Cookies and Changing Rooms

Well, I have been missing for a while now! It has definitely been too long since I have posted here. There has been a lot of change and adjustment going on in our household lately, and that has been part of the reason why I haven't been good about updating the blog.

First of all, we had Xander's last day of school last week, and then we've been transitioning him into his summer preschool class. So far he seems to be loving it. It is only for two days a week, though, so I'm getting used to having him around more. It's been a little challenging, coming up with new and exciting things for him to do, but we're working on it. I try to use this genius booklet that his teachers came up with and handed out at the end of school. In it, they list tons of things to do with your child, so that he/she doesn't forget or lose all that they've learned this past year. I figure if I use just one of the ideas every day that he is home with me, we'll get to do lots of different activities that are fun and educational for him, and it really helps to have the variety. He is also old enough now that taking him to the pool, even if I have Evan in one arm, should be much easier, though I have yet to attempt it. Maybe I'll be brave next week.

Evan has finally gotten his own bedroom! He has spent his first six months bunking with us, first in his little cradle and then in his crib at the foot of our bed. Now we have done a big room swap, converting what was an office next to our room into his nursery. Tonight will be his fourth night sleeping in there, and I have to say that so far I am happy with how things are going. He still has yet to sleep through the night, so it's a little rougher for me to get out of bed and head next door to his room for nighttime feedings. Plus, I am so paranoid that he's going to wake up and be upset, I tend to lie awake and listen to the baby monitor a little too much. However, Evan himself is doing just great! He is sleeping over four hour stretches, and this morning he woke up at 7 a.m. in the crib, just as happy as could be. I'm really proud of him; he's adjusting better than I thought he would. Now I just have to follow suit...

This past weekend I baked some cookies, which was fun to do alone. Originally it was going to be a project for Xander and I to do together, but let's just say things took an ugly turn with his behavior and I had to take away the baking party. Anyway, the cookie recipe was the first I made out of a cookbook I received for Christmas, Martha Stewart's Cookies. They were a fun, interesting twist on an oatmeal raisin cookie. I especially liked the fact that there was only a half a stick of butter in the whole recipe, which meant I could actually eat them! That's right, these were relatively healthy cookies! They were delicious, too. Here's the recipe, and some pictures of the finished product.