Happy 4 Months!

Tipp-

Oh My Goodness…I can’t believe you are 4 months old!  You are no longer a newborn and growing into such a big boy with a bright personality.  Although at times you are very unpredictable…when you decide you want something – you want it NOW!  That must be a Stafford trait!

It’s been a busy month with lots of milestones for you.  You have discovered your hands, started reaching for toys and you can roll over!  Mostly you enjoy rolling over from back to front, then get frustrated being on your belly.  Once on your belly you have gotten great at pushing up onto your elbows and holding your head up.  As soon as I can flip you back you have rolled back to your belly.  You have also started bearing weight on your legs and love “standing up.”

We had your 4 month appointment where you weighed 12 lbs and 4/5 oz…still at 10%, but gaining appropriately.  You are 25 inches tall and your head is 16 1/2 inches…both are in the 50% range.  We are learning you are going to be a lean baby!  In the past month breastfeeding has gotten a lot easier and you have become an efficient nurser, but becoming more distractible!  You also got 3 vaccines, which made for a sad and fussy evening.  You were so pitiful and we felt so sorry for how bad you felt. 

You spent your 4 month birthday weekend in Williamsburg shopping with me and Gommy.  You were such a trooper spending 10 hours shopping with the girls and everyone thought you were so cute.  I hope you enjoyed your weekend with the ladies since next year you will be having a boys weekend with Daddy – he missed you so much!

I am enjoying every second with you as the next few weeks are the last of me being at home.  Even when you wake up at 5am for the day, I look forward to bringing you to bed with me and dozing together while you nurse.  I also love playing with you and making you smile…I could stare at your smile all day as literally smile with your entire face.

 

We love you Baby T and look forward to what the next month brings to our lives!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Gracing the cover of the newest Cooking Light was Peanut Butter Banana Bread…a perfect idea for the extremely ripe bananas I threw into the freezer the morning Tipp was born.  I had planned on making an extra loaf of banana bread, but time got away from me.  Whenever I have ripe bananas, but no time to make banana bread, I peel the bananas and freeze them in chunks. 

This issue had several versions of Banana bread including a Bananas Foster recipe, which I think we will making very soon!

The Peanut Butter version was awesome!  I could have drank the icing!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread (Cooking Light)

Bread:

• 1 1/2  cups  mashed ripe banana
• 1/3  cup  plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/3  cup  creamy peanut butter
• 3  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 2  large eggs
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/2  cup  packed brown sugar
• 6.75  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4  cup  ground flaxseed
• 3/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground allspice
• 2  tablespoons  chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• Cooking spray

Glaze:

• 1/3  cup  powdered sugar
• 1  tablespoon  1% low-fat milk
• 1  tablespoon  creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare bread, combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until blended.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool.

To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, milk, and 1 tablespoon peanut butter in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over bread.

Tipp Rolling Over

Sunday morning, Tipp rolled over for the first time and since then he has not stopped!  He is best at rolling from back to belly, then gets frustrated…he hates tummy time!  As soon as I help him roll to his back again-he rolls over to his tummy.  He is quite proud of himself and smiles immediately after his “trick” then gets fussy out of frustration.  Luckily he is forced to get more tummy time and in the past few days he has been able to push up on his elbows more.

Monday, he kept rolling over anytime I turned away even if just for a second!  But, I finally caught it on camera very early Tuesday morning.  I guess we will start trying to wean him from his Swaddle Me soon and take the bumpers out of the crib as he gets more and more mobile!