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Saturday, October 13, 2012

Gracie - 9 months

Gracie bug turned 9 months old at the end of September! And I will say it again, WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?!! My friend said someone told her the other day, at this stage in life with little ones, the days are long, but the years are so short! That pretty much sums up the way my life feels right now! Some Most days bedtime can't get here fast enough, but then all of a sudden I have a 2 year old and a 9 month old!! WHAT? So I am doing my best to soak it up! Because before I know it they will be in kindergarden! 
Gracie is just our little joy bug! We are loving getting to know her sweet little personality! At 9 months old she is weighing in at 18.9 lbs and I can't remember how long she is, somewhere in the 75th% for length. The day of my birthday, VK was in school so I had Gracie all to myself! I took this rare moment to take her to the park and snap some pictures of her! She is at one of my favorite stages in life right now and I don't want to forget these moments! 




And she's off! On the move! No stopping this sweet girl! 

 This picture just makes me laugh! 
 Wrinkle nose...
 She is loving table food. Some of her favorites are blueberries, peas, corn, cherrios, turkey, quinoa, and well pretty much anything! She is not a picky eater (yet). She still won't touch baby food, and that is fine with me! Table food is so much easier! She still takes two, 8 ounce bottles and two, 6 ounce bottles a day! She gets very impatient when she sees me making her bottle! 
 Sam calls her his little gum ball because she still only has two bottom teeth, so she still has that sweet gummy smile! And she is still our bald little cue ball! 
 Well I have given up, this girl wont take a paci to save her life, but right when we walk into a room to put her down for a nap, this little fist goes right to her mouth. She isn't a thumb sucked, she just likes to gnaw on her fist. And she loves to snuggle up to the bumper pads!! Melts my heart. 
 Gracie has gotten to the age now that she can actually play with Virginia Kate! I love this! They really do have so much fun with each other! VK loves her sister! And Gracie just loves the attention VK gives her! 
 We have loved getting to go watch Uncle Buck play football this fall! Typically my girls go to sleep at 7, but not on game nights! We go to the game at 7 and get home around 10, and so far both girls have made it through the whole game awake! They love the atmosphere! Gracie gets so excited when everyone starts cheering... she claps herself! Uncle Buck is one proud uncle! And we are proud of him and the chargers! They are 8-0 so far this season!! Go Oxford Chargers!! 
 Love those little toes and that little ruffle bottom! =) 
 Here is Gracie at her 9 month check up with Dr. Catherine. She was playing dress up in her sisters head band! I can't wait till I can put a bow on this girls head!!! =) This will be the last time I take both of them to the doc by myself at this stage in life. VK is deathly afraid of the doc right now, and they are both just BUSY! I think I looked like a train had hit me when I left this appointment with my 2 screaming babies! It was exhausting!!  
On another note, Gracie is growing perfectly and meeting all her milestones! We are so thankful! We go back to the cardiologist with her at the beginning of next month for another echo of her heart. From looking at her, you would never know there is anything wrong with her heart! More frequently than I would like to admit, fear creeps in when I think about the thought of her having to have surgery and the risks involved. I know God made her perfectly the way he wanted her and he is using this as a means to draw us nearer to him. I wish I didn't worry as much as I do about her. But I do. I am so thankful for the encourager Sam has been to me through my times of worry. He is constantly reminding me of the perfectly, sovereign God we serve. The one who created Gracie just the way she is and holds all of us in the palm of his hand. I know I posted a list of prayer requests when I first posted about Gracie's ASD, but as I have been praying for her since we discovered her heart defect I have been convicted by my lack of faith through all of this. The doctors have told us that the hole is very big and will need to be surgically fixed at some point. They haven't given us any hope of it closing on its own, so it didn't cross my mind to begin to pray that God would close the hole, despite what the doctors have said. So will you please pray that God would close the hole and that she wouldn't have to have any procedure done! I am so thankful for modern medicine and the doctors the Lord has blessed us with, and if he chooses to close the hole through surgical intervention, then so be it! But I know we serve a powerful God who can do anything! So I am praying for a miracle! Like I said in a previous post, this could be so much worse! We are dealing with a fixable problem!! So thankful for that! So thankful for the hope we have in Christ. And I so appreciate all the prayers and concerns for Gracie. Thankful for a community of believers. 
We have been so blessed and even in the hard times God is good!

