. Movie review coming soon...

We absolutely love our days with Jenna! This was a picture from last Wednesday that I adore because of both of their faces..

Now....if you need me I will be indulging in Pumpkin Bread and...

Halloween was only a little over a week ago...

so it's not so bad that pictures haven't been posted yet, right?

Here is my little Monkey:

be prepard to see one two of my favorite father son pictures to date

How absolutely delightful are those pictures? Yep, that's what I thought too. Recently Jordan has come up with this not so brilliant idea to go on a diet. Now, his idea of a diet is way to hardcore for my likings. I just try to eat the right things and not too much of the bad things, or good things. I might have a slight portion control problem. So I was cleaning out my junk drawers (yes I have more than one) and I found this book, I am most definitely taking it grocery shopping with me next time I go.

I am also on a cooking binge and wanting to try new things, I think Jordan probably decided he would go on a diet right after coming home to this:

Probably wont be making those anytime soon, or anything else that requires this

and then offering this for dessert

That monkey bread is unforgettable...

I'm trying here...

I swear I don't know how you blogger moms do it. I just keep on finding myself lagging behind with this blogging business.

I just need to come to terms with the fact that i probably wont be doing daily updates and we will be lucky if we even get weekly updates out of me. I do what I can.

There really aren't even words to describe how excited I am that this is going to be Caden's very first Christmas a.k.a The Best Christmas to Date! I know things will get more exciting as the years go by because I will get to see childhood through my own son's eyes all over again. I have already put up a personal Christmas tree in my room that I am going to give to Caden when he is old enough to not destroy it. Then every year I am going to give him an ornament to put on his very own Christmas tree and he will keep all of those ornaments over the years. I think it is a very special thing to do. I will get back soon to post some more recent pictures, until then...