16 (& 14 Months) Update

14 Months

16 MonthsYou're 16 months old! (And by that I mean you're 3 days away from being 18 months old, but close enough!)

October 31

November 4You are 29.1 inches tall (2nd%ile) and weight 15 lbs 13 ozs (0%ile.)

November 4

November 12You primarily wear 9 months clothes, although do wear 12 months for pajamas. You're wearing size 4 shoes and size 3 diapers.

November 12

November 23So many milestones to talk about! Your first unassisted steps were when we were in California over the holidays, on December 16th. But it took you a while till you decided walking was the way to go, and it wasn't till mid-January (when I was on a girl's trip to Vegas even!) that you really decided walking was preferred.

December 2

December 8Talking also has taken off lately. There were occasionally some scattered words, but it was hard to really tell if it was intentional or not. But then at the end of March (a week after you had tubes put in, which may have been a factor), they came all at once. Your current words are Mama, Daddy, bebe, bye-bye, ball, garage, and as of this morning, mine.

December 17

December 25As for a few favorites, you love playing in the garage (hence the fact garage is one of your words!). Especially lately, you love having books read to you, more so if it's interactive with things to touch of flaps to lift. You are obsessed with some of the most random things. We'll quite often find you walking around the house with a toy knife or toothbrush. You love having bags to carry around, and will put one on your shoulder, say bye-bye and walk away.

December 29

December 31You still aren't big of food. You drink everything out of your Zoli and seem pretty obsessed with milk. We can normally count on you to eat oranges and macaroni and cheese, but everything else is a bit of a gamble lately. It gets even more difficult when you want to eat with a fork or spoon, but can't quite get it to work.

January 7

January 16You love giving hugs, especially to your sister. You think it's the funnest thing when she gives you a giant hug picking you up off the ground. I just love seeing you two having fun together, and hope that friendship always continues.

January 20

January 21You are slowly becoming a little person and leaving babyhood behind, which I'm in a bit of denial of. It's hard because there's so much I'm looking forward too, and yet there's also so much I'm already missing.

February 14

February 24Here's a comparison with your sister at 14 and 16 months.

14 Months

16 Months

Birth Story

1 Month~2 Months ~ 3 Months

4 Months ~ 5 Months ~ 6 Months

7 Months ~ 8 Months ~ 9 Months

10 Months ~ 11 Months ~ 12 Months

Giving Thanks

I realize we're already in December. Hanukkah started two nights ago, and we're only days away from Elley first birthday (What?!?! How did that happen?!?!) But I couldn't let time pass and not talk about her first Thanksgiving, right?
This was our table, basically full of gifts from our wedding and various celebrations. Basically, the only thing you can see in this photo that wasn't a gift from someone was the Happy Thanksgiving sign I found in the Dollar Spot at Target. (Along with my pumpkin pie you can barely see in the background.)
The boy spent most of the day cooking making gumbo, turkey (which he artfully arranged even), mashed potatoes, gravy, and macaroni and cheese. As for me, in addition to my previously mentioned pumpkin pie, I also made cranberry sauce.
Our Thanksgiving was actually a little different this year than normal, since we were celebrating with a group of friends. But it was a fun way of changing things up and doing things a little bit different than normal.
As for Elley, she had a blast and ate every piece of food that was on her tray. Or at least she tried to eat every piece, but half of what she picked up didn't quite make it and ended up on the floor instead.
Our course I didn't think to take a picture of her in action, but did remember one picture of the two of us together before the night was over. Plus she joined in with one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions, that of leftover pie for breakfast on Black Friday! This time we even captured picture evidence!
Hopefully everyone else had just as sweet of a Thanksgiving, and I'm wishing you all a very happy holiday season!

Cranberry Blast

If you look at my 101 in 1001 list, three of the items under cooking all involve Thanksgiving foods. Last year I made both the gingerbread crust and oyster stuffing (and even made them both again this year). But for something new, this year it was time for cranberry sauce.

I didn't have a specific recipe I wanted to try, but I was looking for something reminiscent of the one my mom used to make. I searched online and came across Alex Guarnaschelli's version, who you probably know as a judge on Food Network's Chopped. Hers had a similar feel towards what I remember. Luckily, while it may not have been an exact match, it is pretty similar to what I grew up having, so I have a feeling I'll be seeing it on my Thanksgiving table a number of times in years to come.

Alex Guarnaschelli's Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
1 pound fresh cranberries, washed and dried
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 orange, zested and juiced

Directions
1. Combine the cranberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Bring down to a simmer and add the cinnamon stick, allspice, and nutmeg. Stir and let simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. (Don't be like me and completely forget about the cinnamon stick! Thankfully I remembered to add it as I was starting to cool everything down, and I don't think you really noticed. But still, it's helpful if you remember all the ingredients!)
3. Add the orange zest and juice. Let cool before serving
I know a lot of people tend to use the canned cranberry sauce each year, but really when you see how easy it is to make, it's hard to justify not cooking it yourself. Actually, I can't ever remember having canned sauce since it was one thing my mom made every year. Although a version like this was her normal, she'd also mix it up at times and even molded her own.

What's your favorite way to enjoy cranberry sauce?

November in Review

It's my last monthly recap without a baby! Crazy to think, right? So I guess we all know that the highlight of my December recap will be, at least assuming I find time to write one. But since we're still a week or so away from inviting in a new tiny permanent house guest, here's a look back at November.

In November......I attended my baby shower
and was thrown a second shower at work.
...I traded in my old car from high school, seen above right before my brother and I drove it from L.A. to LA back in 2006, for a new, far more baby friendly car. In particular an Acord, which basically met my need of having 4 doors. Plus it's a pretty bit upgrade from my old car which had both manual windows and locks!
...We celebrated Thanksgiving, and while I tried not to go crazy, it's still pretty clearly not the most gestational diabetes friendly plate. As for my contributions, I made the oyster stuffing that my mom, grandmother, and I think even great-grandmother used to make, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
I'm not sure if it was the fact I haven't had much sugar lately, but I really do think this year's pie came out better than it ever has before.

...I posted reviews of 4 books and 1 movie
The Lost Daughter by Lucy Ferris
Mennyms Alone by Sylvia Waugh
Husband-Coached Childbirth by Robert A. Bradley, M.D.
Mennyms Alive by Sylvia Waugh
Big Hero 6
Maybe somewhat surprisingly considering the number of books to movies, my favorite this month has to be Big Hero 6.

...4 years ago, in 2010, I wrote how American Girl was retiring Felicity.
Although I do have high hopes that since they brought back Samantha earlier this year, they may eventually bring back Felicity as well... only time will tell.

What were some of your highlights from this past November?