4 Months Old

On Thursday, our little Wiggles turned 4 months old. Here are some pictures from her 4 month shoot. I will post another post about her 17 week changes!

We recently bought Blair the newest album by Taylor Swift, Speak Now. I ran across song #8 and lost it. And I lose it each and every time I hear the song. It's long, so I will just do the first few lines. It reminds me of rocking her in the middle of the night when she wakes up. It is beautiful and encompasses exactly how I feel about that little girl...

"Never Grow Up"

Your little hands wrapped around my finger,

And it's so quiet in the world tonight.

You're little eyelids flutter cause your dreaming,

So I tuck you in and turn on your favorite night light.

To you everythings funny, you got nothing to regret,

I'd give all I have, Honey

If you could stay like that.

Oh Darling, don't you ever grow up,

Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little.

Oh Darling, don't you ever grow up,

Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple.

Won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart,

And no one will desert you,

Just try to never grow up, never grow up.

Eat: A Summer Fare

On the Menu:

Chicken and Shrimp Teriyaki Skewers

Steamed Rice or Brown Rice

Steamed Broccoli

Watermelon, Mango and Pineapple Salad

Strawberry and Peach Daquiris

Chicken and Shrimp Teriyaki Skewers:

• 
  
  1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenders



• 
  
  1 pound of shrimp (preferably the 26 - 30 size)



• 
  
  1 1/2 cups of Terayki sauce



• 
  
  1 red bell pepper



• 
  
  1/3 package of HEB's "chunks" of pineapple



• 
  
  small bunch of green onions chopped into 3" pieces

1. 
   
   Marinate the chicken tenders in one cup of the Teriyaki sauce for 2 -3 hours in the fridge. In a separate bowl, soak the peeled shrimp in a half cup of the Teriyaki sauce. Soak bamboo skewers in water during this time.



2. 
   
   Cut the red bell pepper in chunks (removing the seeds).



3. 
   
   Alternate the chicken, pineapple, red bell pepper and green onion onto the skewers. Skewer the shrimp, pineapple, red bell pepper and green onion onto the other half of the skewers.



4. 
   
   Grill the chicken skewers over medium / medium high heat for 20 minutes, alternating sides every 5 minutes. During the last five minutes, place the shrimp skewers on the grill and rotate once after about 2 1/2 minutes.



5. 
   
   Check for "doneness" and serve over white or brown steamed rice.

Watermelon, Mango and Pineapple Salad:

• 
  
  Quarter of a watermelon



• 
  
  1 mango



• 
  
  2/3 bag of HEB's pineapple "chunks"

1. 
   
   Cut the mango and watermelon into chunks to match the size of the pineapple.



2. 
   
   Mix together and serve chilled.

Strawberry and Peach Daquiris:

• 
  
  1 Strawberry Daquiri mix (frozen)


• 
  
  1/2 peach, with pit removed, cut into large pieces


• 
  
  1/2 can (of daquiri can) Light rum -preferably Cruzan Rum


• 
  
  Ice

1. 
   
   Place the frozen daquiri mix into the bottom of the blender. Add the chopped peaches.



2. 
   
   Fill blender with ice.



3. 
   
   Pour rum over ice.



4. 
   
   Blend on high power ("ice crush" setting on our blender) for 20+ seconds until it has a smooth consistency.



5. 
   
   Serve with a straw and half of a strawberry.
   

ENJOY! ♥

Must. Stand.

Must. Stand. That is exactly how I would describe Blair this past week. She is at her happiest if she is "standing." She likes to bounce, so we have begun putting her in the jumper as an alternative to the excer-saucer. She loves it!

So, some things about our 17 weeks old, Miss Blair. She is nearly 16 pounds and growing by the minute. She eats about 6 oz of formula, per sitting on a pretty consistent basis. She does a great job burping herself - most of the times. We started giving Blair pacys early on, but she has really gone away from them - usually just spitting them out. I think that while she is in the middle of this teething stuff, she has no interest in them. We have decided that we'll take a break on them and see if she likes them later.

Blair is still quite the talker. And drooler.

I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but Blair now has full control of her head - which makes it a lot easier to carry her around while cleaning and straightening up. It is a nice change! She has also begun showing interest in holding her own bottle. Sometimes she likes practicing taking it out of her mouth, but it always ends up back in.

One incredibly adorable thing that B now does is "hugging." When Trav or I pick her up and put her over our shoulder, she wraps both of her arms around our shoulders / necks like she is hugging us. I melt every single time. It is so cute and I love it so very much.

