BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies - Very Delicious. Very Bad For You.

Here is the recipe for the cookies I've raved about in the past. They're super easy, and just so perfect! Crispy around the edges, soft in the middle... YUM!

Ingredients:

- 1 cup butter, softened

- 1 cup white sugar

- 1 cup brown sugar, packed

- 2 eggs

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 3 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 2 teaspoons hot water

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

- 1 cup chopped walnuts {I always skip the walnuts}

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. 
3. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. 
4. Stir in flour, chocolate chips and nuts {if you use them}. 
5. Drop by large spoonfuls onto un-greased pans {I always put parchment paper down to avoid having to wash the cookie sheets!}.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned. {I usually bake for 5 minutes, turn them around and bake for another 6. They come out looking rather doughy still, but harden up after they sit out to cool a little}. 

Yummy dough. I know you're not supposed to eat raw cookie dough, but trust me... this dough is worth it!

Bake well, my pretties!

Obvious next step while waiting for the cookies to bake...

I hate that our counters are the same color and pattern as these cookies. It makes them blend in instead of stand out in photos!

Chocolate Porn

David and I are complete dorks, so we split our cookies evenly into two large Ziploc bags and put them in the freezer on separate shelves. I like to savor my sweets, whereas he likes to indulge and eat them as fast as possible. This way I don't have to panic that he's going to eat all my cookies before I can get to them!

25 Weeks (PRAIRIE DOG/BASEBALL GLOVE) - 2.0: Jan 23-29

• My tailbone has been bothering me like crazy. If I am sitting on the floor playing with Dom, or if he's on my lap and we're snuggling for a bit with a book or a show, I cannot get up after. It is painful to walk for the next 15-20 minutes. Time to see massage/chiropractor. I guess this is only going to get worse... 
• I actually went to the chiropractor this week and she said my hip, pelvis and spine alignment is the worst she's ever seen (for me). It is worse now than it was when I was 38 weeks pregnant with Dom. She gave me some exercises and an adjustment, but there's not a lot that can be done because of the "relaxin" hormone. Everything that gets adjusted just pops back out of place. 
• Still feeling tons of movement from this feisty little gal. 
• Pregnancy brain, everyone. Be patient with me... I am losing my mind. I tried to drive out of the garage without starting the car, for example.
• With Dom at this point he was pretty much always head-down, with his back along my left side and his butt up at the top left of my uterus. This baby, I'm pretty sure, is all over the place. I haven't quite figured out her positioning yet, but I do find what I presume to be her back/butt most often near the top left as well. 
• It is getting harder and harder to lift Dom. I don't know if it's because I'm at work 4 days a week now instead of carrying him around, so I'm just not as used to it, or if it's because I'm pregnant. But lifting him off the floor is a real feat. Doesn't help that he's ginormous... 
• I'm a full 5-6lb less than I was at this point with Dominic. I find it really interesting to read back on my old blogs and compare the pregnancies. I'd never remember these details otherwise. 
• I registered across the street at the hospital Family Birthing Unit this week. Felt strange being in there again... Already.
• 25 Weeks pregnant with Dominic
• 25 weeks Huggies graphic
  

Toddler Snacks

As we've all established by now, Dominic loves to eat. 

I find, however, that he much prefers to snack. If we're at home, he will eat pretty much anything, but if he is at daycare or we're out somewhere for dinner he is much pickier. He would rather not eat his leftovers from the dinner that he loved the night before and will either toss it on the floor or squish it up in his hands.  

He will eat cheese and crackers, cheerios, veggie straws, pouches, and fruit ALL DAY LONG, but trying to get some sort of protein and other good things into him can be challenging.

This is probably common with a lot of little ones, but I am now having to think outside the box to get nutrition into him. Some Googling/Pinteresting and going through my cookbooks brought me to these recipes that he and I both love!

