The Newest Member of our Family...

Here are a few hints...
and no I am not pregnant! ha!







and here she is.. our coonhound.. Laney..




I have to admit, I was not crazy about the idea of a dog, but she is very sweet and good natured. Most of all, she is so great with Samantha, which is the most important thing.



She actually got here last Sunday 8/22/10. But we wanted to keep it a secret from Pa-Paw and Baka before they visited us this weekend. Overall, she is a pretty low key... quiet, lazy dog.. which I also like! ..

Will post more pics and updates soon!

Its been a hot summer.. and some days... SJ's hair looks like this.. so curly and full of body if I do say so myself. I think she's gonna have her Momma's horse hair... sorry Bubba!. Its a good thing but it can be hot in the summer for sure.




Then she started getting silly.. climbing in and out of her Bumbo chair.. which she didnt like so much when she was suposed to use it.. now she's too big but loves it for some reason..


and she started being silly with her milk..

all down her face...


And Grammy has been helping us out .. watching SJ on many many nights and days - because we are STILL getting things done and house organized...She clearly loves her grammy.. Here she is putting a muffin, yes I said a muffin, in Grammy's eye..



then grammy gave her a scarf and she wasnt too crazy about it.
She is a very strong willed child these days. She certainly knows what she wants and does NOT want, and is embracing her independent self all the time. She wont even hold
my hand anymore when we walk... no no .. she wants to do it by herself!

Our Weekend

Well, not so great starting off, but it ended great.

Friday, SJM had to get her last of her HepB Shots at the Dr's.
She was very well behaved. She cried way way before she got her shot, because some other baby was wailing in the other room! -- Then when it was shot time, she cried for maybe 30 seconds. I think she may be starting to realize what the "Dr's" is though.. pretty soon she'll know what happens when she goes there.. uh oh!

After that, we went to see Grammy at her work, Samantha was runnning and yelling through hallways and cubicles, entertaining of course and showing off her fabulous personality. ha! ... Then right as we were about to leave, she ran up to the front window in the reception area... but she didnt stop. Hit her head square on the glass.. BOOM! And completely fell down... poor bubba..

So a little crying and carrying on .... plus just getting a shot, and naptime close by.. she was like this on the car ride home..


This weekend was great!

She had a rough day... so we just relaxed.
Saturday we got up bright and early. Except it was not bright.. It was 5:30am and still way way dark. But SJM didnt care. Momma and Daddy were getting UP!

So we were like zombies.. watching Blues Clues and making coffee to try and function. One plus to waking up this early is we got to the Farmer's Market extra early (they are always sold out of farm fresh eggs if we go late).. Then Samantha decided on the way to pass out

Fine by us! She chilled in her stroller, and we walked around and really thought about meals/ideas and what veggies and fruits to buy.

We came home, and Sam took a pretty decent nap, while Momma organized the craft room, went and bought some supplies for it, and Daddy hauled some tree branches and wood to the street for pickup, mowed the lawn and did some other chores.

Momma also picked this up:




There are so many things incorrect about this.. but if i didnt order it, I would have forgot again ... and i had till September to do it.

1: Its not our 1 year anniversary. Our 4th anniversary was this past April. - When we remembered getting married in 2006 in NC - Just Mathew and I.. =)
2:Our "2nd" anniversary.. (which marks when we had our marraige blessed in a church/party/reception/all our friends & family yadda yadda) was last year September 28 2009. We were in NC.. so I couldnt order this cake then.
3: Its August. I know. Its a celebration cake I guess for our new house..

I HEART them for putting these babies on the cake though...

love me some sugar flowers....

I just hate when she gets shots.. she's not herself for a few days after.. and sleeping was a little rocky this weekend.

Pictureless Post

Today I decided to write a little note for my journal sans any pictures. Its about 3:45 and I'm just sitting here, contemplating what to do for dinner, and admiring my newly painted and carpeted 3rd floor! I cant wait to get up there and start organizing and decorating.. one of my favorite things to do! ... oh, and craft and paint too!

Mathew is on his way home from work. Sam is sleeping... a little later than i'd like, but the carpet people were here from 9am till almost 1:30 putting in the carpet.. Usually Samantha is napping by 12:30 ... so she got a little late start on her z's.

