Wordless Wednesday: The "Lazy Sunday & Flesh Eating" Edition

I'm a rule breaker, so I will have a few words, actually...

First the lazy Sunday...and the lighting in our room was spectacular during these very moments... Tatiana's eyes look so beautifully blue, I didn't do any tweaking or editing to them.

This photo directly below....MELTS my heart into a big ooey gooey puddle of love. When I look at it while at work I just want to get up from my desk, run out of the building and go get her and snuggle her.

And here's my flesh eater...using her foot as a teether, and her friend, Arianna as a teether. She litterally took Arianna's hand and started nomming on it...she also stole Arianna's pacifier several times. I think we might have a future trouble maker on our hands!

What we've been up to lately...and picture overload.

I hope you like food and babies, because if not this post will most likely burn your retinas.

This is a post of randomness...based on some photos I've taken over the past 7 or so days...accompanied by a few words.

Let's start at New Years Eve. Over the holidays Tatiana got a little off her bedtime schedule...going to bed between 11 and midnight as opposed to her normal 9 and 10... I started to get worried as New Years approached because Bjorn and I were going to be getting back to our normal work schedules that upcoming Monday. So we decided to stay in on New Years Eve. We invited my parents and Bjorn's parents over. We had a lot of food, wine, watched the movie Red and played Scattegories. A good time was had by all...and Tatiana went to bed at a somewhat decent time, and by Sunday night we finally had her back onto a normal bed time schedule.

Home made dips...my dad brought chipped beef dip and smoked salmon dip. Bjorn's mom brought cream cheese and pepper jelly. And I provided the cheeses and hummus from Whole Foods.

Super yummy Alfredo pizza from Whole Foods...totally recommend their pizzas!

These are also from Whole Foods, and are extremely danergous....

On New Years day we ventured to the Mall of America with our friends who have a baby Tatiana's age, and a 2 1/2 year old...holy, super super busy! About two hours and that was enough for us. Thanks to my friend who gets a great discount at MAC Comestics, I am now becoming an addict. So many pretty and colorful things.

The dads with the babes at the Mall.

My new stuff.

Trying it out...

The day after New Years we went out to breakfast with some of Bjorn's family and I also went to Crafty Planet to check out some of their fabric.

This week I've been wasting spending time making some good meals. Lasagna...sorry no recipe available... I just gunned it...I know what goes in lasagna and in what order, so for the first time, I threw one together. It was delish. I did use store bought sauce (Whole Foods 365 brand) but I added fresh sauteed garlic and onion, fresh basil leaves, and a mix of ground beef/turkey to it. I used low fat ricotta, mozzarella, lots of Parmesan, and a cheese I often get at Whole Foods called Robusto...it's SO flavorful...you just need a little and it adds a huge punch of flavor. I paired it with a lite Caesar salad and a good loaf of crusty bread.

Lasagna essentials.

Mmmmm...

Last night I sauteed up some chicken breast with red pepper, red onion and garlic. I made cilantro lime rice and fresh guacamole (thanks again to my new food processor). Then I put some sauces and cheese out. I had my chicken and veggies over the rice with some lite salsa ranch dressing and guac, and Bjorn made his into chicken tacos.
 

And now I will bombard you with baby photos and updates....

I did not alter this photo in Photoshop...I made the green border by using a ring from one of Tatiana's toys...I held it in front of the lens. Kind of tricky to a hold a camera just right, a toy just right, and get a baby to look at you...a smile on top of all this was just way too much ask!

So yesterday after I picked Tatiana up from daycare I layed her safely on the living room floor while I ran out to my car to grab some groceries, work bag, etc... I had laid her on her back...when I came back I found her as she is in the below photo. Now rolling onto her tummy is nothing new, but staying on it and not screaming is. She used to DETEST tummy time, but she happily stayed this way for at least 3 to 4 minutes.

Then later that evening she was taking a nap in her crib while we ate dinner. She woke up shortly after so Bjorn went to check on her...he called me up...here's how he found her in her crib.

I also think this is hilarious, because this is the first time she's ever shown any interest or recognition of the toys in her crib...we usually lay her down to sleep far away from them...but now she knows they're there.

We're still working on sitting up independently. Yesterday she did it long enough for me to actually be able to pick up the camera, focus it, and snap this photo. I think she has an easier time with it when she's distracted with a toy...it's almost as if she forgets she's sitting on her own and just focuses on the toy.

By the way, this child needs to SLOW down with the growth. I was snuggling her the other night and suddenly noticed that her hands are HUGE. Okay, they're not even near huge, but it was like I suddenly realized how much she has grown. Slow down little girl!

Baby Scarlett Has Surgery Today

This is baby Scarlett.

Let's face it...my blog is all about me and my little family. I brag, and post pictures...which is okay, because it is MY blog. But today I'd like to share another blog with you. Little two month old Scarlett needs prayers right now. She is in surgery for a massive brain tumor. I can't even read this blog without tearing up... we are so lucky to have a healthy baby. Reading about Scarlett's struggle makes me realize just how lucky we are. If you have a minute check this blog out and say a prayer for Scarlett and her 16 hour surgery she started today. Her parents also need prayers...for I can only imagine how much strength I would need to make it through this.

