I just can't help it. Every time I watch Jessie Anne walk up a hill, I see ET shuffling along. I now believe that they had a 15-month old in that costume!

Maggie Anne was so excited to get her dance costume. Only thing is that she will have to miss the recital because I had mistaken which weekend it was and we will be on vacation at the time of the recital. There will be plenty of dress-up time to make up for it!

I was looking for a way to stretch 3 chicken breasts and made a couple of pots of soup. The top one is an easy tortilla soup with a jar of salsa in the chicken broth and add some corn.

The bottom one is a fun African-style Peanut Butter Soup. The recipe is in our C is for Cooking Sesame Street Cookbook. Here's the recipe if you are ever interested in trying something just a little different. It is a hearty thick soup with a texture a lot like chili.

Grover's African-style Peanut Butter Soup

~ 1 cup creamy peanut butter 

~ 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

~ 1 onion, finely chopped

~ 1 celery stalk, sliced (I didn't have this, so I left it out)

~ 1 sweet red pepper, finely chopped

~ 2 cloves garlic, minced

~ 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

~ 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

~ 2 cans (14 oz) chicken or vegetable broth

~ 1 cup cooked brown or white rice (they say optional, I say required)

~ 1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken (again, they say optional, I require)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and red pepper. Saute, stirring often, until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chili powder. Saute 1 minute longer.

Add the tomatoes with their liquid, chicken broth and peanut butter to the saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring often. Stir in the rice and chicken, if using. Cook 5 minutes longer. Serve warm.

I always end up adding extra Tony's and seasoning salt. It is very rich, but we just have to make it every so often because it is so different from what we usually have. Enjoy!

My cutie with her pigtails. 

This is not for parents who would never give their kiddos sugar, but it worked for us. Jessie Anne is getting in four molars at the same time. It is painful for all of us. It's also a challenge to find stuff for her to chew on to get some relief by applying pressure.

The other day I gave her a little bite of a rice crispy treat. Of course she loved it. Today she was miserable and gnawing on her fingers (which are getting raw from her front teeth hitting them when she chews). I chopped up a rice crispy treat and then put the pieces in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes. They firmed up some and while she was chewing them up, it gave put cool pressure on her gums and it bought us both several moments of peace. Hopefully they will all be broken through soon!

This morning, in true 3-year-old style, Maggie Anne came into the bathroom while I was brushing my teeth and asked me what my favorite animal is. Dalton knew right away that I love frogs. He was trying to give her a hint to his favorite animal. He was saying it was "T-M-N-T" (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

When he finished spelling that out, Maggie Anne paused and exclaimed "A wiener!" We couldn't hold back our laughter. :-)

Jessie Anne's idea of riding bareback after bath time. 

Last night Maggie Anne was watching The Princess and the Frog with me. She likes to say that one day she is going to marry Dalton (it's what she thinks people who love it other do - kinda sweet at this age). I tried explaining to her that it doesn't work that way.

I told her that Dalton would meet a really sweet girl and marry her. She thought for a minute, looked up at me and very seriously said, "That will make me VERY mad. I will cry and scream." I told her that I understood.

She watched the movie for a minute more and then looked at me again and said, "If I get to pick the girl, then maybe that would be ok." I told her that I liked the sound of that.