Coming soon!

Most of you already know this because of facebook, but for those that don't...I'm excited to share that we will welcome our second child in January 2012! I am glad to be able to finally share the news with our extended family and friends...it's hard to keep a secret like that for a month! I went to the doctor a couple days ago and we saw that tiny little heartbeat. Ezra will be almost exactly 2.5 years older.

The CBH staff sings a song during our Blue Haven Players evening called "He Knows My Name." Here are the words...

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in His hands

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And he hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

As I was driving back to camp after my ultrasound on Thursday, I heard this song on my ipod. Thinking about our little baby, who we don't know yet but will in just a few short months, and knowing that GOD has already formed his or her little heart, knows his or her name, and has always known our child and every hair on his head is an incomprehensible and amazing thought. Our child is less than an inch long, and I could already see that complex organ beating away. Truly a miracle.

Thank you to all of you who have already sent well-wishes via facebook. We are excited, blessed, and already can't wait to meet our little one!

22 months and videos

This will most likely be my last post for a while. Things are busy with getting ready for camp, and once we are at camp our internet access and spare time are both very limited. In just two short months we will have a two-year-old. What an amazing thing it is to watch your child grow and learn things and pick up on things that you didn't think they noticed. He is such a mimic--his favorite thing to say is "Oh, man" which I say quite often...video is below. Ezra is such a good boy. He plays well both with friends (most of the time) and by himself. He loves to read books and has many books memorized where if I leave a word out he can fill it in. He loves shoes these days, and wants to put them on himself. He's getting pretty good at it, but gets very frustrated if he doesn't get it right or if we have to help him. Once the shoes are on, all we hear is "go? go?" Today we spent the whole day in the house because Chad was sleeping after work and I was not feeling well, and I lost count of how many times he asked to leave the house. Phrases that he says that I love are "I see you" and "I love you too" (the middle part is garbled but I get what he is saying). I am so excited for him to experience blue haven this summer. He has become quite shy when he first encounters people he doesn't know, but warms up very quickly, especially to anyone who shows an interest in playing with him. I think that's about it. Here are some recent videos.

I love you too from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Aw, man! from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Eye love you too from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Laughing at himself from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Drinking green bean juice from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Ezra and the shopping cart from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Pictures from the week

There's nothing better than licking the spatula (no, mom, there was not raw eggs in this)

The other day before church Chad took a couple pictures of Ezra and me. This is the face he made.Seriously, child, is life that bad?Here's a better one:The next two pictures are funny because Ezra's buddy was swinging the hat around and saying "yee haw" on the rocking horse. The funny part is that while Chad was taking this picture...Ezra's on the other side of the room saying "cheese" over and over again. Poor baby never gets any attention.
We're in the midst of working on staff notebooks for camp. To keep Ezra occupied, we emptied out the three hole punch and his job was to throw away each little circle. Such a helper.

5.4.11

Ezra was wearing his new CBH jacket the other day when I got this shot...
And then tonight when I was posting that one, I remembered this one from a year ago...what a difference a year makes. On to more important things, like music. This kid loves musical instruments, so Chad splurged and spent a whole dollar on a recorder for him. The glasses are another long thought-out purchase that I think Chad bought to wear at the CBH talent shows or something. Very cool.
If this doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will.
A more serious picture of Ezra, me, and "bee-ball."
I'm trying this new thing called "blog more often so it doesn't seem like such a chore because I have way too many pictures to blog." Of course after the next few weeks I will be gone for the summer but I'll pick it back up in August.

A couple of things Ezra is doing/saying lately...he has a book called "Peek-a-who?" and lately he's been reciting it at random times, like in the car. "Peek-a-who? Peek-a-boo! Peek-a-choo choo!" and hiding his eyes behind his hands. At night when we tell him "I love you" he has started saying something like "Ah yah you too." He repeats every word we say. When we ask him if he wants to do something, if he doesn't want to do it, he says, "No?" in question form.

So here are a couple videos...one day Ezra decided that he wanted to try his hand at multitasking, so he started popping a goldfish in his mouth, closing his eyes and walking around while eating with his eyes closed. Weird, but funny. The other one is of him playing his new recorder. I think Chad showed him how to march like he's in a marching band...who knows with just those two around. Chad took the video.

Look ma no eyes from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Recorder from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Another video

Here's another video that I wanted to post with the other ones but couldn't last week because of upload limits:

Dizzy from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

May menu

Here's what we're eating in May. This will be my last monthly menu for a while, because I get to go to camp all summer where my friend Jennifer and her awesome cooks do all the meal preparation. It's great!

