Bottom Teeth

(I don't have a picture of his top two yet.)

Waking Up Gisèle From Her Nap

Daddy-Son Time

I'm a Role Model?!

I hadn't thought much about being a role model before having a daughter.  The realization that I am her primary model of what a woman should be is mildly terrifying.  I've had to watch what I say like never before.  I'm not talking about cursing - the worst I ever say is "crap!"  (Though I've had to cut that out, too - not something I want to hear coming from my 2 year old's cute mouth!)  I'm talking about the way I talk about myself.  Gone are the days of constantly moaning to Jamie that I feel chubby with the seemingly-permanent post-baby weight stuck on my body.  Gone are the days of vocalizing my wishes that some part of me was different/thinner/prettier.  I may still feel those things, but I've had to learn to be more content with myself so that she doesn't get the wrong idea.  I don't want Gisèle growing up thinking that she needs to be constantly aware of what pants size she's trying on, and thinking that there's something wrong with her body.  I don't want her looking at herself and trying to find flaws.  That time will come soon enough - as soon as her friends start introducing those words - "fat," "chubby," "ugly," - into her vocabulary.  I just don't want it to come from me.

There's a lot of responsibility that comes with being a mother to a daughter.  I want her to know from the start how beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, and lovable she is.

Apple Granola Muffins

These manage to be both yummy and healthy!  I've made them with Oat & Honey granola before, and this week I'm trying them with Vanilla Almond granola.   

Apple Granola Muffins

1 cup flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup granola
2 cups shredded apple (I used granny smiths and left the skin on, with good results.)

topping:
3/4 cup granola, alone
OR
1/2 cup granola mixed with
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp chilled butter

-Preheat the oven to 400, and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
-In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
-In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, yogurt, and butter.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.  Add the egg mixture to the well, and mix in the flour mixture until just combined.  Fold in the granola and shredded apple.
-Divide batter among the muffin cups, and sprinkle with the topping.
-Bake until a toothpick inserted in the muffins come out clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes before removing from tin.
-Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tidbits on M

 He just finished round 2 of antibiotics for a double ear infection (his first!) that won't seem to go away.  We're really lucky that he's made it this far without more ear infections. 

He has very nibbleable knees.

He is SO close to crawling!  He army-crawls everywhere, and gets up on his hands and knees, rocking, all the time.  It'll be any day now.  We already can't leave him along very long in the living room, or we'll find him across the room with Gisèle's toys in his mouth. We've had to hide all of her not-appropriate-for-a-baby toys already, and we're hoping that she doesn't notice the loss of her bead necklaces and things.

He still has crazy hair.  I've trimmed it above his ears and in back three times now, and he'll probably get a real haircut before he turns 1.  

 He loooooves me.  :)  I get the biggest smiles and best, sloppiest kisses from him when he sees me after a long day apart.  On the flip-side, that also translates to massive amounts of my hair being pulled out in his enthusiasm to stay close to me.  OUCH.


He has a dimpled chin and dimples in both cheeks. 

He gets a big kick out of knocking block towers down.

He still adores Gisèle, and they love to play together in the living room.  They also, according to Jamie, like to have noise competitions in the car on the way home from school.  (Miles: "AADADADA!"  Gisèle: "AADADADADADA!!!!!")

He sits up very well all by himself, and can move from a sitting to a crawling position.

He's a great eater, and loves to eat mum-mums.  We also gave him puffs for the first time recently, and he did great! 

My Blog's (Belated) Birthday!

So, somehow I missed my blog's first birthday. Whoops!  To celebrate that wonderful event (which took place about 6 weeks ago), enjoy these pictures of Gisèle on her first birthday!

Orange Poppy Seed Bread

This is the perfect amount of sweetness for a snack!  Another great reason to try it?  It only takes 1 bowl to mix.  :)

Orange Poppy Seed Bread - makes 2 loaves
(adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

3 cups flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups milk
2 heaping tsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp imitation butter flavor
zest from 1 orange

glaze:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp imitation butter flavor

-Preheat oven to 350 and spray two 9x5 inch pans with baking spray (like Pam w/ flour.)
-Mix together the dry ingredients.  Add the remaining (non-glaze) ingredients and beat for 2 minutes.
-Pour the batter into the pans and bake 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
-While the bread is baking, whisk the glaze ingredients together.
-As soon as you take the bread out of the oven, poke holes all over it with a skewer.  Pour the glaze evenly over the top.
-Cool completely before removing from the pans.

Even More Gisèleisms!

Upon seeing Jamie's unshaven whiskers, "Daddy, you need to mow your face."  And then upon seeing my bare legs, "Mama, you got whiskers on your legs!"

"Daddy, I get a big poo-poo out like you!"

Gisèle: "Night-night, Miles!"
Miles, grinning: "YADABA!!"
Me: "Gisèle, Miles is saying "night-night" to you!"
Gisèle, matter-of-factly: "No, Mama - Miles sayin' "yadaba.""

Looking into the potty, delightedly: "Mama, I pee-pee bubbles!!  Yellow bubbles!"

Muffin Variations

I made my Fresh Strawberry Muffins the other day, but tried something a little different:

The one on the left is a blackberry version, with puréed and chopped blackberries inside and turbinado sugar on top.  The one on the right is mango, with almond extract, lemon juice & lemon zest, and turbinado sugar on top.  Both were delicious!  The only change I would make is to add puréed mangoes to the chopped ones for even more flavor.  It was fun experimenting - next time, I'll think I'll try apriums!

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