Introducing

Delaney Ann was born at 8:17am on Friday, December 10 weighing 7lbs 11oz (considerably smaller than Sophie was) and 20 inches long. The first day was a little rough for me but we are both doing great today. She is such a cutie and has a full head of hair - much more than Sophie had when she was born. In fact, the girls look nothing alike. Delaney is my little Lebanese baby. :-)

Anybody out there?

Hi. It's me. I know, I know, I've disappointed some of you by not keeping up with the blog but Facebook is SO much easier and faster so maybe y'all should sign up and find me on there. There are funny photos and videos out there.

Anyway...for the couple of people that still actually check this little blog and I think there are only two of you, surprise, I'm pregnant! Ok, you already knew that but here's proof.

This was two weeks ago when I was 36 weeks

As you can see, I'm VERY big just like I was with Sophie but the good news is that I weigh 5 pounds lighter than I did with her. It's the small victories that make a pregnant woman happy. And just like Sophie, this little stinker is also breeched so we have another c-section planned for Friday, December 10th. I figured it was slim chances that I would have another breech baby but apparently I have a funny shaped uterus and I grow big babies in the wrong direction. :-) If I had another pregnancy, that baby would probably be breech too. Go figure.

The pregnancy has gone very well but I am to the point where I am ready to be done. Only 9 days to go! We will be sure to post photos on here later that day.

Thanks for still checking the blog. Here is a little treat for you!

Sophie sings the ABC's

I'm not trying to brag or anything but she is one smart cookie! Remember, she is only 20 months old.

And if you follow her videos, she seems to do her best work in the bath tub...or maybe it is because she is oblivious to the camera then so we can record it.

Milestones and a bunch of photos

At (almost) 20 months you:

• still have way more energy than I thought a girl would have.

• know you are one years old and will hold up one finger.
• call yourself Sopie. You're getting better at that. You went from referring to yourself as baby to Bopie to Sopie. Maybe in another month you will get the "h" in there too.
  


• are learning to count. You repeat the numbers after us but on your own you say: 1-2-6-8-9-10

• can say a-b-c by yourself. That's a start!


• make loud "smack" kisses. It's the cutest. thing. ever.

• used to eat everything but you are getting pickier now and definitely have preferences for certain things. You love toast but will only eat it with jelly. You like to use dipping sauces, especially ranch. We had to come up with that trick to get you to eat some of your veggies.

• have tantrums. Lots of tantrums.

• use the kitchen table as a fort.
  

• 

• learn about 3 new words a day. So far we have only slipped up once and said a naughty word (but it wasn't too bad) but of course you repeated it because you are in that parrot stage.


• love to sing the itsy bitsy spider song and Ring Around the Rosie (with stuffed animals accompanying)
  

On a side note. I have taken on a year long project of taking a photo a day (POTD= picture of the day). I have an album to put all the photo and journaling in and so far so good. Rob even gets in on the action and takes some of the photos. We are finding that this is a fun way to document our life this year and hopefully, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will enjoy looking at what life was like in 2010. I will try to post some of the POTDs on here occasionally. In fact, most of the photos in this post are POTDs.

Sing Along with Sophie

Sophie has always loved music but now she is starting to sing her own little made-up songs and try to sing along with us. This is one of her new favorites.

Revenge of the Nerds

We were having a knee-slapping, foot-stompin' good time. Sophie was having so much fun that she got an attack of the nerd giggles.

Tortilla Soup

Chef Rob does most of the cooking around here - yes, I married a great man - but he made this one recipe this week that was fabulous! It was so good that I felt the need to share it with y'all. Bon appetite.

Rob’s Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
4 tablespoons oil
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
1 onion
6 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 large can (29 oz) petit diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
5-6 big handfuls tortilla chips (crushed)
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper
Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
Sour Cream

1. Season chicken with 1 tbs chili powder, 1 tbs cumin, salt, and pepper
2. Brown chicken in 2 tbs oil in a large pot such as a Dutch oven
3. Remove chicken after fully cooked
4. In same pot add remaining oil
5. Cook onion, garlic, and cilantro over medium heat until onion is tender
6. Add diced tomatoes (undrained) and bring to boil
7. Add chicken stock, tortilla chips, remaining chili power and cumin, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper
8. Reduce heat to Simmer 30 minutes (now's a good time to shred the chicken)
9. Shred chicken while soup is simmering
10. Remove bay leaves
11. Blend with stick blender until velvety smooth
12. Add Shredded Chicken and heat through
13. Serve topped with shredded cheese and sour cream
14. Garnish with a bit of fresh cilantro

Note: You can also use a roasted chicken from the grocery store and save some time.