Flutter

I can't pinpoint which day this week but I have really started to feel the baby flutter this week! There is just something about feeling them move. ;)

And, yes, I'm sure it's not gas! This is baby number three. :)

12 Disciples

Emma Claire wants to know when she will get her 12 disciples to follow her around. Mmmm......

Mrs. Geraldine's Ground Beef Casserole

This recipe took a while to cook but it was sooooo worth it! I made it on a day I was off work so it was no big deal. Then I ate on the leftovers for days it was so yummy. Great alternative to spaghetti and has wonderful flavor.

P.S. I have no clue who Mrs. Geraldine is! ; 0

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 (15 ounce) cans tomatoes (I used diced)
• 1/4 cup chopped onions (I used lots of onion powder)
• 1/4 cup chopped bell peppers (I left this out)
• 1/4 cup chopped celery (I used a little celery salt)
• 1 (8 ounce) cans mushrooms (I left this out)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar or 2 tablespoons sweet pickle juice
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 (6 ounce) packages angel hair pasta, cooked, this is an estimated size bag- the original recipe called for 1 small bag
• 1 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• splash of sugar to taste 

Directions

1. Brown meat in large skillet.
2. Add onions, pepper and celery and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, mushrooms, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.
4. Add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.
5. Cook in skillet for 1 hour.
6. Place cooked pasta in bottom of large casserole dish.
7. Spoon mushroom soup over pasta.
8. Pour sauce over the soup and top with cheese.
9. Bake in 350°F oven for 30-45 minutes.
10. Can sizes do not have to be exact, just as long as they are within a close range, everything will work out.

4 Year Old Field Day

Emma Claire was so excited that all of the 4 year old classes were going to have a field day. The teachers had planned a wonderful day on Bay Leaf's property with games, activities, and snow cones!

No field day is complete without an egg race!

Emma Claire and Ella were partners for the water balloon toss. First they practiced with a large pink ball and then moved on to the balloon. I only got one picture because that's only how long the balloon lasted. It popped on the first toss! : 0

Look who Emma Claire was paired up against on the sak race! Isaac is an older brother to a friend in Emma Claire's class. He was super fast but Emma Claire still had a wonderful time!

The games were intense! Emma Claire was exhausted when they were done.

This cute little old man came and made them snow cones. What a treat!

I'm so thankful that I get to share all of these moments with Emma Claire! I love you baby girl!

We're Having Another Baby

There's gonna be another Quinn in our house! We are thrilled to be adding another little one to our family. He continues to bless and by God's grace we will meet our next blessing in October.

I went to have an ultrasound done thinking that I was still in my first trimester but to my surprise I was already in my 2nd trimester and found out that I was having another little BOY!! I was thrilled! We will have another ultrasound done soon, but these are the first snap-shots of our new little man.

She labeled this first picture as "It's a Boy" but you can actually tell it better in the next two. Just imagine him sitting on a copy machine and you are looking at a copy of his bottom and you will see what I'm talking about. : )

Just out of the kindness of her heart she took a couple 3D/4D pictures for me! Isn't this first one sweet of him with his hand on his face. It's hard to believe he is only a couple inches long!

When I went to have the ultrasound done I was alone because Benjamin was keeping the kids. I was really just expecting to see a little peanut on the screen and hear his heart beat. I was SHOCKED when she told me she could tell what the baby was! Of course I ran straight home to tell Benjamin the news and we headed to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate. : )

While we were at dinner we decided to tell Emma Claire the BIG NEWS. We have been quiet about the pregnancy because of the miscarriage this past October. We wanted to wait until I got an ultrasound to confirm everything was okay and hopefully wait until I was done with my first trimester when the chances of miscarriage drop.

We knew that she would be very excited about having another baby, but I also thought there may be some tears because she has really been wanting a baby sister.  Needless to say she was very excited and even happy about a little brother. We caught a video of when we told her but it still took a bit for it to sink in. Once it did she has talked non-stop about the baby. She can't wait for him to get here and to be able to help take care of him. She said she wanted responsibilities! : )

Click Here to watch the video.

Check out the yummy dinner I had to celebrate! I have been craving to have it again ever since!

After dinner we headed back home to share our wonderful news with our family. Did I mention we had kept the pregnancy a secret? We were about to hit our family with a double wammy. One, we were pregnant. Two, it was a BOY! I was already in my third month of pregnancy which was going to be a shock when we told them.

They were all very excited and thrilled about our news! I was able to catch these two videos of them since we weren't with them in person.

Video 1, Video 2

Watch for more news to come! We will try to keep you up on all our progress and hopefully be able to share his name soon. : 0

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

This has been by far our favorite fish recipe! We have had it SEVERAL times because it was just that good and easy.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs tilapia fillets ( orange roughy, cod or red snapper can be substituted)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions (I used onion powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt ( I like Old Bay seasoning here)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• black pepper
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce (I left this out)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In buttered 13-by-9-inch baking dish or jellyroll pan, lay fillets in single layer.
3. Do not stack fillets.
4. Brush top with juice.
5. In bowl combine cheese, butter, mayonnaise, onions and seasonings.
6. Mix well with fork.
7. Bake fish in preheated oven 10 to 20 minutes or until fish just starts to flake.
8. Spread with cheese mixture and bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
9. Baking time will depend on the thickness of the fish you use.
10. Watch fish closely so that it does not overcook.
11. Makes 4 servings. 

