Fleur de Aleta

My husband made soft scrambled eggs for our son to eat today for the first time.  He did well eating them and then this.... To watch on YouTube, click here

I was looking for a place that offered "free play time" - not classes, but just a safe area with padded large toys for Gregory to play on and hone in on his climbing skills. Groupon came out with a half off price for Palm Tree Playground, so I purchased it.  They have a nice section for kids under 3 years old, separate from the jungle gym climbing area for the larger kids. Greg came with us.  It was nice and Gregory likes different places and watching the other children. But...  when I asked my husband what he thought of Palm Tree, he replied, "I prefer Gym Rompers.  There's more interaction and control." While we were at Palm Tree Playground, two boys in the under 3 year old section got into a fight!  Greg was the one who told the boys to break it up and play nice.  Later Greg said, "Where were the parents in this?"  They are supposed to be in the toddler section, but instead were at the tables outside of the area.... Yes, I do...

Gregory can't walk yet.  He will stand not holding anything for a few seconds and then sit down.  He stands by himself when he doesn't realize he's doing so.  But in the meantime, our son is building up some serious muscles... he climbs. We were on the sofa in the office room.  Gregory has always stretched up to reach the top, but he's never gone over the top of the sofa to grab something off of Greg's desk.  This time he did and he did it multiple times. Greg said for me to take pictures, but just so you know... we were both there watching Gregory carefully! Our son is fearless and I'm thinking he's going to give me a heart attack one day.

Peanut Butter Fudge The same day that we did Greg's grandmother's fudge recipe, we also tried a peanut butter fudge recipe I found on the Internet for straight peanut butter.  I prefer chocolate/peanut butter, but my husband has a weakness for just peanut butter fudge. This was VERY simple and VERY quick and it came out great! Put peanut butter and butter in microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  (cut small hole to vent) Microwave the mixture.  Take it out and add the vanilla and powdered sugar.  It will become difficult to stir. Spread into a buttered pan lined with parchment paper.  Fold excess paper to cover the surface and refrigerate for 2 hours.  Store at room temperature in airtight container for up to a week. My husband loves this recipe!

Our son's first birthday is next month, but we couldn't resist at stop at the Toys R Us...  Gregory received an early birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy. I like this particular car because it has different stages.  There's a band that goes around him, to help keep things stable.  The band can be removed later.  I also like the arm that comes out because we can roll him around the house.  He loves going fast.  Eventually the arm will be removed when his legs are longer and he can scoot himself.   It's smaller than a walker and it's something we can do with him.  

During the Christmas holidays, I wanted to make fudge.  It's something I wanted to do.. to create a tradition.  And I thought, "What better tradition than using the chocolate peanut butter fudge recipe from Greg's grandmother."  Greg's Mom had the recipe card and she gave me the copy: Now, I'm not going to type of a new card, because... well, it didn't come out too well, even though it did taste good.  It came out needing to be served with a spoon.  I think it required too much butter, personally.  But again, it tasted great. However, we didn't even follow this recipe, as my husband kept on saying that the recipe was wrong and wasn't how they made it as children. We did the first yep - mixed the sugar and cocoa and we gradually added the milk.  And we stirred constantly.  But my husband said that we don't add the peanut butter until AFTER the fudge formed a ball in the water.  You keep a couple of glasses of water and drop a drop of fudge int...

This is another recipe that I've brought to parties and it's a big hit.  My Mom gave me this recipe when I was much younger.  VERY easy to make!

My husband put up a night camera on the crib to visually monitor our son's sleep behavior.  It is funny to see how our son likes to sleep on his stomach, but with his behind up in the air! I tried a number of times and I just can't do the CIO method (Cry It Out).  When I posted this on FB, I  felt better when other parents (mothers and fathers alike) said they didn't like it and some even said it really doesn't work. But I'm still trying to get Gregory to realize that he will be sleeping in his bed.  At least in the middle of the night. The nightly routine is:  Bath, Bottle, Bed.  He does fine with that, usually in bed by 8:30pm.  He seems to sleep very soundly. But then around 1am, he is standing up in his crib, crying.  Instead of bringing him to my bedroom, I rock him to sleep in his room on the chair/glider.  When I know he is back to sleep, I put him in his crib again. If I'm lucky, he will sleep until 4:30a...

Dear Son, Today you make 11 months old.   It feels like yesterday that you were born and yet, you have accomplished and changed so much in such a short time frame.   I think your sweet personality is still shining through.    "They found me in a King Cake" - if you're from New Orleans, you understand the shirt! Loves to point now! This doesn’t mean you don’t have a temper, because you can pitch a fit…. When the food doesn’t come quick enough from the container to your lips… when the toys at gym rompers are taken away for the next song…   You don’t mind sharing toys though.   Mommy used to be so worried that you wouldn’t crawl and now you are all over the place and FAST!   You easily pull yourself up and down, using whatever you can as leverage. During Gym Rompers, you surprised Mommy a few times.   First, there’s this wavy hard section the kids will climb on.   You actually got into the middle of the blue sect...