Taylor-Made Family

Our local public library is a quick two minute drive or nice easy walk from our house.  Aiden and I can be found there at least twice a week.  I'm convinced it's truly a gift for moms and their kids (well, really for anyone).  Anything you could possibly want to research or read about is available, along with so many wonderful children's books, CDs, DVDs, and TOYS.  Aiden loves the children's section, with it's variety of toys to play with and pull to standing on, cushions, mirrors, and lots of colorful books.  I sit and read a book in the comfortable armchair in the children's section while he plays with the toys.  Can you tell from the photos what his favorite toy in the library is???? I get so excited about the rows and rows of books, and all the bedtime story times we have and will have in the future.  Every time it still amazes me that I can get them for free (well, for three weeks at least : ).  And if our library doesn't...

I like to try out many different recipes, but overall, they need to be fairly simple.  I made this the other night for dinner, along with sweet potatoes, corn and bread.  The flavor, aroma and tenderness of the chicken in this recipe is amazing, and Brandon and Aiden both like it alot.  Whenever I see a whole roaster chicken on sale, I buy it just so I can make this.  I know the ingredient combination may sound interesting, but believe me, the flavor is amazing!  Simple Whole Roasted Chicken:  Ingredients: 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. white sugar 1/8 tsp. ground cloves 1/8 tsp. ground allspice 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 (4 lb.) whole chicken 5 cloves garlic, crushed Directions: 1. In a small bowl, mix the salt, sugar, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Rub the chicken with the mixture.  Cover chicken, and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. 2.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. 3....

We took a spontaneous mini family vacation down to Sandusky, OH (only 2 1/2 hours away!) to an indoor waterpark for two days.  Aiden loved the water.  I was very proud of him. (A bonus was that I found these swim trunks on clearance at Zellers for $2.50 and the swim shirt for $3.00....yeah for good deals) All that playing made him sleepy though.. (he definitely slept well when we got home!) My other "boy" loved the water too. The main lobby of the hotel.  Complete with talking animals (that moose on the wall started moving and making sounds when we were sitting below it). Part of our room - the living room area Soaking up some sun on the balcony. Breakfast at the hotel. Aiden was eager to eat what we were eating. Wait a minute.... : ) I love seeing how Brandon loves on his boy.  Don't they seem to have the same expression here?  I love it. It was a nice, quick getaway, and we were thankful for it!

This is oh so good... just beware, it's a little like eating dessert.  We decided it just needs a pie crust and it could be dessert.  This is great for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but also for Easter.  Ingredients: 4 and 1/2 C. cooked and mashed sweet potatoes 1/2 C. butter; melted 1/3 C. milk 1 C. white sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 eggs, beaten Topping: 1 C. light brown sugar 1/2 C. all-purpose flour 1/3 C. butter 1 C. chopped pecans Directions: 1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. 2.  In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 C. butter, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs.  Spread sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish.  In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and flour.  Cut in 1/3 C. butter until mixture is crumbly, then stir in pecans.  Sprinkle pecan mixture over the sweet potatoes.  3. Bake for 25 mins. in the preheated oven, or until gold...

 My parents came up for a visit from IN over Easter weekend, and we enjoyed a trip to the Detroit Zoo ....  Aiden didn't notice all of the animals as he is still young, but he did love the peacocks. And the grizzly bears. And the giraffes. It was kind of a rainy day, so we had to boot around the zoo pretty quick, but it was still fun... Aiden saying hi to the animals. Back at home, we enjoyed some nice time with grandpa and grandma D ... Aiden and Grandma Aiden and Grandpa. Aiden and Grandma Grandpa apparently showing him another picture of a giraffe like the one he saw at the zoo. The biggest hit in Aiden's little Easter basket was a little dollar store wind-up chick that he loves to chase.  (I may post a video soon).  It was a very nice Easter and after church Easter morning, we all enjoyed a big Easter dinner at Brandon's parents' as we always do.  Since Brandon is on staff at Campbell, and it's important for him to be the...

