{ Baby Shower :: Taylor Paige Ord }

Blair and I had sooo much fun this past weekend down in Ladera Ranch with all of our friends at Megan Ord's baby shower.  Living in Glendora is so wonderful and I love my home and the new friends I've made out here, but no one could ever replace the friends I made during my single days.  And how fun that we're all "growing up" now, getting married, and having babies.  Life is good!

{ RECIPE :: Easy Crockpot Fiesta Chicken }

Are you ready for the easiest dish you'll ever make? I found this recipe a few days ago and wasted no time trying it out in my own kitchen. Seriously, it was such a piece of cake. It took me less than 5 minutes to gather all the ingredients and throw them in the crockpot, only to return 5 hours later to a hot, delicious meal.  Such a blessing when you have a newborn who requires your constant attention! We will most definitely be adding this recipe to our circuit of favorite quick and easy meals.

INGREDIENTS:
4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
1 (15 1/2 oz) can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
1 (15 oz) jar of your favorite salsa
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Take 4 frozen, yes, frozen (or thawed), boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot. Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained. Keep in crock pot on low for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. Once it's cooked, take it out and shred it. Return shredded chicken to the crockpot.  Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. Stir in the cream cheese. Serve over rice or in warm flour tortillas.

{ RECIPE :: Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies }

Yup! These cookies just came out of the oven at our house. FRESH and HOT! Of course I "accidentally" broke two of them as I was transferring from cookie sheet to cooling rack. And you can't serve your in-laws broken cookies, so I took it upon myself to dispose of the cookies immediately...in my belly! Oh. My. Gosh. These cookies are so good. I am such a sucker for anything with lemon zest. And when you throw in some blueberries and cream cheese to the mix, how could you go wrong?

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 cup flour
1 cup blueberries
1/2 pkg cream cheese, cut into 1 tsp cubes

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Blend in the lemon zest, juice and eggs. Make sure to scrape off any bits of zest that stick to the mixer paddle.

In a separate bowl whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour then mix it into the wet ingredients. Gently fold in the blueberries so as not to burst any. (I froze my berries first). Refrigerate the dough for about 15 minutes to make it stiff enough to roll.

For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tbsp of dough into a ball then flatten it slightly into a disc shape. Place a 1 tsp cream cheese cube into the center and form the dough around it creating a ball again. Bake them for about 10 - 14 minutes until the edges brown slightly. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!

{ Birth Announcement :: Welcome Baby Girl }

Blair's birth announcements went out in the mail this week.  Hooray! I think they turned out sooo cute! I have to give some shout outs to our friend Shauna Lewis for the gorgeous dress she's wearing, A Little Lady {the shop} for the darling headband that I just can't get enough of, my sweet sister-in-law Stephanie for editing the photo, and www.minted.com for the perfect girly girl design! You guys make my baby look good!

{ RECIPE :: Cheesy Enchilada Casserole }

The day before I unexpectedly went into labor I had gone grocery shopping and purchased everything I would need to make this tasty meal. I was kind of bummed when instead of coming home form my doctor appointment that night to make this delicious dish, I had to stay in the hospital and do without food for the next 24+ hours while I labored on an empty stomach. No thank you!!! Fortunately for us though, when we came home from the hospital, my Mother joined us for the week and so kindly fixed up this dish for us to enjoy. And boy did we enjoy it! I even had her make it with ground turkey for a more lean version. We all loved this recipe and can't wait to make it again!

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 large onion, chopped or season with Onion powder or minced onion
2 1/2 cups salsa
1 can (15 ounces) black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 flour tortillas (8 inches)
1 small can of drained corn, or about 1 1/4 cups of frozen corn (optional)
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream *Note: I used 1/2 cup
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, sour cream, corn (optional), taco seasoning and cumin. Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Place a flour or corn tortilla on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like. The last & final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese. Cover with foil that has been sprayed with pam or other and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. Yield: 8 servings.

{ Welcome To The World }

The day our sweet Blair came into this world was by far the most incredible day of our lives! And to have these beautiful pictures of Blair's first day on earth is absolutely priceless. Thank you to my amazing sister-in-law Stephanie for taking these beautiful photos of a day we will never forget! I'm in love with each and every image of our sweet little babe. If only she could stay this teeny tiny forever!

{ Blair :: One Month Old }

I can't believe it! Today you are ONE MONTH OLD! Looking back on these last few weeks we realize what a joy it has been to have you in our home.  Sure there have been challenges and sure we have had next to no sleep, but we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  We have loved watching your tiny body and mind grow and get so excited with every new thing you do and learn. Here's a little look back at the first month of your life - good thing your mama loves taking pictures of you...

