Parmesan Purple Potato Mash

So finally, a non baby post!  I promise I do have a life outside my child. I mean... I do have to eat!  This week Jeff and I stopped by the farmers market downtown Grand Rapids, which if you haven't been there yet (they just opened) you should definitely get there. They have an outdoor market that I don't believe will be open all year, but also an indoor section full of shops like a bakery, meat and fish market, juice shop, florist, cheese and wine, dessert shop and a lot more that you can enjoy all year long.  

When we went this week we found some purple potatoes! They don't sell those at the grocery store surprisingly and we've been meaning to try them out so we picked some up. 

 And since Jeff loved them, I thought I would share the recipe. 

Ingredients:
8 Sm/Med Purple Potatoes
1/4 C Milk
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese
1/8 C Butter -I'm guessing since I eye-ball it
Fresh Chives
Fresh Parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Wash and peel your potatoes. Cut them into bite size chunks and toss them into your boiling water. Cook until fork tender. Drain the potatoes leaving about a half a cup of the remaining water.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.

That's it! Like the easiest recipe ever.  As you see, there was no mashing needed.  These potatoes disintegrate much more than regular potatoes.  As you as you start mixing the ingredients they fall apart into pieces so it turns out to be like a chunky mash without mashing.  Less work for you. Even better.

Fifteen Weeks

As I mentioned last week, I was home all this week with Noah and hoping I would get to sleep in... which I did.  And let me tell you, it was amazing.  Who would have ever thought getting up at 7:30 felt so good? So, Thanks Noah for finally sleeping through the night for the last two weeks.  You make me a very happy mom.

• How old is Noah?:  15 Weeks
  
• Noah is how big?: 17lbs
• Sleep: Same as last week, about 10 hours.  We try to wake up around 7:30.
• Milestones: He is talking so much.  It's hilarious to just sit in front of him.  He will talk to anything and everything.  He's also getting really good at rolling from his back to his side.  He's mastered the tuck your knees in and turn.
• Baby "Win" of the Week:  Honesly, I can't really think of one.  That's terrible... or good for me I suppose.  This week was great.  Noah gets a win because he made mommy happy. =) Noah 1 - Mom&Dad 1
• New Toys/Activities: Fisher Price Superstar Step 'n Play Piano. We've been looking to get something similar to this for a while.  Noah's growing out of the bouncer seat and needs something to keep him occupied during times we need to get things done and he's up. So far, he's tolerating it fine.  I think at first it was a little scary with so many things going on but after a couple of minutes he started to like it much more.  He may be a couple of weeks too young yet, but he will for sure grow into it.  The best part is that he should be able to use it for a long time since you can take the seat out when he walks and he can still play with the toys and the keyboard.  

• What Mom misses: I think we're gonna discontinue this section too.  I think I'm finally back to normal and for the most part not missing much.  I will say though one of the reasons for this has been our nice Thursdays when we have my sister in law come babysit for a couple of hours.  Makes it really easy to go do something I used to do without Noah.
• Best Moment of the Week:  Had a great date with Jeff this week and got to spend some quality time together.  Always a good time. =)
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Nothing too exciting coming up. I'm working all this week so getting back to the real world.  All weeks can't be exciting. Geez.

And finaly, one last picture that sums up our week.  

We did a lot of playing and rolling on the floor.  I made him take pictures with me.  

Terrible iphone selfies... but he didn't seem to mind.

Noah The Baby Model

Noah's finally starting to be up for extended periods of time; almost an hour and a half during the evenings. It's so nice to be able to spend more time with him other than just feeding and a quick play.  And even though he's up for a long time since he can't do a lot of moving around, I'm running out of new ways to keep him occupied.  Because of this, he's become my cute little model!  The last couple of days we've spent a lot of time outside so I can work on my photography skills and he can work on his tummy time and enjoy the outdoors for a little while longer before the cold gets here. 

He's such a champ.  He really just lets me do whatever I want.  The only thing we struggled was his lack of sitting up which limited our poses... but we'll keep working on that.

Yesterday he gave me almost twenty minutes of continuous tummy time. Then, all the sudden he decided to lay his face on the ground and start eating the grass.  I think it was his way of telling me he was done posing for the camera.

What a little cutie I have. =)  I can't wait to keep snapping pictures of this little guy.

Three Month Favorites

Since Noah is past the three month mark I'd like to recap on some of my favorite items Noah used.  I found that when you register as a first time mom it's hard to figure out what you'll use and what you'll like.  Every mom is different and I'm sure every baby likes different things too, but this is what worked well for us. 

