Baby's First Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago we took James for his first set of pictures with Amy Henry. We made sure he was fed right before we went so that he would be sure to smile big. It worked! He loved it and the pictures turned out great (pages 2-4 are best).

The photos have been up for a little while, but I never posted the link here. They will be up for a few more weeks (9/23/09).


Password: jamesr
http://ahenry.photobiz.com/cart/event_login.cfm?eventID=222400


We've already ordered a ton. She has really cool storyboards, books, and canvases. If you are looking for family or child pictures I highly recommend Amy.

We plan to go back for 6/7mo pictures around mid November.

Messy McMesserton

We had a super productive weekend, but that left little time to post those pictures I promised. So here they are...James' first experience with Rice Cereal (see slide show below). Needless to say it was messy. Especially when we let him try to feed himself (he made spoon to mouth maybe 3x before we took over).

The baby books warned that he would likely snarl his face at the first feedings, but he LOVED it and couldn't get the food fast enough (who does this remind you of?). We are doing one feeding most every night and he is progressively keeping more and more in his mouth (about 70%).

On a similar note, I bought 2 really cool baby food gadgets from the cutest store in Homewood called Swaddle (across from Smith's). The first is called a "Boon" (see picture below). It is a baby spoon that contains the rice cereal in its base. All you have to do is squeeze the base and more comes out into the spoon. It is really great for taking a meal on the go. The company also makes other really fascinating child toys and gadgets www.booninc.com



The other purchase was a baby food mill. It can mash up most anything (or so the booklet and reviews say). It can also remove all of the undesirables like skins, seeds, etc... I can't wait from another month or so when James is big enough to try some mashed bananas or peas!

Cape San Blas 2009 (part 1)

First part of the beach pictures. Sorry for all of the dog ones in the beginning, but I promise there are people in the middle-end.

Count Down to Game Day

Football season is official now that I have picked up James's new houndstooth jonjon. Thanks to Donya and her new company The Pitter Pat House (http://www.thepitterpathouse.com/). She makes very affordable custom clothes for little ones.





Also, this weekend Aunt Emy brought us a gift which was beyond cute. It is a smocked Alabama elephant jumper (from Once Upon a Time if you're interested). With these two additions to his stash of Alabama onesies, James is going to be decked out come game day. Needless to say we can't wait for kickoff.

Today was pretty low key. Jessica kept James while I went to the dentist to get cavity filled...which was miserable because they numbed my entire lower mouth (both sides). I went to UPS afterwards and I'm pretty sure the guy thought I had a major speech impediment.

Other than that James and I practiced his pulling up to standing from sitting position and when daddy got home James managed to mess all over him... and I do mean ALL over. It took 2 of us just to contain it. Thank goodness no clothes were involved.

As a side note -Is anyone else appalled by the shows they play on ABC Family? What is going on.

Well this post turned out to be random, but at least I've gotten 3 in a row out! Tomorrow David is keeping the baby while I go eat at Tavern (one of my favs) with Laura and Lindsey. Hopefully, he won't be too busy to post the beach pictures (finally).

Ps- I know many of you are fans of Funfetti cake....well I have news for you....Pillsbury is now making Funfetti COOKIES. We made our second batch tonight. They are addictive beware.

My Favorite Recipe

I was inspired by everyone's Monday Menu posts and by an email asking for a recipe swap, so I decided to cook one of our favorite dishes tonight and share the recipe. Plus, I swore to David that after the Bar I'd be a good wife and make all of his favorite foods (this is one of the top 3). We call it the "round thing," but I'm pretty sure the proper name is a chicken, broccoli, and cheese braid (or something to that effect). It takes about 35 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to cook.

First, preheat your oven to 375. Next cook 2-3 boneless chicken breasts in olive oil and season moderately. I use garlic, onions, and some Mr. P's dried seasoning. After the chicken is thoroughly cooked dice/shred it into small pieces (2 cups) and set aside.

Wash and chop 1 cup of fresh broccoli into dime size pieces.

In a large bowl mix: broccoli, chicken, 1/2 can of english peas (drained...or you can use red bell peppers chopped), 1 garlic clove pressed (or garlic powder), 1.5 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons of dill weed, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

I know it looks odd at this point, but trust me it is soooo good.

Now for the more challenging part (and you will see why I included pictures). Take 2 cans of croissant rolls and a large round baking pan (preferably a pampered chef round stone or pizza stone if you have one). You want to unroll the dough and take each triangle piece and form a round circle like a sun (see picture below). Make sure to lay the pieces close to each other and use both cans. Press the pieces together to seal the ring.

Fill the ring with heaping tablespoons of the mixture.

Now bring the ends of the dough (the pointy parts that stick out) over and pinch them in to seal the mixture inside the ring. Baste with an egg white once sealed so that the tops of the croissant will come out crispy and goldenPlace in the oven for 20 minutes (or until golden). You can also fill this ring with pretty much anything you want...pampered chef has great Mexican and Pizza ring recipes.

Ok So We've Been Bad

David and I swore we would post more pictures after the Bar Exam, but so far we have lied! Time to keep our word.

Also, if you can't tell, I'm so ready for Halloween/Thanksgiving...hence our new page background.

I have never posted before (I just pick the pictures and David does the hard stuff) so this is an experiment, but if it proves easy then maybe I can actually attempt to keep you all updated on our life (not just photos every few months). But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

A few updates!

First, the Bar is over, praise the Lord. It was not as bad as I built it up to be in my head. I'll probably regret saying that when the results come in (Sept. 25th - a.k.a - "Black Friday" ....or at least that's what I call it).

I owe my husband, mom, and mother in law a huge thank you for all the help during those miserable 3 months of studying/class. I start work Sept. 8th (that's when most of the B'ham firms start new associates), but for now I'm just enjoying being a mom.

On the baby front...James had his first experiment with rice cereal this weekend. I was bound and determined to wait till he turned 4 months (he will hit that in a week). However, after talking to my mother in law, I decided he was probably ready. Turns out he was. He kept down about 60% of it and kept wanting more (just like daddy). We even gave him his spoon to hold to see what he'd do and he managed to get it into his mouth. David will post pictures tomorrow.

At his 2 months check up (which was more like 2.5mo) he weighed 11.2lbs. He was 50% height, 50% weight, and even 50% head measurement (despite predictions that he would have a large head). Dr. Jamie said he was an A+ baby!

He outgrows clothes so quickly that I've been taking a smocking class this month to learn to smock his outfits in an effort to save some money. He is just now getting out of his 0-3mo clothes, but some of the bigger ones still fit him. I am smocking a teal and brown jonjon and Kameron is making him a Christmas jonjon...let's just say they are labors of love because smocking is not as easy as I was told (Donya!). I'll post pictures as they progress.

James has been one busy baby with all of these wedding, engagement, birthday, house warming and welcome back parties. But things are slowing down now that wedding season is over.

This weekend we went to Trey and Ashley's new place in Ross Bridge for a cookout/house warming and James was such an angel...to bad he doesn't behave like that in church. Their new house was gorgeous. It makes me want to move to house number 2, but we have to give this one a few more years (and wait for the market to pick back up). James also experienced his first round of Catch Phrase and ate it up.

That's all for now...more to come soon I promise.

Summer 2009