Just some photos...

...of my sweet baby Charlotte.

And photos of some birthday projects using my cricut!!!

She's a Girl...

Charlotte does not have much hair. From far away, it actually looks like a mohawk. But I swear..totally not lying...I am telling you the truth...she is a GIRL. I can't even keep track of the number of times people come up to me and coo - what a cute little baby boy! Even when she's wearing pink from head to toe with a large flower bow on her head, she can't escape the assumption that she's a boy. Justin says she just needs long hair. I say people need to keep their mouth shut. I don't have a grudge, I swear... :)

Happy October!!! As soon as those pumpkin patches start sprouting up I get so excited! I stock up on canned pumpkin, start planning the Thanksgiving menu, and think about getting all those Christmas presents early to avoid the late December rush. Yeah...never happens. But it's the thought that counts, right???

Daddy and Charlotte at the pumpkin patch.

Charlotte is getting so big so fast! She has teeth. Two sharp bottom teeth and she's even discovered how to bite her daddy's fingers! Her crawling keeps getting better and better. And just two nights ago, we came into her room to find her standing up in the crib!!! Oh my...I can just see her trying to crawl out in the not too far future. She is JUST like her daddy!!

We had a fun, jam-packed weekend. We hosted a mini high school reunion on Saturday! We had a mini Mexican fiesta and talked about babies!!! So many pregnant people!!!

BVHS c/o '99 (+ Kyle and Charlotte)

And since there are pregnant people, there had to be delicious food.

Steven made some yummy chicken enchiladas...

...and my favorite Mexican rice.

Ryan made some amazing beans (I was told it's just beans and lard...) and some great pico de gallo and guacamole (no pictures sadly enough..)

And of course, I had to make dessert. I attempted to make tres leches cupcakes the night before but they ended up coming out like sugary scrambled eggs. Ugh. What a waste of time. (Ivette, I need to get your recipe!!!) So instead, I made some chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and homemade mini churros!!!! So fun and easy (but what a mess with all that cinnamon sugar and frying)!

mini churros all ready for the party!

the cupcakes!

And for the crafty ones, out there, check out those cupcake toppers I made with my new Cricut Expression (it's a ridiculously awesome paper cutting machine). I even made this baby banner with it!!

Anyways, so fun! I didn't even get to talk about our trip to the pumpkin patch but this post is starting to get too long. :) But here's a super cute photo of Charlotte laughing at the goat in the pumpkin patch petting zoo. Love my little girl, mohawk and all. :)

Baby Eats

Charlotte is my daughter. She loves to eat. Like mother, like daughter.

She eats peas, haricot verts, avocado, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, her hands, my necklace...she eats it all. Did you know that if you eat too many sweet potatoes, carrots and butternut squash, you can turn orange? My sister told me that. I believe everything she tells me.

Auntie and Neice!

Melly introduced me to Smitten Kitchen Baby this week. It's a food blog about baby food by one of my favorite food bloggers. How did I not know about this before?!? Reading the blog makes me feel guilty for not feeding Charlotte pretty carrots with leafy green tops. I bought the 10 pound bag of carrots from Costco. That makes a lot of baby food. Here's how I did it.

1. Start with some baby food containers. I always have some containers of the Gerber First Foods around the house. But I also think that their plastic containers (which are bpa free) are the perfect portion size when I freeze portions of Charlotte's baby food.

2. Steam your vegetables (i.e. carrots, broccoli, green beans) until it is tender. I actually overcook it a bit to make the pureeing step a bit easier.

3. Place the cooked vegetables in the food processor (use the blender if you want a finer puree), adding some of the cooking liquid or whatever milk baby is drinking. The amount of the liquid depends on the consistency that your baby likes.

4. Divide the food into single-serve portions. Let it cool completely before freezing. Frozen baby food is good for two weeks.

And if you're looking for more recipes, I actually bought Top 100 Baby Purees. It has a lot of pretty photos. :)

By the way, did you notice that I said haricot verts instead of green beans? But don't worry, I'm not pretentious or French. I love spam and vienna sausages a/k/a potted meat.

Oh, and one more thing. Charlotte had her 9 month doctor's appointment today. 27 inches long and over 18 pounds. My little preemie isn't so little anymore. :)

A photo of Charlotte just a few days after she was born in Flagstaff, Arizona. Remind me to tell you that story someday. :)

Sleepy Memories

Back in the day, both Charlotte and I got sleep. :)





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

September Showers

I love showers.  Well, yes, I love the soap and shampoo variety for a little peace and quiet at the beginning of the day.  But I'm talking about the baby and bridal variety, where we get to shower the mommy or bride-to-be with love and support.  I especially love the little details that go into making those celebrations special.  Maybe it's the menu.  The invite.  The table setting.  Or the games.

I dream...fantasize about throwing parties that would be worthy of a feature on blogs like Hostess with the Mostes or Celebrations at Home.  While there was still so much more that we could have done for this party, I still had a fantastic time helping put together this bridal shower together with AB for our dear Ann.

This is the invitation - cupcakes and tea!

Well, there wasn't actually tea.  But there was curried carrot and apple soup served in beautiful teacups!  Does that count?

And to finish off the menu, we had...

Fruit, cheese and crackers

Crab and mango salad in homemade wonton cups.

Mini onion and two cheese quiche.

And it can't be a cupcake and tea party without the cupcakes!!!!  Snickerdoodle cupcakes (since snickerdoodle cookies are the brides' favorite) with brulee-ed seven minute frosting.

I heart my Martha Stewart whiteware cake platters.

And thanks to Jenn, we played the BEST bridal shower game EVER.  A bridal pinata.  Filled with lots of bridal stuff.  Who said pinatas were just for kids?

And where was Charlotte during the festivities?  With Daddy. (Come on, you didn't think I'd have a post without at least one photo of Charlotte, did you?)

Blogging Lessons

So I read this blog post from the Pioneer Woman a few days ago called Ten Things I've Learned About Blogging.  Number two on her list is: Blog Often.  She writes: "Consider your blog a precious bloom that requires daily nurturing.  And watering.  If you water a plant every two weeks, it will shrivel."  Sadly enough, I was that girl who killed her bamboo plant in college.  Yes, a bamboo plant.  You don't even need to water that thing - just stick it in a glass of water.  But I was too lazy.  I let it shrivel.  And die.  I didn't throw it out until it got moldy. 

Hopefully I don't treat this blog like that bamboo plant.  Life just gets so busy sometimes and it's easy to make excuses.  But if I'm gonna commit to this, I need to make a better effort.  So I'm sorry for abandoning you for the past few weeks.  But I'm back.  And I have watering can in hand.

Charlotte is growing up so fast. 

She's starting to crawl and really does improve every day.  She went after my chicken taquitos today.  I put the plate on the floor to get a glass to water.  By the time I turned around, she was trying to eat a taquito.  Smart little girl.

 
She has friends.  I didn't have friends until I went to kindergarten!  I thought everyone in the world was a cousin of some form.  And everyone spoke Vietnamese except for Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Here she is just hanging out with her buddy! 

She can go grocery shopping.  We took her to Dudleys Bakery a few weekends ago for some tastilicious bread.  She grabbed a loaf of jalapeno cheddar from the shelf and wouldn't let go. 

She can hold onto a cup, kindove. 

And most importantly, her hair is growing...out.  My little girl has a mohawk.  So proud.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!  I love you so much.  As soon as you walk into the room, I turn my head to see your smile.  I love it when you tickle me and when you throw me up in the air.  You're the best at changing my poopy diaper and tucking me into bed.  I love you and I can't wait until I can eat birthday cake.  Maybe next year.