Where did April go??? (in pictures)

Below are some pictures from April (and a few from March & May too). These uploaded backwards so the timeline is reversed. Please note that there is a new post below as well:

Zack running in his first race. Run Zack Run....Heading to the finish line

Papa's 85th birthday

George and Papa

Daddo and James at the Country Club eating lunch

Looking super cool in his shades..ready to go walk!!Chilling with his glow worm and rattles
Posing in his Easter outfit
His Easter basket made him too excited to sit up straight
Aunt Nancy and baby Christian at the lake

George helping Lucas get the best egg at the Easter egg huntJames hanging with Mama and Daddy at the lake
James sporting his hat at the lake
Sleeping in his Easter jammies
James' first church service at 1st Presbyterian

Zack and James at the Crawfish Boil fundraiser for the American cancer Society in downtown Downtown Montgomery Me and James at the Crawfish boil
Sleeping on his swing!!
Just look at that smile!! Watch out ladies!!!

Zack and James at the lake (neither one wanted me to take this picture)
James looking cute while strolling through the neighborhood

James all bundled up for the March snow!!

Snow in March in Alabama

Too cute for words!!
NEW POST BELOW

Where did April go?????

I cannot believe my last post was March 9th. I guess work has really been keeping me busy. James is doing well. He is such a sweet baby and is constantly smiling and laughing. I really think he is going to be crawling very soon!! Here is an update:

The 1st week of March James really started to discover his toes and grasp objects. Ever since then he likes to put every item he grabs (and his toes) in his mouth. For whatever reason he really loves chewing on his blankets, burp cloths, bibs, etc. I found a great teething blanket that he loves (the corners of the blanket are rubber).

The 3rd week of March we went to the beach with my family and James went out on the sand for the very first time and he really loved it. His sweet Daddy bought a half moon tent with 50 spf so we set him in the tent and he squealed all day long. He had so much fun playing with his cousins and being spoiled by his aunts and uncles and Kmama and Daddo.

James' Mimi (Zack's Mom) thinks that she has a picture of when she was a baby that looks just like James. I can't wait to see it...maybe it will clear up the debate of who James looks like. (so far 1 trillion Zack: 3 Sarah)

Easter Weekend was so much fun. On Saturday we went to Aunt Nancy's lake house on lake Mitchell (my Dad's sister) for a delicious lunch and a HUGE Easter egg hunt with candy, money and all sorts of prizes. It was a wonderful reunion with family we do not get to see very often!! My cousin Tina was there with her son Christian who was born the end of December and the boys were so intrigued with each other. Also 3 of my cousin's wives were pregnant so James will have lots of cousins to meet and play with at next year's hunt!! On Sunday we went to Robb and Kim's for a WONDERFUL easter lunch. Everything was gorgeous and the food was delicious!! Once again it was a wonderful way to celebrate Easter. The Lord is Risen!!

On April 13 James rolled over from his back to his stomach. Now he is rolling like crazy. He is all over the place!!

On April 29th we celebrated Papa's 85th birthday with lunch at Olive Garden. We had so much fun, and James loved laughing with his Papa. Happy Birthday Papa!!

On May 1st Zack ran in the Prattville City Fest 5K. He did a great job and finished in 21min 17sec!! James and I were working the event and were so excited to be at the last turn before the finish line. We were so proud of Zack!!! He also has had a Nike Plus for about a year. It is this thing that goes in his shoe and it runs through his ipod and tracks his runs. Well last week he ran his 500th mile. He bought a tshirt that Nike offers for those in the 500 mile club...maybe he'll let me snap a photo of him wearing it. Anyway...Congrats Zack!!

James is talking up a storm. He has progressed from this high squeal to constant chatter. Today he his babble sounded just like Mama..Zack and I both looked at each other in shock...he did it one more time after that. I can't wait until he says Mama or Dada to one of us.

James loves when we read at bedtime. Every night we usually read Just Like Daddy , Goodnight Moon and I love you, goodnight. Just like Daddy has a daddy and baby giraffe and James justs cracks up every time we turn to that page. Since I became aware of the hilarity of giraffes I have bought James 2 giraffe animals and he loves them. I'll try to get a picture of him with his giraffes.

James has really started to notice Henry. He thinks it is so funny when Henry licks his feet. Henry however does not think this is funny because he hates it when people move their legs near him (he's a crazy dog). So the scene is 1)Henry sneaks up on James and licks his feet. 2)James finds this HILARIOUS and laughs and kicks his feet 3)Henry the 60 lb dog runs as fast as he can across the room due to the tiny baby legs moving in his direction.

I can't find what I did with my stat page from his 4 month check up. I'll update when I find it. His weight was in the 50th percentile, his height in the 90th and his head circ. in the 95th.

Pictures to follow...

There were two in a bed, and the little one said....

"Roll Over"

That's right Baby James rolled over last night. Zack and I had gone to the lake with my parents for the weekend. Saturday night, while we were trying out some delicious cheese and prosecco we bought at Catherine's Market, James was playing on his Baby Einstein doing a little tummy time. Well all of his frustration paid off- he rolled over and was much happier!!! I am so proud of my little man.





BABY JAMES RIGHT AFTER HE ROLLED OVER






BATHTIME AT THE LAKE

Oh Happy Day

It just made my day to find these delicious candies on the shelf today!! I really don't know why I find them so delicious- maybe because you can only find them once a year- but hooraah!! To make my day even better.... I'm not going to look at the fat/calorie content on the back!!

It begins...

