This past Sunday we finally had Samuel’s birthday party.  With his birthday so close to the holiday weekend we decided to wait a few weeks until we celebrated.  I’ve had this date circled on the calendar for almost an entire year.  Because our family is so spread out, I wanted to make sure I gave everyone who was able to come adequate notice.

We decided to have Samuel’s birthday at Sprayground at Riverside Park.  It is a fun little splash area for young kids {and we have season passes}.  Nathan and his parents went over a little early so we could get two pavilions right by the entrance while my parents and I finished up the cooking at our house.

I decided to go with a rubber duck theme since we it was a splash party.  It went over well, and Samuel is now obsessed with saying the word “duck.”  We worked hard to teach him that word in the week leading up to the party, and now he won’t stop!

I made the rubber duck cupcakes from one of my favorite cookbooks, What’s New, Cupcake?. These didn’t stay together all that well, but that had more to do with the fact it was 100+ degrees outside than anything else.

So, the duck.  I bought this duck bathtub from Target a few months ago, and Samuel hates it.  So I decided to go ahead and use it to hold the salads at his party.  It works, right?

Samuel and his friend splashing around the play area.  The girls {who always outnumber the boys around here} were playing a few feet over.

After we got home, we let Samuel play with gifts others were kind enough to give him.  He was in heaven!

Because my child eats like a football player, he had to have a second helping of dinner long after we got back to our house.  On some extra duck plates with a yellow fork of course!

The big hit of the day was this cool water table my sister sent him.  It came a few days before his party, and we hid it from him.  He is OBSESSED.  I’m not sure if he loves it more with water or without water, but he plays with it all day either way.

Overall, he had an amazing day.  It was so nice of our parents to come into town, and it was wonderful to have all of his local friends spend the day with us.  I gave the kids duck cookies and bubbles in a duck bottle for favors.

Now to start planning his second birthday

My favorite picture of us - Samuel is 7 months old.

Almost exactly two years ago I received a complicated infertility diagnosis and had major surgery to remove the right half of my reproductive system.  We were left thinking we may never have children of our own.  There were appointments with doctors to discuss possible drug treatments, and there was lots of prayer.  There were moments of ugly crying and moments of acceptance.

Exactly one year ago Samuel was born.  A little boy born with a full head of hair and the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen.  After 17 hours of labor and a c-section, there he was so perfect and gorgeous.

That little boy with a name picked out way before we were pregnant.  The little boy with a name from the Bible picked during the throes of infertility.  Named for a Prophet who was given to a mother who thought she would never have a child.  We just knew if our first {and maybe only} child was a boy he would be Samuel.

Samuel's Christmas photos - almost 6 months

Now my little Samuel is one.  He loves trains and cars, playing in water, hugs, giving kisses, fingerpainting, and food.  He’s been walking on his own since he was 9 months old, talks, and feeds himself.  He still has beautiful blue eyes and a full head of hair.  When he laughs his cheeks puff out, and his eyes practically burst with excitement.  He loves to listen to baseball games on the radio while he throws balls to Nathan.

Samuel at almost 4 months sleeping on the couch.

He is affectionate and daring.  Without a fear in the world he’ll climb up stairs or off of a couch.  He explores things on his own letting go of my hand as we walk side by side to check out leaves or bugs.  The world is his playground, and he will study trees or a book with equal concentration.  He points to everything and says “mine” with the self-confidence of someone completely unaffected by the world.

Samuel at 10 months

So here we are.  At one.  Samuel has tried over 250 different foods, has a vocabulary of 8 words, loves books and baseball, and adores the cat & dog.  He’s becoming more independent as he realizes he’s never actually alone, and he takes off down the hallway all for the sake of exploration.  He still nurses, and he sleeps best cuddled by my side.

Samuel during bathtime at 6 months

Tonight we’ll celebrate just the three of us, and in two weeks he’ll have his birthday party with friends and family as he splashes around at Sprayground.  Next week we are having pictures taken at one of our favorite parks, Morgan Falls, with popular photographer, Sarah Esther.

first haircut - 10 months old

So happy birthday, Samuel.  I can’t wait to see what this year brings.

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays.  Mostly because there is lots of pink involved, but also because I’m a sucker for romance and sweets.  This year I really wanted Samuel to do something for Nathan, but I couldn’t figure out what.  I’m pretty big on things he can actually do and not things I do and say are from him.