Tonight Grammy and Uncle are coming to pick up Samantha, while Momma and Daddy do some moving to the 3rd floor.

I think I can hopefully safely say that the big house repairs are coming to an end. I know a house is a work-in-progress ongoing project, but Mathew has been working like a DOG.. trying to get it in shape... which now that I sit back and look around, it looks pretty good! Im really glad I have a motivated and hard working husband. I cant imagine being married to anything but! A huge bonus about his "to do lists" and "cleaning" sprees (of course great results from our military life) .. is that when I cook/bake.... he cleans up all my messes.. ahhhh it is lovely.

So thats the end of my picture-less post.. Until next time !

Barefoot Contessa Banana Crunch Muffins

In my opinion almost anything Ina cooks/bakes is out of this world. I made these muffins this afternoon while the little bubba napped and they are so good.


Banana Crunch Muffins




3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana) - I only had 2 bananas on hand.. and still came out great.
1 cup small-diced walnuts
1 cup granola (i didnt have any ... so i mashed up 3 nature valley granola bar packets) haha.. so 6 granola bars)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

As you can see.. these are going fast

The Buffalo

Since we've moved, on our daily walks SJ has become obsessed with "the boo" as she calls it. It is a HUGE Buffalo mounted on the lawn of the high school near our house.

It was part of a citywide Art Project called "Herd About Buffalo"... and now I beleive they were all sold and they are all over the city in various places, and lucky us, one is right down the street from our house!


She thinks its a dog.. I keep telling her BU FA LO... But she calls it a "boo".

This is her.. on Main Street screaming to it from the other side of the street.. So now we had to go across and see "the Boo"....

Pulling up and touching it was not quite enough...




We must always get out...

And stand beside it...


And touch it...


And kiss it.. (too cute)

And get up on the darn thing... which is almost as tall as Momma.


As you can see its a full blown obsession she's got here.. haha.. Its so funny. If I let her, she'd walk right down our driveway and walk across Main Street to see it. She'll point and walk saying "boooooooo"....

So thats the "boo"... Of course other things are the boo too... Vaccum goes "boo" and so does the famous lawnmower for now.

We're Alive... ha!

Its been so long.... Our busy life is to blame, but every day I think to myself, I must get blogging!.. And then the day is over, Samantha is in bed, and I've been tending to close up shop and spend the evenings on the couch with Mathew.

We even saw a couple movies that we both have been wanting to see for a LONG LONG time. So he picked one and I picked one..


Can you guess which one I picked? haha!

Both were great movies, and we got to sit and watch.. uninterrupted, ahhh it was lovely.

Hmm, what else is new? Auntie Shauna left and is back in Seattle... booo!
But we got a great picture from a day of many days that she helped me out with Sam. I love this pic. I should send it to their HQ... She can be the summer baby spokesmodel!

She does love her starbucks. Esp the Strawberries and Cream Fraps!

Update on our house: We moved into our newly painted master bedroom, and the third floor Craft Studio is painted!!!!!!!!AHHH I am just ITCHING to get everything up there.

The new carpet for the Studio comes on Thursday.. then its GO TIME! hah!

This weekend we are going to be shopping for a new box spring for our extra bedroom. Baka and Pa-Paw are coming to visit us hopefully in 2 weeks! yeay!

Thats all for now, but there are many more things to say. I just wanted to write real fast so I dont forget what was on my brain.

I have recipes to post, craft items, pics of Sam, and some other news...
Stay tuned..

13 Months

13 Months



August 5,2010


Samantha Jane you are 13 Months old today!



You are in size 3 diaper (still)
You weighed 23 lbs at your Dr’s visit on 7-19-10.

We think you have close to 6-7 teeth. Yesterday Daddy was lifting you up we saw a molar! And today you have been drooling and dripping from your nose all day..

You are wearing mostly 18-24 month clothes. Some 12 month pants/outfits, but I think they’ll be in our hand me down/baby storage tubs soon.

You are an expert walker now. You only scare Momma and Dadda on concrete and grass. But barefoot on the hardwood floors you are speeding around and love love your new house!


