Banana Pudding & Crosby Time

This is one of my favorite desserts--can't wait to eat it!

Creamy Banana Pudding

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 bag Jackson's Vanilla Wafers

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 large (16 oz.) container Cool Whip

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 bananas, sliced

--In a large bowl, combine dry pudding mix, sweetened condensed milk, 1 1/2 cups water and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and place in refrigerator for 5 minutes to chill.

--After pudding mixture is chilled, fold in half of the Cool Whip (8 oz.)

--Pour a layer of the pudding mixture in a large bowl, then layer vanilla wafers, then banana slices

--Repeat the layers: pudding, wafers, bananas

--Top with remaining 8 oz. of Cool Whip

--Chill 2-3 hours before serving, refrigerate leftovers.

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Rhett and Alexee are spending the night with my sister tonight (thanks, Mic!). She asked on Tuesday if they could come over one night this weekend, and they have been looking forward to it all week. It has been fun having extra time with Crosby this evening--it seems so quiet and simple. He took an extra long bath and had fun pouring water back and forth from container to container.

He chose his own PJs then we did puzzles and read lots of books. This is a little John Deer farm book that has a picture of a Gator farm vehicle in it. He kept going back to that page to show me and saying, "I drive that!"
This book is OLD (one of mine when I was little), but it's one of my favorites to read. It's called My Favorite Thing. This page says, "I love to go fishing, even if I don't catch any fish." C counted the fish (and 1 frog).

He is such a joy!!

We plan to meet up with my sister and the kids and play at the park tomorrow. It should be a fun day!

Monarch

This morning Alexee went out on the deck to check on the caterpillars--something she's been doing for days. She ran back inside and said, "Come look! The chrysalis is turning black!" I went out to see, and realized that she had found the butterfly RIGHT as it was coming out of its chrysalis! It had cracked open and we could see the butterfly moving around! I ran to get the camera out of the car, and by the time I got back it had crawled completely out. It was so neat! Alexee kept saying, "I can't BELIEVE we 'patched' (hatched) a butterfly!" She was very excited. I'd read that their wings are wet and don't work for a little while after they come out of the shell. Before it learned to fly we were able to hold it on our fingers and look at it up close, which Alexee loved! After a while we put it back in the bug box to keep just a little longer so we could show Rhett after school. As soon as we took it out of the box to show Rhett it flew away...of to Mexico, I guess!

It was so sweet seeing Alexee get so excited about it. She's been very interested in this whole project.
We had our friend James over for a playdate today, and he was great. Alexee and Crosby loved having company. C handed James diapers, milk cups, shoes, etc., and A wanted to try to carry him around. They all three napped at the same time! A woke up first and she kept asking if she could go wake James up. :)

We played out on the deck because the weather was so nice. Alexee played with the butterfly, and the boys played with dump trucks and tractors. I brought their lunches out to the table, but they more interested in playing than eating.

Trip to the Zoo

Yesterday R's school kicked off it's "Pennies for Penguins" fundraiser by asking students to dress in black in white. The program will raise money for the penguin exhibit at our zoo. Rhett looked cute in his black slacks and white shirt. I told him he could probably just wear a black or white shirt with jeans, but he wanted to dress up head-to-toe, including black socks and black shoes. :)Lane had the day off yesterday, so we took the kids to the zoo after school. The penguins are really fun to watch!Looking at the alligators. They're almost always in the water when we look, but yesterday they were all out on the ground.

Gator covered in moss

reptile house--my least favorite.

They're showing me a "baby" snake in the corner of the box.

Reading the map for us

The giraffes were in their house.

It was a fun trip--great for Lane to get to go with us, too!

Whoooo's There?

The mornings have been crisp and beautiful here. This morning I thought we'd go on a walk, enjoy the weather and get some exercise. I tried to convince A that our neighborhood is too hilly for her bike, but she insisted on riding it instead of her scooter or walking. We made it around the corner to the stop sign before we had to turn around and come home due to biking issues--I might have burned 3 calories. So we came back home and played in the yard. I blew bubbles for them to chase, gave them a ride in the wagon and watched them ride their bicycle and tricycle (C just figured out how to pedal!).

Ready to go!

Chasing after the bubbles

Crosby is TWO AND A HALF today!

Growing up so fast! He is such a sweet boy.

Then we moved to the back deck to play, and Alexee and I worked on an art project--a burlap owl door decoration. (Thanks, Amy, for the inspiration!) We decided to make this one for my sister.

I sketched an owl on the material

Alexee loves to do crafts. :)

She painted most of the body and the orange wings.

I added eyes, polka dots, a stenciled house # and ribbon.

I made this burlap pumpkin a few days ago. Hobby Lobby had a flyer full of cute burlap project ideas...I plan to do a little wreath next (using the scraps from these bigger projects).

Alexee had gymnastics today. Crosby got an icee to keep him busy for a while--the gymnastics hour seems reeeeally long sometimes! I think C's allergies are bothering him again. :( His nose runs constantly, and I noticed today that his eyes were watering and kind-of puffy underneath. Tonight I gave him his allergy medicine (from last spring when he had the same issues)--hopefully it will help.

About to Hatch

It has been a busy Sunday. The kids and I were at church from 8:30 - 12:30, then Alexee and I went to a baby shower this afternoon. This evening I went to see The Help with my friend, Ali. I think we were probably the only two girls in town that had not seen it, and we wanted to before it left the theater. So glad we went.

The baby shower that Alexee and I went to was for a sweet sweet girl, Sarah Baker. She was Rhett's very first babysitter, and I've always thought she was so precious! Time passes really fast...now she's expecting a baby boy. I am so happy for her--she will be such a wonderful mom! I only snapped a few pics with my phone, but the decorations were super cute--I loved the bird/nest theme. Everything looked so pretty.

Loved the burlap, the tree centerpiece and the birds and birdhouses.

It was fun having Alexee go with me. She was really good. She ate two mini cupcakes and I don't know how many hand-fulls of m&ms.

Alexee was entertained by the two little dogs in the back yard--she sat at the door and watched them for a long time. She wanted to go out to pet them, but I wouldn't let her which upset her. There's Sarah Baker opening gifts. It was fun seeing all the baby blue. I love baby showers. :)

Cute mini-cupcakes with cute bird and monogram picks

beautiful flowers--hydrangeas are one of my very favorites!

here's the name sign I painted for baby Noah

I'm not ready for the weekend to end. I wish tomorrow was Saturday and Lane had the day off!

Fun at the Park

I love the weather this time of year! It was great to get outside and play for a while this morning!

C found this little stump to sit on.

I told Rhett to try to act happier...

...and I got this!