He Walks! Kind of...

I know he's not really "walking" yet...but this feels like he's getting perilously close to complete mobility...

And a couple more pics.

Chowing Down (and Other Exciting Happenings)

This post is mostly about Lukas eating things...a fact that is just an outgrowth of the fact that the vast majority of photos I have taken of him lately are of him eating. Except for a few. So we'll do those first.

Last week was a little weird. Lukas started getting these little red bumps all over his belly on Tuesday or so. By Thursday, they were everywhere (I mean EVERYWHERE) and he spiked a fever, so on Friday, we went to the doctor. It was just a viral rash, not itchy, not inflamed, just spotty, but I was glad to see the spots retreating over the weekend. I don't have many good pictures of it, but here are a few from my phone.

It's hard to see, but that ruddiness in his cheeks? Yeah, that's made up of hundreds of tiny red spots. They were that thick on his tummy, rear end, legs, hands, everywhere. I'm glad they're gone now.

In other news, Lukie continues eating basically everything. There have been few times when I've given him something he really just DID NOT LIKE. Most of those things, though, he has tried later and found that he liked them. Guacamole was one. Pumpkin was another. He hated strawberries the first few times he tried them, but last night he was eating strawberry pieces as fast as I could get them into his mouth. Which is good because...

...I am taking advantage of strawberry season.

 I love strawberry season in Tennessee and it is almost over (the farmer's market sign said 7-10 days left). If there is one thing I really enjoy about this state, it's the abundance of roadside produce and the fact that it is always stocked with something that just came into season: berries, peaches, tomatoes, melon, you name it.

When I was pregnant, all I wanted to eat was fruit, and I bought truckloads of berries and peaches at the farmer's market. I'd shovel them into my mouth and head back for more. I was just informed by one of the farmers at the market last week that my favorite blueberry sellers should be there in a week or two. I'll be eating them by the handful in no time. Lukie better hope I share.

Last night, we had pasta in a roasted veggie sauce and beets roasted and then baked with goat cheese and caramelized onions. My kid trucked right through every bit of food I put in front of him. He was even smacking his lips (a new skill he has picked up in the last few weeks).

There are some fun photos of him after eating his dinner, too.

I'll include the recipe I made up for roasted veggie pasta at the end of the post. It was a great way to get Lukie eating a ton of vegetables, and a super healthy meal for Mommy and Daddy, too!

Finally, he's been playing, like really playing, a lot lately. Here's a picture of him playing peek-a-boo with his teacher at daycare:

At home, he and Daddy roughouse a lot. And his favorite game to play with me involves one of those giant orange bouncy balls you can buy at Walmart. He rolls it to me, and I grab it and fold it up in my arms and legs, kind of hiding it from him. He thinks that is hysterically funny and tries to get the ball out. But the minute he succeeds, he gives it back to me!

One last thing, and it's so awesome. Lukie was NOT a cuddly newborn. He did not like to be held tightly and he would NOT sit still. He wanted to be held, but he wanted you to walk around and show him things, never obstructing his view or limiting his movement. He was a really difficult guy to keep happy, especially once your arms and feet started hurting from holding a giant infant and walking for hours to keep him from screaming.

That seems to have changed a lot lately. He loves to be held and sometimes when we're on the bed watching a movie, he just lays his head across my lap and stays there. He melts my heart when he does that.

Peace out, everybody. Oh, and here's that recipe. It's great for any mommy trying to get her kids (or husband, though I have zero trouble getting Pete to eat vegetables) to eat some more veggies.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta
serves: 6

1 medium eggplant, top and bottom cut off and cut in fourths lengthwise
4 summer squash, cut in half and scored
4 large ripe tomatoes, cut in half and stemmed
2 large carrots, peeled and cut in half
1 large onion, skin removed and cut in half
olive oil for rubbing the veggies
3 garlic cloves
drizzle balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese (could substitute feta, which would be awesome!)
12 oz. whole wheat rotini pasta, cooked al dente

Rub olive oil on all the veggies and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast in oven at 400 degrees F for approximately 40 minutes, turning once, or until browning and cooked through.

Transfer all veggies to a food processor, add garlic cloves, drizzle of balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and half the Parmesan cheese. Process until silky and smooth. Add chopped basil at the last minute.

Put pasta in a 9X13" pan and pour sauce over the top. Mix the sauce in with the pasta, and then top with the rest of the Parmesan cheese. Put in oven at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until cheese browns.


Next time I make this, I'm going to add a couple handfuls of spinach. You could substitute other veggies, too-- I think zucchini would be delicious, as would some colored peppers.

10 Months Old!!!

Oh, my gosh, I have some catching up to do! It's been weeks since I posted a real blog post!!

For starters, my mom visited. I always forget to take lots of pictures when she or my dad are around, but we had a great weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we took a trip to Asheville on Saturday. Originally, we had planned to go down mid-day, eat some Indian food, bum around downtown while Pete when to the wood shop, and then go to an Asheville Tourists minor league baseball game that evening. Well, we got all the way to the bumming around downtown part (including listening to some awesome street musicians which just entranced Lukas), and then just decided to go to Trader Joe's and then play at the park for a while before heading home. I love baseball games, but we were tired and so was Lukie, and everybody was ready to head home, have a drink or two, and eat some of the tasty stuff we'd bought at the store (including TJ's pesto...oh, my gosh, if you don't have enough basil to make your own, their pesto is awesome!!).

While playing at the park, we put Lukie on the swings. He had been in them before, but not really been all that impressed. Something must have changed between visits to the swingset, though, because he loves them now! I love how his little legs pump just like he's running!

Lukas turned 10 months old last weekend, too, so on Tuesday, our friend Suzi came over for traditional pie night. I made sour cream rhubarb pie for the first time, and it was very tasty!! Lukie, however, was a squirmy wiggle-butt kid that whole time, so it was difficult to get a good picture!

 

 

And yes, I got my hair cut. I don't like it in these pics because it's not styled, but basically, Lukas has taken to pulling my hair while nursing, so its shortness had to be directly proportional to the length of his arms. So, it's short for a while!

We also took his white onesie pictures. Another challenge! I'll put them all together in a big comparative thing when he reaches 1 year, but for now, here's his 1 month and his 10 month!

Also, last night, Lukie was wired right at bedtime, so we were just letting him crawl around on the bed after nursing. This is how he finally fell asleep...

 

Thankfully, he let me move him around 10 minutes later. My right arm was being crushed.

There's No Wrong Way to Play with a Bucket

I'll be posting a longer post with photos from our trip to Asheville, Lukie's 10-month birthday party (whaaaaa????), and his 10-month birthday pictures, soon. In the meantime, though, here's a video of him with one of his two favorite playthings right now. The other is a can of Libby pumpkin puree.

Seriously.