Cashew sweet & sour pork
Spicy honey chicken
Crock pot santa fe chicken
Chicken cordon bleu
Smoky honey mustard pork tenderloin
Southwest chicken & corn cakes
Chicken & bacon pastry pockets
Creamy chicken taquitos
Coconut chicken fingers
BBQ meatballs
Glazed bacon-wrapped meatloaf
Braided sandwich loaf
Pizza
Jalapeno popper chicken pizza (recipe below)

Desserts I'm making for company or get-togethers:
Chocolate peanut butter bars
Pig cake
Chocolate chip cookie pie (no nuts. While I love a good pecan or almond, they do not belong in baked goods. This is not debatable.)
Frozen lemonade pie

Here's the jalapeno popper pizza recipe. Originally I made the topping and used it as a filling for soft tacos, but I like the pizza too.

1 loaf frozen white bread dough (such as Rhode's), thawed and risen according to package instructions

2 T oil

Salt & pepper

2 large chicken breasts

8 pieces of bacon, diced

4-5 large jalapenos, ribs and seeds removed, sliced into thin strips

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

12 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ cup sour cream

1/2 T chili powder

8 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded (can substitute pepper jack)

Chopped cilantro or green onions for topping (optional, but highly recommended)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Roll out pizza dough to ½ inch thick; fit on rectangular baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat mat. Bake for 7 minutes; remove from oven and set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Saute chicken breasts in oil 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet; shred with two forks and set aside.

4. In the same skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet; reserve 4 T bacon drippings.

5. Saute jalapeno and onions in bacon drippings until soft and onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic during last minute of cooking time and cook for one minute.

6. Return chicken and bacon to skillet with jalapeno mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add cream cheese, sour cream, and chili powder. Stir until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well-combined.

7. Spread mixture onto pizza crust. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 7-9 more minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

8. Allow pizza to cool for five minutes, top with cilantro and serve.

500

This is my 500th post! 5 years and 11 days ago I started this little blog, which has since chronicled the important and not so important events in our lives. I keep meaning to have it published into a book since I'm not a scrapbooker. I will get it done eventually, then I will start contacting agents to get it published into a memoir. (I kid.) Today my goal was to upload videos and post them. Some of these are recent and some of them are from three months ago, but ALL of them are cute. Enjoy!

Ezra and the dishwasher from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Untitled from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Hat? from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Getting buff from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

If you can't tell, Ezra is saying "Gig 'em Aggies" in this one:

Gig em aggies from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Harmonica from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Eieio from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

Ezra, two from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

If you're happy and you know it from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

This is Ezra saying "oh, toodles!" His current obsession is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and that is what they say.

Oh toodles from Lesley Montandon on Vimeo.

21 months...and 499 posts!

Well, Ezra just keeps getting closer and closer to two years old. This month his verbal skills have exploded and he just parrots everything he hears. He is such a big boy. We also got rid of his pacifier about a week ago and he is doing great. He still mentions it maybe once or twice a day, but he is quickly distracted when we tell him he can't have it and he doesn't make a big deal about it. We have traveled a couple times this month and Ezra has been a great traveler recently, much better than he has ever been. He eats well, he sleeps well, and he is super fun to be around. We love our little boy so much!

April random

Here are just some random pictures from the last few days. We decided to get Ezra a little potty because he talks about it quite a bit. No potty training yet, just getting ready for when he's ready in a few months.

This is after we took family pictures. I got this lollipop in case we needed to bribe him. And, we did. He acted like we were poking him with toothpicks the entire time we took pictures and would barely look at the camera, much less smile.
Got this picture on Sunday morning of Ezra's bible class. He has always loved going to class.
I watched my friend Amanda's baby, Laynee, a few days ago. I put her in Ezra's old walker and she loved it...she also loved Ezra entertaining her. Isn't she beautiful!?
Cool in his sunglasses, playing the harmonica
And this is the last picture I will post of Ezra with his beloved "Pass." We got rid of it today, and will be putting them away until further notice (i.e., subsequent children). RIP Pass.

April so far...Paul & Carolyn's visit

We have had a busy but good month. At the beginning, Paul & Carolyn came for a visit. Within the first few minutes of them being here, Ezra was calling for papaw to come play with him. They babysat while Chad and I went out on a date, took Ezra shopping for his birthday (which isn't until July but we'll be at camp then), and other fun stuff. Paul's birthday was that next Monday so we decided to take them out to the arboretum and do a little photo shoot with Ezra. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

April menu and an easy dessert recipe

Here's what we're eating in April... (yes, we eat a lot of chicken.)

Chicken cordon bleu
Sticky chicken wings (this marinade/glaze would be great on chicken thighs or breasts too)
Creamy chicken taquitos
Hamburgers
Pizza
Roasted lemon chicken
Southwest chicken & corn cakes
Sour cream chicken enchilada casserole
Steak & baked potatoes
Lemon chicken soup
Jalapeno popper tacos
BBQ Baked potatoes
Taco pile-up
Sub sandwiches
Honey-balsamic glazed chicken

I started making this recipe when I was in junior high--that is how easy it is. But it is so good too and the cheesecakes come out really cute. Enjoy!

