just growing like a weed they say

i swear this little guy has got to be changing clocks on the walls or something. i've never seen time move so fast. i'm already behind on his 7 month pic, but i pinky promise i'll have it posted before he's 8 months old and growing a mustache.

p.s. it's the last day to enter my 200 follower giveaway!

if i weren't chasing binkies...

sorry i don't have much time for words-it's been one of those days folks.

 i've been busy toting around a crying teething baby and chasing after missing binkies-i swear those things grow legs when i'm not looking!

i wonder how much time i lose per day searching for them...grrr.

oh well, we now have a happy napping baby.

sweet potato + black bean burritos

so i posted this...

...yesterday on instagram and i got some requests for the recipe.

i found it on pinterest-here's the link.

(by the way they were delicious)

{Roasted Veggie & Black Bean Burritos}

Ingredients:

2 whole sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed small

2 whole jalapenos, diced

1 whole red pepper, diced small

1 whole red onion, diced small

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 pinch salt and pepper

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (15 oz can)

½ cups fresh cilantro, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 cups shredded cheddar

1 package burrito-sized wheat tortillas or wraps (6-10 count)

Instructions:

mix raw veggies, olive oil and spices in a bowl. place into a large baking dish and roast for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. toss at about halfway through.

let cool then add your roasted veggies to a can of rinsed black beans, cilantro and lime juice.

warm your wraps/tortillas in the microwave. spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray.

add about two tablespoons of veggie & black bean mixture to the center of your tortilla and top with shredded cheese. fold and place in the casserole dish. continue rolling the others and make sure you place the seam side down in the dish.

bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown at 375 degrees. makes 6-8 burritos.

you've GOT to try them!

follow me on instagram @bakerloves

and here on pinterest.

oh and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

HERE!

boogie king

so apparently my son likes to boogie.
and i'm pretty happy about that because we all know there's nothing more unattractive than a man who can't dance. well besides ugly teeth, bad breath and know-it-alls.
can you tell i'm a dental hygienist?
anywho, maybe there are a few things worse, but a man who can dance is always a plus.
you're welcome future daughter-in-law.
see you in oh, 50 years or so.
that is if i ever decide to let him date.

(please excuse the song-my son loves Miranda Lambert so i just put one on to see if i could catch him in the act. then i realized he has no balance without me holding him hence the 10 second video.)

(daddy tried a different song and gave him a little support this time. he usually gets more into it than even this. and i'm 100% confident that daddy frustrated him a bit at the end, ha :)

i'm fairly certain he's been professionally trained in both funk and freestyle.

he seems to be some sort of rhythmical genius.

belly dancing and contemporary are up next!

here's to many more dancing baby nights!

200 Follower Giveaway!!

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{giveaway}
One lucky Baby Baker Love reader will win 4 ad spaces and one photo print.

{how to enter}
**you must follow Baby Baker Love Blog**
(leave a comment saying you follow for your first entry)

{additional entries}
1. Follow, visit, or like any of the above links. 
(leave a separate comment here on Baby Baker Love for each link you follow)
2. Tweet, status update or post about the giveaway.
(leave a separate comment here on Baby Baker Love for each tweet, status update or post)

This giveaway is open to US Baby Baker Love Followers.
The winner will be announced on August 1.

Thanks for all your support and to the special ladies above for making my first giveaway UH-mazing :)

Giveaway Tomorrow!

hello all!

just wanted to let you know that the giveaway i've been putting together for a couple of weeks now is going down tomorrow!!

thanks for all your support!

and to a special group of ladies for helping to make it all happen!

here's a sneak peek: 

hope to see you soon!

7 months (7/22/12)

7 months baby boy!

you are a wild little man-always on the move, kicking your legs, rolling all over the place and getting into EVERYTHING! you seem to be more interested in things like daddy's shoelaces, picture frames and cords rather than your toys. what a mess you are! i can hardly take my eyes off of you for a second. you roll so fast! everyone says once you learn to crawl or walk you will be GONE! you are definitely keeping me on my toes bubba.

i noticed on July 10th that you were getting your first tooth! i had been dreading the day that you would lose your gummy smile, but i think your little pearly white coming in is kinda cute. you have been doing great too-no fussing, drooling, nothing. what a good baby.

you are sitting up on your own nicely these days and we've been practicing standing with you too. we think you will be crawling any day now!

oh and you tried bananas today-your first fruit! i was so excited that you might actually like something besides milk, but you ended up wearing more ON your belly than we got IN it :)
hopefully you will start liking something soon.

you are so happy. one of our favorite things is hearing you laugh.
we are so blessed.

love you so much bubba,

momma

avoiding melt-age

hey guys!
hope you all are enjoying this swelt-abulously hot weekend!
i'm just here, you know, trying not to melt.
it.is.so.hot.outside.
seriously people. it's hot EVERYWHERE. even inside. ;)
but, for real, i'm not joking.

