What we've been doing lately

We have been very busy lately trying to adjust to our school schedule once again. No more hanging out in our pajamas and lazying around until 9:30 or so. We are up and out the door by 6:40 now. However, Charlotte has been her same cute self.

This girl loves to read! She likes to sit and look at books by herself and she loves to sit in our laps while we read to her.

She is also quite the little climber. Yesterday she climbed her way onto her music table. The view is always better from higher up!

We also tried out a yogurt shop by us called "Yogurtville". I had seen it but wasn't really interested. Once one of my students informed me it was soft-serve yogurt with your choice of toppings I realized I needed to check it out. It did not disappoint! Please note, Charlotte and I shared this cup of yogurt. It was not all for her!

She has also been practicing her plank movement lately! :)

Finally, a few weeks ago we got Charlotte a tunnel and she loves it! She begs for us to pull it out every day.

A Day of Firsts

Today, Mark and I started back to work, which means Charlotte went back to her sitter. We are so blessed to have the same sitter as last year. The transition back was so much easier because she is familiar. Also, our sitter is such an amazingly kind, patient, sweet, loving, and caring Christian woman. God really worked some miracles to lead us to her! Here is Charlotte in her first day of school 2011:
When we got to the sitter's house, Charlotte knocked on the door. She was so excited to be there she practically fell through the door when it opened. Then, she went right to the sitter and started hugging her and waving good-bye to me. When I asked for a good-bye hug she wouldn't do it. I could feel my mommy heart breaking! At least she obliged with a good-bye kiss. Truly, though, we are just happy that she loves being there so much.
Another first today was Char's first taste of spaghetti at dinner tonight! She loved it and kept asking for more. Yum-yum!

Sweet Dreams

I have to blog about this before I forget! About two weeks ago Charlotte started doing something so cute when we would put her in bed for nap or bedtime. When we put her in her crib she immediately stands up, looks up, and reaches her little head towards you with her lips all puckered because she wants a night-night kiss! She has known how to "kiss" for months, but she started wanting a night-night kiss all on her own. So sweet. The other thing that she started doing is waving at you the whole time you walk out of the room until the door is closed. I wish we had a video monitor so I could see what she does after that! It is so wonderful to have her be happy to go to bed and not fighting it. Life is so much sweeter that way!

Rewind, please.

The title of this post is what I would like to do with my whole summer. Why is it already over? We had such an amazing summer. One of the best summers of my life! Between all of the trips, family, friends, play dates, and chillin' at home, we could not have asked for a better time. There was, however, one event I didn't post about and that we visiting with Mark's family. His brother and family came in town stay with her parents and so we went over there each day for about 4 days in July. We always have a great time visiting together and this time was no exception! It went far to fast.

Here we all are at church on Sunday morning.

Charlotte really had a great time playing with her cousins, who are 10 and 7. They had just as good of time playing with her! It was great for Mark and me because it was like having two little babysitters! She would run off and play with them. Every time we would go check on her, she couldn't have been happier. We love you guys and wish you lived closer so we could see you more often!

I sure do love this girl!

Here are some great videos of play time!

Summer Savories: New Recipes Edition

I tried this recipe this week. I had cilantro in the house, so I added that to the mix and thought it was great. I served it with Lipton's Spanish Rice. I love that stuff! So easy and delicious. I like the Spanish Rice better than the Mexican Rice in this brand.

Baked Burritos

8-10 flour tortillas
1 lb. lean ground beef
4 oz part skim american cheese ( put one american cheese slice into each burrito

Tomato Sauce:
8 oz. tom sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 TB lemon juice
1 TB sugar

Brown meat. Mix sauce and add to cooked meat. Fold 1/2 c beef in each tortilla, fold and place seam side down on baking sheet. Top with cheese. Bake 15 min at 350. (I only baked them for about 12 minutes and they were nice and crisp). Makes 8 burritos.

My rating: I give this recipe a 4 out of 5. It was quick and easy and hit the spot for my Tex-Mex craving!

Finally Moved In

Yes, after 3 years we are finally moved in! Well, actually I had all my boxes unpacked about 2 weeks after we moved in, but we have had very little hanging on our walls. I just couldn't commit to anything. My biggest hang up (no pun intended) was that our living room has wood paneling on the walls. I couldn't bare the thought of putting holes in the walls. And I knew that if I ever did put holes in the wood walls, that it would be permanent and I would never be able to move anything again. Luckily, I finally found some command strips that were made for hanging pictures. They are velcro-like and don't leave marks. So, once that was established, I was off and running in frame shopping. The three on the right here we bought a few years ago. The 3 on the left ones we took on our recent trip to New York City.

These two I bought in Ukraine when I went there on a mission trip in 2005.

