Lake of the Ozarks

Daniel had a conference at Tan-Tar-A on the Lake of the Ozarks last week, and Sadie and I happily accompanied him. Tan-Tar-A is a fun, family-friendly resort with lots of things to do and lots of hallways to walk and stairs to climb (Sadie LOVED this place!). We played on the playground, swam in the pool, went for a boat ride, drove around and saw some quite fabulous homes and houseboats, and did a lot of relaxing. Daniel came down with whatever I had had the week before (that's what he gets for kissing a sickie! joking!). So we were a little lower key than intended, but it was nice to get away.

These are practically the only two pictures we took, capturing Sadie's first boat ride (I think....my brain is dead, and I can't remember if she's ridden on a boat before...bad mom, I know!).

The boat showed us around PART of the lake and some of the pretty homes and places flanking the lake. The Lake of the Ozarks is really a huge lake (built by a power company in the 30's), measuring 1200 miles of shoreline....that's how far it is from our house in Indiana to my parents house in Texas. So we literally only saw a very small portion of the lake by boat. We later took a little road trip around to another part of the lake and saw some gorgeous properties (with VERY steep driveways...mercy!). Another thing I found somewhat interesting were the sizes of boats on this lake. Every boat we saw was a houseboat. Daniel inquired at work about this, and basically monkey see, monkey do. People probably started getting big boats at some point because they're cool (and they are!) and then the little men (or boats) had to upsize so as not to get overpowered by the waves while on the lake. It was really very interesting and fun to look at all the big boats. A little different from Daniel's days growing up at Possum Kingdom and Lake Texoma and my days close to Lake Belton! ha!


Here's a picture I snapped on the way down. Can you guess what kind of car this license plate was on?

That's right, a hearse! Get it?.....last ride? Too funny!

Just Peachy

30 and counting

I haven't posted a blog in FOREVER! So hopefully I'm gonna get caught up today (or tomorrow or next week! ha!).

I tell you what....hitting 30 did a number on me. I was sick the whole first week and still am having some allergy problems accompanied by an intimidating cough (lots of fun to watch other mothers scatter at the park when I start coughing!). Sheesh...that's what getting old does to ya I guess!

Despite feeling kinda crummy on my birthday, I had a great one (thanks to Daniel and Sadie). My dear former coworker, Libby, and her children, Grayson and Janie, came over that evening as a special birthday treat. I really miss seeing her every day and knowing what Grayson and Janie are up to. So it was so nice to see them ALL on my birthday. Our neighbors also came over for dinner and cake (a side note.... that was the last we saw them before they became a family of three....little Owen was born last week at 35 weeks and is doing wonderfully at home with his parents....congratulations to the Alberts!).

My only request for my birthday was a birthday cake, because I love cake and can't remember the last time I had one on my birthday. You'll see below Daniel's awesome attempt at a decorated birthday cake. It was cute and yummy too! Julie, our neighbor, also brought over a yummy chocolate cake. So my birthday wishes were granted! :) Yes, I need help for my food obsession, but that is another blog for another day! ha!

Anyway, here are some pictures.

The kids scheming how to take over the WORLD.....

Sadie trying to keep up with Grayson and Janie....

Grayson and Janie stealing my thunder with their rendition of "Happy Birthday".....



Sadie enjoying some birthday cake....





Also, thank you to all the birthday wishes! They were all so sweet! In case anyone is wondering, Daniel's birthday is this Saturday, August 1, and he will finally be 30! Whew, those 2 1/2 weeks when I'm older than him :) are the longest weeks all year!

Once upon a time….

Once upon a time long, long ago, a little baby girl was born. Her name was Amanda and she was a beautiful baby. She grew up loving to laugh and play, loving her family and friends, and above all loving God.

This sweet little girl was born on her dad’s 30th birthday, and he is turning 60 years old today (Happy 60th Birthday Papaw!!!)!

Family has always been an important part of her life. Here she is shown with her brothers, Trey and Will, and he older sister Amber.

When she was five years old in the fall of 1984 she started school. Here she is on her first day of kindergarten walking the halls (with boys!).

When Amanda was 13 years old and in the 8th grade, she was confirmed.

Amanda grew-up loving to play softball and was a superstar!!!
Here she is as a senior in the spring of 1997.

Among her loves of course is Texas A&M University where in the spring of 2002 at the age of 22, she graduated with a degree in Ag/Environmental Engineering.

In March of 2004, Amanda was married making one man's dream come true. That was nearly 5 1/2 years ago already!

This spring Amanda posed for this picture with two of the luckiest people in the world (both of whom are not near as old or wise as her)! This was around Sadie's 1 year birthday and she is nearly 29 years younger than her mommy!

If you did any math as you looked through these pictures of Amanda growing-up (thanks for the help Arlene), you may have determined that Amanda is 30 years old today!!! That's right, she is OLD - well at least we can safely say that she isn't in her 20's anymore.

So, here is to Amanda. You are always a wonderful and loving wife and mom, a sweet and caring daughter, sister, and friend, and a compassionate and smiling stranger. You have a been a joy to those you have encountered over the past 30 years and all of us who know you as someone special in our lives are better because of you.


