Snow Days and Blueberry Waffles

Growing up in Arkansas we would see snow a few times a winter and it nearly always meant a day out of school. With few salt trucks and plows we would simply have to wait until the snow melted before returning back to school. So the weatherman was a very important person to me as a school aged girl. When he would predict 3-4 inches of snow I would cling to those words and go to bed dreaming of a snow. It was always VERY disappointing to wake up the next morning and see only a dusting on the ground and have to get ready for school. So, all that to say I never get too excited about weather predictions any more. I suppose I had too many let downs in my early years. :) Well, I guess the weatherman got this one right...



The winds around here blow the snow a lot causing it to drift and make it hard to tell the exact amount of snowfall. I think our yard has around 3-4 inches and some parts of our city have 5 inches according to the news. We may get another inch or so as the day goes on. The sad part about all this is that my family had planned to come and visit this weekend. Arkansas and Oklahoma had some freezing rain and sleet before the snow started fallling making the roads even more difficult for travel. I had to break the news to Eli this morning that his grandparents, aunt, and uncle-to-be would not be coming to visit (and therefore not bringing the rest of his Christmas presents that we couldn't fit in our car last time). This was his reaction...


Just kidding mom and dad, it was just time for his morning nap. :) We are going to miss you guys though! Stay warm!


So in anticipation of the snow, last night I had Marc drop me off at Target after dinner to get a few things. My experiences with snow growing up were being trapped inside for days and you only left your house if you HAD to. Marc's experiences with snow in Illinois were that life goes on as usual and when you need milk or eggs from the store you just drive out to get them. I don't think they really "stock up" in Illinois for a few inches of snow. :) As I was shopping in Target the panic quickly set in and all the "what ifs" starting running through my head and my small list became a 30 minute shopping trip. When I finally got back out to the car I asked Marc if he thought we should get any bottled water (in case we lost our water supply of course!). His look clearly gave me the answer so we headed for home. :)

When I was at Target I ran across Smucker's blueberry syrup (yummy!) and decided that this morning I would make some blueberry waffles. I got this recipe from my roommate Rebecca in college and have enjoyed making it ever since.

Blueberry Waffles1 cup Bisquick
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Mix all these ingredients together. Spray your waffle maker with non-stick spray and then pour it in. We have a 4 square Belgian waffle maker and this makes 4 waffles for us. I don't like maple syrup so I always use Smucker's blueberry syrup but you can use whatever you like! Enjoy!

Moving On Up

At Eli's doctor's appointment last week Dr. W encouraged me to start trying Eli on some finger/table food to get him used to the texture and to improve his fine motor skills. We have been doing puffs some at dinner with him, but we hadn't tried much else until this past weekend. Eli loves his baby food green beans and Dr. W said it is a great first finger food to start with. So, I tried a FEW green bean bites with him on Saturday but was very hesitant since Eli didn't chew it so well (and was gagging some!). On Sunday, I left for the grocery store and gave Marc the task of attempting some green beans again with Eli. He took these pictures during his dinner (which he clearly had been enjoying since it was all over his face! :) )

Eli, meet green beans.

A look of uncertainty...

And it's a success! Hopefully, Eli will start getting some teeth over the next month or two (we REALLY think he is finally teething) which will help him out with the biting/chewing thing. Isn't it funny how big the smallest task can be when you do it for the first time???

I have noticed lately at work that I have been enjoying seeing first time moms with their babies so much more since having Eli. I never really understood ALL the questions and concerns parents have until having a baby myself. No one teaches you in school about all the simple questions that come with babies, (my baby sneezes all the time... why does my baby hiccup so much... my baby didn't poop today... etc. etc.) but it feels great now to be able to relate more to my patients because of my own experiences. There is just so much learning to be done in the first year of life for baby and parent (and Baby 411 is a wonderful book for first time parents)!