So, that made me think.  What about sugar cookies?  We can press the cookie cutter into the dough together, and then I can let him fingerpaint with icing.

See, we bought him fingerpaints at Target a few weeks ago.  Then over the weekend when it was nice outside, we took him to the park {because he is not doing it on my carpet} and let him go to town.  He loved it!  Nathan is very artistic, and I can’t draw a stick person…so we’re hoping he got Nathan’s skills.

Once I saw he could handle that {and didn’t try once to eat the paint} I knew he could handle spreading icing on a few cookies.

I used this sugar cookie recipe from Martha Stewart.  I decided cream cheese icing would be the easiest for Samuel to handle, so I threw 3 oz of cream cheese and 1 cup of powdered sugar into my Kitchen Aid Mixer.  Once it was pretty blended I added red food coloring and mixed some more.

A few things to note: the icing is going to stain your child’s hands for a few hours.  No worries.  It came off after a few hand washings.  Also, this is messy.  Samuel touched everything.  My kitchen floor was covered in red icing even though I had put down wax paper first.  I had to wipe his hands every time after he touched a surface other than the wax paper or the cookies.  Of course, my kid is 7 months old, so if your child is older this probably won’t be as big of an issue.

I don’t have any pictures of him actually doing it, because I was busy saying things like “please don’t put icing on the oven.”

While they are not the most beautiful cookies in the world, they are absolutely adorable.  He was so proud of himself when he was finished.

{admiring his work…note the icing still on his hands}

I also had him make Nathan a card which was an adventure, but in the end with just a little help from me it is pretty clear this child wants to try things on his own.  I’ll be posting the card information in the crafts section later this week.

A friend of mine pointed out that I rarely talk about Samuel on my blog.  That’s mostly done intentionally since this is a food blog, but I couldn’t resist filling out this little baby quiz that someone passed along.

{If you want to check out my parenting section, you’ll find more information about parenting, baby-led weaning, and an average day.}

Child’s Name: Samuel William

Child’s Age: 7 months

Nicknames: Homeslice.

Any words?: Lots of sounds.  No words.

Crawling?: We probably have a non-crawler on our hands.  Homeslice likes to walk {assisted} & stand only.  He’s a master at pulling himself up.

Walking?: Almost.  See above.

Favorite food?: Yogurt.  Hands down.  Also whatever I’m eating.  I’ll never need to diet again with how much of my meals Samuel manages to steal.

Favorite toy? Blocks.  Immediately followed by his basketball hoop.

Favorite place to go?: The library.  They have this cool toy that he likes, because he can stand and play with it all by himself.  Then after 45 minutes of that he likes to look at books.  And by look I mean try to eat.

Bedtime: We aim for 9:00.  Let’s say it is closer to 10:00, because we’re suckers for a good smile and a hearty laugh.

How many times does he get up a night?: Usually 2.  Sometimes more.  Sometimes less.

Any teeth? All four of his front teeth.  They all came in within a month of each other.

Eye color?: Blue, and it is staying that way.  Let’s hear it for recessive genes!

Hair color?: Brown.  {sidenote: is there any more adorable combination for a male than brown hair and blue eyes?  The answer is no.}

Favorite thing to do?: Stand.  “Pet” {smack} the dog.

Favorite babysitter?: Fact: we’ve never left him with the sitter.  He’s awesome out in public, so we just bring him everywhere we go.  So, yes, that does mean we haven’t had a kid-free night out together since he was born, and we want it that way.  We go on “family dates.”  He may be left with a sitter for the first time when he is 3 weeks shy of turning 1.  And it’s my mom.

Favorite activity to do together: Read books and play blocks.

Favorite book: Bible Friends

Best moment of this month: Hands down him learning how to give “kisses.”  He basically eats your face, but it so adorable you don’t mind that he’s washed off all of your make up.

We had an amazing Christmas.  Everyone but me was excited it snowed in Atlanta on Christmas for the first time since 1882 {I hate snow}!  It was lovely to watch it fall from the comfort of our home.  With the heat on.

This year Nathan and I agreed not to exchange gifts.  Instead we used the money we would have spent on each other and adopted a child who needed clothes, toys, etc.  I got to meet the child, and he was absolutely wonderful.  I am looking forward to making this a tradition.

