Walking

It's not a great shot (read: it's actually a horrible shot but I wanted to capture the moment when she was still new to the whole walking thing) but I love it anyway.

A love of books

I think every parent wants their child to love books- even if they don't love books they know their kids should love them. Val and I are both big fans of books so it was doubly important to us that J enjoy reading and see the value in it from a young age. Imagine the joy in my heart when I found J like this today:

Walking

J is officially walking independently! She took a few steps between Val and I on Friday night, yesterday she was pretty much zero percent interested in even trying, and then today- voila- a little switch happened and by this evening she was strolling around like it was 'NBD' (no big deal to you less hip folks out there-lol). I have some videos but I don't have any pics of it yet. I'm sure I can remedy that tomorrow. :)so there you have it- it might have taken her 13.5 months to figure out the walking thing, but now that she's got it, there is NO Stopping her! :)

My problem

I have a problem. It's kind of a doozy. It all started when we brought J home from the hospital. No. Wait. It actually started the night J was born. She is the most awesome sleeper ever. I get the biggest kick out of checking on her before we go to bed and finding her in these completely fantastic positions. I risk waking my not so heavy of a sleeper child to take these pictures. I'm serious y'all- I sometimes can't even get to her crib without her starting to stir. Val says I'm a loud walker but I know I'm super quiet (really- I promise). So my problem is I can't stop taking sleeping pictures of my child. I'm sure at some point this will have to end (I'm guessing my kid won't be a fan of these pics when she's older)- for now though, I bring you one of the most fantastic sleep poses. What a cutie.

Jacqui Bakes

Jacqui is no longer happy sitting on the floor while I cook- so I've had to clear off counter space where she sits happily while I bake. She's pretty good about staying put and not dipping her fingers in what I'm doing as long as she can 'help' with something. Here she is checking out an empty Bisquick box (actually it's the generic Bisquick but whatever) while I put together some banana banana bread with some mushy, gross bananas. I see a great helper in the kitchen in the not too distant future. Too awesome!

The Imaginarium

We got to take Val with us to the Imaginarium a few weekends ago and J really enjoyed showing him the ropes. She's an old pro at driving these cars so she was happy to show him what was up.

Fruity Cheerios!

One of the new favorites in our household is Fruity Cheerios. I'm not sure if she prefers to eat them or spread them around, but she seems happy either way. :)

Head pats for Daddy

J loves her Daddy's new hair cut. Here she is loving on Val.

Peanut Butter play dough

With just three simple ingredients you too can make peanut butter play dough. This was a personal favorite of mine growing up and once I became a teenager I frequently would say dream about having kids so that I could justify making peanut butter play dough. J was a big fan of it although there was little playing going on and a whole lot of eating- who can blame her- it's amazing and delicious!

Recipe:
1/4 c. Honey
1/2 c. Creamy Peanut butter
3/4 c. Powdered sugar

Mix together and enjoy!

A love of dogs and water

As I was cleaning the kitchen tonight i realized my child was eerily silent. You know what I'm talking about- when you all of the sudden become aware that you have NO idea when the last time you heard your kid was. WELL.... Here's what I found when I located here- her love of dogs and water manifested itself into this:

Pool time

J is not totally in love with her kiddie pool as I had hoped- she uses it for about five minutes (after it has taken me about 10-15 min to get her and the pool- pool ready) and then climbs out and heads to the back door. Still- she is pretty adorable. Abuelita got her a bathing suit that actually fits her so we'll have to get some cute pics of that soon.

Chick-fil-A

One of our favorite places to hang out in Laredo is Chick-fil-A. It's yummy food with healthy-ish options, very kid friendly, service oriented and entertaining for the both of us. Plus, they have the best fountain drinks in town! This week is free breakfast week so we have been spending even more time than usual and I've gotten some great shots of J.