Cupboard Diver

I mentioned earlier that Charlie had cupboards figured out in about two seconds. So we had to move anything poisonous or hazardous pretty quickly. And on some of the cupboards there are childproofing things, but on others we don't have them. As it's not our house, we didn't want to permanently install anything, and the ones you don't install are a PAIN to open and close even for adults. So yeah, we just moved some stuff out of his reach, but you can't move EVERYTHING. Consequently I spend a lot of time throwing things back in cupboards all over the house. (Yes, it's why they look disastrous.) At any moment you're liable to find charlie playing in:

The Tupperware cupboard!

The table linens cupboard!

And his very all time favorite... The pots and pans!!!!

I don't know how kids figure this stuff out, it's so classic it's cliche, but with zero encouragement or help from us, Charlie got into this cupboard, pulled stuff out, and started doing this....

It's a good thing we think he's super cute and funny.

Fall is for baking

And I tried this new recipe, and had probably my 1st ever total pie crust success!!!

I tried the pear tart because we had pears to use, and it seems like you can only eat them so fast fresh, and they just manage to go bad, which stinks, cuz fresh pears are amazing, but this little ditty was pretty darn yummy as well! For all those people like me for whom their pie crust technique just leaves something to be desired, I suggest this tart.... I think you could easily do other fruit too. The crust is more chewy, but still soft. But the added chewy and softness means the dough is actually just a ton easier to work with than pie crust....




However, my pie crust technique is veeerrrryyyy slowly improving. I ran to grab the camera after I rolled and laid this pie crust in, and told my husband I had to document probably the first time ever I didn't have to patch my crust together...


Yay for me! Maybe one day I won't get nervous at the very idea of pie crusts, haha. We'll see! This particular crust contained a peach pie, because we also had peaches that needed using and people coming over. I should have taken a picture of the after, so you could see how delish, but I forgot. Too excited about the crust I guess!

9 Months!

Seems like in the time from 6 months to 9 months Charlie has changed more than ever before, not in looks but in all his new skillz! :)

Height: 28.75 inches ~ 70%
Weight: 20 lbs 10 oz ~ 55%

Stuff about Charlie:

• Crawls like a mad man, in the last 3 months we went from rollings, to army crawl and to weird mixed crawls, and finally to crawling more traditionally and even more quickly, watch out if you open the fridge!
• Stands up on anything and everything, cruises around on it. This included the beginning stage of falling OFF everything and banging his head, which was fun. Now he's a pro and can get up and down with skill.
  
• Now has other sounds he's added to his 'hi dad'... including mom! Yay! Says, 'eye-yi-yi' a lot.
• Entertains himself better and better.

• Can climb all the stairs all by himself.
• Likes to play with wrappers, paper, cell phones, garbage cans, anything it's clear we don't want him to play with.
• Can open cupboards (more in a later post) and get out all the contents (don't worry mom, we moved or locked up the hazardous stuff, so now it's mostly just a mess).
• Loves sweets - likes his fruit babyfood the best, but also likes the veggies and mac and cheese one. A co-worker of John's gave Charlie a circus peanut, evidently it was like Charlie's favorite day, EVER.
• Loves tomatoes or tomato products such as spaghetti sauce.
• Likes to feed himself, but by that I mean scatter the food all over the tray and watch what happens when he throws it on the floor. (But he has SUCH a good time!)
• Is more reserved around strangers than he used to be. Becomes a little shy and unsure if someone he's unfamiliar with smiles at him or tries to interact.
  
• Still LOVES his daddy. If it comes down to a choice, he knows who he wants and it's not me. Sometimes it's hard for me to hang on to him when daddy is close by, he'll totally try to abandon ship! When his daddy comes home from work he'll make a mad dash to get to him ASAP. And if dad talks before Charlie can see him, his head swerves all around looking for where it came from. I try not to be offended, because it's really quite cute!
  

(Found Charlie like this after dad brought him in.
John had been mowing the lawn with him in his baby bjorn,
but got too hot and tired, so was going to finish alone.
Clearly Charlie wanted to be out there with him still!)

Peach Days Is Peachtastic!

We really didn't do much for Peach Days this year other than treat ourselves to some peach related desserts. We walked around the booths for one part of an afternoon and then left and went to the Aggie game. I know, we're boring that way. But we didn't think Charlie would appreciate the parade yet as he hasn't learned that he cares about c-a-n-d-y. And we learned our lesson last year on that thing.... woah, overkill. So instead of telling you about that, I'll share a very tasty dessert, ala Alton Brown - They are really easy, quite quick, and really yummy!

Individual Peach Upside-Down Cakes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  
• 2 medium peaches, peeled
• 1-ounce finely chopped crystallized ginger, approximately 3 tablespoons
  (I've searched high and low for this in No. Utah and couldn't find it, it's just fine w/o, but I'd love to try it with it sometime!)
  
• 2.5 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Whipped Cream or ice cream, for serving, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide 2 tablespoons of the butter between 4 (6-ounce) ramekins. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside. Evenly divide the brown sugar between the ramekins; sprinkling it into the bottoms of the dishes. Cut each peach into 12 to 14 pieces. Lay the peaches on top of the sugar; evenly dividing them between the dishes and sprinkle with the ginger. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until combine. Pour the batter over the peaches; dividing the mixture evenly between the dishes. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove from the oven to a rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each dish and turn upside down onto a serving plate. Repeat with each cake. Serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Southern Utah Trip

We decided to head down south to Cedar to see John's grandma for labor day. With John now working 4 tens it almost seems like you have to go away when you get a Monday off! Four day weekend!

We took Charlie to the super fun pool in Washington. I thought he would have fun in a pool that goes all the way to shallow so he could crawl around by himself, and he really did, it was so cute!

We went out to John's grandma's property in Bear Valley and joined John's Aunt, Uncle and some cousins there.


We picked some elderberries and brought them home and made syrup.




John's cousin Jocelyn and her husband had a little girl just about a week and a half before we had Charlie. This is the first time we were able to see cute little Lottie and Charlie side by side.