Thanksgiving

Time to play a little catch up!  This year we were able to spend Thanksgiving in AZ with my family.  Most of my family had not seen Jax for a few months, so I was pretty excited to show off his silly personality!  We arrived Tuesday night, and had a blast! Jax was truly in heaven playing with his cousins and being in the spotlight.  I was able to see my friends and their babies, and spend some much needed time catching up with my sisters!

 All of our babies!  

A night at Peter Piper with cousins

A beautiful Thanksgiving day!  It was perfect, except for the fact that Garrett sprained his ankle playing basketball.  

We finished our trip with a night out for some chicken and waffles and meeting Santa!  Lolo's chicken and waffles definitely lived up to its hype!  Mr. Moomoo loved the waffles.  And Jackson's first encounter with Santa turned out to be quite a pleasant experience.

The Moomoo's had a great deal to be thankful for this year.  Adding the cutest member of our family tops the list, but I could go on and on.  I have always loved thanksgiving, but this year was particularly amazing.  We had such a blast, and didn't want the week to ever end!

9 months

Do I really have a 9 month old?  Crazy how much faster the last 9 months have gone than the 9 months of pregnancy went!  Since I'm so late with this little update, I will keep it short and sweet.  Someone is becoming more and more of a toddler each day....  Enjoy the many faces of Mr. MooMoo!  We have lots of personality around here.  I love this silly boy and his scrunchy nose, crazy crawl, and sweet personality more than I can say.

Our Halloween

This was Jackson's first Halloween, and I think I had a little too much fun with it!  What can I say, holidays with kids are sooooo much better.  We started off the festivities with a trip to the pumpkin patch with Tammy.  The pumpkins themselves were quite the disappointment, but the leaves were sure beautiful!

(On a side note, poor Jax!  I had no idea he looked so uncomfortable in the carrier!)

We then had trick or trunk with our ward.  Shout out to Garrett for coming along and missing out on the first half of a BYU game.  If you know him, you know this is a big deal!

And then finally, it was Halloween!  Jax hardly smiled all night, which is not like him!  I think the costumes were a bit much.  But he was still the cutest little bear around.

 Like father like son!

8 Months!

I said this on instagram, and I will say it again.  There is no way my baby is 8 months old!  Where has the time gone?  I'm not going to lie, this age has been pretty amazing!  Someone has finally learned how to sleep!  12 hours straight on multiple occasions...I can get used to this!  Some of his favorite things right now

- Balls!  I put him down to play with toys all around, and without a doubt, he will choose the ball.

-The stairs.  This will be the death of me.

-His mama and dada.  He gets so excited when dad gets home and we are all together.

-Baths.

-Food.  He can't get enough.

-Drinking water out of moms cup.  Yummy.

-Peek-a-boo.

-Walks outside.

-Music.

-Eating books.  Its a step I guess!

-Waving hi and bye!

As you can tell, Jax is very cooperative when it comes to taking pictures..... This kid doesn't sit still!

And my favorite pictures from the month!

(Does it not look like he is taking a selfie?)

I can't even look at this picture without laughing!

Wait, all kids don't wake up like this?

We call this his popeye face...he makes it often!

Sure love this crazy boy of mine!  Heres to hoping the next 8 months are as amazing as the first.

Sweet Pork Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

A couple months ago, I found myself in a bit of a rut with cooking.  Sometimes, making dinner every night gets old!  So I made a goal to try at least one new recipe a week.  And the good news is, I have yet to try something we don't like!  Our favorite recipe has been a sweet pork salad with cilantro lime dressing.  I pick and chose from a couple different recipes to come up with this, and have been asked by a few people for the recipe, so here it is!

Sweet Pork Salad

Pork Ingredients:

• 3 lbs pork butt or shoulder
• 20 oz Dr. Pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1.5 c. of salsa
• 2 c. green chili sauce
• 1 c. brown sugar
• Juice of 2 limes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chili powder to taste

Instructions:

• Place the pork in crockpot.
• Stir together the Dr. Pepper and salsa.
• Add the minced garlic, and pour the mixture over the meat.
• Cook on high for 4-6 hours.
• When the pork is tender, shred and place back in the crockpot.
• Combine all remaining ingredients and pour over the pork.
• Cook on low for one hour.
• If the mixture needs to thicken, remove the lid.

Cilantro Lime Dressing:

*Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites

• 4 juicy limes (original recipe calls for 2-3, but I didn't think this was enough)
• 1/4 c. white wine vinegar
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 c. canola oil ( I ended up adding a little more)
• 1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients together in the blender, and mix until smooth.  Make a couple hours ahead of time and place in the refrigerator.  Stir before serving.

Make the salad with your favorite ingredients, and enjoy!

(My salad consists of lettuce, bell pepper, black beans, corn, cheddar cheese, and cilantro)

A fake photographer

What do you do all day?  This is a question I ask myself somedays as I look around the house.  Well, I pick up the house about 10 times before giving up until 7:30 when Mr. Moomoo hits the sack.  I cook, run errrands, clean, workout, play with Jax, you name it.  I hate that Jax is growing up, but I love how much fun he is becoming!  Let's be honest, sometimes we get bored around here.  My first thought is to just run to target, but I don't think Garrett appreciates that one much!  It happens on a regular basis...it is down the street after all!  Is it even possible to leave Target without buying multiple things?  So recent idea for entertainment is dressing Jax in a cute outfit and having our own little photo shoot.  I know what you are thinking, lucky kid!  This mom, who is a far cry from a photographer, is sure loving it though.  How could you not with this cute little model?

(Recognize that red cart?  Jax feels right at home in it!)

Is it just me, or does he look 12 in this picture?

Surprisingly, Jax didn't try to eat the leaves, since everything else ends up in his mouth!  This blue eyed silly guy is pretty fun to have around!