What's in a name?

Apparently a lot. We have gone back and forth between two names and now we are ready for some input.  Keep in mind, this is just input, no guarantees. We may get 100 votes for one name and still pick the other, but at least we will know all the opinions! And then when our daughter grows up and hates her name, she can say, "You should have listened to your friends!"

So let us know what you think :)


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Gingerbread Men!

Nanna took Anna Grace for the morning so Santa could finish up her to- do's. They took Macy to the park, stopped in at Starbucks for some "coppee" and decorated Gingerbread Men!

It's About Time

Months and months later, I finally ordered our CD of Anna Grace's bluebonnets and pumpkin patch photo shoots. The wonderful Erin Mueller, of Brooke Shelby Photography took them and we couldn't be happier! Here are my favorites:

Christmas Treats

We have been up to a lot lately! Anna Grace has been busy busy making treats for all of her friends and family. She made delicious coffee spoons. And when I say "make" she really did most of the work. She dipped, sprinkled, wrapped and stamped! I twisted the twisty ties and wrote names (and supervised the sugar intake) but that was it!

Later this week, Nanna is coming over to start their yearly tradition of decorating gingerbread houses. I'll post pictures of the masterpieces when they are finished.

Hot off the Press!

Check out our model! Anna Grace did a photo shoot last January for the December issue of Suburban Parent and it was just printed yesterday! No, she didn't get paid, and yes, it's a free magazine...but I'm still SOO EXCITED!!

For pictures of the photo shoot you can check out Shelbi's Blog post about it here.

We also had some family pictures taken last week and you can see our slideshow on the link below through December 10th. Hopefully we will get some Christmas Cards out this year... but no promises.

http://hjayroe.photobiz.com/viewing/?slideshowID=113119

If you want a copy of her cover, I have 40 left or you can get one at the Library or Kroger's!

27 Weeks

We are moving right along! I feel the baby moving all the time now. She especially likes the music in Burlesque and cold drinks. She's not a fan of being tumped over when I switch from side to side at night. We still haven't picked a name. I repeat, we STILL haven't picked a name. I promise we aren't holding out on you. As SOON as we decide, we will make sure everyone gets the memo. Until then, Baby Gauntt works just fine.

In other news, Anna Grace had her very first ponytail! It was so cute! I got closer to tears with this than any of her other milestones. She is truly looking like a sweet little kid instead of a baby. This is the only pic of the ponytail because she promptly took it out, but we will try again in a few days.

Easy Peasy

Easy Peasy Beef Stew

Well, I promise this isn't turning into a recipe blog, but my main writing topic is very under the weather and we haven't done anything worth photographing or even mentioning, unless of course you are into boogers and Barney.

I adapted this recipe from my Mother in Law's recipe. It was already a delicious and easy one but I thought I'd give it a try in the crock-pot, and boy does that make everything easier!

Here goes:

1 64oz. bottle of V8 Juice

1 24oz. Veg-All canned veggies (I used a smaller can and added baby carrots, chopped celery and onions that I had previously chopped and froze, and a potato.)

1 pkg. Lipton Onion Soup Mix or McCormick's Beef Stew mix

2 lbs. beef stew meat

Throw it all in the crock-pot for 4 hours on high or 8 on low. Ta-da! Now if you want to go even further in the easy category you should invest in these:

There was a coupon in last week's SS for $1.00 off making these $.92 a box. With 4 in a box, that means it only costs 23 cents not to do the dishes! Well worth it if you ask me! And to get over the guilt factor from adding more trash that's not recyclable, I am investing in these:

You can order these on Etsy here. What a great idea! I LOVE my Swiffer, but hate throwing away the mop part every time. Since I won't be throwing out my mop heads, I think the net effect from the liners will be zero.

Too Much Basil??

I'll show you my garden in another post, but let's just say my thumb is much greener than I ever expected. I "gave up" on my garden in the middle of the summer. With 100+ degree weather and being newly preggo, there was just no way I was going to stand in that heat to water my plants. I thought surely they would all just die and I wouldn't have to worry about them. Well, my basil showed me...

Yea, that's all basil, and it is not a plant that comes back every year. I had started a lot of seeds expecting most of them to die, but no such luck. What are you supposed to do with all of that basil?