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Look Whooooooos Twooooo!

Virginia Kate turned 2 last month! I can't believe that she is already 2!! Time is flying by! I feel like I say that every time I post! One of my favorite things to do is sneak into their rooms and take pictures of them the morning of their birthdays! (Well I haven't done it yet for Gracie, but we are making it a tradition in the Taras house). Here she is... my big 2 year old! 
At age 2, Virginia Kate loves:
-doing EVERYTHING by herself "like a big girl"
-SHOES
- her lolo (lion lovie) 
- her paci (she is only using it at naps and bedtime)
-to color
-Gracie (they have the sweetest relationship and I love how VK takes care of G-bug)
- her bedtime routine (reading a Bible story, then singing "I love you, Lord", then saying prayers, then getting tucked in)
-watching movies
-singing
-dancing
-her sweet friends

 This next picture just makes me laugh! Her hair is OUT OF CONTROL these days! Especially when she wakes up! She gives the phrase "bed-head" a whole new meaning! =)
Waiting on her birthday breakfast! 

We had a few of her friends over for a "look whooooooos turning 2" party! That is supposed to be an owl in the center of the table... it looks more like a baby chick! Oh well! I tried! 


Sam met a lady at our restaurant who offered to make VK's birthday cake! It turned out ADORABLE!!! 
VK sporting her "muffin man" hat that Khaki gave her! 
Not really sure what I am looking at, but its a cute pic of Sam and VK! 
craziness...
VK got a new kitchen for her birthday! 


 She had lots of help opening presents! 
 Love this one... she is all dressed up in her "muffin man" gear... helping her daddy grill out! Making him so proud! Future in the restaurant biz? Sam hopes so!! =) 
 Gracie bug had fun just bouncing and watching all the action! 

Lots of fun playing on the stairs! Daddy- duty! 
 VK showing her daddy her football throwing skills... not sure how safe that is on the stairs!?
It was a very fun day for Virginia Kate! 

Her Yia Yia and Papou also threw her a family party for the Taras clan! Vks birthday lasted for a few days! It had a tea party theme! Yia Yia loves playing tea party with VK! 

 Three generations of "Katherines." 
Katherine Futris (great-grandmother)
Mary Katherine Taras (grandmother) 
Virginia Katherine Taras

 VK showing Uncle Pete and Aunt Jan how old she is! 
 Vk standing in her gift from Yia Yia... her inclosed stool so she can wash her hands by herself without falling... so practical! I will say, it so far has been VK's favorite gift bc she can do everything on her own, "like a big girl" as she says! Little miss independent!! =) 
The celebration continued.... Gigi put on a joint birthday party in Clarksdale for VK and Morgan and Mackenzie! The twins are exactly a year and a day older than VK! What a blessing to get to share these special moments with them! What a blessing that they are a part of our lives! My heart is so full as I post these pictures... GOD IS SO GOOD! 
Mackenzie is on the left, Morgan is on the right! 
Mackenzie, Morgan and VK all petting the cat! Look at all those curls! Those 3 are definitely related! =) 
 One proud Gigi and 2 proud great-aunts with the Gracie bug! 
 Mackenzie waiting patiently for the cake! A Sally Chow Farris family tradition cake from Clarksdale! Sally Chow made all my birthday cakes growing up! Fun to get to carry on this same tradition with my girls! 
 My sweet Aunt Leah rented this for the girls to play on... THE BLUE MONSTER! 
 The girls had a blast... they loved the splash pool the best! 
 I ended up getting in with my clothes on by the end of the day! No documentation of it but I just couldn't resist!!
 VK climbing up! 