so i just wanted to stop by and make sure you all were alive. no heat strokes right?
oh, and also to let you know that i'm guest posting over at Little Homemade Housewife.
-i'm sharing my moss coaster DIY, but there are also some new pics of Ry in it too. and it's always fun seeing what he's up to. :) check it out here.

hope there's no melting going on your way!
ta-ta for now (thanks for that one Tigger ;)

on homemade baby food

once Ry was about 4 months old i started experimenting with making baby food at home. first off let me warn you by saying i had no idea what i was doing during my initial trial run and am still kind of trying to figure it all out.

attempt numero uno did not go so well. we tried pureeing peas in a blender that we already owned and it didn't turn out as smooth as we were hoping. so first we made an investment in a Ninja and it has worked wonderfully! we also purchased a steamer and ice cube trays.

i'm just going to give a quick rundown of the steps i go through when making his food.

1. i like to soak my fruits and veggies in water and a little bit of vinegar for about 10 minutes to get them all clean then rinse

2. cut/cube your veggie/fruit

3. steam/bake/boil until tender

4. blend-get all the chunks out!

5. poor into trays-(tap the trays on the counter a few times to make sure it's packed well)
6. freeze

after frozen you can just pop them out and store in freezer bags!

it really is pretty simple and i've actually only had to do it two times so far! i like knowing that Ry is getting fresh ingredients and not all the yucky additives!

now if i could just get more of it into his mouth than on his body! poor thing is a mess and loves his momma's milk!

there are a couple of sites i've used as references: here and here.

any questions? tips?

good luck in the kitchen mommas!

p.s. be sure to come back next week for my 200 follower giveaway!

speed date

hey guys! let's get to know each other! SPEED DATE STYLE!!

i am a christian.
i'm so thankful that God continued to pursue me when i ran from Him so many times.
God has changed me from who i once was and i am forever grateful.
i met my husband in college.
we got married at age 22 during a terrible ice storm.
we have been married for 4 years and 7 months.
our son, Rylan, was born last december.
we love being parents.
this december we will be celebrating 5 years of marriage, Ry's first birthday and Christmas all in a row.
i've been imagining/planning my son's first birthday party for months. it's still 5 months away.
i don't like chocolate.
i love China.
i hate driving. it makes me nervous. but so does riding. -confessions of a backseat driver.
i take too many pictures.
i am very nostalgic/sentimental.
i am a dental hygienist. show me your teeth!
one of my favorite things to do is play games.
i love sports.
i love country music.
i love sitting on the back porch-when it's not too hot, not too cold.
the ocean is calling my name. like always.
husband is good at math. i am not.
i like to shop. husband does not.

ok enough about me! LINK UP here.

hey, look i'm in my footies

one of my favorite things is getting you out of bed in the morning. i just love picking you up and holding you for the first time. and it's especially fun when you're in your footies. 

sometimes i let you go all day in them because they are just so darn cute.

Linking up: here, here, here, here, and here. 

our first ALONE date night since baby boy

(chambray: Target similar here, top: Gap similar here, shorts: Gap similar here, watch: Fossil, bracelet: gift similar here)

this past weekend husband and i got to go on our first alone date in 7 months!

can you believe it?! S-E-V-E-N months!

it was so nice to get some time to ourselves.

even as we drove away from the house it was like everything just fell back into place-just me and him.

we had dinner and talked and talked.

then we went on to play some putt-putt.

you can size me up for my green jacket-WINNER by a stroke right here!

also, i'm part of a group giveaway over at Pencilled Daydream-check it out!

church

yesterday we decided to let little man join us in the sanctuary during church service.

he did so good! just look at those chubby fingers, hands folded nicely in his lap and all attention at the pulpit! he didn't make it long though-he was passed out in a matter of minutes! but you should have seen him gettin' it during worship-boy loves him some music!

hopefully no one noticed me snapping pics, but come on-can you blame me? ;)

i just found out...

husband and i are going on a date tonight...

ALONE!

i know this may sound crazy but...

it will be the first time since Rylan was born.

can you believe it?

almost 7 months!

here's to a great date night!

what to wear?? hmm...

i'm thinking something with my coral shorts...

now on to friday's letters:

dear husband: thanks for finding someone to watch our little guy so we can have some alone time. you know just what i needed.

dear michelle & matt: thanks for being such awesome friends-we really appreciate you watching Ry for us.

dear weekend: please don't get in any hurry. we like having you around.

dear friday: you're my fav.

dear friday the 13th: i'm still a little skeptical about you, but i'll give you a chance tonight.

Linking up: here and here.

awkward & awesome

awkward:

1. so one of our dogs threw up in the car on our way to visit my family. we pull over at one of the loveliest gas stations you ever laid eyes on. i'm talkin' straight out of a horror film, Texas Chainsaw-like. and wouldn't you know it, i had to pee like a mad woman. so there i was in all my glory hovering over the grimiest toilet in the state trying my best not to imagine all the creepy things that could be lurking around my feet. lucky for me i've had some experience with squatty potties during a short stay in china so i'm a pro of sorts. i did my business quick and literally had to bust my way out due to the missing door knob stuffed with paper towels. and let's not even begin to talk about the smell. yuck. i found it comical that i was given no warning from the man working there about the conditions of the bathroom. when i asked where the restroom was he acted as if it were perfectly normal maybe even luxurious. ha. i'm giving him the evil glare in my mind to this day. i hurried out to the car to soak my hands in purell after that one.

