Visit from Sarah, Dana, and Leanne

In mid-April, two of my college roommates and one of their daughters came out to meet Ben. They insisted on babysitting while Dave & I had a date night, and cooking some large-scale meals so we could freeze the leftovers for future meals. It was great to spend time with them, and we are looking forward to seeing Sarah & her family next weekend, and venturing to the opposite side of the state at some point to visit see Dana's new home.

Dana & her daughter Leanne cooking. They made parmesan egg drop soup and spinach-and-cheese stuffed shells.

Dana & Ben:

Sarah & Ben:

We also went to a kite festival out at Longview Community College. There were some beautiful kites, and it was kind of mesmerizing to watch them spin and twirl. Leanne got her face painted and bought a kite. Ben wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole thing, but it's something he might enjoy in a few years.

Catching up...again!

Okay, so he's almost six months old now. We have had a busy few months and are way behind on posting photos. Now that I have my new iMac, which runs about 500x faster than my well-loved but steadily slowing 10-yr-old iMac, sorting through our pics and posting will be a lot easier. It's got a webcam, so we also got to have video chats with my parents & brother last week.

Ben will be six months next Friday and will be heading off to visit friends & family in Ohio & Michigan to celebrate. He will also be meeting his great-grandma Toni for the first time, and she is very excited about that.

We have had many visitors, plus a trip to Texas in the last few months. We had a wonderful visit from Uncle Tony and Jen the first weekend in April. They spent lots of time getting to know Ben and we introduced them to Kansas City barbeque.

Tony and Jen also stopped by Tony Packo's in Toledo and picked Ben up a cute onesie and bib. The food will still be too spicy for him for a few years, but we'll make sure he gets initiated once he's old enough! Tony also later sent an "I love my uncle" bib.

Tony's big hand next to Ben's small one:

Happy Father's Day!

Benjamin sends Happy Father's Day wishes to his wonderful father and grandfathers! He is so blessed to have you all in his life!

Here are some photos from the archives. I will be posting some newer ones shortly.

4 months old!

Ben turned 4 months old on Sunday and had his well baby checkup yesterday. He is still doing great, and his weight is "back on the human growth curve" again, according to the pediatrician, although the doctor said he's about the size of a 6 month old. We have the go-ahead to start rice cereal if we want.

His 4-month stats are:
Weight: 16 lbs., 5 oz. (80th %ile)
Length:26.5 inches (95th %ile)
Head circumference: 42.5 cm (70th %ile)

Ben has had a busy month with several visitors, Easter, and his first Royals' game. Here he is with his Easter baskets from Grandma and Opa (with the Laura Little fudge egg which his parents thoughtfully have been eating for him so as not to waste it) and Uncle Kenny & Aunt Lynn. Ben especially likes the bunny from Uncle Kenny & Aunt Lynn.


Cuddling with his great-grandma on Easter:

A family picture from Easter:



Ben at his first Royals' game, where they beat Mommy's Detroit Tigers 6-1. He did a pretty good job, and it helped that we were in the last row before the concourse so we could walk him around right behind our seats when he got fussy. They had to cancel the post-game fireworks due to high winds, so we didn't get to see what he thought of those.



At four months, Ben likes putting things in his mouth (hands, toys, blankets, burp cloths, the shoulders of our shirts...),


Is getting more interested in books,


Sometimes likes to hold his own bottle,


And loves to smile and chatter away. He hasn't figured out how to laugh yet, but is doing some squealing and made a noise during bath time this week that sounded like a hiccup trying to become a laugh as we splashed his bath toys in the water.

Ben's first art project

Hmm. Judging from the title of the last post, it's been a while since we've updated. Ben turned 4 months old on Sunday and has been doing pretty well. We got some great pictures of him with his Easter baskets that I will upload tomorrow (assuming he doesn't have a total meltdown after his 4-mo. dr's appt.).

Until then, here's Ben's first art project. It was in his cubby when I picked him up last week, and I thought that they had gotten one of the older kids to paint it for Ben, but the daycare teachers said that they helped Ben hold the paintbrush and paint it himself. I would've loved to have seen what he thought of that! I'm guessing it involved a lot of blocking him from trying to eat the brush...

3 months old!

Our little Ben is 3 months old today! It was a big week for us, as it was my second week at work and Ben's first at daycare. He seems to be adjusting fairly well, and the teachers say he loves watching the other kids. When I dropped him off on Monday, several of the kids were chattering and his eyes got so wide, as if he were thinking, "Hey, there are other people who speak my language!" He will be home tomorrow with me as we gird up for what will either be a HUGE, MASSIVE, INCREDIBLY BIG BLIZZARD (as breathlessly promised by the local TV weather people)... or probably more likely, an inch or two of snow that the National Weather Service is predicting.

At three months, Ben:

• Has discovered these wonderful, tasty things called hands

• LOVES his mobile.

I mean, seriously, people, have you SEEN how awesome this is? I could just watch it for hours and woe to anyone who lets it run out without immediately running back in my room to rewind it. What do you mean, you're so sick of hearing Brahms' "Lullaby"?

• Will play on his activity mat at home or at daycare for several minutes on his own. But it's hard work, so sometimes he just has to stop & take a nap. Note that he still has the giraffe's leg firmly gripped in his hand.
  

• Likes being swaddled and sleeps better that way, but is developing into quite the little Houdini, starting from his burrito baby pose with either his Miracle Blanket or his Gloege/Cline blanket...

And gradually working himself out...

Until we find him like this some mornings:

More pictures to come!

Recipe Review

Veering a little from our normal blog topics, we thought we'd share our favorite new dinner recipe. It was an entry from one of the contestants on Food Network's "Ultimate Recipe Showdown." She didn't win, but the recipe sounded so good we had to try it. It has definitely earned a place in our recipe rotation! I am not a beer fan, but the rosemary-ale jus is fantastic.

We have slightly adapted it for two people. The original 4-serving recipe is linked below.

Pumpernickel Pastrami Panini with Rosemary-Ale Jus

Adapted from original recipe by Emily Hobbs, available at Food Network.com

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• ~1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/4 cup dark beer (we used Shiner 100th Anniversary Centennial Ale)
  
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves (we used dried)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 3/4 of a yellow onion (we used a sweet yellow onion)
  
• 1 1/2 cup apples, cored & thinly sliced (~1 1/4 apples; we used Fuji)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ~1/2 lb shaved pastrami
• 4 slices pumpernickel bread
• 4 ounces thinly sliced sharp white Cheddar

Directions

Core & thinly slice the apples; thinly slice the onion.

To make the rosemary-ale jus, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium sized saucepan (we used 2 qt. pot), over medium-low heat; whisk in beef broth, beer, garlic, rosemary, onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and allow to simmer.

In a large cast iron skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Stir in onion, apple, salt and the additional 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until light golden brown and tender; remove from skillet and set aside.

Divide pastrami equally between 2 slices of bread; top with apples and onions, and white Cheddar cheese. Top with remaining bread slices.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet; place 2 sandwiches in pan, place the bottom of a heavy skillet on top (we used a flat-bottomed 10" omelet pan), and press down to flatten.

Cook for 2 minutes, flip, press down with heavy skillet again, and cook an additional 2 minutes, or until crisp. If you're making more than 2 sandwiches, repeat process with remaining 1 tablespoon butter and additional 2 sandwiches; slice sandwiches in half, diagonally. Divide rosemary-ale jus into 2 small bowls, and serve with panini for dipping.

Enjoy!