The week in review...Aug 26th thru Sept 3rd, 2010

I can fold my hands now!

We noticed a lot of changes in William this week. For one thing, his eyes are definitely changing color...it's just a question of what color they'll be. I think I see gold specs, meaning perhaps brown, but Chris swears green, while others still think gray or blue. Personally I don't see a lot of blue in them anymore. :-(

Last week he turned five months old! (Adjusted age of three months and two weeks old)


He also attended his first live music experience at The Greene, to Funky G playing jazz music. It was a little warm but sunny and he seemed to enjoy the music.

(Sorry the video is sideways, my bad...)

In other news, William has begun to really concentrate on playing with toys, especially his crawl-ball, which moves, talks and lights up when he touches it. He'll spend up to 20 minutes laying down playing with it, or sitting up with my or Chris's help.

We also noticed he's starting to spread his hands and fingers out instead of always clinching his fists...
He rolls over all the time, sometimes having a little difficulty rolling back to his back, but if I don't watch him, in a second, he'll roll right off that mat! Also Pippin sometimes forgets that he doesn't like William all that much. He still doesn't like to be touched by William, but he did sniff him a bit yesterday and posed for this picture at his own free will!
William also stands up, assisted, all the time now, almost holds his head up without any wobbles, laughs daily and smiles all the time. Another new thing is his ability to hold weight up on his arms, this was something he was really far behind on, but finally started to do this week!

He always has time to make goofy faces and pose for pictures with mom...
I'm also happy to report that his hair is FINALLY growing back in and it appears to be growing in very light blond! Wheew!
And lastly, it was exactly one year ago today, at this time (3:00PM EST), that I discovered that after two and a half years of trying and four years of planning, I was finally pregnant! A year later I find myself offering my son a teething ring, we think he may be cutting his first tooth ;-)

Miniature Italian Meatloaves

Or overgrown meatballs, whichever you prefer ;-)

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground sirloin

1 lb lean ground pork (you have to add the pork people, if you don't I'll know, and I'll come after you)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

(All of these are to taste) Garlic powder, onion powder, Italian Seasoning, Thyme, Oregano, Salt and Pepper

1 slice of thick cut Pancetta

Marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 375. Dice pancetta and brown in olive oil. Remove and drain. Mix together the ground beef and pork and add the seasonings, bread crumb and cheese. Add the diced pancetta and form into hand sized loaves. Bake on a cooling sheet set over a baking sheet for about 30 minutes. (Use a meat thermometer to make sure the pork is done)

Top meatloaves with sauce and serve with pasta or risotto. Enjoy!

The week in review, Aug 13th thru Aug 23rd, 2010

We had to take William back to Dayton Children's last week to see a GI specialist. He now weighs 11 lb, 10 oz and is 24 inches long. He's also now on Previcid but I think his gas is actually worse. He's only slept through the night two times in the last two weeks. One night he was up all night with horrible gas, poor fella. All I can do is hold him and put him to breast to ease his suffering some, he'll eventually fall asleep but I usually can't.

We had a diaper mishap at 3am. I changed his diaper and he decided to pee and it got in his EYE, his ear, his mouth, and all over what remains of his hair. I had to go clean out the sink and give him a 3am bath, poor little fella...then I watched The Secret Lives of Pippa Lee on the couch while he slowly fell back to sleep. The movie was really good but I'd preferred to not have a 'spa' day during the witching hour.

I baked another cake and did better on the decorating. I'm practicing for his baptism party and thanks to Heather I'm getting a little better. Mom sent William a special bib for his baptism and Chris and I went and got a bunch of Tiffany Blue and Chocolate colored items for the party. We got plastic wine glasses, plates, napkins, table clothes, forks and some decoration items. Still don't have a head count to order the food, but we decided to have a sandwich platter, meat platter, veggie platter and fried chicken platter, along with the baked goods...and I hope they turn out 'good'! LOL!

True, nearly all of his hair fell out but it's growing back in. It appears to be blond still, which is good. Some days his eyes are blue-gray, some days, blue-green.

He now rolls over all the time. I lay him in his crib or pack n' play on his back, a minute later, he's on his side or belly!

He can't sit up but he can be propped up, and is holding his head better.

He also started to put weight on his shoulders while doing tummy time finally!

He now really likes to reach for his toys and can grab them too.




He smiles all the time and has laughed a little in the last week. He loves music! He always smiles and 'talks' when he hears music. This week I took him to The Greene at night for the first time and he loved to see all the pretty lights and listen to the live music. He was great at dinner and actually let me eat!

It was a nice Ladies Night Out...with my wee-one, and we were all happy he was so good, he and I just held hands while I ate and chatted with the other mama's.

In other news, he also stands up all the time, assisted, and even takes steps! (Assisted)

We theorize since his upper body strength is weak that he'll skip crawling perhaps and just go right into walking, his legs are so strong.

We took some 'artsy fartsy' pix this week, and pix to profile the new 'chubs' he's slowly acquiring.

Also took some pix with the pup's, this is NEVER easy to do!



William and I spent a nice morning at the La Leche picnic at a lovely park with a lake! I learned new sling positions and took some great pictures of him out in the sun. Chris and I also went and got some fleece for a new winter sling! JoAnn's had a GREAT sale! 2.5 yards for $10!

There's always time to take and make really goofy pictures with no real purpose other than to laugh...

He's having a bit of a nursing strike this week, but nothing we can't manage. I'm not sure why he's having a strike, could be overactive let down, or my low supply....after he fusses for a while he'll latch back on.

He continues to sleep with his eyes open a lot of the time, and I noticed, he only smiles to me and Chris, not to strangers....I guess that means he likes us huh? ;-)

Cake design 101, take THREE

Thanks to Heather for the butter-cream....which has no butter, but LARD! LOL, hence the good taste. The "W" was waaaaaay not centered at all, but it's still a decent job, not bad for a third attempt.

Easiest teriyaki ever!

Not sure how authentic it is but it's pretty tasty! Simple too! (Even simpler, call your favorite take-out place for some steamed rice to go with, I can't for the life of me steam rice!)

Ingredients

Protein (I used chicken in this one, or you can go all out veggie)

Veggies (I use zucchini, yellow squash and onion, you can also use carrot and broccoli)

Teriyaki sauce (about 2 tbs)

2 tbs butter

4 tbs soybean oil (Use any oil, just don't use olive)

1 tbs sesame oil

Sesame seeds

Pepper to taste

Dice the protein into bite sized chunks and get the pan very hot, when you're ready to add the chicken, add some oil. Add the chicken and pepper. Brown on both sides. When it's nearly done, add 1 tbs butter and add some sesame seeds, sesame oil and about 1 tbs of Teriyaki sauce (A little goes a long way)

Remove from the pan and set aside. Put the pan back on the burner and add more oil. Slice the veggies into bite sized pieces and add to the pan. Add pepper and sautee until nearly done. At the end, add the butter, sesame seeds, sesame oil and a little Teriyaki sauce. Add to the chicken and mix, serve over rice!