*These are not my pictures, because I didn't take nice pictures when I made them*

Sweet Potato & Quinoa Bites
*Sneaky way to make healthy food appear snack-ish


Ingredients:

1/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup water or stock (I used water)
1 medium sweet potato (about 1 cup mashed)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1 TBSP olive oil or coconut oil

Preparation:

1. Prepare the sweet potato. (I boiled and mashed, but you could roast if you wish)
2. In the meantime, rinse the quinoa in cold water. Place the quinoa in a pot with the water or stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all liquid has been absorbed, for about 15 minutes.
3. Combine mashed sweet potato with the quinoa and spices. Start with adding only half the quinoa to the potato mixture and keep adding more until the texture will become more crumbly. The patties should stick together pretty well. Some sweet potatoes are less starchy and will only "take" a part of the quinoa.
4. Scoop about 2 TBSP of mixture, form balls with wet hands and flatten them slightly. Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add oil to the pan.
5. Sear the quinoa and sweet potato bites for 2-3 minutes on each side or until slightly browned. 
6. Cool slightly and serve. 

*I stored these in the fridge and gave 1-2 to Dominic with lunch and/or dinner, slightly warmed and broken into pieces.


Blueberry Bran Muffins
*I get this recipe from my Looneyspoons cook-book
**High in fiber!


Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I use whole-wheat flour, or a mix)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 TBSP ground chia seeds (optional, I like to add in. I used a secondary coffee grinder to grind them up nice and fine)
1-2 TBSP ground flax seed or wheat germ (optional, I like to add in)
14 oz. can of peaches (un-drained)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 TBSP vegetable oil
4 cups bran flakes
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray and set aside OR prepare with muffin cups (I like the Parchment brand).
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon & salt (& chia seeds/flax seed if you desire). Set aside.
3. Drain Peaches & reserve 1/3 cup syrup. Pour peaches and reserved syrup int o a blender and puree until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together pureed peaches, brown sugar, eggs and vegetable oil. Add bran flakes and mix well.
5. Add flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over-mix! Gently fold in blueberries.
6. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. 

*I like to freeze the muffins once they've cooled, and then just thaw or nuke them for 30 seconds to serve. 
**If I'm eating the muffin, I like to cut it in half and put a little butter and white sugar on each side as a nice treat with my tea. Dom just gobbles it down without any added goodness. 

Carrot/Zucchini Muffins
*Great for if there is an egg and/or dairy allergy in your family!


Ingredients:

2 cups grated zucchini, or 1 cup zucchini/1 cup grated carrot. Measure before blotting
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 mashed ripe bananas
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar (optional. I did not add for Dom's muffins and they still taste sweet enough)
1 1/2 cups flour (you could probably use whole wheat flour as well)
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin (or a 24-cup mini-muffin tin) with non-stick spray and set aside OR prepare with muffin cups.
2. Grate zucchini and/or carrot and blot with a paper towel to remove the moisture. Do not skip this step or muffins will sink in the centers.
3. Mix the mashed banana, applesauce, sugar (if using), vanilla and grated zucchini/carrot.
4. Add flour, cinnamon and baking soda to zucchini mixture and combine.
5. Scoop into muffin tins. (I find they don't rise too much, so don't panic if the cups seem full)
6. Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes. Check centers with a toothpick; if it comes out clean, they are done.
7. Let them cool completely before eating/freezing (2 hours) or the centers may be gooey. 

*I like to freeze the muffins and give Dominic 1 with his lunch, or split it between lunch and snack-time depending what else he is getting. 
**When I made it, I used 1 cup zucchini and 1 cup carrot. Grating 1 medium zucchini, it gave me lots of leftovers, so I made a batch of the Looneyspoons Chocolate Zucchini Loaf as a special treat for myself too! (I couldn't find the recipe online, so maybe I'll have to type it out and post it separately...)

Happy snacking! 

Dominic - 13 Months

I'm not quite ready to give up the monthly posts yet. SO much changes at this stage of life. I feel like waiting until a year and a half is too long and I'd regret it. 

So... without further ado...

Near impossible to keep him on the couch now. He just jumps off and runs away!