Once I had stuff on my living room walls, I couldn't stop. This is the family collage I now have hanging as you walk down the hallways to the bedrooms. We finally had enough pictures to start the collage and not look awkward. The frames don't match, but are all the same dark wood, so we can add to them in the future.

Lastly, we finally hung some wedding photos in our master bedroom.

Charlotte also got a mini-room makeover. Her books were getting out of control and were spilling out of the baskets they were in all over the house. Today I went to Ikea for something else and found this little jewel. It is perfect for holding books and toys and actually gives us shelves to put things on. We finally got to pull our her piggy bank (the ABC bank) that she got for Christmas.

I love easy projects around the house and am glad that our house now feels more like a home!

Happy Anniversary to My Love

Happy 10-year anniversary to the most amazing man I know! I can't believe we are at this milestone that we have talked about for so long. Where did the time go? Mark, you fill my life with love, laughter, and friendship.

August 4, 2001

July 2011

10 things that have changed in our 10 years together:

1. I graduated from college

2. Mark graduate from college

3. We have lived in 4 different places, the last one being our house that we bought 3 years ago

4. We have lived in three cities

5. We have owned 7 different vehicles: Ford F-150, Beretta, Blazer, Sunfire, Malibu, Impala, Elantra Touring

6. I began teaching and have been at 2 different schools

7. Mark began teaching

8. My cooking skills have improved considerably!

9. We are on our 3rd computer and we both have cell phones

10. We are parents!!!!

10 things I love about my amazing husband of 10 years:

(in no particular order!)

1. You make me laugh on a daily basis.

2. Whenever I have a question about anything, I mean anything, I can come to you and you know the answer 98 % of the time.

3. I love watching you play with Charlotte. She loves her Daddy so much.

4. You are fully committed to your family and would do anything for us.

5. I have never had to mow the grass. I don't even know how to get the mower started!

6. You are an amazing Christian man and spiritual leader.

7. You are my voice of reason, even when I don't want to hear it!

8. You are the one person I never get tired of being around.

9. You support me and encourage me.

10. My life is so much brighter and happier with you in it.

Mark, here's to the next 10 years! May they be filled with even more love than the first 10.

A moment in our day

Oh what fun a diaper box, water cup, and your favorite stuffed animal can be. She seriously did this for about 10 minutes!

Summer Savories: New Recipes Edition

I have not cooked as many new recipes as I had hoped to this summer. We got a little busy running around, doing this and that, and just having fun! However, I did try two recipes a few weeks ago. I am making a new recipe in the crockpot today and plan on several new ones next week. I will let you know how they go!

Taco Pie

1 lb, ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

8 oz cresent rolls

2 cups crushed corn chips

1 can refried beans

8 oz cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Brown meat and add seasoning. Press crescent dough into 9" pie pan and form crust. Sprinkle 1 cup chips, add beef, add refried beans, add cheese, sprinkle 1/2 cup chips on top. Bake for 17-20 minutes.

My rating: I give this recipe a 3.5 out of 5. I think adding rotel for some extra spice would bump it up to a 5!

Hamburger Stroganoff

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion - diced

1 tsp garlic

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

egg noodles or rice (I used egg noodles)

Cook beef with onion and garlic. Stir soup and salt into beef and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes; reduce heat to low. Stir in sour cream and heat until hot. While you are making the beef, cook the egg noodles according to the package. Serve beef mixture over noodles.

My rating: I give this recipe a 5 out of 5! It was yumm-o! We ate every last leftover. Next time, I am going to see how it freezes.

Staying cool this summer

Charlotte had her first snow cone today! I love snow cones and Mark only likes them. Meaning, that every time I want one, I have to talk him into going with me. It seems that I now have a snow cone buddy! She loved my watermelon flavor, but didn't go for Mark's strawberry. She would make the funniest sour face every time she had a bite of mine, but then she would smile and want more. I think it was just the initial cold shock factor that got her each time. Even though it was 105 degrees outside, the Fowlers were still cool!

