Saturday, December 31, 2011

A few new recipes

I decided to take the plunge and joined Weight Watchers about a week before Christmas. I quickly decided that joining the week before Christmas wasn't the best idea, but that I would make the most of it. I used the first week to start tracking what I was eating (except on Christmas Day) and to start making better choices. I attended my first WW meeting on Tuesday evening and have been trying to fix healthier meals at home. Here are a few of the things I've made this week.

Breakfast Burrito
-whole wheat tortilla
-egg beaters
-2 slices turkey bacon
-reduced fat cheese
-fat-free salsa
-sour cream

This came out to about 8 points + and was pretty tasty!

WW Friendly Spaghetti
-1/2 box whole grain spaghetti
-4 servings Boca meatless ground crumbles
-1 jar "veggie smart" Prego pasta sauce
-1 onion
-2 cloves garlic
-grated parmesan cheese

This came out to about 10 points + per serving. I thought it tasted pretty good! I couldn't tell the difference between the Boca crumbles and ground beef. I didn't miss the ground beef at all, actually!

This morning for breakfast, I "fried" one potato, 1/4 onion and 2 servings of smoked turkey sausage. It was so delicious!

Some of my favorite things this week have been Cuties (clementines), Chobani greek yogurt, and turkey sausage. I'm trying to find some easy and quick weight watchers friendly meals. I realize I need to do more prep work on the weekends so I'm not so rushed during the week. I have lots of frozen chicken and ground beef, so I need to thaw some out so it's a bit easier to cook in the evenings. Overall, this week actually went really well. I've been religiously tracking what I'm eating and making sure to count all the points! We'll see if I've made any progress when I go back to a meeting on Tuesday.

Happy New Year!


What a year 2011 has been! We went from husband and wife.... 



To mommy and daddy:


To this: 


And this sweet, beautiful girl is just weeks away from turning 16. Here she is on her 15th birthday...


Over the summer with her blue hair...


Red hair! :)



And wearing her shorts on Christmas! 


This year has been full of blessings! From welcoming Sophie into our family to Lizzie starting a new (better!) job, we realize how incredibly blessed we are. We have the good fortune of sharing in this journey with some of the best people in the world. Looking over the past year, we realize how thankful we are for our friends and family who have supported us in ways we could have never imagined. What a ride this year has been! Wishing you and your family the very happiest of New Year's! May 2012 be all you dream it to be.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Sophie's First Christmas

This Christmas has really been the best yet. Sophie had so much fun and was so spoiled by our family and friends. On Christmas Eve, we visited for a while with my dad's side of the family. We weren't able to stay too long (and I forgot to take any pictures), but we were able to meet two of Sophie's new cousins! I'm excited that she'll have two cousins (well, 1st cousins once-removed according to Danny) close to her age that she can grow up with. Her cousin Brynn was born in September and her cousin Baron was born about a month ago. After our short visit there, we went to Danny's aunt and uncle's house. we had a great time visiting with the family, eating great food and opening presents! 

Sophie had fun opening her presents and playing with her cousins. She did pretty well considering we were out way past her bedtime!








Christmas morning, Danny, Sophie and I exchanged gifts with each other at home before leaving for a busy day. Sophie got a few new books, a shape sorter and a music table. She loves the music table! Danny surprised me with a new pair of earrings. I was shocked to say the least! He also got me the first season of Modern Family and a new FM transmitter for my car. I got him the newest Transformers movie and the Comedy Movies Scene It game. Today, he got his new phone, which was his big gift. 












We then headed to Danny's sister's house for Christmas brunch. The food was of course delicious and Sophie again loved watching her cousins play. She cannot wait to be able to run around with them!








We finished the day at my mom's house. As always, it was so great to visit with my Mamaw....we miss her so much and wish we could have spent more time with her.




We had such a great Christmas weekend. Sophie was quite a little trooper...missing naps and staying up past her bedtime. I think all the good food and presents made up for all of that. We'll be celebrating the New  Year quietly this year. Sophie will be sleeping and Danny will be working. It will be my first New Year by myself in many years, but I'm sure I'll survive! I'm definitely looking forward to short work weeks this week and next!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

9 month check up

We took Sophie for her 9 month check up this week. She was so good at the doctor's office! In fact, she cried when the doctor left the room. I think she really likes him! All is still going well. She's growing like she should and there were no concerns at all. The doctor said she can eat anything now except for fish that is high in mercury, raw honey, and nuts. Otherwise, she is free to go! He also said that we need to start practicing more with a sippy cup because she'll stop using a bottle in just 3 short months. It is really unbelievable that my baby has grown so quickly!



She now weighs 20lbs, 4 oz (75th percentile) and is 28 and 3/4 inches long (90th percentile). Her head circumference is 44 1/2 cm (60th percentile). She did have to get a finger prick to be sure that she's not anemic and the last in the series of Hepatitis B shots. She was not happy when we left. Here she is once we got home.


 Last night, I decided she could have some cheese pizza for dinner. She loved it and got very messy in the process! She had a good bath afterwards! 
 

I feel like I always have to mention how fun it is to watch her grow and change, and it still is! She is such a funny little girl and she knows it. She knows how to make her daddy and me laugh and melt our hearts. She's also quite a sassy little child, but can be so sweet and lovey. We are so excited to celebrate her first Christmas this year and soon after, her first birthday!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Christmas decorating

We took Sophie with us this weekend to pick out our Christmas tree. Here we are checking out the trees!



After decorating the tree, we thought it would be a good time to try to get a cute picture of Sophie for some Christmas cards. Things didn't work out so well...


Maybe a little overwhelmed?


Sleepy for sure!



This picture is so funny to me! We thought it would be cute to lift Sophie up by the tree and crop Danny out of the picture...easier said than done. Plus, where's the smile!? 




9 month pictures

This month was even harder than last month trying to get Sophie to sit still for any pictures. It was close to her bedtime, but I wanted to try anyways. Here's what we got:






We go to the doctor Friday afternoon for her 9 month check up. I'm interested to find out how much she has grown!