Travis and I have been watching this new show, "Departures" on Halogen. What a neat show. It follows these two guys around the world doing neat and different things. It is inspiring to watch! It is on Monday nights, around 7, 8 or 9pm... You should definitely check it out!

Here are some pictures from Blair's 15 and 16th weeks!

Photo Shoot / Tummy Time

15 weeks



Sitting (and mesmorized by the window!)

Blair and Daddy (15 weeks)

Talking to Leo the Lion (16 weeks)

Raleigh constantly gives his ball to Blair. She has yet to throw it for him. He still tries.

Watching a live Beatles performance on YouTube. Loves it.

Blair and Daddy at Gaga's grave. We picked out some very pretty flowers for Gaga. ♥

Hope y'all have a great week!

Date Night 2: The Museum of Fine Arts and a "Feast"

On Thursday, Grandpa George and Grandma Roslyn asked if they could watch Blair on Friday. Since we had no plans, we happily agreed since we knew that Miss B would love to see her grandparents. We took that as an opportunity to plan our second "different" date night.

We decided to go to the Museum of Fine Arts. Neither Travis nor I had been, but we have always talked about going. So it was set.

We dropped off Blair around 4:30pm and trekked it downtown to the museum district. After parking we walked inside to the lobby and paid $20 ($7 per adult and $6 for parking). Since the museum closed at 7pm, we knew that we only had about an hour and a half to take it all in. We wandered from gallery to gallery, admiring all different kinds of art. There were some breathtaking pieces and then ones that left me wondering if I wasn't in the wrong industry. LOL. Seriously, some of 'art' seemed like it was removed from the average person's home, or was painted by a 2 year old, but we still took the time to appreciate it. We walked around, enjoying the experience and wondering why we hadn't done this sooner.

There was an exhibit by Helmut Newton, a world-renownded photographer, that we were unable to see (this exhibit was an additional $10 per person) due to timing. We are going to go back soon to catch it though!

We had such an amazing time exploring the museum, that now we are wanting to become members! To fine out more about the Museum of Fine Arts, click the link below.

http://www.mfah.org/

After leaving the museum, we headed to "A Moveable Feast" for dinner. This restaurant is attached to a health food store that serves everything from vegan food to burgers. The food is delicious! Travis ordered the vegetarian chili pie and I had the chicken salad sandwich. Yum.

On our way back to Katy to pick up Blair, we stopped at the Nestle Toll House store in LaCenterra. That shop should be outlawed. It is way too good and horrible for you!

Date #2 was such a hit... I cannot wait for next month's date!

Sweet Sixteen

Blair is now 16 weeks old. Hard to believe.

We've created a monster. Our little girl is into music. Big time. If you could ask Blair what her favorite thing to do is, she would say "watching music. We have the Palladia music channel that shows nothing but music videos and concerts (like Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza, etc.). She loves to see where the music coming from and watch people dance around. The other day, we watched a 30 minute Oasis concert (yes, Oasis). Blair loved their show and "danced"' the whole time. It is a wonderful thing and her Daddy and I are so pleased that she likes music. The other day she was all smiles when we put on a Strokes record. Travis beamed with pride and says, "She likes the Strokes- that is a sign of excellent taste." Haha, I love his passion for music. And I love that she gets that from him.

Blair is still teething and chewing on anything (preferably her hand) she can find. This past week she has only been getting up once a night (and still being swaddled). I don't anticipate this to change for awhile, but I'll secretly hope for the nights she sleeps through!

Blair likes to "help" me turn pages when we read (the thick board books). She works very hard to concentrate on grabbing the pages and opening and closing them. She is working out those fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills!

This past weekend we celebrated my Dad's birthday (which was actually Monday) at the Yard House in City Center. It was awesome!!! We all tried different beers and ate some delicious food. For entrees, I ordered the Seared Ahi Caesar salad and Travis ordered their Mac and Cheese (squared) that had chicken, bacon, wild mushrooms, parmesan and cheddar cheese and white truffle oil. We split the entrees since they both sounded so good. They definitely did not disappoint! Blair slept through the entire lunch (since she had been up since 6am) and Zoey slept through most of it. It was a really fun lunch and we enjoyed getting to hang out with the fam.

We also made a stop by Babies'R'Us to get more size 3 diapers and some spoons, bowls and baby food for B! I am really excited for her to be able to try food because I know that she is going to love it. It also makes me realize how fast the time is passing. Everyone says it and they are right. Time now passes in blinks of the eye and it reminds me to stop, breathe and live in the moment.

