Poor Bug!

For the first year of Lucy's life, I was *so* diligent about updating the blog with all her milestones. Her first solid food, words, steps...all were duly recorded.

Poor Junie! I haven't done nearly as well with keeping up with her development. We've been good about taking pictures, but...her poor scrapbook is months behind. Luckily I had the foresight to purchase a "baby's first year" photography package when she was first born, so I do have some amazing portraits for her.

Ironically enough, Junie has actually been hitting all her major milestones *much* sooner than Lucy did. At almost 11 months, Junie:

- walks all over the house!

- is very vocal: can say mama, dada, bug-bug

- enjoys playing with her big sister...as much as Lucy will let her

- loves dancing to music

- still takes 3 bottles a day, but can drink just fine out of a sippy cup

- eats lots of solids, including nearly everything we eat at the table

- goes to bed when we do, but sleeps in until after I'm out the door for work

- usually has one nursing session during the night, after work, and before bed

- smiles almost all the time- she has the sunniest disposition!

- hangs out on my back whenever she can

We love our Junie Bug!

My last meal.

NaBloPoMo prompt for today:

If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

Oh, man, do I love food! Cooking is one thing that Brett and I really enjoy doing together- along with watching cooking shows. When we watch tv together (which is actually pretty rare), it's almost always Food Network. We especially love Iron Chef and Chopped. Although our tastes are constantly evolving, there are a few specific things I'm crazy about right now. Luckily enough, they fit perfectly into a cohesive meal! Here we go- I'm including the recipes we use as well.

Appetizer:

Hummus with vegetables

(Cup of soaked garbanzo beans, heaping spoon of tahini, swirl of olive oil, squeeze of lemon, as much fresh garlic as you like, sprinkle of sea salt- whiz in the food processor until smooth)

Main entree:

Massaman curry over jasmine rice

(Click on link for recipe- I learned this by heart and now cook from memory)

Side:

Homemade, freshly-grilled naan

(Click on link- cooking it on the grill is key. One batch makes enough for two meals for us, so I freeze half and save it for next time.)

Dessert:

Rice pudding made with more jasmine rice, coconut milk, and coriander

(Use your favorite rice pudding recipe, subbing jasmine rice for regular, coconut milk for cow's milk, and coriander for most of the cinnamon. Here's a good starting recipe.)

Beverage #1:

Mango lassi made with homemade yogurt, whole milk, and a sprinkle of coriander

(In a blender: flesh of 2 mangos, tablespoon of your preferred sweetener, cup of yogurt, 1/2 cup milk....blend until smooth, and then sprinkle on coriander.)

Beverage #2:

Expresso with sweetened condensed milk :-)

...And there you have it! What would you pick for your last meal?

Happy Halloween!

PS- To help me get back in the groove, I'm participating in NaBloPoMo- blogging every day for a month! Let's see if I can actually make it :-)

Wordless Wednesday.

Junie @ 9 months.

Lucy and Aunt Kirty.

Whoa, it's been awhile.

I just realized it's been a crazy long time since I posted! Lots going on here...so I'll try to get a catch-up post put together for tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some pics from our trip to Callaway Gardens over the weekend.

Who Needs a Stroller, Anyway?

....'cause when it comes to flying,

hands-free,

escalator-friendly,

one-less-item-to-check-planeside

is the way to go.

Leap of faith.

^^ I'm taking a big one. ^^

As of last week, I submitted my request to separate from the Air Force.

If it's approved, I'll be done in the beginning of April.

At the same time, I'm gearing up to launch into postpartum services full-time.

I bought a domain name and webpage (still under development).

I have a Facebook page.

I'm working on my business materials, which is a bit overwhelming in itself.

But the first few steps are the hardest (and scariest), right?

If you're the praying type, I'd appreciate your prayers as we make some pretty significant changes around here.

If not, I'd appreciate your thoughts and intentions.

On a side note, I don't know if I'm going to know what to do without my uniform...I forgot my hat last week (for the first time ever), and felt completely naked. I can't imagine not putting on the uniform every day. Perhaps my ABUs will be replaced by scrubs in a few years?