Lots of Laughs!

On Tuesday night, Jackson was a bit fussy during family cuddle time on the couch, before it was time to get ready for bed, so we decided to have a dance party to help perk him up. We turned on some of my favorite tunes, I grabbed J and we all started singing and dancing around the living room.

I'm not sure which one did the trick, but Corey whipped out some moves that obviously impressed J since he surprised us with a few belly laughs! We've heard some slight giggles when he smiles and while he's sleeping, but these were actually belly laughs and were absolutely adorable. I immediately asked Corey if he'd just heard them too, which he had, and then asked him to do whatever moves he had just done again in order to get some more laughter out of J. Of course, he didn't actually know what moves he'd done, but you can bet we'll be dancing a lot more in order to try to get some more laughs out of our man!

Layered Southwestern Salad

My parents recently got Corey a subscription to Cuisine at Home and we always find tons of recipes that seem fairly easy and super yummy. We haven't had much time to try many new recipes lately, but we were finally able to try out a recipe from the August edition this past weekend - the Layered Southwestern Salad with Black Beans and Corn. It was the perfect dish to bring with us to a BBQ at our friends' house to celebrate the the Fourth of July.



Here's the recipe:

For the corn, melt:
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 cups fresh corn kernels
- 1 tbsp. chipotle chiles in adobo
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp. minced lime zest
- Salt and pepper

For the vinaigrette, whisk:
- 1/2 cup each olive oil, lime juice, and orange juice
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. each minced lime zest and seeded jalapeno
- 1 tsp. each minced garlic and honey or agave nectar

Toss:
- 1 can of black beans
- 2 cups diced green bell pepper
- 1/4 c. seeded, minced jalapeno
- 12 oz. cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 3 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

For the corn, melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Stir in corn, chiles and cumin. Cook until softened but still firm, 3-5 mins. Add 2 tbsp. lime juice, 1 tbsp. zest and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

For the vinaigrette, whisk oil, 1/4 cup lime juice, orange juice, cilantro, vinegar, 1 tbsp. zest, 1 tbsp. jalapeno, garlic, and honey, and season with salt and pepper.

Toss beans with 1/3 c. vinaigrette in a bowl. Toss bell pepper and jalapeno with 1/3 c. vinaigrette in a separate bowl. Toss tomatoes with remaining vinaigrette in a third bowl.

Layer salad ingredients in a 2-quart bowl in the following order: beans, peppers, corn, cheese, and tomatoes.

We served the salad with pita chips since we thought a sturdy cracker would work best.

Dinner at Discovery Park

Jackson and I were very excited that Corey had a three-day weekend for the Forth of July. Having an extra day allows us to squeeze lots more quality family time in, which we took full advantage of this past weekend. The weather totally cooperated, so in between fun BBQs, we were able to sneak in some walks, naps and even a dinner date for three at Discovery Park.

J had never been there and it had been over a year since C and I had been, so it seemed like the perfect destination to enjoy the sun and chow down on food from Paseo.

Even though it got a bit cool when the wind kicked up, we had a great time getting out of Ballard for family date. And you can't go wrong with yummy food!

'Fro-hawk

Our son has quite the crazy head of hair - Jackson honestly could have used a haircut the moment he graced the world with his presence. And since then, it's been growing like crazy - so much so that Corey was able to style homeboy's 'fro into a mohawk after his bath earlier this week.

I can't believe I have a 10-week old baby with a mohawk! We better start looking for infant hair stylists so we can tame the 'fro before Corey has any other ideas...

Someone is Getting BIG!

Here's a quick way to see how much Jackson has grown in the last two months.

The first photo was taken on April 26; the second was taken on June 19.

When C and I compared these photos, we were shocked to see how much J truly has grown in just under two months. I know he's getting bigger, but when we see him every day, the rate at which he's growing isn't as noticeable as it is once we compared these photos.

2-Month Check-up

Happy two months to Jackson!

Yesterday our man turned two months old and today was his check-up - he did great and the doc had great things to say: he's 'thriving' and is a very healthy baby.

Here are his key stats:
- Height: 24.5 inches (98th percentile)
- Weight: 13 lbs, 15 oz (85th percentile)
- Head circumference: 40.5 cm (80th percentile)

We had started to see some improvements in his colic last week but he's been a little fussy again the last few days - the doctor confirmed that we are on the downhill and we should continue to see improvements between now and three months, and confirmed that J should be completely through it by four months.

J seems to nap the best when in his bouncer, which was one of the things I asked the doctor about. While he confirmed it's not a huge deal, he did confirm that it's best for J's long term sleeping habits to get him sleeping in the same place during the day that he's sleeping at night (which is his crib). While he will go down for a nap in his crib sometimes, it only lasts for 30-45 mins but in the bouncer, J can nap for hours. So, that's what I'm going to work on over the next few weeks, especially since I'll be going back to work in August and he'll be starting daycare in September - gotta make sure he's able to nap comfortably and long in a crib, or else they'll kick him out (or, at least that's what I'll tell him!).

J was very happy and calm the whole time we were there, but when it came time for his three shots, he became the saddest boy I've ever seen and it about broke my heart! It was so sad to see him go from being so happy to so upset in less than a second --- but he calmed down quickly as soon as the shots were over with and I was able to pick him up and hold him. He even had some more smiles left in him on the way to the car, but he's been passed out every since we left and I think he'll be pretty sleepy the rest of the afternoon.

Looking forward to J kicking colic and to see what exciting milestones the next two months bring us!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Tart

If you're looking for a quick and easy dessert recipe for any upcoming summer gatherings, look no further than this salty and sweet creation: peanut butter pretzel tart with caramel drizzle. I found this recipe in a recent Rachael Ray magazine and had been dying to try it out, so when Joan invited us over to lunch this past weekend, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finally whip this up.

