life with my three year old.

Man, try to describe a three year old... they are equal parts hilarious and aggravating, loving and mutinous, surprising and predictable. And so fun.
Lee is becoming so capable and understands so much more, one of the things I love very most is the "grown up" conversations we have sometimes now.

 Lee still takes in and remembers almost everything he hears.
He loves tools, cars, monster trucks and trains. And he really really loves fruit snacks.
He wants to do EVERYTHING his Papa does.
"I'm fixing things Momma" is a frequently used excuse for why it just can't be bedtime yet.  "I'm busy Momma"  and "I'm a growin' boy" are a couple favorite phrases.
He is at that stage of taking on commonly heard phrases, and it cracks me up and keeps me checking myself.

Lee loves to learn, and has gone from hysterics when it was time to go to Preschool to being pretty bummed he doesn't get to go everyday.
He has learned to overcome so many fears this last year.

Lee is so enthusiastic about things, fun activities, new information, a bug, a leaf, Papa coming home, a new lunch item or when sister smiles at him or holds his hand (he is a sucker for his sister)... he's often heard to say, "Momma I'm so 'cited!"

Lee is one particular boy.
He likes to use a napkin to eat  "dirty" things like crackers, and a fork for things like chicken nuggets and pizza. He doesn't like it if I try to let him run around in just a shirt and underwear before bath-time, "put my pants on Momma." He likes to have his pillows arranged just so and organizes his fruit snacks by color and eats the orange ones last.

Lee is so aware of feelings.
He will often sense when I'm stressed and frequently asks, "Momma, you frustrated?" Or on our way to preschool in the morning at a busy 4 way stop when people kind of just go when they please, he'll ask, "people not 'beying the law?"

This Lee boy will have a special place in my heart always as the first miracle baby I never thought I'd have and he continues to fill my life with happiness and contentment (most of the time, being a real child and all).
He has a sensitive little heart of gold and I will miss it when he doesn't ask to give me kisses anymore or quietly say a little unsolicited "I love you Momma" as he plays near me.
I sure love my "growin' boy".

a bit of comfort food: tasty light mac n' cheese

Our boys LOVE pasta, but we honestly don't cook it all that much.  Lately we've been trying to add it into our menus every once in a while and today I made this recipe. It didn't get all rave reviews but that was mostly because people wanted a delicious mac n' cheese for zero calories...ha.  Like I said, the occasional comfort food. Though this recipe is lighter than some.

I tweaked it a bit (based on personal preferences and what I had in the house). I thought it had a subtle creamy deliciousness and it's super quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:
Kosher salt
12 ounces large elbow macaroni
1 tbsp salted butter
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
4-6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 cup skim milk
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
2/3 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
2/3 cup mixed cheese, grated
3 tbsp pecorino romano cheese, grated
black pepper
2 tsp greek oregano or Italian blend spices
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook according as instructed. When it's cooked through, save 3/4 cup of the cooking water then drain the pasta, set aside.
2. In the pot melt the butter, add chopped shallot and minced garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the flour and mustard powder and stir until golden brown.
4. Whisk in milk and cooking water until thick, about 2 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to medium and add the yogurt, mozzarella and mixed cheeses and 1 tbsp of the pecorino romano cheese, whisk until melted.
6. Add the pasta back into the dish, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and oregano or Italian spices. Preheat broiler.
7. After pasta is thoroughly covered in the sauce, transfer to a baking dish, top with remaining pecorino romano and chopped parley and broil on high until golden brown on top and bubbling, about 2 minutes.
ENJOY!

three for lee.

Lee was excited for his birthday for at least six months before it happened. I made a little goal to do a bit more to make him feel special and celebrated on his special day. I haven't been great at birthday celebrations in the past and I knew that he was old enough to be very excited about every little detail.  And boy, was he ever, it about killed him to wait ALL DAY to eat his choo choo birthday cake.

I asked Lee what kind of birthday he wanted and he said, "choo choo trains" so, that's what I based everything on.  I had some church obligations and other responsibilities so I knew I would still want to keep things simple for his birthday but it was admittedly fun to take some time to do a bit more to celebrate.

I made my first ever real layer cake which was both fun and a bit tense (especially when the first two layers got stuck in the pans at about 11 at night...) It was far far from perfectly executed but it was fun to try something new and the recipes I used were quite delicious too.

We had a great time celebrating our favorite first born and I loved his pure excitement about every little thing throughout the day.

We love you our sweet 3 year old boy!