8 Months

I almost forgot that Saturday was Samuel's little "birthday" of sorts. Whoops! I guess he doesn't know the difference anyway, though, right?

Month 8 has been a BIG one. As previously mentioned, he's learned how to crawl. And pull up. And, as of Friday, go up the stairs (we went and bought a baby gate for the bottom of the stairs Saturday afternoon). He's probably had about 200 bumps on his noggin in the last month. He started eating cheerios and puffs and other random foods of mine that I let him have bites of. We officially bumped him up to a big-kid car seat and put away the infant one and his bouncer. We lowered the crib and started bumping him up to 9 month clothes. Little baby just isn't so little anymore!!

He's also learning how to wave... mainly to himself. Anytime we look in the mirror, he throws his hand up next to his face, sometimes shaking it, sometimes just holding it there. I'm not sure he really gets the concept, but it's pretty stinkin' cute!

Unfortunately, Samuel's also started standing up in his crib, which is not super conducive to nap time, particularly in the mornings. Previously, I would just put him in his bed for nap and he would cry for a couple of minutes but then fall asleep because, hey, he had no where else to go!  Now he stands up and SCREAMS. And this kid is sooo loud! I've tried laying him back down and rocking him, etc., but it's pretty much to no avail. I'm sticking to my guns, though. Naptime begins and ends when I say it does. (Unfortunately, that's meant I've had to listen to him scream for an hour at a time, which is no fun for either of us!) He's also waking up screaming from his naps a lot. I'm just not sure if I should go comfort him or let him work it out on his own. If anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with THAT, I'm all ears! 

He's also started throwing temper tantrums when we don't let him do dangerous things. Obviously he's too young to really discipline, so I've been spending a LOT of the last week or two just moving him 15x a day and saying "No." For some reason I thought that wouldn't start until later?? Haha. Oh well! 

One thing I'm SO grateful for is how generally sweet Samuel is. Even though he is CRAZY sometimes and definitely is learning how to fuss to try to get his way, he is overall a pretty happy kid and loves to be around people, including his family! He gets SO excited when Eric comes home or when I pick him up from pre-school. He has a blast anytime we leave him anywhere and entertains everyone around him. And goodness knows he flirts with every girl he meets! Restaurants, the grocery store, church... This kid knows how to pick up the ladies where ever he goes!

It's so crazy to me how different this kid is than he was even a month ago! Eric and I were talking yesterday, and we decided this was probably the biggest month of his life thus far. He hasn't grown much physically, but he has just learned SO much! It's super fun to watch him grow. I'm so glad I get to be this little guy's mom! :-)

...

"How much of your life you've invested in Jesus is the issue. Have we held back some of ourselves - just in case He is not as real, as powerful, as active as we thought? Just in case He doesn't come through? Just in case He can't really be taken at His word? Or have we banked everything we have and everything we are on the fact that Jesus is Lord of all the earth?... Solitude is not so much the place we find answers as the place we decide if we are going to go on, possibly without them. Many of us will, because the privilege of wrestling with a God so holy and mysterious still beats the numbness and mediocrity of life otherwise."

I needed to read this today more than I can say. How much of myself do I reserve back "just in case?" The last time I checked, Christ didn't hold anything back from me. Why do I want to control things so badly? The real privilege is in not having to control them at all.

Sometimes I'm amazed at how far I still have to grow.

Yumminess.

I haven't posted much about food the last year or two since Pinterest came into my life. It's pretty much a home cook's never-ending recipe book. I love love love it.

The only bad thing about Pinterest is that it makes it a little difficult to sift through which recipes are really good and which ones are just ho-hum. I have the ones I like organized a certain way, but everyone has their own method of organization (or none at all), making it difficult to know if a recipe someone posts is actually worth the time and effort. There's also the risk that the website attached to a pin will eventually become obsolete.

That being said, I figure it's worthwhile to go ahead and record for my own sake the recipes that are definite keepers. And, by posting them via blog, they have the Christie Yates stamp of approval. So you should probably try them too. :-) (Also, I may have posted about a few of these before... can't remember for sure!)

Chicken Taquitos

So I actually combined two recipes for this one. I baked these little boogers, but you could definitely fry them too.

8-10 fajita tortillas (corn or flour - just make sure they're pretty small
2-3 shredded chicken breasts
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. salsa
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/8 c. sour cream
1 c. shredded Mexican cheese
handful of chopped green onions

Clearly I do not have the ingredients down to an exact science, but you can really change things up as suits your taste.
So for the baked taquitos, I mixed up all the ingredients above except the tortillas. I poured a little bit of oil in the bottom of my baking dish. I put the tortillas between two wet paper towels in the microwave for 30 seconds or so, then filled them with the chicken mixture. I rolled them up and put them in the pan, turning each one so it got coated in a little bit of oil. Then I baked them at 425 for 15-20 mins. Easy Peezy and sooo good. We had them for lunch the next day too!

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole.

I made this for a potluck since Eric hates beans. It was a total hit. He may have to suck it up and pick the beans out sometime, because it was sooo good!

