A Rainy Saturday

Last Saturday, Ryan and I woke up to rain {and I mean pouring down rain}. We ventured out for breakfast, with Pop and Uncle Alan, at one of our favorite breakfast establishments, BB's, and then, since we were already drenched, headed to Gammy's house to visit for a little while.

Ryan loves going to Gammy's house! She has lots of toys {dinosaurs, puzzles, and cars} that he enjoys playing with, but they all must stay at her house; thus, he is always excited to go visit :)

After playing and watching part of a movie on TV, Ryan decided that he wanted to make cookies ... a great rainy day activity if you ask me :) And the best part was that he was SO excited about it!!

Gammy looked through her recipes {she had limited resources on hand since this was a spur-of-the-moment idea}, and we had everything we needed to make basic butter cut-out cookies, including icing and sprinkles. Woo hoo!!

Ryan helped Gammy make the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin. Then they used cookie cutters, which Ryan picked out, to make star, snowmen, and duck shaped cookies. Lightning McQueen and T-Rex enjoyed rolling around in the dough a little too.

While the cookies baked and cooled, Ryan did a few puzzles and played with his toys a little more. At some point, he did make his way back to the kitchen {though he couldn't come until he was finished with his puzzles} to put icing and sprinkles on the two cookies we saved for him. And then he consumed them {that is part of the fun of making cookies, right?!?!} ... at least the icing and sprinkles. The rest of his cookies were good as new minus a little saliva from his licking :)

It turned out to be a fun rainy day!

Baked Snowballs

I woke up this morning to find a recipe for Baked Snowballs on my phone that sounded fun and yummy!! And since my Dad and Alan are out of town this week, I immediately decided that Ryan and I would make these tonight after we had dinner {if he was good}, even though it feels more like spring outside right now than winter.

I love finding new and fun things to do and try with my boy!!

We had all the ingredients except for vanilla wafers, chocolate syrup, and maraschino cherries so we stopped by Target this afternoon in between taking dinner to a friend/having a playdate and getting Ryan's haircut. Then we ran by Chick-fil-A to get some grilled chicken nuggets {Ryan lives on chicken nuggets, which is a good thing because he won't eat much else these days} and headed home to eat dinner and enjoy our ice cream treats.

These were quick and easy to make, turned out super cute {although the chocolate syrup ran everywhere}, and were quite tasty too! I am still amazed that they stayed frozen while baking in the hot oven -- pretty cool! Here is the recipe ...

Baked Snowballs
from FamilyFun Magazine

Ingredients:
12 vanilla or chocolate wafer cookies
6 scoops of your favorite ice cream
3 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and Maraschino cherries

Instructions:
1. Break each cookie into several small pieces and divide them evenly among six 3-inch ramekins, pressing them into the bottom of each. Fill each ramekin with ice cream, using the back of a spoon to smooth it level at the top. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet in the freezer while you prepare the snow (meringue).

2. Heat the oven to 500º. Place the egg whites in a medium-size bowl and whip them with an electric beater set at medium-high speed until they resemble soap bubbles. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form (now it will look like shaving cream). While you continue beating, add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and then the vanilla extract. Continue beating until shiny, stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Now you have your snow!

3. Remove the ramekins from the freezer and spread the snow meringue over the top of each with a spatula, taking care to completely cover the ice cream. This "blanket of snow" is what insulates the ice cream, keeping it cold in the hot oven. Bake the snowballs on the cookie sheet until the tops are golden brown, about 1 to 3 minutes. Watch them carefully; they brown quickly. Garnish the snowballs with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and cherries, and serve. Makes 6.

Ryan wasn't thrilled with the "snow" or the cherry or the cookie crumbs, for that matter. Have I mentioned that this boy is ridiculously picky and also very particular about the texture of his foods, which must match up to what he is expecting before even taking a bite. Take ice cream or yogurt for example. In Ryan's opinion, these foods are intended to be smooth; thus, no chunks allowed, or he picks out every.last.one.of.them! So after he attempted a bite of the meringue, I scrapped it all off and he just ate the ice cream minus the cookie chunks :), and thoroughly enjoyed himself all the same!

