there is this cat, and he's stuck in a bag.

So. You want to hear some news do ya??? OK! Barrett is going to be a big brother! I'm due November 8 but we all know that's more of a guesstimation than anything else... Anyway, I went to the doctor today and I'm measuring right at six weeks. We are so excited but also a little nervous for sure....

Also, look what I walked in to see this morning:

He's a little stinker. Look how happy he is that he's getting so big! :) Of course, now he is so difficult to get down for naps! He just wants to keep standing up when really he needs to lay down. LOL...

And, my sister is hanging out with us and was playing around with our camera, so here are some cute pics of the little monster today...

 Me giving Barrett a piece of apple...

 Barrett giving Bogey that piece of apple...

Barrett re-eating that piece of apple... LOL

keepin' busy

I can't believe it's only been one day since TJ left.... I'm not complaining. Just sayin'..... I have made a goal to stay busy and be productive. Hopefully this will make the time pass more quickly and keep the house and everything from becoming a disaster. Yesterday, my sister Michelle came over and hung out with Barrett and me. We went and bought an air popper to make yummy popcorn and then watched "Dispicable Me" and vegged out. I made sure to pick up the house before I went to bed. That is so hard for me! Today I even picked up during every nap! [Honestly, that will probably only last about a week ha!] I also made chicken tortilla soup yesterday! Oh man it is the best soup ever! No lie. I'll post the recipe soon.

Today, Barrett and I woke up early and hung out for a while. He's been pretty grumpy lately because he's got a runny nose and a baby cough. I can't complain about it this is really the first time he's even been "sick" and he's not even that sick. I really think all the fresh fruit and veggies that I make for him have built up his immune system! Anyway, after his nap we ran to wally world because I needed to get some calgon water softener. Barrett's cloth diapers have been more stinky lately and from what I've read online, that is normal with hard water. Unfortunately, the hard water cloth diaper detergent I had been using wasn't working hard enough to keep the funk away. So, with this wash, I did extra rinses using the calgon and they seem to smell much much much better! Thank goodness! I don't want to give that up!

Also, today I made Golden Yam Brownies! Talk about delish! :) MMMM :) And really they're super easy! I like them because they have lots of sweet potatoes in them so surely they're healthier than regular baked goods ya?!

They're not beautiful but seriously, they are amazing!

Golden Yam Brownies

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups peeled and finely shredded yams

First, you combine the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Then you add the dry ingredients. Then gently fold in the yams. See? Easy peasy. :) You bake it in a 9x13" pan for about 30 minutes at 350. To make the glaze, you just combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tbsp of melted butter, and 2 tbsp of milk. It isn't the prettiest but it is very yummy. :)

The other thing I did today was juice about 40 oranges. When we went to Cali for my birthday, we brought home a big box full of oranges and I still had a ton that I wouldn't be able to finish on my own. So I decided to make fresh squeezed OJ. Talk about a great decision! Anyway, after I was done with that, I had a bunch of orange peels and remembered that I had seen a great way to make a natural cleanser. You take the peels and put them in a jar and then cover them with vinegar and let it sit for a while and TA-DA! you have a great smelling, hardworking cleaner. Wherever I saw that suggested using gallon jars (I think.... whatever the really big ones are) but I only had a couple quart jars so I just used those.

Don't mind the aluminum foil, I only had rings and no lids... So this will have to do....



Barrett playing with friends!

This is Barrett's little girlfriend Bailey. ;) jk Megan and I like to say that because it bugs TJ and Steven. hehe :) Anyway, Bailey is 5 weeks younger than Barrett so we really hope they'll be great friends!

This is Barrett's other friend Bogey. LOL! But really Bogey and Barrett play so well together! They love to play tug of war with Bogey's rope and Barrett likes to crawl around really fast "chasing" Bogey. It is so entertaining to watch them together. :)

3.14.12

100!

Yipee! This is my 100th blog post! Anyway, here is today's project52 picture of my sweet little chubby cheeked fellah! :)

Doesn't he look so much older here? I think so. I can't believe he's nine months old!!!! I don't know if you can tell but he's standing by himself by holding himself up on the toy box. I'm pretty excited with how much he is growing and learning recently.

finally another baby food post

Sorry to anyone who has been wondering about baby food in our neck of the woods. I can't say how much longer I'll be posting "babyfood" things because Barrett pretty much just eats whatever I am eating. However, today I HAD to do something with the four sweet potatoes I had sitting on my counter. So I baked them and then was just going to mush them up a little and put them into small tupperware containers. However, I wanted to be able to freeze them without it being a big clump. So, after they had cooled, I cut them into about 1" sections and put them into individual bags. Then I put them all into a bigger ziplock bag. I'm pretty excited about my idea. I think I'll keep this up! Even though I'm not making purees anymore, there is no reason not to keep and freeze pre-cooked veggies! We'll still be able to easily and quickly feed Barrett fresh and healthy food.

We still LOVE quinoa! Lately, I've been eating it more as a breakfast food! I love to cook it with water and then add a bunch of my grandma's amazing super chunky applesauce! Soooo good :) I also make brown rice with chicken broth and then add in two celery stalks and two large carrots chopped up pretty small.

Other things I've been really happy making and feeding Barrett are soups/stews/chili. I'm ecstatic that he loves all of these kinds of foods. My hope is that by constantly making new things and feeding them to him directly from my plate, that he'll be less picky but also learn how to make healthier food choices. It certainly keeps me in check!

I do have a question for anyone that can/wants to help! We were trying a new baby formula (temporarily) because he hardly ever has any anyway. When we did that, he got red patches all over his back, arms, and a little around his mouth. It looks like excema. Problem is, we had also been giving him more dairy like yogurt and cheese. We switched back but there are still some of those patches. I guess my question is what do you guys think? Was it the formula and it just is working itself out or is it all dairy? Or something else entirely?

Steph's Baby Shower

Yep. I'm a wee bit behind in posting pics from Steph's baby shower. Oopsie. We had such a good time! I loved how they set it up as an open house so people could come when it worked best for them and they didn't miss anything. There was a fun little quiz and very delicious food! The best part thought {in my opinion} was making bibs for Treyson! We did kind of the same thing at my baby shower for Barrett but with onesies instead. I like the bib idea better! So here are some pics :)

Happy March

Wowza I can't believe it's already March... although I'm pretty sure I say that every month! LOL Anyway, I still had my Valentine's wreath on my door because I hadn't gotten around to making a new one for St. Patty's day! I came home from work the other night and the wreath was on the table, which I'm pretty sure was TJ's way of saying Valentine's is over. So I was going to skip a wreath for a while, but I was at Target yesterday and found this super cute St. Patty's day welcome sign for only $2.50! WHAT?!?!? Needless to say, I was all about it :) So now I need to get to work on an Easter wreath so this one isn't on the door until June! Ha!

a boy on the go!

Our little boy. Oh my goodness he is a mover! Recently he has found the DVDs, the dog food, and the front door doorstop. Every day he finds something new! It is always interesting to see what else he finds :)