Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas!
I have mucho pictures still in the camera!

But I did snap this one on Christmas morning. Mathew threw out some gross cookies.. Yes I said gross.. (it was a failed Martha Stewart recipe.. never again!)... anyways.. Threw them out to the birds/squirrels, and Samantha was having the best time watching them come out and nosh.

I'll have to remember all the details from Christmas when I post pics. I can just say that we gave all our gifts to each other by 2pm Christmas Eve.. I think Samantha had 3-4 to open from us Christmas morning.. and then Grammy, Uncle and Auntie brought over a TRUCKLOAD of presents.. so I didnt feel so badly that we gave Samantha all her gifts the day before.

We all got some great things! And we're packing up already for our journey to Ohio for our 2nd Christmas in Cleveland with Daddy's parents.

Here is our Christmas card this year..
there was NO WAY a family pic was in the cards.. haha.. Literally.. haha

UGG Model

Last night Grammie, Momma, Auntie and Auntie Maureen and Samantha of course went shopping for Uggs..

When we got there.. they were announcing if you "model" your Uggs, or whatever you wanted to buy, you get 20% off.. You had to walk down a little runway, and the announcer described your purchase.

So I said.. Sign up Samantha.. So we got the Uggs we wanted, and put em on her.. Oh my gosh, she was hysterical.. twirling around, smiling, drinking her water on stage. SHE DIDNT WANT TO GET DOWN.. it was hysterical.

I took 1 picture, Im so sad.. It is a terrible pic.. but one that I can remember her little fashion model moment

She didnt even want to get down, she shook her head and said "no no mama" haha...

17.5 Months... and a good day!

I have to write a mid-month post before the big 18 month mark. I normally do not do this, but lately .. seems like in the last few days Samantha has been changing.. yes in only a few days..

She has been speaking in small sentences...which I am so glad for her since she seems to have been trying soooo hard to speak. The sentences I can remember are "Fava, Dada" (which translates into watching this video that she loves), and "muk Dada" (which means milk Daddy) hah! Im so proud of her!

Also, at this point, we switched to size 4 diapers... we're just using up the last of the 3's...Its about time!

She is getting her 11th tooth, and by golly it is a painful one! She was up a couple nights with pains (Im assuming)...

You are having imaginary conversations all the time.. so funny, between animals, and on your phones... so cute.

Little Momma ...

You are also grasping the "motherly" role. You love feeding your babies from your sippy cup, and putting them in and out of the stroller... I guess Momma's presents for you this year you will really enjoy.. they include a bottle, cradle, and new baby!! I cannot wait 4 more days till Christmas!


Around here we are just finishing some wrapping, having lots of leftover treats from our appetizer party, and waiting for the mail... Im like a happy puppy waiting for the mailman lately.. I love getting everyone's Christmas cards, and unexpected gifts here and there..

Momma ordered some last minute items that I need to get under the tree pronto!
Plus lately i just love waiting for the mail this time of year! Today.. Momma got a present for herself!



I got a raise! Yeay!!!!
Totally unexpected, and I am so grateful and blessed to have such a WONDERFUL job.. I emailed my boss and thanked him.. I love both my jobs.. Momma and recruiter alike! ha!

Samantha is napping, and Momma made a quick snack - Ham/Cheese and Crescents... yummmmmie..


I topped my little sandwich creation with this..


I confess, I almost ate the whole thing.. next time I think I would use 2 tubes of crescents, one for top and one for the bottom.
i just layered Ham & Provolone .. pinched the edges together and baked for 375 for about 15-20 m till it looked brown/done.




And I made some homemade hot cocoa.. which I got here..

http://wearinggackeysapron.blogspot.com - she has some great recipes!

the other day.. it sounds delish.. Its all mixed, now I just gotta make it.

It was a GOOD DAY!!!!

Little Peanut and 100th Post!

I had a photo shoot with Samantha after her nap last week one day...
She was all cuddly and had her "sleepy face" on..




I love her new little Nordic sweater... too precious!



And this is officially my 100th post! Some people have things to give away, and blog about milestones, not me.. ha! I will hopefully be taking part in a giveaway next month though.. very exciting!!!

Stir Crazy, Spoilings, Sweets and Sippy Cups

And that is just what this post is about.
We are in deep deep winter mode around here.. snow is everywhere! And let me clarify, I am NOT complaining. It is beautiful, and Mathew and I did voluntarily decide to move from the South to the North..ha!

But lately .. Samantha is getting a little stir crazy I feel. I do take her out in the snow, but not when it is a bone chilling 12 degrees and windy...eeks.. Adults can barely handle it, let alone a 1 year old.

So we decided to help us through the whiny moments, and tugging at mommy's legs, wanting to be held, and doing as we call them "bad things" like tipping milk over on purpose, and crushing cereal into the hardwood floors.. After all this was happening, we decided to bust out a few Christmas presents early. I mean, she is 17 months, and doesnt really "get it" yet.. so we thought it would help her to have some new things..

like this...



She loves it. And we put it right in the kitchen so she can cook/bake with Momma side by side.

We also put her PBK Chair together.. I wanted a neutral color and didnt want it monogrammed, just in case she will have to share with her sibling one day...



She loves sitting in it, and standing on it to look out the window and see the snow..


Here is another gift I couldnt resist yesterday when shopping..



This one is under the tree though.. and I cant wait to see her face when she opens it! Okay, maybe I want to play with it a little too. ha!

Sweets: Sunday we are hosting our first family party since being in our new house. We do a progressive party every year since I can remember. My grandpa started the tradition, and it is one person's house for Appetizers, Dinner and Desserts, so we get to see 3 family members' houses, and at the end at Desserts we exchange gifts, we pick names, and the name of the person who had you is revealed. We have such a big family, so this is an easy way to do presents with about 40 people!

