Thursday, October 15, 2015

Davis: 8 Months

Today I stood staring at my little boy's face as his eyes fluttered closed. I don't know how or why it happened, but as I stood there looking at his sweet profile, suddenly I saw life fast forward 20 years. I felt like I literally saw something of his future man self in his teeny little body. I got all kinds of sentimental staring at his lips puff in and out as he slept in my arms for a few minutes.

And those may have been the only minutes that he slept most of the day. He's been putting up some pretty good fights lately when it comes to sleep.


He is so very precious. So much preciousness in one little squish. No sleep and all. I love standing in the distance watching.



His personality is coming out more and more. And it's been especially fun to watch it blossom.

He has an intense love of Cole. It reminds me a lot of how Cole was with his cousin Jenna (or Na as we call her). It began right around this age when everything and everyone else fell into the shadows when his Na was around. The same seems to happen with Davis. He lights up when he sees Cole. His eyes don't lose sight of him.


He gets right up close to his face, clasps his head with both hands and "talks" to him. He lets out long, sweet flows of sounds. They drip of love. Pretty sure Cole feels the same way about his baby brother.

While a bit different, he loves Bennett just the same. But sometimes.....I think Bennett can be a bit overbearing, clumsy, too interested in cause and effect.  He can go one minute to wanting to hold Davis to shoving him over.....so, yeah. I don't blame that half-mom-come-save-me-smile.



Along with his growing love of having older brothers, he has a growing love of being on the go. He is my earliest crawler. And started crawling a little before he turned 7 1/2 months. His big motivation was food. He wanted to get to it, so he did. Even if it meant muscling his way over using only his arms, he learned to get there. And now he likes to crawl around looking for stray puffs and paper. I always seem to find him munching on paper, puffs or leaves.


And now I find a lot of my pictures of him end like this..... He's got places to go and his people to see.




I always feel that they change and grow so much once they start crawling. Suddenly you get a glimpse into a little of what makes them tick, what intrigues them, and where they really want to be. By far, his favorite place to be is right in front of our living room window. (and could those rolly, dimply legs get any more scrumptiously cute?)





He watches the squirrels outside and the trees when they sway in the wind. He stands there for as long as his little legs hold him up or before Bennett decides to yank him down. If he ever (which is rarely) gets fussy, I just plop him in front of that window. It's kind of magical.


The other day he let go with one hand, looked at me and then let go with the other. There was my leetle baby, standing with no hands, so proud of himself. And there went my heart, falling into a million pieces knowing that this was just the beginning. 



He's waving, or attempts to. And grins ear to ear if I notice and say something about his waves. 

He loves to give full mouth, eat your face, kisses. And still gives the biggest squeeze hugs.

This was the first month that separation anxiety really hit its peak. I attempted to put him in his nursery during woman's Bible Study, he lasted maybe 10 minutes before I saw my number flash up on the screen. As I walked down the hall, I saw the teacher holding him and his lip...oh, that lip was out as far as it could be. Just as he was winding up to let out a wail, he turned,saw me and immediately that sad face broke into the biggest grin. Talk about a warm welcoming.


Poor baby has had about 3 colds this past month. while he handles it just fine during the day. Night time has been pretty bad. 




He still loves, loves, loves food. He begs for my green smoothies in the morning, his brothers baked oatmeal, muffins, scones, guacamole, pasta, if we are eating it--he wants it. And when in doubt, if he needs something to hold him over--because nursing every two hours apparently isn't cutting it--there are puffs. He prefers it when Cole gives them to him, because he usually dumps the whole bottle on his tray. His face looks like Christmas morning as he digs in with both hands. Thanks Cole, that's a hard act to follow up. Especially when I only produce about 5 puffs at a time. Major let-down.


I don't really know what else to say that I haven't already said before. God couldn't have created a little being any more perfectly for me and for our family. He just rounds out the sharpness, he keeps reminding me to be tender, and find joy in the tough curves life can throw at you.



He just keeps reminding me of God's graciousness and love.




He is just the sweetest and most scrumptious baby boy (am I still allowed to call him baby? When does he get too old for that?). And something about those tender eyes that show how deep his sweet soul goes.

I may just call him baby for forever. At least until he says, "No, mama...I big boy, not baby" (Thanks Bennett).  :) We will just keep taking it one day at a time, because that is about all this mama can handle right now.

Love you, my sweet sweet Davis baby.

Monday, October 5, 2015

What We Eat


Sometimes "hangry" strikes.


And you just really want a cracker.



And then you're back in business. And life is all good again.



And when I'm not shoveling crackers into little beaks. I'm usually trying to figure out meals that will be as eagerly anticipated and accepted as the "fratter" (per Bennett).

That is not an easy feat. But here is what we've been found eating in hopes of warding off any hangry little boys.....and their mama.


Creamy Oven Baked Chicken Taquitos.  Picture and Recipe credit found HERE at Life made simple bakes. These were so good, and would have been quick and easy had I not been trying to juggle a tired fussy baby and break up 9,892 fights between the oldest boys. A good cry later and these finally made their way into the oven. Low and behold both boys declared them "yummy mom" and Cole even said I could make them every day. While I won't do that, I will be adding these to our menu again and again. Because let's face it, it's incredibly nice to not have a meal snubbed and spit out.


Thai Red Curry Chicken.

I'm always a sucker for a good curry. And this one was pretty amazing, had just enough heat, but not too much that the boys all loved it. I followed the directions except I subbed chicken broth for the water and threw in a bag of frozen stir fry mix instead of the snap peas. I also used brown sugar instead of white (my own personal preference when I make curries) I loved the sweetness of the sweet potato against the spice of the curry paste. Photo and recipe credit HERE at Eat Live Run. It's the perfect meal for the chilly fall days that don't seem to be in the foreseeable future.



Chicken Tortilla Soup.

I have made many versions of this soup. It's always good, always satisfying, and always a quick and easy meal. For some reason I particularly liked this one more than others. And I don't quite know why. Maybe it was the addition of the pile of avocado on top, or that it was a slow cooker meal. For whatever reason, I'm sure this will find it's way to my crock pot again and again. GO HERE forthe recipe. ( I poached my chicken, shredded it and threw it in at the very end so it wouldn't dry up)



Cashew Chicken.

Its quick, it's easy, there are only a handful of ingredients needed....but best of all,  it was accepted by all tummies alike. I added some sliced celery for added crunch. I loved all of the different textures going on. You have to scroll down a bit to get to the recipe, but keep scrolling because it's worth it. Photo and Recipe via Freckles in April.

and last but not least,




Chili Verde.

From one of the first food blogs I ever started following. Picture and recipe from Iowa Girl Eats.
This recipe is very forgiving and adaptable. The other day I realized I didn't have onions, jalapenos or green chili's so I tossed in a jar of salsa verde and wha-la! It's creamy, thick and comforting. And easy, of course. Story of my dinner cooking life. Quick and easy is a huge selling point these days.

BIG, big selling point.