Family Picnic

     On Saturday, I packed a picnic lunch for us and we headed out to spend some time together at Betty Virginia Park. We're really lucky that it's so close to our house. Adam put Sara Beth in the hiking pack just to see if she would be ready for some real hiking soon. She did great in it and really seemed to like being carried that way. We even brought Zilladog along. She tried to get in on the snuggling toward the end too! The weather was nice (surprisingly) and Sara Beth was in a great mood. All in all, it was a fabulous family outing!

Granola Bars. . . Take 2

     This is a way better recipe than the previous one I blogged about. They came out crunchy and delicious, just the way I like them. I didn't have any dried fruit, so I HAD to add chocolate chips instead. Poor me! :)
Granola Bar recipe

Asian Adventures in Eating

     As I think about what I like to cook, I've decided that Asian food is my go-to cuisine. I cook Indian and Thai food more than I cook plain ole American fare (by a lot). For dinner the other night, I made Vietnamese Summer Rolls and a Thai Green Curry with basmati rice (which is typically Indian, but I didn't have the traditional Jasmine rice). I love both of these dishes because you can turn semi-normal ingredients into something crazy-flavorful and exotic with just a few off-the-beaten-path ingredients. Here are some pictures from my cooking extravaganza. By the way. . . I didn't have to go to the store for any of this. I had it all on hand.

Ingredients for the Thai peanut dipping sauce

Ingredients for the Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Ingredients for the Thai Green Curry

Our Asian spread: Vietnamese Summer Rolls with a peanut dipping sauce, Thai tea, and Thai Green Curry

Mid-Week Getaway

     Tuesday, Adam and I made a quick trip to Dallas for the Jack Johnson concert. Adam was only able to take a half day on Tuesday afternoon and another half day on Wednesday morning, so sadly there wasn't time for a side trip to IKEA. :( We did eat at a great little restaurant before the concert though. http://www.asianmint.com/themint.html I used one of my super discounted gift certificates ($25 GC for $2) from Restaurant.com and it was happy hour ($2 off appetizers) so we got to try a lot from the menu without spending a fortune. Yay! The Thai(ish) food was great and the decor was too!

All of this food does not belong to me! I had Pad Kee Mow and Adam had Red Curry.

Thai Tea and Summer Rolls

     The concert was at an outdoor venue so we naturally thought we'd be miserable in the Dallas heat. However, thankfully, our seats were under the biggest ceiling fans I've ever seen and a brief rainstorm came just at the right time. It was downright comfortable! We love Jack Johnson's music! In fact, his music was practically our soundtrack during our 2006 vacation in Kauai. It was also playing when Sara Beth was born. . . I had a ton of his songs on my MP3 player (as one of my relaxation techniques). He was even better in concert than I expected. I heard a couple of new songs that are bound to become favorites:

Jack Johnson and Paula Fuga- "Country Road"

Jack Johnson- "Little Girl"

And of course one of my all-time favorite songs, Banana Pancakes.

Before the concert

Road Trip!

     This past weekend, we traveled to Tyler State Park so Adam could attend an adventure racing clinic. While he brushed up on his racing skills, Sara Beth and I got to hang out with our good friends, Diana and Tristen (I'm sure you remember them from my previous posts!). It was sunny and hot, but surprisingly not terrible in the shade. Thank goodness! We were lucky enough to be able to steal a little bit of air conditioning in Rodney and Katrina's camper while I fed SB and when she took a nap. It was a very long day---- we left home at 5:30 am and didn't get back until 9:00 pm! But, we had a great time in the great outdoors and our little girl did amazingly well on her first real road trip.

Cute, cute, cute!

Last time I was at Carol's house, we embroidered this cute little onsie for SB. Carol added the ribbon detail and the bow. I used a 6-9 month onesie thinking she could grow into it. Well, grow she did! When we finally tried it on her Monday night, it was very snug. I guess she gets to wear it several times this week! :)

My First Real Sewing Project

Yesterday Carol helped me learn how to sew this sweet little jumper dress for Sara Beth.  Thanks for the tutorial, Carol! I'm so proud of myself! I think it's adorable, don't you? The best part is that it's reversible. We even mongrammed it on one side.  It's still a little big for her right now, but I can't wait until she can wear it. Hmm. I think I could start to like sewing!

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Celebrating 11 Years of Marraige. . . Tourists in Our Own Town

     On August 7th, Adam and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. After weeks of pondering what we should do, we settled on eating out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It felt like such a lame thing to do on your anniversary, but there were really no other options.  Well, our day of eating turned out to be a great idea! We felt like tourists in our own city. We ate at places that we normally don't get the chance to dine at and ended up having great conversation with people all over Shreveport.
     Our weekend officially began when my mom picked up Sara Beth on Friday night. My parents kept her overnight and all day Saturday so we could have some one-on-one time together. This was SB's first sleepover without us. . . or more like our first night without SB. She did fine. I, on the other hand, had tears flowing down my face after she left. It all turned out OK though. We thoroughly enjoyed our night of uninterrupted sleep and our lazy morning together. To start, Adam made some delicious coffee for us. We chatted for several hours. . . and most of it wasn't about SB.

     Next, we headed to Columbia Cafe for a late breakfast. Columbia is a great little restaurant right in our neighborhood. It's a house, a lot like ours, that they converted into a restaurant. They display local artists' work and cook with seasonal ingredients. It's a great little place with lots of local flavor! Adam had french toast and I had an omelet with spinach, tomatoes, and andouille sausage.