2. the mr. and i have a thing about house hunting. we love it. even when we aren't looking to buy. so husband sends me an email about a house that we have to go see after he gets off work. we pull up to a gated entrance that requires a code. bummer, right? wrong. this guy decides to zoom in behind someone after they enter the code! and turns out the person we followed in are the owners of the house we were going to look at. "keep driving, keep driving. just smile and wave."

3. feeding Ry in mcdonald's during our road trip. i'm all about efficiency and i sooo don't care anymore. no shame. 

awesome:

1. Ry's first tooth is coming in. this one is kinda bittersweet for me though. i'm going to miss his gummy smile.

2. the sugar cookies that i devoured in 3 days. thanks to my friend, michelle :)

3. we haven't had to go grocery shopping yet this month, but we are running out of options over here though ladies and gentlemen!

Happy Thursday yo!

and Happy Birthday to my lovely friend Beca :)

Anniversary + Birthday + Guest Post

Happy 30th Anniversary Mom & Dad!!

Thank you for fighting for your marriage and staying true all these years.

Love you!

and Happy Birthday Dad :)

also, I'm sharing Ry's birth story over at The Grant Life.
Check it out here.

Meet the Fockers & the Griswolds

ever have those days, you know the ones where everything seems to go wrong?

the baby won't eat his big boy food. he just tightens his lips when momma's "spoon  airplane" comes in for landing and if you ever do happen to get food into his mouth he just spits it out or somehow manages to fling some onto the carpet and you go to clean it, but end up just basically mushing it in more.

yeah, me neither.

or you try all the usual things to get the baby to sleep, but nothing works. nada. baby turns into a blubbering mess and you want to pull all your hair out.

yeah, me neither.

or when you've played with every toy in the house, but nothing satisfies and you can't help but wonder if baby is teething. then you realize your probably wrong about that too.

me neither.

i can't stand movies like Meet the Fockers or National Lampoon's Vacation where everything goes wrong. seriously, i get so frustrated i want to jump through the screen and punch Clark Griswold and Ben Stiller's character, Greg, in the face!

i'm just thankful that my Mr. is always there to rescue me during my "everything goes wrong" days.

thanks babe. i'm glad you're not Clark Griswold.

the three traveling-keteers

so we left last tuesday for our trip across the country. ok, ok, maybe it was just the state of texas, but by the time we made it home on sunday my buns were telling another story.

we had been planning a surprise visit to see the Mr.'s mom for some time now and we were finally able to make it happen.

we made a few stops along the way including time with old friends and family.

spent the 4th in the town where hubs grew up watching fireworks out in the country, swimming and playing washers.

i love times like these gathered around the table catching up, asking tough questions, eating good food and playing games.

we had a great trip and i do believe my mother-in-law was surprised :)

sorry i left you hangin...

but...
we planned a surprise visit to see my mother-in-law and i was under strict orders to keep it top secret.

i'll be back to my normal obsessive baby posting this week.

sneak peek:

feels good to be home :)

10 things I love about you: baby boy edition

1. That you want me to hold you when you're sleepy.

2. Your fuzzy baby head and the three random long strands of hair that I discovered.

3. The little roll of fat that circles your neck.

4. When you get shy and bury your face into my shoulder.

5. You in your footie pajamas. Heaven on earth I tell ya.

6. The way you burst out crying sometimes when a group of people are staring at you or when you realize a new person is holding you and your tiny hands begin shaking and big elephant tears start streaming down your face-and then I swoop you up in my arms and it's all over.

7. The spot at the back of your head where the tail of your hair meets your neck-perfect for kisses.

8. Your jibber-jabber.

9. Your fake cry.

10. Your knee dimples.

oh how there is so much to love about you. seriously, i could go on and on, but i'll spare you this time and keep it at just 10 mildly mushy things.

must do's for the summer.

1. swim. duh.
2. take a trip to the zoo.
3. putt-putt!
4. go to a splashpad or waterpark.
5. eat snow cones.
6. go for walks.
7. go to a baseball game.
8. visit the farmer's market.
9. have a picnic.
10. go to the park.
11. finish some of my crafts.
12. have Mr. Baker build something.
13. go to a festival.

Some more may be added along the way so stay tuned all you fanatic "to-do list crosser off-ers".

i may or may not have added one just so i could cross it off...you know you do it too ;)

What are some of your summer must do's?

what i was doing/what he was doing

follow me on instagram @bakerloves

have a happy week :)

and p.s. i've been in the works on a  200 follower giveaway

-we are so close-get the word out!