Look Who's Talking!

I am super late on posting this but our sweet Will is talking up a storm. I definitely wanted to document his speech progress over the next year but at 13 months Mr. Will is saying about 15 words with the number growing daily!

1. Momma
2. Dada
3. Dog
4. All done
5. No No
6. VaVa (Vaccuum)
7. Nana
8. CeeCee (once or twice)
9. Night Night (NighNigh)
10. Ball
11. More
12. Shoes
13. Uh oh
14. Bye Bye (once or twice)
15.   Oh No

Can't wait to see how many words he's using in just a few short months!

Truly Thankful.

As I take a moment to reflect on this past year of life, I am undoubtedly thankful. The Lord's hand on our family, our child, and our marriage has been overwhelming.

This past year was packed with up and downs, trials and victories, tears and laughter that all come with the addition of a certain little green eyed boy who has stolen our heart.

I am so grateful this thanksgiving for Grandma's who offer a break from the cyclical monotony of motherhood, a Dad who is constantly bringing over diaper and wipes (just because), a husband who appreciates all my hard work during the day and actively engages with his little boy when he gets home, a wonderful church that keeps me grounded on the truth of God's word, the fellowship of believers, wonderful friends who know how to make me laugh til it hurts and most of all for a risen savior, Jesus Christ who gives grace abundantly and unconditionally.

This Thanksgiving I find myself very content and truly thankful.

Celebrating

Last Friday night we went out to Cafe Luna to celebrate Ashlee's and my birthday! It's hard to believe that it's been nearly a decade of celebrating birthday's at one of our favorite restaurants! Looking forward to many more to come!

Baking for the Holidays!

A couple weeks ago it was our turn to bring the desert for our Tuesday night small group (which we absolutely LOVE) and so I decided to pull out my recipe for Symphony Bar Brownies for two reasons. One, because they are super easy and two, because they are amazing in my humble but accurate opinion! I will never forget the first time I made these. My first boss, Betsy Ramsey gave me this recipe to take to meet Zak's entire extended family for a 4th of July cookout and they were a big hit!

Symphony Bar Brownies
Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines Double Fudge Brownie Mix
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I add this to all my brownies just to enhance the taste)
2 large Hershey's symphony chocolate bars

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees for glass or metal pans, 325 degrees for dark or non-stick. GREASE the bottom of the pan with cooking spray.

Next, mix the brownie mix, egg, water, oil and contents of fudge packet in large bowl. Stir until well blended. Spread 1/2 of mixture into greased pan.  Then take both symphony bars and break them up, evenly dispersing them on top of mixture. Finally, spread remaining batter over top of symphony bars.

Bake brownies according to box instructions based on size and type of pan you use. I usually cook 5 minutes less than the suggested time to ensure they are not overcooked. (Don't try the toothpick trick because with the candy bar, it will be gooey no matter how down the brownies are).

Allow brownies time to completely cool and then use a plastic knife to cut. (just an inside mom trick to not have batter stick to knife!)

I am confident these will be as big of a hit with your family as they are with mine! Maybe even give them a shot for Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Aunt Kelley!

What a fun time celebrating Aunt Kelley's birthday with the fam! ...This was after all our good behavior had worn off at the table and we had to go explore the LongHorn lobby!

Look What's Cooking!

In an effort to change things up a bit in the Shipman household, I decided to head on over to Pinterest for some cooking inspiration. Outside of entertaining, I usually have two goals for meals at our house; tasty and healthy! This delicious recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Soup from SkinnyTaste.com accomplished both! So without further adieu here's the recipe:

Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 cup Calories: 169.2 • Fat: 1.2 g • Protein: 18.5 g • Carb: 21.2 g • Fiber: 2.3 g

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup flour (to make gluten-free use 2 tbsp cornstarch instead)
• 2 cups water 
• 4 cups fat free milk
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 medium chopped onion
• 8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms 
• 2 chicken bouillons
• fresh ground pepper
• pinch of thyme
• 10 oz frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
• 16 oz cooked chicken breast, diced small
• salt

Directions:

Create a slurry by combining 1/2 cup of the cold water with flour in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside.

Pour remaining water and milk into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil. Add celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken bullion, thyme, fresh pepper, frozen vegetables and return to a boil. Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove lid, add potatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Make it tonight! Your family will thank you!

Election Day!!!

Little Gerry's 2nd Birthday!

Last Saturday morning we celebrated my best friend, Shaina's son Gerry's 2nd birthday! The fact that Shaina even put together a party just over a month after having her second child, Kennedy earns her the Mom of the year award! And a fabulous job she did at that. There was a frog theme for the party using the colors blue and green!


The gifts and favors table

Shaina made these super cute frog cupcakes that were certainly a labor of love! Chocolate cupcakes with a marshmallows cream filling. Deeelish!



Ashlee and sweet Caroline (aka: Will's future Mother in law)



Uncle Timothy and Aunt Allison with baby Lawson!

"Momma, can I PLEASE have my cake already!!!???"



Will's latest favorite position- the frog



Cake Time!!!



Saturday was also Ashlee's birthday so Shaina made her a big cupcake to celebrate.

17 years of being "the package deal" and I am so thankful for this friendship!

What a super fun Saturday celebrating Gerry's second birthday!

Bed Head...

Exhausted...

To say this last week and a half has been challenging would be the understatement of the month. Will has been teething, which translates in our home to a fussy, clingy, paci needing little man. By night that transpires in wake up calls ALL throughout the night. The past few nights Will has been up screaming from 4-6am. I was a sweet Momma for a week and got up, gave him some ib profin and even fed him a bottle before putting him back to bed. Now that teething seems to be over, I think he's going through a growth spurt.

All that aside, we have had to implement some tough love. The last three nights when the screaming begins, I have just turned off the monitor and let him cry it out until it is time to start the day. Any time after 7am is acceptable in our home, but prior to that Mommy and Daddy are NOT coming! I'm not saying that it has been easy, because it is not easy for any Mom to hear their child crying, but I will tell you that after just a few nights of screaming for two hours Will begins to get the message that we aren't coming. In our home, we firmly believe  that the most loving thing we can do for him is to teach him how to self soothe and put himself back to sleep. It is so easy to let our home become child-centered but we know that is NOT what is best for Will or our family, so for now, we press on!

....Dear Lord, please let us see some progress tonight because I am one tired momma!