Click here for Scarlett's blog

New Sewing Project

Today I managed to start reorganizing my sewing area. During the holidays I was working on a lot of projects and never had the time to clean up after myself so it became a disaster area.

Ah, now I can breathe again.

This is what's inside the 'Cupcakes' tin.

So after some cleanup, which is still in progress, I made a sleeve to keep my NookCOLOR in. I even quilted it...I didn't use a pattern, this was totally random. And it just fits my Nook perfectly, nice and snug.

 

The front with a pocket.

Back.

And now we are ending our evening by watching the movie 'Salt,' while Baby T does this (see picture below) up in her crib. She passed out on Bjorn while snuggling...no one makes this girl light up quite like her daddy does. I think we have a certified daddy's girl on our hands!

Gourmet Dinner For All

I decided to finally make Tatiana some homemade baby food since I got an awesome food processor for Christmas. Now I have two amazing Kitchen Aid gadgets...my stand mixer and the food processor.  I didn't make a ton of food this time, just six containers worth. I used fresh sweet potatoes and fresh broccoli. Then I loaded it into Gerber baby food containers I had saved.

Bjorn fed Tatiana her dinner of fresh broccoli and sweet potatoes.

Believe it or not...even though her daddy won't touch broccoli with a 10 foot pole...Tatiana loved it.

She even managed to get it on her feet.

Our dinner was a little more solid to say the least...

Skinless Chicken Thighs with Shallots in Red Wine Vinegar...or since it's a French dish, if you prefer to say it the French way, Poulet Au Vinaigre. The recipe comes from SkinnyTaste.com.

And with it...and I apologize because the pictures does NOT nearly do these rolls justice...Honey Yeast Rolls from this blog, Annies-Eats.com. These are quite simply the best rolls I have ever had. My whole kitchen smelled A-mazing. We put butter and a little extra honey on them when we ate them, and it was ridiculously good. Bjorn had three, which I don't even understand, because they are huge and filling, but I guess they were just that good...

And with all this cooking...comes all this...

Yes, we have a dishwasher...there it is in the photo...but I'm pretty picky about a lot of things being hand washed. Basically, if its not an everyday plate, bowl, spoon, fork, glass, mug, Tupperware, etc... it's a hand wash item.

Did I mention Baby T is most likely teething? She constantly chews air (just moves her jaw up and down), chews her hands or anything in sight, and has been super fussy and clingy today. We can't wait for that tooth to finally cut through her gum! I feel horrible seeing her cry in pain from it...luckily a little bit of Tylenol and Orajel goes a long way.

Baby's First Christmas

Of course I have to start off the post by showing off T's outfits...

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day...her onesie says, 'Best Gift Ever.'

And now...a very small sampling of the mountain of gifts Tatiana received.

A teacup and sugar dish from Imperial Porcelain, made in Russia. The porcelain factory was started in 1744 by Empress Elizaveta of Russia. I hope one day she will treasure it as being a gift from her very first Christmas. I also picked it out because Tatiana is named after a Russian princess, and this porcelain line was what the Imperial family used.

For now it will sit on a little shelf in her room.

Next up...a blanket I made her. This is the front, the back is soft minky fabric in a black and white scroll pattern (also seen in two big rectangles in the middle of the front of the blanket).

I had to embroider her name and the event she received the blanket for on it as well. :)

Tatiana received her second handmade quilt from Nana (Bjorn's mom). It is beautiful and one of the fabrics she used in it is also the same fabric I used to make the valance in Tatiana's room.

Tatiana also received a mountain of toys and clothes from Nana and Papa as well as a jumper for our house.

I don't have pictures of what she received from Grandma and Grandpa (my parents). But what they gave Baby T and us is pretty amazing. With the gift card to Babies 'R Us from my parents and cash my brother gave us we should be able to purchase a convertible car seat for Bjorn's car and mine. Tatiana received some clothes and toys from Grandma and Grandpa as well...and best of all a savings account for college and her future already started off with a generous amount of money. We couldn't be more thrilled with everything we received this year for our little family from everyone!

Just to name a few gifts...I got a NookCOLOR from Bjorn and his mom, a big Kitchen Aid food processor from my parents, and a necklace from myself. ;) Oh and I've already polished off 1 1/2 books on my new Nook, and it's great for web browsing too. I call it "iPad lite."

The day after Christmas my parents came over and helped us get A LOT done around the house. Miscellaneous unfinished projects...hanging some stuff in Tatiana's room, finishing removing the headboard from our bedroom wall so I could finish painting, going to Home Depot to help buy and bring home a new snow blower, raking snow off the roof, etc... The next day we headed to Ikea, which was extremely busy...now that our living room is being completely taken over by a big jumper and play gym it was time to find some organization for the miscellaneous toys laying all over.We got exactly what we needed for a very reasonable price.

Already filling up with new toys from Christmas!

Tomorrow Tatiana has a play date with Kaden, the 5 month old son of two of Bjorn's coworkers. So I guess we have a play date too. :)