Thursday, September 29, 2011

FOOD

I'm on a bit of a foodie kick right now.  I have been cooking up a storm - breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which is quite a feat for me.  Usually I am just happy if I make dinner 5 or so times a week.   BUT, Guy has said that he will start eating healthier foods (and he has!), so it's good motivation for me to cook healthy meals for us.

Here are a few things that I have made that have been tasty:

Roasted Tomato Soup - Super yummy and easy to make.  I only added 1 tablespoon of cream and that was plenty.  Next time I think I will try adding a little sherry and maybe some chopped artichokes.  To make it worth the dishes, I would also double the recipe since it only serves two.


Cheddar Biscuits - I thought they were pretty good and super easy.  I liked that I had all of the ingredients on hand.  Guy absolutely inhaled them.  Like ate every last one.  So, I guess I will make them again for him.

Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos - These will definitely be "on the rotation."  Y-u-m-m-y!  I tried to lighten it up with reduced fat cream cheese and skim cheese, and I think they tasted great.



Cook Yourself Thin Sloppy Joes - I first heard about "Cook Yourself Thin" from Cori, who has been cooking their recipes like crazy.  Everything I had tried was delicious, so I thought I would give their Sloppy Joes a try.  They were super good!  I was short on chile powder, so I added some other random seasonings - mustard and red pepper flakes.


As for food for this cutie...



One thing that the Urologist said we could do to prevent any kind of infection for Beckett was to give him probiotics.  So every night I give him a bottle and add a probiotic powder to it.  I also try to eat plenty of yogurt.  Knowing that at four months many babies begin rice cereal, I dragged Guy to Babies R Us to check out the many kinds of cereals.  I was so excited because I managed to find a cereal that was not only organic but already had probiotics in it!  Score!  This could save me double the work of a night time bottle (since I have to pump for it).

On Tuesday B had his 4 month appointment and we took the food to Dr. Harpavat to see if she thought he would get enough of the probiotic benefit from it.  We were so surprised because she said that we needed to hold off on all cereals/foods until at least 6 months!  Her reasoning, though, made sense.  She said that cereals and baby foods can cause constipation and it's not a risk we can afford to take with Beckett's kidneys.  We'll also have to be extra cautious about which foods we give him and monitoring how he does with each.  For instance, apples are the least binding.  I have to admit, Guy and I were a bit disappointed... we have been talking about how fun it will be to give him real food.  :)  Of course it is WAY more important to air on the side of caution.

I also asked her about making baby food myself (when the time comes).  I have wanted to do this, but not sure if it's worth the time, cost (it's probably cheaper, but not sure), etc.  She got so excited and said, "yes, yes, yes!  Homemade so much better!" (Picture an adorable Indian voice.)

I asked about the difficulty of finding organic fruits/veggies sometimes and she actually surprised me by saying that it was way more important to make the baby food yourself and avoid the preservatives in jarred food.  Interesting....

She then talked A LONNNGGGGG time about how I need to eat meat and dairy that doesn't have growth hormones in it.  (Guy and I already buy organic milk, but I usually just get Tyson chicken and Jennie's Turkey.) Also interesting.....

And how I need to eat even more yogurt.  Like a lot more yogurt.  Like three times a day.  That's a lot of yogurt, people.  Hmmm.

So, yesterday B and I trotted off to Sprouts to buy our growth hormone free chicken and a massive carton of Fage.

Soooooo, anyone have recipes that include yogurt??? :)

Monday, September 26, 2011

Dear Beckett: 18 Weeks


Dear Beckett,

This week you officially turned four months old!  The last month has brought so many changes.









This week you have been busy kicking your legs.  Of course, you have been doing this plenty already.... it just seems like you are kicking more often and with more intensity!  Changing clothes and diapers is an adventure now.  




You also love to kick in the bath tub.  It's funny to watch you kick yourself right out of your mesh seat.  Good thing you don't mind getting your face wet!  You are enjoying bath time more and more, and it's so cute to see you splash and play in the water.








You are interested in watching us and everything we do.  You especially love to watch us eat and love to touch our faces.  It hurts when you pull on a nose or our hair!  We can now tell when you want to play with something because you will stare and become so fixated on it.  For instance, you will stare at your activity center or kick mat until we finally catch on and bring it to you.  







You still LOVE to suck on your paci and fingers.  We laugh because we figure it will one day be easier to take away your pacifier rather than try to get you to stop sucking your thumb, so we are always trying to offer you the paci instead.  You will retaliate by sticking your thumb through the hole of the pacifier so that you suck on both.  Pretty clever!



We love you.

Love,
Mom



Friday, September 23, 2011

4 Things...

1.) Yesterday was the official one year date that I learned I was pregnant.  I really had NO IDEA what I was in for.  Pregnancy was WAY harder than I thought it would be and motherhood is WAY more joyous than I could have imagined.




2.) Today is my baby's FOUR month birthday.  How is this possible?  I swear I was just in the hospital with him.

3.) Last night Emily and I went out to celebrate the beautiful fall weather.  Naturally this happened on a patio and involved margaritas.  Two of them.  Blue Goose Ones.  My head hurts.

4.) In case you are worried, B was in good hands with Dad and plenty of bottles.  They had man time.


