This week....

Hmmm, let me try to remember what happened this week...Oh! Ok, got it...Sequoia said her 1st "word"....And it's Ma Ma!!! Yup, loud and clear...Jeff tried to get her to say "Da Da" but nope, she kept saying MaMa! It was Amazing! :-D

 She is also sitting by herself....Until she decides to launch herself backwards that is...

Here she is  - sitting 

She is getting So Big!! Awww! Such a fun baby! Full of smiles, giggles, funny sounds....she screams, kicks, makes raspberry sounds, loves having baths, loves being outside...is very curious and sweet!!

Oh aaaand Today is her 6 month Birthday!!
Happy birthday sweet Sequoia!! We love more than words can describe it!!

In other news.....She started eating "solids"...I don't know why they call it solids....It's mushed up fruit and veggies! Anything but Solid ....Anyways, she loves it! She's been looking at us eating for awhile now....following the spoon from our plate to the mouth and figuring it all out...So we knew she would be ready to try some pretty soon...She likes everything we give her...apples, pears, bananas, avocado, peaches....yogurt...etc...Now when its time to eat she reaches and tries to grab the bowl....Looks like she'll be a good eater :-)

Saturday was rainy and cold...so we stayed in...not much happened. Sunday was nicer...We got some Sunshine even! So we spent some time outside. I took some photos of Sequoia in her Dragon costume

 
...and Jeff put up her little swing

 
Big SiSi was here too! She pushed Sequoia in her swing, let the chickens out and Boots was trying to play with them...Quite funny! Chickens were not having any of it....Ok someone is awake and hungry so I gotta go!

Back! (2 days later lol) Here are few more photos from last week

 

Sequoia Eating hir sisters homework! Now Sienna has a Proof when teacher asks "Where is your homework?" hehe....Playing with daddy after he came home from work....and cruising around with me in her Ergo! She loves it!...K, now I'm done!

Get me out of this carseat! - Video

This video was taken....oh maybe a month ago....She was trying to wiggle herself out of the car seat :-)

Photo Idea!

I've Finally figured out how to do This:

Now you don't have to scroll through ton of large photos....Instead I can make a mosaic like this! I always wondered how bloggers did this, and I tried to reshape photos and put them next to each other...but it Never worked....and then it Dawned on me! Picasa!! U make a mosaic save it as a photo and Tada!!!  Now I have a whole bunch of ideas! I'll develop this one and hang it above Sequoia's bed :-)

Fall

We finally had some fall weather this weekend....rainy and cold....Big sister had a friend over so we played board games, watched Blair Witch Project(as Halloween is 'round the corner so you have to watch scary movies - according to hubby)

Actually, attempted to watch it...but it was too scary for the girls so we switched to Ice Age, a family Favorite! It was fun, Sequoia loved watching and playing with the girls too!
I spent part of the Saturday babysitting two adorable girlies I use to watch! 

It was great to hang out with them again, never a dull moment with those two! Love 'em!

Also on Saturday our car broke, blah...Jeff figured it's a fuel pump...and he will be replacing it!

It's sure awesome having a mechanically inclined husband who can fix the car for the fraction of the cost the "real" mechanics would charge us!

Now Sequoia "news"...This weekend she discovered her Tongue and she's been sticking it out every chance she gets, which is pretty much most of the time! Its hard to take pic of it as she keeps moving all the time but here is one!

 She had her 1st Head Bonk this weekend...she was sitting and toppled over...she cried for a bit and then she was fine, didn't even get a bump on her head! Yep, just a 1st out of many to come I'm sure

She is sitting better every day! Here she is outside this morning..we were playing in the leafs

awww my baby looks so big here!

Oh and I finaly managed to snap a photo of her Teeth! here they are!

I am STILL taking photos with my phone...**sighs**....Charger still MIA

Indonesian Chicken-Lentil-Veggie soup

I have to write this recipe down so I don't forget how I made it. 

