Dashel: 10 months recap

The past month flew by. Crazy fast. 

Month 10 proved a little challenging for me and little guy.

Let's just say that he has definitely discovered his strong will and determination. I am used to having a strong willed child (ahem, Oliver) but I've always considered Dashel my easy going/go with the flow baby. Well, time to buckle my seat belt, because these boys are some wild hearted ones.

Here are some things that Dashel fell in love with this past month.

1. Dogs- We dog-sat for our friends and Dash fell in love with chasing the poor little dog around. He actually started trying to say dog: "Da- ga". So sweet. It was a very entertaining 4 days.

2. Teething biscuits. Maybe he was vibing off of the dog being around, but he loves chopping and drooling on baby teether biscuits.

3. Biting. He loves to bite. Working on breaking that habit. 

4. Laughing at the word "No". He thinks it is hilarious when I tell him "No", of course saying it doesn't actually deter him at all from doing whatever he had in mind to do. But at least it stops him for a second and gives him a good belly laugh. 

5. Jumping. He loves holding onto the edge of anything, and violently jumping and shaking. So funny.

6. Music. This is my favorite of his new discoveries. He LOVES loves music. Especially beating and strumming on his daddy's or  his brother's guitar. He sings too. omg. So precious. 

7. Hanging upside down. If he had the choice I don't think he'd be right-side up anymore. 

8. Being naked. And just in time for summer weather too. We have a little song we like to sing at diaper changing time - "Air that booty out" It mostly started because he is SUCH a hassle to get re-dressed after a diaper change. It is really all we can do to even get a diaper back on him. Chubby little nakey boy.

9. He still adores the outdoors. Which has been fun for morning walks.

10. Snuggles. For a little bit it seemed like he was changing his tone of snuggling. But I'm happy to report that he is back in the cuddle zone. Which makes me infinitely happy.

Dashel,

You are my prize. I'm in love with you more everyday. I'm in love with watching you grow and change. It is breaking my heart that you are about to enter your 11th month, and you are not far from being a 1 year old. I cannot believe that. But I cherish every second with you, sweet boy. And no matter your age you'll always be my baby. Love love love, Your mama. 

Veggie Burrito Recipe

I love mexican style food. Growing up in SoCal I got to eat authentic mexican cuisine. We frequented a mom and pop restaurant that made the best enchiladas and shirley temples. yum. 

As I've gotten older I've discovered that I like to experiment with classic dishes adding fresh ingredients and some unexpected flavor pairings. 

This recipe for Veggie Burritos came out of what I liked to refer to as a "Random Fridge Day"

which basically translates into... I need to go to the store but maybe I can pull something together with all the random things we have left.

So here it goes.

1 can rinsed black beans

3-4 sweet mini peppers. Sliced

( I mainly use these because they're a great size and I like the variation in color)

1/2 red or white onion. Chopped

1 medium sized butternut squash. Peeled and cubed.

(The pre-packaged ready to cook squash is good in a pinch, but I cut them down smaller)

Mint

Sour Cream or plain greek yogurt

Salsa

Olive oil

Seasonings: salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, chili powder 

Good quality tortillas or some freshly made ones

Oh and some fresh Guacamole

For the guacamole I used 1 ripened avocado, smashed.  I seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin and a little lime juice.

On a cookie sheet toss together olive oil to coat squash. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until softened and lightly caramelized. Salt and pepper if desired. 

Heat rinsed black beans on med-low until heated through. 

Saute onion and bell peppers in olive oil on medium high until slightly softened. Try not to overcook- I think they taste better if they still have a slight crunch to them. Season with a little salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and chili powder. I always just season to taste so I don't have exact amounts. 

Chiffon mint leaves (I used mint from my garden) 

Heat tortillas in a large non-stick pan until light browned on both sides 

 Assemble the burrito however you like. 

I know adding the mint seems a little odd, but you should definitely give it a taste before you judge it. 

