ABC and 123

Lately Mathew and I have been getting surprised by the
amount of knowledge our little peanut knows!

{daily routine with this puzzle}

She counts to 10, Knows all her letters and colors, and is remembering things that even momma's brain cant remember, ha! Its tough to keep up with her some days..

Im asking her "what did you say bubba?" and she'll point out something I mentioned 3 days ago, my half fried Mommy Brain can't remember, but my almost 2 year old DOES!! Its amazing. Im so proud of her..

She amazes us every day.. and scares us too.. Scared in a good way.. Well, maybe Im a little scared because I really really struggled in school in Math and Science subjects, so I fear I wont be able to help SJ if she needs me someday..

Hopefully this will be where Daddy steps in and takes over! ha! I think they even have online Tutoring Companies too! That is great, I wish they had that when I was in school! The words "calculus" and "trigonometry" really freak me out, yes even now!

We do work with her though.. constantly. Almost every night after bath, she and daddy sit on the couch and do all her puzzles

Our Vacation - Day 1

We're back from an amazing and MUCH needed family vacation

It was wonderful.. too short.. and SJ was perfect!

We were shocked at how good she was.. EVERY SINGLE DAY!

So thanks to all of you who kept us in your thoughts/prayers.. they worked!

Warning: LOTS of pics in this post!

I wanted to be able to capture all the memories from start to finish.. thank goodness for camera phones.. (that's where ALL thes pics are from)

{just checked in, and on our way to the gate}

{Busted out the first toy...}

{Showed her our plane!}

{SJ thinking.. Hmm, could be fun}

{Headed to the end of the runway.....}

{Taking off.. she was just chillin' eating her Yogurt Melts and Juice}

{Mid-flight.. busted out the new crayons.. coloring books, etc}

She was quiet as a mouse, and kept stacking her crayons, and coloring and drawing like a little angel.

{Looking at the clouds.. she lOVED it}

{more coloring .... and cookies too}

{landing on the runway in .....

{Charlotte!}

{Walking along in the airport... lookin for some eats}

{lunch in CLT}

{We put her in the stroller and she was fascinated with the "moving sidewalks"}

{round and round we went...}











She kept saying "again?"
Within about 20 minutes she was sleeping...
{Passed out peanut. She slept for about 1.5 hours}
She woke up right as we were boarding our 2nd plane

She was a little cranky, and since she was soooo incredibly good on the first plane, I started to think it MUST have been an act of God.. So I ran to get her a TCBY before we got on the 2nd plane to coax her into being a good girl...

{But she clearly did not need it.. she was an absolute pleasure on the 2nd plane too!}

It was actually Momma who was starting to feel a slight headache.. and getting antsy to get off the plane.. haha

{CLT to ILM}

{Hello Wilmington!}

Seeing this little airport brings back memories!

All the flights down here and back home again when Mathew and I dated, and when we lived here.. We wanted to go somewhere we were familiar with, and we stayed with a friend, so that made it easier as well, we rented a crib/car and carseat.. and it all was smooth sailing

We got our bags, and rental car and we were on our way!

We made one stop at Food Lion for some diapers and wipes... and some snacks for the house ... and organic whole milk for SJ of course...

{She looks pretty pooped in her carseat.. but she kept going strong!}

We arrived at a friend's house, unpacked, the crib was delivered and assembled, and we took a little walk to the beach/intercoastal. Right away SJ loved the water.. (it was calm in the intercoastal).. she ran right in! ... We played with shells, and sand toys.. and only stayed there for about 1/2 hour.

We came back home and found a delicious dinner waiting for us! It was amazing. We had a delicious salad w/wonton strips and crumbled feta, grilled pork, steamed baby zucchini, balsamic glazed green beans, wine and a strawberry trifle cake for dessert.. yum!

{Our first dinner}

It was a successful travel day to our desitination on the Crystal Coast (as they call it down here)

SJ didnt really understand that we were staying at this house in NC.. So when she asked if she could go "night night".. she kept going to the front door wanting to get out and go to her house/bed. I ended up just rocking her to sleep.. I couldnt bare listening to her cry if I put her in a strange crib... after all she was an ANGEL all day/night.. So she was out cold within minutes, and slept in her crib straight through till morning..

Fear of Flying & Chicken Curry

Keeping up with the Blogging!

{Well, Im trying to make up for my lack of blogging over the weekend


Just a few random thoughts

{Flying with SJ }

We're leaving on a jetplane soon for a MUCH needed family vacation.

The last vacation we took was our first as a family to Washington,D.C.

And we drove from NC.. we didnt have to get on a plane.

{eating at Cheesecake Factory in Arlington}

{October 2009}

SJ was only 3 months old. - She was an angel on this vacation.