I brought home a measuring tape yesterday from work to re-check Eli's height from his visit last week. They told me he was measuring 29 1/2 inches and in the 90th percentile for height which seemed a little off for my 50th percentile baby! Marc and I wrestled him to the ground last night and re-measured him. Wouldn't you know he had shrunk a whole inch from Friday! So, he is actually 28 1/2 inches and measures right at 60th percentile for his height. I always tell my dad he is "average" when I call to give them his stats because he is always around 50th percentiles, but he quickly states that his grandson is not "average" at all... he is just perfect. And that he is. :)

Busy Boy

We had Eli's 9 month check-up today and he did great. He weighed in at 20 lb. 4oz. which is around 50th percentile. I was SO glad that he didn't need any shots today! When we got back from the doctor's office he took a long nap allowing me to enjoy a little bit of my Friday off. I had plans to get going on some house cleaning but decided that it can wait till tomorrow. I am excited that we are having some visitors next weekend but need to clean the house a bit before they arrive. :) Eli is requiring full-on attention these days and it keeps me very busy when he is up. Here are some pictures I took of him this afternoon getting into EVERYTHING.

As you can tell, we haven't baby-proofed the cabinets yet!

This is a look that says, "I know I'm not supposed to get in here."

Eli roams the hall often so I try to keep all the bedroom and bathroom doors closed to keep him out of trouble!

He loves playing with his cups and trying to drink out of them so I am hoping he won't be hard to break from his bottles in a few months.

We are taking Eli tomorrow morning to get some 9 month pictures made from Portrait Innovations. You just can't beat their $9.95 package! We usually buy an additional pose or two but still find it so affordable that we have taken him every 3 months since he was born. It is so fun! Well, Eli is sound asleep and Marc is on his way home with a movie. I think I am going to make some hot chocolate and settle in for a relaxing night! Have a great weekend. :)

A Walk in the Park

I love it when Marc has the weekend off to spend with us. It is SO much better than when he is away for call at the hospital (like tonight!). We miss him lots when he is gone! We took Eli to the park near our house on Sunday since it got up to 50 degrees. I think we were overly excited about the temperature because when we got out it wasn't quite as warm as we had anticipated, but we still had a good time. Eli has a super warm blanket that zips around him when he is in his stroller so I don't think he minded the cold either (although he doesn't look so happy here. Ha!).

We tried the slide a few times for fun!

Does he look like his daddy?

Miss Lily at daycare told me today that Eli stood all by himself for about 5 seconds. She said he couldn't figure out what to do next so then he just sat down. He just brings so much joy to our lives and we love watching him reach these milestones. He turned 9 months yesterday and has his well child check this Friday!

Happy 9 months Eli!

Sweet Music to My Ears

"Mama-mama-mama" is what I am enjoying for the first time this morning. Eli has been saying "Dada" for the past month, but I have been patiently waiting to hear that other precious name and it finally happened. :) Yeah!!!




Marc and I are going to enjoy a nice dinner tonight with our resident friends as we mingle with lots of medical students from all over the country who are interested in "matching" at our residency program. This will only be our second night of using a babysitter other than friends or family since Eli has been born! That is pitiful but Eli is such an easy baby that we take him almost everywhere with us. I do know that Marc and I need more time to ourselves and we hope to be more regular with having nights like tonight.

On a more somber note, it has been a sad week seeing all the devastation that has happened to Haiti with the recent earthquake. Haiti is one of the world's poorest and least developed nations and most Haitians live on less than $2 a day. Many are now without food, water, and medical care and are living outside, too afraid to return to their homes that remain standing. It is unbearable to think about the hundreds of thousands who currently do not have the basics for survival and it has left me with a heavy heart much of this week as I have watched the news. Haiti has many difficult days, weeks, and months ahead.

The Church has a call to respond and I am so encouraged by the works being done thus far by groups like World Vision, Food for the Hungry, Samaritan's Purse, and Compassion. One of the most powerful passages on our call to help those in need is in Matthew 25:31-46 when Jesus separates the people of all nations into two groups, the sheep and the goats, who have either decided to serve those in need (the sheep) or ignore those in need (the goats). Jesus makes it very clear which side his followers will be on. This passage convicts me this morning, and hopefully my eyes will be more open to see the many needs around me. I hope this passage speaks to your heart as well today! Aren't we so very blessed???