Bodies, anyone?

While David was home for MLK weekend, we did a whole lot of nothing. He was exhausted from his work week and the weather was pretty miserable.

My Dad's birthday was on Saturday so we had dinner with my family that evening at my Mom's house {weird, I know!} ... AFTER I made a cherry pie and we ALL 3 cuddled up together in my Dad's extra-wide arm chair for 2+ hours and took a nap. It was that kind of weekend {a.k.a, the hubby's favorite kind}!

Ryan liked the puppy on the front of his card to Pop! Lately, he likes to pretend that he is a puppy, which is quite funny :)

Happy Birthday, Pop!

Ryan really enjoys birthday celebrations, even when they aren't for him. The present opening, singing, blowing out of candles {and licking them, as of late}, AND birthday cake put a smile on his sweet little face every time :)

{Disclaimer: This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that he is always front and center with the birthday guest of honor, being that he is the only child, grandchild, niece/nephew on my side of the family. Just saying :)}

Luckily for Ryan, Pop's birthday officially kicked off the "birthday season" for my immediate family. Uncle Alan's is in February, Aunt Laura's is in March, and Mommy's is in April!

By Sunday afternoon, I was itching to get out of the house again {I am the opposite of my husband and don't generally like to lay around all weekend}. My sister went to BODIES ... The Exhibition a few weeks ago, and ever since, I have had a renewed interest in going too {it has been in Atlanta for a few years now}. I found a great deal on Goldstar for half off tickets so David and I dropped Ryan off at Aunt Laura's house and headed downtown for the afternoon.

I felt slightly nauseous the first 5 minutes that we were in the exhibit and briefly questioned my decision to come, but it did turn out to be very interesting once I calmed down. It definitely showed us an intimate and informative view of the human body {the skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive, endocrine, and circulatory systems}, which we will probably never experience again. Actually, let me rephrase, I have no desire to experience the human body like this again, in an exhibit or elsewhere. Once was enough for this girl! :)

On another, slightly unrelated note, Ryan and I had fun using our bodies {and blankets and chairs} to build a cool fort one night recently. Although, to get inside, mine had to squish and turn in ways that it wasn't intended, Ryan fit perfectly and was thrilled with our building skills, as were Mater and Lightning McQueen :)

However, as Ryan liked destroying the fort by jumping on the outside {which was an accident waiting to happen due to the chairs} as much as he liked playing inside, it didn't last long. The little munchkin is all BOY and is so much fun! :)

HoneyBells

Have you ever heard of or tried a HoneyBell? Up until a few weeks ago, my answer would have been "no."

But after reading a rave review about this juicy, perfectly sweet-perfectly tart creation from a blog friend of mine, I decided we HAD to experience them for ourselves.

What are HoneyBells, you ask? They are a natural hybrid of a tangerine and a grapefruit, and they are only available once a year ... in January. Intriguing, if you ask me!

By the next afternoon, a HoneyBells Large Sampler was on the way to our doorstep. And the timing of their arrival was perfect ... just in time for David's visit home for MLK weekend.

Although they aren't cheap {thus, I probably won't be ordering them again}, we have enjoyed them over the last week and a half. And I can definitely say they are the JUICIEST fruit ever to enter my mouth, by far!!

I guess the fact that Cushman's sends HoneyBell bibs in the box should be a tell-tale sign of what is to come!! :)

Dentist and 3-Year Checkup

On Monday, Ryan had his first dentist appointment! It was at a children's dentist office so the whole place was beautifully painted and decorated for kids. Ryan had a great time playing Lightning McQueen video games in the waiting room and playing in the tree house. The fun ended there though. He was not the least bit thrilled with the exam room!

Can you tell?!?!

