First off, a big congrats to Elizabeth who welcomed her baby girl this week! You can read her post here and see more pictures on her instagram feed @emchapman26. I'm so excited for their sweet family of FOUR!
Isn't she a beauty?! Sweet Nora- love her name!
Last night, Matt and I went to an award ceremony and reception for our nephew Maddox who wrote an essay about his brother Noah being his hero (melt.) and the essay won for the entire kindergarten, which meant he was chosen to go on to the county level to be recognized with all other kids from schools all over the county!
Noah got to go on stage with him and also got to stand up in the crowd with all of the other "heroes" :)
It's night like last night that make me extra grateful to live close by our families. Here are some other pictures from the night:
Both boys wanted to read to Ryan. They are so sweet with him!
On the move!
During the awards ceremony Ryan sat with the boys for part of the time. All three of them were in plaid- unplanned but they looked so cute!
Ryan was a trooper. We started home an hour after his usual bedtime. He did so great staying up with us for the night!
Maddox with his principal
Tonight we're heading to an Easter Egg hunt and pizza dinner with Matt's sister and parents! I can't even believe Easter in just over a week away?! Here's to hoping it's a warm one this year because Ryan's little outfit from his Nonna is too cute and not exactly layer-able. We shall see!
Matt was gone on two separate short trips in the past two weeks, so Ryan and I took advantage of some sweet time with family while he was away! Here's a look at each day from the past two weeks.
You can check out the daily posts on Instagram @hmnelsen.
Day 64:
This was the first time Ryan sat in a highchair at a restaurant and boy did he love it! He seemed like he was close to falling asleep in his stroller so I had planned to leave him in there while Matt's mom and I had lunch, but the minute I got him out, he started tapping the table with both hands like he couldn't believe he was so big. The entire lunch, in between bites, he was smiling and tapping the table and making his "I'm so excited right now" noises. It was pretty cute! I feel like he's turning into such a little person. :)
Day 65: Tally cozied up under Ryan's crib during his nap and snoozed right along with him. :)
Day 66:
Ryan sits in the tub like a big boy now and loves to splash in the water and scoot around reaching for toys. But his most favorite thing to do is talk with his friend in the mirror. Sweet buddy loves that friend so.
Day 67:
Crawling to Nonna in his 18 month pjs on the same day we lowered the crib. Slow down time!
Day 68:
While Matt was skiing, we visited with my parents in Monroe! More on that here.
Day 69:
I love the way Ryan looks at my mom. We were getting him buckled in for a walk in the nice weather and he was just staring away at her... and curling his toes. :)
Day 70:
I still can't believe we took these three kiddos under three to the mall and stayed there for almost FOUR hours! They were rockstars! T read to Ryan while we waited in line at one store (totally on her own by the way- sweet love), and then the bottom right in a close up of Ryan's sleeping feet. :)
Day 71:
Last week's date night in involved Papa John's pizza and House of Cards on Netflix. That show gets a little weird sometimes but it is so good!
Day 72:
I snuck away for a little relaxation during Ryan's nap- bubble bath, mud mask, and my book- which I am almost finished with and loving! I'll write about it later this week, but you can check it out here!
Day 73:
Last week I was at my neighbor's house when her daughter's Solly Dolly Wrap arrived in the mail. Is this the cutest thing or what?!
Day 74:
Finally a sunny, warm day after lots of rain! We finished our day with a walk around Chastain while we waited for Matt to get home from work. I see many of these walks happening in these upcoming Spring days!
Day 75:
Road trip to Nonna's! This was obviously a pit stop, but Ryan thought he was hot stuff sitting in the driver's seat with me. :)
Day 76:
Cooking pasta with Nonna and looking at cars out the window with Papa. I'm so thankful for these two and how well they love us!
Day 77:
Aunt Gretchen came for a sleepover Friday night while Matt was away on a work trip. We don't like when Matt's gone but getting lots of good time with my family makes it fun!
We made this yummy pizza for dinner- Mmm! It is SO good! You can check out the recipe here.
Last week I was craving my leftover taco soup recipe, but I unfortunately didn't have any leftover taco soup to make it. So I decided to clean out the pantry of what we had and ended up concocting a recipe that Matt took one bite of and said he would eat it once a week! Score! So I decided to quickly write down what I did so I wouldn't forget it, and then I asked him what we should call it and he said, "H's Chili Pasta." Ha! So I went with it...
Ingredients:
1 can Nina's Whole Tomatoes
1 can rotel (you pick how spicy you want it- I'm a wimp, so I went with mild)
1 can diced tomatoes with green pepper and onion
1 can corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can spicy chili beans, drained and rinsed (if you want it spicier, don't drain and rinse)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2tsp minced garlic (or 4 minced cloves)
1T olive oil
1lb pasta shells
1lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
sour cream
cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
Sauté the onion in garlic and olive oil for 5-7 minutes on medium heat in a skillet.
While the onions are sautéing, brown ground beef, drain the excess grease, and return to the pan. Add the packet of taco seasoning with just enough water to mix it in with the beef. Set aside.
After onions are sautéed, add the first 7 ingredients to the skillet with the onions. Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes and then reduce heat to a low simmer and add in the ground beef.
While chili mix is simmering, cook pasta according to box directions.
Once pasta is cooked and drained, scoop pasta into bowls and add the chili on top. Top with sour cream and cheese.
