Quinoa!

I love this little grain! First had it in the Mountains of Peru while hiking the Inca Trail. It is SO good for you and very versatile. Introduced it to Abraham yesterday and I was disappointed b/c he seemed a little put off by the "curly" texture, but I think after a few more tries he will love it. If you haven't tried it you should!

One of the greatest things about it is that it cooks in 15 minutes! It is also a great replacement for rice/couscous/pasta and is great hot, or chilled in a grain salad. One of my very favorite recipes with it is turkey/quinoa meatloaf...I never thought I was a meatloaf fan, but the recipe I found is really flavorful and makes me feel satisfied. There are a bunch of quinoa recipes on you tube, you should check 'em out!

Happiest Little Mr!

We are beginning to wean! I cannot believe that Abraham is getting so close to being a year old! We have cut out the last feeding for the night and he doesn't seem to miss it. He has always been so active that it is hard to keep his body still enough to remain latched on. At least with cups and bottles he can move around quite a bit! Here he is working on sippy cup proficiency. If he had it his way the milk would come out when he CHEWS the spout.

Abraham is fully crawling now and carries on conversations with his toys, himself, and us in very conversational sounding gibberish now. It is adorable! Most of the day he does this hiccup-like laugh Ahuh, Ahuh, Ahuh....mmmmm. (the mmm is when he smiles as if he would burst if he was any happier) He is the happiest kiddo I have ever known.
( I tried to attach a video, but it is just processing forever and I have tried it 4 times, so you'll have to check it out on FB I guess!)

Here he is with Jack & our friend Andy, we were treated to dinner @ their house last Fri night and had a fantastic time!

He was playing like this on the stairs for about 5 minutes and didn't seem uncomfortable, do you think he has a little bit of my gymnast blood coursing through those little veins?

With his snake for size comparison, but now he SITS, and CRAWLS off of that guy!

After a few pics he came after the camera.....

He thinks the light on it is really intriguing and wanted to see it up close....

Whenever we get him naked to change his onesie, he grabs his tummy...I would love to think he is giving us the "bath" sign, but I really think he just likes how it feels!

OH, he is getting so BIG!

Fun, fun fun and cool stuff!

Oh, our "little" mister in his gap jams for the last time before they are retired into the too small bin! As you can see they are stretched to the limit and his white onesie is peeking out all over the place! He LOVES to stand.

Same jammies, 40 days old!

Last Saturday Jack suggested we go to the Zoo!
We all had a great time and decided to get a zoo pass that includes guests, so when y'all come to Memphis you can go with us! It also includes passes or discounted fares for many other zoos around the US including the Charles Paddock Zoo in my home town of Atascadero!! Can't wait to go back there and see it in April.
1st stop-Gibbons! They were very silly and go to the windows of the restaurant that is adjacent to their enclosure. Pretty RAD!

Taken from inside the restaurant.

Had to have a picture with the animals that inspired my hat! Abraham was very in tune to these guys as well. I think he likes the strong stripes that accentuate their faces.

snow leopard

It was National Polar Bear Day, and we spent quite a bit of time at their exhibit.

Abraham sitting on a polar bear skin. I am pretty sure I was more excited then he was. Can you say dork? It was very cold that day so we brought hats and lots of warm clothing but only 1 mitten by mistake. Hence Abraham looking like a Michael Jackson wanna be.

More shots of the polar bears swimming by. They are awesome and I am amazed at how God creates all of these beautiful and diverse animals!

Jack & Bram in the primate area.

One more picture before we leave!
They have these great sculptures of various animals at the entrance.
The next day was sunny again so we went to the park. Abraham actually seems content to wear his shades. I guess he knows that cool dudes wear shades.
This morning just before Dad left on a business trip.
CONSIGNMENT SALES!
I am a little obsessed with consignment sales and they do them WELL in Memphis! Today I went to one at Germantown United Methodist Church. Here is SOME (I already have about 6 pieces in the wash) of the haul I got this AM for just over $50, and the best thing about it is that the proceeds support other Moms and families as well as MISSIONS! (I am stoked about the airplane pants and other preppy and unique digs. The army green shorts have rainbow stitching and I got 2 G diapers for $7!