Kindermusik

Bryson and I have been going to Kindermusik this summer. He has really enjoyed the songs, instruments, and other kiddos. Just a few pics from our fun!

Mommy and Me!

I love the egg shakers. I finally was able to carry all four at one time!

The bells are fun too!

Playing with the clappers!

Gran even joined in for the fun!

I loved the mirrors!

Google Reader

This is for all you faithful bloggers and blog readers. Do you know about Google Reader? It lets you upload all the blogs that you visit regularly. Then it tells you when they are updated. It is great. You can visit one location to see which blogs have been update. You can view the blog from Google Reader or click to go directly to the blog. I love it! Everyone may already know about this but I think it is great!

John Marshall Came for a Visit!

John Marshall, Ron, and Christy came over yesterday for a visit. The boys had fun playing in the water and climbing all over the deck!
Such a happy boy!

Sweet Hugs!

The boys had fun playing in the water!

John Marshall thought Comet needed a hug!

Playdate at Stonebriar

Last week Bryson and I headed over to Stonebriar to meet up with some friends. We had great fun playing in the play area, eating lunch, and riding the carousel. Thanks for the great time everyone!

King of the Hill!

Sliding!

Bryson loved the tunnels!

Macy

Maggie

Reid

Jackson hamming it up!

Weeeeeee!

Maggie and Bryson! Love that smile!

Steele.
Bryson and Steele will be at the same sitter this school year. They will have so much fun playing!

Bryson riding the horsie! He liked it at first but soon wanted off that horse. I ended up holding him for half the ride! At least I got some cute pictures before the meltdown.

Is this a button?

Cody

The China Study

Brian has been reading this book called "The China Study." In short the book is about an ongoing research study that shows that if you change your diet you can reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Basically he has learned that products from animal protiens contribute to these diseases and if you can reduce the amount of animal proteins you eat you can help fight and prevent these diseases.

Sooooo....my meat loving husband is working to not eat as much meat or other animal products. He is striving to eat more vegan by cutting out meat, drinking soy milk, eating less processed foods, and increasing his vegetable intake. Now Brian has always been a much healthier eater than I, so he was on board with this pretty quickly. I am slowly making some changes. I have been searching for more meat lacking meals to make in an effort to be a "supportive wife.''

So here is a picture of our meal tonight. I know you are probably wondering why we took a picutre, but I was very proud of my efforts and it was mighty tasty. So I included the recipe below.

Bow-Ties with Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes
Total Time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

12 oz bow-tie (farfalle) pasta
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 bag (10 oz) spinach, tough stems removed, leaves torn bite-size
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 pt cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

PREPARATION

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add half the garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add half the spinach and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper; sauté 1 minute, or until spinach wilts. Add remaining spinach and cook until wilted. Transfer to bowl with pasta.

3. Add remaining 2 Tbsp oil and rest of garlic to skillet. Cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until tomatoes release their juices. Add to bowl with pasta.

4. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and toss to combine.

We also grilled some squash, red peppers, and red onion on the grill. I tossed these in extra virgin olive oil with salt and pepper in a zip lock bag. I tossed some bread sticks in the oven too. It was pretty quick and delicious. This wasn't totally vegan due to the cheese but met our goal of reducing animal proteins.

Now off to have some ice cream. Not sure if I can part with this animal protein product. Tee Hee

Our First Major Tantrum

Bryson has had fits before but mainly when he is really tired and you wake him up before he wants too. Not so much when you take something away. He might cry a bit but get over it pretty quickly. That all changed today. This morning I headed to a consignment store on the search for a jogging stroller. Bryson fell in love in one of those oh so noisy ball popping push toys. He ran it all over the store. It was only $2.99 so I bought it. When we went to the car he was furious that I took it away so we could get in the car and leave. He proceeded to have a 5-7 minute crying fit. He cried all the way across Allen. Let's just say I didn't get to finish my errands.

The Fit

The toy at the center of all the turmoil! I finally got it back out tonight for him to play with outside.

These pictures have nothing to do with the fit but he was too cute waving at all the cars that drove by.

Sunglasses

Bryson's Nana bought him this pair of sunglasses. He LOVES them. He has more fun taking them off and on and having Mommy wear them. Luckily they are Fisher Price and VERY STURDY. It is amazing he hasn't broken the ear pieces off yet. I thought it was absolutely adorable when he was walking around the house with them on his head yesterday. Just like Mommy. Today he had them on and was riding his car around too. Too cute!

The Pool

Yesterday I got the bright idea to get out Bryson's kiddie pool that he got for his birthday and let him play some on the deck. I also thought I could maybe sit in a chair, read a book, take cute pictures of Bryson, and relax some while he played in the pool. Boy was I wrong. Bryson spent the majority of the time trying to climb in and out of the pool over and over again while I kept requesting that he get in and SIT DOWN! I think he heard, "Bryson sit down" at least 50 times. I was so afraid he would slip and crack his head on something because it was so slippery. Finally after taking all the toys out of the pool and announcing that we were going inside did he decide to SIT and play in the pool. Not the relaxing experience I had envisioned.

Mom would you quit telling me to sit down!

Our grapevines on the deck are currently producing tons of grapes which also attracts the birds. I noticed this red bird/cardinal feasting on the treats when we were playing.

Dasher, our dog with a spring in his step! Right before taking this picture he had leaped from the bench on the left of the shot to the table he is currently standing on. He can also jump the full height of our back door. He could probably escape our yard if he really wanted to.

Dr. Kev Kev Got Married!

We headed this weekend to San Angelo for the wedding of my cousin Kevin and his new bride, Meghan. You're probably wondering about the Dr. Kev Kev in the post title. My nickname for Kevin as a kid was Kev Kev. He called me Bamber. He recently got his doctorate degree so I like to tease him and call him Dr. Kev Kev.

They had a lovely wedding and a good time was had by all. Bryson attended his first wedding and stayed in a hotel for the first time. Bryson also had his first dance with a girl. Take note of the song that is playing. "I Don't Even Know His Last Name." The flower girl was definitely leading the dance!

The Bride and Groom's First Dance!

Bryson enjoyed exploring the hotel room. He loved the fact that the tissue dispenser was on his level. He had more fun getting tissues to "blow" his nose.

Dinner on the floor of the hotel room. Bryson figured out he could use his feet to make himself rock back in his booster seat. Such fun!

The Family!

He loved this fountain in the courtyard. He was thrilled when he could finally find a spot that was tall enough for him to reach the water.

When Bryson and I came in from out side my dad was holding this little girl, Emerson. Bryson did not like Grandad holding any other baby. Bryson even tried to push her away.

Bryson was attached to Uncle Braxton.

All the cousins.
Amber, Jessica, Lynette, Brennan, Meghan, her niece Steeley, Kevin, and Braxton

Bryson had a late night. You would have thought he would have slept the whole way home but no. He really wore Brian and I out trying to keep him entertained on the way home.

We passed through a wind energy center on the way. The huge wind turbines were amazing. You can seen them from I-20 and the amount of them is impressive but driving through the middle was way cool.

This picture doesn't do justice to the sheer numbers of them everywhere.

Bryson's first trip to Cracker Barrel.

All in all we had a great time. It was super to see all the family and celebrate such an exciting time!