Dooby Doo! Dooby Doo!

Oh, I love this time of year! The weather isn't quite so hot and outdoor play is completely doable. I've been keeping W inside most of the summer due to the intense heat, but these last few weeks have been beautiful!

W always seems to be learning new "words" and his latest mumble has been dooby doo. He says dooby dooby dooby doo ALL the time, and John and I have never been able to figure out what he meant by that. Then, one day while I was changing him, he said it again. When I put him on the floor he immediately walked to his books. Then it hit me! He was saying Scooby Doo! He's got several Scooby Doo books, which are hands down his favorite books to read. I picked up his Scooby Doo Goes To The Zoo book and he seemed thrilled that I finally understood what he was saying! I'm going to have to look for a Scooby Doo stuffed animal, as he loves barking like a dog as well.

Still doesn't say mama on a regular basis, but he's got "Dooby Doo" down pat! Too cute!

Hassleback Potatoes

Last night I tried a new way of making potatoes - Hassleback potatoes. I got the recipe from Cooking Dunkin Style. I thought they were very good!

* Russet potatoes scrubbed well
* Garlic
*Melted butter
* Salt and peper
* Paprika (my addition)
* Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cut slits in the potato as deep as you are able without cutting through the potato. Then place garlic pieces in the slits (as many or few as you wish). Place on a baking tray. Mince more garlic with the melted butter and brush on the potatoes. Bake 50 minutes on 425. Brush more butter and garlic on potato and bake another 10-20 minutes. When ready to eat sprinkle some paprika and cheese on top. Voila! A "new" way to eat baked potatoes! We put sour cream on these babies as well. Yum!

Official "Day" Celebration

To celebrate the "actual Day" of William's birthday the 5 of us (Grandma and Grandpa Adams were over) went to Applebees. William is now to eat less baby food and more and more "big boy" food, according to the doctor. So....we ordered him a cheesecake tumbler for dessert! ha!

He only has 6 teeth, so I'm not sure how he's supposed to go about eating big boy food, but he sure likes giving it a try. He'll eat anything I tell him is nummy nummy. I hope he stays that way, as I'm not about to deal with a picky eater.

He's walking now. sniff sniff

I actually like it. I still have to put him in his stroller when we go places, and because he walks so slowly I still have to carry him most places, but he's doing amazing! Still holds his arms out to keep his balance, but now when either John or I bend down to have him walk to us he completely ignores us, wanting to walk all by himself!

He's growing up so fast...

This picture will make Auntie Lynnelle proud! He's in love with his corn popper. He can't really walk with it yet, but when he's sitting down he can get the annoying noise really going! (We WILL get you back, Lynnelle!)

Lots Of Tears. No Sticker.

William had his 1 year doctor appointment today. Wowsers. I'm very relieved it's over. He weighed in at a whopping 19.1 pounds, so he's in the 6%, up from 4% at 10 months. Yeah! He's in the 75% for length and head, being 32 inches long. He's tall and skinny. :-)

The nurse then gave him 6 (six, seis) shots. Yes, you read correctly. 6. 2 in each leg, and one in each arm. He was completely unsuspecting, babbling away, then WHAM! Screamed like a banshee. We then had to head over to the lab to get blood drawn to test for lead and anemia.

Yeeeeaaaah...that went well.

It took 3 of us to pin him down because he was flailing around so much. The nurse was awesome, finding a vein on the first try. I was so stressed I asked for a sticker!

So...we're now on Tylenol every 4-6 hours to keep the crankies and pain down.

And to top it off...he's still suffering with a cold.

Lovely.

My Deception Needs Some Work

For my birthday my sister-in-law got me a new cookbook called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It's a creative cookbook on getting your kids to eat more healthy, by disguising fruit and veggie purees in favorite foods. There are recipes such as chocolate cake laced with beets, chocolate chip cookies with cauliflower, and main dishes, such as potato soup, with cauliflower and squash.

The trick is to make the purees ahead of time, so you can pull them out of the freezer/fridge whenever needed. Today I made several purees - squash and cauliflower. William pretty much eats anything and everything (as long as it's fairly soft - he's only got 6 teeth!). I just thought this was the most creative cookbook I've seen, since even the "junk food" recipes have healthy fruits and vegetables disguised in them.

I just got the book this past weekend, so I haven't had much time to try very many of the recipes, but today I did make the potato soup.

It. Was. Delish.

It tasted more like mashed potatoes than a soup, but it was so yummy! The only problem with my soup was that it turned out quite orange, due to the butternut squash. The picture in the cookbook showed the soup a white color (the whole idea is to "deceive" your little ones into eating veggies and fruits) so I'm going to have to work on it a bit more. However, I will make it again, as it was very tasty! It was really nice sitting down to eat, and William being able to eat the same food as we ate. He kept saying "nummy nummy", so I know it was a hit!

I will keep ya'all posted on any other recipes I try.

Anaheim Here We Come!

It was a last minute decision, since we found ourselves by ourselves on a lovely, sunny day. Instead of staying home like always, we trucked down to the Scholastic Book Fair, which was awesome! I was able to purchase lots of good books, and get great deals - some of the books were 80% off!



Then we took the Angel Stadium tour, something I've always wanted to do. We got to go down into the "bowels" of the stadium, seeing the team (opposing) locker room (we weren't able to see the Angels' locker room, due to their personal effects being out and about), press boxes, dugouts, you name it! It was a great tour - and all for $3!

The best part - I couldn't have asked for a better kid to take with me! William was SUCH a trooper today! His only naps were taken in the car (granted we did have 2 rather long car rides, but still!) and lunch was eaten on the run. He never fussed or, for the most part, gave me hard time. He was great! The picture above....ah....yeah....he rapidly got sick of being in his stroller, so I took him out, and the next thing I knew he was racing down the dugout suits hall, trying to figure out which one he was going to buy up. I raced right after him, and it was hilarious...he turned to look at me, then he squealed with delight and continued to race away from me! That was the first time he's EVER done that! He normally sticks very close to me. Ah...I guess he's growing up!

We got home all safe and sound, and I spent the rest of the afternoon tutoring. Whew! No rest for the weary! It's good, though. :)