The best cake I ever made

Ok, to be honest, I haven't made many cakes in my life. I'm more of a cookie or bread sort of baker. But yesterday was my sister's 25th birthday~ she is gluten-free and it isn't easy to find delicious tasting GF desserts~ so I decided to make her this cake from the glutenfreegoddess blog. Oh my word. It was so delicious. It's a flourless cake made mostly of chocolate, eggs and cream. Its silky. Its smooth. Its delicious. Do yourself a favor and make this cake. Its perfect for the holidays, a birthday, a dinner party, or a Saturday night. Enjoy!

Trimming the Tree

Having little hands around to "help" decorate this year has definitely changed things... we debated about putting up a tree or not but finally decided to go ahead with it. Geoff even surprised me by suggesting we get a live tree this year rather than put up our [puny] fake one we used the past 2 years. It fit well in our tiny apartment when we first moved here but there just is no comparison to the beauty of a real vs. fake tree. {Thanks again, honey!} I grew up with live trees so its something that's hard for me to compromise on. When Geoff and I were dating in college, he lived off campus with some guys and we all went out one Saturday morning to cut down a tree after I'd made french toast for everyone. One of my favorite memories from college, probably~ it felt like such a family activity. Here we are:

Anyway, back to now... we've really enjoyed the Christmas season as a family so far this year. Telling Zoe about ornaments as we hung them on the tree, going to the neighborhood tree lighting ceremony, driving through our neighborhood to judge look at outside Christmas lights... it's been a lot of fun making new memories and anticipating the years to come of new normals and new traditions. For next year I plan to make a felt tree for Zoe to decorate all her own like this one and make some sort of Advent calendar to do as a family. I'm looking forward to it already!

Enjoy some pictures of our Christmas adventures so far this year... we are doing our Peck family Christmas (the 3 of us) on Saturday and heading up to PA to be with my family for Christmas week on Sunday. We hope you all enjoy your Christmas holiday!

Old Town Alexandria

Merry Christmas!

Williamsburg

A few weekends ago, we got out of the city and spent some time in Williamsburg as a family of 3. We enjoyed food at one of our favorite restaurants, Food for Thought, for lunch. We sniffed candles until we were sick at the huge Yankee Candle store – its the size of a department store, filled with specialty items and more candles than you can imagine. Did you know they have a new line out this year based off the “My Favorite Things” song? Wanna know what Brown Paper Packages, White Woolen Mittens or Whiskers on Kittens smell like? Now you can!

We spent our evening in Colonial Williamsburg enjoying the sights of  the Christmas decorations and tastes of the {free} samples from the Peanut Shop. An absolute must-stop on the list, for sure. Sadly it was late in the day and several samples were empty… but there were several new varieties we hadn’t tried before which made up for it. Our dinner was sandwiches from the Cheese Shop and we took dessert back to our hotel with us from Aromas (a local coffee shop). Its a tough call, but the dessert may have been the best part of the day… :)

We ended our weekend away by visiting our old church in Virginia Beach and reconnecting with friends over lunch. The church had acquired a new building since we’d left so it was exciting to see the new space, and so many friendly faces. It was a short but great weekend away and we’re already planning our next trip back!

11 months

A month away from Zoe turning 1 and I know with all the holiday festivities going on, time will fly even faster than usual! Geoff and I have been talking about how we almost can't believe this is Zoe's first Christmas since it just seems like she's been part of our family forever. This time last year we didn't know whether we were having a boy or girl, I was on bed rest, and we were oh so anxiously awaiting the arrival of our child - I wanted her to come early but she was super comfortable in there :)
This past month has been a great one! Zoe has really mellowed out and her goofy personality is starting to show through more clearly. She is pulling up on everything and can move between furniture if she really wants to. She stood without support for a second or two last week but doesn't seem too interested in letting go of the security of an object to hold on to just yet. Fine by me! Probably my favorite thing is her love of stuffed animals right now- she gives them all hugs and sometimes wants to take one along with her in the car.
Some funs and not-so-funs this month...

FUNS
~ she has mellowed out so she is much more easy going, less whiny, and more into independent play
~ continues to be a pretty good sleeper, getting about 12 hrs each night and 2 daytime naps (sometimes one of her naps is 2+ hours which makes such a difference! if only it were every day)
~ enjoys books and looking through them on her own, can keep her occupied for awhile!
~ gives hugs and kisses
~ gives high fives
~ generally eats very well- she loves broccoli, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados and bread
~ she absolutely loves playing in the tub and just got some new bath toys from Oma!
~ her two bottom teeth fit between her top teeth which gives her the cutest little grin :)
~ She babbles on and on, and I think she has a word for "daddy" that sounds something like "dah"? She is going to be a talker for sure!
~ Zoe loves people and other kids/babies in particular. She loves play dates and its helpful when she goes to the nursery to counteract the mommy-clingyness :)

NOT-SO-FUNS
~ she went 12+ hours without eating 2 or 3 nights this month but overall continues to wake up to eat around 11pm... sometimes I can get her back to sleep without feeding her at that point but she usually wakes up an hour or two later to eat anyway...
~ I feel like I'm saying "no" A LOT! Whether its the Christmas tree or getting into the kitchen pantry, she ignores the 15 times I say "no" and redirect her until I finally block her path or we have to move to a different room for awhile. She's definitely got a stubborn streak in her.
~ The car continues to be a challenge. She just isn't happy in the car for more than a few minutes, generally. We recently went to Williamsburg for the weekend and I sat in the back with her for all our travel which helped for part of the trip... but a lot of the time its just me and her in the car and I've pretty much come to dread having to drive anywhere. Hopefully switching to a bigger car seat will help?!
~ She's started chewing on her crib rails. Not cool.

You bring us such joy, Zo Zo. You really are our little sunshine. Happy 11 months!

Thanksgiving

Yes I know, Thanksgiving seems far gone already as Christmas looms ahead of us, coming more quickly each year it seems. But things were busy around here around Thanksgiving and I wasn't able to post anything about it until now. Its a rare night where Zoe is asleep and Geoff is out doing some Christmas shopping and so the house is quiet and dishes are cleaned and I feel like I actually have a minute to address the blogisphere!

 We celebrated Thanksgiving with Geoff's family in Wisconsin. Last time we saw them was in July and Zoe was just mastering sitting up on her own~ fast forward to November and she was crawling all around and into everything and it gave us quite a clear picture of how much she's changed in 4 months!

Zoe got some new toys from Oma and Opa which helped keep her entertained, but she mostly liked watching Opa in the kitchen :) Unfortunately she was going through a clingy, mommy period where she did not like to be out of my reach and certainly not out of my sight. This was a bit challenging for me and sad for Oma and Opa but hopefully next time will be better! We enjoyed a relaxed time with them, visiting with family, playing cards, going out to eat... I know, sounds pretty good right! We're already looking forward to our next visit!

Just a few of the many, many things I'm particularly thankful for this year...
~ a loving husband with a servant's heart
~ the gift of motherhood and a healthy daughter who brings such joy to our home
~ family who loves and supports us, prays for us, prioritizes time with us, and will point Zoe to the Lord
~ a church community who cares for us spiritually and tangibly
~ a faithful, gracious Heavenly Father
~ Geoff's stable job that provides enough for me to be able to stay home with Zoe
~ my sister moving close by
~ coffee and chocolate :)

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holidays, too!

Our Munchkin is 10 Months!

 It seems like Zoe has grown up so much in the past month! She's completely mobile now and into everything. Here are some funs and not-so-funs from 10 months old:
Funs...
~ its been amazing to watch her master the crawl, and then sitting from a crawl position. She follows us around and is able to occupy herself for longer periods of time.
~ Seems like as soon as she mastered crawling, she began pulling herself up to stand at the coffee table, ottoman, tub... basically anything she can get her hands on. This is both a fun and not-so-fun because nothing is safe anymore. Little arms have quite the reach!
~ She plays hide and seek and peek-a-boo like a champ. This is one of my favorite new developments!
~ She's really enjoying feeding herself which means I can try to do something else while keeping one eye on her
~Zoe has started giving her stuffed animals hugs and she is much more freely giving out kisses to us. Precious. She is also more cuddly when she is tired, which I love.

