Pick Me Up

Well my crazy family can be a little much at times, but I love them to pieces! Especially the random things we can laugh about...This is one of them, this will be a personal pick me up forever!

Double Dream Hands!

Traditions

 I love everything about Christmas, but I love the traditions that come with it even more. My favorite family tradition is making gingerbread houses. Well in my family we did "graham cracker houses", but the idea is the same. I just get into this mode, and nothing can distract me, my ocd really comes out. I can honestly obsess over it for way too long to be healthy. Luckily we did this fab tradition at a friends Christmas party so I had a cut off time, or I would have been there all night. Braden was my lovely contractor, he did the foundation of the house, and I was the landscaper I guess. We had a blast. We used what came in the box and then got a little creative with what treats were being served at the party. This really got me into the Christmas spirit, and even more excited to go home to see my family!

They're Back!

 Ok, first of all I don't know why blogger decided to rotate the picture....does anyone know how to change this? Well about 4 months ago Eve had this long patch of hair on the top and I could put it in pigtails! I loved it, however she did not. She started pulling her hair out, I don't know if it was because she was in such a grabby stage or what, but when she had her bottles, she'd reach up and pull out her hair, the same goes for when she was bored, mad etc.
So she pulled out the long patch she could reach, but she finally sprouted enough new hair that I can put them in pony tails again! Only down side is, when I take them out she gets crazy hair, like Mugatu from Zoolander.

My Christmas Bliss

I love Christmas, everything about it. I love the lights, the smells, the family time together, there isn't a thing about Christmas I don't like. But the one thing that really boosts my Christmas spirit is the cranberry bliss bar from Starbucks. Nothing compares to it, there is something about it that is just so good, I am always so excited the day it comes back, that's when I know I can start my Christmas season. If you have not yet indulged in one of these babies....go get one now, I promise you won't be disappointed.

10 months

 This girl is amazing, she lights up the room wherever she goes, she's getting more and more of a charismatic personality everyday but also becoming very sassy. I'm convinced it's from Braden's side....ha!
Well at 10 months she is:
-teething, I just want the top two to cut through already!
-trying to walk, pushes a chair around the house, but won't touch a walker
-blows raspberries at you when she's mad
-climbing on everything
-Still doing all of the table food by herself
- can almost use her sippy cup by herself
- sleeping 11 hours at night, with still 2 naps in the day...bless her!
- 12-18 month clothing in most things
- sadly starting to thin out a bit, but just keeps getting taller
- still finds hair all over and loves to string it in her fingers....the weirdest thing
- my little chatterbox, anyone at church can vouch for that

Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving was a blast this year. We had supper at a friends house, so there was minimal cooking involved for me. It was great, I could just enjoy the day and spend time with the family. Because the holiday is usually in October for us Canadians, I feel lucky that we get 2 Thanksgivings. Eve had a good time trying all the new food, and of course pie. I love the time spent thinking about our blessings and what we can thank Heavenly Father for every day. I can't thank him enough for my little family, ward family, and the friends that have come into our lives.

So because we had supper at a friends house, we decided to get a little creative with the turkey preparations in our house. That way, if it turned out to be terrible Thanksgiving wouldn't be "ruined" due to a bad turkey. We tried injecting our turkey with a "Hawaiian Luau" marinade that we love. We bought a real injector from bed bath & beyond, I wasn't even sure they really existed. Anyways, we put on the pineapple to add a little more of a sweet flavor, and voila! This was what came out. The stuffing wasn't great, but the bird was awesome! The gravy had a good flavor to it too, and we have yet to try the turkey soup.

You Know it's Your Child When....

