new favorites.

Today is humid and gross and I've got a fussy, refusing-to-nap baby with a fever in the house. The good news is that maintenance came and set up our portable a/c (one day, we will return to the land of central air and it will be glorious!) so it feels so much better in our house.

On a different, and happier (because good food makes everything better) note, here are two of our new favorite foods:

Blueberry Banana Muffins from Everyday Reading. These are perfectly sweet and our new favorites. They're pretty low on the sugar scale so you can really taste the naturally sweet fruit, which we love. And blueberries are on sale these days--double win!

Spicy Potato Curry from allrecipes.com. So there's 1 1/2 t. of cayenne in there, and I lowered it to 1 1/4 thinking that we could totally take the heat…but I'm going to have to lower it again the next time we make it. And there will definitely be a next time. I used red potatoes and upped the potato ante by using maybe 10 or so potatoes. Oh and I used frozed, thawed peas instead of canned, but followed everything else. Super tasty, my friends.

4 months.

While in OH Henry had his four month birthday! We had his appt. today so I thought I'd update the masses on Hen's stats and what he's up to these days. And include a few fun pictures from a matching playdate with Gus.

Length: 25.6 in. (77%)
Weight: 14.5 lbs. (34%)
Head: 41.3 cm (22%)

Not too many changes in the weight and head circumference percentages, but the important thing is that he's getting bigger and gaining weight, which is rad. And Mom, you were right, he is a bit tall after all. Looks like the Dalby genes aren't slowing him down one bit.

1. Henry can roll over from his tummy to back and from his back to tummy! He just started rolling from his back to tummy when we were at my parents and this morning Ryan finally got to see him in action. He would roll over and then get stuck and not really love being on his tummy at first, but just this morning he went from his front to back to front. His legs go crazy with crawling motions and he loves doing 360's on us when he's on his back.

2. We've got a squawker! Hen was chatting up a storm at the pediatrician's today. Don't you just love when you tell your doctor, or anyone for that matter, 'oh he does this and that' and then he actually does it?? He loves squawking and I'm loving it. It usually subsides by the time I actually get the camera or itouch out, but oh well. I'll get a video-worth-posting soon.

3. One of Hen's new toys really lets him try out his grab-and-suck reflexes, and boy is he on it. He loves grabbing now and he loves sucking on just about anything he can get his hands on. The doc checked out his gums and it doesn't look like they're swollen, but we're on the lookout for teeth these days. I'm not really pumped about that one, but I guess he has to grow up some time. And I can't wait to make a few purees for him this fall.

4. He follows us as we come in and exit the rooms these days too. Follows us with his eyes, of course. This morning when I put him down for his nap while his eyes were still open (we're working on the whole, drowsy-but-awake thing) he followed me out of the room. It's like he knows me or something.

5. Last, but not least, mirror time is a hit these days. I'll sit in front of the mirror with him and be his chair and he usually goes crazy with noises and kicking. He'll slowly slide down so I'll re-adjust him and the kicking and squawking commences.

He got a few shots today but is doing pretty well with it all. He cried for a minute but stopped the second I picked him up and then slept on the way home and then for another 45 minutes. What a champ we have on our hands.

to gigi and grandpas house we go

I'm having vacation withdrawals. Loving hands reaching out to hold Henry after he's done eating, nursing with my sister while watching some tv, going on evening strolls with my parents or with my matching stroller buddy… and don't get me started on the soft (and even) carpet, big windows, dvr to watch at 4 am…

Needless to say, vacations at my parent's are the best. The worst thing though was that Ryan couldn't join us. I'm pretty sure I'd be there all summer long if Ryan joined us every other weekend of something… (note for the future…)

I have lots of pictures to edit, but I'll leave you with this one. I took a few pictures of Henry with my parents, but this was from our first night there. Seeing Henry with my parents was so fun and I'm so excited to watch him see all the love that surrounds him as he becomes more and more aware of his environment.

sour cherry slab pie.

Vacation time with my fam means baking/cooking in the kitchen with my mom. And on Father's day it was no exception. We picked some sour cherries earlier in the week and my dad really wanted to make a pie. I wanted to try and mix things up a bit, so after googling sour cherry desserts (original, right?) I found a recipe from Smitten Kitchen (<< click there for the recipe) and I can't wait to try more things from Deb. It definitely took more work (aka, its a Sunday-only/Someone-to-watch-Hen kinda meal), but holey moley it was to die for.

We followed the directions spot on, except for a few minor changes. We added about as much sugar as Martha Stewart suggested (almost 1 1/2 cups) and with the pie crust, I incorporated the butter about 10 minutes longer than the suggested stop-when-the-clumps-are-pea-sized. Oh, and with the glaze I made up my own concoction of 1 c. confectioner's sugar + 2T. milk + a dash of lemon juice.

And it was amazing. Hand-held pies. A giant pop-tart. A giant toaster's streudel.

I can't wait to make this with fruit throughout the summer. And fall. One more recipe to add to the what-do-I-do-with-all-this-fruit conundrum.

our first plane ride and pool time!

[[While Henry and I are enjoying Ohio with my family, Ryan is busy with his two internships. We're loving the break from busy city living, but missing having dad around.]]

