Yummy Dinners!

  I am so glad I have Pinterest in my life. I have learned how to cook, and I've found a plethora of wonderful recipes that my husband and I love. Our latest favorites include Gluten free Blackberry Cobbler, General Tso's Chickpeas (vegetarian version of General Tso's chicken), Teriyaki Salmon, and Taco Salad. The taco salad is a simple recipe that I came up with on my own. But the other two are from Pinterest.
  Here's the recipe for Blackberry cobbler:
  https://glutenfreemakeover.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/gluten-free-blackberry-cobbler/
  I think of it more as a Blackberry cake, and it is delicious. I use dairy free butter, and unsweetened almond milk. But I'm sure it's just as good with regular butter.

  Here's the recipe for General Tso's chickpeas:
  http://yupitsvegan.com/2015/04/25/general-tsos-chickpeas/
  I adore this recipe. It's so good and so filling! We use Tamari soy sauce because it's gluten free. I also use apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar. I sometimes use different veggies than it calls for. Last night I used peppers, onions, mushrooms, and corn. Last time I used peppers, onions, and cauliflower. For the peanut butter, I use fresh ground natural sugar free peanut butter from the bulk food section at winco. It adds a tasty, Earthy side to the sauce. I also use beef broth instead of vegetable broth and it tastes much better. No sodium beef broth. Topped with green onions and sesame seeds. I've also been known to toss a small handful of green onions in with the onions and garlic before adding the other veggies.
 
  Here's the recipe for my Taco Salad:
  Ingredients:
  Spring greens (baby spinach, arugula, or whatever you like. Make sure they're deep green. Iceburg lettuce is basically just crunchy water. Not much nutritional value.)
  Black olives
  Avocado
  Tomato
  Black beans, cooked and rinsed
  Corn (frozen corn actually has more nutrients than fresh or canned.)
  Ground beef or turkey
  Taco seasoning
  1 tsp coconut oil
  bell peppers
  1 tiny can chopped green chiles
  sour cream/ shredded cheese, if desired.
 
  Cook the meat by putting 1 tsp of coconut oil in a frying pan. Warm up the oil until melted, then add the thawed meat. Cook until halfway browned. Add taco seasoning and chopped green chiles. Brown the meat, drain any fat or juices. Let cool.
  Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl.
  That's literally it. Very healthy and tasty. A quick dinner for a night when you don't feel like actually cooking much.


  Also, I thought I would address something I'm fairly passionate about. I am very into nutrition. I took Nutrition150 this past Fall, and learned a lot. For example, frozen vegetables often contain the most of the vegetable's nutrients. The nutrients keep even better than fresh produce.
  Something I've learned too is that organic food, especially produce tastes so much better and is really actually better for you. I was raised believing that the label "organic" is just so that the company can make an extra dollar or too off of suckers who believe it means something. But since eating healthier the past couple years, and changing most of our produce to organic labels, I notice an actual difference in taste and in how I feel after eating it. The thing about organic food is that you should make sure it is USDA certified organic, otherwise you really are just a sucker paying an extra dollar for nothing but a word.

 

2 month pictures

As I write this, little Broc is napping in his little swing. My little bear is 9 weeks old today. I love him so much, and even since last night he has grown. He's got some new tricks and things that he does.
Here are three pictures I took of him for his 2 month pictures. I would've used the white onesie to make the pictures more uniform, but he OUTGREW his 3 months sized white onesie. We don't have any 4 month+ size onesies.
I can see so much growth in these pictures. His hair has lightened up considerably, and his face has changed a lot.

He wouldn't do a full smile for the camera, but he sure looks cute with his little smirk!

He loves his teddy bear, and was (willingly) hugging it close to him. Made for some cute pictures, and a fun time :)

This is his scared/ surprised face. Mommy sneezed, and his eyes got real big and he pulled teddy bear closer to him. So funny! I love my little bear.

And here is the side by side comparison of his newborn, one month and two month pictures. He is growing so much!!!

Silly Boy

Just wanted to post a cute little picture to remember because it makes me happy.

This silly boy makes the cutest and funniest faces when he laughs. He also thinks that farts are the funniest things in the world. In this picture, I was changing his diaper about ten minutes before I took it, and he farted. He laughed hysterically for a minute and then kept smiling and giggling for about 20 minutes. He was very proud of himself. 

2 months!

 This month was wonderful! Our sweet boy has grown so much. Here is the post for month 2. I will post his 2 month picture(s) on or before Friday this week, along with a comparison collage of newborn pictures, 1 month, and 2 months.

Milestones:

-Baby Blessing: He received a formal blessing from his daddy on February 21st. In our church, infants aren't baptized. They do receive formal blessings in front of the congregation usually from their father or another family member holding the Melchizedek priesthood when they are a month old. Pictures of this below! :)
-Dancing! He loves music and dances to happy songs. The first one he danced to (outside my belly :) was "I like to move it move it" from the movie "Madagascar". His favorite as of 6 weeks old is "What does the fox say?" by Ylvis. Mommy is a little tired of that song, but it's always cute and brings a giant smile and fuzzy feeling to my heart. <3
-He held his bottle for the first time by himself. It was only for a few seconds, but he loves to feel my hands when I feed him with a bottle. I can tell he is feeling them to learn how my hands hold the bottle. He often plays with and touches my hands and then tries to copy how my hands are by putting his hands on the bottle. I love watching him learn.
-He can hold his head off the ground for more than a minute and he holds it up so high that his chest comes off the floor. He has also started scooching/ army crawling a little bit.
-I FINALLY saw him roll over! It was precious and made me cry and laugh with joy. I love watching him reach these milestones (even though he rolled over at 2 weeks and a few more times since then while daddy was watching.)
-We can finally put him in his boppy so he can sit up a little on his own. He loves sitting up so he can look around more. It's so sweet to watch him explore and smile.
-He smiles when I wake him up. I say "good morning, Broc. How's my boy?" And he gives me the biggest happiest open-mouth smile.
-He now lifts his head so high that his torso is more than halfway off the ground. He's getting so close to crawling.
-He only fits a couple of little onesies and outfits that are 0-3 months. That's right, he's now size 3 months and above. At 2 months old. Oi!
-He has started to rub his eyes when he's sleepy, and it's so cute.
-He laughed so hard when we had friends over one night. What does he laugh at? Farts, of course. He is daddy's boy! And he thinks the fart gun my brother in law, Frank, bought us is the funniest thing ever.

6 Week Doctor Visit:

His doctor was so impressed and told me he's really far ahead of his age, developmentally. He's less than two months, but he's doing things that 3 and 4 month old babies do. The little bit of thrush that was on his tongue is also completely gone, which is nice.

Height: 23.5 inches
Weight: 11 pounds, 8 ounces**
Percentiles: same as last month.
**As of Tuesday, March 8th, he has grown almost a full pound to 12 pounds 5 ounces. No wonder he's been eating almost every hour during the day! Growing boy!

Baby Blessing pictures

After Broc's blessing outside the church. From left to right: Ema (Broc's Aunt/ my sister), Grandpa Frank, Daddy (Corry), Baby Broc, Mommy (Ashleigh/me), Papa (my dad), and Grandma Emily (my stepmom) I love this picture.

My beautiful boy in his blessing outfit and the blanket I arm knitted special for his blessing. Doesn't he look handsome? His little outfit was a tiny bit big on him. The vest makes it look huge, but really it wasn't that big. It was sized 3-6 months too. Big boy! Daddy is holding him in this picture.

A picture of the blanket I arm knitted for my boy's blessing. I am going to do this for all my kids, but next time I'm trying a different pattern. The one I found online was nice, but looks more like a basketball net haha.

This is just a close up of the first picture above of his blessing. I love this picture of us as a family. It makes me so happy. I love that we have a child, and that our little family has grown. I hope to print this picture and put it somewhere in our living room.

This picture makes me so happy. I love being a mother. I really do. I feel like I was absolutely meant to be a mommy. I adore my son, and I can't wait to have more children in the future. This little guy makes my heart soar, and gives me the greatest sense of worth. There's something amazing about being a mother to such a sweet and special little soul. Seeing him grow and learn brings me the greatest joy I could ever possibly imagine.

A New Path

  College is so difficult. And I am seriously nervous about continuing school with my baby boy. I have chosen to be a "stay at home mom" while I do online school. I will probably choose to do so as well when we move to Idaho and I take classes on campus. We'll see how that works out... also nerve wracking to think about.
  Anyway, I have flip flopped what I want to do with school a lot. I've even been guilty of saying that whatever I chose was my "calling in life" and then ditching it the next semester. For real. I know that many people flip flop their major in college. I might even flip flop again. But for right now I've chosen a major that I will pursue this semester: Bachelor's in Exercise Physiology. I'm going to take a foundations Math course and start on the major's required courses right away with HRHP131 which is Health, Recreation and Human Performance: Personal Health and Fitness.
  I will have my hands full this semester. It's stressful to start back with school, but I know that it's what I want to do. I've always wanted to go to college, no matter what.
 
  This week has been crazy. Broc has changed his little routine. Mornings are TOUGH. He eats every hour and poops like 4 times. He constantly cries unless I'm holding him in the morning. He does all this all morning until about noon. Yesterday he did that until 2. Today he did until 11, but it was even crazier than usual. But he's been napping for about 2 1/2 hours, and I am SO grateful. I love my little guy, but I do need to get some things done. Especially since we're planning a short trip to Idaho in a few weeks, and I have to get ready for my next semester. Registering for classes, buying my books, re-evaluating my schedule and routine with Broc to include homework and study time. It's nuts.
  Being a mom is awesome. And it's so great and brings me so much joy that I already kinda want another. (But not happening for a while.) It's created a new path in my life. It's completely altered who I thought I was, and who I want to be. Motherhood has changed me in a ton of ways. I can't believe I'm a mom, and even now I have to look up at my son as he sleeps in his swing and remind myself "That's your son. You're a mom." And I have this little moment of realization, you know? I realize how cool my life is. It's not glorious, and my little apartment often smells like old milk, poop, and spit-up. But I wouldn't have it any other way.
  Another thing: my baby boy is 7 weeks old. He'll be 2 months old this coming saturday, a week from tomorrow. He's getting so big. But at the same time he is so little still. He fits into 3 month sizes or 3-6 month sizes. Oi. This child is gonna be tall.
  That's about it. Just a little update. I love blogging, and I don't want to let it fall into the abyss while I am stressing about school and motherhood.

He's growing!

I was just looking at Broc's one month picture and his newborn picture. I was comparing them and looking at how much he has grown. Then I looked over at him as he plays on his playmat. He has been doing some growing :) He's almost 2 months old, and its a little hard to believe. I love my baby. It's hard to believe that next week I will be taking his 2 month picture.
Here's a side by side comparison of newborn and one month.