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion
2 c. salsa (or however much you have on hand... lol)
1 can black beans
1/4 c. Italian dressing
1 packet taco seasoning
1/4 tsp. cumin
6 tortillas
1 c. frozen corn
1/2 c. sour cream
2 c. shredded Mexican cheese

Cook the beef and onion. Drain and add salsa, beans, dressing, taco seasoning, cumin, corn and sour cream. Put part of the mixture in the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. Cover with cheese and 2-3 tortillas. Repeat until all mixture is gone, finishing with a "healthy dose" of cheese. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Deep Dish Cookie Pies. 

Eric told me, "You can make these again if you want to." Which is pretty much the highest compliment you can get in man language. Haha. It's pretty much just a chocolate chip cookie in a ramekin.

1 stick butter
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 c. chocolate chips.

Really you can just use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe though. Just place the dough in the ramekin and refrigerate for an hour or freeze (I froze two and we had them the next day). :-) Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, so that the sides are brown the middle is still a little gooey. Yum.

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches.

These were quick, easy, and pretty good. Nothing fancy, but a good weeknight meal!

3 chicken breasts
1 c. caesar dressing
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 T. pasley
black pepper to taste

Stick it all in the crockpot until the chicken is done, then shred it up and put it on some bread or burger buns. Yummy!

Parmesan Chicken Bake

This tastes fairly similar to the above recipe. What can I say, we like cheesy chicken dishes? It's also crazy quick and easy, a great go-to meal in a hurry!

4-6 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded.
1/2 c. Greek yogurt
1/2 c. mayo
1 T. seasoning mix like Cavenders or Mrs. Dash
1 tsp. garlic powder
Panko breadcrumbs, if desired.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and pour into a baking dish. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Chicken Divan

1 bag Steamfresh broccoli and cauliflower mix
3-4 chicken breasts
2 T. butter
1 T. EVOO
1 clove garlic
1/4 onion, minced
1/8 c. flour
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. milk
1/4 c. white wine
8 oz. swiss cheese
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/4 c. breadcrumbs

Season the chicken as desired, then saute on both sides until cooked through. Set aside and make the yummy sauce.

Sauce: melt butter and oil together in a skillet and added chopped garlic and onion. Once cooked through, gradually add flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly add chicken broth, milk and wine and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in swiss cheese. Add salt and pepper as desired.

I usually steam the broccoli/cauliflower mix, then chop it up in the food processor and put it in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. The chicken goes on top, followed by the yummy sauce and topped with breadcrumbs and extra cheese.Spray a little oil on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Yum!

Crawl, Crawl Away.

7 months old, and this crazy kid finally figured out how to crawl. I knew it wouldn't be long. After all, he's been working on his mobility since he was in utero! 

I didn't think I would really be ready for him to crawl, especially since he started fairly early, but ever since Samuel started rocking on his hands and knees, he's been SOOOO fussy. He just wanted to go so so much. After 2-3 weeks of crying, I am THRILLED that he can finally go get what he wants... even though half the time it's something he's not supposed to have. (The cat's tail? computer cord? my phone?) It's a little more work for me, but worth it!

(I had good intentions of putting a video here, but for some reason Blogger won't let me upload?? )
Of course he was oh-so-kind as to wait until my in-laws came in town. After church last Sunday (9/1) we went to eat at Village Tavern (our fave brunch in town!) and came home to hang out. Eric's dad brought out the iPad and turned the camera so that Samuel could see himself, and he got the most determined look on his face and went for it. We were all pretty proud. :-)

He's definitely gotten a LOT better in the last week and a half. He's still no Speedy Gonzalez, but he's getting around. a LOT. He now follows me where ever I go... the closet, the kitchen, the bathroom... I have my own little shadow. It's pretty cute! 

In other news, Samuel's also learned how to go from a laying to a sitting position on his own, and he's started talking, mainly saying "dee dee" and "da da" and occasionally "ba" or "na." Still no mama. Bummer! I was really surprised at his sudden onset of talking. He literally woke up one morning (the 30th I think?) and just looked at me started saying, "dee dee dee dee dee dee dee." Like, "Hey! I can talk to you now!" It was really funny! I'm constantly amazed at how quickly he learns things, and I absolutely LOVE hearing his little voice! He's such a little person. It's stinkin' adorable!

He's also figuring out how to pull up on things, which is far scarier to me than the crawling. The higher he is, the farther he has to fall. And let me tell you, this kid falls a LOT. And hits his head. And cries and cries then is magically better. He's such a mess! 

I don't know if the crawling is wearing him out more or what, but Samuel's been way crankier at night the last couple of weeks, so we've started putting him to bed even earlier (7:30). He's stayed in bed past 7 am (and even 7:45!) the last two nights, so we will see if the trend continues. Maybe he just needs some extra rest?

Samuel also started preschool last week! Since I got a (tiny) tutoring job two mornings a week, I've been able to put him in to the WEE program at one of the churches near our house. It's only two three hour days, but it seems to be going well so far! There are four other little boys in his class. They go for walks and play and sing and, while they don't do any real schooling, they focus on a different color or number every day. I doubt he gets much of it, but it can't hurt anything, right? 

Anyway, I'm sure there's more I should note about this age, but that's about all I can think of right now and he will be waking up from his nap shortly. :-) Here's a few recent weekly pictures. (I don't know how much longer these will last since he can't hold still for more than 5 seconds!!)