She would not give Clem a second thought this month.
This is before she threw him off the chair.

 

 

Not- so- funs...
~ With all this crawling and standing, bed time has become more of a challenge. She sits or stands up both when she is supposed to be going to sleep and sometimes in the middle of the night. Because she hasn't learned yet how to lay back down, she cries until we help her out. Its both pathetically cute and tiring :)
~ Don't know if its because she tires herself out with all the movement or what, but she can be quite whiny between her afternoon nap and bedtime. It can be a loooong 4 hours.
~She's working on 2 upper teeth which are just starting to show thru, but this definitely seems to contribute to her crankiness and short naps.
~ If she doesn't like what she is being fed or is done eating, she's started spitting her food, like blowing raspberries. Not cool. 
~ She still wakes up for one last feeding between 10-11pm which makes it hard for us to go out for too long at night or go to bed early. I'm contemplating how to get rid of this feeding... maybe she needs more solid food during the day?

Each day is different and seems to bring new joys and new challenges. We're so thankful for our healthy, mostly happy little girl who makes us laugh so often. Zoe Paige you continue to steal our hearts. We love you!

Pinterest is good for the belly

Many of you may be aware of the Pinterest craze -- a virtual "pin board" where you can share all the fun/interesting/yummy/funny/favorite things you find online, and search what other people have pinned. You organize boards by topics such as "recipes," "fashion," "babies," and "home decor" and then people can search your boards for ideas and inspiration. Its an easy way to waste lots of time but its also very helpful for things like menu planning, party planning, decoration inspiration, craft ideas and tutorials, etc...
One of my most dreaded things is planning a menu for the week. Its one of those things, like laundry or dishes, that just never stops. But if I don't have a menu planned then I'm stuck at the last minute throwing together random items from the fridge or trying to get Zoe and I to the store in time to have food ready when Geoff gets home. So while it's mentally draining for me, planning a menu for the week easily beats the frustration and added hectic-ness of not doing it.

burrito photo from Kalyn's Kitchen

I enjoy trying new meals, especially when I get stuck in a rut of not knowing what to cook. Pinterest has been an excellent resource for finding new recipes! We're trying to eat low-carb meals (i.e. no pasta, rice, bread, etc.) so the usual spaghetti or jambalaya that was in the weekly rotation had to be replaced. This week I'm planning to make several new recipes and I thought that perhaps I'm not the only one who dreads this whole menu-planning thing, so maybe it'd be nice to share some ideas with you all. Even better, several of them are crock pot recipes! Here are links to what's on our menu this week...
1.Crock pot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
2. Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans
3. Baked White Fish with Pine Nuts, Basil and Parmesean Crust
4. Apple Chicken Stew
5. Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork Shoulder

Bonus: This recipe for Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos we tried last week and they were great!
Happy cooking! 

Daddy's biggest fan

As football season approached, we began searching for some cute Packers apparel for Z, so she could cheer along with her daddy. Geoff and I decided for her that she will be a Packers fan (Geoff) and a Yankees fan (Danielle), supporting her parent's most favorite teams. She grew out of her Yankees apparel by the time the playoffs rolled around so perhaps that's why they lost?! It's probably our fault.
Anyway... since we could not find anything cute in her size that wasn't too expensive, I decided to make my own Packers outfit for her. Thanks to the wonders of Pinterest, I found an easy tutorial for a tutu and painted a onesie to match. I'm no artist, but here's the finished product:

Bienvenidos a Mexico

 This past month we did a crazy thing~ we took Zoe (not quite 9 months at the time) to Mexico! Our third time to the Sunset Fisherman's Resort was not quite as relaxing as usual, but we enjoyed spending the week with Danielle's family and making new memories that involved our favorite little girl.

