Try this. You'll love it.

We are very blessed to have found a great church home with friends that just kind of came with the package.  Our community group tries to get together as much as we can.  This week we had family dinner and we volunteered to host.  I made the decision I would try and make baked ziti.  I had never tried it before and figured friends were the best guinea pigs so I went for it.  I found a really easy recipe here but I'll lay it out for you after the pictures too.  We had a great time and everybody loved it.  Even Josh, who I call (lovingly), my toughest critic.  And of course Teagan chowed down, ate more then I did and had a ziti grin from ear to ear.  I didn't take a picture. Fail.  

But I did manage a picture of the finished product before we chowed down! We also had a great home-grown lettuce salad that almost looked too fresh and green to eat!

Ingredients


1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I left this out. I hate sour cream. Not really sure what the point was but it was great without it)
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I used more and just sprinkled as much as I wanted on the top)


Directions


1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2.In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4.Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Dearest Teagan

Dearest Teagan,

Wow, kiddo! You are just taking off!  Since Saturday your 3 usual words have seemed to disappear after the verbal floodgates came crashing down!  You are talking nonstop now and your daddy and I love it! Your BFF Matilda was saying "that" (dat) yesterday and you came home saying it.  You two are hilarious! I hope you will continue to be friends for a long time!
You are walking all over the place and actually prefer it to crawling now.  You try to run but sometimes your head tries to get there before your legs and you topple over!  You've also started climbing.  Basically anything you can get a leg up on is fair game.  The dishwasher is a favorite of yours, the stool that (was) in your room, a chair, your rocking cow.  It's pretty funny to watch but I'm getting anxious for that first official tumble. 
You know a lot of your body parts now.  Your "belly, belly", your feet, ears & eyes.  We are still working on your nose.  You know what I'm asking for when I ask for specific items like shoes (and you can almost put them on by yourself, velcro and all!), socks, diaper, coat, gorilla, baby, ball, book, etc.  You know the other kids in your class and point to them when I ask you where they are. 
You are about 23-24 lbs now and still just under 30 inches long.  Just about ready for that new carseat but luckily you are still rear facing and will be until it's not comfortable for you.  What can I say? Mommy is a bit of a worry wart!
My sweet girl, you are such an amazing part of our lives.  We are thankful for you every single day.  The Lord truly blessed us when he allowed us to be vessels for his miracle that is you. 

Love Always & Forever,
Mommy

Teagan & Matilda

Teagan and Matilda go to school together.  They've basically been together since day one (give or take a few days).  They've rolled over within days of each other. They've stood up within days of each other. They took their first step within days of each other.  They have both been the smallest babies for a while.  They both love shoes. They both have the cutest smile. Matilda has more hair then Teagan and Teagan is starting to increase the height gap between them.  They've started looking for each other in the mornings and can't seem to understand why the other isn't there if somebody is running late.  Another special thing they share is their birthday.  Sweet huh?
The only problem was...the birthday parties. 
Matilda's mom and I didn't want either one of them to miss the other's birthday party. After all, they turned ONE and it wasn't their fault they were born on the same day! So, Matilda's party was at 11:30 and Teagan's was at 2:00.  We made the trek to Matilda's house and back in time for Teagan's party and Matilda & her mom made the trek to Teagan's b'day party after Matilda's was over. 

Here are some pictures from Matilda's party: