Want some?

Ahhh, the stages of sharing. Love that she shares. Even her messiest of foods that require a full on strip-down-to-the-skivvies and then a drop into the tub. This girl sure loves her mama's cooking though!

Yum yum yum, delicioso!

Happy, happy Halloween!

I spent the better  part of several weeks trying to figure out what Ariyana was going to be for Halloween. Nothing seemed to be 'just right'. I wanted her to be cute, but not too girlie- there will be plenty of time for fairys and princess dresses I'm sure. About four hours, yes- hours, before our Halloween event, I found this Ladybug costume on clearance. For twelve dollars. Score! And she just looks adorable! And many others thought so too! She took second place in a under three costume contest. Love this little bug of mine!



11 months old

It's been quite a horrid month for photos. This blog post is post-dated quite a lot and I have a serious lack of photos of our sweet little girl. After the computer crashing and not being smart enough to have a back up hard drive - we lots hundreds of photos. Then later, my iPhone was stolen losing the rest of the photos I had. Trying not to complain, but I feel a huge sense of loss right now. I should keep things in perspective that I have a happy and healthy little girl who will be in thousands of pictures to come. That being said...

Sweet beautiful girl - this is your last month before you're the BIG ONE!



* You've started walking! Like really, no holding on walking the last week or more! You're such a proud and brave girl!

* You're still nursing full time,but are FINALLY taking a sippy cup on your own!

* You're sleeping well in your room still and are no longer getting up at all at night. Your mornings are still early, but at least you're still sleeping!

* You love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and dance your own little dance to all the songs

* You love to clap your hands and do the motions to "Wheels on the Bus".

* You babble a lot but still haven't said mama yet to me. One day....

* You love trying new foods. You love chicken and cheese and pasta!

* You are such a social butterfly and wave hi and bye bye to lots of people

* Peek a boo is so much fun for you!

* Still no teeth!

* You got a new car seat and you love it! It looks much more comfy than the no 'small' infant seat. I remember when you looked so tiny in it!

* You love to give mommy and daddy hugs!

* These days, visiting Grandma and Grandpa Malik have been fun for you!

* You can be sweet as pie and show your spunk just as well =)

* You love your gerber cheese puffs!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Today, we took Ariyana to the Pumpkin Patch for the first time. I can remember going last year - as big as a whale, pregnant with her. It's so fun watching her see and experience new things. I can't imagine what the world is like through the eyes of a child. Seeing everything for the first time. I'd imagine that it's quite an amazing experience. I can't wait for the future. There is so much to look forward to!


When I was a little girl, I can remember going trick or treating in the small town that I lived in at a strip motel. People would rent out rooms and decorate the outsides of them and hundreds of children would go door to door and trick-or-treat. This year, we plan to take Ariyana to a Halloween parade and costume contest. She's obviously too young to trick-or-treat. But it will be a fun family time to get her out and about. 

Wagon wheel

Mommy & Daughter

I want this one, Daddy!

Daddy and Daughter. 

A pumpkin her size! She loved to try and roll it. 

Between Daddy's legs

In a wheelbarrow 

Enjoying a new view

Checkin out some halloween items

Pulled pork and brisket sandwich

Antique Scale.

10 Months Old

I believe that I say this every month. And every month I'm just as amazed at how fast Ariyana's growing-up is happening. Like, really, last week I had her, last month- I was pregnant... and just a few months back, I was announcing that we were going to be parents for the first time. Excited and scared all at the same time. We were ready. Unmarried, happy, and didn't have any idea what it was like to have a baby depend on your for every need. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

10 MONTHS OLD TODAY!

So, little Miss Ariyana. You are now ten months old. As in, almost a year. As in, looking more and more like a little girl, and less of a baby. Here's what's going on now!