We Love You & Happy 30th Birthday Amanda!!!

15 month doctor's visit

Sadie had her 15 month dr. appointment yesterday and the doctor said she was a keeper! :)

She weighed 23 lbs 15.5 oz and was 31 inches long. That puts her in the 70th percentile for both height and weight. I was actually surprised she didn't weigh more than that. Daniel and I usually try to guess before her appointments how much she is going to weigh, and this time I guessed 25 to 26 lbs...I was WAY off! But, man she feels like she's gained more than 3 lbs in the last three months! When I told the nurse how off I was, she joked that I'm probably getting great arms out of the deal. ha! Maybe the great arms will come when she gets to 26 lbs, because I'm not certain anyone would describe them as "great" right now!

We went through all the developmental goals with the doctor (sometimes it feels like you're being quizzed while there...anyone else feel this way?), and Sadie is right on schedule. Actually he read off the learning goals for an 18 month baby (after I started asking too many questions again....I have that annoying habit of talking too much, remember?!), and Sadie already met all of those goals except one. Does she have at least 6 words? Check. Is she interested in books? Check. Does she communicate well by pointing or showing? Check. Is she social with others? Check, check! Point to parts of her body? Check. Color with a crayon? Uh, nope! Should she be ALLOWED to do that yet? hmmm. I'll have to work on that before our 18 month appointment I guess.

Anyway, I always feel better about our parenting after leaving the doctor's office. It's nice to know that she's developing properly and more importantly healthy. She's definitely a keeper!

I tried desperately yesterday to take a quick picture of her after her doctor's appointment, but it is impossible to get her to look at the camera now days. I still think these pics are precious (because I'm her mom and can stare at her profile or the back of her head all day long every single day and think it's the cutest thing EVER...as I'm sure every mother can do the same with her own children). So I'm posting them anyway. :)

Sweet Land of Liberty

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend, got to see lots of fireworks, eat some good bbq, sport some red, white, and blue, hang out with friends and family, and reflect on (and feel proud of) the freedom we enjoy in our beautiful country. I know we did!

For the second year in a row, we had a cold 4th of July (and Sadie didn't get to wear her cute little 4th of July sundress...bummer!). No worries, we still enjoyed our weekend, just a little chillier than planned and a little more time inside on the 4th than normal. I didn't even take any pictures from the 4th. We went over to a friends' house for a wonderful dinner. Sadie got to enjoy some of her favorite friends, play in the cold rain (it was in the 60's and raining, and Sadie thought that was a wonderful combination....I think she was delirious from a lack of sleep!), and watch her first fireworks show (just a small one in the driveway before she got worn out). She fell asleep on the way home, so Daniel and I pulled into a parking lot and watched the Carmel fireworks show to round out the day.

The best part of the weekend was that we were able to go up to Chicago for a quick visit to the Althoffs. We hadn't been up to Chicago since before I was pregnant with Sadie (actually I would have been barely pregnant, but didn't know it yet.... for a little too much info!). Since Daniel was off Friday, we left late Thursday night and got back Saturday afternoon. It was definitely a quick trip, but well worth it. We had fun visiting and relaxing. Friday afternoon we went to the beach near downtown Chicago. It proved to be a little chillier than we were actually expecting once we were on the beach with the wind and the water (the water was a frigid 60-ish degrees). So Sadie didn't actually get to swim (and perfect her backstroke!), but she very much enjoyed the sand and getting her feet and legs wet a bit. We decided to not even put her bathing suit on. So her little white pants got a good wearing that day! Here are some pictures of Sadie's Great Lakes' adventure....

Taking it all in

Checking out the sand

Marilee and Kyle




Eating some sand



Recovering from her sand eating experience






I fought the sand, and the sand won...sing it with me!






I love it here. I'll be back soon.

Happy Independence Day everyone!

Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful...

This is just an update post with pictures from the last two weeks. I really think the stage Sadie is at right now is the absolute most fun we have had yet. I laugh all day long at the things she does. She is constantly learning new things and cracking herself and Daniel and I up. Here is a glimpse into her bright little personality....

I put this apron on her one day, just being silly, and now she loves wearing it....

Again, I put this hankerchief (it's from VBS) on her last Friday, being silly, and she wore it all morning long. She would put her hands up to her head to make sure it was still there, and it fell off once, and she brought it to me to put back on! She's actually trying to get the camera in this picture, can you tell....she thought it was really funny to watch Mommy wiggling away from her while trying to get a picture!

She has loved playing with the balloons from Julie's shower. She got all tangled up in them (don't worry, we were monitoring her the whole time) on Saturday because she overly excitedly attacked them. She couldn't eat her breakfast that morning because she saw the balloons in the living room (we had decorated on Friday night after she went to bed) and the other decorations and she was just itching to get into all of it! So she went crazy when we let her that afternoon. I finally had to pop them all today because she was starting to put her mouth on them. Kinda scaring her old mom.

Her first time to play in a sprinkler (because it is the first time we've had to get the sprinkler out so far...we're not in Texas anymore, Todo)...


