Hair-larious.

I was shocked when Nora was born with hair. I was a pretty bald baby, and I guess I just assumed that my baby would be, too.

It took me about a year of babyhood to accumulate as much hair as Nora has had all along. See?

Me as a baby - Maybe six months old on the left; About 1 year old on the right

The thing with Nora's hair, though, is that she's losing some of it. It's not falling out... she's rubbing it off. When she's in her bouncy seat, on the floor, or in her crib, she is constantly turning her head (especially to the left), rubbing it against the surface behind her.

This has resulted in some funky looking hair. Normal from the front and on the right side. Bald on the left, bald on the back. But still long at the back of her neck. It's hard to describe, so... I took photos. You know, for posterity.

I feel like the bald spots are getting balder and balder every day. Poor girl.

On the bright side, I'm told that after she rubs it off once, it'll stay put when it grows back. Plus, she'll likely be sitting up fairly soon, so she'll be less likely to be rubbing the back of her head against things.

Remind me to show her these pics when she's a teen complaining of a bad hair day. :)

Read more...

On the Market

Yesterday, our realtor came over and we filled out all of the paperwork to put our house on the market soon.

Quite simply, I am shaking in my boots.

Now, we just wait and see if anyone likes our place. If all goes well, we'll soon have strangers walking through looking at it. It's weird.

Meanwhile, we run a search multiple times a day for new listings to see if anything comes up that we like. It gives me anxiety. As we get through February and into March, we hope to see the number of listings increase dramatically, as people rush to get their houses on the market in time for the spring, which we hear is THE time of year to buy/sell a house.

This is such an emotional process for me. I want to find a new home, but it makes me so sad to think about leaving this one. It's made extra emotional now that we have Nora, as this is the only home she has ever known--it's where we waited for her arrival; it's where we brought her home.

Being on the market--to sell a house and to buy one--is a strange feeling. It sort of feels like our current home is no longer really ours, yet we don't have another home to go to. You know me--I don't deal well when the future is so unknown, so you can imagine how this state of being gives me an overall uneasy feeling.

Keep your fingers crossed for us on both counts--buying AND selling! We hope luck tips in our favor soon.

Read more...

Sisters

Recently, Nora has discovered Tessa. She thinks Tessa is simply fascinating.

It's so cute; I could watch Nora watch Tessa for hours.

Read more...

Poor Baby.

Last weekend sucked.

I'm about a week late on this post, but last weekend sucked so badly, there was no way that this was going to make it up on the blog.

You see, by the time Friday rolled around, Nora had already been working on a cold for a few days, but it hadn't yet escalated to anything really bothersome. However, she woke up around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, and no matter how many times we tried, she just wouldn't settle back down. Soon, I realized that it was because she couldn't breathe out of her nose. Nice, right?

I ended up picking her up, taking her out to the couch, and letting her sleep the rest of the night somewhat elevated on my chest. I know what you're thinking. You should know that we generally try to stick to her routine as much as possible when she's sick, but this time, she was sooo sick that all rules went flying out the window.

To make matters even more fun, I woke up on Saturday morning (on the couch, with a baby on my chest, thankyouverymuch) not feeling so hot myself. I had congestion and dizziness. And then Michael woke up with body aches and chills, which quickly escalated into a 103-degree fever. WE WERE A LOVELY BUNCH, I ASSURE YOU.

We spent the entire weekend parked on the couch or in our bed. I let Nora take almost all of her naps on my chest, and we even let her sleep with us on Saturday night. Between the time I got home from work on Friday to the time I left for work on Monday morning (which was actually close to noon), I never left the house.

We had to call reinforcements on Saturday, just to get us some medicine and food. Thankfully, my mom made the trip for us and dropped it off at our door. (Moms are wonderful, aren't they?)

For as miserably sick as she was, Nora was in remarkably good spirits. She still smiled all.the.time, even as she snorted like a pig in an attempt to breathe through her nose, with snot constantly running down her face. (I know, I paint a pretty picture.)