* 17 pounds and 12 ounces
* 29 inches long ... er... tall since you stand a lot now. 
* You cruise around most of the day, hanging on to pretty much everything you can hang on to
* You clap your hands when you're really excited
* Still no teeth!
* You're growing out your hair a bit more, but nothing that can be put up with a cute little bow yet. 
* You understand the word 'no' and will sometimes stop when you're about to put something yucky in your mouth. Most of the time, you ignore me and do it anyway ;-) That "insert yucky-something here" must look really tasty to you!
* You love to sample any food that mom or dad is eating!
* You love strawberry yogurt, oatmeal, Gerber cheesy puffs and chicken
* You are very good at self-feeding and will even try to feed mommy and daddy. You already like to share!
* Most of the time you don't like it when mommy leaves the room for a minute. Other times, you love to explore your area. 
* As soon as, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" comes on the t.v. in morning, you crawl really quickly to the t.v. stand and watch intently. This is the only show you do this for. Anything else, you don't pay much attention to. Which is fine, cause I don't want the t.v. on much. I'm trying to have more music on for background noise. 
* You are starting to get better with a sippy cup. Weaning you off the boob is starting soon. By one year, you may be on regular whole milk - never had to go on formula! You've been quite healthy, and any cold, you got over pretty quickly!
* You're very mobile and can stand on your own for short periods of time, but no real first steps yet. You are very secure in your space with crawling over things, squatting and getting down from standing very well. 
* You babble quite a bit and dada is your favorite word. I am pretty sure that you've said 'dog' too. You looked right at Toby and said 'DOG'. Could have been a fluke, but who knows. Still have yet to give me a real "mama". I'm waiting! I think you like the 'D' sound!
* Your favorite activities are, "Rollie Pollies Gym Class", Barnes and Noble Story time, baby play groups, the park, and going for walks. 
* You love little balls. Any size, it doesn't matter. I think you're going to get a lot of them for your birthday and Christmas. 
* You sometimes wave goodbye. Sometimes you don't feel like it. 
* You played peek-a-boo on your own the other day. You pulled the shower curtain in front of your face and 'surpised' mommy by showing yourself. You repeated this several times and cracked up. It was the cutest thing ever 
*

The Love of a Pet

Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affection, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to. - A. Montapert


I had worried quite a bit of how our dog was going to take to Ariyana. After all, he was still a puppy himself. Even now, he's still in puppy mode. But when it comes to Ariyana, the world slows down and he's gentle and kind to her. Even when Ariyana doesn't have a clue what 'gentle' means yet. Yes, getting bopped on the head by Ariyana has indeed happened. 

Hey, why not?

It's only a short period of time, where baby bath photos are cute and still appropriate so long as you can't see anything. I think anything after two, and it's no longer fair game. In any case, Ariyana is just too fun in the bath sometimes. She has been doing this game of standing up - which I do not approve of. She has been taken out of the bath as soon as she does. She's starting to get the hint, that is what happens - so as soon as I go for the towel to take her out, she sits back down and start splashing and playing, as if to say, "How can you take away the fun from a normally cranky and tired baby?"
She ususally wins this game. 

Finger food made easy!

Now that Ariyana is nearly ten months old, she much prefers to feed herself finger foods. I can't say I blame her, eating off my chest and endless bowls of mush every day. So, I'll be the first to admit, I don't have much of any idea of what to feed a 'still-baby', that won't make her choke, make her go into anaphylactic shock and/or hate. 


So after some trial and errors, I've found that she loves chicken. And peas, and cheese, and well - just about most things. Oh, except the Gerber 3rd stage foods; yeah, she spit that out at me. 


So - on to making the chicken a la infant. 
This recipe is so easy. This is about as basic as it gets. 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

I dried to boneless, skinless chicken breast with a paper towel and put a touch of olive oil on each one, and seasoned it with Emeril's Original Essence Seasoning. Let it bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

And then you have this. I've already started cutting up each chicken breast into Ariyana bite sized pieces. Highly recommend, you cut them up as small as your little one can handle. And I insist in monitoring while baby eats. Duh. 

Spread out each piece of chicken fairly evenly onto a baking sheet. And put it in the freezer until frozen. Doing it this way will ensure that the chicken freezes individually rather than having one big lump of chicken in a bag

After the chicken in frozen, transfer to an appropriately sized Ziplock Freezer bag. I take out what I need for each feeding, and this amount of chicken lasts us a couple of weeks. Not bad, for little effort! Quick and easy! 

Getting too quick!

I don't pull out my nice Nikon SLR camera as much as I should. My phone is always handy so I take quite a few quick shots of Ariyana, any time she's being cute - which ends up being all day long. My phone often makes me delete photos cause I'm running out of room. 
Lately, Ariyana has become less interested in being cute for the camera, and just so darn fast. Most of her photos are a blur. 
Like this:

But every once in a while, I can get a somewhat cute shot, like this:

Too bad she wasn't smiling. She's too cute anyhow. 

That "Mouse"

I guess it never really will matter how many generations go by - but the one thing that just seems to get better and better - is that Mouse. I'm trying not to make television a habit, but to be honest, the t.v. is on quite a bit. I'm gonna try and work on changing that. Yes, I can admit my faults. But anyways, what is it that is so captivating to the young about Mickey Mouse and his friends? It captivated me, I love Disney and can't wait to go back to the parks. Ariyana doesn't do this with any other show, but Mickey's Playhouse. 

