8 months

Nora was 8 months old yesterday! She's growing and changing so quickly these days as she takes everything in and learns about her world. She is a very busy little girl, always wanting to be on the move. She has started creeping/crawling, so she can roll, scoot and wiggle to just about wherever she wants to go. Soon enough she'll figure out how to use her knees and then we'll all be on the move around here! 

She has started eating baby food regularly (more than the trial one or two bites per day of last month) and carrots are her favorite. She ate a whole container of them the other night! She especially likes to eat while we are, and she loves to gum on bagels and other hard breads since she has two teeth trying to come in.

Here are some other firsts of the last month:

first cold :(

first Thanksgiving

first Christmas tree decorating (she wanted to eat the ornaments)

first ice/snow storm - bundle up!

first blow-dried hair

working on hand-eye-mouth coordination with some blueberry puffs

New Favorite Recipes

I don't have much to update you on, but I have been trying some new recipes lately and wanted to share my favorites.

Ranch Chicken

I halved this recipe, but below is the full version. I served this with mashed potatoes - classic comfort food.

Ingredients:

1 cup corn flakes, finely crushed (I used french fried onions instead)

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 packet ranch dressing mix
8 boneless chicken breasts, cut in half
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix corn flakes, cheese, and dressing mix together in a bowl until blended.  Dip thawed chicken in butter, then roll in corn flake mixture. Place coated chicken in 9"x13" greased baking pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Source

AND

Brown Sugar Soy Sauce Salmon
I served this with long grain and wild rice and broccoli. The fish was super moist! YUM!

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds salmon fillets

• lemon pepper to taste

• garlic powder to taste

• salt to taste

• ⅓ cup soy sauce

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• ⅓ cup water

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
2. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag, pour soy sauce mixture over fish, seal, and turn to coat.Marinate for at least 2 hours.
3. Preheat grill for medium heat.
4. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
5. Or
6. Wrap it in foil and bake at 425° for approx. 15 minutes.

Source

I have more new recipes on my menu list for this week and, with the impending snow storm, I should have plenty of time in hibernation to make them! I'll let you know if I find any more keepers. Enjoy!

Open Shelves

Recently when my sister Lindsay was over at our house she asked why we hadn't put open shelves in the empty wall space between our upper cabinets, considering our seriously small amount of kitchen storage.

Honestly, it had never occurred to us! After she put that idea in our heads, we got right to work planning the type of shelves we wanted to build. Originally, the plan was to build a dish rack like the picture below, but we ended up deciding to go with two simple shelves instead.

Levi did a great job building and staining these shelves! We love how they turned out!

I found an awesome vintage kitchen scale at a market recently, and, to top it off, Lindsay gave me new dishes for my birthday, so the look is complete!

Please ignore the strange lighting, it was night so there was no natural light!

7 months

I can't believe Nora is 7 months old! This time last year I was almost constantly nauseous and got sick during my birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I much prefer this November to last! Nora has grown a lot this month, and she is becoming a lot of fun as she develops her little personality. She started laughing recently, which is about the best sound in the world. Her little giggles are sure to make anyone smile!

Nora has started to notice Molly and reaches out to pet her. Molly still isn't sure about this little person being close to her, though she will usually indulge Nora's desire to grab her ears or fistfuls of fur. She is really the best dog with kids!

As if Nora knew I'd be writing this update today, she decided to start rolling from back to belly! We're still working on sitting up, but she's getting more steady every day. Here's a video I sent Levi this morning:

We've made some progress on the food front this month. Nora will now eat bananas and sweet potatoes. We tried starting with baby oatmeal (since she already gets rice starch in her acid reflux formula) but she really doesn't like it. I finally gave up and decided to just move on to the other baby foods.

This month, Levi and I have said "Look how big she is!" probably more than during any other month. She's starting to have more control and purpose with her movements, which makes her seem so grown up compared to her little baby self.

I'm excited for Nora's first upcoming holiday season. It will be fun to share her with some of our extended family who haven't gotten to meet her yet!

Happy Halloween!

from our little ladybug

Pumpkin Patch

6 months

Nora is six months old! Her big developments this month are finding her feet, finding her voice (and thus squealing and screaming to her heart's content) and almost being able to roll from back to belly. She's interacting more and more, and loves to blow bubbles and smile. We're just starting solid food, but she's not quite sure what she thinks about it yet. Her favorite place to be is either her exersaucer or bumbo seat where she can see what's going on around her, and she loves to watch Dumbo. That's a quick recap of the last month. Nora is such a sweet girl who continues to bring us so much joy!

Thailand

We've been home from Thailand about a week now, and we're finally adjusted enough for me to sit down to write this blog. Some people might think we're crazy for taking a 5-month-old halfway around the world and effectively switching her night with day, but Nora was a great traveler, and we're almost back to a normal sleep schedule! 

