Chickpea Pasta

This recipe is adapted from the back of the chickpea can. It originally called for anchovies and tomato paste, but I substituted with what we had and it turned out wonderfully! I really like the texture of the chickpeas with pasta and it's hearty and yummy. You can leave it with more water for a soup-like consistency, or let the water boil out for more of a pasta consistency.

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large carrot

Vegetable Oil

1 can chickpeas

1 can stewed tomatoes

Ziti noodles

In soup pot, sauté garlic and carrots in oil until brown. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and a can of water, and bring to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender. Yield: About 6 servings

My Birthday

I celebrated my quarter-century birthday this past week. It was a blast. I really appreciated everyone's kind wishes and generosity.

This is the present Curtis gave me. It's so beautifully wrapped! :) It was a really nice journal! We're excited to keep a record of our family history.

Lately, Christopher has been sitting in a bumbo chair on the table while we try to feed him solid foods. Yeah, kind of messy!

He also likes playing with spoons, paper towel rolls, etc. Well, we finally got a high chair! (It was actually one of my birthday presents haha...)

(Yes he does want to feed himself)

Still messy...but much more manageable!!! :D

I had a wonderful surprise when Curtis's family sent me a huge bouquet of flowers!!!! I love flowers!

So pretty!

They also sent pictures of Curtis as a baby. I'll have to do a post later with any resemblances we find.

As a side note, Christopher fits his 6-9 month jammies now!!! Go Cougars!

Christopher: 6 months old

We went to the doctor this week for Christopher's 6-month well-baby check-up. He weighed in at 15 lb 12 oz. And he's getting a little belly to prove it!! :)

We've started feeding him solid foods. We heard about BLW (baby-led weaning) and tried giving Christopher some banana and avocado to munch on. He seemed to like that...but mostly sucked on the peel to be honest. We've also given him some cereal, mashed up carrots, mashed potatoes, and applesauce. He's very suspicious of the spoon and wants to grab it, chew it, and play with it--but not necessarily eat from it. (He liked the applesauce, though.)

Christopher can get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth a bit. He's even slid his knees forward a titch (with a big smile on his face), to advance an inch or so. His favorite thing to do is walk around, though.

The weather has still been pretty cold here. The wind is especially biting. We've bundled up and are waiting out these last couple weeks of winter.

Christopher loves being outside. He also loves looking outside.

We have a great view of the road and people are always walking back and forth on the sidewalks, so it makes a pretty interesting view for a baby, I guess. He likes climbing up the window pane with his feet and standing on the window sill.

One of his best friends is a stuffed zebra.

This next picture cracks me up. Looks like someone must be teething!

Christopher is getting really good at laughing. He will laugh and laugh at his hilarious parents.

And he's growing! He can actually stand up in his exersaucer now that his feet can fully reach the bottom. It's great standing practice and he is pretty content to play for awhile in it now.

What a cutie!

Christopher's fifth month: what we've been up to

I can't believe it, but this Sunday Christopher will be 6 months old! Where did the time go? This last month really flew by. Here is just a small sampling of the many things we've been up to.

1. Touching Toes

This month Christopher really got the hang of grabbing things. His favorite thing to grab is, of course, his foot.

It's also his favorite thing to eat! Daddy gets in on the fun here, too!

2. Playing in the front room

We hung the this stuffed lion with a piece of yarn to the ceiling. Christopher loves grabbing it and batting it back and forth. He also just likes being held and playing with the yarn hanging down. Daddy likes to play catch with Christopher this way. We have also been having a blast with the puppets Christopher's Grandma gave him for Christmas!

3. Going outside

Curtis's Mom gave us this cute winter suit. It's so warm and cozy! Christopher LOVES going on walks outside. He can't get enough of looking around. He prefers to be held or to be worn in the Baby Bjorn, but sometimes he will tolerate the stroller, too.

4. Tummy Time

 

Christopher is looking forward to being able to move around. He enjoys being able to look at things on his tummy and is getting really good at reaching for and grabbing them. He's also now an expert at rolling over, which makes tummy time pretty short sometimes!

5. Playing with Daddy

Christopher's so glad when Daddy comes home! He always has a big smile for him. They have some special father-son time when I teach piano lessons on Thursdays and at church on Sunday when I play piano in Primary.

6. Sitting up

 

Although he can't sit up all by himself, Christopher just needs a little support to stay upright. 

7. Reading

We like to sit in the rocking chair by the bookshelf to read. Christopher's favorite books are "Smile Baby Smile" and "Babies Love." I just finished reading "The Book Thief" and really liked it.

8. Doing push-ups

9. Singing songs 

Usually Christopher sits in my lap and we sing lots of Primary and children's songs.

10. Swinging 

11. Exploring the house 

Here Christopher takes a break from walking around the house (I'm holding him up the whole time) in the hallway.

12. Playing in the bouncy chair 

Our neighbors are letting us borrow their bouncy chair. We keep it in the kitchen so Christopher can play while I cook or clean or whatever.

13. Playing in the exersaucer 

This is a new toy that we bought this month off Craigslist. Christopher really seems to like it! This is in the kitchen too...

14. Practicing walking 

Christopher can hold himself up on the couch all by himself! At least for a few seconds anyway...we're still working on balance! He is getting to be so strong and is loving his increasing mobility.