• At your 4 weeks doctor appointment you measured in at 9 pounds 11 ounces (70th percentile), 20 inches long (20th percentile), and 14.5 inch head circumference (50th percentile).  We have to admit, we were so happy to see that you'd gained some good weight, but surprised you were such a shorty!  I bet you have a big growth spurt coming up.
• You are absolutely beautiful!  We think you look A LOT like your Daddy.  But the older you get, we can see some of Mommy in you too.  You definitely have his eyes, maybe even nose and mouth, but we think you have a round little head like your Mommy and my hairline for sure!
• We're still not sure what color your hair is going to be (Daddy thinks brown, Mommy thinks light brown or dirty blonde), but we're pretty sure your eyes are going to remain blue.  Yay!!!
• You LOVE white noise. I got an app on my phone that simply melts you. You especially love the "Extreme Pouring Rain" sound. Honestly, you could be screaming your head off and the minute we put it near your ear, you instantly calm down. It's definitely your drug of choice!
• You broke your clavicle coming out of the birth canal and we were really worried it would cause you lots of pain as your tiny body grew, but you don't seem to complain much.  We were extra careful with it for the first couple weeks, but now you seem to be fine and don't show any signs of favoring it.  Hopefully you'll grow up never even knowing you had a broken bone!
• Car rides are your favorite.  Not because you like sitting in your carseat. Actually, you kind of hate your carseat, but once the car gets moving (especially on the freeway), you are in heaven.  Thank goodness because it's a long drive down to your Mimi's house and back!
• You are so spoiled rotten!  We bought you every toy on the block!  You have a bouncer, a swing, an everyday stroller, a jogging stroller, adorable nursery, and some dang cute clothes and headbands.  
• You're starting to sleep much better at night.  For about the first 3 weeks you had your days and nights mixed up, but now you've finally figured out that nighttime is for sleeping, not screaming.  Thank goodness!
• You are a HUGE fan of the swaddle.  You love being wrapped really tight at bedtime (or whenever you're fussing during the day.)  
• Nursing has become much easier for you.  It's taken you a good four weeks, but you finally learned to latch...and your mommy is pretty darn happy about that!
• My favorite time of day with you is bath time!  You simply love the water.  It's so funny to watch you fuss and flail your arms as we undress you and then as soon as you're in your tub...instant quiet!  You LOVE the tub!  But getting out?  Well, that's a different story.
• The weather has been so nice lately that we've been able to go out on a walk every day.  You love going outside and getting some fresh air and your mommy does too.
• Your nicknames include: Blairski, Blair Bug, Bug, Princess, and I'm sure there will be many, many more.
• You are a riot on the changing table.  You have pooped on your dad TWICE and peed on your Mom THREE times.  But we still love you anyway.  Also, for some strange reason you will only poop in a clean diaper.  So the minute we change your dirty diaper, there you go again!  It's almost instant!  Clean the poop and you poop again!  HAHA!  You crack us up.
• Your mommy loves playing dress-up with you, but you hate it! Getting dressed is by far your least favorite thing to do everyday. You scream and yell and thrash and throw the biggest fit.  I'm sure the neighbors think I'm torturing you.  It's so sad.  But once you're dressed you're fine.  Silly girl!
• We feel so bad that you've had a little outbreak of baby acne this last week.  The doctor says it's totally normal and will go away (only to return again in your early teens...sorry honey!) but we still think you're absolutely beautiful and love kissing your squishy acne laced cheeks all day long!
• You're still working on the whole smile thing.  You're real good at the gassy ones, but we're still waiting for a genuine one that says "I'm so happy to be here!"  I think it's going to be a monumental moment for your mama!

{ RECIPE :: Orange Zested Cookies w/ Sweet Orange Glaze }

Since coming home from the hospital with my little babe I have had lots of visitors come to sneak a peak at our cute little bundle of joy. And for some reason, they've all been bringing us fresh citrus! How awesome is that? I just feel bad we can't eat them fast enough.

So today while the baby napped I decided to put some of them to good use and make these delicious Orange Zested Cookies With Sweet Orange Glaze to enjoy as we watched the Super Bowl.

From the minute I started zesting the oranges I knew that even if they tasted terrible, at least they smelled AMAZING! Lucky for us, they not only smelled incredible, but tasted incredible too!

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 egg

For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
fresh orange juice

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and orange zest. Rub together with your fingers until zest is throughout the sugar. The sugar will become moist from the oils being released. Using a mixer, cream the butter and orange zested sugar. Add egg and orange juice. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well incorporated. At this point you can chill for an hour or so or overnight. I was impatient and baked them! Scoop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and roll into smooth round balls. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden on the bottoms. Don’t overbake or they will be a bit to dry and lose the perfect texture.

Mix the confectioners’ sugar, orange zest and enough orange juice to get a glaze consistency and mix until smooth and creamy. Pour glaze over the tops of the cookies and let set.