Wet Willy

Gross you might say. Ah, but to them, this is brotherly love at its best. This is a rare moment, as these days I'm more likely to see them engaged in a brawl, than all cozied up on the couch. I suppose it was time for a bath.

Holding Steady

Another doctor visit and 4 more shots behind her... Lauren weighed 13 lb 7 oz at her 4-month check-up today, maintaining the median for weight percentiles. She also surpassed the 2-foot mark, measuring 25 1/4 inches long. She had lots of fun squirming and rolling around on the table while waiting for the doctor to come in. And, she took those shots like a trooper. Amazingly, she hardly cried a bit. We attributed that to the nurse's technique, which seemed a bit more gentle than (even though not as quick as) last time. Oh, and Lauren would like you to take notice of her cool purple dinosaur band-aids.

Buckle Up

Mommy makes sure I fasten my seat belt when I swing in my baby papasan, or bounce in my bouncy chair. She may even start strapping me in when I get my diaper changed. That's because I like to squirm - it's so fun.

Soothing Sounds

When Lauren is especially fussy and crying, she seems to respond really well when I sing to her. However, when the singing stops, the crying starts - but singing indefinitely is a bit impractical. So Stew came up with the idea to record my voice, and play it on a loop using the MP3 docking station. We tested it last night with 'My Favorite Things' (her most frequent late-night request), and it actually worked pretty well. I'm not sure I will use it though; it seems too sneaky :)

Got Milk?

It seems Lauren has entered that stage where she is easily distracted while feeding. She sips, then looks around, talks a bit, smiles, then sips some more... Hopefully she'll outgrow this phase soon, and be able to eat and take in the world around her, simultaneously.

You Caught Me

Awh shucks Mom, a little turtle won't spoil my dinner! For the last 4 nights, Lauren has slept for about 8 hours straight. We are all very happy :) And she usually ends up on her tummy - just can't resist that urge to roll.

Chocoholics Unite

This recipe (from Woman's Day magazine) for chocolate chunk cookies is quite unique. It is really simple, using a devil's food cake mix as the base. Add in an egg, butter, vanilla, some water, semi-sweet chocolate chips/chunks, and drizzle with white chocolate for a little garnish. I would probably give them 4 out of 5 stars - great chocolaty flavor, and very nice and soft in the middle, but they seem to dry out quicker than normal cookies. But, they were sure easy to make....

Fish Lips

Gotta love those big pink lips... Fish lips (along with the requisite fish lip noises) always win lots of smiles with Lauren; as does one of her new favorite songs, 'On Top of Spaghetti'. Who knew it had 6 verses?!

Birthday Treats & A Minor Mishap

So, earlier this week, I was half way through preparing a lovely birthday dinner for Stew and then a slight slip of the knife on those sneaky shallots.... Nothing too serious, but with my thumb out of commission, I had call in some reinforcements (aka Stew) to help finish the preparations. Luckily, I'd already completed the dessert.

The meal turned out quite tasty. Once again, cooking from one of my favorites, Everyday Food, I (we) made pan-seared filet mignon, creamy spinach, and slow-roasted tomatoes. For dessert, I tried to recreate one of Stew's favorites - molten chocolate cakes. While they turned out absolutely delicious (served with a side of vanilla ice cream), they were more souffle-like than I expected, so it was difficult to plate them, as the bottoms clung to the ramekins even though they were amply greased. Next time, I will try this recipe, which uses a little flour, and no egg whites.