15 Month Check Up

Grayson had his 15 month check up today. Everything is looking good. He weighs 27 lbs., 3 oz. (75th-90th percentile) and is 32.75 in. tall (>90th percentile). He's still a big boy and taller than he is heavy. He is saying between 3 and 5 words, which isn't very many. However, he understands almost all of what you say so Dr. Amy is not concerned. He's not walking on a regular basis but has taken steps & pulls up and walks around everything so, again, Dr. Amy is not concerned.

* Let me just take a moment here & say I LOVE Dr. Amy. She is the laid back to my uptightness & it makes for a great doctor/patient relationship. She puts up with me calling at least once a week & always knows when to say "Don't worry" or "Come on in." Just saying.

I thought Grayson had 8 teeth, but Dr. Amy was able to see a molar coming in that Grayson would not let me see. Dr. Amy has a stick to put down your throat so Grayson was a little more compliant in letting her look in his mouth than he is with me. Grayson had 2 shots today & was a trooper. He cried for a few seconds and was totally over it after that. I feel for him though....I hate those things, too. Overall, it was a good visit. And the best news of all.....she said Grayson could keep his paci until he's 2! Since Micah never took one & I rebelled against the advice of the American Pedicatriac Association to take away pacis at 6 months, I wasn't sure how much longer would be reasonable. All I know is Grayson (i.e., mom) is not ready to lose it because he doesn't want to have to (i.e., mom doesn't want to listen to him) cry at bedtime. So, we will deal with that in about 9 months. Hmmm....I have just as much time to prepare to take the paci as I did to give birth to a child in the first place & I'm not sure which is going to be harder :)

Grocery Trip

It's not a lot of food, but I got all of this for $0.54 at Kroger. Score!

Chicken Taco Soup

I've decided to also use this blog to reflect on my attempts to be domestic :) Lately, I have been meal planning for the week. This cuts down on stress at dinner time because I already know what we are having, and it cuts down on costs at the grocery store since I use my meal plan to make my grocery list each week. More on all that later.....

Tonight's dinner is Chicken Taco Soup in the crockpot. This is a super easy meal.....and it's yummy & yields plenty of leftovers. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 16 oz. can chili beans
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 12 oz. can or bottle beer
2 10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained (I substitute one can of Rotel Mexican diced tomatoes with lime juice & cilantro)
1 1.25 oz. package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions:
Place onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning & stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Shred chicken and stir back in to the soup. Continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve with desired toppings.




I often use frozen chicken breasts & cook this on high heat for 3-4 hours, then shred the chicken. Yummy!