Some New Favorite Things

We had a great weekend relaxing and enjoying some good family time. The weather is finally back to more expected temperatures. Aaahh! I don't normally get excited about 30 degree days but I think it is all a matter of perspective and that seems WARM to me lately. Eli got so many great presents over Christmas but none have been as useful as his high chair that his Aunt Stacey bought us. Believe it or not, I had fed this child in a Bumbo for 8 months. It had really gotten rough a few weeks before Christmas so I was delighted when the Graco Contempo High Chair finally arrived last week in the mail. I had mainly picked it out because it matched our pack 'n play pattern and it received some great reviews. I love how easy the tray is to use with one hand and how small it folds up for easy storage when we have company over. It has a removable tray that can only be removed from the front of the chair so HOPEFULLY Eli won't figure out how to take it off. This chair is so practical and I would order it again in a heartbeat!


The other thing that I am recently in love with are Pediped shoes! I found these half-off at a local baby store that was going out of business and I know I am going to order more as Eli grows out of these. They have very soft soles, seem comfortable to Eli, and stay on super well. How precious are these!

Eli was really excited for dinner out at Abuelo's to show off his new shoes

Well, Monday was here in full force today so I am heading to bed early tonight!

Baby It's Cold Outside

It has been SO very cold here this past week. Any temperature less than 20 degrees is almost unbearable to me. So, you can imagine when my car temperature gage is reading in single digits that it has been miserably cold. I have not ventured out the house at all in the past 36 hours. I ordered pizza last night since Marc was on call. It was a perfect idea and I enjoyed it very much! Spring can't come too soon for me, and hopefully this cold front is on its way out and warmer days are ahead!

I am trying to get caught up on a few things today since we had a very busy week. We hosted a couple from North Carolina this week who are both medical students and looking at our residency program for next year, and they were lots of fun. Then, we had some friends over on Thursday night for the college football championship game. Roll tide!!! I made some hummus again and am still working on perfecting this recipe. It is certainly a good base recipe to start with so I will include it at the end of this post. So, today is going to involve some cleaning, laundry, and getting a haircut later this afternoon. I am the worst about getting my haircut. It is always one of the last things on my priority list so it is always a treat when I finally go. I usually have them cut it shorter so I can wait another 3 months before going to get it cut again. Ha!

Eli has starting cruising around the couch this week which is so fun to watch. I really think in the next month he is going to be walking.





Hummus Dip (Martha Stewart)
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves roughly chopped
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of nutmeg
5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. tahini (sesame-seed paste) this is on the international aisle at our grocery
3 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 tsp. coarse kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and add 1 Tbs. of water. Pulse until smooth and creamy adding more water if needed. Store in a airtight container for up to 5 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature with your favorite crackers, pita chips, or vegetables. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

Out with the OLD and in with the NEW!

We ended 2009 with a wonderful Christmas, but it was also very exhausting. In fact I am still trying to catch up from being away from home for 9 days. We love our families so much and knew since Marc and I had a full week off from work this year we had to make plans to see everyone. And we did just that! We traveled through Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois over a week's time and put about 1,800 miles on our car! I am so thankful Eli is a great traveler. We could not have done a trip like that without his cooperation and he did AWESOME.

Here is Eli at my parents' house all ready for Christmas!

Family pic!

Eli REALLY starting moving while we were gone. He has been crawling for the past month but is starting to get really comfortable moving from a sitting position to crawling and then back to sitting. And THEN he started pulling up on things while we were at Marc's parents house. He can now pull himself up alongside the couch! I think he is going to be an early walker. :)

Last night we enjoyed having a low-key New Year's Eve with some close friends at our house with some soup, sandwiches, cider, and a warm fire. I made some homemade hummus and salsa to go with the food and they both turned out really well. I will post the recipes sometime soon. We turned in early last night since Marc was on call all day today and tonight.

So, I am not a big "new year's resolutions" person. Mainly because I feel like the thing I resolve to work on each year is the same thing I think about working on every day. I need to know the wonder of God's sovereignty, the power of my Savior's resurrection, and the overwhelming comfort of the Holy Spirit's guidance on a more consistent basis. I am convicted about it daily; I pray about it some; I act on it even less. I have such a hard time sitting down to read God's word when I find life most days so very busy. I know, however, that is where I always must begin. I need to be a more loving, patient, forgiving, and gracious wife and mother in 2010 as well, but I know that when I am right with God, everything else becomes right as well. So here's to the new year and striving to fulfill my purpose of knowing and glorifying my Heavenly Father more!