love at first sight

so a few disgruntled readers (meaning family members) have expressed their displeasure that I haven't posted any recent pictures of alexandra on the blog. truth be told, as much as i would like to photograph my little girl all the time, there is little opportunity to do so during the week, what with rushing out the door in the mornings and then getting her down for an early bedtime at night. i made it a point to take a bunch of pictures this past Saturday, and my - HOW SHE HAS GROWN!!!




as you will see in these pictures, she has a healthy head of hair - unfortunately for alexandra, she was destined to have unruly hair as it is an affliction of both her mommy and daddy. she has four - count 'em FOUR - teeth. the bottom two are very noticeable in the pictures of her standing in her crib, and she has also grown in two on the top - we joke and call them her fangs because they are not in the middle of the gum but on the sides! her pediatrician says that after the bottom two middle teeth come in, it's anyone's guess as to when the others will fill in. it's funny, alexandra is actually **obsessed** with teeth! she loves it when we give her a full blown, toothy smile...her little face lights up and she places her little hand in your mouth to feel your teeth. maybe we have a little future dentist on our hands....





alexandra is eating like a champ! she is still on breastmilk - i am officially 5 weeks away from hitting the one year mark and then weaning her to regular milk. she is doing great with solid foods - she's not a big fan of things with texture and she does not like many finger foods (though she loves those gerber wagon wheel puffs), but everything else seems to be fair game. i decided early on to make her own baby food and have been so happy with my decision - it tastes better, it's more economical, it's easy, and i know what i am putting in my little girl's tummy! plus, you get to try lots of different things that you don't find in baby food aisles, like mango! so far, our successes have included yogurt (a favorite), apples, bananas, kiwi, blueberries, peaches, the aforementioned mango, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, yellow squash, zucchini, corn, green peas, cauliflower with cheese, flounder with cheese and chicken with apples and corn. the last two might not sound all that great, but they actually are pretty darn tasty!






my little girl is always on the move and wants to explore everything! the daycare teachers tell us that she is always crawling (sometimes over other babies!) to explore new toys. she is constantly practicing her standing skills, and can pull up to a standing position quite easily within a matter of a few seconds. about a week ago, she greeted me from a standing position in her crib one morning and that is usually how i have found her since. she is quite vocal and says a lot of different sounds like "da da" and "ma ma", but she has not yet said dada or mama intentionally towards ryan or myself (i'm secretly rooting for mama!). one of her daycare teachers swears up and down that alexandra said "baby" last friday, but ryan and i have our doubts!




she's developing such a little personality and i simply adore watching her observe the world around her and learn new things everyday. i always thought motherhood would be rewarding, but i never knew what a joy it would be until i laid eyes on her - truly love at first sight!

list of lovely things

i have been tagged by kristy and jmw with a creative blogger award, asking me to list 7 things that i love and then pass along the award to 7 bloggers that i love. because i love so many things, it was hard to narrow the list down, but here's a few:

1. obviously, the precious little girl:


the husband:


and the puppy:


okay, so that is really 3 things, but i will lump them into one word - family!

2. mojitos...yum


3. these lovely ladies (man, i **still** miss this show!)


4. lilies, both calla (my wedding bouquet):


and open lilies, like these beautiful asiatics:


5. high heels - the higher the better, i own my height:


6. the gorgeous beaches of turks and caicos (where we spent our honeymoon):


7. the smell of fresh cut grass:



just a few of my favorite things! the following bloggers should consider themselves tagged:

1. a day in the life
2. halfway house
3. in the life of 5 year olds
4. kentucky mama
5. priscilla b
6. momtog
7. polka dots and protein bars

momtog

i am **loving** this new blog. what a talented photographer - she has the most beautiful little boy and captures the most stunning images! case in point:


a girl could only hope to be able to take images like these! the best part is she is happy to share all of her wonderful tips on how to take the best photographs of children. this is **definitely** getting added to my list of daily reads.

heigh ho, heigh ho.....

...it's off to work i go [again]. maybe it's just the monday blahs, but do you ever feel like one of these little guys?? (minus the chipper attitude of all Disney characters).

here comes the sun

what wonderful weather we have had bestowed upon us down here in kentucky!! it was absolutely beautiful this past weekend with temps reaching into the low 70s, and tomorrow it is supposed to reach a high of 78 - woo hoo!! of course, it is supposed to dip back down to the low 40s within a matter of days. the saying around kentucky has always been that if you don't like the weather, stick around a day or two because it is bound to change.


i have noticed the number of emails i get from j crew announcing swimwear sales steadily increasing along with the temperatures. ah...the swimsuit. has there ever been a love-hate relationship for women like the swimsuit?? (well, actually, there has - we have to throw jeans in the mix and don't even get me started on shorts, i refuse to wear them). i don't know what i have to worry about...i work full time, we don't own a pool and we have no vacations planned for this summer (boo, now i'm really depressed). however, if i did have a pool or fantastic beach trip planned, i'd have to pick up this seersucker number from j crew. you can't see it very well in the picture, but the bikini bottoms also have a very cute flower detail. it comes in a variety of styles and colors, but i like the halter in purple the best.

