My New Job

My last day of work for company A was May 2nd. I had some good experiences there, traveled to lots of places (Chicago, Charlotte, St. Louis, NYC), moved around several times (Connecticut, D.C., Michigan), and met lots of friends (including Joe). However, my overall working experience was not positive and I don't miss it one tiny bit.

My new job is SO much better. Being a stay-at-home-mom wasn't something I always wanted (sometime I should write about why I'm still slightly insecure with my decision), but as soon as I knew I was having a baby I knew I would want to stay home with him. It's such a personal choice, and a tough one at that, but for me, I wanted to be there to raise my child full time. I'm very fortunate that things have worked out financially and that I have a husband who agrees that it's important for me to stay home and raise our child(ren).

Yesterday felt like my first real day as a SAHM. The week prior Joe was home, we had friends staying with us, and we went out of town for a couple days. Yesterday was just Tripp and me...all day. I loved it! I think Tripp did too. My goal for these first few weeks is to get Tripp on a schedule which will hopefully improve his sleep habits. So far I've been successful in getting him to take a morning nap every day I've been home. The rest of the day is sort of haphazard....but we're getting there. We went for two walks, ran errands that were within walking distance, tried some new food (oatmeal), and spent lots of time playing. I will admit that by about 4pm when Tripp was overtired and fussy and I hadn't talked to an adult all day, I had a moment where his 7pm bedtime seemed like a lifetime away. Even during that moment though, I was happy to be with him.

I happen to think my new boss is pretty cute!

Good Eats

This past weekend we reached a major milestone in the world of babyhood; Tripp ate his first solid food! I’ve felt for about a month now that he was ready for solids, but our doctor advised waiting until 6 months. Well, one week shy of 6 months I decided to go ahead and let him try some food and it was a great success. I decided months ago that avocado would be his first food. Full of healthy fats, vitamins, and easy for him to “chew”. I’ve done a lot of reading about first foods and I am not of the school that believes rice cereal is a necessary introduction to the culinary world. Why feed a baby something that is bland and full of empty calories when you can feed them something tasty and nutrient-packed? So anyways, I gave him a teaspoon full of avocado on Saturday and two on Sunday. Both times he eagerly grabbed at my hand to bring to food to his mouth faster and I was totally impressed that he immediately knew how to make a chewing motion. Considering how much trouble he had nursing and bottle feeding, I am very relieved to see that, at least so far, eating won’t be nearly as challenging. On Monday Joe and I had sweet potatoes with dinner so I fed little man some and he loved that just as much as the avocado. Next on the list will probably be oatmeal.

In related news, Tripp has his first tooth! It broke through last Monday night. I think he has another one on the way. Teething has not been pleasant for any of us – the poor guy seems like he’s in lots of pain. Feeding him some solids has actually been a good distraction to keep his mouth busy in between bottles.

In non-baby news, but still on the topic of food, I went with some friends to a delicious Indian lunch on Sunday. We tried Neehee’s in Canton and it was ah-mazing. It’s Indian street food and even though I can’t pronounce anything on the menu I can’t wait to go back again soon. I think the Papdi Chaat was my favorite item we tried.

What We've Been Up To

April has been a busy month for us. Here's a recap of what we've been up to:

• We spent the first weekend this month celebrating Joe's birthday and Tripp's first Easter. The Easter Bunny came to our house and brought Tripp his first Easter basket filled with argyle socks, link toys, a sunhat, and some bunny ears. Tripp did a great job modeling the ears when our friends Jake and Inga came over to take some pictures for us.
• Joe and I went out to dinner for his birthday at Chop House and enjoyed perfectly cooked filets that filled our iron requirements for the week. We also had some wine, poblano mac and cheese, and asparagus. We then came home and Joe watched the end of the Master's (his second favorite sporting event of the year after the Derby) while I put Tripp to bed.
• We also spent some time in Pinckney celebrating our friend Nash's second birthday. Tripp was a little overwhelmed with his first birthday party experience. He isn't used to so much toddler screeching :)
• The second weekend was highlighted with visits from my aunt from NY and Erin from Chicago. This was my aunt's first time meeting Tripp which was so fun. I wanted to take some pictures of her with him but totally forgot.
• Erin was here to run the Big House Big Heart race. She ran the 5k with some of our other friends and we had everyone over for brunch afterward. Joe and I signed up for the 1-mile fun run with Tripp, but there was so much chaos that we wound up just walking around the Big House a while and then going back home. We still managed to get a picture of Tripp's first visit to the Big House.
• Last weekend I also attended a baby shower for my friend Payal who is expecting a baby boy in May. There are so many babies being added to our group of friends!

