Happy Birthday To Me!

This past Sunday my sister and I turned 28! OMG, almost 30! This birthday was particularly special because we got to share it together which doesn't happen very often. Jamie, Jason, Jackson, and my parents came in town Thursday evening, and Friday morning we headed to Fredericksburg and left the little ones with grandma and grandpa. We had a great time wine tasting, eating, and of course, shopping. 

This is the only picture I was able to take before my camera died :(




I recharged it once we got home and these are pictures from Sunday Brunch at Jack Allen's Kitchen

11 months

Another month has gone by and Taylor is now 11 months! One new thing she has started doing is pointing. I'll ask her where something is and she points to it. New things she loves this month are her shoes. I'll ask her, "Where's Taylor's shoes" and she will crawl over to the stairs (where I keep them) and try and grab them through the baby gate. Such a smart girl!

Here are the usual pics, but I think I'm going to have to change things up soon. I always take pictures when she wakes up from her nap, but her hair gets so messy! I fixed it as best I could before snapping these photos. I should have taken a before pic because it was hilarious. Imagine a big ratted mess on top of her hair and her little vampire smile staring back at you! So cute!

Do you see the vampire teeth in this picture??? The middle teeth still haven't made an appearance... I'm starting to get worried!

Soup for the Soul

Nothing warms the soul on a cold dreary day better than a warm bowl of soup. I started looking at things leftover in the fridge that I never got around to cooking and wondered what I could make with them. I had a bunch of leeks, a 5 lb bag of potatoes, some parmigiano reggiano, whole milk and thought... SOUP!!! I started looking around online for a potato and leek soup recipe and they all required things I did not have on hand, so I made up my own. Now I don't really measure when I'm cooking (unless I'm baking of course!) so some of my measurements aren't precise. Add a little this, a little that, you get the idea, and the end product was nothing short of amazing!

I know the picture sucks! We already ate when I realized I hadn't taken a photo yet!

Easy Potato Leek Soup

3 leeks, chopped, white and light green parts only

2 lbs potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1in cubes

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

1 qt chicken stock

1/2 c or more grated parmigiano reggiano

1/2 c or more whole milk, or whatever you have on hand (heavy cream would be great)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes and leeks on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Toss to cote. Bake 45 minutes, tossing once. Set aside. In the meantime, grate parmesan cheese (I used my food processor). Set aside. In a large pot warm up 1/2 or so of the chicken stock. Place half of the potato leek mixture in the food processor when half of the remaining chicken stock. Blend until mixture is smooth. Add to pot. Repeat with remaining potato mixture and chicken stock. Once everything is in the pot stir in mild. I did not measure, rather poured in until the consistency was to my liking. About half a cup or so. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper, and enjoy!

Halloween Fun

Having a kid makes Halloween so much more fun! For Taylor's first Halloween I hosted a small party for a few neighborhood friends. We ate chili, had cupcakes, and did a little trick or treating. All in all it was a great night shared with great friends! Unfortunately none of the pictures we took of all the kids together turned out :( Someone please email some to me!

Here are some pictures of the party scene!

Wonderful Chocolate Cupcakes (for the recipe visit Glorious Treats)

Cupcake Toppers from The TomKat Studio

Homemade Sugar Cookies (also from Glorious Treats)

With Wilton's Royal Icing Recipe

Here's a closer look at the cookies pre-packaging

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes (recipe from Whole Foods, I didn't use the icing suggested)

Homemade Chili (Whitney's wonderful recipe)

And the cutest Pebbles you've ever seen!

I joined in on the fun as well

Out of the 2 family photos, this was the best... I would also like to point out that I was the only one who could hold still for a photo!

Daddy and Jordan decided pushing Taylor in the stroller would be a good idea

Can you tell why?

Someone was having fun!

We really had a wonderful Halloween and are so thankful to spend it with such great friends... Looking forward to next year!

Baby Steps

About 2 weeks ago Taylor took her first steps! I've had trouble uploading this video until now, so I need to preface with a few things. First off, earlier in the day I could get Taylor to take, 1, maybe 2 steps. When Paul got home I told him to video her and it seems that as soon as we turned the camera on, so did she! Take a look... it's soooooo cute!

Taylor is still taking a few steps here and there but prefers crawling. I know it's just a matter of time before those little legs start running..... and I'll be right behind..... chasing her! 

Black Eyes, Bruises, & Scratches

Poor Taylor has taken a beating lately! First she threw her face into the table at a friends house and gave herself a black eye!

Totally her fault, right?!?

 Well the next one is totally my fault! We were headed out for a walk and I put Max's leash on the handle bar to Taylor's stroller so I could go press the button to close the garage. I hadn't strapped Taylor in yet, and I thought I had both brakes on (but only one was on), I turned around just in time to see Max pull hard and the stroller fall over! I was running but there was no way I was going to reach her. She hit her head on the concrete and cried for 5 minutes! The bump showed up right away but began to fade by the next... thank goodness!

I didn't notice at the time, but she also scraped her belly as well. Daddy found it once he got home from work.

I'm such a bad mommy! Taylor recovered quickly from the whole ordeal and we took her for ice cream to tell her how sorry I was!

This bite was a little too cold!

10 Months

Another month has gone by faster than the blink of an eye and Taylor is growing more and more every minute. She now bangs her head on the kitchen table because she is so tall, eats fallen food off her high chair, stands for long periods without holding on, and is in constant pain from teething! She loves her bunny blanket and must have it to fall asleep. If food tastes sweet, she likes it. She screams for more yogurt and cries hysterically when it's all gone. She loves daddy, bites mommy, recently gave herself a black eye and finds joy in playing with empty water bottles. Feeding Max is very entertaining, diaper changes can unleash a tantrum, yo gabba gabba gets a smile every time, and those big blues keep melting my heart.
Another month has gone by and each day I love her more.
Happy 10 months Taylor!!!