By the time I put Nora to bed on Sunday night, I looked down to realize that my sweatshirt was smeared with dried snot. Of course there was a part of me that thought it was gross, and I laughed to myself, but you know what? I didn't bother changing it until I went to bed. I joked that you know you're a mom when your baby uses your sweatshirt as a tissue all weekend, yet you still continue to wear it. Poop, pee, boogers, snot... it all kind of loses a bit of its nasty factor when it's from your child, you know?

Nora's good sleep schedule was shot to hell, of course, but she did pretty well considering. It wasn't until this past Thursday night that things really started to get back to normal and we were no longer needing to aspirate her poor little nose in the middle of the night.

It stinks to have a sick baby, it's worse having a sick baby when you're sick yourself, but we now know the WORST is having a sick baby, being sick yourself, AND having a sick spouse. Brutal.

Thankfully, we were all in much better shape this weekend, so we were actually able to enjoy it!

Read more...

Concentration.

...and while I'm at it, here is proof that she's not always happy:

This is truly rare, though. We're very lucky to be parents to such a cheerful girl!

(In case you haven't noticed... I'm cheating here. I am several posts shy of my monthly goal of 20, so I need to cram in a few extra here at the end of the month. My apologies for my half-assed blogging in January. I'm usually a pretty bad blogger in the winter months anyway, as I suffer from a bit of the winter blues and cabin fever. Add to that a busy working mommy schedule and my blogging was shot to hell this month. I will try to do a better job in February!)

Read more...

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lately, I'm on an oatmeal kick.

The thing is, I don't even like oatmeal--at least not in its "natural" form. You won't catch me eating it as a bowl full of mush. Gross.

Put it in some baked goods, however, and I love oatmeal.

I'm on a search for awesome dessert recipes that contain--you guessed it--oatmeal. For a trip over to a friend's house, I started with Allrecipes.com, and turned up this recipe for chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

I spiced them up at bit by using a mixture of semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate/peanut butter chips, since that is what I had on hand. You could change these up by using a variety of different mix-ins--white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, raisins, craisins, toffee bits, walnuts, etc. Go crazy!

These turned out lovely--they reminded me of a tasty cookie you'd pick up in a little cafe somewhere. And they were really easy to throw together, too, which always helps make a recipe a winner in my book!

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional; I omitted)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or any other mix-in you'd like)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Read more...

Scout

Nora doesn't have too many toys yet.

We put a handful of cute things on her "wish list" for Christmas gifts from the grandparents, and she got pretty much everything on it (she's a lucky girl). But, she's not yet at the age where she can really play with anything beyond rattles, teethers, and the little plush animals that hang down from the handle of her car seat, her bouncer, or her play mat. So most of the toys are still in their packages, waiting for the day when Nora can sit on the floor to play--which, sadly, is probably not too far off. (She's growing too quickly!)

There is one toy, however, that we've already been able to enjoy.

Meet Scout.

Officially called "My Pal Scout," this little guy is made by LeapFrog. Although it's intended for ages 6 months and up, Nora is already fascinated by it. It sings, it talks, and the name tag on the collar lights up and blinks. It's wonderfully stimulating for developing minds like Nora's.

The funny thing is that EVERYONE loves this thing. I walk around singing the little songs to Nora all day long, whether Scout is actually around or not. "Me and my friend--NORA--we like to do everything together. We jump up and down... Jump! Jump! Jump!" I mean, seriously. Who can resist this stuff.

That's the greatest part of this little guy--He comes with a USB cable that allows you to connect it to the computer to customize it. You can download the child's name, which is then inserted into songs and activities when they play. You can choose the child's favorite animal, color, and food, which are also used periodically. It's simply adorable.

One of the paws plays recorded tracks that are meant to be some kind of an activity or question--like "I bet you can guess what animal I am--oink! oink! oink!" On the opposite side, there are fun songs, like the one I mentioned above with Nora's name in it. You can also select some other songs from the software--there are 30 available, and you can choose which five to load onto the toy. The third paw plays lullabies (options are for 2, 5, and 10 minute increments) to help put baby to sleep.