     After breakfast, we stopped by the Shreveport Farmer's Market and bought a huge bag of Ruston peaches. Adam had big plans for the peaches! He made some delicious gelato later that day.

    On our way home, we checked out what was left of a big sale at Ladies in Waiting. We didn't get there early enough for the really good stuff, but I did find a Peanut Shell sling for only $15. I can't wait to try it out next week! We asked about a B.O.B. running stroller while we were there (just checking prices since Sara Beth isn't ready for it yet), but they didn't carry the model we wanted. So, we headed next door to River City Cycling to check there. They didn't have it either, but we did run into the owner, Ian, and ended up talking to him for over an hour. It was nice to have time for adult conversation.

     For lunch, we headed over to Lilah's Deli and Bakery (a.k.a. Lila's Cakes and Chocolates). It's also close to our house and although this was our first time to go, I can imagine we'll be back for years to come. It's a little jewel tucked into a run down part of the Highland neighborhood with very tasty food. Adam had a Greek panini and I had the spicy chicken sandwich (spicy= Indian). We also sampled their cookies (oatmeal raisin and white chocolate macadamia nut. . . both pretty yummy) and a mint chocolate cupcake (just OK).

     Dinner was at Olive Street Bistro, another one of our favorite places. It's been a long time since we've eaten here, and we had forgotten how good it was. To start, the bread is a crispy, pizza-sized flat bread topped with Parmesan cheese and spices. You break it off with your hands and dip it in oil and vinegar. I could go there just to eat the bread. . . it's that good! Adam ordered Fettuccine Con l 'Agnello, which tasted like lamb stew with homemade pasta. I ordered Involtino Di Pollo Napolitano, which was rolled and cheese-stuffed chicken in a wine sauce. Both entrees were delicious! We didn't forget dessert (do we ever?). . . Cioccolatto Rustico. It was half way between chocolate mousse and cake topped with vanilla ice cream and raspberry puree, surrounded by a rum cream sauce. Oh My! It was good! Sorry the pictures are dark and grainy. It's a "romantic" (a.k.a. dark) restaurant.

     By this time, it's almost 10:00 and our anniversary is coming to an end. We headed over to my parents' house to pick up our sweet little girl. Sara Beth had a fun time at her Nana and Papaw's house! She was such a good girl! Thanks to them for keeping her for us so we could celebrate 11 years together.

     It really was a perfect day, all in all. Happy Anniversary to the most wonderful husband any girl could want! I love you, Adam David Hart!

    


    

3 Months Down. . . A Lifetime To Go!

    
I can't believe our sweet baby girl is already 3 months old. The time has just flown by! Sara Beth is a happy baby most of the time (except, of course, when she gets gas pains in her tummy). My favorite time with her is when she wakes up in the morning. When I hear her start to stir, I move her bassinet in front of the window and open the curtains so the sunshine can pour in on her. I say "Good Morning, Sunshine!" and she almost always gives me a precious smile. So sweet!
     This month has been filled with lots of "firsts", as you would expect--- her first time at a restaurant, her first laugh, her first time to turn over, and her first time to sleep through the night. It's also been a time for play dates. In the past 2 weeks, we've had three of them. We've really enjoyed the chance to get together with friends!
     Sara Beth doesn't have her 3 month check up with Dr. Ritch until Thursday, so I don't know her exact weight and height yet. But, we had an appointment a week and a half ago (where we found out that she has baby eczema) and she weighed in at 11 pounds and 15 ounces. She's definitely growing like a weed! Her eczema is looking much better now, by the way. Her hair, however, is a different story. She sports her "Alfalfa" sprout in the back and she's beginning to lose some hair on the sides too. I wonder if it will grow back lighter than it is now. Her eyebrows and eyelashes are considerably lighter than her hair. Hmmm. We'll just have to wait and see!
*** Update 8/5/10*** Today was SB's 3 month check-up. Everything looks good. They did a routine check for anemia and it came back negative. Her eczema is much, much better. Her official measurements are: Height 24 inches (75th percentile), Weight 12 pounds, 9 ounces (66th percentile), and Head Circumference 16 inches (75th percentile). Dr. Ritch is so good with her and so reassuring to me! We love him!

At 3 months old, Sara Elizabeth Hart is. . .
- grabbing everything she can get her hands on.
- constantly putting her hands in her mouth (which also entails lots of drool).
- almost rolling over from back to front. She just can't get her arm out of the way yet. She rolled from front to back once for Adam, but hasn't done it since.
- able to hold her head up much better, even when she's on her tummy.
- laughing when you tickle her ribs.
- almost sleeping through the night. She's made it a few times, but has not made a habit of it yet. Most nights, she makes it to about 4:30 though.
- napping in her crib during the day. She now would prefer that to falling asleep in your arms.
- still taking daily walks with Zilla and Mommy (although now she faces out in the Snugli carrier).
- loves to be sung to by Daddy. Her favorite song right now is "Don't Worry, Be Happy".
- is a wiggle worm when it's story time. She kicks and coos, and tries to grab the book. Her current favorites include The Saggy Baggy Elephant, The Pokey Little Puppy, and Old Bear.

Wake Up Smile

Holding Up My Head

Story time with Daddy

Playing with Friends

Grabbing the toys on my activity mat