One Smart Cookie

Last night for family night, Justin had the girls write down what they love in the world and what they love at church. Mia drew a picture of her and Landon holding hands with a thought bubble above her head with a heart in it. Then she said she likes to sing "Follow the Prophet" at church. On the other side of the paper she started to write "MOS S WS A PR" which translates to Moses was a Prophet. She was adorable trying to slowly sound out each word as she wrote. I was amazed at my little four year-old.
So today I decided to see what she could do. I wrote a sentence on her white board and she slowly read "I am sad." Then "I am mad. Mia is glad. Mia is on top." Wow. We picked out several books to read together. I showed her the first one and she read "The fat cat sat on the mat." She doesn't recognize "the" yet, but it made the most sense so she figured that was what it had to be. I am so proud of my little girl!

Emma Birthday... A Couple Weeks Later

So I am finally getting around to posting about Emma's birthday. I have been busy lately. Her aunt and cousins came and visited the week of Emma's birthday. Her cousin Sophia went with her and they both got their ears pierced. Emma was very brave and only teared up afterwards for a minute. Sophia was amazing. She smiled afterwards. It was too funny. Mia insisted on watching the older girls get it done. I think my favorite picture is of Mia trying on glasses.

Before

After

On the Saturday following her birthday we had a party. It rained. :( It was still fun and we had our family and a couple friends over. Emma was such a great hostess. She tried to make sure everyone was introduced and included. These are some of my favorite shots from the party.

New Recipe

I have tried to make your basic crock pot shredded chicken with BBQ sauce sandwiches and am always disappointed. Then I had an idea...

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup BBQ sauce (I used Famous Dave's Sweet and Zesty)
1/2 can sprite
kosher salt, pepper, garlic

I sprinkled the chicken with the seasoning, and poured out the sauce and soda over the top. I cooked in the crock pot on low 6-8 hours and shredded. The kids ate it by itself and Charlie and I had it on the new thin wheat 100 calorie buns. (Charlie loves those buns BTW) So simply, but much better. I had to cut Emma off at three servings. Charlie, Justin and Mia all had seconds.
The sauce is very thin, but the flavor of the chicken is just right.