{walking in Georgetown}

I didnt even take her out of her carseat on the way

... and it was about a 5 hour drive!

{such a daddy's girl from the start}

This time she's almost 22 months, and Im a bit nervous for the plane ride.

I've got a bunch of loot ready for her to occupy her time... Barbie Doll, Books, Yogurt Melts, Suckers, Stickers, Crayons, Fruit Snacks (yea .. all the bad stuff)

And our layover is not too bad...

We picked up one of these.. portable DVD.. just in case.

Im hoping it wont be as bad as I am imagining it to be. (please pray for us!)

I have been telling her "we're going on an airplane" .. and "what are you going to be on the airplane?".. she responds "a good girl"....Ahh... one can only hope & pray.

{Chicken Curry}

I got this recipe when I asked for help from my cousin Jeanne in Washington.

I've never made Chicken Curry before, and it was really really good!

I was in a severe recipe drought... I felt like I was making the SAME old thing every week, ever happen to you?

Chicken Curry was a hit!

here's how I made it:

pkg of chicken breast or thighs, or whatever meat you want,

cut into cubes, or at least bite-sized pieces

1 green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
a bunch of carrots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Before you start the curry, it's always a good idea to put the rice on, since that takes the longest.

Get a large pot heated with a drizzle of olive oil and cook the chicken until done (I usually add the garlic about halfway through).

Add about 2 1/2- 3 cups of water and vegetables and simmer until veggies are done,

about 10-15 min

{veggies cooking till tender}

After veggies are soft to your liking....

Turn off the heat. Break up the curry and stir it into the pot.

You can even let it sit for another few minutes with the lid on to let it thicken,

while you're waiting for the rice.

Serve curry over rice.

This was a pretty simple recipe, and if you can take the house "stinking" a little of curry.. I promise its worth it! Even Samantha liked it!

SUYL - Children's Parties

Children's Birthday Parties

(samantha jane's first birthday)

Great topic Kelly !

.. I LOVE planning and decorating, and well, pretty much anything that has to do with parties

Invites ordered from A Piece of Pope. Anita was great to work with!

She made me invites for both parties & I love how they turned out!

She'll always have at least 2 birthday celebrations (lucky girl) because Mathew's parents live 3 hours away.. But the main big ones will be at our house! Last year we were still living with my mom so the pics are all from her backyard.

Another reason I am thankful for a baby born in warm weather... EASY CLEANUP!

I think we may aim for another summer baby.. ha!

So she had 2 parties in July. Both with the same theme Zebra Stripes and Hot Pink. I got her invites from Anita here. And she made one invite for our house, and one for Papa and Baka's House.. ha!

Okay BRING ON THE PICTURES...

HERE - you can see all the DECOR!! - It was a lot of work.. but I think everything turned out so cute!

HERE - you can see pics from her party

If anyone has any q's about where I ordered/made/bought stuff, just ask!

I CANNOT wait to see all the other ideas, and get inspired for #2 coming soon! (birthday ... not baby.. ) But baby isnt far off either..

Link up at Kelly's Korner Blog

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..

Since You've Been Gone...

Since we've been gone..haha.. Its been so long since my last entry seems like!
The weather has a lot to do with it, and also buying another house!

We've been spending a lot of time outside, and I took these pics of Samantha in the grass last week. She used to eat the grass, but now she just picks it and hands it to me,or Grammy.







I love the side profiles of her...






And we've been taking lots of dips in the pool, and baths in Grammy's sink.
It feels like we're back in North Carolina.. the weather has been in the mid 80's and humid all week!







Grammy,Samantha and Momma even had a girls nite downtown - Sushi at Kunis and then we strolled along the Elmwood strip.







And in the midst of all the pre-summer fun, we finally bought a house! Pics will be coming soon, but it has been a long time coming...
We are so excited and I cannot wait to be all settled and most of all to give Samantha her own official BEDROOM! ... I already have decorating ideas stewing in my brain, and I cannot wait to get in there and create!

Best of all.. the house has an entire 3rd floor.. perfect for my crafting area!!! Im so so excited!

This Memorial Day weekend, Im typing from Cleveland. We decided last minute to jump in the car and head out for the weekend. Im taking lots O' pictures, but we'll have to upload and report back when we drive home on Monday.

Side Note: During our break from Blogging.. A few new things and firsts for Samantha have been: She is getting her 2nd top tooth any day now, she has been drinking whole organic milk since about 5.22.10, She is taking 10-15 steps by herself, and can "walk" along couches, tables, chairs pretty well, she's learning how to fall without hurting herself, and she LOVES blueberries recently!

xoxo
Joelle

PS... Check out my other blog for a new Canvas Bag post.