It's Been Ten Years

Suffice it to say, 9/11/01 touched millions of people very deeply. Today, as my family took time to remember the lives that were lost and the sacrifices of thousands in the wars after, I realize just how blessed we really are. Today, we spent the day out at my husbands Army Reserve Unit in Niagara Falls. It was our military Family Day complete with good food, good company and an air show. It's not just a big ten year anniversary that we all take time to reflect and all that we have to be thankful for, but I'm trying to remember this every day. That my family is healthy, safe, and we are free. 

My Daddy is my Hero in boots

He thinks I'm pretty nifty too!

He even protects me when I'm scared. 

The jets at the air-show were pretty, crazy loud!

Grandparent's weekend

I've been truly blessed to have the family that I do have. Distance keeps me apart from many of them, but they never leave my thoughts. We were grateful this weekend, that my Dad was able to come down and see us in Buffalo, while he was on the East Coast with Kaley. 
I'm so happy that Ariyana got to bond with her Grandpa, and I am able to see my Dad more than I had been. We will work towards a trip out to see him eventually, I'm sure. I'm sad that he's so far away now - think a couple thousand miles away. 

Backyard play

Buffalo summers seem so short sometimes. I've been loving that we've been having such a nice Western New York summer. I don't want it to end. Today was a particularly warm day. Ariyana was stripped down to diaper and a cover shorts and we explored the backyard as a family. I love every moment and cherish them as I know these memories can't ever be replaced. You can't go back in time. 

Through the eyes of a child, even the littlest things are amazing.

And every amazing thing - must go in the mouth immediately. 

Our two little kids.

Morning People

I'll be the very first to admit that I'm soooo not a morning person. No, really - I drag for a good hour after I wake up. It's safe to say that coffee has become an intimate friend of mine for quite a while. My daughter on the other hand - is by far the happiest morning person ever. Luckily, that brings me out of my morning funk a good twenty minutes early!

How could you not be impressed with this morning face?!

YAY! Oatmeal!

Barnes and Noble Story Time

I try to get both Ariyana and I out of the house. Not just for her entertainment, but also- my sanity. After even one day of not leaving the house, I get a bit stir crazy. Especially, when Ariyana gets bored and cranky. Every Tuesday, a local Barnes and Noble bookstore has a 2 and under story time. We make at least two of those a month, and she really seems to like it. She pays attention, crawls around, checks out other babies and has ten minutes of play time afterwards with new and fun toys. There is also a music class that is Thursday or Fridays that I'm thinking of taking her to also. Even the simplest of activities makes for a much better day. 
And pretty soon, the warm weather will be gone and we will be depending on indoor activities. Like I have mentioned before, the t.v. is on far too much for my liking. Mostly out of habit. 

Chicken with a Mushroom Sauce

I'm not some gourmet chef by any means. I mean, I can cook some really good food if the time allows and I have the desire to. But chances are, I like it quick and easy so I have more time to spend with the fam. Or, not hear my baby whine after me while I'm in the kitchen. 


So here is a recipe that's quick and easy - and always yummy!


4 medium pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 TBS Emeril's Original Essence Seasoning
1 can of Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 pint of sliced mushrooms (any variety)
3/4 cup red wine
1 TBS corn starch to thicken


1 box Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice prepared according to package directions


Heat up a large pan over medium heat with a bit of olive oil.  Dry the chicken breast off with a paper towel and season with Emeril's Essence. When pan is hot, place each chicken breast in the pan and cook both sides for about 4-5 minutes. Add the can of condensed soup and the red wine to the pan, combining well. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and allow the chicken to finish cooking until juices run clean and no longer pink. After chicken is cooked through, sauce may be runny - add a little bit of corn starch at a time mixing it in well to thicken the sauce. Serve over rice and a side of veggie choice. 

P.S. The red wine adds great flavor and is a plus cause you can't let an open bottle go to waste!

Napping

When I'm sad, I nap. When I'm happy, I nap. When I'm tired - I most certainly nap. My napping hours have changed a lot over several years. They've been slowly replaced by responsibility and lack of time. However, watching Ariyana nap, is in a word - beautiful. 

More like a little girl than a baby

I think it's a fairly grey area where exactly your child is no longer a baby and more of a toddler, a child, a kid. It's such a short span of time that babies are babies. The more independent Ariyana is getting, the more she looks like a toddler to me and less like a baby. She'll always be my baby, but I wish she'd slow down just a tad for momma!

Hand made bow by: Maddie's Bowtique

Someday, darlin'- a nice boy will get you some real flowers, just for you. And just because. 

Until then, your Daddy's the only man you'll ever need.