now, if they could just come up with a flattering pair of shorts...

a girl's prerogative

yes, you are still reading southern comfort - i have changed my blog background again! what can i say, a girl needs change sometimes.

anticipating auntie's arrival

my younger sister, rachel, is coming up to visit us - okay, really she wants to visit alexandra! - this weekend, and we couldn't be more excited about it. unfortunately, rachel hasn't gotten to see alexandra much since she was born - i think we tallied up only 3 or 4 times. of course, everyone involved wished that they could see one another more often, but that's what happens when life gets involved (rachel is a very busy 2nd year resident in boston). i think she'll be surprised to see how much alexandra has grown since her last visit four months ago - check out the pictures below, what do you think?

picture of aunt and niece from the last visit during the first week of november 2008 (at 6 months old):


picture of little miss alexandra taken march 1, 2009 (at 10 months old):

southern comfort loves comfort food

as you know from prior posts, i love (almost) everything southern - including southern food. our cuisine is almost never healthy, but always tasty. (case in point, the kentucky hot brown - a delectable dish created at the brown hotel in my city of louisville. who else but southerners would dream up a dish consisting of toast, turkey, bacon and tomatoes completely doused in a creamy, cheesy mornay sauce?). a great resource for good southern food is southern living - you know from prior posts how much i adore that magazine. as my mother always says, "i've never made a southern living recipe that didn't turn out great." a truer statement has never been made. i regularly pull recipes that look good (which is 99.9% of them). keep in mind that as a young(ish) woman juggling career and motherhood, i almost never get to cook anymore, but that doesn't keep me from noting recipes that look tasty on the off chance i might get to cook again some day soon.

case in point, i made an awesome southern living dish the other night that was super easy, super fast, and super tasty. it was very well received by my little household of 3 (well, 2 parents eating normal food, one baby eating your typical baby fare). the best part is that it was comfort food that wasn't too fattening - note that i said it wasn't "too" fattening, at least not in comparison to most of the recipes i find in southern living. try it out, i promise you won't be disappointed.


CHICKEN AND CORN PIES WITH CORNBREAD CRUST

ingredients:

1 (10-oz.) can enchilada sauce
1 (10-oz.) can mexican diced tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro, drained
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 cups chopped cooked chicken (you can cook the chicken yourself, but for further ease, use 2 (12.5-oz.) cans chicken, drained, as recommended by sl - i did it and found it to work and taste great.)
1 (6-oz.) package mexican-style cornbread mix
2/3 cup milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend, divided
Toppings: sliced pickled jalapeño peppers, sour cream


1. preheat oven to 375°. stir together enchilada sauce and next 3 ingredients in a 3 1/2-qt. saucepan over medium heat until combined; cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. stir in chicken.

2. whisk together cornbread mix, next 3 ingredients, and 3/4 cup cheese in a small bowl just until blended.

3. pour chicken mixture into 5 lightly greased (10-oz.) ramekins. spoon cornbread mixture over hot chicken mixture. sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. divide ramekins onto 2 jelly-roll pans.

4. bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. serve with desired toppings.

Note: Mixture may be prepared in a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Bake as directed, omitting jelly-roll pans.

we topped ours with sour cream and diced jalapenos. i also thought this would be great with some black beans thrown in.

open to the public

it occurred to me tonight that i never posted a follow-up to my january post about making the blog private. obviously, the blog has remained open to the public and will stay that way! i was slightly overwhelmed by the number of responses i received for blog invites if i went private - a few of the comments were from regular commenters but many were from those who i had no idea read my blog! it made me think about how much i enjoy stumbling upon a new blog myself, and that if i went private people wouldn't have a chance to find mine. with that being said, please keep on reading and continue the comments, i love seeing what people think of the blog!

sea of blue??

according to my live traffic feed, i have had a slew of people visit the blog over the past few days from a website called www.aseaofblue.com. i pulled it up and it looks like a website devoted to university of kentucky fans. can anyone visiting from that site tell me how it was they came to my blog from aseaofblue.com??

light literary reads

as a little girl, i loved many things, but one of the things i loved to do most was read. along with my little sister, who shared my love of reading, i devoured books in one setting and couldn't get enough. our bedroom shelves and closets were stuffed with books about all sorts of subjects. we proudly carried our own library cards, gently worn in the corners from repeated use. when the weather was warm and the summer sun was high, we would climb aboard the local bookmobile while taking a lunch break from swimming, and see what adventures we could find amongst the printed pages.