You are completely weaned from Nursing! Yeay!! Momma’s last day of nursing you was July 23rd, 2010.

You sleep through the night too (bonus) Which has not happened since November 2009 when we left Surf City! At the beginning I thought I would for sure cave, and nurse you, but Momma stuck to her guns, and after a few crying filled nights, you eventually fell asleep.

Daddy puts you to bed for now, since when Momma does, you have a harder time falling asleep, and staying asleep through the night.

You take 1 good nap during the day.. Usually between 2-3 hours around 12:30-1pm.I walk you in your stroller right before naptime. I think if I didn’t do that, you wouldn’t even take one, you really fight me if I just lay you down .. it’s a work in progress…


You are a great little eater. Your main drinks these days are Organic Whole Milk, Pear Juice, Apple Juice, Water (of course)



You are very social. You wave to almost everyone whenever we’re in public, at restaurants, grocery stores, etc. You are very independent and no more stranger danger.. Except I suppose if I handed you to one of the strangers you wave to.. ha!
You love reading books, going for walks, swimming, water, dogs/cats, airplanes, shopping with Momma, your new house, giving hugs and kisses, puffs, cheese crunchies, teddy grahams, balls, music, dancing, Blue’s Clues, gosh I know I could go on and on.


You are so happy all the time. You make us laugh and you are so cute when you laugh out loud too..

Here are some things I don’t think you were doing last month:

We say “give hugs, put head on shoulder” .. and you do just that. And you then have to do it to everyone in the room, Grammy, Uncle, Auntie.. whoever is here.

We’ve taken you to the kiddie pool a few times, and you love it. You also love the swings at the park too.

You are into climbing now, on your little chairs, and you try to climb up the beds/couches. You can climb up the stairs .. and pretty darn fast. But we need to work on coming down!

You all of the sudden like Yogurt now, which you did not want to go near the past couple months. I think it reminded you of baby food from around month 6-7 and you didn’t like that at ALL.. ha!

You know what a cow is.. in addition to all your other animals.

You know where the CD player is and you love dancing.. You swing your one arm from side to side, and you bend your knees and bop up and down its hilarious!..
You are a determined child, very strong willed. Sweet and loveable. Sometimes we don’t even ask you to, and you run over to daddy or I and give us a great big hug AND kiss… melts my heart.


You enjoy playing by yourself. I can leave you alone in your playroom or in the livingroom with your books, toys balls .. sometimes for a half hour and you find something to keep busy.

In the car, just the other day, Daddy and I looked back at you, and you were just sitting there reading a book, so content and quiet..

You are smarter than we think. Last week you tried to go up our winding staircase to the third floor, I said no, and we went back in your room, you had a slight tantrum, but wanted the diaper cream, so I handed it to you, and you walked down the hall.. proceeded to throw the diaper cream into the stairwell, so that you “could” go and get it.. where you knew you are not allowed to be.. I was scratching my head and thinking “no way is she that smart already?” – but you surprise us EVERY DAY.


You are the most precious , sweet and sassy little bubba.. and we love you so much.

These pics were taken during our backyard photo shoot at Grammy's today. It was 87 degrees and hot sweaty humid. So we spent most of the afternoon in the pool, and runnin' around.

Weekend Re-Cap and Swingin'

This weekend was so busy! We had lots of home improvement things on our list, plus marketing, and parties parties parties!

We went to a graduation party on Saturday, and then Grammy's house for a family BBQ on Sunday.. we had the best times, and good food too! Grammy had pork loin on the grill a 7lb one! And Samantha our little carnivore loved the meat!

Today is Monday, and I decided to take Samantha to the little park by our house. She LOVED it. First we did some swinging.. and I got such great pics of her!



then I took her in the baby wading pool, which she also loved. I didnt get any pics, cause I was alone, and didnt want to chance dropping the only cell phone we have into the water!.. But I will definately be going back with her.. She just loved watching all the kids, and chasing the big balls, and playing with the water toys.









It all tuckered her out, and now she's fast asleep. Im on a desperate search now for the Video Camera cord, and digital camera cord.. All in the move, seemed to disappear.

St. Joseph needs to help me out today!