That's my problem when cooking...I usually make things up as I go, and use whatever I happen to have in the fridge/pantry but I don't write things down and can never remember how I made a dish we really liked....so now I'll be writing it down Here!

The only thing that makes this soup "Indonesian" is a Epicure spice...It's my Fave at the moment!

"Bring something truly unique to your next Asian-inspired meal with this blend of garlic, citrus, and chili flavors. Kosher/ No Sodium"

• In a big soup pot brown some chicken in olive oil - can put whole pieces or diced 
• Add onions, garlic, red bell pepper, carrots, zucchini - let it all cook in a covered pot
• Add enough water to cover all the veggies and some salt
• Add lentils and cook until it's done!
• Add more water if needed
• At the end chop some fresh dill and parsley and add to the soup
• To finish add 1 tbs of flour to thicken it just a bit and that's it!
• Oh yeah the most important thing - Add the Indonesian spice at any time!

Charger is still MIA so can't take any photos :'(

Growing like a weed!

Our little Sequoia is Little No more! She is growing fast!

Not a tiny lil peanut anymore (sigh)...People refer to her now as a "Big" baby...It's a bit strange to hear that because for the longest time she was in 10th percentile for her weight, but she is catching up nicely.

She is 5.5 mths old, around 16 lbs...she is Strong, likes to stand, moves a lot more now, she is almost sitting on her own....she can scream Loud if she wants to...Personality is kicking in!

She is smiley, sweet, happy, goofy little thing who loves people and has a smile for everyone...she is very observant and curious.

It's exciting to watch her grow and change every day, but a bit sad too...I don't want her to grow too fast...my lil baby :-)

Now if I could just find that battery charger so I can charge camera batteries and post some new photos....

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was great! Friday was nice and relaxing...Did some errands in the morning and then Sequoia and I visited Crystal and Aluna in the afternoon....we had a nice chat over crackers with smoked oysters and Guinness...Yes, I said Guinness...I am as surprised! 

I am not a huge beer fan...I can have a few sips of some light beer here and there...but generally don't like the taste...Until I tried Guinness...the Darkest beer of all! Until then I thought that's gotta be the strongest, thickest....BEER-est beer out there and there is no chance in hell I would ever try it...

But on Friday I thought "Why not, I'm already eating smoked oysters, so what the heck, bring on the Guinness!" 

Long story short; I really liked it! It does not have the strong, sharp beer flavor like I thought...au contraire, it's very smooth and flavorful. So yeah, now I'm a Guinness drinking gal! Plus its good for you when you're breastfeeding!

Saturday morning we his some Yard Sales! Trying to squeeze a few more before winter.

Got some good stuff this time: pants, baby toys, oh a rebounder aka Mini Trampoline!! Apparently bouncing on it for 20 mins a day is the BEST workout you can possibly have! We got it for $5!!

How awesome is That! And I finally found my perfect house coat...It's dark gray (one of my fave colors!) Has a hoodie and is super soft! I am ready for cozy Winter mornings!

Saturday afternoon we went to Alisons for dinner! Ham, potatoes, mashed yams, stuffing, green beans were delicious!

Plan for today(Sunday) is to go get some fall decorations....Pumpkins, corn stalks etc and decorate outside...I already have an idea how!....and maybe play some tennis....watch a movie tonight...so we'll see that pans out...

Continued....

Yep Sunday we found this new U-Pick Pumpkin Patch! They even had corn stalks and gourds!
So we got our stuff and came back home to decorate....Here is what our front door looks like 

This is an old wicker rocking chair we found while out walking one night...I'm planning to spray paint it some funky color at some point, but they way it is now it's perfect for fall pumpkin display

On Monday afternoon we went to crystal's for a wonderful turkey dinner! Food was delicious....We played Cranium afterwards and had a blast!

Here is the sweetest moment I captured ...Sequoia was tired and she finally fell asleep in her daddy's arms....awww

Afterwards we went to visit Ross and Mary Anne...had some more turkey and stuff there...met whole bunch of nice people...They seemed to be fascinated by Jeff and my story...