Because it's educational and interactive, older kids like Scout, too. On a whim last week, I stuck Scout in Nora's bag for daycare. When I picked her up that day, our daycare provider RAVED over how much all of the kids loved it. She said it was a huge hit--and Mary loved it so much herself that she ended up going out to buy one for her granddaughter!

It's a great little toy, especially for the price. Would you believe this thing is under $20?? And, in case you're wondering... there's a My Pal Violet, too.

(No, LeapFrog did nothing to solicit this review from me. I did not receive anything from LeapFrog. I just love the thing this much.)

Read more...

Hunting

Four weeks into our house hunting experience, and I've come to one conclusion:

House hunting is a pain in the ass.

It seemed so much easier the first time around; I was only 22 years old. We were less than a year out of college, both living at home with our parents, and both making shit for money, so our options were pretty limited. We had a very specific price range, and knew the area that we wanted to be in... which narrowed down our search to literally one neighborhood. Once we were ready to get serious about the search, we made appointments to look at three different units on the same day. We came, we saw them all, we made up our minds, and we bought one of them. It was that simple. Seriously.

This time? Not so much.

We like the town we live in. Because of that, we'd like to stay in this town. On one hand, that might seem like it makes things easier because it gives us a focus for our search, but really all it does is severely limit our options. And while we're in much better shape financially than we were six years ago, Rockefellers we are not, so we do have a budget.

And here's the thing: We're kinda sorta picky this time around. You see, we've spent the last six years chipping away at home improvement projects at our current place, refining it to be the place we've always wanted it to be. Now that we're essentially done with it all, well, we've outgrown our home.

All of the work--the painting (oh my god, THE PAINTING), the massive kitchen renovation, the bathroom, the floor project, the sliding glass door, the carpet--it's all so fresh in our minds. We remember what a huge effort it all was, and we just aren't ready to do it again. We want something move-in ready this time.

We want a decent kitchen.
We want decent bathrooms.
We want a two-car attached garage. (No compromises.)
We want a nice yard.
We want a deck.
We want a quiet street.
We want vinyl siding.
We don't want to have to replace a roof or windows.
We'd love a fireplace.

We've looked at a few places and have been "meh" about them. It's been a week or two since anything new has come on the market that fits into our parameters, and that's just... frustrating.

Add to all of this that we also have to worry about selling our place this time around, and well, you've got stress. Our realtor is coming over this weekend to help us get our house on the market, and it makes me so nervous. Not to mention the fact that it means we have to do all this stuff in preparation to show the house--we need to declutter, we need to clean the nooks and crannies, we need to make the house less... ours. It's a weird process.

House hunting (and selling) is a pain in the ass.

Read more...

Growing

The changes in Nora over the last few weeks have been truly incredible.

I've been around a lot of babies in my life. But now that I have one of my own, to know like the back of my hand, to see her every day... I am in complete awe of the rate of development of a human infant in its first months of life.

Seriously, though. One day, she can't do something. The next day, she can.

As an example, let's take rolling from back to belly. She's been rolling consistently from belly to back for a while now, but she couldn't go the other way. For a week or so, we watched as she got closer and closer to flipping herself onto her belly. She'd crane her head and neck backward, she'd rotate her torso and her legs as far as she could, but she just couldn't get that hip to swing over to flip herself. She was so close, but she couldn't do it.

When we woke her up in her crib on Wednesday morning, she couldn't do it. At bedtime on Wednesday night, she couldn't do it. But then, when I went in to check on her sometime on Wednesday evening, after she had been sleeping for a while, this is how I found her:

Out cold, sleeping on her belly. With her arm stuck through the crib slats, to boot. Suddenly, she could do it. And now we can't get her to stop. Here's a quick video of her showing off her new skills:
She's also improving her hand coordination every day. EVERY DAY she gets better at grasping things, bringing them to her mouth, etc. Last week, I was feeding her a bottle (rare, as we generally save those for daycare and at home, I usually nurse her), and noticed that she was technically holding it on her own.

