The Best Blondie Brownies!

This recipe is AMAZING! For an extra-special dessert, serve each square topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce...delicious!! Hope you enjoy!

1 c. butter, melted
2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, beaten
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. white chocolate chips
3/4 c. toffee or caramel baking bits

Spray 9"X13" baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt; mix in pecans, white chocolate chips and baking bits. Pour into pan and spread evenly. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 min or until set in the middle. Allow to cool in pan before cutting into squares. Makes one dozen.

War Eagle Baby!

We've had such a fun and exciting football season so far. Auburn, along with Cam Newton, makes for one amazing team and it is a great time to be an Auburn Tiger. Hopefully we can keep up the hard work and make it to the National Championship game. This weekend we watched as Auburn defeated LSU over at Annie and Ryan's house with Brad and Jacquie. Trey had fun playing with Bryn who is about 10 months older than him. I think playing with other kids around his age has been a great way for him to learn new things. Two weeks ago, after he saw another baby crawling, he started crawling the very next day. And now, after playing with Bryn, he's learned to wave and clap! His wave is the cutest, most lopsided wave ever and it is precious.

Now that Trey is crawling, things have changed a bit. Obviously, he is on the move and getting into everything, but he loves to follow me everywhere I go. I left him in his room on the floor while I went down the hall - I peek my head around the corner and here he comes! Making his way as fast as he could. He's getting so smart and he pays attention to everything. He's not walking yet, but I get the feeling he is happy with crawling for now. He gets where he wants to go. He still likes to cruise around the coffee table and push his car around, learning to balance. It is fascinating to watch him grow and learn.

Bruce's Birthday weekend

We had such a great weekend when Bruce turned 27 last Saturday. Our friends Zach and Lauren had a hog roast over at their house with lots of people and lots of babies. At the party, Trey gave me a high five for the first time. It was too cool! I had been trying to get him to do it for a couple of days, and he finally figured it out. The next day he started crawling on all fours. I think he saw another baby doing it at the party and it was like it clicked for him. He's been on the move ever since. It was a monumental weekend for Trey. I'm so proud of him!

8 Months

Trey is 8 months old today. I can't believe it! Time flies by with this kid. He has changed so much in the last month.

Playing
Play time has become a nonstop, on-the-move, all-over-the-place activity. I have officially started baby-proofing the house. Trey will no longer play in his exersaucer - I think it's because he hates to be confined. He will play for a little while with his toys on the quilt. I got a couple of our old cell phones out and let him play with those. But he seems to get bored easily and is usually trying to find something else to do. He will army crawl and roll his way around the room, finding things to pull up on - the coffee table is his favorite along with the couch and futon (which is in the living room for now.) He will stand there and patty pat pat on the coffee table, cruising his way around it. Usually reaching for whatever is on it. The kid has like a 3 foot reach, I swear! You think something is out of reach and he will get it! He loves to play with the drawers and doors on the entertainment center, but he knows he's not allowed. I will tell him NO! and he jumps out of his skin. LOL! He knows what NO means, and gets mad when we say it. Life is so not fair!

I bought him this new toy that you push around and it helps you balance while you learn to walk. It also converts into a car you sit on. He is getting good at pushing it, but falls easily. I usually help him. When he sits on it, he can push himself backwards but not forwards. It's pretty funny. Most of the time he just sits there and plays with the gadgets on it. I went to Kid to Kid yesterday and bought him an activity center that you stand at while you play. So far, he will play for a little while, but not long. So sad! I thought this was going to be a life saver. Maybe he will learn to like it more. So for now, most of my day is spent chasing after him and keeping a close eye on what he's getting into. I can only imagine what it will be like when he's walking...heaven help us when he's RUNNING!

Eating
I'm still nursing him and he's eating baby food about 2 times a day. He will eat just about any type of baby food. Definitely not picky anymore. He loves all the fruit combos. I started buying those meals mixed with chicken and turkey and he seems to really like those as well. He grunts for you to give him more. Typical male! Haha! I have started mixing in a snack here and there. He will eat crackers and biter biscuits, and sometimes those puff things. He is too funny with the puffs...he will put one in his mouth and then gag. And he's put half the biter biscuit in his mouth and then let it sit there and then try to swallow it and gag on it. He's not gumming it or chewing it enough. How do you teach a child to chew?? We're working on it. I haven't given him any adult food yet, but I think I'm going to start trying soon. We're also trying to get him to use a sippy cup. He will just chew on it. I'm pretty sure nothing comes out. I bought him one with a straw and he just chews on it, too. I'm not going to worry about this one for now.