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fall TV

I'm really not much of a TV person.  During the day I NEVER turn it on, and typically just have a few shows that I like to keep up with.  This is the complete opposite of Guy - he loves TV and likes to have it on constantly.  Drives me nuts!

Despite this, we have both been excited for the fall TV shows.  This week the big networks did a lot of their pilot episodes.  We used the trusty DVR and got caught up after B-Man went to bed.  Here's the  lowdown:

Two and 1/2 Men: SO much better without Charlie Sheen.  Loved Ashton Kutcher and how the writers added him in.  I think he will bring in a more youthful audience too.  (Did you see his abs?) I never watched it before (Guy did, so I just heard it in the background), but I could see myself watching it regularly.

Broke Girls:  It had some funny one liners.  Something about the brunette lead bugs me, but it has potential.  I'm not sure that it will continue to be very good, but I did like the pilot and will try it again next week.

Up All Night:  We instantly wanted to watch this one because it seemed to mirror our lives in a lot of ways (married 7 years, have a new baby).  I think Guy liked it more than I did, but I really like Christina Applegate.  I will keep watching.

New Girl: My favorite so far!  Zooey Deschanel is just cool - she makes ugly plastic glasses and overalls adorable.  I like the three roommates also.  It reminded me of a romantic comedy movie, not just a TV show.  Maybe a younger Adam Sandler comedy?  I laughed through the whole episode!

The only other show that I was interested in was Whitney.  It looked like it had potential.

Yes, it sounds like I have been glued to the TV  for hours on end.  But I have also been busy playing with this little man....  How cute is his hat?



Monday, September 19, 2011

Dear Beckett: 17 Weeks

Dear Beckett,

This week I wanted to share some of your stats, highlights, and favorites.


Size: You weigh about 16 pounds!  I can hardly cart you around in your car seat. You wear 6-12 month size clothes, with only a few 3-6 month separates fitting you.  Pretty soon you will move up to size 3 diapers.

Who you look like: Most people will instantly say you look just like your dad!  I do think you have my nose, eyes, and mouth.  You definitely have you dad's ears!  I see a lot of Gary in you too.  

Baby Guy



Baby Missy




Your Hair:  You lost your newborn hair so quickly.  For a long time you sported the "old-man-no-hair-on-top" look.  Your hair has grown in on top now, but it looks pretty funny from the back!

1 1/2 Weeks Old

17 Weeks Old

Favorite toy: You love tugging on the straps from the round pillow toy.  You also enjoy the kick mat, swing seat, and your new activity center.  You still love your play mat, but it doesn't capture your attention as long as it used to.  

Favorite Friend:  Here you are with your favorite buddy.  Mom wanted to call him your "lovie," but Dad had a different idea.  He calls him Omar Sadiki.  Yes, this is the bad guy from the movie Body of Lies.  Yes, your lovie is named after a Middle Eastern Terrorist.  Yes, this name has stuck.  No, I do not like it!

16 Weeks

Favorite book:  You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE 10 Fat Turkeys.  You look at all the pictures and pay such close attention.  You really enjoy being read to.  Below are pictures from your first story time at Barnes and Noble.  You were fascinated and never took your eyes off of the reader (not even once!).  You giggled and smiled at all the funny parts :).




Favorite Song: You have always loved listening to music and being sung to.  When you were first born your Dad would always make up silly songs and sing them over and over to you.  I sing to you too.... but I haven't learned many nursery songs yet so I just sing whatever pops into my mind.  Right now you LOVE "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."  Yes, I know it is September!  But it makes you grin every time.

Favorite Game:  You think it's pretty funny to mimic us and stick out your tongue.  I LOVE this video (17 weeks)!


Disposition:  We always know if you are tired or hungry because it is one of the few times you get upset.  You usually start making loud "yells" and only cry if we take too long to get you fed.  Lately you have loved cuddle time and that is just fine by me!  I hold you and you suck on your paci and give me the biggest grins.  It just makes my whole day.  You are SUCH a happy baby!!

Your Development:  This week you rolled over all by yourself.  You have only done it a few times, but you have gone from back to stomach and stomach to back.  You are also interacting more and more with your toys and love to try to put them in your mouth.

You are putting your fingers in your mouth ALL THE TIME.  It's borderline obsessive!  Ha!  You are also drooling a bunch, and we wonder if you are teething.  

Your body is getting stronger and stronger.  You can sit up with just a little assistance and now like to stand (with lots of help, of course), although your legs give out on you quickly.

Sleeping:  You now sleep on your side and prefer your left, which is how I always slept when I was pregnant with you.  You dream a lot - we love to watch you smile, but sometimes you make pouty faces and "fake cry" too.  You are super active in your bed now, especially when you lost your paci and are trying to find it.

In this video you were suppose to be going to sleep, but you worked hard at trying to roll over and find your paci instead!



Snuggling and then sleeping with Mom... 


Heaven!


Your Chubby Cheeks:  I love, love, love your chubby little cheeks.  I can always tell when you are about to go through a growth spurt because they get extra squishy and you will hardly have a neck.  

29 Weeks Pregnant

1 Day Old


3 Weeks Old

9 Weeks

11 Weeks

16 Weeks
Beckett, we love you so much.  We just can't imagine our family complete without you.  Each week just keeps getting better and better!

Love,
Mom