Nathan surprised us with a “family gift” on Christmas Eve. The 50mm lens for his Rebel!  We’ve had the DSLR since 2008, and Nathan uses it so well.  I, on the other hand, hate it, but this lens changed everything.  He bought it with two purposes: for pictures of Samuel & for my blog!  So I spent the holidays taking 20,000 pictures of everything.  It is a way easier lens to use than the other ones we own which makes the Rebel more tolerable.  I’m looking forward to using it on finished dishes {although I still plan to use the iPhone to photograph the steps}.

Then we went for a nice family hike at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Followed by a nice big dinner.

We had a birthday cake for Jesus that Samuel helped me decorate. {My parents started this tradition when I was born.}

Before bed, we put out cookies and milk.

Oh, and we let Samuel play with blocks before putting him to bed.

Then we woke up Christmas morning to gifts from Santa.

Samuel loved unwrapping gifts, and he was pretty good at it.

The ball pit was a huge hit!!  Best $2.00 I’ve Santa ever spent {consignment sale for the win}.

After Mass, we watched A Wonderful Life.  Then had chili con carne and brown sugar cornbread for Christmas dinner.  It was a fabulous idea to go low key for dinner, because I spent less than an hour in the kitchen meaning I got to enjoy every second of Samuel’s first Christmas.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!  Recipes will be resume tomorrow

Even though I have at least 6 recipes waiting to go up, I wanted to take a second to discuss baby-led weaning.  If you aren’t familiar, this is a method of introducing solids to babies that completely skips the cereal, rice, and purees that most babies get.  The general idea is that babies are capable of feeding themselves and like everything else {crawling, walking, etc} need to be left to do so on their own “schedule.”  Basically, you give them some solids, they play with them for a few months, and eventually they’ll actually eat something when they are ready {for most babies this happens between 7-9 months}.

Nathan and I decided a few weeks ago that this was going to be our plan.  I may love to cook and bake, but the idea of pureeing foods seemed daunting, and I really wanted Samuel to have a chance to experience lots of textures right off the bat, because that is half the fun of eating!  So I picked up the book that is the main authority on the topic by Gill Rapley and got to reading.  It was basically what I expected, and I was glad to see some great tips on getting started.

Samuel had his 4 month {!!} appointment on Wednesday, and the pediatrician was completely behind the idea.  So this morning when I made pumpkin pancakes guess who got his own?

He just jammed it into his cheek and then ripped it apart with his hands, but he had fun and was definitely very curious.

If you are interested in doing BLW {as it is known} here are some basic tips:

• Understand that for the first few months your child is not getting any nutrition from the food, because he isn’t eating it.  He’s experimenting and playing, so continue to breastfeed {or formula feed} as usual.
• Before giving the baby any foods, let him see your family eat.  It will help him to understand what he is supposed to do a little better.
• Maintain an emphasis on play and exploration rather than on eating. This is because it appears that what motivates babies to make this transition is curiosity, not hunger.
• Research shows that there is a lesser chance of choking with BLW, because the baby controls how fast he chews and swallows the food and when he will take more to his mouth.
• Make sure you are offering baby-sized foods.  There should be “handle” so that the baby can hold the food.

I hope this helps if you are thinking about doing BLW instead of traditional baby foods.  We’re really excited to watch Samuel learn how to feed himself over the next few months, but for now I’ll just be putting plastic on the floor to protect the carpet from everything that doesn’t make it to his mouth!

Please note I am not a medical professional.  I got this information from the book by Gill Rapley and a few other websites.  Do not start BLW without discussing it with your pediatrician.

{there is no menu this week.}

I’ve been looking forward to Samuel’s Baptism since we set the date when I was 5 months pregnant.  Since Nathan and I are from different parts of the country, our families have met only three times: college graduation, our wedding, and Samuel’s Baptism.  Planning the Baptism was a blast, and I wanted it to be special for my little boy!  It was so exciting to welcome him to the Catholic Church with his grandparents & godparents there.

I have a whole lot of recipes and pictures to assemble.  My plan is to do a post similar to the one from my Italian Dinner Party, so it is taking some time to get everything typed into Google Docs.  I hope to have it up on Wednesday.

For now, here is a teaser of Samuel after his Baptism!