 Three birthday cousins! 
 Then Gigi surprised everyone by dressing up like a clown! I haven't always been a big fan of clowns, but this clown outfit has alot of meaning! My Gran (who passed away 6 years ago) made this clown outfit and wore it to my 3rd birthday party! And mom tracked the outfit down and showed up as Gigi the clown for the girls birthday!! It will always be a special memory! Thanks Gigi! 
 The little girls weren't quite sure what to think at first! 
This was such a fun day! And I can definitely say, Virginia Kate's birthday was celebrated to the fullest!













Thursday, September 6, 2012

Cooking... for a change..

Sam was home last night so I actually cooked!! I really do like to cook when I have the chance! Thanks to pinterest, there is always something tasty I am wanting to try! Last night we had Monterey chicken, orzo and tomato pasta salad and sesame green beans and it was delish! I always say, if you can read, you can cook! Thank you pinterest for this yummy recipe!


MONTEREY CHICKEN (pinterest recipe)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. bar-b-que sauce 
1/4 c. real bacon bits
1 c. colby and jack cheese, shredded (I used pepper jack)
1 14 oz. can Rotel tomatoes, drained (canned with green chilies added)-- I didnt use the whole can
sliced green onions
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound out chicken breasts to flatten. (I didn't do that). Season with pepper. Grill chicken until no long pink (I just cooked it on the stove top in a skillet first) and place on baking sheet covered with foil. Top each chicken breast with one tablespoon bar-b-que sauce, 1/4 c. cheese, 1/4 c. rotel tomatoes, green onions and one tablespoon of bacon bits. Place in oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

I also marinated the chicken breasts for a few hours. I sprinkled the chicken with montreal chicken seasoning, threw in some garlic, soy sauce and a sweet garlic vinaigrette dressing called T-lish! I am sure any Italian dressing would be fine!! 


I always use a meat thermometer when cooking chicken to make sure it is done! But do whatever you think! =) 

I then made an ORZO PASTA salad... 
I didn't follow a recipe. I just cooked the orzo according to the directions on the package. I also added 1 chicken bullion cube to the orzo as it cooked to give it a little extra flavor. While it was cooking I made a sauce for the orzo...
I used the juice of 1 lemon, about 1/3 cup of T-Lish sweet, garlic vinaigrette that a friend gave me (secret ingredient... so yummy), and 1 Tablespoon of honey Dijon mustard. Once the orzo is finished - drain and rinse. I then cut up 1 container of cherry tomatoes- sliced. Chopped some green onions (sorry there are no measurements... but you can't over do it with these yummy veggies). And mix it into the orzo. Add some minced garlic and crumbled feta also. Then pour the dressing into the pasta and mix! You could really add many more types of veggies, thats just all I had! I toasted some pine nuts and sprinkled them on top before we ate! I served it chilled, but it could be served warm! Just depends on what mood you are in! 

Last but not least.. the SESAME GREEN BEANS...
They were super easy... I don't ever cook anything that's NOT easy! =) 
I just bought the steam in a bag green beans from the frozen section and cooked them according to the directions on the bag! I then browned some garlic in a little butter and crushed a beef bullion cube and mixed it in with the garlic and butter! I sprinkled the beans with a little kosher salt and ground black pepper and then poured the garlic/butter over the beans. Then finished off with sesame seeds! EASY PEASY!! 

Bird Chandelier needs a home!

I bought this beautiful off white, iron, bird chandelier for Virginia Kate's "big girl" room, and it ended up hanging too low in the room and Sam's head hit it every time he walked by! So, needless-to-say, it is for sale! It is precious and would look great in any kitchen, bedroom, bathroom or nursery! Please email me if you are interested! And I would be glad to let you come look at it!! It needs a home! It is back in the original box it came in! I am so sad I couldn't use it because I love it! Price $150! It has 5 lights. Email me if you are interested... sheleytaras@gmail.com!