Happy Birthday!

Saturday was Kayleigh's 3rd birthday. We didn't do anything big but Kay has been asking to go camping in our new (to us) camper so of course we obliged.

We went to St. Joe State Park, which we actually go to a lot because of their ORV riding area. This was our first time camping there with the camper, though, so we were excited.

I managed to get us a campsite directly across from the playground so we spent the majority of the day there. The girls loved climbing everything and swinging.

Saturday morning we celebrated with donuts, muffins, and Kayleigh got to open her present.

 

I asked her what she wanted to her birthday and all she said she wanted was chocolate and a "Pretty, sparkly princess baby doll". The chocolate was easy, we just bought her a candy bar, but the baby doll? I had some trouble trying to figure it out but I think I hit the mark with a Rapunzel doll.

 

We hung around the campsite a lot, too, because I didn't feel up to hiking like we planned but the girls enjoyed that as well and we may have eaten way more potato chips than we should have.

Oh, an apparently my mom-brain was going strong while packing because I didn't pack Lexi any warm clothes, at all. I have a tanktop and shorts, and thats all I packed for her for some reason and, of course!, it was pretty chilly Saturday. So she rocked a hodge-podge pajama outfit all day.

We ended up having to cut our trip a day short, though, because Charlie crashed his dirt bike pretty bad and screwed up his right shoulder. It turned out he didn't do any serious damage, just a lot of bruising, but it was bad enough he couldn't even drive. So I had to learn how to tow our 33ft camper on the fly (which was pulled by our Excursion so all together is was loooooong) but I actually did a good job and we all got home in one piece.

Kayleigh conked out within minutes of getting into the car. You can see she had to have Rapunzel ride with her as well. We ended up getting her some ice cream for her birthday to try and make up for it, but she didn't care everything went wrong because she loved every minute of it!

Magic House, Supercross and Lone Elk Park

The weather is warming up here in St. Louis and we have been trying to take advantage of it as much as we can. (all these are cell phone pictures since I don't always lug my big 'ol 70D everywhere with me.)

During Black Friday the St. Louis Magic House had 50% family membership so we jumped on it. We haven't gotten much of a chance to use it yet so when Charlie had a day off with nothing planned we decided to hit it up.

It was a rainy day so they were pretty packed but we had lots of fun nonetheless.

Both girls enjoyed the art room, which I didn't even know existed! I may have had fun in there, too haha.

The Charlie chased Lexi around (she was so excited all she wanted to do was run, run, run!) so Kay and I played around in the mini-town they have. One of the buildings is a Vet office and Dr. Kayleigh had fun giving the animals a check-up.

It was a very fun and very tiring day!

Then this past Saturday was Super Cross! We have been going to Super Cross since I was pregnant with Kayleigh and, with the exception of one year I got sick, we have gone every year. 

The girls liked their headphones for a whole 10 minutes before they decided they were done. Thankfully the fireworks part was over so I wasn't too worried about the loud noises.

 (Lexi giving Charlie a 'hug' while on his shoulders)

Kayleigh, being the almost 3 year old she is, refused to nap but wouldn't sit still so we spent a lot of time just riding the escalators up to the top floor and back down again.

Lexi didn't have any trouble falling asleep and almost slept through the entire race! She can fall asleep almost anywhere (one time in a shopping cart at the store!)

Then yesterday, Charlie was working on unclogging the Excursion's radiator. After he flushed the system, he needed to drive it around for at least an hour so, since I've never been to Lone Elk Park we decided to hit it up! 

It's a really neat park where you drive through and see deer, elk and bison (although you can get out anywhere except the bison area)

Since we were driving so slow (maaaybe 10mph) we let the girls out of their car seats to see the animals. We saw a lot of elk, one that came almost right up to the car. (The elk are known to stick their heads inside your cars!) The girls thought they were so neat. Charlie and I saw two bison, but they were so far away the girls couldn't. Hopefully next time we go through we can see them.

That is all we've been up to lately! I have been forgetting I started blogging so I need to remember to update more often!

March Photos

The weather randomly warmed up to 80 degrees so we put our summer dresses on and played outside. And anytime I close a door with Lexi on the other side she thinks its hilarious to stick her hands under the door.

Our neighbor brought us a bouquet of daffodils from her yard. They were so beautiful, but I wish we had more sun in our kitchen so they lasted more than a few days.

 I'm trying to get some more pictures of me with the girls and this was my first attempt. I normally hate how I look on camera so I avoid it at all costs but I want to change that so the girls can look back and see me with them, not just me taking the pictures.

 We got some farm eggs and I totally geeked out and took pictures of them. I had some set up with a gradient from dark to light but never got around to take a picture of that but there is always next time!!

