nine months

Sienna turned N I N E !!! months last week. It blows my mind to think that means she's been part of our life for a year and a half since she also spent nine months growing inside! Sometimes I can't believe how fast this is all going by. In three more months my tiny baby will be a year old. It sometimes seems like yesterday I brought a tiny 7 pound newborn through our doors, and now we have a spirited, funny, cute baby who is curious and wonderful.

Let's see... the months are started to blur together but here are our new discoveries:

• Crawling for real (as opposed to the army crawl or dragging)
• Pulling up to standing in her crib and on the couch.
• Laughs to get us to laugh at her.
• Eating real people food with mama and dada!
• Babbling constantly
• Crawling after us when we leave the room to find us.
• Deciding when you want something and screaming at us for it (h i l a r i o u s)
• Loving restaurants and new people.
• Celebrating first thanksgiving!
• Celebrating grammy's birthday.
• (Knock on wood) you are finally an amazing sleeper.
• On the downside: first ear infection and cough.

She's pretty much the best, but I think everyone already knows that. We love love love you little bear.

xoxo,
Mama

Uh Oh...

 

Now you're all in big BIG trouble.

(name that movie)

Random Ramblings of Sunday

I love that our family all lives within 1.5 hours of us.

It means Sunday brunch with my brother, sister in law, and baby Stella.

Sienna wanted to eat all of Stella's snacks.

Typical.

Sienna also stole a sweet potato fry off my plate.

Havre de Grace on a 65 degree day = great for an afternoon walk.

And of course some instagram pics.

 

 

In other baby news, S stood up in her crib today.

Time to lower the mattress.

I pumped on the way to lunch.

Because my child is too distracted to nurse lately.

I almost spilled milk in the car.

I felt like this.

 

 

House wise, we've been neglectful lately.

Time to get back to business.

I started painting the kitchen this weekend.

I was supposed to paint it circa last January.

Oops.

The greyish blue is a big win over the green.

The photo below is way darker than what it looks like.

Goal is to finish coat #1 by end of tonight.

 

 

 

 

Sigh, don't you just love weekends?

 

 

Saturday Morning.

 

Fav foods. Fav drinks. Fav baby. Yes, yes, yes.

New fav recipes.

Lately we've had some downtime in our house, mostly due to Hurricane Sandy. Combine that with a few other life events that have had us more grounded than usual, and it leaves me with a few extra cooking and baking adventures. I've gotten back to using pinterest lately and trying to actually do or use the things I pin. These two recipes are tweaked from things I found there.

Number One: Stuffing Bread Peach French Toast Casserole
*The real recipe used texas toast but when I saw a bag of "stuffing bread" in the grocery store for $1, I figured it was the perfect thing to use. Especially since I planned on freezing this.

Ingredients

Bread (any kind really as long as it's slightly stale)

6 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

butter for bread

Peach or Apricot Marmalade (I used peach butter from our natural food store)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups milk  (I used soy)

 

 

1. Butter bottom of casserole dish

2. Layer of bread (buttered on one side)

3. Layer of peach/apricot marmalade

4. Lay of buttered bread

5. Whisk milk, nutmeg, eggs in a bowl.

6. Pour mixture over bread

7. Fridge for 8-24 hours, then remove

8. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

9. Bake for 40-50 mins at 375 degrees

 

PS I always let S help me bake. I give her spoons, measuring cups, bowls, and stick her in her high chair right next to the counter. I sometimes let her measure (aka play with) some flour or something that won't harm her if she gets a bit in her mouth. She LOVES this and watches intently when I turn on the mixer and push buttons on the oven. Great baby activity.

Prepared at night; Baked in the morning.

Mmm delicious! This was so much food. We ate about 1/4 of it. Froze the rest. Saving for a rainy morning! So so good.

 

Number Two: Salmon with home made teriyaki and sriracha sauce stuffed with cream cheese

[topped with green onions]

 

Ingredients:
Teriyaki Sauce:

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup cold water

2 tablespoons honey

5 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

sprinkle of garlic powder

 

Salmon:
Salmon filets

cream cheese (to your liking)

Sesame Seeds

Green onion

 

Sriracha Spicy Dressing:

1/4 cup Sriracha sauce

3/4 cup mayo

3 tablespoons condensed sweetened milk

 

To make teriyaki sauce:

mix corn starch + water in bowl, set aside

mix rest of ingredients into sauce pan, simmer (make sure brown sugar is melted)

add in corn starch mixture and mix until thickens (about 1 minute)

 

Salmon Filet Prep:

Prepare salmon by slicing knife in lengthwise to create pocket 

Place salmon filets in dish

Cover with teriyaki mixture

Refridgerate 30 mins-8 hours

 

Remove salmon from fridge

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Stuff cream cheese in pockets

Sprinkle sesame seeds

Place in baking dish that is lined with tin foil, cover with foil

Bake at 400 for 20-25 mins

Uncover, bake 5 mins (you can broil if you want crispy)

 

While baking, mix Sriracha sauce ingredients

Cut green onions.

Top once Salmon is finished.

 

The hubby went back for seconds. So good, so Easy!

 

Happy Eating!

 

 

 

men who respect women. more specifically, moms.

Have you guys ever read howtobeadad.com? It's hilarious. But the premise is that the hilarity is wrapped in the fact that these dudes praise and respect their wives for being moms- and their kids for being kids. I was browsing the past postings and camem across a post about the whole breastfeeding debate. And at the end, it had this quote:

You are mom enough.

Because there's a little person in this world who calls you mom.

-Andy


Well said.

Read the full article here.

PS- Speaking of a little person calling you mom... S is now looking at me in the eye and saying "mom!" or "ma ma ma ma" while crawling to me. Call me crazy, but I think my girl knows who I am. Success.