Make Pesto! It was actually much easier that I expected and you only need three ingredients. First, clip some basil. You are going to need two cups packed down which starts off looking like a ton.

Then wash, dry and pick all the leaves off the stems. Combine the leaves with 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/3 cup pine nuts in your food processor. (I used my mini one and had to split the amounts in half.)

Since it makes so much, I busted out AG's baby food kit and put it in the compartments to freeze. Then all you have to do is pop one out and melt on your pasta or salmon and add some parmesan cheese.

Ta da! If you have a picky husband, I recommend not showing him the sauce at this stage. Wait until it's actually in the pasta or he may not want to try it.

Perfection has Passed...

While it's too early to complain, let's just say the bump doesn't feel so perfect anymore. Baby #2 has been moving and grooving all day long. Minus a few mild complaints, everything is going great. I have an appt. this Thursday and will do my Blood Glucose Test. I think I'm the only one who actually likes the taste of the drink.

I think the best thing about this fashion season is leggings. If you haven't invested in a pair yet, you are missing out. And if you happen to get a maternity pair, they are even better!

Spots Are Overrated...

Or are they? Well, apparently Lady Bug Spots are not nearly as exciting as I thought. While Halloween was wonderful, miss Anna Grace decided she did not want to participate in the costume wearing extravaganza.

On the other hand, Giraffe Spots are GREAT!

Saturday Morning we took our first trip to the Dallas Zoo and it was a hit! The giraffes and Lions stole the show. In the new addition to the Zoo, "The African Savannah", you can even feed the giraffes! Next time we might sneak in our own lettuce.

Staring at the Lions. Roarr!

Check out the giraffe's on her outfit!

This is a little sheep made out of pumpkins and veggies. Isn't he cute?

After a nice nap, we headed over to Cici and Pops' house for a block party filled with treats, a bounce house and even the Fire Truck!

Saturday evening was Shelbi's birthday/Halloween/Ranger's game watching party. It was amazing! The decor was like out of a magazine. You can check out more pictures on her blog's here and here. Below are the boys dressed as Wiggles. Anna Grace didn't even care.

Sunday morning we went to a Halloween "Boo" brunch hosted by the Blackwell's. It was so much fun to see sooo many tiny costumes! Anna Grace might not have worn hers, but she sure loved seeing all of the other ones. To see more of the cuteness check out their blog here.

Sunday evening we hosted out 2nd Annual Halloween Block Party and it was a success! It is great to mingle with all of the neighbors before the trick-or-treating starts. I made chili, Aaron grilled some hot dogs and everyone else brought a side or treat to share.

The Goblin cheeseball my creative momma made.

All in all, it was a great weekend filled with lots of fun, family, friends and food! What more could you ask for?

My Husband is Better Than Yours...

Yea you read that right. While I am thankful everyone else seems to share the same opinion that their husband is the best one, (especially after you've just hung out with a bunch of other couples and you wonder how those girls put up with some of those boys), I actually have proof that mine tops the charts.

Exhibit A

This was our study/playroom before.

Exhibit B

My Craigslist finds that my husband so lovingly went, purchased, loaded and unloaded without any help from me.

Exhibit C

And while your husbands were sitting around watching the Rangers, my hubby was painting furniture for me! (Ok, so he might have watched a little Rangers too... but it all got done.)

I think most husbands would have said wait till your not pregnant and paint it yourself, but Aaron did it with a smile!

PS~ My dad gets some credit here too. He spent the afternoon helping. This however, puts him in the "My Dad is Better Than Yours" category, so they each win. Thanks dad!

The Perfect Bump- 22 weeks

It only lasts a short time, but right now the bump is perfect! We are past the "hey have you been eating at Fat Daddy's alot?" stage and aren't quite to the "Oh no, please don't let her get on THIS elevator!" stage. People are actually comfortable asking if I'm pregnant but aren't fearful that they may have to catch the baby if my belly busts.

We have lots coming up this weekend with Halloween approaching. Anna Grace can't wait for everyone to see her costume! She wants to keep it a surprise, but I'll give you a hint: It's got spots.

Picture Project

Here are some family pictures that our good friend Sue Shibley took for her photography class. It's been a while since I've had to help or do homework, but it was really fun! Thank you Sue, they are beautiful!