1. Target Circo Onesies - These are so great.  They are super cheap and sooo cute.  For my showers I got a lot of nice clothes but we found that onesies are the easiest thing to have a baby in.  Also, since my child grows like a weed, he grew into new sizes every couple of weeks and this is a cheap way to re-stock some sizes you may not have enough of.
2. Boon Lawn Drying Rack - So amazing.  I love to keep all my bottles organized and super clean and this is a great way to do that.  This way, they aren't all mixed up with your regular dishes and you aren't losing and the little pieces.
3. Sophy the Giraffe - Just recently we've been using this more. I can see it's going to stick around for a while.  Child wants to constantly eat something and since he wont take a pacifier, its either his fists or this.  I choose this.
4. Boppy Pillow - I know everyone has heard of this and for a good reason.  The first month it was a great help for breastfeeding but once Noah got bigger we didn't need it.  I thought I was all done with it but I was wrong.  We still use it for a ton of things.  It's a great pillow for your husband to lay on in the morning when he's tired but still has to watch your baby.  We use it a lot to help Noah prop up so he's in a sitting position, and he really enjoys tummy time much more since he's a little more elevated then flat on the play gym.
5. Skip Hop Play Gym - There are so many of these out there, honestly you could pick any of them.  This one is the one we chose because I liked that it wasn't super babyish. Really though, any gym would do.  Your baby will just love to play with all the toys.  Plus it's better than a blanket so the spit up doesn't get all over your carpet. 
6. Swaddle blanket with velcro - Noah is super strong.  The regular swaddle blankets made their way out after a couple of weeks.  This keeps them pretty snug minus the occasional release of a hand.  I will say though he sleeps much better swaddled tight.  Especially on the nights it gets a little colder in the house. 
7. Stroller Links - Yet to be used in the stroller but these are all over the play gym attached to all the loops and Noah plays with them like crazy.  He loves to grab on to them and look at all the colors.  He's entertained for at least a good twenty minutes.

And there you have it.  The things we've used the most the past three months.  

You can find all of these items for sure at Target, but I'm sure other places too.

Hope this helps some new mamas!

Fourteen Weeks

This week was the week of Noah's arms.  He has gotten so much better at using them!  He is so aware that they exist and moves them around any chance he gets.  The best part is now he gives better hugs!

Noah also made a new friend this week. We named him Rufus.  He loves to chew on him and give him hugs.

• How old is Noah?:  14 Weeks
  
• Noah is how big?: 16lbs
• Sleep: We're making about ten hours at night on the good nights, maybe eight on the not so good nights.  We try and do his last feed between 8-9 and then half the time he makes til till fiveish the other times he makes it until between seven and seven thirty.  Overall, he's doing great.  Can't complain.
• Milestones: His head strength is much better. Pretty close to being 100%.  He's doing great on standing up with help but carries all of his weight on his own.  He just needs a little help with the wabblyness.  And finally he started to grab items that you put near him.
• Baby "Win" of the Week:  I was sitting on the floor cross legged as I was holding Noah in the standing position facing towards me.  Noah leans forward and "Blagh!...." Pukes all over moms legs and feet and somehow completely missed any part of Noah.  Of course.  Lucky for me, my legs caught it all and none of it got on the carpet.  Noah 1 - Mom&Dad 0

• What Mom misses: I'm actually doing pretty good this week.  Went to get a hair cut and had a nice shopping trip at target and carters without Noah.  Granted, I shopped just for him, but it was still a nice time away from home. 
• Best Moment of the Week:  Noah has slept between 8-10 hrs a night almost all this week. Finally feeling like he might be getting it.
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Work was great, but I have a whole week off because Jeff will be gone all week at training.  Looking forward to spending some time with Noah. And as a side note, since I get up at 5:30a to go to work in the morning, next week I will be getting to "sleep in" (as long as Noah lets me) 'till about seven all week! ....oh, the changes of parenthood. =)

It's the little moments like this when you realize how fast he's growing up! 

Thank goodness! ;-)

So close!

First off, I'm back to work and loving it! It's just what I expected; a nice break from baby life where I can talk to adults and have some me time.  Read the news, update my blog... oh ya, and work from time to time!

The best part about being back to work is when I get home, for the most part, I'm pretty excited to see Noah.  I do lots of cuddling and kissing and I love to see what he's been up to all day.

I feel like things are starting to pick up around the house.  The last week Noah seems to have changed so much.  He's doing so many new things and old things much better.  We got him to sit in the bumbo and although he doesn't stay in it too long he does seem to like to sit up and look around.  

This week I also took him on a walk in his big boy stroller.  I feel like it has to be so much nicer for him to be able to look forward and out into the world.  He was very content and very quiet; I'm sure taking everything in.  Of course I want him to grow up so fast I tried a new hat on him and even though his head was too small I figured he doesn't notice the difference and I think he's cute so I made him wear it anyway.  He's just really looking like a little man already. It's hard to believe it's only been three weeks. 

Tummy time is finally improving after weeks and weeks of very poor effort by Noah.  I swear he just thought it was fun to lay on his tummy and eat the play mat.  All of the sudden though he must have decided it was time to raise his head and take a look around, and jeez he's pretty good at it.  I knew he had it in him, he was just being a little lazy. Can't say he doesn't get that from me though. 

...and finally, and the thing I'm most excited about, I'm pretty sure this kid is about to roll over.

I got the worst picture ever in the frenzy that was going on.  Just out of nowhere he starts flailing his legs all over the place and then I realize what could happen at any moment so I pull out my phone and start taking as many pictures as possible.  Of course none of the pictures turned out because of all the excitement, but I will say that those ten minutes were probably the best ten minutes of my day yesterday.  

I'm gonna be so bummed if I miss this!