Recipe share & bday recap

I have a slight obsession with granola.  I've went through a few recipes over the years and while most were tasty, none were absolutely perfect.  Until now.  I found a great base recipe thanks to Weelicious and tweaked it to my liking. 



I somewhat followed the recipe and also threw in some maple syrup, wheat germ, Craisins, extra coconut and omitted the chocolate chips.  Delish.  I have pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and peanut butter on the radar for the next batch.  I threw it all on a baking sheet and stirred it a few times since I was making actual granola and not granola bars.

I'm in a baking mood thanks to this crisp weather, plenty of time, and a toddler who loves being my right hand (wo)man in the kitchen.   Kris gave this his seal of approval, Parker asked me for more, and she even shared with the dog who gobbled it right up.  So you know it's gotta be good :)

Granola Bars--Weelicious

Ingredients

• 4 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips*
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. 2. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl.
3. 3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
4. 4. Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
5. 5. Place granola mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a rectangle, about 13 x 9 x 1 inch thick.
6. 6. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. 7. Allow to cool completely then cut into 3 x 1 inch bars.**
8. * You can substitute raisins or other dried fruit for the chocolate chips.
9. ** Individually wrapped, the bars will remain fresh for several weeks.

And finally, Parker's 2nd birthday festivities in no particular order.  

Stace of Cakes. Perfect compliment to the farm party.

Kris loves feeding ducks.  Seriously loves it.

Upland Hills farm.  Even though her facial expression says otherwise, this is Parker's heaven on Earth.

Hee haw!

I opted out of the hayride up to the pumpkin patch so I lived this moment through pictures.  I went on it once during my pregnancy and the bumpy ride practically popped Teagan right out.  Teagan didn't like it inside the womb so chances were she'd feel the same outside the womb.

The big sister felt otherwise.

All girls need heels.

Thank you, Coldstone, for this delicious breakfast.  

 

That's right, cake for breakfast.

Someone loved her cat all the way to the zoo.

The most random zoo of all times in Frankenmuth.  But I assure you, if you go to a "real" zoo you will never get so close to bears, lions and tigers. You're like a foot away close.  I hope these zookeepers know what they are doing with their fences.

70 degrees, sunny, and checking out ostriches.  Teagan approves.

All in all a pretty succesful second birthday celebration. That day two years ago will forever be etched in my mind.  Hard to believe that a once helpless, dependent on us for everything newborn turned into a strong willed, independent, mind of her own toddler.

Happy 1 Month, Teagan Noelle

The saddest part about having little ones is that they grow up too fast.  After Teagan's first week I started to think that she looked just so big.  My eyes weren't playing tricks on me.  This girl has packed on about 2.5lbs and get this--3 entire inches this month. I thought she was measured wrong until I saw the pictures above.  Check out how much longer her legs are at 1 month.  She's 10.1lbs (75th percentile) and 23 inches (95th percentile).  Looks like we have another tall, long legged one on our hands :)

We have been blessed with a sleeper.  I'm talking only wakes in the night to eat and goes right back down, snoozes while we're out and about, and even got me to the point where I was concerned that she may be sleeping too much.  A couple days there she was only awake for 30 minutes.  Turns out there's nothing to worry about, she's just a sleeper.  It's just in the past week and a half that Teagan's been awake for longer stretches. 

Smiles are on Teagan's face all.the.time.  She melts our hearts by cooing, is overachieving by saying "daddy" (either that or Kris and I are wacko and are making this up, a possibility, but seriously though we both heard it), likes to hold our fingers, and dances while on the activity mat. Teagan loves baths, tolerates tummy time, and is a good sport when Parker rocks her a bit too hard. Black and white books are also high up on her list.

I'm able to tell the reason behind Teagan's cries, something I could never tell with Parker.  She has a hungry cry, a tired cry, an uncomfortable cry, and very rarely an I'm mad at the world cry.  Stinky doesn't begin to describe this girl.  She farts more than someone this cute ever should.

Most days are easy peasy with 2u2 thanks to Teagan's calm, go with the flow personality.  Some days though Teagan is fuss pants and wants to be held/worn 24/7 while Parker is also in a mood.  Cue one day last week.  Parker was the queen of tantrums all day.  Epic, yogurt chucking, milk spilling, screaming til she was blotchy in the face sort of tantrums. Multiple times.  Teagan wouldn't lay down to nap so we Moby'd up most of the day.  Love the Moby, don't like the limited mobility.  I also don't like having a deaf baby due to toddler screams. Teagan had a rash on her that warranted a trip to the doctor.The rash was thanks to me washing her clothes in a load with clothes that had Shout on them and she had a bad reaction to it. "But I use all natural everything and anything" I said to the doctor.  Oh wait, except for the only product that takes out toddler proportioned stains.  Talk about feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. I felt like crying.

I had a nice, big glass of wine at the end of that day.

I'm trying to savor every second with this little one because one look at Parker makes me realize how fast they really do grow up. I find myself taking in every little detail of Teagan, those little baby coos, all those smiles, the way she grasps my fingers, that baby smell. Slow down, pumpkin!