Cheers to tropical drinks!

Xulam~ a delicious Mayan restaurant and one of the many yummy restaurants we enjoyed while in Mexico

Zoe wasn't crazy about the sand but she loved the water! Our resort also had a pool so we spent lots of time getting wet.

Enjoying the beach with Uncle Tyler

meeting a fish for the first time

The Goodling/Peck family 2012

9 months

• Crawling backwards (she sorta hops forwards on both knees but not too successfully)  
• Picking up cheerios on her own
• 2 naps a day/ 12 hrs at night
• Real giggles
• Enjoying books beyond putting them in her mouth
• Play, play, play
• Clapping
• High fives
• 2 bottom teeth
• First international vacation to Mexico
• Staring~ this girl is enthralled with faces.

These are some of the things that define Zoe’s life at 9 months old. She’s much less content to sit and play with what’s in front of her, and wants to explore instead, particularly those things she isn’t supposed to have. She continues to be most happy when we’re sitting there with her and doesn’t enjoy being left alone too much. She’s still afraid of the vacuum cleaner (I carry her while I push) and is only okay with the hair dryer if she is safely sitting on my bed and can see my face. She is constantly trying to pull herself up and tries to use us as leverage to get to things (cell phones, the remote, etc.). She loves being around other kids, and really seems to enjoy people in general. I’m guessing she’s going to be an extrovert like her daddy. It’s amazing to see her personality begin to show through!

We can’t imagine life without you little one. You bring us so much joy.

Pick a Peck of Apples

Its beginning to feel like Fall around here and as loud protestors of the summer heat, we're pretty excited. Fall is by far my favorite season: the beautiful colors of the changing leaves, sweaters and scarves, open windows and burning candles, and a desire to fire up the oven again, which of course involves a myriad of apple desserts! 

Last weekend we went apple picking in Lancaster and spent the day with my family. Zoe even got in on the action... she mostly liked pulling at and trying to eat the leaves. It was a gorgeous day to be outside and we were all full on apples by the time we were done picking (you're allowed to sample the different varieties to make sure you like what you're picking)! Between the 6 of us, we picked about 130lbs of apples. Yeah, we've got plenty. So far we've made an apple pie, apple crisp, and applesauce... not positive whats on the agenda next but possibly cake, dumplings, cobbler... so many possibilities!

8 Months

Every month I say this, and every month its more true -- time is flying by! How in the world is our little girl 8 months old already?! Sheesh! This parenting thing is a constant learning, growing experience, and while it has its difficult moments we are just loving it. Zoe is a bigger blessing than we could have asked for or imagined and we're looking forward to each and every day we get to enjoy this gift.

Some things I'm loving at this stage:
~ She sleeps on her side now, often with her legs sticking thru the crib slats and her thumb or ducky in her mouth. Its so cute I have to stop myself from kissing her.
~ She's so animated and talkative. I like to imagine what it is she is trying to say. Probably things like "thanks, mommy, you are the best..." :)
~ How she lights up when Geoff or I come home or enter a room. Nothing beats her smile.
~ 4hour stretches between meals and typically at least 1 long (1.5-2.5 hr) nap each day
~ She's working on crawling but not there yet so I'm clinging to these last days of putting her down somewhere and finding her in the same spot :)
~ Watching her play- I think she is going to have a great imagination.
~ She responds to her name - when she wants to :)

The harder-to-love things at this stage:
~ teething. She still just has part of her first tooth sticking thru but the drool and crankiness and waking up at night promise to bring more (come quickly please!)
~ She's much more clingy this past month or so. I like the holding her part, its the not getting much else done part that is challenging. Trying to enjoy these moments, though!
~ solid foods. She loves yogurt, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas and did I mention yogurt? Its fun watching this development as she's beginning to eat more solid-consistency foods and learning to pick up puffs on her own. The thing I don't like about it is the preparation, the planning, and remembering to do it when we're out and about! I haven't done as well with making my own food as I had hoped, and its just so easy to buy it when I'm at Target... but I want to get better at this.

