addendum to festivities

{I almost forgot to represent the time we spent with my fam....good ole swimming and a bbq! I loved being able to spread the fun over three days}

4th festivities

{family: if anyone wants copies of the pics, just let me know, I'd be happy to send 'em over}

couldn't resist

I know I still need to post about more important things like 4th of July festivities, etc, but I just couldn't resist throwing a couple of these up. He's just too cute to pass up :)

Good eats

We've been eating some dang good food lately, and I thought I would share some with you all so that you might enjoy too :)

Asian Chicken Salad

This might be my favorite meal right now. It's fresh, full of veggies, and completely delish. I sort of mixed two recipes together- here's my version:

Serves ~8
I head romaine lettuce (original recipe called for iceberg, but I opted for something with at least a little nutritional value)
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 green onions
½ head purple cabbage
Couple handfuls of spinach
1 cup bean sprouts
Cilantro (however much your heart desires- I used probably 2 handfuls chopped)
Whole wheat thin spaghetti (I probably used ¾ package, but you can use as much or as little as you want)
4 grilled chicken breasts, marinated with asian flavors, and cut into cubes
Fried tortilla strips or wontons (I did my own by cutting up the unbaked tortillas from Costco, and cooking them in a little bit of oil)
Sauce:
2 T brown sugar
2 t. soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
¼ c. vegetable oil
3 T. Rice vinegar
½ t. garlic powder
Combine all sauce ingredients and whisk until combined. I would make the sauce as least a couple hours ahead of time to let all the flavors soak together.
Chop up all the vegetables and throw in a big bowl with cold, cooked noodles, and the chicken and pour sauce over. Toss well and put the tortilla strips or wontons on each individual serving so they don’t get soggy.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

My new favorite pancake. This is actually a recipe from the famous Pioneer Woman, that I tweaked a little bit.

Health foodies are all about the Greek yogurt. Yes, it is good for you, and yes it has crazy amounts of protein in it, but honestly I would never eat it alone. It tastes (and smells) just like sour cream. Which is perfect for this pancake recipe since it originally called for sour cream! Awesome substitution in my book :)

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

1 c. plain greek yogurt

7 T. whole wheat flour

1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1 T. sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Mix yogurt with dry ingredients until just combined. In a seperate bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla, then pour into yogurt mixture and GENTLY stir until barely mixed together (Pioneer woman says its ok to have yellow swirls in the batter). Melt a little butter on griddle and pour 1/4 c. batter onto it. Flip when bubbles form around edges.

Little B absolutely loves these pancakes and I feel completely fine with him eating them because they are actually good for you! I usually add a tablespoon or so of milled flax seed too and take out a bit of flour to compensate.

Orange Muffins

Recipe found here. I, of course, had to "healthify" them by using dehydrated cane juice for the sugar and whole wheat flour. Still super yummy!

Lime quinoa w/ black beans, scallions, and mozz. cheese

So simple, so delicious, and so good for you! Recipe found here. The only thing I did different was use a little mozzarella cheese instead of feta. We usually whip some up for lunch... in the above photo we added some chicken to give it a little more for dinner, but the chicken is totally not needed. This has all the protein you need!

I love me some good, wholesome food!

Buddy boy at 9 (er..10) months

I was waiting to post until I took some 9 mo. pics, but seeing as how he's almost 10 months and it still hasn't happened yet, I figured I'd at least get something up here.


This is my favorite way to have my little babe- wearing only a simple white onsie. I don't know what it is...maybe it's that a onsie just seems "baby" to me. Or maybe it's that I love having full access to his squishy arms and thighs. Now that's its warm, I'm more and more tempted to leave him this way when we're just hanging out at home. I couldn't resist snapping a few pics this morning...plus I needed some to go along with this post :)

At 9 months our little buddy boy is:

• 20 1/2 lbs. (50%) and 30 1/2 inches tall (97%)
• Continues to love, I mean LOVE, food. He'll still pretty much eat anything, and insists we feed him if he sees food anywhere. His favorites are eggs, string cheese, sweet potatoes, blueberries, kiwi and black beans. He eats a TON too. Like a bowl full of pureed fruit, an egg, and a pancake is a normal breakfast for the chunker.
• Is crawling around everywhere......oh wait, scratch that. He doesn't move! Seriously, this boy is lazy (or chill, as the Dr. put it) and just recently started rolling consistently.
• He stands really well holding onto things and loves to walk if we hold his hands.
• Still sleeps like a champ and sometimes even takes three naps still.
• Definitely expressing his opinion more! It's fun because he gets really excited about things, but then on the flip side, he gets mad when he doesn't get what he wants. It's quite amusing.
• Is understanding things we say. I love asking him if he wants his "ba-ba", wants to go "na nights", wants to "see daddy" or wants to "eat" because he gets a huge smile on his face and grunts/laughs to say yes!
• Loves to talk to people on the phone, especially his "mimi" or his "grammy."
• Has 2 teeth on bottom, and 3 (almost 4) teeth on top. We're so glad those two front teeth are through, they were a beast!
• Has started not wanting me to sing to him when I put him down at night :( He just wants to be laid down. It's kind of sad for me because that is the only time I get any snuggle time with him.
• Has turned into a CRAZY sleeper. He moves all over in his crib and I love to see what position he has gotten himself into when I get him in the morning.
• Loves to read books! He thinks every book is a "touch and feel" book and always rubs his hand all over the page as soon as I turn it.
  

This dude is such a fun, happy baby and we can't get enough of his cute face!

{I LOVE this picture. Yes, I know its out of focus, but I think he looks so cute/goofy! Especially with his two front teeth.}

first swim

It's amazing how much more fun even the most simple things (like swimming) can be when you get to experience them for the first time with a wee one!

much needed day off

Today was my first day off since I've had Beck. Absolutely no work contact whatsoever and it was lovely! It was so nice to be able to just hang out with my family (Trav took the day off too). For our no-work day, we took Beck to the Zoo for the first time along with his cousins.