connor @ 9 months + some baby friendly food recipes

Weight:  who knows?  you're getting tall though.

12-18 month clothes

size 5 diapers

you love:  taking your brother's toys, playing with the dishwasher while I unload, playing with the freezer while we get ice out and walking behind the gator while your brother drives.

you hate:  diaper changes, clothes changes, and when someone tries to take something away from you.

~~

I don't know how to say this without sounding negative, but you are a brute.  When I was pregnant with you I could tell you were going to be a little tank, but you are a big tank.  You're strong in all aspects:  personality and physically.  You keep up with your brother no problemo.  Speaking of Patrick, you two have gotten into a few quarrels this month.  They're one-sided because you could care less if you're frustrating him.  You just continue to grab his toys and go on with your life.  Patrick, not so much.

It was a rough couple of weeks this month with you getting three, wait, four?  more teeth.  I can't keep up - they're popping like daisies.  The best was when you just had your fangs up top, but (thankfully) the two front are coming right through.  There were nights you were up three or four times and just wanted to nurse and cuddle back to sleep.  Poor guy.

On the eating front - you are a "meat & potatoes" kind of guy.  One night I was giving you some fresh peaches and you were staring at my chicken pot pie* just about drooling.  After thinking it over for a second I just mashed it with your spoon and piled it in.  It has officially been your favorite food ever since.  You've also had stuffed peppers*, cantaloupe, sweetcorn, squash & zucchini bake*, shredded cheese and scrambled eggs.  You'll pretty much eat anything we put in front of you.  Oh yeah, you can feed yourself now!  You prefer it that way.  Forget that spoon, Ma.  Aaaaand you love cold water in a sippy cup while you eat.

As of now, you show no signs whatsoever of ceasing to nurse, so we will continue on another month...despite my lack of motivation.  I actually tried quitting one night (ha) but it just didn't work.  You do not want a bottle from me.

A typical summer day for you:

6:00 - Wake for the day

6:30 - Breakfast 

7:00 - Nurse

Playtime

9:00-10:30 - Morning nap

10:30 - Nurse

Playtime

11:30 - Lunch

1:30 - Nurse

1:30-2:30 - Afternoon nap

Playtime

5:30 - Dinner

5:45 - Bath

6:00 - Nurse

6:30 - Bed

I see you again to nurse at 11 pm and 3 am.

Our long weeks together are coming to a close and I want to tell you how much I've become mesmerized by your perfection.  You and your brother make me the most irritated happiest Mommy in the world.  

I'm sure I irritate you, too.  It all balances out in the end, right? :)

Love you more than my life.  

xoxo, Happy Nine Months

*recipes below

Chicken Pot Pie

Pie Crust - bottom & top (see below)

1 can chunky vegetable soup - drained a little

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 c. cooked, cubed chicken

You must make your own pie crust with this - I've tried frozen/refrigerated and it's just...bla.  This last time I tried The Pioneer Woman's crust but was not thrilled with it.  My mother-in-law's recipe is my favorite.  Just combine 2 c. flour and 1 t. salt.  Cut in 1 c. shortening with a pastry cutter until the pieces are pea sized.  Pour 7-8 T. water over the mixture and blend to form a ball.  Split in half (top and bottom) and cover with cling wrap.  Let refrigerate for a half hour before rolling.  //  That was doubled - if you just want a bottom for a different pie, just halve it.

For the pot pie, combine the rest of the ingredients and put in pie crust.  Put top crust on and prick with a fork (or make a pretty design).  Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes.

*I just mashed this a little for Connor.  He even loved the crust.

~~

Stuffed Peppers

4 peppers, seeded & tops cut off

2 c. cooked rice

1 c. ground meat (I use beef but you could use chicken or turkey)

A little chopped basil

A little chopped parsley

1/2 c. chicken stock

2 scallions, chopped

1 small can of tomato sauce

salt & pepper, a little garlic powder

I also add sweetcorn (no cooking, just off the cob) and chopped fresh roma tomatoes and any other cheeses vegetables I want to sneak in.

Combine all ingredients plus half of the tomato sauce and place into peppers.  Top each one with the remaining tomato sauce.  Bake for at least one hour at 325°.  I usually do 1 hour 15 minutes.

*I just chopped this up really small and spoonfed it to Connor.  It was plenty moist and tender.

~~

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake

I used her exact recipe!  

*Because of the seeds in the squash I had to put this in the blender with some water and pulse a few times.  It turned out to be a puree but Connor still loved it!

sometimes it's just too much.

Hey guys.

I'm feeling like an emotional wreck this morning.

The boys were dropped off at the new babysitter this morning and I'm feeling all kinds of horrible.

I'm going to be taking them there once or twice a week this month because time is a bitch summer is winding down and the start of school is fast approaching.  My goal is to get them back in the groove, to get them used to seeing other people, playing with other kids.  Whatever, let's face it.  I have a crap ton to do for work.  And I just don't feel like it.

We also have things left to do for the upstairs renovation.  Every night gets worse - the boys are waking each other up, Patrick is uncomfortable in his crib, he's having bad dreams, etc.  So today isn't just for school, but for finalizing things for his new room.  This morning I got the second coat of paint on his new twin bed, watered the flowers, and ate two bowls of cereal that are not compliant with my Whole30 diet.  I was doing so well.  Stupid emotions.

The point is that instead of continuing to work I sat down to the computer and started to read.  What I really wanted was a distraction from the guilt I feel every single second for taking the boys somewhere else.  Somewhere that Patrick says he doesn't want to go (even though it's a wonderful place), somewhere he says he's "sick of going" (even though he's only gone twice), somewhere that his mother is not going to be.  At nap time he will cry and say he misses me.

Seriously, it's too much to handle.

Why do I have to work?  Why must my children's emotions be so intertwined with my own that I can physically feel their grief and upset?  Why must I love these people so much that I worry about losing them on a daily basis?  Sometimes it's just too much.  It's too much to handle.

So I just sit here and cry.  And cry.  And cry.

Back to my reading.  Did you hear about Sarah Hawkins?  A mother of four (and one on the way) passed away a few nights ago unexpectedly.  She was stung by a swarm of what they believe were yellow jackets.  She developed an infection which led to a brain aneurysm that killed her and her unborn daughter.

WHY?

And then there's Jacqui.  I still haven't had the guts to comment on a post or to send her a letter but I want to to so bad.

I checked up on her blog and continued to cry myself into an oblivion.

Cloudy day, my boys are playing somewhere else, my allergies have me stuffed and sniffling and sneezing.

Time for a bubble bath.  Then I'll get back to work - I promise.  Or maybe I'll just go pick up my boys and try it another day...