So we are hosting appetizers!
I will post many pics and recipes... but I started making a few sweets.. (i know its appetizers.. but its the holidays and I cant resist sweets!!

I made fruity popcorn I got the recipe from: www.ourbestbites.com - one of my favorite sites.

I think it just looks so pretty for Christmas in red.



Im making lots of other goodies, a lot of recipes came from fellow bloggers too!
Pesto Layer Dip, Brownie Bites, and Pastry Wrapped Brie, to name a few!! Stay tuned!

Sippys: Ok Mom's Im on the hunt for a non leaking, non spilling sippy cup! Since Samantha knows how to tip her cup over now, I went shopping yesterday for new sippys... I love the Dr Browns one.. so far so good. The Avent one, STILL Leaks! It even says "magic" sippy cup.. I should have not been deceived!

Big Girl Eating...

We've been giving her utensils now for a while, she used to just play with them, or throw them on the floor (I dont miss that stage)... but now she is so funny,



Looking like a little sophisticated lady.. in her big chair eating her carrots and chicken.. haha..

The Griswold Family Christmas Tree

So last weekend Daddy and Momma trecked out into the deep woods and cut down our very first christmas tree.

It was very col, very snowy, but very pretty.

I did feel like the Griswold's in the movie though, snow up to our knees, and silent cold air all around.. all I kept hearing was ..."she cant see honey, her eyes are frozen" haha..

Picking out a tree is harder than most would think. It took us a LONG time to narrow it down... But after Mathew's pants were soaked, and my eyelids started glazing over, we finally chose one... here's Mathew cuttin' away

We tied it to the car (forgot to take pic of that one) .. and headed home.

Ta-Da!

17 Months Old - December 5, 2010

December 5, 2010

Samantha Jane you are 17 Months old today!
We cannot believe it! You are getting all excited to celebrate your 2nd Christmas! This year we have a house of our own to decorate and enjoy! Yeay!
You are in size 3 diaper.
You’re a munchkin, but I bet you weigh around 25lbs now.
Still same 10 teefers…. I think you may be getting some more since I was peeking at some swollen gums, who knows.. I said that last month too!
You are wearing all 18-24 month clothes and some 2T shirts
You’re still trying to talk.. You have many new words but some of them only Momma and Daddy can translate. Lately you have started shaking your head “yes” and “no” so that helps us decode some things you are trying to say.
You love playing hide and seek lately too. You love being chased and you love trying to find Daddy and I when we hide.
You are still a pretty good eater. You LOVE Momma’s signature homemade chicken soup… We think if we gave it to you every day.. you would be perfectly fine with that.
You can say “cake”now.. which is so funny. In November, I had to make cupcakes for Brigid’s Baby Shower (40) and another (40) for Thanksgiving. You loved watching the Mixer go around and around, and you love watching them in the oven.
So now you say … “cake cake cake cake” when we show you a cupcake, or picture of one.
You still love crayons and coloring.. I do believe Santa may have an Art easel on his list for you. So that will be fun!




You are a good sleeper too.. minus a few days ago when you kept waking up 2 times/night. I thought it was teeth for sure.. but no signs of them yet.
You go to bed between 8-8:30pm, most nights you go right to sleep without a peep, and wake up around 7-7:30am.
Praise be the Lord.. because he truly knows it too forever for you to sleep like this since you were about 3 months old!
December is full of so many fun things! We’re getting our tree on Sunday, parties parties parties, Auntie Shauna returns to the East coast in a few weeks!, and Christmas in our new house with our cozy fireplace and our favorite little bubba!
Till next month.. we love you to pieces!
Mom and Dad

Snowy Day.

This was Samantha's first snow encounter ... Shea (our nanny) took her outside last week, It was December 1st, and we were greeted with a few inches of pretty snow.





Since we were in NC, and last year she was only 6 months old .. we have to get some GOOD boots and snow pants for her..

Turkey Day 2010

It was a great Turkey Day!
We woke up and I started making our own Turkey Day Meal.... to be munched on later in the week/weekend.

There were nearly 40 people at Aunt Maureen and Uncle John's house for dinner, and we usually leave empty handed with no leftovers.. so

I made some Hens,


I must admit, Im a little freaked out by giblets. and "cleaning out the turkey/chicken" ... ewe.. But these little game hens came already cleaned out! The gross stuff was actually all packaged in plastic! All I did was pull it out ... close my eyes, as I headed to the garbage, and tossed em in! -- As Ina Garten would say, "how easy is that?" hahah


Mashed Taters,




And of course my thing to bring this year were Vanilla Pumpkin Cupcakes.. with Cinn Buttercream Frosting..




Samantha was in a great mood, after her 3 hour nap! YESS!! She colored in the car on the way to Aunt Maureen's house.





She didnt eat much at dinner, I think she was overwhelmed by the 35 other people, talking, screaming, passing food.. etc..



And with so many people in the house she got a little hot under the collar.. ha.. so we ditched the turtleneck after dinner..


Maybe next year we'll sit for more than 15 minutes..But she sure had fun chasing the dog, playing with toys and family and it was a great Thanksgiving!

Turkey Day Photo Shoot 2010!

We decided to send out Thanksgiving cards this year, since Samantha had a pretty cool photo shoot in Ohio at Baka and Paw's house.




We had an early Thanksgiving with them about 2 weeks before Turkey Day. We spent Veteran's Day there.. and had so much fun and it was so WARM on this day! It was close to 65 degrees and sunny!