White Chicken Chili

Lest you think my blog has turned into a blog just about Emmalynn, I thought I'd surprise everyone (including myself) with a stellar recipe!

1 onion, chopped

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 tsp garlic powder

1 can chicken broth

4 cans great northern beans, drained

1 can green chilies

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 cup sour cream

Sauté onion, chicken, and garlic powder in skillet . Add all ingredients except whipping cream and sour cream into a crock-pot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Add whipping cream and sour cream warm. Cook for another 15 minutes.

Oatmeal vs Rice Cereal

The verdict is in, our food critic thinks oatmeal tastes better!

Infection...Boo

Poor baby has 2 kinds of infections. We went almost 6 months without a trach infection. I knew it would happen at some point. They had to do a 4 day test to see if she will need to be hospitalized. For now we've got antibiotics galore and Tylenol for the fever. Lots of snuggling going on at our house cuz she just wants momma to hold her.

Free Concert

Ladies and gentlemen...the next Mozart!

What Has Emmalynn Discovered?!

Hair! She likes to grab and pull daddy's short curly hair. 

And people wonder why my hair is always in a ponytail!

Rice Cereal

So our little peanut only gained 4 oz in 2 weeks (9.6 lb) even with increasing her feeds. Today the doctor decided to have us add 1 tsp of rice cereal for every 2 oz of milk (which really is nothing and it just dissolves in breast milk anyways) but he said to let her taste it and try and eat it with a spoon (since she hates bottles) before putting it down her gtube. 

Hilarious! Here is our first attempt!

Second attempt = more success!

Back to School

Dear Daddy,

We are so proud of you for getting nearly perfect grades last semester! Good luck this semester! We love you!

Your Girls

Rolling For Reals!

Emmalynn used to love laying on her tummy in the NICU. Now that she has the gtube I think it's super uncomfortable. She learned pretty fast how to roll over so she wouldn't have to suffer through tummy time!

Jeans

I LOVE a good deal (especially on a poor starving students budget)! I got these cute jeans for Emmalynn for $4 at Kmart! It made my day. And it is blog worthy!

Whoa!

Whoa mom, what's on my jammies...it's making my eye go crossed!

Hot Chocolate

It's a hot chocolate kind of night!

Bumbo Time

Squeal

Her new favorite thing! She usually laughs (we can tell by her breathing). After 4 shots I can't believe she was still smiling! Listen close, she has learned to squeal and her pulminologist has order a speaking valve (PMV or passy muir valve) to try for a few seconds at a time to hear herself!

8 Months!!!

Bumbo

What's going on mom?!

Trying out the Bumbo for the first time, haha!

Love Day

I couldn't resist! I had to get my decor up for Valentines. Christmas came down and everything looked plain. Thank you Pinterest for the ideas, the 99 cent store and the dollar bins at Target, and my own stash because now we are ready for love day!

And while I was at the 99 cent store I picked up these fun vintage plates and made a cute tiered serving dish! 3 plates + 2 candle stick holders + E6000! Five minute project...just my style!

It's a Big Deal

Emmalynn has bad oral aversions (although it doesn't compare to others). I spent about 10 minutes putting her toys in my mouth, then hers. I showed her it was ok and smiled and sang goofy songs. I was just trying to make it a positive thing. When Santa got her a pack of rings for Christmas, there was a plan behind it! See the rings have a bunch of different textures. Textures that Santa was hoping she might put in her mouth, suck on, run her tongue over, etc. So after our little 10 minute "it's ok to put things in your mouth" I gave her one and walked away, all the while watching her. She looked at it, moved it from hand to hand...then put it in her mouth! I wanted to cry. It's a big deal to get something other than a binky in her mouth! My first thought was yay, she has something new in her mouth that she put in on her own! My second thought was dang she's a smarty! I am a proud mom! Baby steps!

A New Trick

Emmalynn surprised me by copying me! She clicks her tongue now!

New Year's Boy

My family has lots of traditions. I don't know how many still do it, but we remembered to put our shoes out and he came!