Thursday, July 29, 2010

What's for dinner?

So, blogging every day in March was fun, and it made me blog a little more regularly afterwards. For like a week, anyway. I decided I needed to come up with something else to blog more frequently. So at least once a week, I will post about something we had for dinner and include recipes. It will get me here at least once a week, and it will force me to make something "good" for dinner a little more often. :)

This week's entry was actually last Friday's dinner. Fajitas! And the recipe for the marinade is from Chili's--my mom had it in a cookbook full of restaurant secret recipes. We served them with corn salsa, which is a recipe that my aunt made up when she was visiting a few years ago. It's hard to stop eating it. :) Enjoy!

Fajitas
4 chicken breasts or one flank steak
3 bell peppers
1 onion
marinade:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 T oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
3 T white vinegar
2 t soy sauce
1/2 t liquid smoke
1 t salt
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t black pepper
dash onion powder

Mix all marinade ingredients and add chicken or steak. Let sit in fridge for at least a few hours. While meat grills, saute onion and peppers in a little oil. Serve with fajita fixings.

Corn Salsa
6 ears fresh sweet corn, cooked
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 red or orange bell pepper, finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 3 limes
salt and pepper
cumin, to taste
hot sauce or cayenne pepper, to taste

Toss all ingredients together and enjoy with tortilla chips!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

one year

My sweet baby girl,

As of 5:53 this morning, you have officially been alive in this world for one year. Good Lord, that went fast. This whole week has been a lot of, "Last year at this time...." It's been fun remembering last summer and how exciting it was to FINALLY start feeling contractions a week after my due date. And then how frustrating it was to have them stop. Twice. And then how great it was to finally go to the hospital and know we were so close to meeting you. And then how amazing it was to finally have you OUT of me and to see your sweet face and kiss you and hold you and say, "Thank you for being born!"

This year has been a lot of things. It has been overwhelming, getting used to life with two kids and all of the challenges and joys that come with it. It has been exciting, watching you grow before our very eyes and learn new things. It has been tiring, with many sleepless nights, early mornings, and skipped naps. But it has been awesome. I never knew my heart could feel like this!
It is so crazy to look at pictures from those first few days and think, "Were you really ever that tiny?" And really, since you were 9 lb 13 oz at birth, the answer to that question is, "No. You were never 'tiny'." :) But you did fit into my arms a little differently than you do now! And it's really wild to think about how tiny you felt in the Moby wrap. I can't imagine trying to get you into that again! I should try just for the fun of it.

It's really fun to watch you eat new things, now that you are allowed to eat almost everything. You still have your favorites--yogurt, avocados, bananas, cheese. And as of your party yesterday, cupcakes are climbing the list of favorites! Wow, you sure enjoyed that thing. You had frosting everywhere! Hair, ears, toes. What a treat! Cupcakes and potato chips. I'm a pretty awesome mom when it comes to nutrition. :)
It's interesting how birthday parties become increasingly more exciting with every year. Jackson is already planning a Batman party for next March. But you? Today was just any other day! You didn't care what everyone was here for. And you certainly didn't want to waste your time opening presents. It's a good thing people are understanding. :) You did get some lovely things. New toys are always exciting. And new clothes! Gotta love it.

Jack was sure that you'd start saying "Mama" by the time you turned one, but it's not happening. Everything is still "dada." Except that you never actually call Daddy "dada." "Dada" means "bye bye" and "thank you" and when it's yelled across the house it means "Jackson." :) It's crazy how we can totally tell what you're saying even though you're just repeating the same two syllables. Or maybe we're all just delusional and you're not actually saying anything. Nah, you're a genius!

When Jack was a baby, we got to the point where we couldn't remember what life was like without him. "What did we do before we had this amazing baby in our lives?" After you were born, it didn't take long for us to say, "What was life like with just one?" You so quickly made such an imprint on our lives and were clearly a vital part of our family. And even more now, I cannot even imagine what our family would be like without you in it! It certainly wouldn't be as exciting. You have added so much in your one year here. God sure knows how to bless a family.

I'm so thankful for you, sweetheart! I look forward to the next year and many more after that. It makes my heart happy to watch you grow!

Love you so much,
Mom

Friday, July 09, 2010

My girlie girl!!!!

Leah got her first birthday present in the mail today! It was from her cyber-buddy Jagger (whose mom I am friends with through a small group on Babycenter). Check out my girl! She LOVES this thing--she walked around the house like she was made to wear tutus. :)


So pretty!!!And a matching headband? Too much!

Lucy was very interested in the tutu. :)