Odds and Ends

With Thanksgiving and having visitors three weeks in a row, we've been pretty busy.  My parents were here the week before Thanksgiving and we had a very nice visit with them.

<3

Mr. Grumpy Pants or Mr. Just Woke Up... not sure which.

 I took this one a few weeks ago, while we were watching the Saints beat the Falcons:

My little Saints fan covered in blueberries

 Maddox is moving all over the place.  He's sticking to his nontraditional crawl... which is more of a scoot.  He pulls himself with his hands while pushing himself with one foot.  He moves pretty quickly, especially when he is on the hard wood floors.  Here he is playing under his highchair after Thanksgiving dinner:

Awhile back, Luke found a neat idea for a DIY buckle toy online.  Maddox loves zippers and buttons and velcro, so I decided to make him this toy.  We'll wait to give it to him when we travel for the holidays, so that it is new and exciting.  And hopefully it'll hold his interest for awhile.

Maddox's First Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from New Orleans!  We had a nice, quiet day at home.  I decided earlier this week that I wanted to try and make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  This presented a little bit of a challenge being that Luke and Maddox are vegetarians and I am (trying) to eat a gluten free diet.  But I was determined and so I scoured the internet for recipes: gluten free pie crust, gluten free stuffing, and a tofu turkey.  I started baking early this morning and spent most of the day in the kitchen.  It was exhausting but well worth it.  I can proudly say that, for the most part, my experimental Thanksgiving dinner menu was a success. 

Our menu:
Tofu turkey with stuffing (pretty darn good)
Acorn squash and sweet potato soup (kind of sweet, but pretty yummy)
Brussels sprouts sauteed with garlic (just ok)
Garlic mashed potatoes (garlic and potatoes?  obviously good)
Apple pie with vanilla ice cream (again, no question)

And because I am super proud of the pie and tofurkey, here are some pictures of the cooking process:

Preparing the Tofurkey

Blended tofu with spices

Molding the tofu: lined a sieve with paper towels and pressed the tofu down into the sieve

Gluten free stuffing-- oatmeal instead of bread crumbs!

Stuffing in the molded tofu while it is still in the sieve

Molded tofu out of the sieve (the stuffing is in the center)

Partly cooked...

Glazed with BBQ sauce, Dijon mustard, and orange juice

And done!!  A nice crispy outside :)

 Preparing the pie

Gluten free pie crust made with gluten free all purpose "flour"

Getting ready to go in the oven

Mmmmm, yummy

 The final spread

 And baby boy's plate

And baby boy.  We couldn't get him to look up at us.  He was super fascinated with the turkey on his bib.

And, lastly, little boy groovin' to some after dinner tunes:

Family and food

Cousin Courtney came for a visit last weekend.  We had a really good time, walked through the Garden District, went down to the French Quarter, and played with Maddox.  I was really bad about taking pictures, though, and I only got one of Courtney and Maddox.

 You'll just have to come back for another visit, Courtney, so I can take more pictures of you and Maddox playing.  :)

Also, in case you've forgotten what Luke and I look like, here is a nice family picture.  Our heads are cut off-- the hazards of using the camera timer-- but I like it anyway.

Maddox had his 9 month check up last week.  He is still in the 95th percentile for height (29 3/4 inches) but has dropped to the 5th percentile for weight (16 lbs 13 oz).  This kid must have a super fast metabolism; he eats all the time.  And he eats a lot every time.  He can put away a pack of oatmeal and a banana no problem.  Or a quarter cup of quinoa and black beans?  Sure, why not.  He eats solids at least 2 times a day (sometimes 3) and still nurses 6 times a day.  I foresee outrageous food bills in our future...  

Speaking of food, Maddox is a really adventurous eater.  In the last few weeks we've given him:

• Quinoa and black beans spiced with cumin and chili flake
• Chana masala (chick peas in tomato sauce) spiced with garlic, onion, Indian seasoning, and ginger
• Potato, carrot, and parsnip stew spiced with onion, garlic, and ginger
• Red lentils and brown rice spiced with thyme, pepper, oregano, and garlic powder

He loves all of this stuff.  In fact, we first tried giving him plain versions of most of these and he didn't like them.  He would only eat them after we had spiced them up.  I love it... my 9 month old sometimes has garlic breath.  :)

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy

Maddox recently figured out how to jump in his Johnny Jump Up.  We've been putting him in it for awhile, but he use to just swing back and forth and in circles.  A few weeks ago he started jumping in it.  He thinks it's great fun.