Sprinkler Park Fun!

We are in for a short heat wave this weekend. Today hit 90 and we should experience the same tomorrow and Sunday. My sister and mom had the day off so we headed to the sprinkler park with all the girls. I think they had fun. Maybe we'll pay another visit later this summer!

 

Photo Fridays 06.29.12

Sitting up...

 

Photo Fridays 06.22.12

Jonathan took this picture of Sarah on Sunday. I love it!

What's Cooking: Pretzel Chicken

Pretzel chicken? Yes! I was browsing on Pinterest and saw that someone had pinned this. The chicken looked so crispy and the honey dijon sauce sounded really good.

Modifications/Substitutions: I didn't end up deep frying the chicken. Instead I pounded out my chicken a bit and then pan fried it instead. Also, I didn't have dry mustard so I used a bit of regular mustard in the egg mixture.

Ease: I wouldn't say this is the easiest recipe to execute with three little ones. Really, though, the most time-consuming part was prepping the pretzels and the eggs to coat the chicken. I'll give this recipe 3.5 stars for ease.

Affordability: I had most of the ingredients on hand to begin with, so this ended up being very affordable - 4.5 stars.

Taste: I really liked it, especially with the dipping sauce. And, I have to say, the leftovers were even better shredded and made into a chicken salad! I'll go with 4.5 stars for taste.

Family-Friendly: I find that when I pound out my chicken a bit it comes out more tender. Abigail finished her chicken, but Sarah didn't really go for hers. So, I'll go with 3 stars.

What's Cooking Rating: 4 stars (rounded up to the nearest 0.25)

Fun with Bridget

This past week our niece Bridget turned two years old. We celebrated her birthday on Sunday. The girls were so excited. Once again, I made the mistake of telling Abigail about Bridget's birthday a few weeks before the actual event. Each morning she would ask me, "What day is today?" I'd tell her Monday, Tuesday, etc. Then she would ask me, "Is today Bridget's birthday?"

Well, it finally arrived. Bridget's Minnie Mouse birthday was a blast!

 

 

 

My brother James and his wife Dawn gave Bridget a bubble machine. The girls had a lot of fun trying that out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Bridget! You are growing up so fast!

Father's Day!

We had a great Father's Day weekend. It started on Friday where we got to spend all day with Jonathan who was given a day off from work. We went to a local pond for a photo shoot with our friend Krista. The girls had fun throwing rocks in the pond and picking flowers. The girls had a lot of fun and cooperated for the most part. I am very much looking forward to seeing how the pictures turned out!

Saturday was pretty low-key, which is always a good thing!

On Sunday morning we had a special breakfast and gave Jonathan his gift. The big hit was a set of cards we made where I traced the girls hands and measured their arm-span. The front of the cards said, "I love you" and when Jonathan opened the cards they expanded and said "this much!" I even managed to make one for Lily.

After breakfast we went to church. Then we headed to Nonna and Papa's house to celebrate Bridget's birthday. All in all it was a great weekend!

I don't say it often enough, but our girls are blessed to have such a wonderful dad. Jonathan gets up in the middle of the night to help when Lily (and sometimes Sarah or Abigail) wakes up. He'll play along with the girls when they give him birthday gifts in June consisting of things already belonging to him when his birthday is in September. He sits down with the girls to read them bedtime stories. And he always encourages the girls and lets them know he loves them.

Thank you, Jonathan, for being such a great dad and for seeking out to be the best husband, dad, and leader God intends you to be.

Photo Fridays 06.15.12

Notice something missing in this picture? We've had these awesome photos on display for about two years now. Since then we've added to our family and, well, the girls are a whole lot bigger now! So, this morning we're headed to a local pond to do a photo shoot with our good friend, Krista. I'm looking forward to updating our pictures and adding one of Lily!

Also, check out Krista's blog post to see her work from two years ago!

Seven Months!

Lily is now seven months old. Here's a quick summary of what's been going on with our youngest:

Mobile Baby!

Lily is rolling and scooting all over the place. She is always in search of the nearest scrap of paper, teeny hair clip, or other forbidden object. I have already had to snag a few things out of her mouth. It comes with the territory when you have two older girls who don't always pick up after themselves (ok, sometimes it's been me leaving things behind too).

Food!

