Update on Andrew

If I don't write this stuff down, I'll never remember it...Andrew is feverish right now, which is probably due to the fact that he is getting his 8th tooth! He already has 4 on top and 3 on bottom... He's a little over 10 months old! He got his first tooth at birth, it resended (??) and then came back at 2 months, along with one right next to it at 3 months. He waited awhile and then around 7 months, he starting getting his top teeth in...seriously 4 all at once! poor baby! He also got another bottom tooth in at that time. No wonder he was cranky!
He has been cruising since right before 9 months. He's definitely a boy on the move. So different from his brother! He did not like baby food very much, in fact, I wasted many a jar because he would eat 2-3 bites and not want any more. He loves to put everything in his mouth, so he is much better with big pieces of food he can chew on--this includes apples, strawberries, pita chips, waffles, and bruschetta flavored veggie chips! He tries to have conversations with Adrian or Mommy or Daddy. He's quite LOUD!!! He's a sweet boy who loves to be right in the middle of things, in his Mommy or Daddy's arms or right next to big brother playing with trains!

Adrian starts kids day out this week...it's time for Bento lunches!!!

my first attempt at a bento lunch...

His bag...My boys never had anything monogrammed, but these were on clearance at PotteryBarnKids.com a year ago and they matched the preschool backpacks I had also gotten on clearance! So glad I bought them because you have to have your bento box sit upright or it just won't work...I could actually fit two bento boxes and his water bottle (in the top compartment) in these bags. They are nicely insulated. I have some ice packs (from Evenflo, I think...leftover from bottles!) that will also fit in there to keep everything at the right temperature!
I hope Adrian enjoys his lunches as much as Mommy enjoys making them!

My 'bento' boxes...Sassy (finally found a blue one at Babies R Us!)

Train Sandwich cutters from HEB!

cooking and canning

Summer has come and gone, still hot, but school starts for most tomorrow. I've been canning all summer. It started out with strawberry jam. We picked strawberries in Fredericksburg. Then my dad's garden overflowed with jalapenos and mine with tomatoes so I started making salsa. My uncle gave me 3 bags of frozen fresh picked figs so fig preserves were on the menu. Then we went back to Fredericksburg with our church preschool group and picked peaches...so you guessed it peach preserves. My last attempt at canning something is ZACUSCA! It's a Romanian spread make of roasted red peppers, roasted eggplant, tomato bouillon and cooked onions.

Chipotle Salsa

10 roasted jalapenos (in the oven or on a wrought iron skillet til there are black)

2 large cans of whole tomatoes

2 large onions

3-4 garlic cloves

salt

pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

oregano

parsley

Put everything in the food processor til it's the consistency you want, then cook it in a large pot on a slow boil and can it.

Fresh tomato Salsa

10 blistered jalapenos

8-10 overripe tomatoes (if your tomatoes aren't overripe and juicy, then add a small can of tomatoes to the pot)

2 large onions

3-4 garlic cloves

salt

pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

oregano

parsley

Put everything in the food processor til it's the consistency you want, then cook it in a large pot on a slow boil and can it. (Don't overcook fresh salsa...just a quick boil, then can it...not sure how long it will keep...we eat it fast and give it away so not to spoil.)

Salsa Ranchera

10 jalapenos

4 tomatillos (that's all I had from my uncle)

8 overripe tomatoes

1 large can of tomatoes

2 large onions

3-4 garlic cloves

salt

pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

oregano

parsley

This is a cooked salsa. I put everything in my dutch oven first and cooked it, til then onions were soft, the tomatillos melted away, the tomato skin came off (which I discarded) etc...it was cooked. I put the hot mixture in my food processor (maybe that's what broke it! I doubt it. A plastic piece with a screw broke off so it leaked...a LOT!) You could process the mix and then cook it...but it's easier to see the 'doneness' of whole vegetables in my opinion.

After it's cooked, can it.

Each recipe makes about 8 small (8 oz jar) or 4 med-large jars.

Fresh Figs from my uncles garden...he gave me bags, so I made preserves. I used a recipe from epicurean.com
http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/15868/fig-preserves.html
I used half the sugar they called for and it was still very sweet and amazingly good!!!!

Here's the recipe...15 small red and yellow bell peppers roasted (you can use the jarred roasted red peppers, but much more expensive)...
9 eggplant (they were small, farm fresh from the Pearl market) roasted
2 onions chopped in food processor
Olive oil
Tomato Bouillon (I used one can of crushed tomatoes and one can water)
I roasted both the eggplant and peppers on cookie sheets in the oven on 425. Took the stems out of peppers, scraped the flesh of the eggplant and blended it in a food processor.

While eggplant and peppers are roasting, I put olive oil in the bottom of my dutch oven, added onions and browned them. Add tomato bouillon, salt, pepper, (my friend said to add bay leaf but I didn't have any) I added a little parsley, after eggplant and peppers are cooked and chopped in food processor, add to tomato mixture in pot. Cook for a while then spoon into jars. I think my peppers were a little charred, but I'm not sure that will change the flavor...

Happy 3rd Birthday, Adrian!!!!

My sweet boy is 3 years old! I can't believe it's already been 3 years. I prayed so much for you. I couldn't wait to be pregnant, and then I had to wait 9 months to meet you! I prayed so much that you would be healthy and happy and I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness. You are an amazing little boy who touches my heart and has changed my life forever

Uncle Furphy is helping Adrian learn how to blow a whistle...he is such a good sport and always makes time for his nephews! They LOVE him. He is great at putting puzzles together too!

Right now, our birthday parties are with family...aunts, uncles, grandparents and close family friends. I just don't want Adrian to grow up not knowing who his relatives are. I want him to know they are special, they love him and the importance of family. I hope his day was as good as I planned!

the cake...BIG 3...Adrian want to light the candle again and again.
He was so happy with his train cake! He loves choo choos!!

Sweet little Andrew was such a good sport...his favorite spot is in Mommy's arms right now...I kind of like him there too!

Thomas the Train Whistle

Our train engineering family!