Happy One Month Day to Little Birch!! While this month has gone by fast, I can’t even remember what it was like to be pregnant – that feels like ages ago. Each day he gets a little more alert. He’s started cooing and I think we’ve gotten a few real smiles – the kind that involve the eyes and a wide open mouth!
We had Thanksgiving all over again on Friday night in the form of leftovers. Thomas made my plate and I think there was more on it than on actual Thanksgiving! I still managed to eat most of it though. Breastfeeding hunger makes my appetite XL.
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We had leftover turkey + cranberry + cheddar sandwiches twice over the weekend. I much prefer turkey on a leftover sandwich than on a plate with gravy!
Thomas grilled wings on Friday while we watched All. The. Sports. Tiger + Phil’s golf match, UVA football (so sad of a loss!) and UVA basketball. We had some friends over to keep good company : )
Their dad game is strong <3
Wings, salad, mac and cheese.
Doing some tummy time to prime those sports muscles!
I’ve been eating all the oatmeal for breakfast and even making steel cut in the rice cooker so that it’s ready when I am to eat. This bowl was mix with butter, brown sugar, banana, peanut butter and candied pecans.
And of course the cranberry sauce made a double appearance! Once with cottage cheese and almond butter:
And once with yogurt and almond butter. A triple oatmeal weekend. (I also find steel cut oats re-heat really well, so I cooked a large batch on Saturday and had them Sat + Sun + Mon for breakfast.)
Sunday lunch was turkey + cranberry sandwich #2 with pretzels and grapes.
My snacking game has been strong too, and Thomas and I recently rediscovered the deliciousness that is saltine and PB cracker sandwiches. (I’m craving peanut butter and almond butter like it’s my job these days. That’s definitely my strongest postpartum craving.)
Peanut butter pretzels (see the trend?)
And some chocolate pretzel sea salt Bark Thins for dessert. So good! Also: this “snacking chocolate” has made a great quick snack!
Healthy lunch plate! I am craving salads, but they are harder for me to make (or for Thomas to make me) than other lunch options. So I finally made a sesame oil massaged kale salad that we ate a few meals in a row. I love a good massaged kale because it holds up in the fridge well.
On Saturday we didn’t leave the house – it was cold and rainy and gross outside. Thomas and I watched The Greatest Showman (which we loved!) and Mazen came home from Durham to join us for dinner. Ribs + kale salad + the last of the sweet potato casserole.
On Sunday we had sunshine and 60 degree temps so we spent most of the day outside! We took a 3 mile family walk with Mazen on his bike, Gus on his leash, and Birch in the stroller. We were like a parade!
We took the long route through the neighborhood that went by a playground for a play stop for the boys.
B ended up being awake for a good portion of the walk, but he was happy!! I took off his car seat cover so he could look around at the sights and take in the fresh air. He really loves fresh air and it often calms him when he’s fussy if we step outside onto the deck.
The weekend ended with lots of brother snuggles…
And a tuckered out dog!
Highly recommend the Instant Pot (haven’t seen you post any so assuming you don’t have one!). I was highly skeptical but now I use it for errything! Oatmeal is amazing. And it truly saves your life as the kids get older and suddenly you need a decent dinner after soccer practice and it’s 5:30 pm. Mostly mentioning bc it’s a steal on Amazon today.
I’m putting it on my Christmas list!!
you will love it. hard boiled eggs peel in a snap! so nice to saute in the same pot. It is life changing once you get the courage to use it! haha
Thomas may have already warned you, but just in case . . . now that you have married into UVa fandom, I can tell you as a lifer that it is not for the faint of heart. They manage to find the most gut wrenching ways to lose!
Also, tummy time. Sigh. So cute.
Hahaha!
Happy one month to baby Birch! Time flies by so fast… I can’t believe it’s already been a month! Feels like just yesterday I was reading about your pregnancy!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
You’re looking beautiful, and the food, oh so tasty!! I need to make more cranberry sauce to make all these fun leftover ideas.
Hi Kath. Birch is beyond adorable! Wanted to let you know it looks like the straps on your car seat are a bit high. They should be coming from below his shoulders, not above. You can click the headrest down to get the straps lower since the Mesa is a no rethread harness. Sorry for the unsolicited advice…I’m a car seat tech and just can’t help myself. I know you want him as safe as possible.
OK I’ll take a look at them
Oatmeal all the way! Love the banana brown sugar nut combo.
I’m late to the kale game, but sesame oil massaged kale sounds really good. So you just massage the oil into the leaves?
Happy one month to baby B! Time just flies doesn’t it?!
I use sesame oil and a little rice wine vinegar and a tiny splash of soy sauce. Just massage it all in!
HAS IT BEEN A WHOLE MONTH?! wow I don’t understand “time” anymore. LOL
I just got excited bc I realized I’ll have breastfeeding hunger for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners! Yay for getting to eat all the food. I’m def craving some steel cut oats now as well.
Woo hoo!!
We watched The Greatest Showman this weekend, too! What a great movie…better than expected even.
Your boys are great looking brothers! Fun times ahead for sure!
Yay for an outside day! We had a snow day today 🙁 No school tho 🙂
That tummy time picture of Birch just stole my heart!
<3
Do you ever make oatmeal in the microwave? If so how?
I don’t because I don’t love the texture, but Anne has a recipe she loves: https://www.fannetasticfood.com/recipes/perfect-microwave-banana-oatmeal/
Ok
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Wasn’t Birch born on the 29th?!
Yes just counting baby weeks – 4 weeks!