Family

I hope Hayden and Lila are always so sweet to each other. Hayden absolutely adores "his baby" Lila and is a great helper.

He is extra silly, which makes Lila laugh. He sings her songs when she's crying, and is quick to let me know if she needs my help.

I have to leave the room now to nurse, because if Lila hears Jay or Hayden's voice, she's too distracted to eat. She might miss something! But she's such a sweet baby.

New Food Fridays: Squash

And it's a winner! But I guess anything would be better than bland oatmeal, right?

I chopped, steamed, pureed and froze some fresh squash from my aunt's garden and we tested it out. She likes it!

Sick baby

Any mom will tell you, having a sick child is the worst thing in the whole world. They're sad, they're miserable, you're helpless. Recipe for disaster. Last week Lila got sick for the first time. She wasn't acting sick: no fever, eating and sleeping well. But she woke up with some green goo in her eye. Having dealt with this with Hayden a number of times, I wasn't too worried but decided to take her in just to be sure. It would happen to Hayden when he was congested, and we always left with saline, saline, saline. We went to the doctor, who was as surprised as I was to discover that Lila bean had a double ear infection! We left with a prescription of amoxicillin and I stayed home with Lila the rest of the day. Happy as ever, I told her I think she faked it to keep me home from work!

A day passed without incident, Lila eating, sleeping, taking her medicine.

On Friday, I was wrapping up my massage (my mother's day gift) when Jay called. Daycare called - Lila has a 101 fever and is showing symptoms of hand-foot-mouth. We called the doctor on the way there and got her in for a quick appointment. When we got there, her fever was gone. The doctor said she did not have hand-foot-mouth, just possibly something viral and to keep a check on her. If her fever was gone and she was eating, nothing else we needed to do. Plus side: her ears were much better!

We left feeling pretty good about everything and headed to Chick-Fil-A for Hayden's Friday treat. We were in the middle of a monsoon-like storm, and all ended up drenched from head to toe. Except Lila, who was in her car seat and only ended up with a wet foot or two. That night, things went pretty well but she wasn't sleeping all that great. And then, one of the times she woke up to eat, as soon as I sat her up she threw up everywhere. :-( On Saturday, she just wanted to be held so I happily snuggled with her. After her nap we went to the grocery store and were surprised that she slept halfway through our outing. When she woke up, we got really worried. She was just so listless and lethargic and SAD. Just sad. Heartbreaking. She took a nap on my chest, something she hasn't done since she was 4 weeks old, but as we got more sleep and more feedings into her, she started to perk up.

Sunday morning she woke up good as new! No fever, no sad baby face, just my hungry hippo. We're still finishing up the antibiotic, but it seems like we're on the road to recovery!

Fathers day part two...

Funny, since I haven't yet blogged part one of Father's Day! Later...I suppose.

Part of Jay's gift included two sets of concert tickets. The first tickets were to the Brothers of the Sun Tour in Charlotte, featuring Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Jake Owen and Grace Potter. These you couldn't get e-tickets for, so I checked the mail like a madman for three days before realizing I could track them online! They showed up via FedEx two days before Father's Day (!) and I was really excited to give them to Jay. So it's shaping up to be a summer of concerts!

We met up with some old friends from high school before the concert and had a good time despite the heat. As we were walking into Bank of America stadium, it rained just a little bit. I was hoping it was just enough to cool it off, but really it was just enough to make it humid. Ick.

We didn't have great seats (hey, this gift was one of four, okay?) but we enjoyed our first trip to the Panthers stadium and can't wait to go to a game. It rained during Jake Owen's performance so we missed that but were okay with it. The rain stopped for Grace Potter, but we weren't really pumped about her.

But then Tim McGraw came out, and got the party started. He sang a lot of his old songs, which kept the crowd on its feet for most of the show. He played two hours, including two encores, and when he came out to sing "I like it, I love it", he brought a surprise guest...Scotty McCreery, last year's American Idol winner!

The concert started at 4:30, and Kenny Chesney didn't start playing until after 8. Being the old, workin' folks that we are, we had to leave early but I was glad to not to have to fight traffic with 49,000+ other people trying to get home on a Sunday night! We had a blast, and are ready for our next concert in July!

Summer

Summer is upon us! Which means weekends are spent grilling, lounging and lazing on the deck outside. The dogs love to have us out there with them, and we are enjoying being homeowners more than ever.

And would it be summer time without s'mores? I think not.

5 months old!

