Eleven Months

Sometimes the laughter in mothering is the recognition of the ironies and absurdities.  Sometimes, thought, it is just pure, unthinking delight...Barbara Schapiro

This little man of ours just keeps growing and changing and with every day, we love him even more.  He is sweet and funny and brings me so much joy every day.  It seems like an old lady description, but he truly is a delight.
*It took him a while to decide he liked real food but now that he figured it out, the kid loves to eat.  He especially likes bananas and mashed potatoes.
*Luke loves Everest and is fascinated by any dog he sees.  That is the one thing he can "say", if you ask what the doggy says he will respond with a little noise - not quite a bark, but his version of the dog.  He sits ad watches the dog out the sliding glass window and giggles.
*After spending lots of time online and going to several stores, I finally bought him a big kid car seat yesterday.  It hasn't been installed but we are one step closer..it makes me a little sad to make such a big transition.
*Another transition, we had to lower the crib.  He has figured out how to pull himself up to his knees and sometimes to standing.  We thought he was in there sleeping, little did we know what the monkey was learning.
Some of the other highlights...

In the past month he has gone from one to six teeth -
 they are all different sizes so he looks pretty funny,
no matter, he is still perfectly willing to
cheese it up for the camera.

He loves to play with his drum,
Even better when he can get his hands on our real drum

Luke has finally started to crawl,
Usually he only crawls if there is something he really wants

Like the heater vent,
His favorite toy

His hair is getting longer and crazier
And I absolutely love it

He and daddy are best buddies

Stopped at the playground on a run
He had his first swing by himself

He loved the slide

Morning Musings

I am not a morning person.  Anyone who knows me well would say that there should be numerous exclamation points behind that statement as I really don't like mornings.  I have a hard time waking up and usually lie in bed until the last possible moment and then wake up kind of mad.  For years, as soon as I have managed to drag myself out of bed, I have headed immediately to the gym or outside to bike or run.  It took getting my exercise fix for me to wake up and be a reasonable person.
Enter Luke...We have been so lucky that he sleeps well.  He almost always sleeps through the night then wakes up between 5:00 to 6:00 a.m. to eat and then go back to sleep.  On the days I work, these early morning feedings are mine and for once in my life, I couldn't be happier about getting up early. When I leave for the day, I go to the gym and to work and am gone for a long time, so these morning feed are our special time together.  Luke is so cute, he usually wakes up just enough to eat and keeps his eyes closed, trying to stay asleep while he eats.  I snuggle him and tell him stories and we enjoy the morning silence.  Once he's been fed, changed and burped, it's time to wrap him back up and put him to bed.  He opens his eyes and gives me a smile before I leave which totally makes my day.
Last week after I left the house I just kept thinking about him, what a sweet baby he is, and how lucky I am to start my mornings with him.  I knew that having Luke would bring us a lot of joy but I think I underestimated how completely he would change my life.  I'm grateful for our mornings together and all of the other time that I get to spend hanging out with my boy.

Thanks Real Mom Kitchen

For quite some time I have followed Real Mom Kitchen, a food blog.  Her recipes tend to be the type of food I cook, but usually with a little more flair and flavor.  I made her stuffed pork chops today for dinner and they were amazing.  She has a great index where I have found several specific ideas and recipes.  Enjoy.

Stuffed Pork Chops

 Ingredients

• 4 -5 bone in pork chops (about 1½ lbs total weight)
• salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 4 cups sandwich bread, cut into ½ inch cubes
• ¼ tsp dried sage
• 2 Tbsp chopped onion
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 1 (10 3.4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
• ⅓ cup water
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Season pork chops with salt and pepper and place in a hot skillet coated with the 1 Tbsp canola oil. Cook pork chops just until both sides are brown on the outside.
3. Place pork chops in a 9 x 13 baking dish lined with foil.
4. In a bowl, toss the bread cubes with the sage. Then fold in the onion, butter, and ¼ cup water. Place a mound of the bread mixture on top of each pork chop.
5. In another bowl, combine the mushroom soup, ⅓ cup water, and soy sauce together. Pour mixture over stuffing/chops.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1½ hours or until pork chops are tender.

Notes

This can be prepared ahead of time and baked later. Just prepare and place in the fridge. Remove from fridge 2 hours before baking and prepare as above.  

I added some broth to the bread crumb mixture to make it a little more moist. 

Zion National Park

For President's Day weekend, Tim and I decided to run away from the cold and smog of Utah County and wound up in St. George.  We came with no plans and a lot of free time.  One I took care of the required TJ Maxx shopping trip, the real fun could begin.  Tim has never been to Zion National Park and it has been a long time since I have.  The weather was perfect so off we went.  We had Luke's jogging stroller which worked great for the trail we decided to "hike", but next time we will bring a pack so that we can do some of the more challenging trails.  I am a Utah girl, spent my life in the state, and am still amazed by the beauty and grandeur that surrounds me.

Ten Months

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  Elizabeth Stone

The ten month photo shoot was a little rough, we left out of town and are out of our element.  We finally made time today - when he was hungry and ready for a nap so I am happy we got the shots we did.  This boy continues to amaze me and has me completely obsessed, it's hard to imagine our life without him.  So here are the highlights of the month:

*He finally got his first tooth.  No fever, no fussing, just appeared one morning.  Sorry, no pics, he barely even lets us look.
*He's up to 23 pounds and has almost grown out of his infant car seat.  It will be sad to have him transition into a big kid seat.
*Started giving his mama kisses - talk about melt your heart - they are the perfect, baby, slobbery kind.
*Had his first ear infection - definitely a low light but the sweet boy still slept through the night and was even a little snuggly.
*Has turned into a total flirt - when we are in public he spends most of his time trying to catch the eye of whoever is near so that he can smile and laugh and generally entertain anyone in sight.  We get so many comments on how cute and funny he is.  Definitely a ham!
*The perfect boy does have a flaw, he has started to throw fits - he definitely has a mind of his own and when he doesn't get what he wants, he is quick to let us know.
*He is totally obsessed with my phone, see above, some of his best fits are when I take the phone away.
*Not too interested in crawling, he will get up on all fours and rock, and does a lot of downward dog, but mostly he can roll wherever he wants.
*This boy loves his daddy - when I get him up in the morning the first thing he does is look for Tim and needs a hello from him before we can go on with his day.  They are total partners and there couldn't be anything more sweet to watch than my two best boys together.

Beauty

Luke - Valentines

I really can't say enough about how amazing Jami is.  We had the most fun at this shoot and I absolutely love how the photos turned out.  He is becoming a total ham and I love that she caught so much of his personality.