Viola! Dinner (or lunch!) is served.

This is such a light tasting but filling meal. It is perfect for a hot summer day when you want something that tastes super fresh and delicious. 

Garden

Yesterday we planted our garden. It is small but perfect for our family of four. Getting everything together was slightly stressful - Oliver was REALLY trying to "help" with everything. His little hands digging around in the compost trying to plant seeds with me. I don't know if our spinach is going to sprout, since the 1/2" deep sowing was more like 3" deep, but what can you do... those little hands like to help and those little minds like to learn - they need to.

Here is what we planted:

The aforementioned - Spinach

Strawberries 

Basil

Cucumber

Carrots

Lavender

Tomatoes

Here is what we still need to plant:

Radish

Potato

Onion

Mint

Rosemary

Thyme

Cilantro

Asparagus

We're also going to plant a blueberry bush. We have a small starter plant that I am going to start out in a pot. We'll most likely do that today.

This is my very first garden. I'm excited to watch it grow and pick and eat my produce.

 There is something deliciously magical about planting, growing and eating by the work of your own hands. 

------------------------

It was a sweet weekend with our little family. 

I hope that your weekend was sweet too.

Xoxoxo

Photoshoot Sneak Peek

Here is a little glimpse at the photoshoot I keep mentioning. More to come soon about the project these pictures are for! Trust me wivesies you'll want to stay tuned!

HAPPY WEEKEND! 

Dashel: 8 + 9 month recap

The last two months have been huge development wise for my little babe. I cannot believe that he will be 10 freaking months on the 16th. I honestly do not know where the time went. 

I can say that I have enjoyed every minute of him. He is a delight and his charming little baby smile is contagious. People definitely stop to admire him, little flirt.

-Climbing and standing are his new favorite things. He only crawls somewhere so that he can pull up and stand (and to follow around his big bro).

-Adores Oliver... like really really loves him.  

-He loves food (still) and has not become picky yet, thank goodness. Favorite food is yogurt, he's always completely willing to gobble that right up. I feel like he might be transitioning to more food and less breastmilk. We're still nursing every 3-4 hours but he will not nurse anywhere other than his nursery, so if we're out he will contently just take food. This does make me a little sad... but we're not totally there yet and he may surprise me and want to nurse until he's 2. You never know with these fickle little people!

-He waves 'hello' - so cute. 


-He's getting more blond hair - and it's curly be still my beating heart!

-He loves to bang on anything. "Boom Boom" are common words around our house.

-Loves to eat my hair. I have to wash it everyday now or else I find little leftover snacks in it. Charming.

-He has started to sleep better more frequently - this topic is a whole other post that I'm working on, so more of this later...


-He has 4 teeth (2 top & 2 bottom) and he is working on cutting 2 more bottom ones at the moment.


-He is starting to show some stubbornness and determination. With the genes in both of our families this was inevitable. He's a sweet little spitfire.


-He LOVES LOVES being outside! If I walk past our front door while I'm holding him and we don't go out he'll get fussy and look super offended. He's definitely a little nature boy.


-He loves when daddy comes home from work


-He still loves to snuggle. This is my favorite part.




Dashel,
You are so precious to me. I love seeing your personality change and develop. You love adventure and exploring new places, but you always come back to me for snuggles and kisses. I love seeing you watch your brother with fascination and excitement - I cannot wait until you can both really play together, I can tell that is what you're waiting for too. I feel privileged to be your mama. Your smile lights up my life. 
Love, 
mama

blah

Today Oliver woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Tantrums and whining have been flying all over the house this morning/afternoon. My mood could be better too, but I did get to go have lunch with my hubby so that gave me a small reprieve. 

Days like this are tough. I hate not enjoying my time with my son, but honestly when it's fits and screaming all day - who would enjoy that? Just being honest. 

I'll do a fun post tomorrow. Hope you're day is going breezy!

pictures on a tuesday

Favorites from the weekend