How Does Your Garden Grow

We finally did it - we have an herb garden.  Okay fine, not so much a GARDEN in the traditional sense but a nice row of plants.  Same diff and I'm still proud of ourselves.....okay again, not so proud of US exactly but happy that my parents brought these to us the last time they visited (save the NEW mint plant that Bill's dad brought us.  We managed to quickly kill the last one).  In any event, we have the herbs and they are so much more convenient than buying them each week at the store.  We are now the owners of mint, rosemary, basil, thyme, Italian parsley, oregano, sage, dill and chives.  We stayed away from cilantro because I have yet to meet anyone who can actually keep it alive.  If you have been successful, please tell us how.  I'm a little worried about our plants because they bake in the sun all day.  I know the little info card that came with them says "Full Sun" but the basil and parsley aren't looking good.  I also water them everyday and I'm not sure I'm supposed to.  Maybe I'm drowning them??  For something that's basically a weed, these things frustrate me.  We don't have a good track record with keeping foliage alive (see above mint plant comment) so wish us luck!

 

The Stats

My mother-in-law called last night to ask about Audrey (hi Mom!) and it made me realize that I forgot to include Audrey's stats in yesterday's post.  She weighs 13lbs, 9.5oz which is 20th percentile and is 24" tall which is 50th percentile.  This really just means that we're raising a little string bean.  Her 0-3mo clothes are just barely fitting in length but the next size up just looks silly because it's so wide through the body - it looks like she was deflated!  But of course we all know that she looks adorable in whatever she's wearing!!

Bring On June!

Audrey was 6 months old on Monday!  I still can't believe we have her in our lives.  We're enjoying her so much.  My dad has to keep telling me - "Laura, she's not a toy!"  But I disagree - she's so FUN!!!  I get so excited when I leave work to go pick her up.  The best part is when she sees me in daycare - her face lights up into a big smile and she starts kicking her legs.  No one is ever that excited to see me - not day after day at least (hmmm, except maybe my cat!).  I love sneaking up on her so I get to see her reaction up close.  :)  Anyway, she had a successful 6 month checkup.  The doctor says we can start to slowly introduce fruits and veggies and that we should implement a 3-meal a day schedule.  We're going to start this weekend since Bill and I both have Memorial Day off.  I figure we can get 3 good days in before daycare takes over.  Hopefully we get some good pics of her scrunching her face when she doesn't like the taste of her carrots!

I ordered a baby pool this week because it is HOT here.  I have her little swimsuit, hat, waterproof diapers and sunscreen lotion all ready to go.  I'm hoping our next door neighbor will let her little girl in the pool too so Audrey will have a playmate.  I'm only a little bummed because the pool won't be big enough for me to get in too!  :)

She can sit up on her own now for quite a while before she topples over.  We have to place her upright though but she tries really hard by doing little sit ups!  We think she'll be crawling soon too.  Her little legs get going while she's on her tummy but all she does is go backwards or turn in a circle.  Last week she started blowing raspberries like crazy.  Nothing like spit flying!  Sometimes it just comes out like "poof", other times it's full blown lips vibrating with vocal sound effects.  Very cute.

She and I made a trip to Ohio last week ALONE.  Bill doesn't get time off anymore since he's back in med school so Audrey and I set out on a 7 hour drive by ourselves.  I was really nervous but she did wonderfully.  It was SO nice to  be home and visit with my family.  I was actually more excited for them to see Audrey since my brother and niece hadn't seen her since she was 1 month old.  They gave her an interactive doggie that's almost as big as she is and she LOVES it!  I was very sad to leave since I only get home about twice a year - it never gets any easier.

Bill and I will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary on June 11!  Now there's a milestone I can't believe is here.  I feel like our wedding was just yesterday and vividly remember what an amazing day it was.  I wish we could have all of our family and friends together for a big party again.  We had SO much fun!  Due to Bill's schedule, we won't really be able to celebrate until late-June when we're going to Chicago to eat at one of the top ranked restaurants in the world...yes, world.  We're beyond excited.

So without further ado, here are some recent pics of the little monchichi.  She's really cute, isn't she??  ;)

Taken in the mirror that hangs in front of her car seat:

Cousin Mallory!

Said doggie - WOOF!

And finally, standing like a big girl!

McCoffee vs. Starbitter

There, I've said it.  I'm not a Starbucks fan.  Blasphemy, I know.  I find their coffee to be bitter, I don't think they have enough creative chocolatey, caramely options and they are overpriced.  I do really like their Frappuccinos (although their whipped cream leaves an oil slick in your mouth) and holiday drinks.  I mean, who doesn't love a good Egg Nog latte??  That said, I have discovered McDonald's....yes, McDonald's.  I heart their McCafes and Frappes.  YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!  Their straight up coffee?  Eh, not so much.  I find it has an oily aftertaste or something.  I can't quite put my finger on it.  Their options are also limited but that's okay.  I'll just use them for what they've got.  Their prices are ridiculously low.  A Frappe that is either the same size or bigger (I think bigger) than a Frappuccino is only $2.79.  How can you beat that?  I could practically buy two for the price of one Frappuccino......maybe I shouldn't have come to that realization.  I am seriously addicted to the Frappes.  The caramel version is really good but the chocolate one isn't the best.  For some reason, I really like their mocha McCafe and I can only assume they use the same chocolate so figure that one out.  Anyway, if you haven't tried the McDonald's drinks yet, you really should (and pick me up one while you're at it).  I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Cinco de MAYo

Can you even believe it's May already??  Audrey is 5 months old!  Crazy.  More importantly, today is Bill's birthday!!!  Happy Birthday babe!  And a very Happy Birthday to another little one in our family, Meryl, who is my cousin Elaine's daughter.  Cheers all around!

Things have been getting a little noisier at our house lately.  It seems that Audrey is finding her voice....I think this comes from the Tabayoyong side or mine when politics come up.  She's always been a "talker" - babbling away and cooing - but she's now taking it to a whole new level of LOUD.  Nothing like getting woken up at 6:15am to a little girl yelling nonsense.  It's getting earlier and earlier too because I think the sun wakes her up.  We have wooden blinds on her window but I'm thinking of putting a curtain up just to get a few more minutes of shut eye.  Here are some recent pics.  Gammy and Grandpa visited the other weekend and couldn't believe how much she'd changed!

Looking like I caught her doing something she shouldn't!

And finally, one of my favorites....

Cookbook Connection

See a cookbook or other product in my blog that interests you?  Look for the "Buy from Amazon.com" image to buy it or to find out more information!