Admittedly, she doesn't quite understand what she's doing yet--meaning she's not doing it purposely--but still!

Oh, and remember when I was so stressed out about breaking her of the swaddle? (I was also stressed about all other things sleep, but that turned out to be related to a surprise ear infection!) Well, shortly after that post, we tried to put her to bed one night without her swaddle, and it.went.terribly. It was horrible, and my stress about the situation increased. But we figured why fix what isn't broken, and continued to swaddle her.

A little over a week ago, we had her 4-month well-baby doctor's appointment and mentioned the swaddle to Nora's pediatrician. First, she told us not to worry about it. She said that if it's what makes Nora comfortable and helps her sleep well, go with it. She said that babies WILL grow out of it and assured us that we would not someday be swaddling a 5-year-old child. However, when I mentioned to her that Nora had been busting out of it at least once a night for the past week or so, she said, "Well, maybe she's telling you it's time."

That night, she was fussy from her immunizations, so we stuck with the swaddle. But the next night? We went cold turkey, replacing the swaddle blanket with a sleep sack. She slept from 8 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. with no problems at all. We were amazed. She did have some issues from 3:30-7:30 a.m., but we stuck with it, and the following night, she slept all the way through. What a big girl! (And such a freaking rockstar.) We haven't swaddled her since.

One thing that Nora hasn't been doing is "talking." She hasn't been a very vocal baby--she giggles, but we don't hear a lot of cooing. But sure enough, suddenly, today... she was "chatting" all afternoon and evening. It was hilarious and so, so cute.

This is such a fun age. I couldn't love her more.

Read more...

Saturday Mornings

I never thought I'd enjoy getting up at 7:30 a.m. when I don't have to.

It's true what Johnson & Johnson says, you know... Having a baby changes everything. :)

Saturday mornings are my favorite.

(This is actually from last Saturday, but we're in rough shape this week, so all of our videos from this weekend involve snotty noses. Fun!)

Read more...

Salted Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Baking is somewhat of a challenge these days. And when I do have an opportunity, I can't pick any ol' recipe that I've had my eyes on--I need to consider time and effort as well. After all, I have an adorable little 4-month-old daughter who is my first priority on the weekends!

But lord knows I do enjoy a good homemade treat from time to time (as does Michael), so we make it work every few weeks or so. Last weekend, we had plans to go to my mom's for dinner on Sunday, so I wanted to make some cookies for dessert.

Enter these salted double chocolate chip cookies. If you like salt, and if you like the combination between salty and sweet, this one's for you.

The original recipe calls for chocolate chunks mixed in the batter, but I was trying to simplify as much as possible so instead of chopping up semisweet chocolate, I used semisweet chocolate chips instead. As you can imagine, that change certainly didn't do any harm.

As Annie suggests, after the first day or so, these are better enjoyed after a quick zap in the microwave--I found 20-25 seconds worked best, but it will depend on your individual microwave, so be conservative to start. :)

Salted Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: slightly adapted from Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:
- 8 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. fleur de sel (sea salt), plus more for sprinkling
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. Combine the 8 ounces chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, and heat until the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. (Alternatively, heat in the microwave in 25-second intervals, stirring in between.) In another mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 4-5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the melted chocolate mixture, blending until incorporated. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2-3 inches apart.

4. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies are just slightly soft in the center and crackly on top, about 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with additional salt and let cool on the baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Read more...

Scratching an Itch

If you've been reading a while, you know that we've been on several vacations in the two-and-a-half years we've been married. (And we are tremendously thankful to have been able to take these trips.)

It started with our honeymoon to Hawaii. It was during that trip that we realized that we really enjoyed traveling together and that we could be smart with our money and travel, all at the same time. It's all about priorities, and travel has become a priority for us.

