Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

This has been such a wonderful year... words cannot even express how fantastic she is.

It is hard to believe that just one year ago I was holding her in my arms for the first time.

Puppy Dog Eyes

My brother's dog recently had 9 puppies and over the weekend we made a trip down to Austin to play with the pups.... and see if one wanted to come live with us. I think the white puppy would make a pretty good birthday gift for Miss A.

How could you ever say no to this big puppy dog eyes?!?!

***New pictures over at Baby M***

Parenthood is...

... having your baby get sick in the car - past her bedtime.


... then having to clean out the car seat - outside on the back porch - in the dark - using only the small porch light. ... then going to spray off the car seat, but then having to cut the water hose because there are too many kinks in it and water will not come out.

... then going to wash the car seat cover only to find that you are out of laundry detergent.

... and then going to snuggle with your little girl because she does not feel well.

Sure, it can sometimes be a little hectic, but I would not trade it for anything in the world.

UPDATED ... and then getting that same stomach bug!

The Cupcake Debate

I have mentioned that Miss A's 1st birthday is rapidly approaching. I am pretty sure I have been planning her first birthday party since she was only a couple weeks old.... once we have had her party, I will show pictures of all the fun details!

Right now I am testing out cupcake recipes... I make sure to always make them on Monday so I can take them to my bible study - I do NOT want to be left with dozens and dozens of cupcakes.

The first recipe I made was a wonderful pound cake. A friend passed along the recipe and it was indeed a lb. cake. If I ate too many of these I would definitely pack on the lbs. I added some fresh lemon juice and some pink food coloring in the mix and then made a lemon glaze for the top. I called them pink lemonade cupcakes. They were dense, not too sweet and melted in your mouth.

But, they did not look very festive. And I thought they would be too hard for Miss A to dig into at her party.

So, I turned to the trusty Barefoot Contessa for round #2. And I have to say that this round was the clear winner. Her flower cupcakes are delish. Once again, I put some pink food coloring in the frosting and I added some sprinkles for flair. I think these will be great for her party.

TV TV TV

We have been watching the Olympics nonstop here in our house. And with all that TV viewing comes a lot of commercial watching. Normally, we Tivo everything and skip the commercials, but since I do not want to stay up until 1am watching skeleton or curling, we watch in real time.

NBC is pushing the Jim and Pam baby big time. And I can hardly wait. Will they have a boy or girl? What will the name be? How crazy will Michael act? There is even a Halpert Baby Blog.

And they are also pushing the new TV show - Parenthood. I am excited about this show... the previews make it look pretty good. And I am a sucker for shows like this. The cast is full of pretty big names, so hopefully it can live up to all the hype.

I love the Olympics and I hate for them to end, but at least we have some good TV to look forward to.

The Flying Tomato

The red hair. The curls. The gold medals.

I have had an Olympic crush on Shaun White since we first learned about him many years ago. I know this is pretty cougar-ific of me, but I am secure enough to admit my crush.

In addition to his gravity defying tricks, he seems like a cool person to hang out with. He genuinely appreciates his fans and he is always has time to sign an autograph or two.

I love it when you see Olympic athletes get genuinely emotional when they win a medal. Last night he showed us all that winning gold medal #2 is just as exciting as gold medal #1.

Do you have an Olympic crush?

Zulily

These days it seems like online samples sale sites are popping up everyday. Have you heard of Zulily? It features top-quality apparel and gear for moms, babies and kids. Members can enjoy up to 70% off retail prices!

Right now there is a Graco sale going on, Melissa & Doug starts tomorrow and Primigi starts on Thursday.

Want an invite? Just leave a comment with your email or click on the Zulily button on the side.

I can feed myself!

This post is for all of the momma's out there. I need food advice.

Miss A is at the stage where she hates for me to feed her. Pushes my hand out of the way and gets pretty annoyed with me. Sometimes she will let me feed her yogurt, but other than that she feeds herself.

And this is great! We can go out to eat and not have to bring food for her. She even ordered off the kids menu last week. (Chicken and cheese quesadillas at Tin Star. Yum.) But I feel like I need to add some different foods into her diet. I always make sure she gets a protein, fruit/veggie and a grain, but she needs some more variety.

She is a great eater and will eat almost anything, so tell me what your little one ate at this stage. Not sure if this is important or not, but she is 11 mo old and has 8 teeth.