Friday, June 25, 2010

More Skinny News

In all our recent hubub, I forgot to declare: I AM LESS THAN 10 POUNDS AWAY FROM MY PRE-PREGNANCY WEIGHT!

Whew. That felt gooood. Still another 10 after that until my goal weight, but so far, I've dropped 30 pounds in exactly one year and about 50 pounds since the night I went into labor (yes, I'm *counting* the 10 pounds lost when the child exited my body... it's mine, earned by 10 hours of labor.).

Congratulate me when you see me. Or don't. Cause I'm so skinny.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Manolo Blahniks

With the Livster utilizing her new walking feet, I recognized the need to head to a local children's shoe store to size her feet. Poor kid -- to say she was wearing too-small shoes is being generous. The wonderful ladies sized her up (a size 4!) and put her in some very comfortable Robeez mini-shoes. As you can see, they are tres adorable. Unfortunately, they are already worn in the picture because I kept forgetting to take a shot, and by the time I remembered, she'd had them for about 5 days. In child-land, this is the equivalent of eternity, so I was uber lucky they hadn't been completely demolished in the regular playyard trips the young toddlers room takes.

Anyway, I am of sound, mind, and body and am fully aware that name-brand shoes can be bought online for less HOWEVER I found it incredibly important to have someone well-versed in baby shoes sizing her. Now I have a point of comparison and am already shopping for better deals.

And it turns out, we have quite the shoe diva on our hands! Before we even had ownership of the pretty silver sparklies, Livie was refusing to wear her cheapie Target faux mary janes in simple pink fabric. She would pick up the, only slightly bigger, Children's Place pink faux suede mary janes and wave them at me, then promptly sit on the floor. Post-Robeez possession, and on a number of occassions, she has come downstairs and "demanded" her shoes be put on. While Frank and I slowly trudge along behind her, she walks to her shoes, picks them up, says a quick one syllable sound (often "doos" or "da!") and then throws them at us. On a good day, she carries them to some [probably far-off considering the state of the house right now] clear spot on the floor where she sits down and says/makes the same sound/motion. Recently, she has done this with her on-deck shoes (ones that are slightly too big right now)... while wearing the current Robeez. When we ignore her, she follows us around, waving the future fashion statement until we comment.

Frank has already predicted a closet brimming with the latest must-haves. Meanwhile, I am trying to figure out how a love of shoes is hereditary and crossing my fingers that DSW will satiate her pinings!
(Also her 14 month birthday!)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

An Awwww Moment

Frank and I are in awe of Olivia on a regular basis. During a recent trip to Staples that ended up taking 20 minutes longer than expected, we decided it was high time to buy our tot some Crayolas. We went for the big-width-perfect-for-tiny-fingers-pack-of-eight crayons. You know - the ones everyone had in Kindergarten circa 1985. Those crayons. We even let her pick out the oversized coloring book (note to fellow parents: Staples had these giant coloring books with pages that were inserted all easel-like. You could take out a page or shuffle them at will without damaging the other pages. This did, however, work against us when Olivia figured out how to remove pages on her own...). She chose the delightful Toy Story 3 book after a few minutes of our shaking, wiggling, and dancing the items in front of her. I took this delayed response, at the moment, as a bad sign: clearly my child had better things to do than color. In fact, I could almost hear her baby sarcasm in my head: Really, Mom? I use markers and paint at school, and this is what you bring to the table?

But we stayed the course. And it really was quite magical. Not in the fairies and pixie dust or abra cadabra way. Or even the Harry Potter at Hogwarts modern day magical. Nope, just your run of the mill, inspiring, stop and smell the roses, magical moment that a parent has with a child holding her first (oh, alright, probably second), fresh-out-of-the-box Crayola crayon.


That kind of magical.

And yes, the picture is still on our fridge.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Product of the Moment


Do I even need to explain this? This product was made by God and handed over to Moms as a huge thank you for all you do. Amen.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Archived

Found these and thought they were cute enough to share. The first is a picture of Olivia after she cough-sprayed some carrots. The latter is her first time in the Jumparoo! Tres cute!