 I love this kid, she's always surprising me, she's into everything and can manage to get herself into some sticky situations. I will admit, this stage of her development can occasionally test my patience (ocd about cleanliness, and clutter, punctuality, etc) But there are always those moments, when I just want to squeeze her so tight and smother her with kisses. One was this, I had opened a new toothbrush for her and had just left it on the end table. A few moments later I hear this faint giggling...So I turn around and see Eve had got a hold of the toothbrush and was eating it, and having so much fun with it! Can you tell her mom is a Dental Hygienist? I just love it! She loves to get her teeth brushed at night, and likes toothbrushes, what more could I ask for haha

Oh Eve, stay a baby forever....

Spice Market

As a celebration of Braden's new job, he said "I know the perfect place where we can go out!" He had gone there once before with his previous office. He always talked about how amazing the food was, and well I had to try it for myself to really see if it was all he made it out to be.  So we headed out to The Spice Market, down in the meat packing district of NYC.

We had never actually been out to  "fancy schmancy" place before on a date...ever, not when we were married or even dating. We went from being students, to then parents, and I guess just never made it a priority. So we decided to treat ourselves, just this once.

 

I never knew who this guy was before we went there, but apparently Jean George Vongerichten is a famous chef, and he designed the menu there. Job well done sir, it was amazing. We got a sampler meal, where they give you small portions of 4 appetizers, 3 main courses, and 2 desserts so you can get a good feel of the menu. 

At the 3rd appetizer it had exceeded my expectations! It was amazing, I highly recommend it. I can honestly say without a doubt the best food I have ever eaten! It is a bit of a "different" selection of food, so you do have to have an open mind to new tastes. But it was so great.

And to top the night off, I got to have my very first official yellow NYC cab ride! I know, we've lived here so long, and never taken a taxi, but it was all I had dreamed it would be, haha, and then some.

9 Months

The little lady is now 9 months, and getting more and more surprising. She is very mobile, and completely fearless. A real independent spirit this one, she will not be held at any time, she has to get from point a to point b by herself, and now that she knows she can feed herself she will do just that...all the time. She will not let you feed her anything, and definitely not baby food. Everything she eats, she has to feed herself. So any ideas on different ways to get veggies and fruit into you're babies by there own hands would be very helpful! Here are her updates:

-29 inches long, 90th percentile
-18lbs 6 oz, about 40th percentile
-crawling very fast, and pulling herself up places,
- Still napping twice a day
- Getting into everything
- Size 3 diapers
- Still the happiest smiley baby around.
- Waving and clapping
- Saying Mama, dada, baba (bottle), nana(no) it's funny, when she's mad she shakes her head and says "na, na, na!" she's also starting to make "t" sounds and "th" sounds

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! What a good one it was this year, we had such a blast! Eve's costume was a huge hit (thanks again mom and Amy) and she got a lot of much deserved attention :) The original idea was to do angel and devil, Braden the angel of course, to go with Eve's nun costume, but late afternoon saturday Braden tried on the costume I had in mind. Bad idea....there was just something off, it wasn't Braden, just poor planning on my part. 

Luckily I had my Batman costume from years before, and around 3:30pm saturday (party started at 8:00) we threw together this little ensemble for Robin. Not too bad I say given the time period and lack of resources. We tried party city, but a robin costume there was around $50, and we weren't going to spend that. So we basically bought a huge yellow shirt from Old Navy, conveniently 50% off sale price, and the rest we found at home. I had the black fabric left over from making a shirt at home before. So total cost for Braden's costume- $3.98. It was awesome.

 A little Karaoke goes a long way. The Francia's throw the best Halloween parties ever, they never disappoint.

 This game makes me want a WII so bad! "Just Dance" is the funnest game I have ever played, if anyone has a WII I highly suggest you get this. It was a huge hit, people got really into it and had a blast with it. We were doing a disco dance to "Hot Stuff" in this picture, as you can tell we were really into it.

 My little Mother Theresa, so cute!

Some goodies we made for the party, Braden made the cookie part, I did the icing, he makes a mean oreo!

Family Pics - Fall 2010

 This year we decided to do family pictures again at Waveney Park in New Canaan. It's scary to think that this time last year I was still pregnant with our little bundle, and this year she's crawling around the grass and eating all the leaves she can get her hands on. She's a fast one when you're not looking.