And on our way back home from home we saw Northern Lights!! How awesome is that....That's my 2nd time Ive seen them....No spectacular colors ...But you could see this illuminated strip accros the sky...it was beautiful...

And that's it! That was our Thanksgiving weekend! Filled with family, good friends, good food, laughter....Good times!

Thanksgiving weekend plan

It's almost Thanksgiving weekend!! And so far we have two dinners to go to...Saturday is at Alison's...Monday at Chris and Crystal's.

That leaves Friday and Sunday totally Open...Hmm what to do...what to do? We are having spectacular fall weather...cold, crisp mornings/evenings but warm and sunny days...

I'd like to go for another hike somewhere new!...Maybe have a picnic lunch at the beach...

Or maybe not go anywhere and just drink lots of Peppermint tea and have a relaxing weekend at home...Play it by ear...

I did it!

Long story short I've been Afraid of canning! 

I thought it's just too complicated, you have to add too many weird ingredients, takes forever to do...I always wanted to, but was too much of a wimp to do it...

So few days ago Jeff and I discovered this little plum tree...it was full of fruit, and we didn't want it to go to waste so we picked 2 bags of plums. 

I don't about you but I can't Eat that amount of plums in a short period of time! So naturally I decided that this will be the day when I will can something!...Plums! And so I googled a really easy plum recipe and did it! I only have 2 jars as I wanted to test it and see if I can do it right....And I did! 

Lids sealed, and everything! And not only that, I even made a little jar of plum Jam, GASP! 

I am so proud of myself right now! Canning Virgin No More! (photos coming when I get my camera back)

Milestones...

Few photos from this week taken from our blackberry...

Getting Too big for her bouncy chair...she is Sitting in it!...You are Not suppose to be sitting in it you silly 5mth old baby! Not even suppose to be sitting at all...But she does :-)

Sitting by herself(not in a car seat) in BOB the Stroller!  She looks like she isn't quite sure about this whole "sitting by herself" thing...Oh and notice how she is holding the bar with her Toes!/ She was born with these long monkey toes!

Somehow she moved from pink mat all the way over There!

2nd Vancouver Trip...

This time we wanted to visit Whistler, so we headed up the mountain as soon as we got to the city....there was some dirt biking event going on there so it was full of young people...I imagined it was gonna be a bit more snobish...but it wasn't...it was gorgeous, vibrant...they had a band playing some reggae tunes on the street....so we picked a cafe with a patio and had some nachos and beer...Loved it!

Before we left I said to Jeff "I hope we see a Bear on this trip, haven't seen one in a long time"...And law of attraction worked and we saw a momma bear Plus 3 cubs on our way to whistler!

1st Vancouver Trip...

We went on a few road trips this past summer! Twice to Vancouver, to Kootenays....Van trips were for Jeffs job training, so every day when he was done we went and squeezed in some sightseeing! WE Love that City! Just the whole vibe, the energy, people, even traffic!! Crazy,  I know...But its just a nice change from a quiet lil town we live in...Here are some photos from our 1st trip to Vancouver...That was hhmm....sometime in February....I was still preggers back then...

 

We took the scenic route on our way there...hoping to see some Bighorn sheep, but no such luck. We did go through few old gold mining towns...very cute!

This is the hotel stayed at in North Vancouver....such a neat lil place right on water! Building has 3 levels....top one is the hotel....middle is the mall...and bottom is the market....and outside is a nice sitting area with a gorgeous view of Vancouver skyline

Just some tugboats that were parked in front of the hotel

 

Stanley Park visit

Lynn Canyon suspension bridge.... 

Chevapi at Balkan House..._Chevapi is famous Bosnian dish ...and before going to I've found this lil restaurant just so we can go and eat it! Its was ok, not nearly as good as they make in Bosnia...but it was good

That's my silly hubby - trying to freak me out with his "crazy stare" lol

And last but not least - BC  Lions stadium. We cant go to Vancouver and not visit the stadium. That just doesn't happen when you have a football fan in the family! (Jeff!)