 I don't know why I never tried adult coloring pages before because it sure beats coloring Doc McStuffins with crayons ever day! And some days Kayleigh will freak out if I don't buckle her bunny, Mimsy, in while we're in the car.

 Always climbing. Its so hard to keep her of anything because she will climb anything if she gets the chance!

Going to the races

Over the weekend we went down to Bixby, MO for the Missouri Hare Scramble dirt bike races. Charlie started competing this year and this was the second race of the season. This was also the first time taking out our new (to us) RV camper! Charlie picked it up the weekend before from Houston, TX, which is a crazy story in itself but he made it home in one piece.

Lexi decided the table was her new spot to eat and would eat everything there - breakfast, snacks, you name it. It was really cute, except when she finished her plate and worked her way over to someone else's and would help herself.

Charlie did really well at the race. He got 11th place in his class (total of 20 people, I think) which is really good considering he forgot his hydration pack so he didn't have anything to drink the whole race.

 Somehow both girls fell asleep on the side lines - Lexi in the carrier and Kayleigh just conked right out in the chair. We were right next to the track so it wasn't crazy loud, but it definitely wasn't quiet either.

Juno came too but she mostly hung out at the camper because he decided to chew through her leash so we only had the tie out for her. But while we were packing up, our friend said Juno looked lonely and needed some love so both girls ran over and started hugging on her. It was so sweet!

It was an awesome weekend and a great experience for Charlie and the girls. We all can't wait for the next race this weekend!

Things Kayleigh Says

A small collection of things Kayleigh has said. I just started recording them about 3 or 4 months ago, but she says so many silly/crazy things that I wish I started sooner. Lexi is starting to talk so I can't wait to be able to add things she says in here, too!

Kayleigh age 2

"Someone, stop that baby!!" Said any time Lexi is into something

Walking out of the grocery store after the cashier called her 'honey'.
"Mama, he called me honey! HE CALLED ME HONEY!!"

"Mama, I really like your boobs."

Kayleigh: Papa Mike, I got in trouble.
Mike: Kayleigh, you need to mind your mom.
Kayleigh: Well, I'm a mommy, too, sooo… I don't have to get in trouble.

-sigh- we are having a bad day.

(When asked if she wants chocolate chip pancakes while at a friend's house)
“weeeell, we have chocolate chip pancakes ALL the time at home so no thank you!”

Octo-donouts = Octonauts

“Oh no, my camera broke! Mama, I need a tool! Ok, another tool, please! Now I need a carrot... a piece of bread… and a flower. Yay, I fixed it!”

Me: “...and what else did God make, Kayleigh?”
Kayleigh: “Waffles!”

“mama, you're a super dinosaur mama. The BEST super dinosaur mama EVER!”

(Getting ready to go into an restaurant to eat)
Kayleigh: do I get to go in there?!
Me: yup!
Kayleigh: does Lexi get to go in there, too?
Me: yup, she's coming with us too.
Kayleigh: aww, I don't want Lexi to go. Can't she stay in the car?

Kayleigh: mama, I like your ring!
Me: thank you! Dada got me this ring when we got married.
Kayleigh: Dada got me a ring too. It's a super ring! It makes me fly, but it broke so my powers don't work anymore.

Hello again!

So I've started and failed blogging before but I think I'm just going to start again just for myself. I will admit I'm bad about keeping memories for the girls; their milestones, things they (well, Kayleigh) say and all the little memories. So I decided to just start over and post when I feel like it, just for me. Not to make Pinterest worthy posts or gain a ton of followers and be famous. No, just for me. 

Anyway, if you happened to stumble upon my little blog, let me introduce myself! I am Debbie, a midwest living, jesus loving, diy doing, photographer wanna-be and mom to 2 little girls (Kayleigh Mae (2013) and Alexis 'Lexi' Marie (2015).

Toddler Meals: Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:
1 Chicken Breast
1 Egg
Salt
Italian Bread Crumbs
Optional: Vegetable (Peas, Spinach or Carrots work well)

Prep time: 40 minutes

1. Boil chicken breast for 20 minutes or until fully cooked
2. Cut up chicken breast and put it into a blender with egg and a pinch of salt
3. Add vegetable of your choice. (Only add a little because the flavor can get overwhelming quickly and if you have a picky toddler the color change may bother them.)
4. Flatten into patties and coat with Italian breadcrumbs
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, flipping halfway.

These freeze well so you can make a large batch and use them for days.

Using the blender makes the consistency similar to that of fast food / frozen chicken nuggets which will satisfy the pickiest of eaters while being much healthier. I add in vegetables to reduce the fight of getting my toddler to eat them. Parents are sneaky ;)