A Post for "Foodies"

"Foodie" is a new term for me lately. I actually came across a game for "foodies" at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago, with all kinds of trivia questions for people who love and know a lot about food!

Well, although much of my attention is given to James, I have found time to cook and bake a little in the past twelve weeks. I was even able to remember to grab the camera a few times to take pictures! The last two days were 'inclement weather days'...just too cold to take the tiny guy out and about. So I baked. Today Mark took a platter of Christmas goodies to work. I tried a few new recipes; Cookie Dough Truffles and Sugar Cookies!

Here's a picture of the cookie dough truffles before being dipped in chocolate. And that's my make-shift double-boiler. It worked great!

These truffles are SO rich...you really have to love chocolate chip cookie dough to dig these. It's a Paula Deen recipe found here. I tried them this summer at a friend's house and have been waiting for a great excuse to make them....a snow day is a good enough excuse, right?

I hadn't made sugar cookies for a long time. I used this recipe and then discovered I only had circle cookie-cutters. Oops. So I had to get creative and made ornaments and snowmen. The dough really did hold up nicely. I used this recipe for the frosting. It was really creamy.

Here's the turkey we made a week after Thanksgiving. I tried my friend Natasha's turkey rub. It was the best turkey I've ever had. I also 'brined' my turkey. Brining is a new concept for me this year. It all worked pretty well, except for the fact that our turkey was done two hours before our company was to arrive!! Oops again. It turned out to still be delicious. We had it carved and cleaned up before anybody came! :)

These were the easiest Pumpkin spice muffins to make...and so yummy! VERY vew ingredients and three of them are spices. I mad ethem a month ago. Here's the recipe.

A few weeks ago my Uncle Paul and Aunt Mary Ann were in town. I tried making Spanish Paella for the first time, shrimp, chorizo, saffron, and all! It was awesome and not too hard to make!

12 Weeks

Getting bigger by the day...

It might just be his outfit...but I think he looks older today! What do you think? I know, I know, some of you are thinking, "Just wait a few more months! He's only 11 weeks!"

11 Weeks

James is 11 weeks old! The top picture is of him stretching out. He looks like he's frowning, but it's just the face he makes when he stretches! In the past two weeks he's been holding up his head nicely when he's on his tummy, too! Yesterday we noticed him reaching and touching toys with his hands.

Thanksgiving, Part 2

Here are James and I with my grandma. Doesn't she look great? We all hung out at my parents' house Saturday. We ate a lot, as usual!

I love his hat. Doesn't he look ready for winter?

Aunt Elizabeth loves to hold James! He was so cozy with her!

Aunt Elizabeth made his darling hat! It went perfectly with his Christmas onesie!

Here we all are, minus my grandparents....

Thanksgiving = 10 Weeks

Last week was quite busy and this week has been full of fun times with family. On Monday Mark and I took James to the doctor for his two-month shots. He weighed 12lbs 0.5oz and was in the 50th percentile for weight and 70th for height. Not only did he receive multiple vaccines, but we were also both talked into a tetanus and flu shot! A little more than we had bargained for! James was pretty fussy and worn out the following hours, but bounced back to being the happy little guy he is. Recently he has 'found' his right hand and loves chewing and sucking on it whenever his pacifier falls out. He is also getting better at lifting his head while on his tummy. For the past two weeks, he has (with the exception of one night) slept a six to seven and a half hour stretch before waking for his morning feeding. It's been nice!

Today we were up early to shop. (Well, we were up at 5:30 with James...he's our little alarm clock). It was a fun family experience! We also rearranged the living room and decorated for Christmas! We decided to start a new tradition of making spiced cider the day we decorate for Christmas. Cider is Mark's specialty--he loves to make it. The house smelled great. To top it all off, we finally got to listen to Christmas tunes!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! A relative of ours hinted that she'd love daily updates. I'll see if I can post a little more frequently!

Two Months Old

"Yay! I'm two months old today!" He looks huge in this picture.

"Look mom, no helping hands!" I know this doesn't count as really sitting up, but Mark likes to practice! Two months ago, he couldn't have tried at all.

"Why am I wearing all stripes? I look like a jailbird."

This look says it all, doesn't it? I think this hat is adorable. It keeps him warm anyway when we run errands!