I'm still making Lily's baby food. Really though, I've only made two more things because when you make a food once you have a good inventory in the freezer to last a while. So far Lily has sampled sweet potatoes, squash, carrots (store-bought but I plan to make some soon), apples, and pears.

Sleep.

You can't use the words "baby", "sleep", and "consistent" in the same sentence. One (or two) night(s) she'll sleep through the night when other nights she'll still wake up once or twice. Naps end up being 30 minutes to 2 hours long depending on if she's sleeping deeply and we're all quiet enough for her. Some nights she'll fall asleep on her own while other nights (when she's over-tired) we have to help her out.

Other Milestones

Lily is still toothless. Also, she can sit, but only with assistance still. She's always diving for the nearest thing she can stick in her mouth. Also, she does plenty of babbling and screeching and laughing.

What's Cooking: Barbecue Indian Spice Chicken

We usually do our grocery shopping on Monday evenings, which means our Monday night dinner is usually pasta with tomato sauce. Because I copped out on dinner Sunday night (we had chicken nuggets) I decided to try and make a "real" meal for Monday.

I knew we had plenty of chicken in our freezer. We also had yogurt in the fridge, so I thought I'd try and find a new recipe combining the two. I had heard of people using yogurt while making chicken and wanted to know what it was like. Off to Pinterest I went. It was then when I realized that my yogurt wasn't plain yogurt, it was vanilla. So I decided to do Google instead. I ended up finding a recipe for Barbecue Indian Spice Chicken. I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but used it for inspiration. Here we go!

Modifications/Substitutions: I skipped out on the jalepeno. Instead of cumin I used chili powder. I also cut down on the cayenne to 1/8 of a teaspoon and upped the garlic powder to about 1/2 of a teaspoon (really, who uses just a dash of garlic powder???). I also baked the marinated chicken in the oven at 350 rather than broil it.

Ease: I love recipes where you can get part of it done ahead of time. If I had found this recipe sooner I would have made the marinade the night before. I ended up putting it together right before Lily's nap. It was nice to know that all I'd have to do was cook the chicken later in the afternoon - 5 stars.

Affordability: Lately we've been purchasing our chicken at BJ's. It ends up being only about $1.99/lb, which is how much we pay at the grocery store when it is on sale. The remaining ingredients were also very affordable - 5 stars.

Taste: Jonathan didn't know what to think when he saw dinner. I told him I wouldn't let him in on what it was until he tried it. After tasting it he let me know it was "surprisingly good." It was good, just not fantastic-4 stars.

Family-Friendly: Sarah gave the chicken a try after telling me, "I don't wike chitin." Abigail didn't want to try it, telling me that "chicken makes me cry." Sarah then started fake crying to be funny, and it was funny. Anyway, Abigail tried the chicken but didn't go crazy for it. Sarah changed her mind about the chicken and ended up liking it. I'll just go with a 3 here because mommy and daddy ended up eating more chicken than the girls.

What's Cooking Rating: 4.25 stars

Mealtime Shenanigans

Mealtime with the Kapaldo family can be lots of fun. Mealtime with the Kapaldo's at Nonna and Papa's house can be tons of fun! Maybe two weeks ago we were having dinner with my parents and grandparents and Abigail felt the need to stand in her chair, look to Papa, spread out her arms and say, "Papa, are you out of your mind?!" Before we knew it Sarah was saying it too. Every time one of the girls would say it everyone roared with laughter. It got quite loud in that dining room!

Last night Sarah uttered the silly phrase a few more times, and we got it on camera this time. No one says it quite like Sarah, and she probably gets the most laughs out of it.

Photo Fridays 06.01.12

Remember how I mentioned that Abigail was getting more gutsy with Lily? Well, Abigail has not let up one little bit. I was on the phone with Jonathan in the kitchen when I went on my way into the living room to find Abigail standing up, holding Lily, and attempting to place Lily in her toy stroller! For my own peace of mind and for Lily's protection I unpacked and set up our play pen.

My friend Kelly gave us this play pen when Abigail was a baby. We used it a lot with Abigail, but not so much with Sarah. Abigail really wasn't interested in lifting Sarah, and most of Abigail's toys were not choking hazards. I am really happy we still have this handy baby gear and Lily doesn't seem to mind it either!