2 Months!

Beniah's current stats: 15 lb 11 oz and 24 1/4" long

The New Place

We were fortunate enough to find a new place not long after Ben was born and ended up moving (with the help of many hands) on June 1st. The place is much bigger and we are sooooo happy with it. So if you are driving by the old place and looking for our cars in the driveway, we are not there! We still have a few boxes to unpack yet but we are getting there.
I actually worked on a little landscaping project yesterday. My mom helped me clean out the flower bed in front of the house last weekend and on Sunday I planted the plants you see below.

What does Beniah and Donald Duck have in common?

The answer is....they never wear pants! I don't know if anyone else has had this problem but all of Beniah's pants that say they are his current size are way too tight. They cut off his circulation to the point that his poor little legs change colors! So, at this point we have given up on wearing pants. Its a good thing that it is summer time!

Maple Mustard Glazed Chicken

I made this chicken the other day and it was soooo good!

3 T Dijon mustard
2 T maple syrup
1 T whole grain mustard
1 T brown sugar
1/4 t dried thyme
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts(6 oz each)
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F, line a baking sheet with foil.

Stir dijon, maple syrup, whole grain mustard, brown sugar, & thyme together in small bowl.

Season chicken w/salt and pepper, place on prepared baking sheet, then brush w/mustard mixture.

Roast 30 min, then baste w/mustard mixture again. Return to oven & roast until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F 15-20 min longer.

Sleeping

Our sleeping has improved significantly during the last week. Ben has been sleeping for longer stretches and now only gets up once at night. He is still sleeping in our room in the pack 'n play but we are able to get a lot more sleep than we were. PTL! He isn't really on a set schedule yet but he is starting to have a pattern to his days now. We are also past the guessing what he needs stage. He has some pretty telltale cries when it comes to his being hungry, uncomfortable, or tired. He is holding his head up for long periods of time now. He just looks around at everything with his face all serious. He saves most of his smiles for people. He is starting to smile and talk back to you when you talk to him. It is pretty cute. He has his 2 month appt. on Monday so we will be able to update you all on his official weight and height then.

Hot Days

Jeff has officially started his football camp season. Last week he worked seven days straight of camps. First, the Greenville College youth camp, followed by 4 days of the Midstate Lineman Camp at IL Wesleyan. Beniah and I accompanied him to Bloomington on his first Father's Day. We didn't want to be without Daddy for that long. Next week we will leave for two weeks in the Chicago area where Jeff will direct his annual Bears Youth football camps. He only has two of them this year.
The past week has been unbearably hot here. One thing that I have noticed about Beniah is that he is hot-bodied, just like his daddy. If we are outside too long or he is in his carseat too long in the heat, he does not like it at all. When you take him out of it he is drenched. Hopefully we will get a reprieve next week and we can give the air conditioning a break.

Oh boy!

Beniah has put in a request for Mommy to immediately wash his 6 month wardrobe. Gee, I don't know why...

Who doesn't like Payday?!

So, I tried this recipe out after I found peanuts on sale. Jeff and I both agree it tastes almost exactly like a Payday candy bar. Plus, I had all of the ingredients except the pb chips on hand. I'm not sure if Aldis has pb chips but i will definitely be looking the next time I go so that I can make these again. They are also freezer friendly so if you only wanted a little at at time then pop the rest in the freezer for later. If you try this recipe, let me know what you think.

Salted Peanut Chews

Prep time:35 minutes (ready in 1 hour 35 minutes)

CRUST
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
3 cups mini marshmallows

TOPPING
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup margarine or butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 (10 oz) pkg peanut butter chips
2 cups crisp rice cereal
2 cups salted peanuts

1) Heat oven to 350 F. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients except marshmallows at low speed until crumbly (I just used a pastry blender and cut the butter in). Press firmly in bottom of ungreased 13x9" pan. Bake at 350 F for 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
2) Remove crust from oven. Immediately sprinkle with marshmallows.
3) Return to oven; bake an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows just begin to puff. Cool while preparing topping.
4) In large saucepan, combine all topping ingredients except cereal and peanuts. Heat just until smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in cereal and peanuts. Immediately spoon warm topping over marshmallows; spread to cover. Refrigerate 45 minutes or until firm (mine took longer than 45 min to firm). Cut into bars.
Yields: 36 bars

Enjoy!

You may have been wondering...

Last week I returned to work on a PT basis. The timing actually worked out really great when Ben was born since his first three months included the summer. Our arrangement this summer is that Jeff stays home with Ben in the mornings while I go to work and I stay home with him in the afternoons when Jeff goes into the office. Our sleep situation is still a little on the fritz. He gets a little fussy at night due to gas (I think). But he does get a good couple of 3-4 hour stretches in there towards the early morning hours. Jeff has been great about staying up with him when he is fussy so that I can sleep and be at least half-way rested for work the next morning. He is also not liking to sleep in his crib, which we are trying to work on. We also think that he is in another growth spurt because he is slowly creeping out of his 3 month clothes. I think that I will be washing his 6 month wardrobe pretty soon.

This is the view when I left for work yesterday morning. Aren't they cute. You can't see Mickey but she is sleeping in the chair right beside them.

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

This past Sunday we had a surprise celebration for my dad's 60th birthday that was back in May. He never saw it coming!
My daddy and me.

I had to get a pic of Ben and Uncle Joe Ben.

6 Weeks Already!