This fish can also be made in a broiler. (This is how I've done it each time I've made it.)

1. Broil 3 to 4 minutes or until almost done.
2. Add cheese and broil another 2 to 3 minutes or until browned.

 

Speech Therapy

Camp has started his speech therapy and LOVES it! He meets twice a week for thirty minutes with Miss Jessica. She does an amazing job with him and he does with her. We have been so impressed with how open he is with her. He doesn't act shy at all and does everything she asks. Jessica has a specialty degree in early intervention with her speech therapy degree which is a great combo when working with Camp. She seems to think he will pick things up quickly and not have any problems overcoming his delay. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. I think Camp and Miss Jessica will make a great pair!

My Favorites!

Grateful,
BQ2

Sent from my iPhone

1st Visit to the Dentist

You can call me crazy, but I did it. I took both kids to the dentist for their first time ALONE. I don't know what I was thinking, but they did great. They were getting examined in two different rooms, at the same time, and when Camp was done he was all over the place. : ) Kids will be kids right?!

We went to Triangle Pediatric Dentistry because it has gotten nothing but rave reviews from our friends and Emma Claire's friends ensured her that they would do nothing that hurt her. They continued to tell her how much fun it was and that really helped put her at ease.

We were more than please with our experience with Dr. Buddy and his office staff.

They had plenty of toys in the waiting room to keep them busy and cartoons playing on the big screen TV.

Because Emma Claire was already 5 they wanted to do a set of xrays on her teeth. The sweet nurse was so patient and gentle with her because she becomes really anxious when they want her to do something new at the doctors office. I wonder where she gets that from? It's me. Shhhh, don't tell.

They only did pictures of her front teeth which wasn't too awkward for her. She was such a big girl sitting up in that chair. After the nurse was done she took the time to pull up her xrays and show Emma Claire what they looked like. She even got to see her big girl teeth coming in!

Did I mention they were patient? They took the time to answer all of her 1,000 questions. : )

They even had activities to entertain them in the back while we waited. Camp LOVED the video games. I'm not sure if he knew exactly what he was doing but it sure did look like it. He ran that remote like a pro.

Next Emma Claire headed over to get her teeth cleaned. She did a good with the brushing but when it came time for the polishing and flossing she just wasn't that sure. She tried so hard to keep her hands on her belly like the nurse asked but somehow they kept ending up at her chin. : )

The nurse even let her help with the vacuum or spit sucker as I always called it. : )

Then it was Camp's turn! He and I went into what they call a lap room for his cleaning. He sat in my lap and then laid his head in the nurses lap. Let me just tell you. He did sooooo good. He just sat there and let them do their thing!

Look at those big eyes checking her out!

Camp's only problem was being ALL OVER THE PLACE. I could not keep up with him to talk to the nurses and Dr. He kept running away on this little rocking giraffe. Isn't it just suppose to rock in place? Well, somehow he had it running.

After the cleaning Dr. Buddy came in to check for cavities and give them a fluoride treatment on their teeth. Dr. Buddy was wonderful with them, too. He had Camp's attention from the beginning because he told him about all the different Thomas Trains he could see in his mouth.

Camp's Results: He had no cavities but will be very prone to them because his teeth fit very tight together. The only thing that will help will be to floss at least 4 times a week. Camp also has a very bad overbite which is something that we will have to deal with when he his older. Another reason for our visit with Camp was to have his gums looked at. Between two of his bottom teeth he has what looks like his gums growing up between his teeth. It's pretty large and we weren't sure what needed to be done about it. Strangely enough, Dr. Buddy said that it was a wart! A wart growing in his mouth? What? I had never heard of such a thing. Anyway, he said to keep close watch on it and come back in 3 months. If it had changed in shape, color, or size we would need to be referred to an ENT and have it surgically removed at the hospital. Oh my. He said that sometimes warts on your hands/feet disappear so we will just hope that it will vanish on it own. (I'll try to post a picture soon.) Either way, Camp got a good report. His first time to the dentist and no cavities. Yay!

Then it was Emma Claire's turn for Dr. Buddy to check out her teeth. I believe in this picture she is asking him what those things are that he puts on his eyes. He was so sweet to explain everything to her.

He took his time checking her teeth and also giving her a fluoride treatment. To help ease her anxieties he played a princess game with her while checking her teeth. He went through every princess describing what their dresses looked like and then Emma Claire would guess which one she was. Let's just say, Dr. Buddy knows about his princesses. : 0

Emma Claire's Results: Her teeth looked really good but she did have one small spot in the back that looked like a cavity forming. He said that it wasn't big enough to worry with now but he would check it again at her 6 month check-up. Like Camp, he said that Emma Claire would be prone to cavities because her teeth also fit tightly together. She has just a small overbite and her gums looked great. He did see on her xrays where the roots where beginning to disappear on one of her front teeth. At some point she had chipped that tooth and had damaged the root. He said that more than likely that tooth would become loose first. Other than that, she had a great check-up! He said her teeth looked great!

Thank you so much Dr. Buddy and Triangle Pediatrics for such a great 1st visit to the dentist. We will see you again in 6 months!!