I will post some pictures from last week in the next day or so. It's 8:30pm and I am exhausted. Is it Friday yet? :)

15 Weeks!

Our little girl is now 15 weeks. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are in full teething mode and her sleeping through the night is now a distant dream. Blair is up every 4 hours or so. Luckily she is back down in about 20-30 minutes, so that is nice. She is working on the teething toys particularly on the left side, so I am wondering if one of her canines might be coming in. I guess we shall see.

Something that Blair has begun doing in the last few weeks is shyly turning her head to the side when she smiles. I am afraid it doesn't get much cuter than that.

Today we took her to get the last of her 2 month shots. Yes, finally! We were a couple weeks behind on seeing the doctor, then by spacing out the immunizations (you have to wait 1 month in between) - she is almost due for her 4 month shots (which we can't get for another month now). So at 4 1/2 months we'll have more to get. Fun times in the first year! :)

This past weekend, Travis and I took Blair out to Hempstead to visit Grandma "Ancy" and Grandpa Robert. We brought ribs with Travis' dry rub recipe and all of the fixins. Yum! After lunch we went out to the barn to introduce Blair to the horses. Duke (in particular) was very interested in smelling Blair! We had a good time petting the horses and I am sure she will be begging to go riding just as soon as she can!

I am very excited that I am taking off work on Friday to do some MUCH needed home improvement! Now that Blair is here and we've settled into this new life, it's time to do some more work on the house (like painting all of the base boards and trim). Travis is taking off Thursday and Friday (for some much, much needed rest!) so it will be nice to have him around on Friday to help me. :)

I better wrap this up, my little wiggler is up again and will probably sleep with Trav and I tonight since she is getting a double dose of yuckiness with the shot and teething. I think it's going to be a long night!

Exhausted snuggler!

Going on a summer evening walk

Adorable

Snoozing in Grandma Ancy's lap

Looking at Duke (we told her he was a BIG dog!)

Meeting Conner the Horse (who licks!)

Cuteness

Daddy, B and Grandma Ancy

Summer Must Have!

Right before making our trip to East Texas last weekend, I worried about Blair being in her car seat for a prolonged period of time when it is so hot out. Even with the AC blasting cold air, her back would still be hot and mildly sweaty when we would take her out of the car seat. So Thursday, I was searching the internet for some kind of liner to put in her car seat that would keep her cooler. Mission Accomplished.

I found the Meeno Babies "Cool Me Seat Liner." We got the Bucket Seat liner since it is for 0-12 months. There was no (inexpensive) way to get it to us before our trip, however, The Right Start in Rice Village had one left. Since that is right next to Travis' office, he picked it up on the way home that next day before our trip.

We like it a lot and it does seem to keep Blair cooler. With temperatures averaging in the high 90's to low 100's, we needed something! I would say that the liner is worth the $30 and a summer must have for those with babies and toddlers.

The Cool Me Seat Liner comes in three sizes below:

www.Meenobabies.com

Happy 4th of July!

First off, some cute pictures of my little firework!

Blair and her 4th of July present

She is definitely the star of my blog! :)

Our new 4th of July bathing suit

Look at those baby blues!

Happy 4th of July from our little sparkler!

Swimmng at Mimi's

Blair's new princess pool float

Laughing and smiling at Granny

GranDad and his great granddaughter (nearly 14 weeks)

Hanging out with Granny

Having fun with great Aunt Lori

Being sweet at 13 1/2 weeks

We've got ourselves a teether!

Yep, it has really started up in the last few days. Blair is now chewing on anything she can get her hands on. She drools non-stop and we've been a bit fussy lately. Poor thing, I know she feels bad, but she really is a trooper. Clearly she's got her Momma's pain tolerance. :)

This week Blair has learned to put toys into her mouth. Last week it was grasping the toys, this week its grabbing the toy and putting it into her mouth. And so it begins!

We spent the long holiday weekend visiting our sweet families in East Texas. Saturday morning, we left for Jacksonville to visit the Cooks. Blair did a great job in the 3 hour car ride! She slept pretty much the whole time and we were able to drive there without stopping. We had a great visit with the Cooks, it was B's first time to meet her Uncle Windol and coustin Kelly! She was a little fussy when we got there and did some fussin', but later relaxed and showed everyone what a good wiggler she is! After leaving the Cooks, we drove further to Tyler.

Travis' grandparents, Granny and GranDad, and his Aunt Lori live in Tyler. We were introducing them to Blair for the very first time. GranDad said that he was the only generation of Wrights that had had the opportunity to hold their great-grandchild! Blair is a 7th generation Texan - very neat!

