A Good Natured Son

Rob and I have both had spring fever pretty bad. I think we've been feeling cooped-up in general; we're still learning how to function as parents, and still maintain who we are. It's a tricky balance, this business of caring for a little one. We're used to being able to run off to foreign countries on short notice and have fabulous adventures. While trans-Atlantic travel may be on hold for a while, we have been finding other ways to enjoy ourselves. Today we took advantage of the lovely sunshine to load up the baby and the dog and head out to the woods for a walk.
All I could think while wearing TJ in the pack is how much better it felt to carry him this way, versus in-utero. Ugh. I did this same walk several times at the tail-end of my pregnancy. I enjoyed it SO MUCH MORE today (Mom, this is the same little walk/hike we went on when you were here).

TJ enjoyed eating the buckles of the pack, while Rob and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Arkansas is such a lovely place in the spring-time.
TJ had to come with me to the last consignment sale I went to (the dog is an unreliable and lousy babysitter; I suspect he would just watch TV and eat rubbish the whole time). He was starting to get a little bit fussy, and I wasn't done shopping yet. There was an aisle of different Exersaucers and walkers for sale next to the rack of baby clothes I was going through. I decided to put TJ in one of the Exersaucers to see if I could buy myself a little extra time... and he loved it so much I ended up buying the Exersaucer! I'm generally not a fan of battery-operated lights-and-obnoxious-sounds baby toys; I have to admit to removing all batteries and blinking lights, and even about half the toys (if you've ever seen one of these things, you know how over-done they are). TJ didn't mind at all. In fact, he is quite enamoured of his new toy. I wondered if it was just the novelty of it all, but we've had it for about 2 weeks, and he still plays in it about an hour every day. Which means time that mom can get things done. Now that was money well spent.

And now: a super-funny clip of how TJ is driving the dog bonkers:

Sweet Baby TJ is Six Months Old!!!

Sorry about the blogging hiatus. We are back, and just in time to celebrate TJ's half-birthday. I can't hardly believe it's been six months. Everyone told me that he would grow up too fast. There were nights, especially during the 5-week-old colic period, that I feared it would never end. But it has by and large gone far too fast. My cuddly little newborn baby is no longer a cuddly little newborn. He is becoming an independant little person with a big personality and strong opinions. To atone for our long absence from the blog-o-sphere, here is a string what TJ has been up to the past week or two:

Hanging out with Mr. Jig. TJ and Mr. Jig are tight. They go most places together.



Little Tommy getting tummy kisses from Big Tom.
Crackers are TJ's favorite new discovery. The world of food keeps getting more and more fun (and messier).
Notice the intense concentration. This kid studies the world around him with great interest.









So this video is a few weeks old now. TJ's first vegetable was avocado. This was the first time he tried it. Since then, his diet has grown exponentially. He now eats avocado, sweet potato, squash, peas, banana, prunes, oatmeal, applesauce and crackers.

We Are Sick

It all started two weeks ago when Rob had laryngitis. Then the week after that, I came down with strep throat. Then TJ came down with some bizarre hybrid virus. We are all (I hope) on the mend now, though. Stay tuned.

Getting Kicked, Sweating it Out

In the quest for a more balanced workout routine (we--TJ, BabyJogger and I-- run MWF, so I needed good TTh options), I've been doing a whole ton of DVD's. Here are the ones that have made me sore for at least 2 days after:

REALLY different muscles than I'm used to using. Well done, too.
Jillian Michaels is a refreshing trainer. I do alot of Denise Austin --and I really like Denise Austin-- but sometimes I get tired of a perky little blonde telling me, "If you don't squeeze it no one else will".
This Ballet Conditioning is especially intense for a leg workout. What a BURN! I love it. I couldn't walk down stairs after the first time I did it.
Denise Yoga isn't really real yoga, but she does incorporate yoga elements. I really like this DVD. I've had this one since college, and still like it. It's only 30 minutes, so I can do this one, and do a 20 minute circuit with Jillian Michaels. Perfect.
Now, if TJ will just keep taking nice long naps, I *might* be able to fit back into my jeans someday...

