Wednesday, November 30, 2011

9 Month Check Up

Weight: 17 lbs 153/4 oz (50%)

Height: 27 inches (25%)

Head Circumference: 44 cm (50%)


Lottie is all over the place right now - her crawling has doubled in speed - she is flying through the house now as opposed to the turtle like cruising she was doing before.  These last couple of weeks have certainly changed!!!! 

Lottie has become a lot more clingy, which the doctor said she would.  I literally can't put her down to play without her crawling, whining and reaching for me which of course I don't mind but at the same token, it makes getting everyday household chores difficult to get done.  The doctor also mentioned normal personality changes such as Lottie recognizing strangers as different.  That hasn't been too bad yet. 

TEETH!  Oh those darn teeth.........  We've officially got 4 teeth now!  They are so cute BUT definitely not cute coming in because as you can imagine they are painful! 

And let's not forget the CONSTIPATION!  TMI????  Poor baby has had a rough go of it these last couple of weeks between those teeth and not being able to poo!  She's been loaded up with prunes, pears, apple juice, you name it!  The good news is it looks like she is back on track after a full on pooping fest on Sunday and Monday which makes MAMA happy.  We've had two great nights of sleep and I am feeling somewhat human again!  :)

The blog has certainly been neglected lately!  SORRY!!!  Between work, the holidays and my growing little one, I've not had a chance to get much done these days.  Hopefully things will slow down here soon.  Gosh, before you know it Lottie will be a year old - which completely BLOWS my mind! 

Stay tuned for Lottie's First Thanksgiving post

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Weekend Wrap Up

This past weekend was a BUSY one!  Last Friday, I had off work for Veteran's Day.  I was so excited to spend the whole day with Lottie.  First things first, we headed to JC Penney for her 9 month photos.  What a disaster!  As soon as I sat her down in front of the camera she froze!  She didn't smile, nothing!  I was doing all the things that normally gets her cracking up, like singing the ABCs, making silly noises, tickling, etc. - but NOTHING!  Finally after numerous attempts to crack a smile, I resorted to picking her up, spinning her around, throwing her back and forth in my arms until she was in hysterics.  I then quickly put her back into position on the floor in hopes the photographer got the shot off.  Let's just say the 9 month photos didn't exactly turn out the way I had hoped.  Oh well!!! 

The rest of the day was spent at Michaels, Walmart, Target, cleaning house and playing with the little one.  I'm pretty sure Lottie's highlight of the day was the shopping experience at Walmart.  She loved sitting like a big girl in the cart.  She was laughing, clapping, making a clicking noise with her mouth (funny) and acting like she was having the time of her life.  We strolled through the Christmas section and her eyes looked like saucers with all the lights, inflatables, trees, etc.  Speaking of trees, we spotted a cute little pink tree that I'm thinking of getting for her.  It was $20, but I'm thinking on Black Friday it might be $15.  Frugal here......



Before her 9 Month Pictures



Walmart shopping trip!



Pink Tree

Saturday - I went and had Lottie's Christmas photos taken.  I know, I know - I am a NUT JOB when it comes to taking pictures of my baby!  I honestly just can't help myself - she will be grown before you know it and I'm sure that after this first year, the photos will not be taken as regularly.  Don't judge!!  :)

Saturday night was my friend Danielle's 30th surprise birthday dinner / celebration at Jade in Ballantyne.  What a cute little restaurant!  Steve and I ordered a large plate of sushi that was delish!  I think we'll definitely be going back! 

Here are a few fun photos to share!





The Birthday girl and I


The Group



Sweet Amanda and her b/f (tarhole  :-))


Sheesley and his g/f


Matt and Danielle


Steve and I


Double Fisting


Yummy cupcakes Matt ordered



Hope you had a great birthday D!!!  Steve and I had a great date night out!  :)

On Sunday, the girls and I finally managed to tailgate and get to a game together.  We are all BIG Panther fans.  We tailgated with good food, mimosas and good conversation. 






Jeanette's brother Chris (police officer) w/ our troops


A great way to wrap up the weekend and show appreciation for Veteran's Day.  We wouldn't be able to do the things we love to do and enjoy freedom without our troops.  A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!

Lottie's FIRST Words

Can you guess????????