I recently went out with a friend and left Trey with Bruce. To prepare, we tried to give him a bottle a few days before to see if he would take it. He HATED it. Will not touch a bottle - Just like me when I was a baby. Bruce ended up giving him baby food before bed and he went to sleep fine without it. I fed him when I got home.

Sleeping
Sleeping is where we have taken the largest strides this month. He is doing so much better! It is amazing! Last month we had all the drama with the baby monitors and not sleeping much. Well we've done a 180. I no longer sleep with the baby monitor. His room is right next to ours so I just keep the doors open. I usually wake up either on my own or when he's crying to feed him once or twice a night. He is sleeping 12 hours!!! Usually 7:30 pm-7:30 am. I LOVE it! Such a change. He is very active in his sleep. He rolls around, completely turns around facing the opposite way, and ends up on his stomach most of the time. When he wakes up in the middle of the night to eat he's usually sitting up in his bed, sometimes standing! Which really scared me at first. I was like what the heck! He goes right back to sleep after I feed him. He still usually takes 2 naps during the day. One morning and one afternoon. The times usually differ. Just when I think he has a set schedule, he goes and changes it. This is mainly b/c he doesn't always wake up at 7:30. This morning he didn't wake up until almost 9:00, and took his nap at 11:30. I'm flexible.

Moving Around
Like I said before, Trey is all over the place. He isn't up on all fours and crawling yet. He is really good at getting around, but it's usually by rolling and doing the army crawl. I think his favorite thing to do is stand up when I'm holding his hands. We're working on balance and he can stand for a good while, but usually falls over. He still loves cruising though. He walks along the coffee table, couch, chairs, toys...anything. As long as he's holding on he can get around. I think they call this "cruising." It's fun to watch - no walking on his own as of yet.

Talking
So Trey's first word (other than mama) is ... "burp." Hilarious! You never know how often you say something until your baby starts saying it. I've said "Trey, do you have to burp?" a million times since he was born so it's no wonder he picked it up. Now everything is burp. I point to Maggie and say dog, and Trey says burp. He makes me laugh. He still says mama every once in a while when he's fussy, but hasn't said dada yet. I haven't distinguished any other words through all his babble. He likes to skwawk - I think he likes the way it sounds.

Quirks and Special Notes
Trey still loves bath time, ALOT! We try to give him a bath every other day. He will splash and chew on his toys, while I pour water over him. He, of course, tries to stand up and I say NO. He's fallen over a couple of times. We recently filled up the whole bathtub and Bruce got in with him. It was hilarious. (See picture above.) He fell over and got his head all the way under the water and Bruce pulled him up. His eyes were all big and he coughed a little. He is so hard core.

I bought Trey some shoes this week for the first time. He had a cute pair of tennis shoes that he got from a friend, but mostly during the summer I didn't see the point in putting anything on his feet. But now that it's getting cold I went to Kid to Kid and got 3 pairs. They are really cute. You never know how incomplete an outfit is without shoes, until you see them on him. He's adorable! They're so small. Maybe they'll be magic shoes and he'll start walking.

I know this may be weird to put on here, but Trey has found his penis this month. He grabs it when I'm changing him. I'm like, "Look you found your penis!" So funny.

He is still giving us kisses, and does it very generously now. Me and Bruce actually compete to see who can get the most kisses. For some reason, Bruce keeps winning, but I'm picking up speed.

I don't know where this came from, bur recently Trey has started crying when there's anything loud going on. The vacuum is the worst, but he also did it when I was using the hair dryer, the blender and when Bruce was yelling at the tv during the Alabama vs Arkansas game. Such a kooky little guy.

Trey is wearing size 9 months clothes, size 3 diapers and weighs about 20 lbs.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

We had a bunch of people over for the Auburn vs South Carolina game and I wanted to try a new appetizer so I googled "game day recipes" and came up with this. It was easy and a big hit!! Enjoy!

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (half jack, half cheddar)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 oz chopped green chilies
4 oz chopped jalapenos (8 oz for an extra kick - we did this and it was amazing)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted

In a food processor, add the first 6 ingredients and process until smooth. You do not need to drain either can of peppers. Spread the dip into a greased 2-quart casserole. In a bowl, mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and melted butter; mix well. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the dip and bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for about 30 minutes. You want the top to get browned and the dip to be heated through and bubble gently on the edges.

Do not over cook this dish or the mayonnaise will separate and you will have a grease puddle in your dip. Serve with Buttery crackers or a sliced French baguette.