I did finally get him to sit in the chair by himself
{while no one else was in the room} and watch a few
minutes of the nifty TV on the ceiling :)

The hygienist and dentist didn't want to freak Ryan out for life so they gave him a new Lightning McQueen toothbrush, showed him all their tools {but didn't use any of them as he wasn't having it}, did a quick exam while I held him, which primarily involved counting his teeth, and then he got a prize {never mind the fact that he didn't even want it}.

The dentist reported that Ryan has all of his baby teeth and no cavities, which was great news! The next teeth he will get should be his 6 year molars and his bottom two permanent teeth. And we have another appointment in May to attempt to do a cleaning again and take x-rays.

I promised Ryan that, if he was a good boy at the dentist, we would go get ice cream after his appointment. I wouldn't say he was exactly good since he refused to open his mouth for most of the hour and a half we were there, but since he did give in and let the dentist do an exam at the end {only bitting her a time or two :)}, I decided we would still go get an ice cream treat. Not to mention, that the child was SO excited to get ice cream when we were leaving that I don't know how anyone could have turned him down!! And I suppose he did as well as should have been expected for a just turned 3-year old, considering how much even grown adults despise the dentist :)

After spending 2+ hours at Chick-fil-A {or "Chicken Nuggets" as Ryan calls it} having lunch, ice cream, and playing, we were off to the pediatrician's office for Ryan's 3-year checkup. It went great and Ryan was an angel!! I was a little shocked considering the way he acted 10 days ago when we were there for an ear infection. I guess he doesn't mind being poked and prodded when he feels well. Not having to get any shots probably helped as well.

He had his blood pressure taken for the first time {it was normal}, a pediatric vision test done {everything looked great}, his ears checked again {the infection is cleared up and his tubes are still in place and doing fine -- we will have to look into having them removed in the spring though since they have been in for 2 years now}, and in addition to some other routine things, they checked his height and weight -- my favorite part of the visit! Here are Ryan's stats at 3 years old:

Height: 41.5 inches {he is off the charts and greater than the 97th percentile}
Weight: 38 pounds {93rd percentile}
BMI: 15.51 kg/m2 {indicating that Ryan is at a healthy weight for his height}

I asked Dr. Silverman how tall he predicted Ryan would be and he estimated 6'3" {but said it could be anywhere from 5'11" to 6'5"}.

Also, I can happily say that Ryan's speech is now at a normal level for his age! Yay! We were discharged from speech therapy {on December 21st} right before his birthday. It is SO fun to listen to Ryan talk and to hear some of the things that come out of his mouth! He has the sweetest little voice! His brain is definitely like a sponge these days and he is quick to repeat anything and everything that we say. One of my favorite sayings that he currently uses is "Ah, man" and since he knows it, he is quick to use it anytime he is in trouble, to get me to laugh :) He also has started saying "It's all my fault!" and asks "Why not?" all.the.time, many times when he should just be asking "Why?" :)

This picture depicts exactly how Ryan felt about speech as well ... not thrilled {despite the fact that he got to play most of the time}! This was taken on our last day with Ms. Natalie and her dinosaurs.

I think it is safe to conclude that Ryan is a BIG, healthy, and thriving 3-year old!!! :) We are so blessed!!

Cades Cove

Another weekend down, another nice family trip to Knoxville {except for this time, Ryan came with us}!

Despite the rainy weather, we enjoyed each others company, had good food -- Wild Wing Cafe, Chaz Guevara, and Cosmo's Caffe at Gourmet Market, saw The Muppets, played in the play area at one of the malls, took a walk at a local park, and explored Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park :)

As we were looking into things to do on Saturday morning, we came across Cades Cove {about 50 miles east of Knoxville} and decided to go check it out, seeing that it was so close and one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smokies.

So beautiful!

It started raining as we drove into the park, but luckily it only rained for about 30 minutes and then stopped until we were headed back to Knoxville ... this is the little guy being silly in the car as we arrived :) He is styling in his shades and headphones!!