In between all of these activities Joe has been trying to study as much as possible, write papers and finish out the semester. I've had tons of work to do - ironically more than most projects - so I'm trying to wrap it all up before the end of the month. Being busy has made the month go by quickly which is nice because we are very ready for this semester to be over!

Five Months

Dear Tripp,

On April 1st, you turned 5 months! I'll probably say this every month for your whole life, but it's amazing to me how quickly you grow and change. You did us a huge favor this past weekend by sleeping through the night, in your crib, for the first time ever! 7:45pm - 5am! This must have been your version of an April Fool's Day joke though because you've been up several times a night ever since then.

This past month you've really discovered your feet and you now love to grab onto your toes and bring them up to your mouth. As evidenced by our usual photo session, you were so interested in your toes that I only got a couple of good pictures. Another discovery is your thumb. As opposed to sucking on your whole hand, you can now just pop your thumb in and out when you need to. It's much easier for you to soothe yourself with your thumb than with a pacifier, and it's also pretty cute. You've also gotten really good at rolling over and often when we turn our backs on you, you will have rolled over from stomach to back or back to stomach. Another favorite activity now is standing up while we hold you. I'm surprised at how strong your little legs are.


You are still a little guy, even though you feel heavier every time I lift you up. At your 5 month dr. appointment you weighed 15 lbs, 4 oz (just under 50th percentile) and you were 26 inches (right at 50th percentile). Dr. Linker said that you are perfectly healthy, but that you definitely have some pre-teething drool so we're waiting for your first tooth any day now.

Cherry Vanilla Pound Cake

When creating my wedding registry, I added a bundt pan. I figured it was an essential thing for a serious baker to have and I had amassed a sizable collection of pound cake recipes I wanted to make. Two years later, I used that bundt pan for the first time. For some reason, every time I thought about making a pound cake I decided that it was too boring and I would make some other cake/cookie/pie recipe instead that I deemed more exciting. Finally, this past weekend, I found a recipe that sounded too good to pass up. I made this Cherry Vanilla Pound Cake and absolutely loved it. It was rich and moist and pretty thanks to the pink frosting. I'll make it again, but only if I have a reason to share it so that I'm not tempted to eat the whole thing on my own! It'd be perfect for a shower for a baby girl or a spring celebration.


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 10 oz jars maraschino cherries

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a bundt pan with butter and sprinkle with flour
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and beat until fluffy
• Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and beat until well incorporated
• In a separate bowl, mix 3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt
• Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined
• Drain cherries, save the juice, and chop the cherries
• Mix chopped cherries with the 1/4 cup of flour
• Add cherries to the batter and gently stir
• Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and tap lightly on the counter to release air bubbles
• Bake approximately 1 hr, 20 mins until a toothpick comes out clean ( I actually had to bake mine for 1 hr, 30 mins)
• Turn pan upside down on wire rack to allow cake to release from pan and cool

To make the glaze, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons cherry juice, and 3 tablespoons whipping cream. Mix until the glaze is thin enough to drip down the sides of the cake.

Recipe adapted from Puttin' On the G.R.I.T.S.

Weird Weather

Two weeks ago we had tornadoes. Homes in Dexter were destroyed and we lost power and had some basement flooding. One week ago we had several days in the 80s and one day when I got out of work the radio announced that it was 89 degrees. Today, it's freezing cold outside. Spring weather in Michigan is unpredictable, but these past few weeks have been a little extreme.

Our magnolia tree, which usually blooms in mid to late April hit its peak last week with beautiful blooms and today most of those flowers are now dead and frost-burned.


Last week was so hot that the little man had to hangout in nothing but his diaper, bib, and sunglasses while helping Joe grill veggie burgers and yet today I'm guessing Inga put him in his snowsuit when she took him for a walk.


I'm not complaining since the warm days have meant lots of extra walks outside, but the weather lately certainly has been weird.

Hotel Chillin'

As I mentioned in my last post, we spent the night in Detroit when Joe had a work dinner to attend. We don't travel much these days, so I wanted to take advantage of a change of scenery even if it was only for one night 45 minutes from home.

Here's a couple pictures of Tripp enjoying himself in the king-size bed.

"Mama, these horizontal stripes make me look like I have a pot belly!"

"Mama, I like this big bed! Lots more room, but I'm still going to sleep pressed as close to you as I can!"