15-months-old

This little girl is 15-months-old! She is growing so quickly. Last week, we went to the doctor for her check-up and here are her stats:

weight - 23 lbs. 4 oz (50%)

height - 31 inches (50%)

More than anything, Mark and I have been surprised at how much she can understand now. We are able to give her simple verbal instructions now that she can completely follow. For example, the other day I handed her Mark's iphone and told her to go give it to Daddy. She searched for him through the house, found him, and handed him the phone, without any other instructions. She thrives on routine and we are trying to establish a routine for just about every daily activity that we have. For example, at the end of bath, I say "It's time to get out" and start to drain the tub. She knows that is her cue to start cleaning up the bath toys. When they are put away I count to three, she stands up, and I pick her up out of the tub. Having these routines makes my life easier, and I'm sure they do hers too because she knows what to expect. She can understand so much more than she can say. That has definitely led to temper tantrums these past 2 months or so. She might be trying to communicate something to us, but we don't understand. Or more commonly, throwing herself on the ground is the only way she knows how to express her frustration. We continue to try to feed her the words to say and have done a lot of ignoring of tantrums. I have also started saying things like, "I don't pick up little girls when they are throwing a fit. If you want to stop crying and be sweet, Mommy will hold you." This doesn't always work the first time, but she usually will calm down, then I will pick her up.
This little girl is a Mommy's girl these days. If she is playing with Daddy or anybody else in a different room, she is happy. But, as soon as I walk into the room, she drops everything and wants to be held by me. She has also started sitting on the kitchen counter a lot and watching me work or cook because otherwise she just cries at my feet.

Charlotte has quite a fun little personality, as well. She doesn't talk very much, but she can say these words: hello, bye-bye, mama, dada, nana (for banana), here you go (she says it all slurred together into one word), Oreo (our cat's name), night-night, up, and ball. Charlotte loves to make people laugh. Just last week Mark's whole family was at his parents' house around the dinner table and she decided to be the "table clown". She would hold her breathe until her face turned red, and then let out a funny laugh. Well, it was so hilarious that everyone couldn't stop laughing at her. She kept doing it for a good 5 minutes before we told everyone they had to start ignoring her or she would never stop! She is still a huge fan of music and loves to dance and move to it. She loves to try to do all of the hand motions to every song we sing. We make up a lot of motions just so she will do them, because it is so cute to watch. Throwing a ball back and forth or just around the house is still one of her favorite activities. She also loves chasing the cat, although Oreo will usually quickly find a hiding place that Charlotte can't reach. Blues Clues is her favorite TV show. She will sit and watch a whole episode and be very content. Finally, she has become a reader. She loves her books and will pick one out and plop down in your lap several times a day for you to read to her. She also loves sitting by the book basket and looking through her books. She will do this for a good 10-15 minutes by herself. She has started recognizing animals in books. She can point to a cat, mouse, butterfly, bee, and ladybug. Others she can usually get with a little prompting are dog, cow, horse, pig, sheep, and goat.

Mark and I are so blessed to be able to spend the summer with her. I couldn't imagine not having this time off together. It is definitely a huge bonus of the profession with both chosen. I look forward to the future with joy and can't wait to see what Charlotte will do next!

My Birthday, again!

I love it when birthdays go on and on. Especially two months after the actual date! Our vacation was the first time my whole family had been all together since I turned the big 3-0. Because they are so sweet, they decided to have one more celebration. My brother made and brought a chocolate sheath cake, a family favorite. My sister presented me with a digital scrapbook that she had made into a book from my first 30 years. Wow! It is truly amazing! She put so much time, effort, and love into it. She included pictures I had never seen and very sweet letters from my family members. I keep looking at it again and again. What an incredibly wonderful gift to treasure for many years to come.

Invading Alabama

The 2nd week in July, my side of the family took a beach vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama. We rented a large beach house there and all stayed together. It was such a wonderful time to be together, catch up, reconnect, relax, and enjoy each other's company. My brother, Mark, Charlotte, and I all rode together in my brother's car. The trip there was 13 hours and the trip back was 12 1/2. Charlotte was very well-behaved on the way down, not as well on the way back. However, I think she did amazing considering I was asking a 15-month-old to be content sitting in a car seat with little to do for such an extended period of time. My brother, as always, was so wonderful about switching seats with me and taking his turn in "occupying" Charlotte. My parents and my sister's family all came together from Austin. We were able to be there from Saturday to Saturday and count ourselves so blessed to have had the opportunity to take that kind of vacation. This post is filled to the brim with pictures. And believe it or not, this is very narrowed down! I have to give 99% of the picture taking credit to my sister. I think I only pulled out my camera twice the whole trip. Thanks for the great pictures, Jessica! Thank you to my whole family for the great memories!

There was lots of fun to be had in the sand and on the beach!

This is how I like to spend my beach vacation . . .

My mother made several amazing sand sculptures, including this dolphin.

I made a not-as-impressive sand castle.

There was also a plethora of fun to be had in the water!

Charlotte had a blast playing with her cousins. Her and Skylyn are not far apart in age and I know these two girls are going to have so much fun in years to come.

Aaris reading the the kids.

On one day, Mark and I took the two younger girls to the little zoo in town.

At the end of each long, but very fun day, it was nice to relax at the house and enjoy some great home-cooking, courtesy of Mimi.

This is definitely one vacation that we will never forget!