OMG Warm Weather Please Now! And Mango is 6 Months!!!

Right now we have a little over 48 hours until San Antonio. I. CANNOT.WAIT. Bill's been making fun of me a bit for being so over this cold (I'm not from "The North"- little GOT inside joke there) but I think we're all ready to get somewhere warmer asap.

Helping me make our favorite eggplant dish

This past weekend was Mango's 6 month birthday, sort of. She's a leap year half birthday baby, so she'll only get a true half birthday every 4 years. But we decided to make the most of it anyways. My fabulous and talented sis who also happens to work for Feld managed to snag some tickets to the Ringling Bro's circus that was at the Barclay's center so Mango, me, Katie and JJ went. I tried to gauge Mo's interest and she did seem pretty interested in the lights and colors, but I'm thinking this will be the best thing ever when both she and JJ are 3-4.

After Bill as well as some friends of his, Dave, his wife Alicia, and their daughter Lily joined us all for lunch at our favorite BBQ spot, Morgans, for a super kid friendly and yummy meal. And afterwards we went over to Moira's godfather's house to meet his new little daughter, Madeline. Maddie is 6 weeks and it's so crazy to think that Moira was ever that little. They had limited interaction but Mo was very sweet to Maddie and it was so cool to see a 2nd generation of friends in the making (Mango's godfather Mike is Bill's best friend going back to childhood).

She's her Daddy's daughter all right!

We've had a little more luck with food lately as I just got the wonderful mesh "feeders". Basically a pacifier with mesh where you can put in fruit, Moira loves munching on those. I've tried apples and oranges so far but am looking forward to trying peaches, mangos and bananas in there. Since she's simultaneously having a tooth come in (I can see it pushing through her gums :( ) I think this helps to alleviate that pain as well get her used to the taste of the fruit. She's since taken her pureed apples with not much protest, and actually opened her mouth for a few bites! Today is her first day with real food at school in addition to the bottles so I'm curious to see how she did (and her teachers opinions too).

Going to town on a cold apple

Ok, so this puree thing isn't so bad...

And... no.

Last night was the Oscars and we had a nice chill day just hanging out. I made short ribs and a stewed prune and sour cherry galette and Mango stayed up a little past 8 to watch the red carpet.

Moira wore Carter's Couture Butterflies. Showing a little leg but she's edgy like that.

My favorite short rib recipe.

This was a bit more inventive. I used the same recipe for Bill's favorite stewed prunes and added sour cherry's and pecans then folded it all into a pastry. It would've been perfect with some cream or sweetened mascarpone but but still yummy. Galettes might be my favorite new way to make a pie too.

Oh, and last Tuesday was our inaugural game night with some friends and it was a huge success. I definitely want to make that a regular thing, plus Cards Against Humanity is so funny (but also not for the faint of heart). A great ice breaker for Bill with my friends too. I'm hoping we can keep these a regular thing in the future and hosting was great, Mango was a hit while she was up and the noise didn't seem to wake her at all after she went to bed.

Really good crew!

Mango had a blast too!

Upcoming:

• TEXAS! TEXAS TEXAS TEXAS!!!!! (This is the longest I've been away from home and I'm dying to be back. It will definitely not be long enough).
• Mango and I have a playdate with another Mom and little girl right around her age who live right down the street, and are also interested in attending the waitlisted daycare.
• March 22 we're hosting an all day party for the NCAA. A nice mix of Bill's friends mostly and a few of mine, it should be a good time. Let's hope SMU is still in the running then too!
• We signed up Mango for swim lessons and they start March 29th!!! 
• Baptism is April 26th, so I need to start seriously planning that.