We love you, our little Zo, Zoobs, Pookie, Pumpkin, Zoe girl...You light up our days!

Hitched

 

Zoe attended her first wedding over Labor Day weekend. One of our good friends from college, Trevor, married a sweet girl named Julie at a farm outside Pittsburgh, PA. Zoe isn't much of a car traveling fan, but she did pretty great on the 5 hour trip and we were super thankful. She did not do too well napping in the hotel~ she was plenty aware that it was NOT her bedroom and she didn't like that one bit. She usually cried ( ok, screamed) herself to sleep and only slept for 30-40 minutes which just doesn't cut it. But, we made do and she slept well during the night so for that we were extremely thankful!

 My good-looking family, how lucky am I?!

 One of the best parts of the wedding was catching up with other close college friends. Zoe enjoyed the extra attention and can't wait to hang out with these guys again. Here she is with Uncle Dave, who also needs credit for some of these photos. Thanks, Dave!

Zoe and I left the reception early so she could go to bed but we did manage to get in a family photo before our night was over.

Congratulations, Trevor & Julie. It was a blessing to be there to celebrate your love and the beginning of this new chapter in your lives. We love you!

A few of her favorite things

These stacking cups provide hours of entertainment. Several minutes at a time, of course. She seems to favor the big blue one especially. Because it's mommy's favorite colors? Perhaps :) They are numbered 1-8 with the corresponding number of holes in the bottom of each cup. I'm envisioning lots of water play with these in the next few months.

The ducky on her lap is what she sleeps with everyday. Typically one thumb in her mouth and the other hand clutching ducky over her head is how we find her in her crib.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Zoe loves looking at herself. She finds all faces pretty fascinating right now, but something about looking at herself in the mirror gets her going like nothing else. Side note: she still hates tummy time.

Boat Baby

learning all about the water from great grandma

Lots of lovin from her great-aunts

Zoe's first boat ride

happy water baby

 One of our adventures this summer was a family get-together at my (Danielle's) aunt's boat in Maryland. My grandparents had a boat when I was born and throughout my childhood, so lots of summer days were spent on the water. Sitting on a boat on the bay is my happy place, and I take pretty much any chance I get to spend on the water. I was excited to introduce Zoe to the water, too. We'd love to eventually someday have a boat, so we figure we better get her started on those sea legs :) I was so excited that she enjoyed her first boat ride! It was great spending the day with family, enjoying good food and making new memories.

Seven Months

 Our little girl is seven months old. One of her favorite things is looking at pictures or video of herself- she finds herself quite amusing! Zoe sits very well on her own now which makes it more enjoyable for her to have some independent play. She also poked thru her first tooth on her 7th month birthday (its a slow process coming thru though and I blame some of her crankiness on it). Zoe continues to enjoy eating solid food and has a wide variety of food she likes. She's starting to drink water from a sippy cup and also loves trying to drink from mommy's water bottle. She often makes a certain noise when she spies my water bottle that I pretend is a cue for water... maybe I'm making that up or maybe she is communicating with me, I'm not sure. 
This past month has also brought an increase in fussiness and a glimpse at temper tantrums. Its amazing how a 6 month old child can be so strong willed and throw a tantrum when she does not get something she wants! Lord help us, I think we're in for trouble. Amazing how early our sinful natures make an appearance, isn't it?! Zoe is more clingy and less easy going than she had been, and also has been randomly waking up at night, several times sometimes. I dont know if this is due to her teething or just a phase, but we're trying to roll with it. It makes it harder to get things done some days, but I need to remind myself that that's ok. She is more important than doing dishes or laundry or getting all my errands run. And thankfully her daddy is super understanding and helpful!
We've had lots of adventures lately and many more planned, so its been a full but fun summer. Hopefully I will get some posts up about those happenings soon!
In other news, there is the faint hint of fall in the air and I am soooo excited! Enjoy your day!