Monday, June 7, 2010

Toddlin'

So Frank and I have decided that Olivia is now, officially, a TODDLER! She spent the entire weekend walking everywhere.

We find this especially awesome considering that tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of her surgery.

Enjoy!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Silent Prayers

Recently Frank went out of town for a work trip, and Olivia decided to wake up an hour earlier than normal.

That day was brought to me by the letter C and the number 0.


Thursday, June 3, 2010

Paella

I actually love paella but never knew how to make and figured it would take forever. Then, I found this seemingly easy recipe in the Dec 2009 issue of Parents Magazine. The most expensive thing about it is the turmeric, but it's worth it! And, you may, like me, discover a new spice for stews and rice. Frank's verdict: That's restaurant good! Enjoy!
Speedy Healthy Paella
Serves: 4
2 links chicken sausage (about 6 oz)
1 TBSP canola oil
1 red pepper
1 sm. onion
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
pinch salt
8 oz. cooked, peeled, deveined shrimp
1 (8.8 oz) pkg cooked instant brown rice OR 1 1/2 C cooked
1/4 C low-sodium chicken broth
1. Cut sausage in half length-wise and slice into pieces. Heat canola oil in a large skllet on medium-high and cook sausage until browned (about 2 minutes).
2. Chop the red pepper and the onion and add to pan with turmeric and a few shakes of salt. Cook, uncovered, until tender, about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in rice, broth, and shrimp. Cook for about 2 minutes more to heat through.
Per Serving:
268 calories
9 g fat
2 g sat fat
381 mg sodium
22 g carbs
2 g fiber
22 g protein
3 mg iron
28 mg calcium

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Stepping Stones

Today, on her daily school report, Olivia's teacher wrote, "Olivia enjoyed playing outside and even stood up to take a few steps on her own."

My heart tingled. :-)

Belated Birthday!

I figured I'd finally post pictures of Olivia's very first birthday. We were blessed to be surrounded by family and friends as well as to have a gorgeous day. Olivia enjoyed everyone's company and was the ham that we know she can be. And to everyone who attended or sent a gift, we appreciate all of it... our thank yous are just a little behind. I wonder how much longer I can use our new house as an excuse?

We decided to make the birthday party a Yo Gabba Gabba! theme because Olivia LOVES the show. She lights up when DJ Lance Rock walks out in the opening scene, and lately, when she dances, she dances just like they do on the show. Single? No kids? Haven't a clue? Honestly, check it out. Frank and I find the show hilarious, and the little known bands they showcase are pretty awesome, too. I could go on and on, but if you're ever bored, catch it on ONDemand or NickJr.

Does your child love Yo Gabba Gabba! as much as ours? Thinking of planning a shindig, too? Well, it was far easier than you'd think, especially with the help of the Gabba Friends website. I'm going to post specifics about the cakes I made in a later post, but this website inspired everything.

The balloons:






The cakes:










At first, Olivia didn't know what to make of the cake. She stared at it and wouldn't touch the thing. When we tried to put it in her hand, she shook it off! She did NOT want to get dirty. But once we put a bite in her mouth... look out, world! Olivia LOVES cake! Although, you still wouldn't know it from the pictures...








Showing off a present:


And tuckered out from a long day of partying:



At 1 year old, Olivia [could]:
weighs 20.7 lbs.
is 30 1/4 ins. long
says cat, dog, hi, bye, mom, dad and uh oh (sometimes Pop Pop & baby)
crawls all over
stands up by pulling on something
cruises (walks holding onto furniture or hands)
stands on her on for about 3 - 5 seconds
throws balls, even to others (or Monty the cat)
points to things and says "Dat!" or "Dat?" (want and what?)
claps on her own and when told to
dances to music
does easy shape sorter pieces
gives hi-5s
LOVES Monty the cat and will play with him and try to pet him
wears size 3 diapers
wears clothing sizes from 6 mos (onesies or tops) all the way up to 18 mos (pants)
eats 7 jars of baby food every day!
feeds herself puffs and teething cookies
puts her arms up for SO BIG!
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