Biggest Loser - Round 2

For my Las Vegas friends: If anyone wants to participate in our next round of a Biggest Loser competition from May 15 to June 13 (4 weeks), please email me at hillershannon at yahoo.com. Then I will send you the details - we plan to do a walking/running group at night on Mondays and Wednesdays, plus a blog to help us keep track of our success, share recipes, find work out buddies, etc. Join us even if you just want to exercise and keep up your routine. Thanks!

Bounce-U

Fun times at Bounce-U in Henderson for Ethan's birthday - Matt and Claire went to the party while Miles and I had birthday dinner for my friend Janel.

Harry Potter

Yesterday Claire went over to our bookshelf and started pulling out a Harry Potter book - after watching the first movie many times, she knew it was Harry Potter by the writing on the front.

One of my favorite things is to listen to her "read" books, especially chapter books like this with very few pictures. Of course once I got the camera, she didn't do it the same, but this shows the general idea. I have two videos - the first is a quick version, the second is for those who are willing to watch a 2 minute video to see it in more detail. Miles makes a guest appearance or two - he is crawling and is pretty fast now. He also waves when you say hello to him - he will even do it if you don't wave to him first, but just say "hello."

So, without further ado, a Harry Potter reading. And sorry if it looks like this week's episode of Hoarders - our room is very crowded now that the home office is combined with our bedroom to make room for Miles.

Claire and Her Dad

Just too cute not to post - love these two, and I hope Claire will always be close to her dad.

Second Haircut

I cut Claire's hair again today - just a trim, but still long enough for braids and ponytails. I am just waiting for the day that Claire gets ahold of a pair of scissors and cuts her own hair... it's only a matter of time. For now though, cute hair and a cute girl. By comparison, Miles has already had 3 haircuts. :)

Cookie Monster

I made cookies and ate them last night, all while watching The Biggest Loser... I deserve every pound I gain!!

We are addicted to this new oatmeal chocolate chip pecan cookie recipe - I modified the recipe from All Recipes - it was a basic oatmeal cookie recipe - so good I have to share:

1 cup butter, softened (butter flavored shortening makes cookies fluffier)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats (I used 2.5 cups)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

First Swim

It is April in Las Vegas and 80 degrees, so that means we can start swimming (in a heated pool, that is). We went to Becky and Danny's timeshare for a swim - the first for Miles and his cousin Gabe. You'd think it was my first swim for how white my legs are, but I got over it enough to get myself into the pool. I love that Gabe and Miles had this "first" experience together. Miles was a bit unsure about the water at first and kept moving all around in my arms, but Gabe seemed to take right to the water. Becky and McKinley had fun too!