Introducing Lila Grace Epperson!!!

Lila Grace Epperson arrived at 8:05 pm last night, weighing 5 lbs, 15 oz and measuring 19" in length. Dr. Owen recommended that we go ahead and help my labor along Monday afternoon when I measured 3 cm dilated, 70% effaced, and Lila had dropped into position for delivery at my last OB check-up Monday morning. I had been experiencing some contractions throughout the day on Saturday & Sunday. Travis and I were admitted at 2 pm. At 4 pm, I had dilated to 4 cm and my epidural was placed. Dr. Owen broke my water and started the Pitocin at 5:30. I was measuring 5 cm dilated at 7 o'clock & when they checked me one hour later, our nurse was surprised to find that I was completely dilated and instructed me not to push until they could get Dr. Owen! After a single push & a giggle, our little lady was born at 8:05 pm. Strangely enough, both of my children were born the day before their scheduled inductions! Lila is absolutely perfect in every way, and Travis, Cy & I are completely smitten with her! Thank you, Lord for a quick & healthy delivery, and most importantly the health of the newest addition to our family! We are extremely blessed! Here are several pics of the events of our baby girl's special day! Happy Birthday, Lila Grace!!!










My fabulous OB, Dr. Jennifer Owen...LOVE HER!






Mimi with Hattie (L) & Lila (R)...




Lila with her big cousin, Ellie...

Hattie Lane Zant has Arrived!

Our newest niece, Hattie Lane Zant, arrived at 6 pm last night! She weighs 5 lbs. 8 oz. and is 18 3/4" long...she's so tiny & looks a lot like her big sister, Joey. Quite ironically (& totally unplanned), Joey and Cy were born 2 weeks apart and Hattie & Lila will have just 2 days separating their birthdays! Davida and I actually shared the same due date with our girls! We are so excited for Cal & Davida and anxious for our own little bundle to arrive to complete the pair for Gramps and Mimi!

Busy Momma Recipe: Cinnamon Crisp-Topped Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread

In an effort to recreate the events that led up to my water breaking with Cy, lots of walking, mopping and baking of banana bread are on the agenda for this weekend. ;) And also because this tasty treat is one of my Fall favorites. Here is the recipe for Cinnamon Crisp-Topped Cream Cheese Banana-Nut-Bread (wow...that's a mouthful!) from Southern Living that is so good that even merely baking it has the ability to induce labor!


Cinnamon Crisp-Topped Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 medium)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8- x 4-inch loaf pans.

Stir together brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture evenly over batter.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary. Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing.

Busy Momma Recipe: Awesome Spaghetti Sauce

I thought of my fellow busy mommas as I was making large quantities of this homemade yumminess this past week to have in the freezer post-Lila's arrival. Disclaimer: This sauce is not super quick to whip up. Yes, it does have lots of ingredients; yes, it does need to simmer for several hours; and YES, it is totally worth the effort!!! As an added bonus, this recipe makes a ton of spaghetti sauce (12 cups!) so you, too, can stock your freezer with it for a quick meal later...it's the gift that keeps on giving!

Awesome Spaghetti Sauce

1 c. onion, chopped
6 ribs celery, chopped
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 (28 oz) can Italian tomatoes
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (12 oz) can tomato paste
1/2 c. ketchup
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 c. water
1 c. red wine
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 c. sugar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon

Saute 1 c. chopped onion & 6 ribs celery in olive oil in large pot until tender. Add all tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, chili powder, water, red wine & Worcestershire sauce to sauteed veggies. Add sugar, 2 crushed garlic cloves & lemon juice- mix well. Reduce heat & simmer while preparing meats.

1 lb. Italian sausage
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 can drained mushrooms
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. sweet basil
1 tsp. allspice
2 Bay leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Remove casing from Italian sausage. Cook Italian sausage & ground beef with 1 chopped onion & 2 minced garlic cloves in large skillet until brown & crumbly- stirring frequently & drain well.
Stir sausage mixture into tomato mixture. Stir in mushrooms. Add Italian seasoning, dried parsley, fennel seeds, sweet basil, allspice, bay leaves, salt & pepper- mix well. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 hrs, stirring occasionally & adding small amounts of water, if necessary. Cool sauce & discard bay leaves. Divide sauce into meal-size portions for freezing.

Yield: 12 cups sauce

Lila Grace's Nursery

Here are a few pictures of Lila's completed nursery (with the exception of a missing basket and the coordinating basket liners which have been made by Mimi and are ready for delivery). We can hardly believe that there will be a sweet baby girl occupying this room in less than a week!!!

Here We Go...

My 36 week OB appt was this morning, and I am officially 1 cm dilated & 60% effaced!!! Lila is measuring right on schedule with a heart rate of 153 bpm. It's hard to believe that God willing, Travis and I will welcome our sweet baby girl in the next couple of weeks! We've been instructed to pack our hospital bags...because due to Cy's early arrival (my water broke with him 12 days prior to his due date), Dr. Owen does not anticipate me making it to my November 23rd induction date...which is fine and dandy with me (and my swollen cankles)! ;) In any case, early labor has, indeed, begun.
In honor of Cy's last few days as an only child & his upcoming 18 month milestone, here are a few things that I want to remember that our sweet little guy is doing & learning.


~Smarty Pants! It seems like Cy picks up a new word, gesture, sign, or way to express himself every few days. His vocabulary currently consists of: momma, papa, dog, duck, uh-uh, eat, book, ball, bubble, bull, bye-bye, & ba-ball (basketball).
~He can sign "please", "eat", "more" & "milk".
~Loves to make animal noises: "Moo", pant (dog), "neigh", "roar", elephant sound, & snake ("sssss") & is a big fan of safari animals, in particular.
~Can point out his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, head, belly button, fingers & toes when asked.
~Loves to sit on his Bounce & Rock Pony and watch Elmo/Sesame Street.
~Cy is such a ham & loves to entertain! He gives kisses, blows kisses, can twirl as well as "jump" (aka: moving from squatting to standing very quickly ;)
~Big Helper! He throws away his diapers for momma, helps pick up toys & put away books.
~Favorite pass-times are being outside, reading, playing with building blocks, & having fun with stickers.
~Has become a bit of a finicky eater, which I'm told in normal at this age. He usually eats a good breakfast, but is less interested at lunch or dinner. He has even turned down several foods that have been long-standing favorites.
~We're pretty much down to 1 nap a day which usually begins between 11-12 & last 2-2.5 hrs. Cy goes to bed between 7:00 & 8 (depending on when and how long he napped that afternoon) & wakes between 7:30 & 8:00 am.

All in all, he is such a sweet & loving little boy & will be a fantastic big brother! We love you so much, Cy Wesley!!!

Snack time with his giraffe...

Kisses...

Sharing his goldfish...

So funny!

Trunk and Treat...

What do you get when Mom buys an adorable lion costume for a sweet little fella who refuses to wear a hat of any kind much less a big fluffy mane??? This...


...and one more stroke of genius from Mom, I forgot to charge the camera battery prior to last night's Halloween festivities, so we only got a few photos of our very brave lion...needless to say, not my most shining moment as a parent. Cy had a fabulous time, in spite of it all, & was captivated by the spooky spectacle all around him. Here is our much happier & equally charming little guy sans the mane...



Thankfully, Aunt Cassie & Uncle TJ were there to save the day and snapped a few pictures of Cy and Ellie together.