All Aboard

The book store is one of Phoenix's favorite places to be, not because
he's interested in the latest medieval historical fiction novel, but
because he loves playing with the train set in the Children's section.

The 'Ole Once-Over

Phoenix had his 18-month checkup today and things actually went better than expected. Yes, he did cry and struggle when the nurse came in to weigh and measure him, but surprisingly he was in fairly good spirits when the pediatrician gave him the 'ole "once over." Phoenix even laughed out loud when the doctor tickled him. No screaming. No red face. No struggling. "Is this MYson?" I thought. He even bounced back quickly from the vaccination he had to receive. All in all, a great appointment. He is now 32.5 inches tall and 28.5 pounds. And he still has an enormous head - 95th percentile.

Good Nap

We enjoyed some time at Veteran's Park today celebrating cousin
Isabelle's birthday. He enjoyed running around on the playground, but
the heat zapped his energy. When we got home he slept for a little
over 2 hours. This is him right after waking up.

Weekend at MamaC & Granddaddy's

While we went out of town for a friend's wedding, Phoenix had a fun weekend with MamaC & Granddaddy. As you can see from the pictures below they had a great time. We missed our baby boy so much, but we were glad he was having so much fun while we were gone.

They kept him busy-busy-busy, which is the way he likes it. He is pretty much full speed ahead all the time. Should be interesting once we add Baby #2 to the mix.

My pregnancy is going along great and the baby is doing really good. I am experiencing morning sickness with this pregnancy though, which I didn't have at all with Phoenix, but the dr. has prescribed me something to help and I am looking forward to taking it so I won't be so sick.

Thanks for checking in with us. Hope everyone else is doing well. Have a great week!!!

Menu Planning Monday

I have just recently started planning a menu for my family for the week. I am not super organized when it comes to what we are having to eat. I wanted to get my meals more organized and especially when I go to the store to get ingredients, etc...I would end up with things I never used.

Here is my Menu Planning Monday recipes for this week, hope you & your family will enjoy
them:

Breakfast Bake
Caesar Wraps
Weeknight Cheese Quiche
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Italian Chicken Tenders & Heavenly Potatoes
Spud & Salad Night
Leftovers

-Breakfast Bake-

1 can (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 pkg. (8 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Smoked Ham, chopped

6 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup KRAFT Mozzerella Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 350ºF. Unroll dough in 13x9-inch baking dish; press to cover bottom of dish, firmly pressing perforations and seams together to seal.

SPRINKLE ham over crust. Beat eggs, milk and pepper with wire whisk until blended; pour over ham. Sprinkle with cheeses.

BAKE 25 min. or until center is set.

-Caesar Pockets-

4 cups torn romaine lettuce

6 oz. (2/3 of 9-oz. pkg.) OSCAR MAYER Deli Fresh Shaved Smoked Turkey Breast, cut into strips

1/4 cup drained roasted red pepper strips

3 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup KRAFT Classic Caesar Dressing

4 pita breads, warmed, cut in half

TOSS lettuce with turkey, peppers, cheese and dressing.

SPOON into pitas.

-Weeknight Cheese Quiche-

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 onion, chopped

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained

4 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 frozen pie crust (9 inch), thawed

1/4 cup OSCAR MAYER Real Bacon Bits

HEAT oven to 375°F.

COOK mushrooms and onions in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Remove from heat; stir in spinach.

BEAT eggs, milk and dressing in medium bowl with whisk until well blended. Add spinach mixture and cheese; pour into crust. Top with bacon.

BAKE 50 min. or until center is set and top is golden brown.

-Broccoli Cheese Soup-

Large bunch of fresh broccoli (just 1 bunch)
2 cans broccoli cheese soup
1 pound Velveeta cheese
1 can pet milk

Steam broccoli until tender-run through blender with pet milk

Put rest of ingredients in blender & mix well

Pour into pan & heat slowly (stir often)

Salt & Pepper well

-Italian Chicken Tenders-
*This is my own recipe with no real measurements...just eyeball*

6 Chicken Tenders (fresh or Frozen)
Italian Breadcrumbs
Italian Seasoning, Salt & Pepper
Wishbone Italian Dressing
Olive Oil

*This is our favorite way to fix chicken...please use olive oil, it makes the chicken much more tender as it's cooking, plus it's healthier for you.