If you would like to follow my blog, I've added the "follow" button on the left sidebar.  Just click it, and you can easily be updated when I make a new post.  I would love to know who (if anyone besides family) reads it, so please don't be shy! :)  By the way, Aiden says "hi".  He's 10 months now! Every month I keep saying that it's my favorite age so far, but I really do think 10 months is just the best!  We're having so much fun! And these video clips of Aiden and Brandon make me laugh out loud every time.  They'll just make you happy! Here's another....this went on for a couple minutes.. I don't know whose laugh is crazier, my husband's or Aiden's! I will post some more photos from Easter soon.  My parents came up for the weekend, and we went to the zoo.  Oh, but we did end up giving Aiden this  storybook Bible as part of his Easter basket.  I love the subtitle, "Every story whispers His name".   I k...

Just had to share a few pics from Aiden's first ride in a swing.  The weather is finally warming up here, and I feel like we've come out of hibernation!  What a wonderful feeling!  This afternoon, Aiden and I went over to a park nearby our house to try out the swings.  I put him in and tentatively pushed him a little.... he was all smiles.  So I pushed him higher and he started squealing with delight!  Here he's actually waving "hi" to me (a new skill he picked up in the last 2 weeks)

Today we had Aiden's 9-month follow-up appointment with one of the doctors responsible for his care in the NICU after he was born.  (For those that don't know, Aiden got Bacterial Meningitis at birth (or very soon thereafter), and spent 3 and 1/2 weeks in the NICU and Pediatrics). There are possible residual effects from meningitis so that's why we have the follow-up appointments.  So far, Aiden has had a 2-month, a 4-month and a 9-month (today) appointment, as well as a neuro-sensory hearing screening at around 4 mos. They have all gone well! Today, Aiden was first checked by the occupational therapist in the neonatal neurodevelopment clinic, and then by Dr. Adie, one of his neonatalogists in the NICU.  They asked us lots of questions about his eating habits, sitting, crawling, hearing, and other developmental skills, and watched him in action.  They both said he is developing very well, and right on target!  We are so thankful t...

I want to buy this book to read to Aiden! The Jesus Storybook Bible , by Sally Lloyd-Jones.  "Every story whispers His name" From the website: "The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the one story underneath all the stories of the Bible and points to the birth of a child, the Rescuer, Jesus".  Oh, how I desire for Aiden to see his need for a Savior from a young age....that he would come to know Jesus, our Redeemer!

I can hardly believe how big my baby is getting!My heart is so full with love for him.  Big things have been happening in Aiden's life this month.  He started CRAWLING about 2 weeks ago!...well, mostly he rocks on his hands and knees and goes a few steps, but if he really wants to get somewhere he goes back down onto his belly and pulls himself around.  He can get around anywhere really quickly this way, which is opening up a whole new world for Brandon and me.  Last week I was putting a few clothes away in Aiden's room, while he was playing just 10 feet away in the living room.  Before I knew what had happened, he had chased Abner (our cat) all the way into Brandon and I's bedroom and was peeking under our bed to find Abner. He also likes to crawl over to the kitchen when I'm cooking and just hang out with me.  Like I said, this is all new for us so we're figuring things out as we go.  We've been frantically baby proofing things.  ...

Aren't bathing babies just the cutest??  Aiden loves, loves, loves splashing around in the bath....  And daddy loves giving him a bath......

It's been a busy week and Aiden and I are leaving early tomorrow to drive to Chicago to have a reunion of sorts with my sister, Holly, and brother-in-law, Dan, my mom and grandma.  My mom and grandma are driving up from Indiana, and we'll all meet at my sister's house in Chicago for a "girl's weekend" (well, plus Aiden and Dan).  God recently blessed my sister and brother-in-law with the purchase of their first home and we're all eager to see it.    Brandon is leaving tomorrow morning as well to take the youth up to Owen Sound for the annual Word of Life Snow Camp!  They always have a fun time.  Since Brandon is going to be at Snow Camp until Sunday evening, we decided it was a good opportunity for me to get together with my family, so that's how it all came together.  I'm so excited to see everyone!  This past weekend, we had a great Valentine's weekend.  Brandon has this tradition of calling me and leaving a...