What's for Dinner?

Going gluten and soy/soybean free has posed a bit of a dilemma at our house. All of the gluten free foods we liked, all have soy in them. This made me so sad. It was like starting over. Basically, if it is in a box, we can't eat it. We are back to cooking from scratch. Sarah also is on a high fiber diet(super hard when gluten free) and must have 5-7 serving of fruits and veggies a day for her digestive issues. I am trying new things to get in the fiber and fruits &veggies. Tonight for supper we had roasted chicken with fennel, onions and tomatoes and a side of sautéed brussel sprouts. Here is my recipe.

Sliced onion and fennel. Sauté in olive oil until tender. Add a few of the fennel leaves at the end. All parts of the fennel is edible, but we generally just eat the bulb and a few of the leaves. The stalk can be tough. Put in bottom of a roasting pan. Using same skillet brown chicken on both sides then place on top of onions and fennel. Add grape tomatoes and a cup of chicken broth. Cover and cook at 400 for 30min-1hour depending on the cut of chicken you use.

The brussel sprouts I sautéed in olive oil until browned then I put in oven until cook through. About 15 min.

Everyone here cleaned their plates.

Isaac

I will start my updates with Isaac since he has had the most change. He is now two. He is definitely living up to being two! Haha. He is a full time walker, runner, climber, into everything boy! He is in a toddler bed now and shares the room with Elijah. He still sucks his middle two fingers to go to sleep or if he is sick or tired. He needs his blue puppy and music to go to sleep. He likes his brother's Toby Mac CD the best but will take his nature sounds CD too. He is jabbering all the time and loves to scream as loud as he can if no one is watching him. He knows a lot of signs, but generally refuses to use them. He will say a few words, but not if you want him. He loves Elijah and says Elijah and bubba all the time. He loves to bother Sarah and make her scream, then he just giggles. He loves baths and I am sure the neighbors for miles can hear him scream when we take him out of the bath. He is still the happiest baby I have ever seen. His smile just lights up a room. He is a big flirt with all the girls! He is wearing 18 month clothing and a 4/5 shoe. He weighs about 23 pounds, but he is short so he looks a little overweight. He is such a joy.

Still here

Sorry I have not posted in forever! We have been busy and I needed a break. I am trying to decide what direction to take this blog. Over the last few months we have had to make major lifestyle changes due to allergies in our family. We are now gluten and soybean free. It is a struggle to find foods or recipes to replace favorites of our family. I think I will start sharing some of those recipes here and hopefully help others along the way. I will still share about the kiddos and plenty of pictures! I will give you and update on everyone later this week, but I will leave you with a few pictures!

Tree Pictures

Grandma has taken a picture of all the grandkids at about 1.5-2 years of age in a tree in her yard.  The original tree died, but we picked a new tree and continued the tradition.  While we were at her house this last time, it was Isaac’s turn to get his picture taken.  I did not plan this, but I had him in the same outfit that I had Elijah in!  Here are a few different angles of Isaac:

Here are the other 2 in their tree pictures:

Isaac is actually the oldest of the 3 in his picture, but the smallest!  Elijah was 17 months, Sarah was 15 months and Isaac is 19 months.  The tree has also grown so that adds to the illusion that Isaac is much smaller!

Baseball Awards

A little late in posting, but last week Elijah had closing ceremonies for baseball.  It was VERY hot, but we made it through his division and then headed for the air condition.  So glad they finished their games before the heat wave.  He really enjoyed baseball and made tremendous strides this year.  I was very proud of him.  He was given the coach’s award and got a team trophy.  His team also came in fourth overall. 

My Posse

Our town has a Stars, Stripes, and Squirt guns parade for the fourth of July each year.  The kids love it and have a blast trying to squirt the float riders, who are also armed with squirt guns.  Sarah did not make it to the end due to overheating, so Isaac, Sarah and I finished out the parade in the air conditioned van.  I think it is time to look into a cooling vest for Sarah.  She misses so much of the fun.  There was a music video that used an ally off from town to film a western scene.  I was able to get a few pictures of my posse.  I think on a cooler day we need to go back and get some cool pictures.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!!!  THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE/ARE SERVING TO GIVE US THE FREEDOM WE ENJOY AND CELEBRATE TODAY!! 

Getting close

Isaac is so close to walking.  Soon..............