MAMA MAMA MAMA MAMA MAMA

It's true!  Oh how my little heart melted!  This past Saturday I was running around the house cleaning and trying to pack Lottie's diaper bag as Steve and I had a birthday party to attend.  Unfortunately, Lottie missed her afternoon nap and was refusing to take one.  I don't know why kids fight it so much knowing good and well they are sleepy.  The eye rubbing, the whining........ I'd kill for a nap every day now!  :)

While fighting the nap and crawling every which way to get to me so I'd pick her up, she looked right at me and said mama mama mama - several times in a row.  Steve and I just looked at each other in AWE!  Of course, I ran over to her, scooped her up and sqeezed and hugged so tight.  It was the best feeling hearing her say those four or five mamamamamamamamama!

Since Saturday, she has started saying dada dada dada - Steve has been eating it up! 

Yesterday when I picked Lottie up from day care she was sitting on the floor playing with her teacher.  I opened the door and as soon as she saw me, she started rocking back and forth, smiling and clapping.  She then started crawling towards me saying mama mama mama mama.  OMG - it was so cute! 

Of course I tried to capture her on video yesterday saying MAMA and all she would say is DADA!  Little bugger!!  Hopefully we'll have better luck this weekend!!  :)

Video to come soon!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Milestones - 8.5 Months Old

November 1, 2011 marked a milestone for Lottie.  She crawled for the FIRST time!!!

Before then, she was scooting around on her bum, laying down on her back and rolling to where she wanted to get to - BUT no more.  The girl is MOBILE!!!  She has not stopped crawling since she started last week.  The days of leaving her in one place and expecting her to be in the vicinity of the place I left her is LONG gone!  I shot video last week of Lottie scooting around and crawling a little.  This was shot the morning after she crawled for the first time.  It is a little long winded so feel free to stop at anytime! 


You will see from the video that Lottie is dying to stand up.  Every day, she sticks her bum up in the air and when she feels like she is balanced will slowly try and lift her hands off the floor.  Of course, she immediately collapses on her bum.  Sometimes, I will hold my hand behind her bum and she'll think that she is half standing on her own.  She generally starts clapping and is obviously very proud of herself.  It is so cute!

Another worthy thing to mention....... This past weekend I put Lottie into her big girl bath for the first time.  Let's just say that she had a full on MELT DOWN!  She absolutely hated it!  Pure torture I tell you.  I don't think I've ever bathed her so quick.  I don't know if it was the fact that she wasn't used to it or if the quacking duck was scaring her.....  No clue.......  What I do know is that I haven't put her back in it yet.  One is for the obvious reason and Two is MY KNEES HURT SO BAD BENDING OVER THE TUB! 

Insanity is doing a number on my body and my knees.  I've got bruises all over my knees from those darn level 1 drills!!!  Anyways, due to that and old sports injuries from playing volleyball and softball in school, I am going to have to get knee pads in order to give Lottie a bath in the bathtub!  How sad and OLD does that make me sound?  Poor Lottie! 


Poor Baby!!!  :(


I think we must have felt bad for her because when we were out on Saturday, Steve bought her a walker/car to walk, scoot around in.  She loves it especially when we push her around saying, "Beep, Beep"






Ha, I love this picture - she actually looks a little chubby and that face screams, "Leave me Alone!"




Wild Hair Sunday!!!

Looking forward to my three day weekend with the little one!!!  We are closed on Friday!  Call me crazy but I think her and I are going up to Northlake Mall on Friday to see Santa!!!  That's right!  SANTA!  Girls day out!  Then on Saturday, we are having her 9 month photos taken.  I can't get enough of her, that smile, those laughs, her personality.....  she's already my BFF!

Monday, November 7, 2011

White Bean Chicken Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp of minced garlic
2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 carton of chicken broth (I used HT brand)
1 rotisserie chicken
1 can of sweet corn
1 can of cream of chicken soup
2 (15 ounce) cans white beans (I used Great Northern)
1 Box of White Chicken Chili Seasoning mix (You can find it beside the packets of marinade, taco seasoning, etc. aisle)
Shredded Mexican blended cheese
Sour cream

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic and green chile peppers. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, corn, white beans, chicken and chili seasoning mix. 

I cooked the mixture on low for about an hour, stirring occasionally.  You can go longer than that if needed.  Serve with cheese and sour cream to your liking!

Of note.......the chili seasoning box comes with chili seasoning mix, dried green pepper / jalapenos, cayenne pepper and mesa flour (to thicken the chili if needed).  It allows you to make it as spicy as you'd like.

Another easy, satisfying recipe that you won't regret you made!!!  Even the hubs LOVED!

I got the recipe online and tweaked it based on my taste and reviews.

Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili

Happy Monday! 