Marinate chicken tenders in Wishbone Italian Dressing for 30 minutes, if you want, do it before you go to work or out to run a errand that will be fine too...

Take the chicken out of the marinade & toss the marinade, dip the chicken straight into the Italian Breadcrumbs (please make sure that you add some Salt, Pepper & Italian Seasoning to the breadcrumb mixture first)

Once they are breaded, toss them on an electric skillet or a regular pan, make sure you put them in the olive oil when the pan is nice & hot, otherwise the breading with come off.

Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until done and breading is nice & golden brown

*This is also a great way to prepare chicken for a pasta dish...add it to fett. noodles & alfredo sauce, or spaghetti noodles & regular pasta sauce...you can't go wrong, it's so good*

-Heavenly Potatoes-

1 (2 pound) bag frozen hash browns, partially thawed
16 ounces sour cream
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix sour cream, cream of chicken soup, salt, grated cheese & melted butter together. Mix with hash browns. Pour into baking pan.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until tender

-Spud & Salad Night-

Self explanatory...Baked Potatoes loaded with your favorite stuff and a nice salad!!! YUMMY!!

Hope everyone gets some use out of these recipes, I love them!!!!

Hilton Head Island 2009

We just got back from a wonderful vacation to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. This was our second trip to the island and this year was so much more fun. Phoenix had a blast this year and was able to do everything...where as last year he was only 6 months old.

We got there on Wednesday, June 3rd and stayed until Monday, June 8th. We stayed at the Disney Hilton Head Island Resort. It was so much fun and they are a great kid-friendly resort, with playgrounds, bicycles, a great pool with slide and a nice kiddie pool. They also have a Beach House with a pool, restaurant and more kid friendly water areas.

We went with my family again: Mama C & Granddaddy (my parents), Aunt Lori (my sister), Uncle Sid, and their children, Parker, Isabelle & Brady. It was great going with everyone. Phoenix loved having his buddy Isabelle around all the time.

The beautiful lighthouse at Harbourtown

Sweet Baby Brady!

Isabelle trying to "eat" the water!!

Our sweet little man enjoying the baby pool our first day!

Thursday afternoon we went to Island Playground and Phoenix LOVED IT!!!

Wish we had one of these at our house!

Our favorite picture from the vacation

Aunt Lori getting in some Phoenix time!

Having a blast playing in the water fountain playground!

Playing in the ocean with Daddy!

Enjoying a visit to Lawton Stables Petting Farm

The rooster was Phoenix's favorite!

He dug in the sand like a dog, it was hilarious!

What a fun vacation we had. Phoenix was worn out everyday and slept really good. We made lots of great memories and we are ready to go back to the beach again before the summer's out. We are thinking of going to Orange Beach this upcoming time. We will see.

Oh, and for those of you who are not on Facebook...we are expecting BABY#2 in January! We are so excited and are looking forward to having a little bitty one around again. Phoenix has already said no to Mommy having a baby, but he will be fine. I think he will be an AWESOME big brother!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer! Love from The Till Family!!

Turn the Other Cheek

Our Little Guy hit what I consider a pretty big milestone last week - he gave me a kiss on the cheek for the first time.

He had been in a good mood all evening and was having fun playing the bath tub. When bath time was over Wendy and I scooped him out of the tub and rapped him in a big towel. I picked him up and he was extremely vocal, "Bah, bah, bah..." He just kept jabbering. Then he laid his head down on my shoulder. He was in a very affectionate mood (which always thrills me). I hugged him back, then said, "Can you give Daddy a kiss?"

He lifted his head and got distracted by the light switch on the wall. As he was playing with the light switch I kissed him on the cheek, then said, "Can you give Daddy a kiss?" I kissed him again to show him what I meant. I then turned my cheek to him and he opened his mouth up really wide and placed his mouth on my cheek. It was great.

After we put him into his pajamas, Wendy picked him up off the changing table, but he reached for me (which is unusual at bed time). I turned my cheek to him again, and once again he opened up his mouth and put it up against my cheek. He then pulled away from me, looked me right in the eye, and placed both his hands on either side of my face. It was a moment I'll never forget.