We had a great visit with them, Blair (although tired and out of sorts) made all kinds of sweet faces with them and was a big girl. She absolutely adores her great Aunt Lori. GranDad made us all a delicious dinner while Blair put on a show of coos and "talking" while we ate. We left shortly after dinner to check into our room so we could get B in bed.

We were back in Katy by noon on Sunday and it was nice to have the whole day relaxing and BBQing. Today we all got up and ran some errands, then had lunch at the new Chuy's that just opened up. Yum!

This afternoon we went over to my parents house to swim. We weren't able to stay long since B was kind of fussy and we knew would be exhausted from being in the pool, but we had a good time cooling off on the very hot day!

Now I have a very sleepy girl laying next to me. The arms are up over her head, stretched out and every once in a while she grunts a little. Bless her little heart. I hope this teething thing doesn't drag on forever (I can hope - right?)!

Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Travis' Heavenly Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

I found this recipe for cheesecake stuffed strawberries. Since Travis and I added an additional twist, it is now our own recipe. ENJOY... they are sure to be a summer party staple!

Travis' Heavenly Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

• 
  
  1/2 brick of softened cream cheese


• 
  
  1/2 container of Cool Whip


• 
  
  1/4 cup sugar


• 
  
  Splash of vanilla


• 
  
  3 Hersheys chocolate bars


• 
  
  3 pairs of graham crackers (can also use Cinnamon graham crackers)

1. 
   
   Wash and hull about 2 dozen medium sized strawberries.


2. 
   
   Melt the chocolate bars in the microwave under low heat.


3. 
   
   Dip the bottom of strawberries into the chocolate and set strawberries in a 12 muffin tin you'll have to put at least 2 strawberries in each muffin section) .


4. Beat softened cream cheese, Cool Whip, sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer until smooth and creamly.


5. 
   
   Using either a small spoon or a plastic ziploc bag, pipe a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into a strawberry.


6. 
   
   Once all of the strawberries are filled, drip the chocolate over the strawberries in a back and forth motion.


7. 
   
   Place the graham crackers into a plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin to crush. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs over the chocolate covered strawberries.


8. 
   
   Set the strawberries in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Delish.

The 367 Files

Travis recently started his own blog (mostly about football, music, & politics)... check it out!

www.easyT367.blogspot.com

Sushi and Snow cones

Date Night Challenge 1 - Sushi and Snow cones

Last Saturday, while Blair was playing with her Grandpa and Grandma, Travis and I went out for sushi. Seeing as we haven't been on many dates recently or done anything "different," T got the idea do go on a "mini adventure" date. No, it's nothing like base jumping, sky diving, or hitchhiking our way through Texas, but it was something atypical than what we are used to. Although we have both tried sushi before, we'd never given it a real chance. So we decided that would be the date we go on for the month - and that we'd have to come up with something new or different in the 11 coming months.

So after dropping off B, we came home and got ready for our date. We ate dinner at Nikko Sushi Grill off Grand Parkway. The reason we chose this place is because Retaurant.com had a good deal on their coupons. I think we paid $4 for a $25 off coupon (min purchase $50). We also have a $75 off coupon (min purchase $150) that we got for $6. You should definitely check out the Restaurant.com website... great deals!

When we arrived at Nikko Sushi Grill, we were seated in this cute, curtained booth in the corner of the restaurant. It was still fairly early, so it wasn't busy at all. We had already viewed their menu, so we took our time looking at it again to make sure we hadn't looked over anything. We ordered a bottle of sake, which to my surprise was actually pretty good. It came in a pretty pink bottle (my choice!) and was sweet, unlike the memories I have of it being dry.

We ordered salads (just the typical "house" salad with iceberg lettuce and yummy ginger dressing) to start off with. We wanted to make sure if we didn't like the sushi that at least we ate something! For dinner, we ordered the Daddy Roll (shrimp tempura, crabstick and cream cheese baked with scallop shrimp topped with spicy mayo... T's favorite), the Fire Cracker (tuna, salmon, yellow tail, and super white tuna in spicy sauce rolled inside and out), the California (we figured this was kind of the most basic with crabstick, cucumber and avocado) and the tuna sashimi (the RAW stuff). And although not traditional, we ordered some chicken fried rice (which I thought was a great idea and what probably has sushi lovers snickering).

The verdict? Interesting. There is no doubt it was an acquired taste. Travis and I were discussing just yesterday how although we weren't totally in love with it, that we were intrigued enough to try again. We had a really great time, so I think that helps! :)

Being the wild and crazy kids we are, we left the restaurant and got snow cones on the way home. We ate them sitting on the tailgate of Trav's truck. It was your typical, hot summer night and an awesome date.

I am already looking forward to our July date!