The Boys: 6 months and "2 half"

PARKER

It's hard to believe Parker has been a part of our family for six months now. He has grown into such a happy and (mostly) healthy baby. We haven't gotten to the bottom of his allergy/colic/screaming very loudly issues yes, but hopefully soon.

At his six month checkup, he tipped the scales at a whopping 24 pounds. He has already tripled his birth weight -- yikes!! Parker Man is a load to tote around, as you can imagine. He still just has the two teeth on bottom that came in at the end of four months/beginning of five months. I feel like he's constantly teething though (like every other infant out there). He laughs so hard when Connor plays "peep a boo" with him - it's the cutest thing. He is rolling all over and he sits up very well. He's a strong little boy! I can't even imagine what is in store for us once he's crawling. He is never still - unless he is asleep. Parker is constantly on the move and kicking those legs! It should come as no surprise that he loves to eat - especially mum mums and fruit. When we were at lunch a few weeks ago, he grabbed a piece of Texas toast off of Jeremy's plate and shoved it in his mouth -- are you kidding me?

Those rolls though!

Connor

Connor is learning more and more each day -- this is such a fun age, and he's got such a sweet disposition! He knows his ABC's and sings them all the time. He can count 1-20 (sometimes mixing up a couple of the teens) and he knows his colors and several shapes. He will tell you that he is "two half" and baby is "zero." He still calls Parker "baby" about 85% of the time, but gosh he sure loves his little brother! He likes for Parker to "watch me baby" as he shows off whatever he has just gotten into. He's incredibly curious and when we see new people he always asks, "What name him?". Cracks me up! Some of his other favorite phrases are, "I do it myself", "I don't want to" and "I don't like it". Have I mentioned that he's two? Connor's favorite foods are applesauce and raisins and he loves to drink "cold wa-er" (water with ice). His favorite toys are his fire trucks and choo-choo's (of course)!

I think my favorite part of the day with Connor is reading to him at night. By then, Parker is asleep and I can focus all of my mommy attention on Connor. We have silly time, read the books he has picked out, say our little prayers, and give kisses. I will ask, "Can Mommy have 5 kisses?" And he will giggle and say no, and then I change the number, and then eventually just smother him in kisses. 

They dressed him up in graduation gear at school. Can't even. 

I love when I pick him up from school in the afternoons. He drops whatever he is doing and runs to my arms with the biggest smile, "mommy, mommy, mommy!" This moment washes away the stress of the day as he makes me feel like as a mom, I'm doing something right. And sometimes, I so desperately need this affirmation. 

Mexican Chicken Spaghetti

This is my go to dish for when I'm bringing food to a friend. It's easy to freeze, or pop in the oven and bake and eat right away. And who doesn't love gobs of cheese, pasta and chicken all in one dish? It makes enough for 6 servings, so I often divide it when I make it and keep half for our dinner that evening.

It's a relatively easy recipe, you just need to be able to pay attention to it as you are cooking (read: no toddlers in the vicinity of the kitchen). I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Misti, in a cookbook she made for me as a wedding gift. I've modified it to work for our family, and because it has a nice kick I call it "Mexican Chicken Spaghetti."

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 medium onion
1 small green bell pepper (or buy the tri-pepper pre-chopped mix)
1 can rotel
1/2 block of the large Velvetta, chopped into cubes
1 can of cream of celery soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 pound of chicken tenderloins, boiled or grilled to your liking (or see my shortcut below)
1 package of spaghetti noodles
1 package of frozen broccoli, steamed (optional)
1 cup of chicken broth (optional)

Directions

Dice the onion and bell pepper and sauté with the butter until both the onions and bell peppers are clear.

Next, add in the rotel and cook down for a couple of minutes. Then, add in the mushroom and celery soups and cook down for a few minutes.

Then, add in the Velvetta and constantly stir the mixture.

Allow this to cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Starting to look like queso, eh? While this is cooking, boil water and cook the noodles.

Remember what I said earlier about my chicken shortcut? This is it. Easy, delicious and takes about 3 minutes to cook in the microwave. Get ya some.

Once the cheese mixture is cooked, add the chicken and noodles. If you are adding the steamed broccoli, go ahead and put it in now. You might notice that this doesn't look like spaghetti noodles. You would be correct. I forgot to buy spaghetti at the store, and substituted macaroni. It was a delicious accident and we liked the macaroni version just as much as the original. If you find that your sauce is too thick, add one cup of chicken broth until it thins. Put the mixture into a 9x13 pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Dinner is served.