Brennan is 6 Months Old

Hello again,

Sorry it has been a month since my last post, we've been kind of busy. First, an update on the now 6 month old baby Brennan!

His newest skill: sitting up on his own!

Everyday Brennan's personality becomes stronger and Mike and I are having so much fun with him.  Another recent development is that Brennan has started to sleep through the night! While I'm very happy I'm not getting up in the middle of the night anymore to feed him, I'm also a bit sad that those times are over (well, let's hope they're over).  In other news, Brennan's first tooth finally cut through about a week ago! It's pretty much impossible to get a picture of it, but I'll keep trying.

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have some visitors: Uncle Matt and Yvonne! We had a great time with them and took some pictures while hiking one afternoon.

Getting ready to leave...love those chubby cheeks! (Both sets...)

 At the Trading Post Brennan found a cool chair. 

Can't beat the view or the company. 

I think I need to frame this one!

I swear Brennan was happier for most of this hike!

Watching the Bears game with Uncle Matt!

Headed to Denver

My two handsome boys

Wine flight!

Mmmmm cheese

So much fun with our visitors. 

We're looking forward to our next visitors; Aunt Erin and Evan come in a couple weeks and Grandma and Grandpa St. come in November!  I'll leave you with a couple great pictures of my precious boy taking a nap. 

Ahhhh this is the life

Love,

CC

5 Months & Nursery Tour

Brennan Michael Casey is 5 months old today! Time is definitely flying by, just as everyone warns it will.  He weighs 11 lbs 11 oz....still my sweet little guy.

Such a happy boy in the morning!

Brennan is a PRO at rolling from his belly to his back, which means my attempts at giving him tummy time are futile. We're still working on rolling from back to belly, though. He still loves to spend his time "standing" with help as much as possible.  Brennan's been eating a little bit of rice cereal and oatmeal, but isn't too interested in food just yet :-)

In honor of Brennan's 5 month "birthday" I decided I would do a little blog post about his nursery.  Since most of my readers probably won't get to see our house in Colorado, every once in awhile I thought I would post a few pics on this blog of mine.

 The grand entrance 

This adorable little wall-hanging was a gift from Brennan's Great Grandma Dorothy, it had been hanging in her house in Evergreen for a long time, until she recently moved.  

 I have kind of a crazy mixture of wood in his room, but I like it! 

Brennan's Grandma and Grandpa Casey bought his crib and changing table for him :-)

 I absolutely love this gray rocking chair from Grandma and Grandpa St. and Brennan and I use it every day! 

 This  ikea shelf above the changing table is very handy and was very easy (for Mike) to hang. The picture frames are also from ikea and contain some photos of Brennan at just one week old taken by the lovely April Marie Photography.  Brennan loves to play with Winnie the Pooh while he gets a diaper change, thanks Jen! I swear by the Aquaphor ointment for anything from dry skin, cradle cap, and diaper changes (Brennan has never really had much of a rash!)

Found this cute little red nightstand at ikea, I wanted a pop of color in this gray room.  Thanks to my Godparents, Laura and Don, for the beautiful Willow Tree statue!  Uncle Bob and Aunt Margaret gave Brennan the cute little "Baby's First Prayer Book" that we like to look at before bed.  

 This ikea shelf is nice and sturdy! It holds Brennan's books and some toys.  Mike's Aunt Deb sent the fluffy Moose from Maine.  Peeking out of the basket at the top is a hand-made blanky made by  Brennan's Great Grandma Dorothy.  

The beautiful blue blanket on the crib was a gift from Grandma St. and I'd recommend this for any new baby, it's so soft and pretty.  I don't normally keep the mobile up because I don't want it to distract Brennan from sleeping, but about once a day I put it in for him to watch while I shower or something...he loves it! 

Above the crib we have some prints that I ordered from Etsy, and I bought the frames at Target.  The crucifix was a gift from Brennan's Great Grandma Pat and (my) Aunt Nancy for his Baptism.  