After Hawaii, we went to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Then we went to Las Vegas, Nevada.
And Seattle, Washington.
And Victoria, British Columbia.
And San Francisco, California.
Then Chicago, Illinois.
And San Antonio, Texas.
Also Austin, Texas.
Then Key West, Florida.
And Miami, Florida.
And who could forget the mess of a trip that was Montreal, Quebec?

(Oh, and we have our annual trips to the Pocono Mountains, but those cost us nothing and therefore don't really count.)

It is at this point that I need to point out that Montreal was in JUNE. We haven't been anywhere since June, and as a result, we are dying to go somewhere. We can't wait to turn Nora into a little traveler.

We've been debating where to go on our first family vacation, and we just could not commit. But--I'm happy to say--we finally did it. We booked flights and we are going. All THREE of us.

In May, we are heading to Las Vegas! Yes, with a baby. No, we're not crazy. We're not actually staying in Las Vegas, you see.

We're flying into Las Vegas, but then we are hitting the road. Our real destinations involve nature. Lots and lots of nature. Beautiful nature.

Over the course of a week, we will explore...

Zion National Park in Utah

(Photo Credit: www.zionponderosa.com)

Bryce Canyon in Utah

(Photo Credit: www.leavinglasvegascampervans.com)

...and, of course, the Grand Canyon.

(Photo Credit: www.nps.gov)

We.can't.wait.

One of our issues is that we really, really wanted to make it over to Arches National Park, too, but couldn't swing it given our limited time for this trip. Some day!

We haven't booked much yet in terms of accommodations, and haven't made any concrete plans about what to do/what to see in each park, so if any of you happen to have suggestions, feel free to throw them our way.

In the meantime, we are counting down the days!

Read more...

Blog Comments

I greatly appreciate blog comments. (What blogger doesn't?)

But, you know, for a while now, something has been bothering me. (Don't worry. It has nothing to do with any of you.)

I am not a fan of Blogger's default comment system. It's annoying. I like to respond to a lot of your comments, especially when you all ask questions. And wouldn't it be wonderful if I was able to do so directly under the appropriate comment/question?

I'm wondering if there is some kind of plug-in out there that I can install into my HTML coding to make comments work better here on Heather Drive. I've heard of a few in passing (Disqus?), but that completely takes the Blogger system out of the equation, I believe. I know a lot of people like to comment through their Blogger accounts, so I'd love something that still allows people to do that, but offers me more functionality, making for a better exchange of ideas.

Anyone know of anything like this? Any good (or bad) experiences with other commenting systems on other blogs you read?

Read more...

Party Hard

We took my sister-in-law out to dinner tonight, to treat her before she goes back to college on Monday. We went to a restaurant with a ton of TVs so we could watch playoff football.

Nora was enthralled with the place.

At home, we generally keep the TV off during most of her awake hours, because if we didn't, she'd be staring at it ALL.THE.TIME. But there was no keeping her from looking at them in the restaurant tonight, and hey, they kept her entertained and quiet. (Well, along with the menu. I officially have a baby who likes to grab hold of things. She loved that menu.)

Shortly after our food was served, Michael took Nora so that I would be able to eat more easily. She sat in his lap for a minute, fussed a little, then turned her face into his arm, and promptly passed out cold. Like this:
She was totally out. Could not be stirred. And she stayed sleeping like that, too. Silly girl.

Read more...

Modern Family

It used to be that I watched a lot of television shows. With the exception of Saturdays, there was at least one show I would watch (or at least record) on the lineup for each night of the week.

Then we had Nora. I've given up a lot of TV since Nora was born.

There were shows that I was getting bored with anyway, and once we had Nora, it wasn't worth wasting the time on them anymore. My television "commitments" were pared down to a select few--House, Top Chef, and Grey's Anatomy. That's it.

I've been watching all of the same shows for years now. I guess that's part of the reason it was so easy to give up most of them, as it's really the same shit over and over. I haven't taken on anything new in forever, and haven't really been interested in doing so, even as people rave over all of their new favorites.