So during my maternity leave I enjoyed catching up on everyones life via their blog...as a byproduct I realized so many people were saving tons of mulah on groceries by "the grocery game".

So today I started.

CVSing and couponing at Publix here I come!!!

Let me tell ya...it was such a high!! Today, after cutting coupons and printing lots thanks to www.southernsavers.com I bought TONS of groceries and spent $46 out of pocket (OOP) and saved $40. Zack and I calulated the price of out meal tonight ( a meat and 2 veggies- less than 2 bucks- WOOHOO). James was crying so I had to put the groceries up before taking a picture of all of my hard work, but I will try to for next weeks deals. How fun!!

I know I'm a huge dork- but its such a challenge- kinda fun.

2 months

2 month stats:

Weight (75th Percentile): 12.85 pounds
Height (90th Percentile): 24.25 inches
Head (90th Percentile): 42.3

I can't decide on my favorite...






Other James Updates:

(1) I started him back on his Zantac. I had previously tapered him off because I thought it wasn't working...well..it was.

(2) I started back to work last Wednesday. I miss my little man like crazy, but he seems to really like Cora , the sweet lady who babysits him. James was smiling when I got home, so that made me feel much better. We have been putting 1 teaspoon of rice cereal in his bottle while I'm at work- and it too seems to be helping with the GERD.

(3) James is just so sweet. He smiles and laughs all the time. He is getting much better at holding that big head of his up. He likes to sit in his Bumpo, and always seems so proud of himself when he does!

(4) Tummy time. James HATES it. Strange thing is- if I give him a paci he falls asleep- if I don't- he kicks and screams and wiggles and wobbles.

(5) James did GREAT with his shots. I am so proud of my big little man.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month...



ALL SWADDLED BEFORE BED



QUIT TAKING PICTURES MOM!!



SLEEP MY PRECIOUS ONE



STRETCH



HE LOVES HIS HANDS ALMOST AS MUCH AS HIS PACI



HA...THIS LITTLE ONESIE HAS A SHEEP ON THE FRONT AND HAS THE WORDS TO OLD MCDONALD...I LOVE IT!!

Brown paper packages tied up with strings....

...these are a few of my favorite things

Below are a few of our favorite quick and easy chicken recipes:

Jane Collins Chicken

This was a dish Jane made in college (that's why I had it in my recipe book as Collins & not Boutwell). She always accompanied it with wild rice, broccoli casserole, and sister shubert yeast rolls. Its yummy and super easy!!

(1) Chicken (you can use whatever cuts you'd like as long as it has skin and bones- I tried it with boneless skinless once and it absorbs way too much salt. I usually use a mix of thighs and legs because they are Zack's favorite and they are super cheap!!)
(2) Garlic Seasoning
(3) Soy Sauce
(4) Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place chicken, skin side up, in a casserole dish
Sprinkle chicken liberally with garlic seasoning
Cover with soy sauce ( I put a lot- don't just sprinkle)
Squeeze lemon juice over chicken

Cook in oven for 1 hour or until chicken is done.

Note: I think the original recipe calls to cover with kosher salt and place in the fridge then rinse and prepare- I find that this chicken is super tender even if you skip this step so I always do

Papa's Chicken

My sweet Papa is the best cook I know. He calls his kitchen his la-bor-a-tory- and he is always sending the most delicious meals our way!! After James was born the one thing I requested was my Papa's Chicken and Dumplings- by far the most wonderful meal ever. Well my sweet Papa kept the meals coming and sent us this delicious chicken a few nights later. The meat was so tender it just falls off the bone. Here is the recipe. I like to serve it with steamed green beans, a roll, and white rice (the gravy made from the dish is oh so good over the rice).

One cut up chicken (or pieces if you prefer)
1 8oz. jar apricot preserves
1 bottle Russian Dressing (I usually use 1/2 bottle)
1 envelope onion soup

Place chicken in casserole dish or pan. Mix all other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 300 degrees for two hours OR 350 degrees for one hour. (I like to remove the foil the last few minutes to brown the chicken a little especially if cooking just one hour)

Check for doneness and enjoy over rice!

Carraway Chicken

This is a dish my preceptor at Carraway hospital told me about. It is oh so good, and Zack always thinks I have slaved in the kitchen when I make it (I only sometimes correct him). It is great served with rice or noodles. My preceptor always bought sundried tomato bread from walmart to as she said "sop up all that goodness".

Chicken ( You can use boneless, skinless or regular)
1 bag of baby spinach
1 can of diced tomatoes or sliced fresh tomatoes
1 box of baby bella or while mushrooms sliced ( you can also use a jar of mushrooms) *
Balsamic Vinagrette
Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Wash spinach and place in bottom of casserole dish. Cover spinach with chicken. Season with salt and pepper ( I like to add a little garlic seasoning). Cover with tomatoes and mushrooms. Pour Balsamic Vinagrette (it's really good if you make the Italian seasonings dressing yourself but just a jar of kraft dressing is fine) over to taste. Cover with foil and cook at 350 until done. Sprinkle with cheese and cook 5 more minutes or until melted.

*I added the mushrooms to this dish because Zack loves mushrooms. You could just as easily leave them out.

Mama's Soup Chicken

Mama always made this chicken growing up. It's simple to make and comforting on a cold night. We always had it with green beans and white rice (once again the gravy made by the dish is yummy over rice)

One cut up chicken (or pieces if you prefer)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can of cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup

Place chicken in casserole dish. Cover with sliced onions. Pour soup over both. Cook at 350 for about an hour.