It was pretty quick and easy, and turned out very yummy --- I thought it might be pretty heavy and very sweet, but it was actually fairly light and the salty pretzel crust helped cut the sweetness.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Photo courtesy of Rachael Ray Magazine.

Eventful Weekend

We had a busy, but fun-filled Father's Day weekend and with both Curtis and Elliott in town, we were able to get in lots of quality Moran family time and enjoyed lots of yummy food.

Here are some of the highlights from our weekend:

• On Friday, Corey's fam came over and Jackson met his Uncle E for the first time. Then we headed to Thaiku for dinner, followed by gelato from D'ambrosio for dessert.



• Saturday found the Morans back at our place for breakfast which included fabulous pastries from Cafe Besalu.



• Saturday evening, Corey, Jackson and I headed over to the Gossetts to help Chris celebrate his 34th birthday. We popped J in the Bjorn and he did really well again, and true to his form after a party, he slept all the way through the night, without waking up for a 4 a.m. feeding.



• On Sunday, J, Roxy and I celebrated Corey's first Father's Day by letting him relax in bed a bit, getting him Starbucks and opening presents. Then we headed over to Joan's for a yummy Father's Day lunch.

All in all a great weekend and we're looking forward to the next weekend so we can spend some more time with C!

Three generations of Moran men.

J and Uncle E --- neither looked very comfortable with each other, but I'm sure they'll grow to like each other more.

Cuddle time with Gramma.

Quality time with Grampa.

Even Roxy got some cuddle time.

Corey's presents from J, Roxy and I (and yes, those are boxers with black Frenchies on them! Props to Joan for seeing those and telling me about them!):

8 Weeks

Jackson's had some huge milestones over the past week or so - it continues to amaze me how quickly he changes and grows. And I can't believe he's almost 2-months old!

Outfit from Joan & Curtis, on their recent trip to Paris - love how grown up J looks!

Feeding
He's started eating 5-6 oz at a time (though he did put away 8 oz in less than 20 minutes during one feeding today!), and has cut back from 8-9 feedings / day to 7. He's now going 3+ hours between feedings during the day and he goes for 5-7 hour stretches at night. One night last week, he even went 9 full hours between feedings overnight --- love that!

Schedule
He's definitely been on a more consistent schedule this week:
- 7-8 a.m. - wake up and first feeding, followed by play time and a nap
- 11 a.m. - second feeding, followed by play time and a nap
- 2 p.m. - third feeding, followed by play time and a nap
- 5 p.m. - forth feeding, followed by play time and a nap
- 8 p.m. - fifth feeding
- 10:30 p.m. - sixth feeding, followed by bed time
- 4-5 a.m. - last feeding

But, as we've discovered, as soon as you get used to something, it changes! Today, he started going closer to 3.5 hours between feedings (and even went over 4 hours at one point), so I'm sure our schedule will change again soon!

Colic
J had a great week without any major crying fits. I think one of the keys has been making sure he is getting some good naps in throughout the day so he doesn't get too tired. And I'm not sure if it's related or not, but typically every morning between 5-6:30 a.m., he moans and groans and seems to be in a lot of discomfort while sleeping. Typically, we give him his colic tablets and move him from his crib to his bouncer, which seems to help. But we even saw improvement here this week --- his discomfort didn't seem nearly as bad and he even stayed in his crib until his first feeding several mornings.

Crib vs. Bouncer
J has done great in his crib overnight since day one; however, he's never really napped well there. This week, though, he had several 45-60 minute naps in there, and even spent some time in there durng the day looking at his mobile or "talking" to himself as he falls asleep. When he wakes up before nap time is over, I'll move him to his bouncer and he'll falls right back asleep until his next feeding, at least but he seems to be getting more comfortable there during the day.

Other Notables
Jackson continues to drool a lot, and has started sucking on his fists a lot, evening finding a finger once or twice.

His neck gets stronger every day and during tummy time, he props himself up on his elbows and looks around quite a bit. To help lift his head up each time, he uses his feet to push off the floor, which ultimately ends up pushing his whole body forward, so throughout the course of tummy time he often "army crawls" forward 6+ inches. And he has started batting at the toys that hang from his play mat.

He's started to roll onto his side and if it weren't for that pesky arm that he's laying on, he'd be rolling over. We'll leave him in his crib to run and grab a bottle and come back and he's completely on his side but that dang arm just keeps getting in the way!

Right before we feed him, we put a bib on him (he's a bit of a messy eater), and even when he's super hangry, he stops crying since he knows a bottle is coming his way. But we have to be quick --- he gets very impatient if we're not quick enough!

And he has been "talking" a ton more - it's so cute to hear him across the room babbling to himself or in response to us talking to him. He also smiles more and more every day and we love trying to get smiles out of him, especially right after he eats, which is when he's happiest.

Totally TMI but he's definitely been pooping way less every day (only 1-2 times vs. 3-4); however, these ones smell AWFUL and make me gag every time. And while we're on this topic, while changing him during one of his 4 a.m. feedings this week, he wasn't quite done and literally shot poop 2 feet from his changing table, hitting the wall, floor and lamp in the process. It was probably the only time I've ever laughed this early in the morning.

Stay tuned for J's current stats after his 2-month check up later this week.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the three best dads I know --- you are all such amazing men and truly bring so much joy to our lives. Life would not be the same without you --- Roxy, Jackson and I truly don't know what we'd do without you!




And to Corey - happy first Father's Day to you! You are a fabulous dad and I can't wait for Jackson to get just a little older, so he realizes how lucky he is. Thank you for being such a great parenting partner in crime - I have no idea how I'd do it without you! I love you so much!