Henry was terrific at the airport and on the plane. I took our stroller and it easily went through security and then just strolled Hen around our terminal while chatting with my mom as we waited for our flight. He stayed asleep for about an hour and a half and woke up as we were about to board. It was really nice being able to board first and Henry was a champ right until the cabin door closed. He just got a little fussy so I put on my nursing cover and he was once again happy as a clam. I could tell he was uncomfortable as we lifted off with the air pressure and all, but he continued to nurse and once he was done we had smooth sailing until the decent. He got fussy again so on came the nursing cover and he fed until we landed.

DREAM CHILD.

He's really into holding his fists straight up in the air these days--our little super man. 

Next adventure: the swimming pool! Although his little swim trunks skim the ground (it's ridiculously cute) he looks like a natural in the water. My first attempt at introducing him to the water failed largely because he was due for a nap, so after a feeding, nap, and feeding again (I wanted to make sure he was super happy :) we attempted an intro again and were successful! We even put him in a little floaty and he was happy as a clam. We didn't get any pictures of this first, but good thing we still have a while here--there will definitely be more pictures coming to the blog soon.

bathtime.

I've already taken so many pictures of Henry right after a bath, I just can't help it. Something about his wet baby hair and those eyes staring at me. We've officially got a squealer and Hen's hands are all the rage these days. He makes little fists and holds his arms straight out in front of him and just stares at them. It's so amazing to see the little progressions and changes he makes daily. I mean, other kids are alright, but ours, ours is the best.

puffed pancakes.

I'm behind on updating my recipe list on the blog, but I'll get to it…eventually. For now, just make these pancakes, douse them with nutella, fresh berries, powdered sugar, syrup…and enjoy life.

Recipe and photo via Rockstar Diaries. We halved one and snacked on some chips and salsa to round out the dinner (classy, right?) so I recommend one per person.

wellesley.

I had completely forgotten about these blessing-day pictures until now. Turns out I took some pictures of Hen with his Mangum grandparents after all! I've decided to spread out the posts a bit though, since we've got some dreary weather here and I'm all for a little sunny skies and green grass to brighten these overcast days. I am completely smitten with the moment that Ryan caught as we were walking through the Wellesley campus. Walking on the campus was like stepping into the movie, Mona Lisa Smile--it's a campus right in the middle of beautiful woods! 

date night [minus henry].

Last Friday Ryan and I had our first night out without the babe. We made sure the babysitter had the emergency contact list, gave him a few instructions, and hit the town. It felt like we were newleyweds all over again. We used to do things just the two of us without a baby?! We drove to a Greek Festival put on by a local Greek Orthodox church in Arlington and enjoyed gyros, a greek band and some traditional greek dancing. Success! And it turns out there are multiple Greek Festivals put on throughout the summer, so it looks like it won't be the last time we have amazing Greek food this summer. Double success!

we survived.

Last night Henry decided not to sleep as much as I would have liked, so this morning called for a stay-in-your-jammies (also, it was raining and dreary outside) kind of day.

Then I realized that I still hadn't gotten Henry's birth certificate and needed to pick it up before we left for Ohio next week, so off to City Hall we went.

We experienced being in a non-wheelchar accessible T stop (who would have known Gov't Center wasn't wheelchair accessible?!), then waiting forever for the next train knowing that our destination was literally right outside, but my stroller didn't fit on the escalator to get out), then when trains finally came they were all--like 3 in a row--out of service. Then we finally got to our stop and I rode the stinkiest elevator yet. So. Gross.

Hen was a champ and slept through it all, but woke up when we were in line and got a bit fussy. Try as I may with the paci, he's just not a paci kinda kid, so I just held him and he was pretty good just hangin out and waiting for lunch. Good thing there is a Gap nearby--we killed two birds with one stone and Hen got some lunch and I bought him a rash guard for the pool. [[side note: Gap has v-neck onesies for babies. With little pockets on the chest. It took all that I have not to buy him one.]]

The route home was a bit less eventful and once again, Hen fell asleep until we got to our doorstep.

On a(nother) side note, Boston's birth certificates are completely devoid of emotion and personality. And they're really big.

The end.

feeling good + instas.

Ah, it's amazing what a three day weekend can do for your week. This week has been quite good, let me tell you. I worked out a whopping 4 times and I'm feeling so healthy and strong. I've been switching off between Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and Crunch's Candlelight Yoga (through Netflix)--Jillian gives me a kick in the pants and Sara helps me stretch it all out.

It also helps that although Hen's been a little difficult in the daytime--skipping naps or not going down unless he's free and in his bouncer, or just crying his little head off getting all worked up (so sad!)--he's been sleeping great at night. It's crazy that his schedule stays the same for a bit, gets all crazy and changes, and then stays the same…then repeat, but we've got a growing boy on our hands and he's such a champ. He's happy most of the time and we're pretty flexible around here to help him grow and figure out what works best.

Ryan and I are going on our second "just the two of us" outing (thanks for the first one, mom!) and our first "just the two of us" date night! We've got a sitter lined up and I think we're headed to a Greek festival in Arlington. Fingers crossed Hen takes the night with stride!!

Henry's schedule has been a bit crazy lately (well, he doesn't really have a schedule, more like, events-that-happen-in-a-row) and in the middle of a feeding he totally conked out. It was the first time I moved him from my lap and onto the couch without waking him in a long time, and I couldn't help but snap a picture. And don't worry, I was by him the whole time he mini-napped (about 20 min?).