One night, Michael and I settled in to watch a movie we rented (I can't even tell you what it was), and the usual promos came on. Movie promo after movie promo, blah blah blah. But then an extended preview came on for a television show--I was officially introduced to Modern Family.
I had heard people talking about this show, but people talk about a lot of shows. I've tuned into some of the ones that are supposed to be the absolute best, and I've always been disappointed. So I never gave Modern Family much of a thought--until this promo I just happened to see before a movie, that is.

I laughed so hard at the few minutes of clips from the show, I knew I had to start watching. I started DVRing the new episodes shortly after the second season began, and I have to say, I *LOVE* this show. I look forward to the new episodes every week. We've also been renting the first season discs through Netflix, so we've been enjoying those episodes as well.

So what makes the show so great? Well, for starters, I can't name a character I don't like. The entire ensemble was perfectly cast, from Ed O'Neill to Ty Burrell to Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen. I love them all.

The show is brilliantly written. The writers pull things from their real lives and make them hilarious. It's not always laugh-out-loud, pee-your-pants funny, though. Sometimes, I chuckle or shake my head at the comedy, but there are times when I'll find a scene so funny that I'll catch myself laughing about it days later. For example, Mitchell calling 9-1-1 in a panic. When the operator answers, "9-1-1, what is your emergency?" he replies, "We locked our baby in the car!! People are judging us."

You have to see it for yourself, I swear. And give yourself more than one episode to fall in love. I think I watched two or three before I started to really appreciate it all.

For those of you who already watch... Any favorite episodes, scenes, or quotes you want to share?

Read more...

One Year Ago

One year ago today, I woke up, took a pregnancy test, and was surprised when the result was positive.

You see, I had taken a couple of tests in the days prior, all of which were negative. Yet my period had still not come, so I ditched the Dollar Tree tests and instead opted to take a "real" one--a First Response Early Response.

I nervously prepared the test, then stepped out into the hallway to wait the few minutes with Michael. When the time was up, I approached the bathroom sink, heart pounding in my chest. I looked and... it was positive. Very positive, in fact. There was no mistaking that second line.

We laughed and cried.

Those two little lines represented a baby inside of me that was then the size of a poppyseed.

Now, that poppyseed is beautiful baby Nora.

January 12, 2010 was one of the best days of my life.

January 12, 2011 is even better--because she's here.

Read more...

Four Months Old

Dear Nora,

You are four months old, and a dream come true. You are everything I ever hoped for and more. Every time we think we couldn’t possibly love you more, we discover that the very next day, we do.

You giggle now. It is hilarious and sooo contagious. It sounds so cliché, but every time you smile, I feel like my heart could burst. It makes me so happy to see you happy. You are gaining more control of your hands, and you are becoming interested in them, as well as the things around you. You are beginning to explore the world through touch and taste, so you like to grab hold of things—toys, clothing, my hair—and you are starting to put them into your mouth as well. Your arms and legs seem to never stop moving.

You are so observant. I could watch you watch the world for hours. At daycare, Mary says you sit in your bouncy chair and watch all of the older girls play. You nap, but only for short periods of time, as you don’t want to miss a beat.

Speaking of daycare… Now that I have been back at work for more than a month, we have definitely settled into a routine. It’s still really hard on me, though, just because I feel like I have so little time with you. By the time we all get home together, we have just over an hour with you before you’re practically begging to go to bed. Some nights, I wish you’d stay up a little later so I could have just a few more minutes with you. When Friday finally rolls around, I feel a physical ache to be with you. Weekends are the best, and we cherish every minute of them.

Sleep! We always have to talk about sleep, as it is one of those questions that everyone always asks when you have a baby. We dealt with a few challenging weeks around Christmastime when you weren’t sleeping well, and therefore, Daddy and I weren’t sleeping well, either. It kept getting worse and worse, and as it turned out—you had your very first ear infection. We felt so badly that you were sick, but had to admit feeling a little relieved to have a cause for your sleep issues. And sure enough, after a few days of antibiotics, you fell back into your normal routine and you’ve been fantastic ever since.