Where does the time go? Suddenly our baby girl is five months old, full of laughter and smiles, and ready to be on the move! She is trying so hard to sit up by herself, and wants to be mobile so badly. She can roll and is starting to scoot on her belly, meanwhile we just want her to slow down!

Her napping skills have come a long way, but we're back to a middle of the night wake up to eat. But that usually turns out to be the best part of my day. After she nurses and fills her belly up, I sit her up to let everything go south and she lays her head on my chest. I rub her back for a minute until I feel her fall asleep. And then I hold her for just a few minutes longer than I have to, enjoying this precious little gift. I lay her back in the crib and she throws both arms above her head, ready for the "good sleep".

My pretty girl

Do I ever get tired of taking her picture? Decidedly not.

Fathers Day: Part one

We decided to surprise Jay with a few gifts this Fathers Day. I ordered two sets of concert tickets that I came across, since we had so much fun at the Dierks Bentley concert. One is in June, right around the corner, and the other is in late July. But they're both at different venues, so I'm excited to travel a little for some mommy-daddy time!

His big present was the grill. We LOVE to grill. In the summertime, I can eat just about anything off of the grill. And I love charcoal. But sometimes it's a pain to fire up the charcoal grill for just a few chicken breasts or hamburgers. Solution? A duo grill! Half propane, half charcoal, with a burner on the side and room on the other side for a smoker box. Win-win!

This is the "before" picture. I tried so hard to keep everything a secret, but I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it up through the weekend. So I arranged to pick it up at Lowes on Friday before Father's Day on Sunday. Picked it up, got it home, and was confused as to why the cover didn't fit. Then I realized...when they assembled it, they put the wrong lids on the wrong sides! Ugh. I called Lowes, and spoke to the least helpful person possible who suggested I just fix it myself. Sure, I'll do that. Except, I just paid a lot of money and am not satisfied with what I received. I made a quick trip to Lowes, and sure enough a manager was glad to assist me. He had two workers at my house early Saturday morning with a new grill, this time put together the right way!

We celebrated Father's Day with a little bourbon salmon, some shrimp and our new favorite, grilled bruschetta! I also found this sweet little sign, perfect for Jay's first father's day as a dad to two.

Exploring

Now that she has a little more motor control, Lila is enjoying some of her other toys!

The exersaucer is a ton of fun for all of us! Mom and dad get some hands-free time in the kitchen or living room, and Hayden loves to help her play with all the parts. Lila loves to grab all the add-ons, and of course everything goes straight to her mouth.

This is Sophie the giraffe. She's a teething toy, that's soft and squishy and also squeaks! I think Hayden may like this one a bit more than Lila so far, and it absolutely puts the dogs in a frenzy. But it feels good on those little gums!

We can feel our time with the swing drawing to a close, but what a wonderful soothing place it's been for our sleepy girl. She still catches a good nap or two in it on the weekends, with her pup-pup, but soon it will go to the attic to wait for another baby that needs it!

Baby food!

We were going to wait until 6 months to start Lila on solids, just like we did with Hayden. But if the last five months have taught me anything, it's that babies are all different from one another. Lila sits in her high chair while we eat dinner, and she's absolutely obsessed with everything we put in our mouths. She watches every bite, every sip, and reaches to grab anything in her path. So we decided to try a little baby oatmeal and see how she felt about it.

She was a little suspicious at first, having spent her whole life so far on a liquid diet. But she got the hang of it pretty quickly, and seemed to like eating a little something at the table like us. Babies have a tendency to push stuff out of their mouths, so it's a fully focused affair to try to get about a tablespoon of oatmeal in her mouth at one sitting. But what a fun adventure!

Not bad for our first try! With the help of some friends and a few good websites, I've started making her baby food. I've only tried squash so far, but it was so quick and easy that I hope to make all of her food. We spend time at the local farmer's market every weekend, so I'm excited to pick some local produce to steam and puree, feed and freeze. I'm also excited to try some "out of the box" foods that Gerber doesn't make...like avocado, melons, beans and mango. The sky's the limit, right?

A perfect wedding

This weekend we attended the wedding of my Salem little sister, Dr. Leighton Kennedy to her sweet fiance Nate. We left the kids at home and headed to Mooresville for probably the best wedding I've ever been to. Not the biggest, or fanciest, or most expensive, but I have never had so much fun, or seen a bride have so much fun at her own wedding. Exactly as it should be!