For a little of the background story of Cades Cove: The Cove attracted the Cherokee Indian Nation due to its abundant wildlife and good hunting. They camped and hunted in the Cove for weeks, perhaps months, at a time; however, there is no evidence that Cherokee villages ever existed in the Cove. Later, the wildlife at Cades Cove drew European descent frontiersmen {the first settlers arrived in 1821} to make it their home. They and their offspring cleared the fertile valley floor and built farms to sustain them. The pioneer's families as well as lots of new families, lived in Cades Cove for many generations before it became part of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park {around the 1930s}. Today, the Cove has been preserved to look much the way it did in the 1800s.

There is an 11-mile, one-way loop road through the Cove, which follows many of the grades and turns of the old wagon roads. Along the way there are historic buildings, including rustic log homes of original residents of the Cove, several churches, an old mill, molasses making equipment, and cemeteries AND an abundance of wildlife {lots of deer and wild turkey}!

Here are some of the things we came across on our adventure through Cades Cove ...

Primitive Baptist Church

Some of the earliest settlers established this church in 1827. A log building served their needs until this one replaced it in 1887.

Methodist Church

J.D. McCampbell, a blacksmith and carpenter, built this church in 1902 in 115 days for $115. He later served many years as its minister. The church has 2 front doors, which usually
indicates the church follows the custom of men sitting on
one side and women on the other, but this church didn't follow that custom. They just borrowed the building plans
from another church that did :)

Missionary Baptist Church

A group of Baptists, expelled from the Primitive
Baptist Church because they favored missionary work,
formed this church in 1839.

The lovely scenery!

A few of the many deer we encountered :)

Cable Mill Area

{The grist mill is on its original site, but the other historical buildings in this complex were brought from elsewhere in the Cove.}

The cane mill and sorghum furnace,
which were used to make molasses.

The Gregg-Cable House was built {and enlarged from time to time} by Leason Gregg in 1879, using lumber sawed at the Cable mill.
It is believed to be the first all-frame house in the Cove.
Rebecca Cable bought the house from Gregg in 1887.
Aunt Becky, as she was known, lived a long and successful life in
the Cove ... she died in 1940 at the age of 96!

This type of barn, with the drive-through in the
center and the stalls on each side, was more popular in East
Tennessee than the cantilever barn.

This is a corn crib -- a place to store corn with cracks between the logs to allow air circulation to dry the corn. Corn was the most important crop in the Cove.

John P. Cable, Aunt Becky's father, built a water-powered grist mill and sawmill in about 1870. The same wheel provided power for both mills. A son, James V. Cable, inherited the mill and operated it well into the twentieth century. Today it is operated by the Great Smoky Mountains Association as a historical exhibit.

There were "monies" in the wooden flume!

Ryan had fun jumping in ALL the puddles,
despite our efforts to keep him out of them :)

Mill Creek

LeQuire Cantilever Barn ... the overhang provided shelter for animals, as well as storage for farm equipment. The cantilever construction originated centuries ago in Europe.

A male deer with his full-grown antlers ...
he was grazing right by the road!

One of the many cemeteries.

Dan Lawson Place

Dan Lawson built this house in 1856. The original house of hewn logs was built before sawmills came to the Cove, but sawed lumber was later used in additions and maintenance.

The brick chimney, unusual for the time and locale,
was built of bricks made on site.

Tipton Place

"Col. Hamp" Tipton, who served in the Mexican War, had this house built in the early 1870s.

Carter Shields Cabin

George Washington "Carter" Shields, crippled for life
in the Battle of Shiloh, bought this property in 1910,
and lived here 11 years before leaving the Cove.

We got to drive across a ford on Sparks Lane --
one of two roads in the Cove in addition to Loop Road.
It is named for a widely known Cades Cove family.

Note: the historical information herein was taken from the "Cades Cove Tour" booklet that we picked up for $1 as we entered the Cove :)

Bedtime Songs

Every night, after I say Ryan's prayers, I sing him 3 songs before he goes to bed. It is always the same 3, in the same order ... Ryan is a Sweet Little Boy {a song my grandmother made up when I was a baby}, Jesus Loves Me, and An Irish Lullaby {also know as Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra}; thus, Ryan now knows the songs by heart and often sings along with me.