Oh, and guess what? You are now sleeping in your own room like a big girl! Once we had the ear infection under control, we moved you to your crib without any problems at all. Daddy and I often sneak into your bedroom to watch you sleep for a few minutes, and we wonder aloud whether you could possibly get any more cute. (For the record, we don’t think you can.)

Mornings are so amazing. We’ll hear you start to fuss over the monitor and as soon as we open the nursery door, you stop. We’ll peer over the side of your crib and suddenly, you are all smiles. Honestly, it is the greatest feeling in the world to have you so happy to see us. I’ve never been a morning person, but that time of day has become one of my favorites.

I am proud to say that we have made it through another month of exclusive breastfeeding—or, exclusive breast milk, I suppose I should say (you obviously take pumped milk from bottles at daycare). Our goal is to make it another two months before starting you on solids, but we’re taking it day by day.

Although you have grown so much, you are still a peanut. When we took you to the doctor for your ear infection, you were 3.5 months old and weighed just 11 lbs., 1 oz. You’re still wearing 0-3 month clothes. We’re starting to try to rotate in some of your 3-6 month stuff, but much of it is still too big. You have a pediatrician’s appointment on Friday, so we’re curious to see how much you’ve gained over the last few weeks. You’ll receive another round of vaccinations, too, which is always hard for Mommy and Daddy!

Because you move around so much and can't yet sit up on your own, you have rubbed some of the hair off of the back and sides of your head. Your hair "style" can be pretty funny these days--it's long on top and at the back of your neck, but short on the sides and maybe even a little bit bald on the back. You kinda sorta look like you have a comb-over. But you make it look adorable, so you have nothing to worry about. :)

A few weeks ago, we celebrated your first Christmas, and your first New Year. They were so much more special to us because we got to experience them with you. We know the holidays will be even better as you grow older, when you begin to understand it all. Nevertheless, it’s awesome already—we had so many blessings to be thankful for.

As you grow, I feel a little bit sad about how quickly time is passing and how you are changing too fast—but you just keep getting more and more fun. By the time I write your next monthly letter, who knows what you’ll be up to? All I’m sure of is that I can’t wait to witness it all.

As they say in one of our favorite books to read together: I love you to the moon… and back.

Love,
Mommy

Read more...

Giggles

The last few weeks, Nora has started giggling. Things haven't escalated to the all-out belly laughs yet, but for now, the giggles are oh-so-freaking-cute.

See for yourself. :)

Oh, and if you're not yet a parent (or maybe even if you are), you might want to heed the warning in the middle of the video. I just couldn't edit it out; it was too funny not to keep in. Little stinker takes after me in that she laughs so hard she gives herself the hiccups--and her weak little stomach muscles can't take it!

Read more...

Caramel Crunch Bars

On New Year's Day, we had a get-together with some of Michael's extended family to celebrate Christmas. Since I didn't work the day before, I had a little bit of extra time to throw together something new for dessert. I took the opportunity to peruse my Google Reader, but didn't come up with anything that I just *had* to make. Instead, I turned to my Baking Bible and flipped through the pages, looking for something that inspired me.

I found inspiration in these bars. YUM.

A bonus was that they are pretty easy to put together--which is kind of rare for Dorie.

The cookie layer is deliciously crumbly, and the chocolate layer adds decadence. Add in the Heath Bar toffee bits on top and HOLY MOLY these are good.

These are made in a 13x9 pan, and you'll be surprised when you spread the batter out, because these puppies are really thin. You'll be even more surprised when Dorie suggests cutting these into 54 bars. (Um, hello--what 13x9 recipe results in *54* bars? It's more like 20, ha!) BUT, the thing is, these are pretty rich, and almost like a candy bar in a way, so in this case, smaller pieces really are more appropriate.

