We have quite a collection of number birthday candles, but I guess we just hadn’t gotten a 4 until this month. My daughter turned 4 and I’m just in awe. Not only that she is 4, but that she is no longer a baby or a toddler. She just looks like a little girl now. She no longer has the baby face and little bit of chub left. I can’t get away with the cutesy baby girl clothes she once wore. The time has gone by so fast and if not for pictures and videos, I wonder how much I would have remembered on my own. It’s so bittersweet to see her growing up. I miss the baby she once was and the precocious toddler she just was. However, I love seeing the big girl she is becoming with all her wide eyed wonder and engaging conversation (most of the time!) Truly, being a mom has been the most rewarding job I have ever known.

Last week, I decided to start cooking healthier meals. When Melissa and Tina asked me what I thought last week’s subject should be, it was just natural for me to say Food. I was introduced to a new food for us by my friend Melissa Z. Quinoa. What the heck is that and how to you pronounce it? Keen-Wah. It is the seed of a plant related to spinach and it is harvested and processed similar to grain. It cooks like rice and looks sort of like couscous. What is the difference? This little pseudograin is packed with tons of nutrition and unlike grains, it is a complete protein. That means that it contains all eight essential amino acids, which are the ones that our bodies cannot produce on its own and we must consume. Quinoa also has a low glycemic index so it does not cause spikes in our blood sugar like white rice does. Overall, it packs a lot of punch in such a small seed!

I found some great recipes but the one I made that inspired my food trifecta image was given to me by a friend. It is so refreshing and delicious! It has tomato, cucumber, avocado, fresh mint leaves, and feta cheese with a little olive oil, lemon, and garlic. I sent this image to my husband to give him a sneak peek of what was for dinner and he was quite intrigued. I served it with chicken with a light lemon sauce. He loved it!

I’m a little behind, but this is our trifecta project from last week – Books. This was a great one since books is a really big thing in our house. We visit Barnes and Noble at least once a week. It’s just part of our family outing – dinner followed by B&N. It’s so cute to see how excited my daughter gets when she knows we are going there. My son is now “reading” books too as much as an 18-month-old would. He was so excited to get his very first book on one of our B&N trips. He is acquiring quite a few of his own collection now. If I had planned ahead, I would have captured a much cuter shot of him with his books amassed in his crib while he slept, but we’ll have to save that for another day. My shot is just an every day shot of my husband’s side of the bed, which is always stacked with books. I am always amazed by how much he reads and by the variety of topics he loves to read about. So this week, I dedicate my post to my dear husband who is so incredibly smart and intellectual and means the world to me.

With a new year, I am teaming up with photographers Melissa Balthaser and Tina Ramirez to complete a 52-week-long project that we have affectionately titled, Trifecta. Among several definitions, trifecta means any achievement involving three successful outcomes. Each week, we will pick a subject and photograph our take of it.

This week’s subject: RED.

I just happened to have another entry for red this week. My daughter decided to wear these to bed one night this week…

I got behind in blogging, so I’ll be posting a few shares from the end of 2010. Sweet baby S was a dream! Due to illness, we didn’t get a chance to do his session until he was 16 days old and often times, I have to prepare myself and the parents that babies may be more awake by that age. Not this sweet boy! He slept the entire time! I don’t think I ever saw him open his eyes! He probably has such beautiful eyes though because his big brother is just so cute and has such adorable eyes. S reminded me of my sweet son, both big babies weighing in over 10 lbs. But it’s amazing how big we think they are when they are born but how quickly that seems so tiny when they are several months old. S, thank you for being such an adorable and cooperative baby!