"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

I am so excited that fall is here! FINALLY I have decided to make time to start posting on my blog again! We love to play outside and have been taking FULL advantage of the beautiful weather we've been having here in Texas! Each night Bug, Daddy and I go on a walk to see the flowers at our neighbors house and to find a acorn. We leave them in our front yard in case Chip and Dale stop by and get hungry.

All is going great! It's been a little over 2 months since I became a stay at home mommy and I LOVE every minute of being at home with Bug. This wife and mommy thing is REALLY cool! Don't get me wrong, I love the radio thing but have so appreciated this opportunity to see what I am really supposed to be focusing on.... my amazing, wonderful, beautiful family!

Bug continues to amaze us with how smart she is! She loves to read books. She can recite page by page all the words of her favs like Brown Bear Brown Bear and all of our Dr. Seuss books. She loves to sing....we have to sing ALL of our songs every night before we go to bed. Rock a Bye Baby now has 4 versions, the original, Rock A Bye Bug, Rock a Bye Daddy and Rock A Bye Mommy! (If she wasn't 2 I would swear she's a champ at the whole stalling thing!)

This past weekend, we saw a preview of the new Tinker Bell movie! Bug watched the whole thing and loved having her friends there in the theatre to stand and watch with her. She liked the movie but Ariel is still her favorite of all the Disney chicks.

Mickey, of course, is still her favorite "friend." She and Minnie and Goofy travel together from room to room of the house... for picnics and to watch Mickey and friends on tv. We bought her Mickey Treats, the Mickey Mouse Halloween dvd, and she wants to watch it everyday. We bought a vintage Chip and Dale dvd and she really loves it. I have to admit so do we. It's funny how something so basic could be so entertaining.

Bug wanted a red pumpkin (I told her that we might have to paint one because I wasn't sure if red pumpkins existed.) Guess what? Thanks to a tip from a friend, we found one at Whole Foods. She was SO excited and wanted to carry it to the register...its a big pumpkin so little miss independent agreed to let me help.

Speaking of "pumpkins".... our second little angel is growing bigger everyday. I have read that she is about the size of a banana and weighs a little over a pound. If that's the case this is one big, round, active banana. We are still trying decide on the perfect name...hoping it will come to me in a dream like Bug's name did. She will be here before we know it. Bug got a "big girl room" makeover, about 2 weeks ago, and we plan to start working on the nursery this weekend.

Bug and I have been baking a lot lately and made some YUMMY banana bread on Monday. It's super easy to make the house smelled WONDERFUL!

Here's the recipe:

Banana Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt

We added some chopped pecans too cause like daddy says... "banana bread isn't any god without the nuts!"
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour and mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Thanks for stopping. I will do my best to get better at this blogging thing. I hope you are enjoying the fall as much as we are....I cannot wait for the leaves to start changing colors!

Hugs,

Tara