Tyler is 7 months

So considering that Tyler is going to be 8 months in a few days I thought I would post about him turning 7 months.  Can’t believe how much he has changed in the past month.  He is getting into everything and is so curious of everything around him.  He is rolling all over the place and tries to follow Reid around wherever he goes.  He is still not crawling but will push himself onto his knees every once in a while.  He is getting better at sitting and is officially sitting up all by himself.  He will tip over after a little bit but is getting so strong.  He has lost almost all of his baby hair and is officially going to be blond.  All his fuzzy blond hair is growing in and with those blue eyes he couldn’t be any cuter. 

He is still so mellow and he really never complains about anything.  He is really the best baby in the world and is so happy.  He will let you know if he is hungry or tired but will wait patiently while you get things ready for him.  The boys already have such a connection and they are starting to play more together.  Tyler loves to just roll over to where Reid is and watch him play with his toys while occasionally trying to pull them out of Reid’s hands and shove them in this mouth.  He is TEETHING and is drooling everywhere.  Everyone in our house is always covered in drool and I have to change his clothes like 3 times a day. We love our little Tyler bug so much and wouldn’t trade him for anything, drool and all!

Tyler is 6 Months

Six months is one of my favorite stages because they are so cute and squishy.  They are still little babies but they are starting to gain some independence and I just love it and can’t get enough.  He is getting so big and I just love it.  I do wish that he would slow down a bit but he really is getting more and more fun each and every day. 

This month was a busy one with starting solids.  He was acting like he was ready for them at about 5 1/2 months and I was all ready to start him a little bit early when he got really sick.  Poor thing couldn’t breathe at all and had a really bad cough. I thought it was just a bad cold  but when he couldn’t sleep and he started to wheeze I got a bit more concerned and took him to the doctor.  I thought I was being over the top but apparently he was REALLY sick.  The doctor thinks he either had rsv or asthma.  If he grows out of it, it was rsv but if he doesn’t then it is asthma,  We will have to wait and see how he is over time but for now he gets a breathing treatment on a nebulizer at least once a day.  He doesn’t really like it very much but it is the only time he gets to watch cartoons so he is pretty good.  I hope that it is rsv and he doesn’t have to deal with this his whole life but if he had to have something I am happy it is easily treatable. 

After he started to feel better we then started him on solids.  He had done so well on them and is a champion eater.  He hasn’t had a problem with anything I have given him and our freezer is now stocked full of food.  Once he started, I had a baby food making marathon and made tons of food that will hopefully last for a little while. 

He is getting so strong and is getting more interested in being mobile.  You can tell that he is thinking about moving around and that he would like to start going where he wants to go. I would like him to stay in one place for as long as possible so right now we are working more on sitting up than crawling.  I am so not ready to be chasing two little boys!

Tyler is 5 Months

This past month has been a great one with Tyler getting so big.  He is just so much fun and has been so active this past little bit.  He decided to roll over from back to tummy which is pretty cool since Reid didn’t roll over until he was about 7 months.  Now, every time you put him down on his back he flips himself over.  He loves to roll to his tummy but when he gets there he forgets he can roll back over and gets really angry if he is on his tummy too long.  He keeps me busy having to stop what I am doing to roll him back over a hundred times a day!

He is such a smiley baby and loves to be cuddled still.  In fact, he loves to be cuddled so much that I can’t get rid of the swaddle blanket.  He still loves to be swaddled and will sleep through the night only if he is.  I have tried to wean him off of it but he isn’t having it right now.  I only swaddle one arm so I don’t feel too bad and I’m sure he won’t have to be swaddled when he goes off to college so I’m not too worried about it.

He is now at that stage where everything he sees, he wants to shove in his mouth and your face isn’t off limits.  He loves to grab a hold of your face and shove as much as he can in his mouth and he is surprisingly strong!  I just think of them as kisses when I have drool all over my face.  He is so cute and is just the sweetest.  He loves his brother more and more and they are just two peas in a pod.  Reid loves him so much and just wants to be wherever he is.  He loves take care of him and get him his toys or his binky.  Next month we will start him on solids which should be fun and he is ready for them since he stares intently at you when you eat anything.  We love him so so much!

Homemade, gluten free Samoas Girl Scout cookies

One thing I absolutely love and have totally missed since being on a gluten-free diet are girl scout cookies.  I haven’t had one in over 6 years and it kills me every time I see those boxes around.  When I saw a recipe on Pinterest I just had to give it a shot and adapt a version for them to be gluten-free. I am not the best cook around but I was determined to make these cookies and they turned out pretty good.  They are not very pretty but to me it is the taste that makes all the difference so don’t judge my decorating skills. It was my first attempt at these but I just had to share them right away so everyone can enjoy these amazing cookies.

When looking at the original recipe that I found the cookie that they were making was a shortbread and after looking up some recipes online and through my cookbooks I couldn’t really find a recipe that I liked very much.  Also, out of all the cookies that I have made I have never made gluten-free shortbread before so it was going to be trial and error for me.  I decided to just adapt the recipe that was on the website and see how it goes.  I substituted the flour for Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix, which I love to make cookies with because they always turn out good.  I love the different flours that are used in it and it just gives the cookies and great flavor.  Since the mix already has baking powder in it, I just omitted that from the recipe and pretty much followed it from there with a few small changes here and there.  All in all I was very pleased with how it turned out and can’t stop eating them! I have had to give them away as much as I can because they are just too good for words and they have definitely satisfied that craving for those Samoas Girl Scout cookies that I have been missing so much.  So if you are gluten-free and are like me, missing these in your life, I hope these satisfy you as much as they have me.