We hadn't intended for her to get into the sprinkler, but she couldn't stay out of it. So we just let her go. Her dress was soaking wet (I don't know if you can see it in this picture)....




Sadie's new favorite spot in the house is the pantry. One of the doors is hard to close. So alot of the times it doesn't get closed all the way. Sadie takes her toys in there and takes all of the groceries out. Sunday evening, with Daniel and I standing right there, this is what happened....



Before we realized it, she had dumped the marshmallows out in the living room. She had figured out that if you shake the bag, the marshmallows would come out of this teeny tiny opening. So she was just a shaking away when we looked over at her!




I told Daniel today that Sadie might be a rebellious teenager one day. She knows how to kiss and hug us, but she refuses most of the time. She also refuses to use her words. Maybe all children do this??? But over the last several months she's said more than 10 words; however, at any given time, she only has about 4 words that she will say on demand (if we are lucky). It's like she has completely forgotten the other words, even though I use those words with her all the time. Right now her absolute favorite word is "boo". She tries all day to scare me. It is really funny. She also uses "uh oh" alot still and "more", "thank you" (sometimes), and of course "daddy" (though her word for daddy sounds differently then it did a few months ago when she first start saying it). She goes in spurts of saying "mom"...not mommy or mama. Her development is absolutely fascinating. Even if she doesn't always talk, she can communicate what she wants now, and she can follow directions really well if it means she is going to get something she wants (i.e. find your shoes so we can go outside...she LOVES going outside). We just love her to pieces and eagerly await each day to see her little personality revealed.

Neighborly love!

We have the absolute sweetest neighbors, Cory and Julie, and we have so enjoyed having them next door over the last year. They moved in the week after Sadie was born. So it took us a couple of months before we were functioning well enough to go introduce ourselves! ha! But we have quickly become friends, and they are really the nicest people you will meet...salt of the earth! Oh, and Julie is an OB/GYN nurse practitioner. So I bombarded her with post partum questions and questions about mastitis last summer. She was so patient with me and didn't judge (at least I don't think she did! :)) We are just so fortunate to have them next door!

They are expecting their first baby at the end of August....a lucky little baby boy, Owen. I was honored to get to host a baby shower for Julie this past Saturday. Here are a few pics of the decorations and the sweet, cute pregnant mama! Owen's room is decorated in bright green and navy blue. So I tried to stick with the same colors, and used a few "O"s for Owen here and there (because his mom loves monograms).

The two tables.....

Favors....


Present opening spot....

The food (blueberry parfaits, sausage balls, eggs, cheese muffins, gorilla bread--a Paula Dean overhaul of monkey bread, lemon poppy seed muffins, donut holes, and green grapes)...


and, last but certainly not least, sweet Mama Julie....

Here are recipes for a few of the foods....

Sausage Balls

(these are a classic...at least in mine and Daniel's families, but poor Julie had never had them)

1 lb pork sausage

3 cups Bisquick

1 lb sharp cheddar

1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Form 1 inch balls. Place balls on greased jelly roll pan and bake for 18 minutes, turning balls halfway through.

Gorilla Bread

(from The Lady & Sons, Too cookbook)

1/2 c sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c butter

1 c packed brown sugar

one 8-ounce package cream cheese

two 12-ounce cans refrigerated biscuits (10-count)

1 1/2 c coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle sugar each with 1/2 tsp of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 c of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 c nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 c nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

Cheese Muffins

(from The Lady & Sons, Too cookbook)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 T sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups coarsely grated Cheddar cheese

1 egg

1 c milk

1/4 c melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir the cheese into the dry ingredients until all the particles of cheese are coated with flour. Beat the egg with the milk and stir this into the flour mixture until just blended, then add the butter. Bake the batter in greased muffin tins for 20 minutes.

Father's Day weekend

Last week was a super busy week. I didn't have a chance to get pictures uploaded from Daniel's Father's Day weekend. So here they are!

Sadie is very blessed to have such a wonderful daddy. She gets so excited in the evenings when he gets home, almost a little spastic! She laughs at him all the time. She crawls all over him. She loves going for bike rides with him and playing with him. He is endlessly fun and loving, and for that I am so very grateful. I could never have known before getting married to Daniel that he would have been as patient, helpful, and loving as a husband and a father (though I suspected as much!). Sadie and I are truly blessed!

Daniel's request for Father's Day was to have a picnic at the park, and Sadie happily obliged....


Then she enthusiastically provided entertainment for her Daddy's special Father's Day meal while she played in the mock village at the park....

We also got to take care of Wilson and Asher again. We hadn't taken care of them in a while, and since the last time we saw them, Sadie has really warmed up to dogs. So I was excited for her to get to "play" with Wilson. She really liked looking at him and barking at him. A dog sound is one of the three animal noises she can make. So that really came in handy when she needed to communicate with Wilson. :) They quickly became good friends this time around....


Until he did this....


She didn't care for that too much!

I think Daniel had a great Father's Day weekend, and Sadie and I had a good time doing whatever he wanted to do. Thank you Daniel for being so patient with us girls! We love you!