Where did MY baby go...

So the week after Blake turned 8 months old something happened...something crazy...she went from a non-fussy, non-crying, content, perfect sleeper to a fussy, crying often, non-sleeper.  In these past 2 tumultuous weeks our perfect little peanut, now wakes up 2 - 6 times in the middle of night screaming and during the day is pretty much fussy most of the time unless you are holding her.  She has done a complete 180 and quite frankly I don't like it.  I MISS MY BABY!  I miss the sleep 12 hours at night, love independent play, smile all day baby girl.  I don't understand what the deal is!  It's like once she mastered crawling she became a completely different person.  I took her to the doctor because I was sure something HAD to be wrong with her - and of course - we left with a clean bill of health.  Is this normal?!  Am I missing something here?!  I must admit I realize now I took her easy going attitude and great sleeping for granted, but hello God, I appreciate it now, you can change her back!

Merry 8 Months...

As of Monday, 8 months have gone by since Blake came into the world.  It bewilders me how time so can go by so quickly and this little person change so drastically.  She has developed quite the personality and I see so many characteristics of both Chris and I in her.  She's definitely a daddy's girl, which makes me so happy to see.  She gets SO excited when Chris comes into the room and she takes after him in so many ways.  She's extremely determined, laid back, energetic, easily bored with one thing, always moving, loves to be outside, and loves to laugh.  I also see so much of myself in her as well...she's quiet at first, but once she's comfortable in a situation you can't keep her quiet, she loves to eat new things, likes music or so it seems, a big fan of clothes, doesn't like when Chris tries to scare her.  In the last month she has learned to pretty much crawl (still slow, but almost has it down,) she can now go from being on her stomach to sitting up all by herself, she can pinch things with her two fingers to pick them up, says mama and dada (not sure if she knows what they are just quite yet.)  She can almost pull all the way up to standing by herself, she can feed herself crackers, mum-mums etc, can move around in the sit & step, has different smiles, and different laughs.  She is getting sooooooooo big!

8 month stats:

Weight: 17.5 lbs

Height: 28 3/4 inches

Here are the outtakes from our photo session:

Craddy's Kitchen - December Dishes

So I've been super busy in the kitchen so far this month experimenting and trying out recipes from friends etc.  Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Crock Pot Potato Soup:
This recipe is SO easy and perfect for a cold day.

Ingredients:

1 (30 oz) bag frozen hashed brown potatoes (the chopped potatoes...not shredded)

2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth

1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c chopped onion

black pepper

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened

Add ons:

Bacon bits

Green onions

Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Combine potatoes, broth, soup, onion and pepper.  Put in your slow cooker.  Cover, and cook on low for 5 hours.  Stir in cream cheese, cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until combined and smooth.  If you want a creamier soup, put in food processor or blender until desired consistency.  Garnish with green onions, bacon bits and cheddar cheese, if desired.

Artichoke Chicken

Ingredients:

1 can of artichoke hearts - chopped

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup mayo

Garlic salt and salt and pepper - ab 1/2 a teaspoon o each

4 chicken breasts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 

Chop artichoke hearts

Combine all ingredients in a bowl with the artichoke hearts

Spray pan 

Place chicken in pan

Top with artichoke mixture

Bake 30 mins

Top with paprika and fresh ground pepper

Oreo Cake Balls

Courtesy of Elizabeth Dains

be ware- these are VERY rich

Ingredients:

melted chocolate (use a package or more of melted semi sweet chocolate chips)
1 package oreos
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

Directions:
Put the oreos and cream cheese in a food processor and mix/chop! Put wax paper on a counter and make little balls of the oreo and cream cheese mixture. (I stuck them in the freezer for a little bit so they would harden) Then stick a toothpick in the oreo ball and dip it in the chocolate. Use another toothpick to loosen the ball from the original toothpick or just tap the toothpick to have the oreo ball fall on the wax paper. Then use a toothpick dipped in the chocolate to drizzle chocolate over the "hole" from the toothpick! Make a pretty design or swirl! Let harden then SERVE!

And I creep yeah...

Blake has officially been "creeping" or doing the Blake Shuffle as we like to call it since last week and this child gets around pretty good considering she's still not really crawling.  It's almost like a cross between an army crawl and what it looks like in the movies when someone has been shot in the leg and they're trying to escape from the enemy.  She now can shuffle her way under the couch, under the chair, under the christmas tree, into the bathroom, up to the mirror, well you get the picture - she's mobile!  Yesterday I left her alone in the bedroom for 1 min. to get her a pair of socks - I came back in to find her over at the mirror playing with her reflection.  Today I found her just playing under the chair on the living room with her spatula (yes our egg spatula is her FAVORITE toy).  It cracks me up how far she can move especially on the hardwood floors.  We already have our hands full.  I'm so excited she's figuring this out, but boy do I miss just being able to lay her down and leave the room knowing she couldn't get into any trouble.....those days are LONG gone!  Here are a few pictures and videos or her doing the "Blake Shuffle" and playing with the reflection in the mirror.  I also threw in a few Thanksgiving pics.

The Blake Shuffle: Thanksgiving 2010

Booty in the air - practicing crawling in her sleep!

sleeping in the crib Chris' grandpa made for his dad as a boy.

Thanksgiving day at the Farm

Hanging out with Uncle Nathan