It's the Weekend!

The weekend is here!  And this one will be one for the record books.  Perhaps something to add to my medical chart to prove my insanity, but it will be recorded, nevertheless.  It starts with my mom coming to town for a little girl time.  She'll be here for 36 hours, and we plan to go shopping,  dinner, 15 Minutes of Fame Party (picture session), attend my SOON to be sister-in-law's bridal shower, her lingerie shower, bachelorette party, a 15 page paper, and a test for one of my classes.  All by Sunday at 5.  With a 7 month old.  Eh, it will all be great!

These are the little faces that I get to share my days with.  How lucky am I?!

Last weekend, we went to see The Book of Mormon.  I was SOOOOO excited to see it, and it was a good show.  I left a little disappointed, which was probably because I didn't realize how crass the show would be.  Anyway, it was a fun evening!  We had a progressive dinner before the show, which was quite fancy for us!  Babysitter and all!

Delicious beverages at Hearsay.  Great Houston spot!  Plus, I got to tell Ken all about when this place used to be a hot new bar....oh you know, knowledge from my previous life (10 years ago!).

This little cutie is OBSESSED with my MacBook.  OBSESSED.  She has good taste!

Happy Friday!

6 Months!

Well, truthfully, she's 7 months today, but I have never been the early bird!   Malley Grace, you are truly an amazing baby!  You are such a happy baby and you love to laugh and smile.  We could not be amazed by the little girl that you're quickly becoming!

You are just perfect!  You "recognize" people by their nose.  It's the first thing you grab on people you know.  It is hilarious.  We are doing baby-led weaning with you, and you could not be more thrilled with this option.  You started by grabbing a cucumber, and there was no turning back!  Cucumber remains one of your favorites, but you have tried over 20 different fruits and vegetables!  From carrots, apples, peaches, grapes, and tomatoes, to broccoli rabe, radish, beets, and sweet potatoes, you are a lover of food.  The only thing you're not a fan of is banana.  We are so impressed by your exploration of foods and your willingness to try anything!  As a part of baby-led weaning, you have tried "exotic" dishes, as well.

You are crawling, standing with assistance, sitting, babbling, squealing, pulling up, and making lots of "raspberry" noises.  You laugh at anyone who will stick their tongue out and make noise, and you love to read books.  You are a social butterfly, and enjoy being around people.  You love bath time with daddy, and you enjoy singing the rubber ducky song!  You are an explorer, and you LOVE shoes.  It must be genetic.  You will crawl a country mile to get a shoe!  You are fascinated by Nola and love music.  We started your new music class today and you were just delighted and kept singing!  You are starting to develop a little stranger anxiety, but you warm up quickly.

We can't imagine our lives without you, little Malley Grace!  We love you so very much!

Milestones
Weight: 16.8 (54%)
Height: 27 inches (86%)
Head Circumference: 17.5 (93%)
Teeth: 1 finally poking through! (bottom right)
Sleep: You are waking to eat once a night (sometimes twice), but sleep for about 11 hours
Noises: Raspberries, lots of vocalizations, babbling, and laughter

Here are some heart-melting pictures:

We were "touring" our backyard garden the other day, and Malley was fascinated by my favorite hat, so I let her take it for a spin!  She looks adorable in her cowboy hat!  I can't wait for rodeo season.  This girl is going to need the works! Pink boots and all.

How has 7 months flown by so fast?

Memory Lane

My best guy friend from high school, Jeff, just posted this video to Facebook.  He made it for our rehearsal dinner, and I love it!  It is such a fun stroll down memory lane.  Ken and I have had such a fun 5 years, and look forward to many more!  And now that our first little is here, it has even more meaning.  It is fun to see who she favors, and to think of all of the great memories we'll create together as a family.
Jeff was my prom date (we both had significant others, but decided to go together, instead...which was a fabulous decision!), and I introduced him to Maria, who is a very dear friend of mine from college.  And now they're married!  I love playing matchmaker.  They are a wonderful couple and great friends!  Thanks, Jeff!

Happy Grandparent's Day!

I am not sure that this "holiday" existed 20 years ago, but it is nice to have a special day to celebrate grandparents.  Grandparents are such an important addition to the life of a child, and Malley is lucky to have the best in the business!  The relationship between your parents and your child is something that you don't fully grasp until you actually have kids.  It is such a special connection.  When raising kids, you can never have too many people on your team!  It will be so much fun to watch these special relationships grow with our littles.

This is the Smilebox card that we sent to her grandparents.  I love technology!

We had family pictures done in June, and they turned out great!  Ken's brother, David, drove down from Montana to join us for pictures and her baptism.  What a joy it was to have everyone here to surround Malley!

Yep, she's asleep.  Being a 4-month old super model is difficult!

You're going to want to make this for dinner.....tonight!

I made the simplest and healthiest dinner last night.  I am a big fan of the crockpot, especially on nights when I am wearing my "Rotary President" or "Graduate Student" hat.  Therefore, I am always looking for healthy and simple recipes that my slow cooker or pressure cooker can make for me.  This one was a winner.  Goodness- it was so tasty and so healthy!  I try to avoid the "package of ranch, condensed soup, and brown the chicken first" recipes.  They are good sometimes, but overall, we aren't big on processed foods here.  And if I had time to pre-cook the chicken, wouldn't I just make dinner?  Ain't nobody got time for complicated or time consuming crockpot recipes. Chop stuff, throw it in the pool, and press start.  And then make me look like an amazing chef 6 hours later.  Is that too much to ask?

The added bonus of this recipe is that it made delicious sweet potatoes and broccoli for Malley, too!

Here it is: Crockpot Chicken and Sweet Potatoes
Recipe comes from here: http://busycooks.about.com/od/chickenthighrecipes/r/peachcpchix.htm

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs  ( used a chicken breast and a few thighs)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• I added 1 head of broccoli
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup peach preserves OR apricot preserves
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preparation:

Sprinkle chicken with salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, curry powder, and ginger. Place sweet potatoes and onions in 3-1/2 quart slow cooker and top with chicken. Top with peach preserves, vinegar, and soy sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked and sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with fork.  I added fresh broccoli in for the last 20 minutes.  Delish.

Combine chicken broth and cornstarch and mix well. Add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 10-15 minutes until sauce is thickened.

Happy Crocking!

Decisions, Decisions

Some days, we are all faced with tough decisions.  Today is not one of them, for me.  I am currently debating Malley's first Halloween costume.  I know, it's serious, right? There are so many cute ideas out there!  Homemade, store made, or begging my mom to make.
Now, let's be clear.  I am fairly certain that she will hate most costumes, thus she'll wear it for about 15 minutes.  I am pretty sure that at 8 months, it is all about the pictures.

Here are some cute ones I've found so far.

All of these images are from Chasing Fireflies, Pottery Barn Kids, and Party City.   Chasing Fireflies has the cutest clothing. Their stuff is fabulous.  Ridiculously expensive, but fabulous.  Luckily, I have a friend who loves to pass down her daughter's Chasing Fireflies wardrobe.  Yes please.

Yes please.  Does it get much cuter?

One of my favorite costumes growing up was The Cat in the Hat. My mom made it and it was awesome!

                                                         Image from Pottery Barn Kids

I would probably put her in this on a random Tuesday. It's that cute.

Image from Pottery Barn Kids

This one speaks to my alma mater. Sic 'em!

                                                            Image from Pottery Barn Kids

$60 cute?  Maybe.

Image from Chasing Fireflies

 I love this one! I give it a 6% chance of lasting an hour.

Image from Party City

 And because I like to torture all living creatures, big and small, perhaps our fur baby Nola needs a costume, too!