Weight: 27.8 lb (100+ percentile) - thinking now that he's walking he'll start thinning out? Maybe?
Length: 30.25 inches (60th percentile)

Likes: 

• Being chased/tickled. 
• Buckles, snaps, zippers, puzzles, lego... anything he has to "figure out". 
• Bath time (as always). It's a go to if he's grumpy.
• Paw Patrol theme song. Lots of dancing and pointing and clapping for Paw Patrol. He gets 1-2 episodes a day, although his attention span isn't long enough for a full episode. It's mostly just on in the background after the first 5 minutes. 
• Books. He still loves to read books, or point to the animals in particular. 
• Animals. Seriously... he is an animal lover. I adore this and hope he keeps it up, because I LOVE animals too!
• The Donald Duck voice. It was really really hysterical for one day, and now it's still pretty amusing to him.
• Routine. He likes to know what's going on. He's relatively flexible when we change things up, but he definitely appreciates consistency.
• Raffi. So. Much. Raffi. He particularly likes "If you're bananas and you know it let it ring..." and "Owl Singalong" which is really cute. Right when the owl song comes on he points to TV (playing through spotify on chromecast) and starts hooting. 

Dislikes:

• Being left in the church nursery. Is that literally all I can think of? Man, he's an easy baby...

Notes:

• He no longer has an issue 90% of the time being put into the car seat or stroller. He is more excited about the car seat than anything because I let him play with the buckles for a few seconds, and then he gets his super cool remote toy (AKA the worst kid toy ever!). If he gets fussy in the stroller on a walk... SNACK TIME! 
• He is now walking all over the place. It is his mode of choice for getting around. He can't stand up without pulling up on a wall or furniture, but once he's up... he's gone! 
• He is signing "milk", "all done", and "more" quite consistently now. If you ask if he's all done, he will just laugh at you and sign "more". We're working on "thank you" and "help". He gets frustrated with things sometimes and if I ask if he needs help and do the sign then he smiles, signs "more" and is much happier when I help him. At least he's trying! 
• He loves routine. At 6:30 when we bring down his jammies, sleepsack and night-time diaper he immediately knows what's going on. We strip him down and change his diaper, and then chase him around before putting on his jammies. Then it's play/snuggle time with us. If we're playing, he'll casually walk/crawl over to his sleep-sack, pick it up and point out the owls on it, "Hooo hoooo!" and try to put it on himself. That's how we know it's time for bed. Then if he's in the sleep sack and we haven't started making the bottle yet he gets annoyed and starts signing for milk. Once the bottle is done he promptly starts waving goodbye to everyone in the room. He's got this thing down! Makes bedtime SO so easy. It's like a 5 minute ordeal, and he's asleep within 2 minutes of me putting him down. I love it. I cherish our bedtime moments, and I'm quite possessive of the bedtime routine for now. 
• He shakes his head to say "no" when he doesn't wan't something. 
• Every morning getting him out of the crib he is SO so happy. He springs up and shows us his blanket and teddy bear. He is in zero rush to get out of his crib. It's like he's telling us all about his night and his adventures with his bear. He stands up and points to things in his room. The pictures, the owl night-light (Whoo whooo!), his bear, the window... 
• The day after he turned 1 we dropped him down to 1 nap and haven't looked back! The day we went down to 1, he slept for 2.5 hours and started sleeping 12-13 hours at night again. We actually have to wake him up some mornings. Ahhhhh I hope the next baby is as good a sleeper! 
• We have also completely ditched bottles except for one before bed, which is 100% more for me than for him. he doesn't need it... I just really like the snuggles before I put him down and don't get to see him until the next afternoon when I get off work. 
• He is such a little introvert. He loves to sit and play by himself quietly with puzzles, lego, buckles, books, his blanket... I love the quiet time it gives me, and I hope this continues as he grows!
• He can point to his nose, eyes and mouth when asked, "Where's your _____?" He thinks it's pretty funny if we ask where his nose is and he points to his forehead or his cheek, though. 
• If he's toying around with his food and I say, "put it in your mouth!" he will almost every time, unless it's something he actually doesn't like. 
• He seems to be very particular. He doesn't really like his food to be all mixed together. Likes compartments. His milk must be in the cup-holder if he is not currently drinking it. 
• He is showing signs of "possessiveness" over me. If I'm at the church nursery with him, or at Noah's Ark, and Devin, in particular, Dom will crawl over and into my lap and take over. I don't want to reinforce this behavior so I just ignore him. I don't know if that helps or not...
• I'm trying to teach him what a baby is and that there's a baby in my belly. He likes to drum on my bump and play with my belly-button. If a baby picture of him comes up on the TV (we have pictures scrolling a lot of the time), then I'll say, "Where's the baby?!" And he'll point up there. 
• He is working on using utensils. He seems to prefer working with a fork than a spoon. Spent way too long trying to pick up each little bean in his chili the other day with his fork. I love watching him process and work at things. 
• He's been having more frequent yucky (mushy) poops. I don't know if it's dietary, the change in routine, teething? He doesn't seem overly bothered by it... it's just a nuisance.
• He has adjusted pretty well to our new routine (Daycare 2-3 days a week). The first week was tough, but he is now napping regularly there, and doesn't get sad when we drop him off or anything. He has a nice little friend there which is a bonus! 
• He is MUCH better with diaper changes than he was just a month ago. Most of the time he will lay there and talk to you or listen to you sing or play with a toy. He even lifts his legs for me sometimes so I can wipe him. Whew! Keep it up!
• He doesn't have much in the way of words. It's mostly signs and sounds right now. My phone is still confidently "ma ma"... David is becoming "Da da", puppy is "BUHHHHHHHH.......BA"... He's constantly talking to us and I'm sure he thinks he's making perfect sense, but mostly it just comes out as jibberish :)