 Colorado is so very dry that this humidifier is a must to keep Brennan's nose from being too stuffy!  My friend Amy recommended the DOHM sound machine to me awhile ago and we turn it on anytime Brennan sleeps in his crib...I love that it doesn't turn off automatically and that you can adjust the sound it makes. 

Last but not least, Brennan's closet.  Full of diapers and wipes, clothes and toys. 

Well that's Brennan's room! This post was probably only interesting to a handful of people...but I just want to thank everyone who was so generous with gifts for Brennan, because there were so many that I didn't even mention.

Have a great weekend!

Love,

CC

An Author/Book Review

Hello again!

The fall weather is really sticking around here in Colorado Springs, and I like it! Today has been low 60s but still sunny.  Brennan has been fighting naps ALL DAY so finally I just took him to the gym so I could get a break and get a workout in.  I guess that was a good move because now we're home and he's taking a nice long nap in his crib :-)  I can't recommend a good gym with childcare enough, especially to new mothers who can afford the extra expense.  At first it was a bit of a sticker shock for me (I belong to a gym similar to Lifetime Fitness) but I quickly realized it was really worth it.  Not only will they watch Brennan for up to 2.5 hours a day (feed him, change diapers) but they run around 180 fitness classes per week! I'm a person that is not very good at working out on my own so I love to do group classes.  Also, sometimes it's nice to shower in peace without a baby sitting in a bouncer 4 feet away!

Here are some pics of Brennan refusing to nap this morning...and having a great time doing it!

WIDE awake during nap-time...good thing he's so darn cute!

I digress...this post was supposed to be about books!  Similar to my cooking habits, my reading took a huge downturn when Brennan was born.  Unfortunately, I was having trouble "getting in" to any books and instead spent my time surfing the internet or watching TV -- both pretty terrible uses of free time. I'm happy to say that I've gotten back on the reading wagon and I have a new author that I'd love to share with you all.  She only has two books out so far but I really enjoyed them both.  Also, if you do a one month free trial of the new "Kindle Unlimited" on amazon you can read both of these books for FREE! 

The author's name is Ellen Marie Wiseman. Her books are titled The Plum Tree and What She Left Behind. Both novels are historical fiction which is one of my favorite genres.  I'll give a quick synopsis/review for both. 

The Plum tree is another World War II/Holocaust book.  I usually enjoy these and this was no exception.  This WWII book was a bit different from others that I've read because the protagonist is a regular German civilian.  Her name is Christine (great name) and she is 17 years old when the book begins.  The story starts in the time when the laws restricting activities of Jewish citizens were gaining in intensity throughout Germany.  Christine and her mother worked as housekeepers in the home of a wealthy Jewish family.  This family has a son and right in the beginning of the book Christine and the son, Isaac, are falling in love.  Obviously, this relationship is doomed from the start.   I won't give away much else about the book but I'm glad that that author portrayed a family of German citizens who were not Nazis but felt like they could not do much to stop the atrocities against Jews because they feared for their own lives and freedom.  The family does what they can to stay out of the conflict and offer what little help they can to the Jewish people in their village, but they definitely experience their own hardships.  This book has may twists and turns that definitely kept me interested.  At the end of the book you can read about the author and her personal connection to this story that she wrote so well.  

Ellen Marie Wiseman's second novel, What She Left Behind, is set in the 1930s/Depression Era as well as the 1990s, it jumps back and forth between two eventually connecting story lines.  Most people have probably heard a little bit about the horrible conditions in mental institutions or "Insane Asylums" during the 1930s and 1940s.  It's pretty interesting to read more detail about that time.  The protagonist of the 1930s storyline comes from a wealthy family and falls in love with an immigrant that is not up to her father's standards.  When she refuses to obey her father's wishes to arrange a marriage for her, he has her committed to mental institution.  The rest of the story follows her efforts to get out of the institution and reconnect with the man she loves.  The other part of the story that is set in the 1990s is not featured as much, which I was happy about because I didn't find it quite as compelling. It follows a teenage girl living in a foster home because her mother is in prison...you'll find out why very early in the book.  

