1 Month Old

I can't believe it's been 4 whole weeks 

since this little lady came to live with us.

 Some things haven't changed -
Walt still likes poking her.

 But others have - she's growing like a weed!

Regardless, she's already won a place in our hearts
and we simply can't imagine life without her.

Dinner on a Neighbor

When you have a new baby,

one thing that easily falls by the wayside is preparing meals.

So it really is a fantastic gift 

when people drop by with meals for you.

They don't have to be fancy
to be truly appreciated by sleep-deprived parents.

Check out this easy meal that a kind neighbor dropped off.

It was a full meal deal with barbecue ribs, 

potatoes to bake, dinner rolls, corn, and brownies.

All we had to do is bake the ribs for a couple of hours in the oven.

 Then suck out the extra juice from the bottom of the pan,

and grab your favorite barbecue sauce,

 and pour it all over the ribs.

Then flip them over and  smother the other side as well,

before popping the ribs back in uncovered to finish baking.

Once the ribs came out, 

we shredded them up and got ready to eat.

Here's what our finished dinner looked like - 

Easy & delicious!

BBQ Ribs

Boneless pork ribs (approximately 2 lbs)
Barbecue sauce

Bake ribs at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, covered. Uncover and remove most of the juice from the bottom of the pan. Pour barbecue sauce on both sides of the meat and bake uncovered another 20 to 30 minutes. Shred the meat to serve, if desired.

On a side note - this is the same sweet neighbor 

whose dear kids braved this weather

to bring Walter his very first May Day basket.

 It was filled with great treats 

like a granola bar, fruit snacks, a sucker,

 and a juice box, which Walter was a big fan of.

It's so nice to have such great neighbors!

Easter

I know I'm a little late on this one,

but give me a break -
I've got a toddler and a newborn.
I'm still trying to figure out
how to find time for everything these days,
but I'll get better at blogging again, I promise!

Anyways, here's how our Easter went down.

  Grandma Becky brought over an Easter basket

filled with clothes and toys for Walter and Ruby,

which Walter wasted no time in checking out.

He also tried a Peep for the very first time this Easter.

 He made his daddy proud
by rejecting the fluffy marshmallow treat after just one bite.

We took our first road trip with 2 kids down to LP.

While there, Walter tried his hand
at dyeing Easter eggs with his aunties.

 Walter refused to use a spoon to dip the eggs.

He would just use his hands instead,

which resulted in his fingers turning blue.

 But he didn't seem to mind.

 I wanted in on the egg decorating business.

Walter and I colored on this egg with a crayon 

before happily dying it yellow.

This is the masterpiece we created.

Then Walt's cousin Emma helped him find his Easter basket,

before we all headed outside for an Easter egg hunt!

Daddy helped Walt find his first egg -

and put it in his basket.

 Walter was pretty proud!

Then the hunt continued all the way around 

Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Walt found eggs all over the place.

 and his basket started filling up!

 

His cousins, Emma and Ally, were also in on the hunt.

When they were all finished, 

we lined them up on the front steps for a photo.

Ally accidentally left her Easter basket unattended -

and Walt swooped in and nabbed her basket.

Ally didn't seem to mind too much at first,

but eventually she confronted him about it.

Since Walter promised to give it back, 

they had a good laugh and are still friends today :)

Seriously!?

 The view from my front door on May 1, 2011.

Will this winter never die?

Another New Look

You may look at this photo and see my adorable baby girl.

I look at this photo and see that my roots are out of control.

I made excuses that I was giant and 

tired at the end of my pregnancy.

 Therefore, I never found time to fix my hair color problems.

 But enough is enough!

Ruby is out and I have no reason 

to continue looking this ridiculous.

Since Walter got a new hairdo, it was time for me to follow suit.

Here's a more recent photo of Ruby & I,

a lot less blond and no more roots -

so much better!

Even if I have to say it myself,

Walter and I are looking good these days!