yeah, she's definitely my daughter.

so, today we ventured out to our local library for storytime with my creepy internet friend meg and her little girl, katie.  don't worry, she isn't creepy.  but she is an internet friend.  songs were sang, books were read, and toys were played with.  knee-slapping fun was had by all.

we decided on lunch at IHOP (mmmm....breakfast for lunch).  since i decided to partake in the goodness that is all-you-can-eat pancakes, i figured why not share some with my 8-month old? 

she nommed on some pancakes. 

that's my girl.

disclaimer:  i gave her plain pancakes.  no butter.  no syrup.

i haz teefs!

forgive the quality...taken with my blackberry.

nope, not a fluke.

she's a solids eating champ.  my kid rocks.

maybe i should blog more often...

yeah, so remember last post when i mentioned that mia hadn't been eating her solids so well?

tonight, i ate my words.

she chowed down on bananas.

i have my fingers crossed that it wasn't a fluke.

holy moly...

where have all the blog posts gone (sung to the tune of paula cole's "where have all the cowboys gone?")?  i am such a slacker.  holidays are over, so i'm no longer working crazy hours (yay, retail).  well...

mia is growing.

and getting older.

it's freaking me out.

she is still the coolest, most chill baby on the planet.  still sleeping through the night, despite teething (hello two bottom, middle toofers!) 

she's up to 16 pounds, 15 ounces.  at least that was the count a few weeks ago at her check-up.  she's around the 75th percentile in both height and weight.  as for her head...

90th.  my daughter has a giant melon.  she gets it from her mama.

we started solids well before thanksgiving, but with both of us working retail, we sort of got off track.  we've started back up within the past two weeks, and it isn't going as well.  she refuses to open her mouth to take the spoon.  i don't know what the deal is.  she'll get it in time, i suppose.  it's just frustrating.  how can she not gobble up 'naners and peaches?  anybody have any suggestions? 

mia will soon be making her second trip to the beach in under a year.  this time, we'll be vacationing with her daddy/my hubby and my cousin and her family.  we're all very excited. 

here are a few pictures to catch everyone up:

her first halloween.  dressed as nemo, and obviously tuckered out from too much candy-grabbing.

meeting santa.  note the hand up by his beard.  she pulled it.  thank god it was real.  i was just waiting for my kid to be the one to traumatize all the other kids in line by pulling his beard off. 

on christmas day.  mia on the left, bff ava on the right.  kickass elmo in the middle.

i promise not to stay away so long next time.  please forgive me.

 

i wanna win!

so...this isn't a mia post.  this is a post for me to win a new Dyson vacuum!  the author of Baby Rabies is giving one away.  plus, she's really funny, so you should totally follow her blog.

crock-pot black bean chili with cilantro and lime

we were having friends over last night, so i decided i wanted to cook.  now, i'm not a cook all the time kind of girl, so i wanted something easy.  i turned to my trusty crock-pot.  i found this recipie, and thought "i LOVE cilantro and lime!"  so, i found my recipie.  i did change up a few small things though...

crock-pot black bean chili with cilantro and lime

2 onions, chopped
extra virgin olive oil, for browning onions and meat
1 lb ground beef (i used ground sirloin)
1 quart beef stock
3 cans (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) refried beans (i used a mexican style)
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 packet chili seasoning (i got mine from the hispanic aisle of my grocery store)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (i bought 4 limes, but only needed 3)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

heat some olive oil in a large skillet and sautee the onions until they are soft and transluscent.  add them to your pre-heated (on low) crock-pot.  if needed, add more olive oil to the skillet and begin to brown the meat.  once browned, add to the onions in the crock-pot.

while cooking the onions and meat, put the beef stock in a pot and simmer to reduce to 2 cups.  that will be half of the original pint.  put beans into a colander and rinse until no foam appears.

once the beef stock has reduced, whisk in the refried beans until thoroughly mixed.  add stock/refried bean mixture, rinsed black beans, diced tomatoes, and chili seasoning to the crock-pot. 

cook 6-8 hours on low.  about 15 minutes before serving, add in chopped cilantro and lime juice.

mine served 4, with 3 of us having seconds, with some left over to go in the fridge.  i topped mine with shredded mild cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla strips.

NOTE:  cooking time can depend on your particular crock-pot.  i was only able to cook mine for about 5-6 hours because i got a late start.  once i put the crock-pot on warm and let it sit for a little while, it thickened up quite a bit, and when i just warmed up a bowl, it was thicker as well.  moral of the story, make sure to cook it the full amount of time. 

ANOTHER NOTE:  this was a chili with beef, but i think the recipie can be modified to make a chicken tortilla type soup, simply by substituting the beef/beef stock for shredded chicken and chicken stock.  i will be trying it this way next time.