What we've been up to:

We go to the Baby Bounce class at Northpark every Thursday.
"Bicycle, bicycle, go so slow. Bicycle, bicycle, go so fast! Bicycle, bicycle, here we go! Bicycle, bicycle, step on the gas!" All while I move Baby's legs like he's riding a bicycle. That's my favorite. Indy likes them all. He has yet to fuss or sleep through a music class. I try to sing songs with him during the day, but the class gives me new ideas.

We go on trips to Central Market. Casey introduced Indy to mushrooms.He was underwhelmed.

We get a couple visits every week from Mamie Marie-Anne. He gets LOTS of cuddles. Tuesday, we took Indy on his first trip to the movies, the Crybaby Matinee at the Angelika: Double Hour. He slept through it, but I guess since it was in Italian with subtitles, he was bored. Mom and I liked it. :-)

We go on walks/runs at the lake. Indiana went "nude" since it was so hot, even though it was pretty early in the day. And it's more like jogging for me, but at least now the Bob jogging stroller has officially been used for jogging. Before, it felt like an SUV never used for sport...and no one in their right mind ever does that. ;-)Little Man was knocked out. The stroller puts him to sleep most of the time. Vibration and bumpy paths are good. :-)

We've been attending two to three moms groups a week. Busy bee! This one was at the Jenkin's pool with folks from church, which was nice, but my favorite is the Mommy & Me class at Baylor on Monday morning. Every week there's a speaker like a Midwife or Swim Instructor or Nutritionist, etc, so I learn new things every time. Plus, it's all new moms, so everyone's very friendly and eager to share baby stories and tips. Excellent.
I did not get in the pool. Buying a new swimsuit that fits my postpartum body is a trama that I'm not putting myself through. I'll lose weight, then buy a bathing suit. Next summer, perhaps. I've been exercising 4-5 times a week and counting calories. Slowly and surely, I'll get back in shape. I did a Bootcamp class yesterday. It was insanely difficult, yet fun.

Nana Cindy came up for Father's day weekend. It was fun to see her and to get unlimited babysitting too!Casey and I went to dinner and a movie. It was so liberating to be away for more than an hour or so. We saw Super 8, which was entertaining, and has sushi at a little place off lower Greenville. Tasty and healthy, to boot.

And we do lots of hanging out at home, which is great. We love spending time with him. He's the sweetest.
Little Man slept last night for the first time ever in his crib in his room. At 9 weeks, I suppose he's old enough, and it was a very successful experiment. He had his longest stretch yet between feedings: 9:30 pm to 7 am. Even though it took him an hour to fall asleep, he did fall asleep and stay asleep in there. Awesome. The previous night he wouldn't fall asleep until 2:30 am...so something needed to change!

And, we're going to Tyler this weekend: 1) to visit Casey's grandmother so she can meet Indy, 2) because I really want to get out of town! We're staying at a B&B, so it promises to be a nice, relaxing weekend. It's the first long car ride for Indiana, so hopefully he'll be chill like he usually is in the car. He has been more fussy the last several weeks then he was his first six weeks, but generally, he's very happy and laid back. I'm thankful for that and for all the fun we've been having.

Six weeks

Indiana has discovered his cow. He likes it, despite looking ticked off in this picture. Maybe he's mad that Daddy put him in a bathing suit and didn't take him swimming. My aunt Babette sent us the bathing suit from France, and who could resist putting baby in a pirate parrot suit?
Not me! Here, he's wearing a froggy onesie. Too cute.

He is such a sweet baby and has such a sunny disposition. In his alert times, he chirps and wiggles and kicks his feet. Then he gets tired and sucks on his paci and stares and stares. He smiles in his sleep. I feed him and he dozes off, snuggling in my arms. He gets about a million kisses and I-love-you's a day. Lots of songs too, but mostly "Skinamarinky Dinky Dink" and "On Top of Spaghetti" because I know the words to those ones.
I came home Tuesday and he was resting on Daddy's chest. I love my boys.

New Life= Old Life?

Casey has oft bemoaned the fact that once someone has a baby, their blog becomes all about the baby. So, to avoid the falling into that category, even though it's the norm for me, here's a blog about what I made Tuesday. :-)

Millionaire Shortbread Bars

Instead of making the sweetened condensed milk into caramel, I used canned dulce de leche and stirred in a little vanilla. The delicate and sometimes dangerous task of boiling sugar is not a good idea when the cooking process is punctuated with tending to a newborn who likes to spit out his paci. I made a double batch and took half to lifegroup. They were a hit, except with Karis, who I caught eating the shortbread then licking the ducle de leche off the chocolate layer which she hid in her napkin. I'm guessing it was too dark for her taste. I do exclusively use 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips, and do so unapologetically. Milk chocolate is for wienies.

I also made myself a quinoa and lentil salad with citrus vinaigrette, sauteed mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes and feta. It's a hybrid of the quinoa salad from my brother-in-law's restaurant, Nick & Sam's Grill and one from Whole Foods. I love quinoa. So nutty and tasty. And I made Mocha Chocolate Chip muffins. They're REALLY good, especially if you're a mocha fan. I've made this recipe many times, and I recommend adding a 1/4 cup more sugar and doubling the cocoa powder. They come out of the oven with a great crust and soft, mocha-y, melted chocolate interior. Mmm! I did take a lot longer to do all that cooking then it would have pre-baby, but it was still really fun. Casey did dishes. :-)

Of course, I also decided this week that I need to try to start eating healthier, as the baby weight is starting to get old. Really old. The muffins went into the freezer. Last week, I started back running (30 minutes around the neighborhood) and went to a cardio & weight lifting class on Tuesday, then I ran a 5K on the treadmill the next day. Bad idea. I was so sore I could barely get out of bed this morning. My ego was definitely writing checks my body couldn't cash. So, marathon cooking sessions, yes, running marathons, heck no. I'll have to content myself with being slow and steady.

Casey will not be upstaged!

Indiana says: Fight the power!