Some of my favorite things...

So these are the things either Campbell or myself are into these days!

Yobaby Yogurt! Campbell loves this stuff. It did take her a few tries to acquire the taste, but now that she has, she will eat the whole container! I also have gotten her to eat applesauce! I know, right, isn't that supposed to be one of baby's first likes...well, not mine, it just took her a while!

Bath time! I have always loved bath time in our house and so has Campbell! It is an established part of our bed time routine and another way for us to enjoy quality time with our girl! 

Pumpkin Spice Pinion Coffee! Mom ordered some of this for Christmas after they bought some when they were in Albuquerque, NM. The flavor is so yummy! 

Jesus Calling devotional! I received this devotional from my MIL for Christmas. I am trying to be better about my time with Jesus, and this has been a great devotional to read through. I want to learn to listen for His calling. 

These are not all of our favorites by any means, but just a few we are enjoying right now! Here are a few more pics of my girl playing in her crawling tunnel! Hilarious. We play lots of peek-a-boo in it, and she just laughs and laughs! I absolutely adore this time with her! 

Excuse the hair; static electricity is killing our hairstyle these days!

Song on my heart...

Just wanted to share this song with all of you. I heard this song for the first time a few days ago and used the Shazaam app on my phone to see who sang it (love that)! I just love the words! I hope it blesses you like it has me!

Here are the lyrics:

What a Savior (Laura Story)

Atoning sacrifice
Keeper of this life
Hallelujah You are savior
Beginning and the end
Forgiver of my sin
By Your mercy You have saved us

CHORUS:
Jesus You are stronger
More than any other
Hallelujah what a savior
Jesus You are higher
My soul´s deepest desire
Hallelujah what a savior
You are the shepherd king
You lead us by still waters
Hallelujah You are savior

You are my only hope
Your kindness is my friend
In Your presence You restore us

You are the way the truth and the life
You are my joy and salvation
Stood in my place taking my shame

4 Generations

This picture makes me smile and be so thankful I have these beautiful women in my life! I am so blessed to be Mo & Poppy's first grandchild, and to have Campbell, who is their first great, and my parents' first grandbaby! Lots of firsts here (My mom is the first daughter, I am her first daughter, and C is my first daughter)! It is so much fun :) Love you all so so much! 

I'm also posting a pic of all the grandkids with Mo & Poppy! Thanks to Casey and Aric for these sweet memories!

Cami is 8 months old...

To my amazing baby girl...

You are 8 months old! (You turned 8 months on Friday, but since you have been sick, Mommy is just now getting around to writing your update)

You never cease to amaze your Daddy and I. We have loved watching you grow and move and explore this past month. You enjoyed your first Christmas this last month. You also got your 2nd bottom tooth! You have a pretty cute smile ;)

You, my dear, got your first "shiner" at daycare because you think you can do anything and those legs of yours aren't quite on board! You pull up on ANY and EVERYthing and you are a pro at crawling. Your Daddy chases you and you crawl as fast as you can while you just giggle and giggle! You are pretty good in your walker too!

Campbell Grace, you are the best thing that has ever happened to us! We just love this stage you are in. You are especially a Momma's girl!

You are a big girl too! Not sure what percentage, but you weigh almost 20 pounds (it was 19.5 when we weighed you at Nini's house at Christmas). You wear mostly 9-12 month clothes, and size 3 diapers. We keep trying shoes, but you don't keep them on or your socks for that matter.

You are eating most of what we give you. You still aren't the biggest fan of apples, but you love your pears, bananas, squash, and sweet potato. You tolerate most of the green stuff, but make funny faces when we give it to you! You also like a cookie every once in a while!

I know there's so much more, but that's what I can remember right now. I pray you will get over this upper respiratory infection soon. The coughing has been hard on you and me, especially at night.

I hope you always know how much I love you sweet girl!

-Mommy

Yummy Shredded Beef Tacos

So, I posted on Facebook how yummy my house smelled today with my special creation in the crockpot...and I said if it turned out I would post the recipe on my blog...well IT TURNED OUT BETTER than I even imagined. I was super proud of myself :) And it was so incredibly easy because it was in a crockpot! But I must say, I will make this again and again...

I always google for different/easy recipes. I came across this one. It sounded good, and I had a 3 pound roast. (I made this for a friend of mine who just had a baby girl a few weeks ago; so no it wasn't all for Jacob and me ;)) I did tweak it just a tad...I didn't have any tomato paste and I just had regular paprika...and also after I put everything in the crockpot, I covered it with a little bit of salsa verde! Mmmmmmmmm.....

So here's the recipe if you don't want to click on the link...

Shredded Beef Tacos

• 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds beef (boneless chuck roast)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
• 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Flour tortillas
• Favorite taco toppings – lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, lime, cilantro, etc.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, combine the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.

Rub the spice mix into the beef, covering each side evenly. Once the oil is hot (it will shimmer a bit in the skillet), place the beef in the skillet and sear on each side.

Remove the beef from the skillet and place in the bottom of a slow cooker.  Leave the pan on the heat, and deglaze the pan with the beef stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomato paste and minced chipotle and whisk into the pan sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.

Add the diced onion and minced garlic on top of the seared beef in the slow cooker.  Pour the pan sauce down over the onions, garlic, and beef.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours .

Remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred with two forks (if necessary – mine was so tender it just fell apart when I took it out of the slow cooker).  Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the slow cooker, and mix into the shredded beef.

Serve the beef in the flour tortillas, topped with your favorite taco toppings.  I like to top mine with fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

 I made guacamole too & added sour cream to my burrito along with black beans, pico, and cheese :) It was pretty tasty! 

I also made butterscotch pound cake...and if you've never had it, it is a must try (maybe I'll post the recipe at a later date...it's super easy)! My friend, Becky, and her husband, Nate, enjoyed it!

If you make it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

2012

Well, last night I rang in the new year with a patient, his mother, a 2 fellow coworkers, and our sweet anesthesiologist...we even had some sparkling cider! When I got home, I found my hubby getting Campbell back to bed; she has been waking up occasionally just screaming/crying and it takes a bit to calm her down. I'm guessing it's related to her teething. I guess neither of us spent the night how we wanted to, but I am so grateful to have a pretty amazing job & a great hubby who loves his baby girl so much!

We were so blessed in 2011 by the birth of miss C and a new job for J. I was luckily able to only work 2 days a week so I could stay home with our girl! We learned a lot about ourselves as we became new parents and I can't think of a better man to go through parenthood with!

For this new year I have a few goals:

1. Enjoy every moment with Campbell. I know I can't turn back time, not that I want to...this phase with her is THE BEST!!! But I want to remember and truly cherish it ALL :)

2. I want to be better with my time with Jesus. I'm in need of his grace and mercy everyday, and I want to learn more this year and grow in this relationship.

3. I have struggled this past few months with housework...my goal is to be more consistent with keeping my home picked up and organized.

4. I just hope this year brings new growth in myself. I want to become a better mom and wife. I want to quit being lazy about so many things and be proactive. I want to give everything I can to the 2 loves of my life!

Here's to 2012...may it be all you hope for and more!