5 months

sweet Lyla Grace you are 5 months old this month. 

You are now wearing cloth diapers full time and we love them. They fit perfectly around your sweet chunky thighs :) 

You are still exclusively breastfed, although you did get to taste some butternut squash earlier this month. However, you promptly threw up on the kitchen floor (we will give it some time before attempting squash again). We also let you suck on some berries in a mesh teether which you really enjoyed and cried when the juice was all gone. You're still eating every 2-3 hours from mama. 

You are getting more and more mobile. If we set you down on the floor you somehow manage to maneuver your way to face the opposite direction. You love remote controls, iPhones & macbooks and will pick them over any of your toys. 


You also found your feet this month which are your second favorite toys. You love to grab your toes and try to put them in your mouth :)

Earlier this month you cut your first two teeth and they are growing in quickly. You love to get mama's finger in your mouth and chomp down.

You went through 2 weeks of being a rather screamy baby. You weren't upset or startled, rather you were finding your voice which led to our ears ringing quite a few times ;)

You started taking naps in your crib earlier this week, although you still spend nights with us in our room. You're taking longer naps during the day (30-45 minutes twice a day) and sleeping from 7:30-12:30 then 12:30-7.  


Your first Christmas with us was wonderful and we pinch ourselves everyday wondering how we got so lucky with such a blessing. 

monday night tradition

monday night = pizza night in the hildy house

note: no skimping on the sauce

specifically homemade wheat dough absolutely delicious pizza.

I make the dough once a month and make 4 batches to last us a month. For toppings we usually go with spinach, peppers, onions & tomatoes. Dan isn't a red sauce fan (KILLS me I love marinara) so we usually opt for a pesto or garlic herb sauce.

This is the best recipe for dough I've found from my trusty allrecipies.com:

1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. 4. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
6. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

sweet potato gnocchi

 

I absolutely love love love gnocchi. I'm positive I've sampled the gnocchi at every restaurant we've been to on the island. 

When I found this recipe on Vegan Soul Power, it looked way too yummy not to try. 

I used 2 large sweet potatoes so had to use way more flour than the recipe called for- probably close to 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. I froze my entire batch, it will probably be enough for 3-4 meals. I really like having things in the freezer I can quickly de-thaw, heat & serve.

the finished product complete with a pesto sauce, onions & garlic: 

Next time I'll use an alfredo sauce and skip the onions and garlic, but this was delicious despite having a few too many flavors for my liking (Dan thought it was perfect as is though- and he promised he wasn't just 'saying that'). Definitely a recipe I will make again and much easier than I thought gnocchi would be.

lyla's #1 snuggle spot

holiday traditions

I'm linking up with Becky & Aly again for the Christmas link up- this Tuesday's theme: traditions. 

1. D's family passed down the tradition of ordering pizza the night we decorate the tree. We added on watching each of The Office Christmas episodes last year. 

2. Every December we are going to get Lyla a pair of Christmas PJ's. When I was a little girl we used to get a pair to sleep in on Christmas Eve but I've changed this one to last all month.

3. Every Christmas morning my mother always made monkey bread. its absolutely delicious, full of calories and worth every bite. She also makes a few batches of my great grandmothers amazingly addictive rolls. I haven't tried these on my own yet but they are absolutely to die for. They contain a few secret ingredients, one being a few mashed potatoes.

{sadly this beautiful monkey bread isn't mine but you get the picture}

via

4. This is more a tradition for every holiday, but my great grandmother used to send me a holiday card with a $1 bill inside. My mother and father started it again this year for baby L- she's up to a whopping $3 for Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas. 

5. Location ornaments- this is another one passed down from Dan's family. For every place they lived (Army family so A LOT) his mother had an ornament made. These cute little houses are all over our tree. Being a Navy family we plan to do the same. 

6. And finally- the reason for the season, we attend church on Christmas Eve. Although we will be straying from that this year because Dan has duty. I also love the idea of baking a cake on Christmas day when the kids are little and talking about Jesus and the meaning of his birth. We have a few years for that one though.

cut her first tooth

We've been expecting the arrival of L's first tooth for quite sometime now. The constant drooling and gnawing on anything that comes close to her mouth were sure signs. On Thursday I stuck my finger in her mouth and sure enough she cut her first tooth! It's on the bottom left. Her Sophie has become her new best friend (she enjoys chewing on her hoofs the best). Before bed on Thursday night she was especially cranky: 

or perhaps she really didnt appreciate her festive jammies?

a certain little girl

a certain little girl can't wait for Christmas morning...

I sat Lyla down by the tree and she slowly rolled over to find the glittery packaging (which I later found damp with baby slobber). Some nights I'll put her in her bumbo facing the tree and she will laugh and stare at all the lights. I want to get a string of lights out for her to touch and explore, hopefully I'll get to that this weekend.

We sure are loving the holidays with a baby in the house. I'm really focusing on the traditions our family has passed down to us, I know she wont remember anything from this year but I'd still like to do them (making special cookies from Dan's family, special Christmas Eve PJ's from my family, monkey bread Christmas morning from my mother). To be honest last year we didn't even put up a tree (we were on the mainland) and we didn't give much thought to Christmas traditions. Amazing the difference a year can make. I can't imagine doing that now. I want every Christmas for L to be just as exciting and magical as they were for us as small children.