Last night, he requested to sing the songs all on his own so I quickly grabbed my phone and happily listened to my sweet little boys voice for the next few minutes :) It was wonderful!

Ryan enjoyed singing Jingle Bells and Santa Claus is Coming to Town many-a-times over the holidays {which he must have learned at school because it wasn't from me}, but I was never able to capture those moments on video so when he had finished with the bedtime songs, I asked him to sing both of those for me too and he obliged! I was thrilled!

So here you have it, the PRICELESS video of him singing. Since it was dark in the room, you can't see anything, but you can hear his sweet voice loud and clear -- singing Ryan is a Sweet Little Boy, Jesus Loves Me, Jingle Bells, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Enjoy!

New Year's Weekend

Happy New Year!! We spent New Year's weekend in Cincinnati with David's Mom and Rick, enjoying a great end to 2011 and a wonderful beginning to 2012!

We arrived on Friday afternoon {Ryan and I drove to Kentucky on Thursday to meet David}, and after getting settled and doing a little relaxing/napping, football watching, Christmas present opening, and game playing, we enjoyed a nice dinner at LaRosa's Pizzeria followed by ice cream at Graeter's {both local favorites}. And on the way home, Rick took us by a house with a crazy amount of Christmas lights and decorations. It was by far the most decorated house we have ever seen!

A little Christmas gift exchange :)

The house in the daytime ... crazy, huh?!?

And at night!

Saturday morning -- New Year's Eve, after a breakfast of goetta {a breakfast sausage that is popular in the greater Cincinnati area, which David loves} and eggs, we headed to the Cincinnati Zoo for a few hours. We had a great time, and enjoyed walking around and seeing the animals that were on exhibit {it was a very pleasant winter day, much warmer than I was expecting}. And what a nice zoo! The white lions were our favorite ... we even got to hear them roar several times :)

The polar bears were sleeping :(

This monkey family was so cute!

The rhino came outside long enough to have his picture
taken and go to the bathroom, and then went back inside.

Florida Manatees

There were some gross and huge insects in this exhibit!
We were all glad that they were contained!

Watching a penny swirl around and around and around :)

We stopped at Skyline Chili for lunch on the way home {yet another local favorite}, and then while Ryan took a nap, Rick took David and I to Findlay Market to get steaks for dinner. It was a neat place!

We had a nice, quiet New Year's Eve night together at home. We had a yummy dinner {in addition to the steaks, we had green bean casserole, potatoes, and bread}, enjoyed a few drinks, made snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies, played Rummikub while Ryan watched 101 Dalmatians, and watched Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve as we rang in 2012. And I brought some New Year's hats, noise makers, and party blow-outs that we put to good use as the new year approached. David and Rick also had some fun shortly after midnight, firing two shots from Rick's shotgun {in place of fireworks}.

Ryan was determined to get a sip of my juice
{aka, champagne}!

Having a good time ringing in 2012!

And yes, Ryan stayed up until midnight with us :)

On Sunday -- New Year's Day, we lounged around the house, watched more football and another movie, played with Ryan's toys and with Buddy {the dog}, David helped Rick buy a new computer and set it up for him, and we went to a party at one of Rick's longtime friend's house, the Mustards.

Ryan loved Buddy!

Racing cars with Nana :)

We woke up to light snow on Monday morning {it got A LOT colder on Sunday}, which was a nice treat for Ryan, but turned into a little bit of a problem as we made our way back to Kentucky -- there were tons of accidents including a 30 car pile-up that held us up for at least an hour on I-75.

Playing with Buddy and his friend before we left to go home.

We finally made it back to David's office safely {thankfully}, and spent the evening watching some good college football bowl games, having dinner, and trying to stay warm. It was a cold and windy night!

And now, after all the fun we had over the holidays, it is back to reality! David is hard at work in Kentucky, and Ryan and I are back in Georgia and getting into our weekly routine again -- playgroup, MOPS, and preschool.

We are looking forward to a great 2012, and wish you all a wonderful and happy year as well!!