The Cutest Six Month Old

It is hard to believe that Elias is already six months old.  He has definitely kept us busy.  He is such a joy and is really starting to develop his sense of humor.  He is a very strong willed little guy and he certainly has a mind of his own.  I love seeing what he likes and what he doesn't.

 He is still a cat napper but I think I've gotten pretty accustomed to it and things have gotten easier.  He is so much fun and we love to play and talk with him.  He loves to spit and blow bubbles while he's talking.  He has his first tooth and we are expecting his second to pop up any day.

We started him on solids and he absolutely loves peaches and pears.  He hates carrots and I think he may be allergic to bananas if the puking in the middle of the night is any indication. 

My sister, Sarah, took some family pictures of us up in the canyon.  They turned out wonderful!

We love our little Elias so much!

Three Months

Elias is now three months old! We have made it to the long hoped for three months.  Everyone told me that once he turned Three Months that life would be a lot easier.  Three months is when babies start producing their own melatonin and sleep more at night, three months is when babies' digestive systems are more mature, and three months is when colic goes away.  When Elias was first born I didn't think I could make it to three months.  The first few weeks were very rough but within 6 weeks he had already started sleeping more through the night and I had figured out that when I ate anything with wheat in it he would cry and act colicky.  I was able to solve most of the things that were making life difficult those first weeks by cutting out wheat.  Now that he is three months old, however, I plan to try eating wheat again to see if he is able to handle it yet.  I am waiting until Saturday and then I am making pancakes for breakfast.  I decided that I want to eat wheat in the morning so that if he has a reaction to it that by mid afternoon it will all be out of my system and his instead of eating it for dinner and dealing with a screaming baby until 3 in the morning.  I also am waiting until Saturday so Eric can help me if it all goes wrong.  I am pretty hopeful that Elias will be okay.  I have been eating chocolate and he hasn't had any problems with that for the last week or so and when I would eat chocolate before the reaction was almost as bad as with wheat, although not as long.  I am really hoping that I will be able to go back to eating things with flour in them.  Eating gluten free is rather expensive and I really miss things like bread. And cookies.  And cake.  All the unhealthy things really.  

Elias has been growing so fast.  He smiles all the time and laughs.  He has started to squeal and act really excited when he sees me.  He loves to play and cuddle.  He still gets bored easily and he has started to yell at me to get my attention if he gets too bored and I don't pick him up soon enough.  He babbles and has conversations with us and he really loves when I whistle.  He also thinks it is a really fun game to have his mouth and face wiped.  I think he spits up and drools on purpose just so I will wipe his mouth.  He has discovered his hands and stares at them or sucks on them nearly all day. 

We had Elias' baby blessing on Sunday.  He was surrounded by his grandpas, uncle, and friends, and Eric gave him a beautiful blessing.  I was only able to get one picture of him in his tuxedo that my mom got for him for the day.  He isn't wearing his jacket and the lighting is terrible but he still looks cute. 

 

 We love our little boy so much and it has been so much fun to watch him grow and learn.  

 We love you Elias and your big beautiful smile!

Penne with Mushrooms and Sausage

I try once a week to have an experiment night for dinner.  I love looking through recipes and cookbooks and deciding what I want to try next.  Last night I made a really good pasta dish from one of my favorite cookbooks, Weeknight Fresh and Fast.  I adapted the recipe a bit for the sake of convenience but I really liked it.  Here is how I made the recipe:

Source and original recipe

Penne with Mushrooms and Sausage

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. onion, finely diced
3/4 lb. hot Italian sausage
12 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 c. white wine
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
12 oz. penne pasta ( I used gluten free pasta and it turned out great)
1 c. freshly grated parmesan

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil.  Add the onions and saute about 5 minutes.  Remove the casings from the sausages and add to the pan, breaking up into smaller chunks with a fork.  Cook until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.  Spoon out the excess oil, otherwise there will be too much grease.  Add the mushrooms, rosemary, and salt and pepper.  Stir and cook about 5 minutes more.  Add the wine and bay leaf and cook until the liquid has all evaporated, about 4 minutes.  Add the broth and simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce begins to thicken and becomes syrupy, about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile boil the pasta.  Add the sauce to the pasta and stir to combine.  Stir in the parmesan and serve immediately.