Even RAPPERS make more money than the president... that's what I don't understand

This cracked me up.

Aside from the title, my other favorite comment was probably this:
"The white house party and the black house party"

[taken from the daily what.]

three quarters of a year.

Oh. my. goodness. How did my teeny tiny baby get to be a moving, babbling, functioning 8 month old? I know, I know, everyone tells you it moves fast. But, It moves fast. Each day is so amazing because so many things are new to you. Discovery is your thing. This month, so much has happened developmentally. I can't keep track of it all.

Little bear,  in the past month you started to clap, to crawl [army style and now sort of half crawl], to wave, and got two teeth! You are also infinitely attached to me which I have to admit, is really cute. Sometimes tiring, but always cute. And you crawl to me and wrap your arm around me for a hug when you need one (you are so my daughter, mama always loves hugs). You love food. All food. I even shared a piece of my quesadilla with you on our road trip to New York. You have tried all kinds of things and I've yet to see you turn something down. You squeal with delight when daddy gets home from work. Mama returned to work part time and you act like you just won the lottery when I walk through the door. Best thing ever. You love water, both drinking and playing in it, but unlike a few months ago when you wanted to take a long evening bath, now when you are finished you reach to us and put your arms up. You're babbling up a storm and ma ma ma ma is your fav thing to say (duh, we are BFF). You are communicating with us in all these new ways. You went from a helpless newborn to a determined baby. You're my little buddy now; always exploring something new together.

Best of all baby girl, you are just such a cool little person. You're laid back yet curious. You're observant but vocal. So far, you most certainly have the best of both me and daddy combined. I couldn't love you more. I couldn't be more thankful for you.  When I close my eyes at night, the last thing I picture in my head is your smile. Life is certainly more of a challenge since you got here, but it's also so much more fun. I can't help but wonder what new adventures will come in the last 1/4 of year one.

Happy 8 months, S!

PS I wonder how long you will smell like a "baby" and if it ever goes away or if when it's your kid they always smell like a baby. I could drink you in all day long.

Saratoga Springs

Long weekend trip to upstate New York.
Survived (2) six hour car trips with a 7 month old.
Wedding number... five of the season.
Gorgeous venue, delish food.
Another couple ties the knot.
Brunch & naps.
Hiked Saratoga National Park
Explored downtown Saratoga Springs parks.
Enjoyed Saratoga gorgeous lake views.
Family time.
Tons of photography.
Lunches out with the babies.
Celebrated anniversary.
Best anniversary dinner at an 8 table, menu on the wall place, Mio Posto.
Amazing fall foliage.
Sweet, sweet vacation.
Next up: Florida in November.

hanging on the deck at sunset.

lunch on the go.

Let me touch that water, mama!

happytwoyears, husband.

*Fine, I'm 2 days late. We were on vacation.

Two years. Sometimes when I close my eyes I can imagine myself breathing in that cool fall day of our wedding. I can hear the laughter (and tears) that echoed in the bridal suite prepping for what would be one of the absolute greatest and most nostalgic days of my life. I can remember the way that satin dress fit like a glove, and how my dad's face lit up when he saw me for the first time in my gown. I can very clearly imagine my husband-to-be at the end of that aisle, soft smile, eyes bright, waiting for me to stand beside him and promise we'd continue to stand beside each other the rest of our lives.

Wedding Day.

We spent our first anniversary at Winterthur, dinner at Moro, and staying at Hotel Dupont sleeping in and grabbing room service breakfast wearing bathrobes. Fast forward a year. We spent the day with Sienna in upstate New York. Lunch out with the family and a stroll in the park where we showed S ducks and leaves and snapped photographs to preserve the memories of year two, and took a quick walk around the lake later in the day before sunset. Grandma and Grandpa put Sienna to bed, and we ended our evening with an amazing dinner at an eight table restaurant sans baby. Not quite the indulgent first anniversary, but every bit as sweet.

In the past year we've seen a lot. Visited friends in NYC and Philly in the fall. Lots of time OB's office through the fall and winter, of course. We took advantage of non-baby travel to Connecticut in the early winter. Showered wonderfully by the best friends and family we could imagine being surrounded by. Christmas had a new meaning. New life has never been such a close to home idea.  We woke up early and drove to see K + H open presents. New Years. Parenting classes (hilarious). Celebrated the idea of our niece Stella being on her way.  February 20, we learned what it means to be parents together. And while I realize there were another seven months in our year two, that moment, that day, deserves a bit of sit and let it sink in. Because, I never knew how much I would fall in love all over again. Not just with my daughter, but with my husband. He is everything anyone would ever hope a father would be. Loving, kind, even-tempered, calm, and brilliantly full of life when he's with S. And the time he puts in with her is legendary. He sees her in the mornings, he sees her at night. And if he misses a bed time, he's always the first one in her room in the morning. My husband, it turns out, is a dream come true father. The next few months slipped through our fingers. Sleepless nights, food ordered at the last minute when we are starving because we forgot to eat dinner, and a whole lot of love from our family... We celebrated St. Patrick's Day for the first time without my grandpa on hand to give us an Irish blessing, dressing S in green and hoping he'd be proud. The months began to fade and we fell back into the swing of things. Easter in Yardley. Half Marathon for J & Em. Union games. Broad Street Run. First mother's day. Visits with great grandparents. Memorial day at the beach. Weddings. Weddings. Weddings. Bridal showers. BBQs with friends. More trips to visit family. Back to fall. Trip to Seattle. More weddings. Trip to Saratoga Springs. And BAM- 2 years is gone in the blink of an eye.

I love you (x52) , Jamie. For being the best damn husband (and dad) I know. You'll always be my favorite.

2nd anniversary. Lake Saratoga.