EIgHteeN moNTHs

Can you believe I'm eighteen months old??

And did I mention, sassy??

 I weighed in at 23 lbs 4 oz (48%) and 33 1/2 inches long (92%) at my appointment with Dr. Freeman last week. She says I look great, and was really impressed with all of my words, body part recognition and animal sounds! I'm on the move, and although I'm not quite running, I get where I want to go VERY quickly. The toddler tantrums have begun and I do find myself in an occasional time-out for throwing toys, hitting, or pinching the dog. What can I say? I love to help mommy pick up toys, fold and put away laundry, throw away trash, and sweep the floors. I'm also pretty darn good at throwing toys everywhere, unfolding a whole basket of laundry, taking trash out of the trash can, and smearing mud, peanut butter or milk all over the table or floor. My hair is finally growing....it actually fits in real piggy tails now and I have 12 (going on 14) teeth. I want to be "owwwside" all the time, and have really enjoyed swimming at the pool at the gym and going to the park. We all hope this warm weather sticks around! I'm starting to have some fears (mainly, the swings), and continue to be a very cautious and quiet girl in new situations.

"Cheeeese" at the park

Two of my favorite words: "cooookie pease"

The start of a tantrum!

Rainbow day at school (No, my mom doesn't normally dress me like Punky Brewster)

Me and Max at the zoo

Check out those pigtails!

Mowing the lawn in my jammies, crocs and a hairbow...why not?

Sippy cups and Mason jars

I realized as I loaded the dishwasher the other day that my top rack consisted almost solely of sippy cups and Ball jars {we made the switch from "normal" drinking glasses to Masons a couple of months ago just to for a little variety}. It made me chuckle, and it made me happy....wouldn't have my dishwasher any other way!

These are a few of my favorite things....

1. The bathtub
2. Putting things on my head
3. Saying "cheeeese"

DIY crib mobile

I made this mobile a few weeks ago for our good friends Dan and Katie...they had the most precious little baby boy, Sam, and since they were surprised with the gender (love that!), they still needed some nursery decor. I was glad I could contribute!

Materials:

Embroidery Hoop, painted red

Ribbon

Scrapbook Paper

Grommets

Buttons

Hot Glue

Maybe Sam will be into older women?!

Upcycle

Golden oak TV stand turned play kitchen! This was actually CE's Christmas gift from mommy and daddy, but I just now have gotten around to the finishing touches...pretty darn adorable, if you ask me.

Paint: free (we had the blue from our living room, the chalkboard from A & R's wedding!)

Hardware: free (from our old kitchen and bathrooms)

Wooden "J" Faucet: $2 at Michael's

Fabric and pom-poms: $5 at JoAnn

Mailbox "microwave" numbers: $2 from Menards

Metal mixing bowl sink: $4 from Target

Total: $13

Not too shabby!

Soooo big

I just absolutely could not seem to get over how big she looks this week....when did this happen?!

Bathroom progress

I've had some requests on how our master re-do is coming along so thought I'd post a small update...slowly but surely, it's starting to look as wonderful as we had envisioned!

Travertine shower...all of our travertine was cut into 9 X 18's (by SJ himself!) and is set into a "subway" style

Tub filler with quartz stack-stone surround

New WHITE Kohler soaker tub

Travertine subway floor, meet stack stone surround

Wondering why we didn't finish the back section?? SJ is building built-ins for extra storage that will be integrated into the tub surround....a little like this:

Photo from Pinterest, via houzz.com (great site if you love anything "home", btw!)

Seventeen months?

With every month that passes, it's still hard for me to believe how grown-up she's getting. It also gets harder and harder to remember how tiny and helpless she was, just seventeen months ago. After a rather stressful and chaotic December and January, she is why we continue on....praying, loving, and trying to take in every single memory. We love you, sweet Clairebear!

{What We're Eating}

PFC's Knock-Off Lettuce Wraps
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (boiled and chopped finely)
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 tsp garlic powder
1 inch nob fresh ginger, peeled & minced
3 green onions, chopped
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
10-12 large outer lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry

Sauce:
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon  peanut butter
1/2 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chili sauce (I use Siracha which is HOT!!)
dash salt and pepper

In large skillet with 1 tsp sesame or olive oil, warm cooked chicken with minced onion, ginger and garlic powder until onions are transparent. For sauce, blend sesame oil, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, salt & pepper and chili sauce (either in the blender or with a hand-held mixer). Add green onions, peanuts and water chestnuts to chicken mixture, then pour sauce over entire mixture and cook for 5-10 minutes on low-medium, until all ingredients are warmed through. Serve in lettuce leaves and enjoy!

Snow Sorrow

Claire was so excited about the snow this week...while pointing out the window, she says "nooo, noooo?" (we're working on "ssss"). We couldn't wait to put on our snow suits and play! It was unfortunate that within five minutes, she fell on her face, then had a hard time enjoying the rest of the "snow" experience...maybe our next outing will have a better outcome. Not really sure how I ended up capturing this on my camera, but believe it or not, here it is...the poor girl's first face plant. Once again, I swear I only took two photos before I scooped her up and kissed that sweet, tearful face!

{Wonder what Lucy is doing over there...}

{Hey Mom, aren't I cute in my snow suit??!!}

{Oh, geez...wasn't expecting that...}

{This stuff is COLD!}

{Moommmmyyyyy!}

While I'm at it....

While I'm trying to cut down on preservatives, chemicals and fake sugar in my house, why not make my own coffee creamer? Yes, I hate to admit it, but we're coffee creamer people...the sweeter the better! I was so excited when I saw some recipes for making your own, and here's what I came up with:

Vanilla Cream
1 can Fat-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/2 cups milk (any kind'll do!)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon Nut
1 can Fat-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Put all ingredients in a glass jar (I made a half recipe of each flavor so they would fit in my jars!) and shake it like you mean it. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The possibilities are endless!

P.S: Did you know that sweetened condensed milk is simply milk and sugar??

 My kind of ingredient list!