Favorite Baby Toys...

Ray and I knew we wanted to get some toys for our Bitty for Christmas, but were so un-inspired by what we saw most places. I was actually thinking we would just get her a convertible car seat for Christmas. THEN, I found this wonderful toy line, Haba and shopping becames so fun and we just dreamed about what we could buy her in the years to come... toys that will last for several children and aren't all so plastic-y. Take a look at what we found- the attention to detail is fabulous and she really loves the clutch toys. A few (the last two) are for her to grow into, and she should be able to use them for years to come. Lovelovelove them!

Baby food making

We have entered the magical world of solids! Claribel is loving all the new tastes after she got over the shock of something different than milk. I am really glad we got a video of those first tastes because it was pretty funny : ) I have been really enjoying making first tastes for Claribel and have made pears, red delicious and fuji apples, zuchini, and sweet potatoes. So far she has had rice cereal and pears and we are going to have some sweet potatoes this weekend.

d and Monie got Claribel this wonderful baby food maker for Christmas and it is fabulous. Definitely a splurge and something that is not at all necessary for homemade baby food (nothing that a pot, steam basket, and food processor won't do) but it is so well thought out and E-A-S-Y to use and clean.

Claribel at Christmas...

This is my favorite Christmas moment - she has a funny reaction when the dog stops playing.

Happy Monday to you!

Claribel has had several giggle sessions so far. Thought I would share one with her and Ray the other day :) It is so hard not to smile and laugh when she does- cracks us up! You can also see our current normal- slobbery chins and bibs- she is a serious drooler-

We will miss you Maria!

Maria started keeping Claribel when I went back to work- I think when Cbel was around 8 weeks. We found her because her husband teaches with my mom and she asked him if he thought she might want to watch her. We are so blessed to have had such a loving Christian woman keep our sweet baby and to have someone that loves her as well. Well, Maria is going to have a new baby of her own in January so we have found someone new to care for her starting tomorrow. It always made it much easier going to work knowing that she was taken care of so well at home by Maria. We will miss you, but will keep in touch!

and hopfully some of those spanish words will come easily to Claribel later on in life!

Meeting PW

Yesterday, Monie and I made the trek to Houston to the Blue Willow Bookshop Pioneer Woman Cookbook Signing. It was quite the adventure!

I was first introduced to the Pioneer Woman blog a few years ago through another blog that I happened upon. I suppose I was reading from close to the beginning (the website was way different, only one page with everything instead of all of the tabs, etc.) I told Monie about her I guess about a year ago and told her she should read her Black Heels to Tractor Wheels story. She now keeps me up to date on the Pioneer Woman as I am not getting to read her site as often as I used to. When Monie mentioned that she was doing a book signing tour with her cookbook we knew we had to go meet her. It was funny that the bookstore owner that introduced her told a story about a PW reader that said something about "Her friend Ree" to her husband and he said, "She doesn't even know you". When you read her blog you do feel like you know her, so crazy, I guess that is what is so interesting about blogs. I have loved learning about her life, what life as a ranching family looks like. I have also loved trying out some of her recipes, some of my favorites are Oatmeal Crispies, Yogurt Cream and Berries, Crash Hot Potatoes, Potato Bundles, Apricot Bars, Blackberry Cobbler, Lasagna, Meatballs, Steak Bites, Blueberry Muffins, Apple Brown Betty, Chocolate Sheet Cake , creamy herbed potatoes, mashed potatoes , creamed spinach, not your granny's mac and cheese, I am sure there are others, but those are the ones coming to mind. She helps turn non-cooks into cooks; she has helped Monie start cooking more and the way she does her recipes on her blog (and her cookbook) is so great with all of the pictures.

So, yesterday...

We left Bryan- College Station at 7:45 and got to the bookshop right when they opened at 9:30 for the signing tickets. Then, we headed over to Georgia's Market (very cool place for all you Houstonites) where the booksigning was going to be. We got in the line to wait until the seats were set up for her to speak. Everything worked out so well, we probably had to stand in line behind about 5 people for about 30 minutes or so. Then we got seats on the end of the second row to the right of the stage. We all just hung out until PW came out around 1 pm. She sat on the little stage and they did a Q & A and then she sat to the right of the stage right in front of us to sign the books. They called different colors in a certain order and only that color group stood in line. Claribel did so well... she took a few short naps and we all just hung out. When it was finally our turn it was pretty ridiculous... I didn't even know what to say and Monie introduced us. She had also brought a bottle of wine from Messina Hof and so she gave that to her from her sister's vineyard. I have never been to a book signing before, but I thought it was pretty different that Monie was bringing her a gift... well, she was not the only one- she had several boxes of goodies from her fans... I am so glad we went, but we both laughed afterwards on the way home about how ridiculous we felt about how we behaved. I just stood there... thankfully Monie was there :) It was all so organized and we were out of there by around 4:30.

naptime waiting for PW

I wish I would have gotten CBel to smile at Ree (she is just so darn cute with that toothless smile)... oh well... She was getting to the end of her rope ready for the nice nap she took on the way home anyways.

Thanks Pioneer Woman!

It was really nice to meet you and I am excited about cooking more recipes out of your book!

and I really loved the necklace you had on- really neat!

Sleep Stories

It is funny to me how many different ways we find Claribel after her naps, and in the mornings. She moves all over the place and rotates the completely opposite direction. Sometimes I wish we had one of those video monitors so we could see her in action. I am pretty sure that alot of the moving has to do with the fact that she sleeps on her stomach and gets those strong legs going and scoots all over.

We have found her several times with her arm hanging out of the crib, over the bumper like the picture below. So funny...

Below is a picture in our bed in the morning while I was getting ready for work one day. She kept pulling hte blanket up over her chin.

Rubber Duckie- revisited

It is amazing what a difference a month makes...

First Halloween

The Happiest little baby duck we ever saw!

Infant Dedication

October 10, 2009

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

Psalm 127: 3-5a

yippee! I won!!!

My dear friend Kelli had a little giveaway this past weekend for The Jesus Storeybook Bible and I won one of the 3 she was giving away! I am so excited! Claribel is starting to really enjoy reading books and I am excited to grow into this one. We have a little boardbook Bible with stories, but it is seriously lacking in the New Testament department... I didn't notice this when we registered for it. I am so excited about this new book with the audio.

Remember all of those books with records that we listened to as kids (with the little chimes telling you when to turn the page? I hope she will enjoy this as much as my sisters and I did those when we were little.

Thanks Kelli! I am so excited-

pb&j

For the past 31 years, I have never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I guess I must have had a bite when I was little, but I don't remember. All I remember is that I did not like them and never wanted to eat them; they kind of grossed me out, honestly. I would have opted for peanut butter and honey or just peanut butter if I had to. Last week, I was putting some yummy bonne mama's blackberry preserves on my bagel for breakfast and accidentally dripped a glob on the bread that I was going to make a sandwich out of for lunch. I had a dilemma... throw away said piece of bread or try peanut butter and jelly for the first time in YEARS. I decided that I might actually like it with the yummy fresh ground honey roasted peanut butter from the HEB and the tasty preserves. Well, I did like it! In fact, I have had quite a few of them since this realization last week. I guess all this time I was a peanut butter and jelly snob... It just had to be the right peanut butter and jelly! yummy! I just had one for lunch at work and it was oh so tasty! Hey- has anyone ever had a pluot (plum apricot hybrid)? I bought some at the lovely Farm Patch in town and it is really good! I really need to start going there once a week- I think it would be a great way to start my Saturday mornings.