Oh Dom... can't wait to see you be a big brother! Hopefully you can continue being this intelligent, independent boy. We'll work on "gentle" with you, and before you know it, you and your little sister will be BEST friends. 

Typical Day:
7am - wake up & diaper change
715am - breakfast (oatmeal w/ peanutbutter, banana in cheerio crumbs, and milk)
8am - David brings Dom to daycare (2-3 days a week)
930am - snack time if needed (some cheerios, veggie straws... whatever we need)
11am - lunch
12pm - Nap 
2/245pm - Wake up from nap (nap is usually at minimum 2 hours, but can go longer depending on his mood)
230/3pm - snack time (something like: cheese, crackers, cucumber, milk/water)
330pm - I pick Dom up from daycare if he's there
5pm - dinner time
630pm - jammies & cuddles/play-time in living room
7pm - 4oz bottle and bedtime!

Favorite pictures from the last month...

The box that he eventually pooped in and had to be thrown out :(

Feeling baby sister kick <3

Thankful Thursday - 117

1. Best Visitors. Last Friday, David was home with Dom and he wanted to get out of the house, so they came by my work to say hi. I loved bringing them (okay... mostly Dom...) around to introduce to everyone. 

This face kills me. Such a strange, grown up smile for him. Normally he is VERY VERY cheesy.

Figuring out the buckles on my lanyard.

2. Organization. Ahhhh.... I love love love getting things organized! I feel so accomplished when everything has its place! I can't wait to get Dom's new toddler room emptied of our "junk" and organized with his stuff and new crib! (Yes, I realize my organization excitement made the Thankful Thursday 2 weeks straight. It's the little things...)

Thank you Pinterest for this idea to clear off some shelves and get these things out of Dom's reach!!

3. Introvert in the making. I think Dom has tendencies I didn't expect from him. I fully expected an extroverted, energetic boy who is just a bull in a china shop at all times. Maybe he will still be like that, but I have definitely been noticing some "quieter" tendencies/quirks that I am enjoying watching develop.

He needs his down time. If he is overwhelmed, tired or hurting he just needs his blanket and a good snuggle. He was having a rough day here, and I was making dinner and looked over to see him casually laying on the floor reading his book <3

Cuddle time with Uncle Scott after bonking his face and a super scary Opa sneeze.

He is most outgoing in small groups with people he is familiar with.

He doesn't like his food to touch (we are still investigating whether this is an actual thing or a fluke), and his drink MUST be in the cup holder if he's not currently drinking it. If I mix his food he will throw it on the floor. If it's separated, he will go through and eat one thing at a time. If I put his cup of milk on his tray he will look at me all annoyed and put it in the cupholder. 

He will sit and play quietly for long periods of time all by himself. Particularly if he's trying to figure something out (buckles, puzzles, legos, etc.)

What can you find to be thankful for this week?