My Growing Girl

 Our baby girl is going to be 18 months old in just a couple of days. It is hard to believe that the past 1 year and a half have flown by so fast. She has gone from a tiny ball of beauty that pooped, slept, and ate to a very busy toddler that runs around screaming for daddy all the time, and is very much her father's child (with a touch of her mom's dramatic side ;) ). She has gone from being a snuggle bug and only wanting to be held  to being a VERY independent girl who wants to do everything on her own.

She has been in a toddler bed for a month now and had no issues with the transition. That was a hard night for mom and dad; we wish we could freeze time and keep her this little, but we know that is not possible. 
Her favorite shows are the Office and Wheel of Fortune. She doesn't care for cartoons or princess movies. She loves it when we read to her Bible stories and her night time story "Llama Llama Red Pajama".  She is very much a daddy's girl, and wants to go with him everytime he leaves. She brings him his work boots and hands him his socks when he has to get ready. She LOVES dogs, which is very much inherited from her dad, and she will bark at dogs and say "DOGGY DOG DOG" when she sees them in her book. 
She loves helping shut doors, even when it is not convenient for mom and dad for her to do so.  She loves being around people, and LOVES to people watch. We can entertain her for hours by just taking her to the PX and walking around.
 She is the complete delight of our world.  She makes us laugh, and brings light to our lives. She is going to grow to be a beautiful little girl, and a wonderful older sister. She has her quirks and her stubborn side, but all the stress of the aggravating times goes away when sits next to me and pets my arm and gives me kisses.

I know this blog is just a bunch of rambles, but I am beyond thankful to God for giving us this beautiful gift...this reward of His grace and love towards us. I pray she grows for Him and serves Him.  She is our beautiful girl, and we love her sooo much

 

Psalms 127:3 "Lo, children are the heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS:

6 large baking potatoes, peeled, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1 quart chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, minced (or pressed)
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cream or half-and-half cream
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 cup sour cream (optional)
8 slices bacon, fried & crumbled
cheese, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

Combine first seven ingredients in a large crockpot; cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours (potato should be tender).

Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soupy is slightly thickened. Stir in cream, cheese and chives.

Top with sour cream (if used), sprinkle with bacon and more cheese

Source: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/2362/Loaded-Baked-Potato-Soup124884.shtml

Amber's Note: 
 I didn't have time one day to wait for the crockpot, so I just boiled the potatoes on the stove like I am going to make them into mashed potatoes. Once the potatoes where tender I followed the the rest of the recipe. It worked out GREAT and was done in less than 45 minutes.