It was a busy week!!

Last week I went back to work for a few days and my mom and dad came to keep Banks. It was wonderful having them here. I don't think I washed a single dish all week and came home to things like this:

Gram got plenty of Banks time in!

I didn't get a picture of my dad this time but he was a really big help while they were here too...he even mowed our grass! We have started swaddling Banks with the Kiddopotamus swaddle blanket because he keeps busting out of the other blankets we have. We have to swaddle him with his arms in because if they're out he flails them all around and it wakes him up. That wakes me up. No good. Well, one night while my parent were here Banks started to make a little racket and I looked at the monitor to see if he was about to get cranked up or if he was just settling back to sleep and I see my sweet dad's hand putting the pacifier back in Banks' mouth. THEN I see my dad loosen Banks' swaddle blanket...jail brake. Hands go flying. I couldn't believe it! My dad said he couldn't stand to see Banks in a "straight jacket" and wanted to set him free. Crying ensued. Here he is in his straight jacket...

Banks also got to meet his future BFF, Charlie Berry, last week. As you can see, Banks was thrilled to chill with Charlie... Molly and I have been best friends since high school and roomed together in college. Then we married boys who were good friends so we get to see each other lots. Charlie and Banks were born only ONE day apart! We are going to have so much fun with our boys growing up together!
Last weekend we traveled to Nashville for our first weekend trip since Banks was born. I was SO nervous about how he'd do but he was a perfect angel baby! He got to hang with his other BFF, Will Jones.
"Here Banks, let me get that for you..."
Banks also got to meet several of my best friends from college. Here he is with Kathleen, Kate, Erin, me, Dawn and Shelley!

Oatmeal-apples scones

I know you've all been dying for the next installment of Cooking with Kyle! This week I tried these scones: Oatmeal-apple scones

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon half-and-half

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 apple, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

Preheat oven to 450. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup half-and-half and the egg. In a large bowl, combine the four, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I used my pastry cutter instead) Add the oats and apple and toss. Stir in the liquid mixture until the dough just forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Pat into a 7-inch round; cut into 8 wedges. Transfer to a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the remining 1 tablespoon half-and-half. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.

Let me start off by saying that I don't know a dern thing about scones so I'm not sure I can really offer much perspective in comparison to other scones and I'm no food critic either!!! Matt and I thought that these were "just ok." If you're looking for something sweet this is not it. Really the only sweetness comes from the apple itself and the apple cooked up nice and soft. It's more doughy than I would have liked but I liked the texture that the oats provided. All in all, it reminded me a little of Thanksgiving for some reason...maybe it's the cool, dreary weather out and the smell of apples baking! If you try these, let me know what you think!

Eight weeks (but not two months)

I can't believe Banks is 8 weeks old! Time is really flying by and it makes me sad! We are really starting to see his little personality developing and he's become so smiley. It is the most heartwarming thing EVER to see him look up at me with his big eyes and smile away. Of course, Matt and I are doing any and everything to make him smile more. It usually comes in the form of a song. Our favorites are "I like big Banks and I cannot lie. You other babies can't deny..." (think Ross and Rachel), "Dance, too much doo doo in your pants" (derived from Dance too much booty in your pants) which also has a choreographed dance to go along with the song and is one of Banks' personal favs, and the most annoying and most often sung because it's always stuck in my head is "Bansky, Banksy poo. I want to be a Banksy poo..." (from The Village People's Macho Man). We're ridiculous, I know. It comes with the territory.

Other amazing baby things that Banks can do at 8 weeks include:

• make fun noises like aaahhh, ooohhh, a-gaaa
• kick his legs like crazy
• bat at things on his play mat
• hold his head straight when I pull him from a lying down position to a seated position
• grab onto things (my personal favorite is when he holds on to my shirt when I'm feeding him)
• soothe himself to sleep with his pacifier (when it will stay in his mouth)

His likes include:

• the bird that hangs off his playmat (we call him Rocky the Redbird)
• being held
• his swing and bouncy seat
• music
• anything outdoors
• strolling
• riding in the car
• sleeping with his hands up by his head

His dislikes include:

• sleeping in the crib during the day
• the time of 5 pm-8 pm (he seriously cries non-stop during that time)
• tummy time

Today we had his 8 week appointment. His stats are:

13 pounds (95th percentile)

23 inches (90th percentile)

Here he is showing his muscles:

"Did someone say shots??"

What the night brings...

You know, being up at all hours of the night brings about a good bit of thought. It usually begins with a logical thought that progresses in a linear manner but somewhere along the way (I'm guessing it's the 3 am hour) things go awry and I get to thinking really random things. It's where I devise plots for making Banks sleep longer at night (the jury is still out on whether this plot is working) or invent money making products such as some sort of headgear that will keep a paci in a baby's mouth. So far Scotch tape is the best I can come up with. I wonder things like what I'll serve at the lunch I'm having for Banks' baptism, why I always have cavities, or even how many calories I burn walking from my bed to the nursery 100 times to re-insert a paci (perhaps this is one pro to not coming up with my paci headgear??).

In my randomness I have decided that I should do something with the tons of recipes that I am constantly cutting out of magazines, printing off the Internet, or finding in cookbooks. I mean, why not? I have plenty of time to experiment (note sarcasm). I haven't cooked a meal in almost 8 weeks because we've been fortunate enough to have meals brought to us several times a week...until now. So, it makes sense, right? Why not jump into this thing feet first? In my more sane moments, I decided that I will try cooking ONE new thing every week. It may be an appetizer, dinner entree, dessert, salad, sandwich or whatever strikes my fancy. I'm not making any promises (to myself or to the blog) about how likely this is to actually happen on a regular basis! It'll be a miracle if I can accomplish it seeing as in the time it's taken me to type this entry I've already had to re-insert said paci 27 times. I'm breaking out the tape now. Anyway, I'll put the recipe on the blog and let you know what I think about the preparation, presentation and finished product.

So, without further hesitation here's this weeks recipe:

Grilled Peaches Jezebel

from Southern Living

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp horseradish

6 firm, ripe peaches, halved

Vegetable cooking spray

Whisk together first 3 ingredients. Brush half of honey mixture evenly over cut sides of peaches. Coat a cold cooking grate with cooking spray, and place on grill over medium heat (300 to 350 degrees). Arrange peach halves, cut sides up, on grate; grill, covered with grill lid, 3 minutes on each side or until tender and golden. Remove from grill, and brush cut sides of peaches evenly with remaining honey mixture. Makes 6 servings.

Ta da! The peaches turned out wonderful! I got caught up talking to my neighbor so they cooked a little longer than the recipe called for but I thought they were grilled to perfection. They were VERY easy to prepare and grill. I highly recommend this recipe! I served them with pork tenderloin and brown and wild rice.

And...because I can't post without a picture of my boo here he is...cheeks for days!

LOTS of new posts!

Check out the posts below! I'm playing catch up because our computer had a virus and I've been without the internet for far too long!

Reasons I'll hate my mom one of these days:

Because I'm a boy and she insists on putting me in dresses. And this one even has lace.
Sheesh.

Proof that Buford still exists

Some (Anna) have been concerned that we had given Buford away. I think not!!! This guy still gets PLENTY of attention. He has done great with Banks. He's interested but not too interested. Well, let me clarify-he's not too interested in Banks but is VERY interested in anything that has spit up on it (which is most things these days). He gets caught on a daily basis licking burp cloths and bibs. I know, it's gross. I've also mastered the art of pushing the stroller and walking Buford so he's getting out of the house regularly now for walks. We haven't taken him in lately for a weigh in for his Biggest Loser competition but rest assured we'll do so soon!