Those eyes are just stunning, I get lost in them

Eve loved the photographers, some of our best friends in the ward took our pictures for us! He doesn't usually do it, but because Eve has such a crush on him and we knew he'd get her to smile he made an exception :) Thanks again Josh and his lovely assistant Colleen, you're the best!

Daddy's Girl at the Park

  

 This past Saturday was so beautiful we couldn't let it go to waste. Since we know there aren't too many nice days left we thought we'd take Eve to Cherry Lawn Park in Darien. It's a beautiful park with so many different things for small children to do, but the main attractions for us were the see-saw and the baby swings. Eve wasn't a huge fan of the see-saw, maybe it just wasn't as exciting for her as we anticipated.

 

 As you can see the swings were a huge hit! But like usual, as I go to push her it's "Da-da-da-da" So I, as usual, step aside and let her Dada do the pushing. It's ok I guess, it leaves me time to snap some adorable pictures of this little thing! Eve is without a doubt a daddy's girl, all day it's Dada until he gets home from work and she's elated to see his face. I am proud to say she said Mama first, but after she could say Dada and knows what it means, it's only mama when she's sad or tired, or hurt. So I'm glad to know she does need me, and wants me sometimes, but I am really pleased with her great relationship with Braden.

 

I just love that face, I can't get enough of this kid!

I hope she stays a daddies girl...

Update

 I guess it's that time for an update. Eve is doing really well, and loving life. She is my little water baby, she can't get enough of the bath! If she's ever in a bad mood or not feeling well, she can always be cheered up by a warm bubble bath, and her ducky of course, she will not let that thing go.
(As you will notice, every single tub picture we have of her, that duck is in it)
Things with us are pretty tame, as usual I have working 2 days a week in Stamford for a dentist here, and 2 days in Greenwich for another dentist. But after some sweet talking, and a few incentives/perks my Greenwich office gets me mon-thur. I am pretty excited, it is a great office and I love those I work with. They were very understanding that I wanted to have at least 1 day a week for just Eve and I. So we get to keep Fridays for a girls day. It's the highlight of my week every week.
Braden is doing well, loving his girls and taking advantage of every minute with us. Eve gets so excited when he comes in the room, I love it.
Eve is eating more table food, just a few things, like small soft pieces of bread, stuffing has been a big favorite, and a few other things we have just broken up for her. She feels like a big girl, and you can tell. We were lucky enough to have our good friends take our family pictures this past weekend at Waveney Park, the pictures will be coming soon, I am so excited!

 Eve still gets crazy hair after her nap. (I have noticed that when she's mad or bored she pulls out her hair on the top, anyone else experience this? Any ideas how to help her stop, or is it just a stage?)

 Making a mess with her squash.

 Eve can still only scoot backwards, and she gets stuck in odd situations. I have storage containers under the bed, and she squeezed herself between a container and the leg of the bed frame, she was not very impressed.

She is always fascinated by the running water... I just want to eat her cheeks in this picture!

8 Months

 8 months already?! Wow this last month really flew...Eve is getting bigger and bigger and always surprising us. I have to say, I am madly in love with this little one. Updates:
- just about 28 inches (just about 90th percentile)
- 18 lbs (50th)
- Can say mama and dada
- Still sleeping in crazy positions.
- Loves her walker, she can only go backwards but she loves being mobile
- Scooting on the floor, but once again, only backwards.
- Eating rice puffs, and just starting to be able to pick them up and put them in her own mouth.
- Loves fruit in any kind of mixture or variety.
- Pulled out most of her long hair patch on the top, so no more pony tails :( at least until she grows more.
- Waves hello to you if you wave first.
- Will take steps if you hold her arms

 

Don't mind the terrible quality, my camera isn't good without natural light.

 Her waving at the camera 

Her faces make me laugh, she has so many...