Giada: 12 Months

On November 13th Giada turned 1! As I look back on this year, there are so many memories that come to mind. From the moment we found out Giada was going to come a few weeks early because she was small, to the day I watched her take those first steps; being her mom is truly a blessing! 

Here is a little walk down memory lane!

Month 1: Giada took her first of many trips to Pismo.

Month 2: She blessed me with a full night of sleep at 7 weeks and started to smile back.

Month 3: This was a tough month...Unfortunately, we took our first visit to the ER :(

Month 4: Mom and dad took a trip to Nashville for 5 days and you had your first big stay without us for more than one night. Giada also discovered her hands! 

Month 5: Giada was consistently rolling from stomach to back and back to stomach

Month 6: She began sitting up and talking all the time.

Month 7: We celebrated dad on his first Fathers Day!

Month 8: On July 10th her first tooth came in.

Month 9: Chicken was her new favorite food, along with avocado.

Month 10: Giada was now getting around everywhere by holding onto everything to walk.

Month 11: She experienced her first Fresno Fair and was a sun flower for Halloween.

Month 12: Giada took her first steps on 11/12/15...Just in time for the big day!

Giada is still on the same schedule of eating and naps. She gets formula/milk at 7, 11, 3 and 7. Breakfast is at 8, lunch at noon and dinner at 6. Giada still naps twice a day from 9-11 and 1-3. I LOVE this!

She weights 17lbs 11ozs, 28 inches long and she is still in the 10 percentile for heights and 25th percentile for weight. Before we know it, she will be walking everywhere. Currently she says baby, mommy, daddy and sometime dog. 

Happy 1st Birthday Peanut!

Halloween 2015

What a weekend!

Giada celebrated her first Halloween, and it was a success. This year we invited some friends and family to our house for food, trick-or-treating and S'mores. As the kiddos arrived, they could not have been more excited to celebrate Halloween and show off their costumes.

We quickly filled their tummies with Halloween appetizers before it was time to head out and collect candy! After attempting a group shot, everyone took off trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. My mom and I hung back at the house to pass out candy and tidy up. Once the group arrived back to the house, I was disappointed to hear there were very few houses passing out candy. Oh well... I think Em and John had more fun passing out candy to the late trick-or-treaters that came by. After running out of candy, thank goodness, we heated up the fire pit and headed outside for S'mores.

One by one, bedtime came and went and all the little ones headed home. Our parents stuck around for a couple hours and  tried to decide Baby Serpa's name, though I'm not sure they succeeded. Around 10 O'clock, the bed was calling our names as we were exhausted and hoping for a good night sleep!

Thank you to everyone or celebrating Halloween with us!

 

 

 

 

Focaccia Bread

Last night, I made a recipe from any earlier post, (Focaccia Bread Veggie Sandwich) but decided to make the Focaccia Bread.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups warm water
1 package instant yeast
2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 tablespoon salt, plus coarse sea salt for sprinkling
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

 

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, 2 teaspoons of the chopped rosemary, sugar, and half the flour. Stir to combine. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and on low speed add in the remaining flour, salt, and 1/2 cup olive oil. Once the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and knead for 5 to 6 minutes, or until smooth and soft. If the dough is really sticky, add in another tablespoon or two of flour.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, at least 1 hour.

Coat a 9 x 13 pan with olive oil. Put the dough onto the pan and begin pressing it out with your fingertips to fit the size of the pan. Spread your fingers to make little holes all the way through the dough.

Cover the dough with plastic and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Brush the focaccia with the olive oil on the pan and sprinkle liberally with coarse sea salt and the remaining rosemary leaves. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

Featuring Shina Welch Photography

A little over a year ago, I was in search of a photographer for our maternity pictures. As the name Shina Welch was given to me, I decided to make a phone call and schedule an appointment. Shina quickly booked our appointment and had the perfect place in mind for our pictures. After meeting Shina and seeing her amazing talent, I knew I had found my photographer. 

Only a short time later, Giada was born and I was back on the phone scheduling Shina for the newborn pictures. Shina came to our house for the newborn pictures, which was wonderful because Giada was born in November and I was not thrilled about the idea of taking a newborn out during flu season. 

Now that Giada is almost a year old and preping to be a big sister, Shina and I have partnered to share her talent. Shina does all types of photography and below you will see a variety of what she offers. 

Please check out Shina Welch and her beautiful photography.

Website

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Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Sauce

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup chili powder
2 cups chicken stock
6 ounces tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can black olives

1 cup shredded cheese

chicken

Enchilada Sauce

In a medium saucepan heat oil and add flour. Whisk for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and add olives (chopped). Cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out.

Chicken Filling

As the sauce is cooking, heat shredded chicken. (I boiled a whole chicken and used ¼ of it to make four enchiladas). Add shredded cheese (1 cup)  and ¼ - ½ cup of sauce. Mix together and remove from heat.

Dip tortilla in sauce, add chicken filling and roll up the tortilla. Once finished with your desired

amount of enchiladas, add sauce over the top of the enchiladas and shred some cheese for the

topping.

Place in 350 degree oven and bake for 20-30 min, or until heated through.

·         I froze the extra sauce.

Featuring Cami&Jo

As I was looking for a big sis onesie for my daughter, I became frustrated when I could only find T-shirts that were far to big! When you can't find what you're looking for where does one go?
Etsy!!!!

Therefore, I'm excited to introduce and share with you Cami&Jo, a wonderful company which I've partnered with on my blog. Cami&Jo began when owner, Reba, made a tutu set for her oldest daughter's first birthday in 2014. With one thing leading to another, she decided to take the risk and start her own Etsy company –  I am sure glad she did! As I've grown to know Reba, she is a loving wife, dedicated mother and a professional business woman. With the ability to be creative and design memorable outfits for precious babies’ birthdays, couples’ pregnancy announcements, and holidays, makes her job exciting every day.

Recently, her company purchased professional equipment enabling them to offer a broader range of personalized products and the ability to speed up production for all customers. In addition, Reba states, “We are looking into donating a percentage of each purchase to public health. There are just so many areas in which we could help, that it’s  hard to decide which direction to take.”

The company currently offers a broad range of products, but you can keep your eyes out for some new merchandise including: little sister outfits and more big sis options, expansion on boy’s birthday items, matching brother shirts/bow ties, Mommy hair clips, and Daddy neck and bow ties.

From my own personal experience, Cami&Jo offers unique outfits you're unable to find in local stores and  be personalized to your own needs. 

It is my pleasure to be partnered with Cami&Jo! Please check out the company on Etsy by selecting the link below!

Cami & Jo

 

Featured below you will find one of the beautiful options she offers for big sister outfits.

2015 Central Valley Heart & Stroke Walk

Our good friends, Zach and Hannah, invited us to participate in the 2015 Central Calley Heart & Stroke Walk at Chukchansi Park this past Saturday. Without a thought, we attended to support Zach and the great cause to build a healthier life! In addition, unfortunately, hear disease is familar to my family and I wouldn't miss the opportunity to bring awareness to heart disease. 

We arrived at 8:30 and checked out all the vendors until the event started at 9:30. Next, Zach sang the National Anthem and did a wonderful job! Finally, it was time to walk! Giada hung in there for the majority of the walk, but eventually we headed back home for nap.

 

 This was the perfect way to start our Saturday!

Attempting to sleep prior to the walk

Obviously, she never fell asleep!!!