Caramel Crunch Bars
(Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

Ingredients:
For the base:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. instant espresso powder or finely ground instant coffee
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3 oz. bittersweet or premium milk chocolate, finely chopped

For the topping:
- 6 oz. bittersweet or premium milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup Heath toffee bits

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line the pan with foil and butter the foil. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the base: Whisk together the flour, coffee, salt and cinnamon.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another three minutes or until the mixture is light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla and turn off the mixer. Add all the dry ingredients, cover the stand mixer with a kitchen towel (so you and your kitchen don’t get showered in flour) and pulse the mixer on and off at low speed about 5 times- at which point a peek at the bowl should reveal that it’s safe to turn the mixer to low and mix, uncovered, just until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Add the chopped chocolate and mix only until the dry ingredients disappear. If the chocolate isn’t evenly mixed, finish the job by hand with a spatula. You’ll have a very heavy, very sticky dough. Scrape the dough into the buttered pan and, with the spatula and your fingertips, cajole it into a thin, even layer.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the base is bubbly – so bubbly that you can almost hear it percolating – and puckery. It will look as though it is struggling to pull away from the side of the pan. Transfer the pan to a rack and turn off the oven.

To make the topping: Scatter the chocolate evenly over the top of the hot base and pop the pan back into the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate is soft.. Remove from oven and immediately spread chocolate over bars, using offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the toffee bits over the chocolate and press them down lightly with your fingertips. Place the baking pan on a rack to cool to room temperature.

If, by the time the bars are cool, the chocolate has not set, refrigerate them briefly to firm the chocolate.

Carefully lift out of the pan, using foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. Trim the edges if they seem a bit thick. Cut about 54 bars, each about 2 inches by 1 inch, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Read more...

Coming Up for Air

Well, the New Year has started off with a bang--at work, that is.

We are off and running at my company. EVERYONE is swamped. I've been running around with my head cut off all week, and my to-do list is overwhelming (and growing). Endless meetings, tons of deadlines, lots of 2011 planning--it's just crazy. I cross one task off my list only to have three more added.

It's lovely.

Still, we're all in good spirits, and we try to keep the humor in our situations. We walk around exclaiming, "OH, January. I love January." and "January is awesome." In other words, the level of sarcasm is at an all-time high.

Anyway, that explains my lack of blogging this week. I can't believe it's January 5th and I'm just now writing my first post of 2011!

We had a quiet, uneventful New Year's Eve at home, and it was just what we wanted after years and years of attending the same ol' parties. On New Year's Day, we did "Christmas" with Michael's older sister and our nephews, and some other members of his extended family.

In other news, we have officially started our house hunt. We started perusing listings online on New Year's Eve actually, and did a few "drive-bys" of places on New Year's Day. On Sunday, we went back to our favorites and took closer looks, and we already have two that we're interested in scheduling appointments to see. We are working with our realtor to see when we can get in for showings.

We're also starting to pull things together to put our place on the market. All of this is terribly exciting and scary at the same time. What if we find a house we love, but can't sell our current place? What if we put our place on the market and it sells quickly, and we have nowhere to live? The worst case scenario is definitely the former--we really don't want to end up having to pay two mortgages for any amount of time! But we will keep the faith that everything will work out as it should, like it so often does in life.

Also, we are itching to travel. We haven't been anywhere since we went to Montreal in June, and we haven't flown anywhere since we went to Florida in April. Little Miss Nora has put a serious cramp in our traveling style! ;) But now that she's past the newborn stage, we're ready to start planning family trips now, so we're exploring a few options for a week-long trip in the spring.

And we did book airfare for a trip--but this one won't be taking us anywhere until summertime. My cousin is getting married in Playa del Carmen, Mexico on July 2, and... we're going! All three of us. The airfare was reasonable and with good flight times, so we jumped on it. It's going to be hot as hell down there at that time of year, but we plan to spend a lot of time in the shade, in the pool, and um, at the swim-up bar. :)

I really hate this time of year. January, February, and March are the worst. But at least work is busy, and our time at home is happily busy, too, thanks to a certain little girl we know and love!

All in all, there is already much to look forward to in 2011!

EDIT: I just realized that it's actually January 6th. Just goes to show how out of sorts I really am! HA!

Read more...