as one would expect, the topics of our books became a little bit more complex and varied as the years passed, but our love of reading remained the same. before i knew it, i was headed off to law school, where i suddenly learned that i was expected to read hundreds of pages of caselaw a night, studying common law torts, statutes of limitation, and even something called the rule against perpetuities (which is still somewhat cloudy to me). suddenly, i no longer had the time or energy to read "for fun" as i once had and my library card has long since been lost.

alas, not much has changed since law school. i have picked up a few books here and there and started reading, but i never seem to finish anything because life gets in the way. one day, i aspire to return to my love of reading great works of fiction, but until that time, i get my fix with magazines.

it is a running joke in our household that our mailman must hate us due to the sheer number of magazines he has to place in our mailbox on a weekly basis (that, and the fact that he is petrified of dogs and it doesn't help when 80 pound Pearl lumbers toward the door, barking and ready to play). i've lost track of how many i have gotten over the years - some i keep up myself, but many of my magazines are gift subscriptions from family members. magazines are a perfect read for me right now - just short enough to fit into my busy schedule and capture my interest. you can tell my varied interests by some of the numerous publications i receive:


us weekly - oh, such a guilty pleasure. is it smut? yes, probably so - but boy, do i love reading it! after spending the vast majority of my day bogged down with boring legal issues, it is nice to "space out" a bit and indulge in a little celebrity gossip. i generally find myself skipping over any articles discussing (1) britney spears, (2) jessica simpson's weight "problem", and (3) anything discussing brad and angelina's brood or the latest slight between angelina and jen.


southern living, aka "the bible" for all those women who are fortunate enough(or aspire to be)southerners. love the fact that the editor in chief is a kentucky gal.


shape - for that constant reminder that i used to have time to work out and that while i have lost all of my pregnancy weight, i still have a far ways to go to reach my pre-baby body.


everyday with rachel ray - in another lifetime, otherwise known as pre-baby, i loved to cook - like most working moms, i now find that my time to cook is significantly limited. this mag has some decent recipes, but i'm considering letting this subscription expire at the end of the renewal period.


lucky - i'm a big fan of the fashion finds in this one.


better homes and gardens - i think my granny gave me a gift subscription to this one. i was pleasantly surprised with this magazine - super cute home ideas!


domino - speaking of super cute decorating ideas, domino is where it is at. unfortunately, i've learned that they are cancelling this one....:(


garden & gun - this is a new one i have fallen for. don't let the title throw you off - this is a great southern magazine, very much in the vein of southern living.


cookie - i really like this one, i call it parenting with an edge.

and my all time favorite???


has to be in style - love the photos, fashion ideas, celebrity profiles....oh, and did i mention that tim gunn (my dream gay BFF) sends all of the women he helps on "tim gunn's guide to style" to the wardrobe department of in style? what's not to love?!

what are your favorites??

what's your favorite color, baby?

BLUE and WHITE!! alexandra showed her school pride for the university of kentucky wildcats this weekend (too bad the basketball team isn't giving us much to be proud of this season!). i think she enjoyed watching parts of the game, though she also decided to have a diaper blow-out which required a complete outfit change. this is the second uk outfit she has had a blow-out in while wearing - think she is trying to tell us something, specifically that she doesn't want to be a wildcat like her folks??


she really seems to be enjoying her wagon wheels!



"okay, pearl, i'll share some of my wagon wheel with you, too."


love this picture, i had just walked into the room while she was playing - when she turned around and saw me, her face lit up with the prettiest smile:


sometimes when she smiles, she scrunches her entire face - too cute.


check out this newest milestone, standing!! she stood for a few seconds completely on her own this weekend, so exciting. plus, ryan tells me that tonight before i got home, alexandra pulled herself up from a sitting to standing position and started "creeping" around her toy. i missed it :(, but i'm hopeful she'll have a repeat performance soon!


so, so hard to believe my little cutie will be 10 months old tomorrow and that i am already planning her FIRST birthday party!

one word

only one word comes to my mind after watching last night's debacle on abc known as "the bachelor" - DISGUST. disgust with jason, molly, chris harrison (really, could he be more annoying??), the producers of the stupid show and abc. i cannot believe i have wasted so much time watching this show, and am embarrassed to have previously stated that i liked jason - what a jerk. i think abc was trying to get great ratings, which it did for one night, but i hope the overall response from the viewing public is we are tired of this junk and not going to watch the show anymore. yes, the show is tired - it obviously seems scripted at times, and how often can you hear "stay tuned for the most exciting rose ceremony ever"?? however, i think it sunk to an all new low last night - really, you're going to drag your fiancee on national television, dump her and take back the neil lane jewels, and then 15 minutes later make out with the girl you previously rejected? nice example you just set for your young son on how to treat the ladies, jason. my heart broke for melissa, what a terrible ordeal - she handled herself so well, although i have to admit that i would have loved to have seen her punch jason's lights out.