As soon as we got there, I was instantly glad we left the kids at home. I debated back and forth, back and forth. The thing is, I have no problem with other people's kids at weddings. I just don't personally believe in taking them. Hayden is 3, which means all he wants to do is run and be loud, especially if he's outside. And we've taught him that outside is the appopriate place to do just that. He can't appreciate the fact that my sweet little sister is pledging her life and love to one man, and how amazing she looks in that white dress. Nor could he have resisted the temptation to play in the sand, or attempt to jump in the water. And Lila? Lila decided at 2 months old that 7 pm was her bedtime, thankyouverymuch, and she wasn't interested in missing it. Hayden as a baby could go and do and sleep or not sleep, easy going. Lila prefers structure, and I have to respect that. So anything after 7 requires her crib and an adult to supervise.

The ceremony was cute and quirky, and I loved the vows. Dr. Adrian, a Salem professor, did the officiating and he was as charming as always. As soon as they walked back down the aisle as husband and wife, the catering staff fired up grill after grill to cook steaks, salmon and kabobs, while we enjoyed cocktails and snacks and the company of so many of our friends that made the trip from places like OBX and Alaska. Dinner, drinks, dancing, cake...all the ingredients for a perfect evening created the most delicious evening I've had in a really long time.

So thanks to Leighton and Nate for getting married, and letting us share their special evening. Thanks to all of Those Girls for a fun night we'll never forget, and for reminding me once again how truly special Salem is. Thanks to the chardonnay for the hangover, I haven't had one of those in a long, long time. And thanks to Hayden and Lila, who wake up at 6am even on the weekends, even when mommy has only been in bed a few hours...thanks for reminding me that wild nights with old friends are worth being tired and spending our first waking hours as a family in bed watching cartoons.

Roll baby roll

Check her out! And luckily, we left the tv on an action flick while I was recording, so you really get the sense that this roll-over is life or death!

Bubbles

Well, she's still not sold on bath time yet, but she's having a little more fun!

Our ped suggested dandruff shampoo to help with her cradle cap and holy cow, what a difference! Not only does it clear up the cradle cap, but it makes her hair a lot more manageable as well.

Life as we know it

Things are always changing! Monday marked Hayden's first day back in daycare, and it went smoothly. Sunday is always a day of errands and cleaning and preparing for the week. We decided to grill for dinner, and Jay was cooking up burgers and corn on the cob when we heard the ice cream man.

Earlier that day, we heard the ice cream man but he was too far away. I explained to Hayden that sometimes we can hear him, but that doesn't always mean he's coming to our neighborhood. He accepted it, but said, "He go back home to get more? Cause he not getting this money to-day!" So when we heard him in our neighborhood, we had no choice but to flag him down. Hayden was so excited about his Batman ice cream that he ate all his dinner, including some unprompted zucchini. He went to bed without incident, and even woke up happy to go to school.

Today required a little more effort, but what doesn't at 6am?

Chicken and mushrooms in a balsamic cream sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1/2 Large Onion - Thinly sliced

1 Package of Whole Mushrooms - Halved (I used Cremini)

1/2 Cup of Chicken Broth

1 Cup Heavy Cream (I used light cream)

5 Tbs. Butter - Divided

1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

2 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Saute onions over medium heat in 2 Tbs of butter until they are nice and caramelized - About 15 Minutes. When they are a nice golden brown, remove from the heat and set aside

In a separate pan, heat the remaining 3 Tbs. of butter over medium-high heat. Place the chicken breasts in the pan. Brown on both sides, remove from the pan and set aside (Note - they will not be all the way cooked at this stage)

De-glaze the pan with the chicken stock. Use a rubber spatula to make sure you get all the chicken bits and butter off the pan. This helps to flavor your sauce

Add the heavy cream and the balsalmic vinegar and stir

Add mushrooms and a little S&P, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes

Add the chicken back to the pan, turn heat back up to medium and saute until the chicken is cooked all the way through. About 10-15 minutes

Remove chicken breasts from the pan and plate. Add the Parmesan and caramelized onions to the sauce and keep stirring until the cheese is completely melted in.

Cover the chicken breasts with the sauce, SERVE AND ENJOY!!!

...............

Jay doesn't love a cream sauce, so I think next time I'll add more broth and some flour and omit the cream. But I LOVED it and can't wait to eat the leftovers this week for lunch.

Family

My cousin Robyn was in town with her sweet baby boy Liam, so we headed to Aunt Carrie's to meet him! Liam is a big boy! He's five weeks younger than Lila, and a Leap Day baby. But he is so cuddly and squishy.

They had a great time playing and baby babbling, and us big people had a little time to catch up as well!

These are gonna be some long babies!