Well, after my two week almost-absence, things are back to normal here in The Brunette Foodie household.

Where was I you ask?

A glorious two week vacation with my three favorite boys: Nathan, Samuel, and Stitch {the pug}.

Nathan and I started planning this trip when I was about 30 weeks pregnant.  It took a lot of planning and scheduling, but we managed it with no hiccups.

First stop: North Carolina to see Steve & Cat

{Samuel’s reaction to the outfit I picked out for him.}

Second stop: Washington D.C. to see Callie

{stolen from Callie’s Facebook page}

Third stop:  Pennsylvania to see my family

{who are these people?!?}

Fourth stop:  Ohio to see Nathan’s family

{Samuel with his great-grandfather a few days before he turned 90}

{Samuel in seersucker during his great-grandfather’s birthday party}

Fifth stop: another Ohio city to see Nathan’s aunt & uncle and my sorority sisters

Sixth stop:  Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

Finally back home!

Oh, and while in Ohio, Nathan surprised me with a copy of What’s New, Cupcake? So expect a LOT of cupcake recipes in the next few months.

Unfortunately Nathan is slow to upload his photos, so the only ones I have right now are from my phone.  I’ll have to post more once he gets to it!

I hope everyone is doing well

Things with us are crazy right now.  In fact, this is the first time I’ve pulled out my laptop since Monday when I wrote my last post {and I’ve got about 5 minutes of time here…}.  Samuel had his first round of vaccines yesterday, and he has been a little {a lot} fussy since.  He’s usually such a happy baby and never fusses, so we’re trying to give him every moment of our time.  He did well, and I am fairly certain I cried more than he did.  Not kidding.

Oh!  His stats!

At exactly 7 weeks old {NOT OKAY}, Samuel is 23.75 inches & 10 lbs 12 oz.  For comparison, at birth he was 21 inches and 7 lbs 10 oz, so he has gained over 3 lbs!

He’s in the 90th percentile for height & 47th percentile for weight {at his height}.  Funny thing too, the pediatrician thinks his eyes will stay blue!  This is hilarious, because both Nathan & I have very dark brown eyes.  Mine are almost black.  However, I have a sister with blonde hair & blue eyes!  So it looks like we may have a boy with brown hair & blue eyes.  What a FAB combination.

Anyway, the next two weeks I’ll be posting very sporadically.  There just isn’t time to post much right now.  I promise I’m going to post when I can, but we just have a lot going on these next two weeks!  I’ve got some great recipes, so definitely stay on the look out!  Plus, September brings Foodbuzz’s Food Blog Challenge in which I am competing!  So September is going to be a very full month on the blog.

Enjoy the end of August!

Yesterday we took Samuel in for his 1 month photos.  How is he already a month old?!?  Anyway, they turned out spectacular.

Here is my favorite:

Last week, I resigned from my job that I loved.  It was a tough decision, but Nathan and I talked about the realities of what it would entail for me to keep working I knew it was the right thing to do.  My commute was over an hour each way, and it just wasn’t worth it to me to be away from Samuel over 10 hours a day!  So, I’m officially a stay-at-home mom.  As much as I love working and having a career, I’m excited to spend the days with my little boy.  We’re having a blast together, and I’m glad that won’t be up at the end of 8 weeks.

On that note, I am trying to get into some sort of routine which I realize is a joke with a newborn.  I signed up for FLYlady to help me keep on top of the cleaning.  I’m also really trying to stay on top of my correspondence and emails.  Sending handwritten notes is one of my favorite things to do, so I want to make sure I find the time to keep doing that.

I’ve also signed up for a mom’s group, and I’ve taken on a new volunteer position at Church in addition to teaching Sunday School!  I also have my Junior League commitments and placement at Grady Hospital and the Nearly New Shop.  Keeping busy definitely shouldn’t be a problem.

The exciting thing about where we live now is that there is room for me to have an office.  I’m definitely going to need one to stay on top of everything.  I have a lot of the things I need already, because I’ve always decorated my offices at work to my taste {down to pink legal tablets!}.  My hope is to have that all set up by the end of next week.

Any suggestions on how to decorate the office are more than welcome!  I’m trying to do bright colors: pinks, greens, yellows, etc.  The walls are an off-white, and I’m not going to paint them.  There is a big window right next to where I am going to put the desk.

Ready…GO!