Time to start walking

Carlee has been taking a few steps here and there but up to this point it has been more of controlled falling than walking. This morning she decided it would be a good idea to start walking.

Requested Recipe

Black Bean Soup courtesy of Diane Henderiks from momlogic.com 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups cooked black beans (I used two cans of Goya black beans un-drained
2 tsp dried cilantro (I used marjoram instead)
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
TT black pepper (I also added lemon pepper)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I used dried parsley)

Directions:
Saute garlic, onion and carrot in oil on med. heat for about 5 min.
Add next 6 ingredients (cumin through pepper) and cook over low heat for 25 min.
Then she suggests serving it up with a dollop of sour cream and the fresh cilantro on top.
Before I did that I used the immersion blender and then served it up with loads of tortilla chips!

An Incredible Journey

Carlee turned one years old today. Matt summed it up well I thought when he said: "Well, Carlee has come so far [pause] and has so far to go." I must say the first year of Carlee's life had been a truly incredible journey in so many ways. I mean, going from 5 pounds 9 ounces to 20 pounds is quite an accomplishment all on its own, don't you think? Because Matt was gone from sun up to way past down today, we are going to do the 'celebrating' tomorrow, but I tried to make her day special and fun. I have been reflecting and these are my reflections.

What Carlee really needs as birthday gifts are:
1. A pillow permanently attached to her cute behind because she is learning to walk and constantly crashing down on it.
2. A bumper pad attached to her forehead to protect it from anymore bruises!
3. And a mouth guard to protect her lovely lips from her sharp new teeth when she looses her balance.

Carlee has developed a brave and feisty bit of personality, but at the same time is lovable and sensitive. She is on the go and thus hates being restrained in her high chair. She has been a pretty good sport about trying table food. We share a bowl of oatmeal with milk, brown sugar, blueberries and sometimes bananas too just about every morning. So far she doesn't want anything to do with canned Spaghettio's but loves canned green beans, oh, and thin mint girl scout cookies too.

Other things Carlee loves are the dish rag, getting into the fridge, turning the pages on her books, chewing on binkis (not sucking on them), getting into the shower, bouncing up and down on her diapered butt when she hears music, hugging her stuffed animals, her daddy, handing mommy everything, watching cartoons on pbs and her bed and soft pink blankey bear.

I love Carlee! We will post pictures of our celebrating...after we celebrate!

My Amazing Sister

My sister Cyrie showed up for my birthday as a total surprise to me at the end of February. It was an incredibly wonderful surprise. Thank you Cyrie so much for coming!!! We enjoyed the crazy snow and went to see the Broadway Billy Elliot.

Really?

Yes, these are pregnancy tests. Yes, they are both positive.


Yes, I am happy but feeling sick, tired and grumpy. Matt is very happy...minus all the other stuff (he just has to put up with me). This little miracle is due around Oct 9th.

Before this happened, I had energy and motivation and these are some things I made:

Yummy black bean soup


A baby blanket for my friend

Besides school, Matt has been enjoying figuring out his new sweet camera. Here is a sample of some photos we have taken with it so far:

Who does Carlee look like?

I have always thought she looked 100% like Julee, now I am beginning to see a little of me in her.

Taos

So for spring break Julee and I needed to visit family and at the same time had a hankering to go to the middle of no where; we decided to kill two birds with one stone by heading to Taos, NM to visit Brad and Angie (Julee's sister). (For those other family members out there that we have not visited lately sorry, your turn will come.)

Some interesting facts I learned over the trip: Santa-Fe is the the second oldest town in the US. Taos is close by and is also very old. This Church is made of adobe and is very old.


In Taos there is the Pueblo Indian reservation where they have a pueblo that is currently lived in, and has been for over a thousand years.


The last thing I learned was that Carlee loves to hang out with the boys! She sure loves her cousins.




Angie and Brad were excellent hosts, if you get a chance to stay at their house,take it! I give hotel Higdon a five star rating. Thanks!