The McCarty Family

Natalie is seven months now and a very proficient crawler. She is pulling up on things and is looking like a "climber". Noelle was very busy like her sister but not much of a climber. And unlike Noelle, Natalie has to put everything in her mouth! Definitely keeps me on my toes.

I'll look away for a minute and then turn back around and say "NATALIEEE, what do you think you're doing?" Natalie always turns and looks at me with a big grin and Noelle thinks its hilarious. Noelle is always coming to me now and saying, "What do you think Natalie is doing?" And sure enough it's something wild and Noelle loves it! She is such a sweet big sis and loves to make Natalie smile (right now, her jumping up and down or running towards us is natalie's favorite).



For some of you family members that knew me when I was little, you will get a kick out of this video! This is so me!


Noelle and I love looking back at some of the old videos. We thinks some of them are soo funny. My favorite is "My Baby Ballet Dancer" or "Hallelujah" and hers is "Lots of New Tricks" the one where she just learned to walk and falls on the "stuff in your way." It makes her really giggle. You could see any of them here:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=kmccarty81&view=videos

Me and Natalie with Jessica and Macy during the anniversary festivities!

Here are the girls at the pumpkin patch. Only wish I would have captured Noelle rocking out in the middle of the patch to the music. She's quite the hip shaker!

Noelle started dance class a month or so ago. Last week was observation week where we could actually watch from inside the studio and not through the window. Sooo cute. The class is great because they're are only a few other girls and all pretty much the same age.

From day 1 she marched right in there and worked hard at learning what the teacher was doing. She has always shown signs of being a little independent. I saw it starting dance and I see it in little ways in lots of things we do. I saw it when she was a baby and didn't want to be held but wanted down to play/go or when we're with other kids and she's not so interested in what they're doing and is fine doing her own thing.

She's a funny girl. Her little demeanor has always been really sweet, mostly sensitive, sometimes stubborn and now in the midst of being '2', very up and down as tantrums are a much more frequent occurance. She's so bright and remembers all sorts of things that surprise us. She still is a little sponge, picking up on everything. Tonight Ryan said, "what are you doing Noelle?" as she walked up to where we were sitting and she said, "Just hanging out." :) She always makes us smile!

I am lacking creativity at the moment so I am posting some pictures of September without any comments or organization. Still cute pics though :).

I keep taking video clips with the thought that I'll post it but I never get exactly what they had just been doing and so I end up not posting it. I caught this one of Natalie that I wanted to post and so I'll throw these two up of Noelle just so that you out of towners can see her in action.

Last night I'm in the kitchen and I hear a belly laugh from Natalie and then one from Ryan. It brought such a smile to my heart as I headed back to see what the laughter was about. She laughed even harder the first few times. Pardon the leopard sheets, our normal ones are in the wash and so the bargain sheets from college go on. Think what you want :)



Somehow we found this song and we put some dance moves to it. It's so funny when she sings this song. I must've said something about what number it was on the CD because she was trying to tell me a number instead of the name. Enjoy.

After a long restricted pregnancy and life with a newborn, I have some renewed vigor. I am beginning to try out some new recipes from my Cooking Light Magazine. Thought I would share two of the favorites! Carly- Here's to Recipe Monday!

p.s. The renewed vigor has lasted over a month but I fear it might be slipping away :) - HOLD ON!




Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)
Ingredients
4 teaspoons apricot preserves
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 (2-ounce) slices country bread
Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced peeled Ambrosia or Fuji apple (about 1/3 pound)
1/4 cup prechopped onion
2 1/2 cups bagged prewashed spinach
2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (about 12 ounces)
4 (1-ounce) Muenster cheese slices
Preparation
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine preserves and mustard in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Spread 1 side of each bread slice with 2 teaspoons mustard mixture. Place bread slices, mustard mixture side up, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add apple and onion to pan; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach begins to wilt. Layer each of 4 bread slices with 1/4 cup spinach mixture, 1/2 cup chicken, and 1 cheese slice. Place sandwiches on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil 1 1/2 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

Hoisin Glazed Beef Kebabs

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 kebab)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon chile paste with garlic
1 pound beef tenderloin filets, cut into 16 cubes
16 (2-inch) pieces green onions (about 4 onions)
16 grape tomatoes
Cooking spray
Preparation
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef to bowl; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
3. Thread 4 beef cubes, 4 onion pieces, and 4 tomatoes alternately onto each of 4 (12-inch) skewers. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.