The traveling girl, ready to go on her first international flight

On our international flights, we got to sit in the bulkhead area that had a bassinet attachment for Nora to sleep in. This was a lifesaver. She slept almost the entire 10-hour flight from Tokyo to LA!

The main purpose for the trip was for Levi's brother, Jake, and his wife, Becca, to meet Nora. They've been traveling since before she was born, so it was special for them to finally meet her. I think Nora enjoyed all the extra snuggles.

While in Phuket, we managed to squeeze a lot in to a short week, even with a baby who needed to nap! We delivered dresses and shorts to a local orphanage, the Phuket Sunshine Foundation, as part of Dress a Girl Around the World, a charity that Sharie (Levi's mom) volunteers with. I wish I could post all the cute pictures we have with the kids, but I can't for privacy reasons.

Sharie with the director

Becca playing with the kids

We saw monkeys living wild on the side of the road.

Becca and I got to feed a baby elephant outside our restaurant one night. This brought us both sheer glee.

We rode elephants through the jungle. This was definitely a highlight for all of us. Elephants are a surprisingly rough ride. I was glad Levi was there to keep me and Nora from falling off!

We visited the local fire station, which our cab driver thought was hilarious. He just couldn't understand why we'd want to go there, of all places. I think we did finally get across that Levi is a firefighter in America, though, and I think that helped.

Their fire trucks are very similar to the 1940s truck that Levi restored last year.

We visited the Chalong Buddhist temple, which is very different from the Christian cathedrals we've visited in several other countries.

Sharie, Becca and I visited a "fish spa" where we put our feet in a tank of fish that were supposed to eat the dead skin off. It was awful! Sharie screamed so long and loud that when we passed by the place the next day, the ladies remembered her and laughed. I wouldn't put my feet in but for two seconds to take a picture. It was the weirdest feeling and I hated it. This foot picture is of Becca because I couldn't stand to hold my foot like that long enough to snap a picture.

 

We also visited the island of Phi Phi, where Levi got to do some beach-side rock climbing. The water was so clear there that you could see the fish! It was a really beautiful place.

There are no streets on the island, only these walking paths. Items are moved on hand-pushed wheel carts.

Lastly, we couldn't help but visit the local coffee roaster, Hock Hoe Lee. The coffee culture is really different in Thailand, and it was interesting to learn about. You can read all about it on Flatlander's blog.

As usual, we had an excellent trip. The Thai people are some of the most friendly I've ever met and they really really love babies, so it was fun to have Nora along. We're so thankful to Levi's mom for making trips like this possible. We get the opportunity to make great memories and see so many different corners of the world. I'm excited that Nora will get to grow up traveling and learning about other cultures, languages and people. 

Flatlander's Kickstarter

Our coffee roastery, Flatlander Coffee Co., just launched a Kickstarter campaign to help raise money to buy a larger roaster. Since our business opened in May, we've already had many great opportunities, and we're excited about where things are headed. Demand for our coffee has grown even faster than we expected, and now we need to upgrade our equipment to keep up!

Here's a picture of the type of roaster we plan to get from U.S. Roaster's Corp. in Oklahoma City. They build it all starting with a flat piece of metal! Pretty impressive. And we love that it's made right here in our own backyard. This company makes and ships roasters all over the world!

The cool thing about using Kickstarter to raise the remainder of the funds we need is that it's community-driven. For every amount donated, there's a corresponding reward (magnets, t-shirts, mugs, coffee, etc.) to motivate givers. However, it's an all-or-nothing deal, so if we don't reach our $7,000 goal in 30 days, not only do we not get any of the money raised (and givers don't get charged) but also, no one gets their rewards. The hope is that everyone who gives will help spread the word about our campaign so it can be a win-win for everyone!

Check out some of our swag:

So, here's where we need your help. Please consider giving to our campaign. You'll get some awesome Flatlander gear and help us produce even more delicious, freshly roasted coffee (if you haven't tried it, you should do that, too - click here to order online).

Want to donate or learn more about our campaign (and watch our awesome video!)? Click here to visit our Kickstarter page. And follow our campaign's progress on Facebook!

5 months

Nora is five months old! She's a smiley, happy baby who loves looking in the mirror. 

She can now roll from tummy to back (but not vice versa) and is learning all about chores. For example, she helps with laundry:

And loves watching us cook and clean while sitting in her seat:

She also recently became a sooner fan! We'll see what happens when OU plays TCU. I'll have to fight Levi to dress her that day. Maybe she can wear a purple bow :)

Lastly, she's been perfecting her beach babe look. 

We love this girl and can't wait to see what she learns next!