 

Homemade Gluten-free Samoas Girl Scout Cookies

Ingredients:

 

For the cookies:

 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/2 cups of Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

sweet rice flour for rolling

 

For the coconut topping:

 

3 cups shredded sweetened coconut

15 ounces of store bought caramels

3 Tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces (1 1/3 cups chocolate chips) dark chocolate

 

Directions:

 

Make the cookies:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking mix and salt. Slowly add mix to the creamed butter making sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl when necessary.  Add the milk and vanilla extract, blending until combined and the dough begins to come together.

 

Use your hands to divide the dough in half, pressing it together to compact it into two disks. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate them until firm, about 1 hour.

 

Once the dough has chilled, roll each disk out onto a lightly floured surface. (Gluten-free dough can be a little tricky and what worked best for me was to work it a little bit with my hands to warm it up slightly.  Make sure the surface and the rolling pin both have flour on it or it will stick and fall apart. Just play with it until it’s warm enough to roll out.) Roll out each disk until it is 1/8 inch thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible with a doughnut-shaped cookie cutter. (I didn’t have a doughnut cookie cutter so I just found stuff in my kitchen and improvised and it worked great.) Place the cut-out cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.  The dough will be fragile so be careful when transferring to the baking sheet.  It is a good idea to have well floured hands.

 

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes until the cookies are a very pale golden brown.  (Once you see any kind of brown on them take them out or they will be over done.) Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Make the coconut topping:

 

Spread the coconut flakes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the coconut for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven until toasted, stirring frequently to ensure even browning and so that it does not burn.  Remove the toasted coconut from the oven and set it aside.

 

Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double-boiler by placing the caramels in a medium saucepot set over a large saucepot of simmering water.  Cook, stirring, until the caramels are fully melted.  Remove the saucepot from the heat and combine 3/4 of the caramel with the toasted coconut in a large bowl.

 

Carefully spread the remaining 1/4 cup of caramel atop the cooled cookies, then press on a portion of the coconut mixture.  Let the cookies cool for 30 minutes. If the caramel-coconut mixture thickens too much at any point while pressing it onto the cookies, return it to the double-boiler and warm it until it’s spreadable again.

 

Melt the dark chocolate in a double-broiler or in the microwave. Dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate and place them on a wax-paper lined baking sheet. Use a fork to drizzle the tops with chocolate.  Let cookies sit until the chocolate hardens fully.

Outside Fun

Like everyone with small children we love to get outside as much as possible.  Reid got a new bike for Christmas and he wants to ride it as much as possible.  We are taking advantage of living right next to the park and we get over there at least once a day or whenever Reid can convince us to take him.  He loves to be outside and wants to practice as much as he can on his new bike.  He is getting really good on it and I’m surprised at how good he can balance already.  Best idea ever are these balance bikes.  Not a fan of training wheels and it bypasses them completely!

Tyler is 4 months

So I haven’t really been on top of things lately and I’m a little behind considering Tyler is almost 5 months but still I'm making an effort here! The months just keep going by so fast that I’m not ready for him to keep getting bigger. Every month I’m shocked at how big he is getting that maybe I’m in a little bit of denial!

Anyway, Tyler is growing so fast and we just love him more and more each day.  He is such a snuggle bug and loves to be held which is a good thing because I just can’t help myself.  He is getting so fat and chunky which makes him perfect for squeezes.  He is also losing all of his hair, especially in the back.  He doesn’t have a bald spot, but a bald ring. Still not sure what color his hair is going to end up being.  The new growth is still so short that it is hard to tell.  I think it’s going to be a dark blond but we shall see. 

He is getting more and more playful. He loves to see what is going on around him and just loves to be outside. He squeals and talks so much more when he is outside.  He pretty much has to be able to see someone when he is awake or else he gets angry so when I am cleaning I have to turn his seat so that he can see me at all times.  He smiles and talks to me while I am being busy so I don’t mind it too much.

I took him to the gym for the first time and has done great every time.  I am thrilled cause now I get to drop the kids off for an hour to have some time to myself and I get a good workout.  It takes forever to get there but once I’m there it is so worth it.   We also took him to the doctor for his 4 month checkup and things look perfect.  He is just as perfect as can be and his doctor is very happy with this development. 

Weight: 13lbs, 12oz, 22nd percentile

Length: 24 3/4 in. 38th percentile

Head: 16 1/2 in 36th percentile

Tyler is 3 Months

So I’m super behind with blogging and totally missed a whole month.  With the holidays and everything it was impossible to find a second to sit down, let alone blog.  Tyler turned 3 months in December which is always bittersweet for me cause they are officially out of that newborn phase.  I miss that phase but it is also super fun when they are more alert and their little personality starts to come out.  He is such a happy baby and good little boy that I was worried that he might just flip a switch and become terrible but he has stayed super good.  He has started to talk and make his presence known around the house and really looks for us if we aren’t in the room.  He loves to be surrounded by his family and the only time he gets fussy is when he can’t see one of us around.  He loves to be held and snuggled and adores his big brother.  Whenever Reid is playing or just around, Tyler has to have an eye on him to see what he is doing.  They love to snuggle before bed time and it’s when I can get most of the stuff I need to get done because they are both so happy just being with one another.  I am just loving having my two boys.  I was so nervous to have two but they couldn’t be better and we just adore them so much.  They fill my day with love and we have so much fun together.  I am definitely busy but I wouldn’t have it any other way.