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

4 halved chicken breasts
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cartons of chicken stock (I used the HT brand)
1 minced onion
2 tbsp butter
2 (10 oz) packages of refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into small pieces

1. Place the chicken, soup, butter and onion in the slow cooker.  Then fill with enough chicken stock to cover. 
2.  Cover and cook for 6 hours on high.  About 2 hours before you are ready to serve, put the torn pieces of biscuit dough in the slow cooker.  Once the biscuit dough goes in, I would stir it every 30 to 45 minutes to make sure they are covered in liquid.

I was a little weary of the biscuit dough and wondered how it would compare to actual dumplings, but it turned out great.  I received so many compliments on what I thought was one of the easiest recipes I've ever cooked in my slow cooker. 

What made me decide to cook this specific recipe was the ratings and 5 stars it got online along with the simplicity and few ingredients.  I am such a stickler for easy, inexpensive recipes that receive high praises. 

Most people tweaked the recipe to make it their own.  You can obviously add veggies, spices, etc. 

Hope you enjoy!!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Halloween

This past weekend, I had a few friends over for a little Fall gathering.  My sister and her husband were in town for the weekend and of course any time they are in town, everyone wants to drop by to see them. 

I spent the first part of my morning doing an Insanity workout (uggghhh), cooking and cleaning.  By the time everyone showed up, I was worn out! 

Lottie was a little fussy on Saturday so I should have known trying to get her into her ladybug costume was going to be a nightmare.  And it most definitely was.  For the last couple of weeks, every time I go to put Lottie on the changing table in her room to change her diaper or change her clothes, she immediately starts crying.  She is NOT happy.  When that happens I usually start singing or making funny noises and that seems to calm her down.  Well.........not on Saturday.  My sister and I went to put her costume on and she was screaming bloody murder!  After adjusting the awkward fit of the costume, we finally got it on.  We quickly whisked her outside to see if we could capture a few pictures.  My sister ended up wearing the lady bug costume (it suited her).



NOT happy!!!!!!!!


OK - this is all you are getting she says!


Her feet fell out of the costume!  Slowly coming off!


This was taken right before her mini melt down! 

She looked pretty cute for the 10 minutes the costume stayed on!  I think she stayed mad at me for a good 15/20 minutes after the costume came off.  Oh well - hopefully better luck next year.  I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that she NEEDED a nap!

When the rest of our friends showed up, I was giddy with surprise!!  My friends Jeanette, Lauren, Ashley and Melissa dressed up as the Coopers and the LaRoccas.  It was hilarious. 

Jeanette dressed as Steve.  She took a wig cap and glued yarn to it to give it that manly sort of look which in fact was NOT manly - just plain strange!  Good effort on her part though - it was awesome!


She even brought Boddingtons (English beer) to drink



Gotta have the England shirt on!


Me and fake Steve and his typical WTH Tonya face!


Me and the fake hubby


Lottie with her fake Daddy (she was still not happy here)


This next one is a little embarrassing!  Lauren dressed up as me circa 1997/1998.  For whatever reason, me and a couple of girls (SARAH) used to think it was really cool to wear FUBU, TH, Polo Sport, wear dark brown lip liner with Mocha White lipstick, white eyeshadow and an obscene amount of gel in our hair!!!  Oh the good ole days!  Well Lauren really out did herself imitating me. 



Steve and his fake wife


Fake Steve and Tonya

Next up, Melissa decided to dress as Lottie.  She went all out as well sporting a diaper (Depends), a pacifier, a cute clip in her hair and drinking vodka from a bottle.  Hilarious!


Me and my fake Lottie



Finally, there is Ashley who dressed as Amy.  Basically to dress as Amy, all you need is an inappropriate dress, leggings or sweatpants, scrubs or slippers!  Ashley hit the nail on the head with her outfit and what topped it all off was her make shift husband Anthony!


Typical Amy


Looks just like Anthony!!




What a GREAT idea to dress as the family or couple who is hosting a party!  I just loved it!  I hope all the kids had a fun time trick or treating and enjoyed dressing as their favorite character!  I can't wait for next year when Lottie will surely enjoy dressing up as opposed to being tortured like she was this year!

Oh and let me just note that since we don't live in a neighborhood we have NEVER had trick or treaters, therefore I don't buy candy (b/c I will eat it all).  Well, what do you know - this year I had three trick or treaters!  HOW EMBARRASSING!  No Candy!!!  Guess what I did????  I had a packet of those red velvet cookies with icing that I put in little zip lock bags for their treat.  I felt like a grandma!  Good thing I knew the kids or that would not have flown!  Next year, this mama is buying candy!  Seriously who does that?  Geeezzzzzz!