Dinner Rave

I have fallen in love with parchment paper. Lately I seem to keep finding all sorts of uses for it, and it's made me kind of rediscover it. TJ is often a little "high needs" in the early evenings, and makes trying to cook dinner a real challenge. So I've been looking for recipes that I can prepare ahead of time (like during his morning nap) and put back in the fridge until I'm ready to bake/cook it. Since this is basically the definition of a casserole, things in our kitchen were getting a little bland. Along came this recipe:

Parchment Baked Salmon and Vegtables

1 small fresh jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds discarded
2 Tbsp all-fruit orange marmalade
juice of 1 lime
1/4 tsp salt
4 skinless salmon fillets, about 4 oz each
1 medium tomato
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 c brocoli florets, chopped
3 c cauliflower florets, chopped
2 c frozen corn

In a small food processor or blender puree the jalapeno, marmalade, lime juice and salt. Spread on top of the salmon fillets. Do no clean the processor out.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Place one rack in the top third, one in the bottom third.
In the processor or blender, puree the tomato, cumin, and pepper. pour into a meduim bowl. Add the broccoli, cauliflower and corn. Mix evenly to coat.
Cut four sheets of parchment paper, about 20" long and 12" wide. With the long edges at top and bottom, fold each sheet in half. Unfold the sheets. For each packet, place a salmon fillet about 1"to the right of the crease. Spoon 1/4 of the vegetables around the salmon. Fold the left half of the parchment paper over the salmon and veggies. Seal the parchment by folding both layers together toward the food, making pleat-like folds every 2inches or so. Se sure the parchment is securley folded together. Place 2 parchment packets each on two baking sheets.
Bake for 8 minutes. Switch the placement of the sheets so the top one is now on bottom and vice-versa. Bake 8 more minutes. Opening the parchment carefully to avoid steam burns, check for doneness. The salmon should flake easily with a fork and the veggies should be tender. If not, reseal and bake another 2 mins.
To serve,slide each packet onto a plate. Allow each person to carefully open their own.

Not only is it super pretty, it's also super tasty. This recipe has led me to all sorts of concoctions, using the concept of "steaming" things inside that parchment packets. Not only is it a really healthy way to cook, but it meets my requirement of being prepared ahead of time, then I just put the parchment packets in the fridge until I'm ready to bake them. All TJ has to sacrifice is being put down for the 2 minutes it takes to put the packets in the oven and turn it on. Even he can get behind that dinner plan. Bonus: Seal your packets well, and you won't even have to wash the pans!!!

What We Do Now

So it's been quite a while since I've posted; I've just been content to let Rob post a barrage of TJ pictures periodically, to keep our family viewers satiated. And I know that it may come as a bit of suprise to anyone who's been keeping track of the blog, but Rob and I do still have interests outside of TJ. Okay, well maybe not many, but I haven't lost my entire personality to motherhood: I HAVE however, lost most of my free-time to motherhood. Rob's job has been especially demanding lately, and so even though he never had much free-time to begin with, he now has even less. So if our blog makes us look like boring parents who are obsessed with their beautiful baby... well, we're guilty as charged with the obsesssion part; but we're not boring. Rob had a birthday this week, albeit a crappy one (he worked 6AM until almost 9PM)-- but I did make him a fancy-pants devil's food cake. I hope it somewhat lessened the pain of another miserable day:
I've been busy myself, mostly getting ordered about by the Boss, but getting crafty during his nap-times. I've pulled my poor old Singer sewing machine out of storage, and have been sewing away like a mad woman, working on all sorts of projects (saving the planet one recycled-wool soaker at a time, ha ha ha). My time in the kitchen has also become more interesting, as a fine layer of baby cereal now covers most surfaces (this stuff doesn't wipe up well!). I can't imagine how it gets everywhere. Can you?
Okay, so maybe we are boring parents who are obsessed with their baby. But may I present the following pictures as proof that we're justified? I think you'll agree that our lives are going to a good cause at the moment.

TJ Illustrated

TJ discovered his feet a few weeks ago, and now may prefer them to breast milk. (I must admit they are pretty tasty!!!)

Rob's work schedule has been pretty rough lately, and he has been looking to TJ for soothing techniques.

The Arkansas weather has been great and we went for a family trek at Pinnacle Mountain. TJ is already a veteran hiker!

Happy! Happy! Happy!

And lastly-- an update from the last post. It didn't take him long to figure out this eating thing.

.....and now that he has figured out how to eat, there is no stopping him.