Overall, I really liked both books and I am anticipating new ones from this author.  I like that her books involve a little romance but have bigger plots as well so they are "meatier" stories.  I always enjoy stories that deal with social issues, both past and present, which is why I like all of Jodi Picoult's books.  I don't think Wiseman's writing is as symbolic or intelligent as Picoult's but she entertained me just as much!

If anyone decides to give one of these books a try let me know how you liked it!

Love,

Christine

Amped Up Jambalaya

Most of you know that I like to cook and bake quite a bit.  Unfortunately, after having Brennan I fell into somewhat of a rut when it came to cooking dinner.  Mike is a sweet husband and hasn't complained once, but now that I'm getting the hang of this mothering thing I am ready to tackle some more complicated cooking again.

Last night I decided to make some jambalaya since both Mike and I like spicy food and he especially likes spicy sausage in anything.  Normally jambalaya is easy because I just brown some sausage and then follow the instructions on the Zatarain's Jambalaya box.  But last night I wanted to make it a little more interesting and a little more like real jambalaya you could get at a restaurant.  So here is my "recipe:"

(Disclaimer: I am not a very good photographer. Sorry)

Serves: 2-4 (This was a good amount for me and Mike and we had some leftovers to eat for lunch)

Ingredients

• 1box of Zatarain's Jambalaya (found in the rice section)

• 3-4 sausages (We use the hot Italian sausage, but Jambalaya typically calls for andouille sausage) cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 T. olive oil
• About 1/2 lb of small shrimp, thawed (mine was already peeled, deveined, and cooked--convenient!)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 C Water
• 1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
• Sour cream (optional)

• Other options: can of black beans, red or yellow pepper, really any other veggies you want to throw in!

1.  Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a deep skillet/pot (I used my cast iron).  Add cut-up sausage and brown for a couple minutes.  Then add in chopped green pepper and cook for a few minutes more.

2.  Stir in water and tomatoes and bring to a boil.

3.  Turn heat to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes.

4.  Add shrimp to jambalaya and cook for about another 5 minutes until rice has absorbed most of the moisture and shrimp is heated.   NOTE: If your shrimp is raw you will want to add it in about 10 minutes sooner so that it gets cooked through and is pink/opaque

It's as simple as that!  Mike and I both added a spoonful of sour cream to our bowls of Jambalaya which made it a little richer (and less healthy).  A few small additions definitely made a simple box of jambalaya a lot better! The leftovers were very delicious the next day, too.

Now before I go I'll leave you with a few Brennan pictures because everybody likes those (right?).

 Pretty soon I'll need a baby gate on those stairs...

Big boy sitting in the shopping cart at target:

The hat looks silly but it was very sunny outside in the parking lot! Also, I highly recommend the shopping cart cover pictured above: Summer Infant Cushy Cart Cover  Brennan is able to sit up like that because it comes with a wrap around pillow to support him, you can see it above, it's gray.  I decided to start using this because Brennan nearly always cries in his carseat when awake.  He loved it and was so good for my 45 minute grocery shopping trip.

Love,
CC

Teething

The title of this blog is pretty self explanatory.  Every morning I look but still no dang tooth!  Brennan is getting a little better at holding/chewing a toy, but his number one go to is still his little hand. It gets all drooly and cold :-(

Even in his sleep:

Amber teething anklet...I'm not convinced it works but who knows? Also, Brennan likes to hold onto his toes now.

Good ol' Sophie the Giraffe

Poor guy's bottom gums are pretty swollen.  I know that after his first tooth comes in he still has a lot more to go, but I hear you get a couple days of reprieve from the teething pain once a tooth cuts in.


We had a late lunch downtown the other day and then hung out for a bit in the park.  Brennan LOVES standing up!

Caught him during a big sneeze...

In other news...Jesse finds strange places to nap.

Hanging out while Dad watched the Illini play football!

Hope everyone has had a nice Labor Day Weekend.  We didn't do anything really exciting, just spent time relaxing and hanging out with friends.

Love,
Christine