Mini Cheesecakes (makes 20)

20 vanilla wafers

cupcake liners

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened

2 tsp lemon juice (I just juice one whole lemon)

1 tsp vanilla

Put liners in tins.

Put one vanilla wafer in the bottom of each liner, round side up.

Combine all ingredients. Beat until very smooth.

Spoon filling on vanilla wafers about halfway full.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Let cakes cool completely before removing papers carefully or leave decorated liners on.

Top with cherry pie filling or filling of your choice. Fresh fruit in season may also be used.

20 months

Ezra is 20 months old today! Just 4 short months until he is 2. He gets more and more mischievous and fun and funny by the day. The other day he was keeping me company while I was getting ready and I left for a minute to get something out of the bedroom, and when I came back Ezra had the biggest deer in the headlights look on his face. He had rummaged through the bottom cabinet, found a brand new tube of mascara (still in box), opened it and started giving himself a makeover. So this month marks his ability to unscrew containers by himself. So proud of himself
Ezra got hit by another tummy bug this month. He's not feeling too well in this picture. Chad felt fine, though in this picture it might appear otherwise.
Wearing his cowboy boots that used to be Chad's
The other day I heard him rummaging through his room and this is what he looked like when he came out. He always has a little smirk on his face when he thinks something he's doing is really going to crack me up. Unfortunately, the smirk is hard to see since he always has his "pass" in his mouth these days.

Chowing down on some corn on the cob this evening
At 20 months, Ezra is
-communicating better every day. He gives me a running commentary of everything he sees on our walks and barks back at the dogs we pass.
-growing FAST. He eats a lot more and can tell me what he wants. I don't know how many times I've heard "eat, eat, eat" in the past couple weeks. It's the first thing he says when he wakes up, usually followed by "pancake?" or "waffle?"
-LOVES to read. He has started to memorize some of his books, namely Goodnight Moon (he always says "mush" and whispers "hush" at the right times) and The Going to Bed Book.
-has started testing his limits much more. He gets this coy look on his face when he knows he's doing something he's not supposed to be doing, and has spent a lot of time in the time-out corner lately. At this point though, he is still pretty good at obeying us.

I still have some videos to post. Maybe I will finally get to that this week.

19 months...overdue

Ezra turned 19 months about a half a month ago...maybe I should just wait until he's 20 months to do this post. He is such a boy. This is not chocolate around his mouth...it's dirt. And snot.Peeking through a hole in the fence with daddy on the other side
In his Mavs shirt and cowboy boots (used to be Chad's when he was little)
With his newest obsession, Elmo, and his oldest obsession, "pass"
Good oral hygiene is important.
He loves his cowboy hat.
And Elmo. And Trevyn.

Sucking down a smoothie.
Month 19 was the month of the musical instruments. Ezra is a regular performer on the piano, the electric drumset, and the harmonica. Video of him playing the harmonica coming soon.
I found these cars on the floor lined up just so. It's a good example of how detailed Ezra is in many ways. He also lines up all his toys on the edge of the bathtub while he's taking a bath.

Not a great picture, but Ezra and Trevyn were holding hands one day while we were running an errand. It was so cute.
I can see that in the next few months it will be hard to keep up with all the ways Ezra has changed. He is just not a baby anymore. He talks all the time--not just jibberish but real words and phrases. He identifies so many things and has memorized parts of songs and books. He walks around the house with his hands up above his shoulders, palms up, asking questions. He puts on his cowboy hat, climbs on his rocking horse, and says "yeeee-haw!" He gives us lots of hugs and kisses and says "love you" when we tell him we love him. He is goofy and silly and hilarious. He is completely obsessed and addicted to his "pass" (pacifier). He also loves the word "no" and shaking his head vehemently when he doesn't want or like something. Month 19 has been the month of the characters--he now knows Buzz, Woody, Nemo, Elmo, etc. Now, he hasn't actually watched those movies, he just has the toy characters and knows their names. He really has no attention span for tv or movies at all. Chad and I are just constantly saying how fun he is. His appetite has gotten better and he is eating more things. In the mornings he wakes up and says "pancake?" The rest of the day when he wants a snack he says "Cracker?" When we get near the vicinity of the backdoor, he says "side?" as in outside. He loves being outside and does not love coming back inside. At night our routine is read a few books, sing a couple songs, and then say a prayer. As we start to end our prayer, he says "a-MEN" very loudly. During our prayer at dinner he says "a-MEN" through the entire thing. He is just so happy, and fun, and silly, and joyful, and we are so blessed to be his parents. We love our sweet little boy. Videos to come.