Liam Week #3

Yes he is precious when he sleeps, but as you can see from week to week he is more and more alert.  He is starting to pick his head up now too.  They really, truly do grow so fast.

Dr. Reuss

The doctor that took such good care of mommy and Liam for 10 months.  Our family really, really, really likes Dr. Reuss and his staff!!  And I can't help but compare the similarities of the two boys...2 1/2 years ago.

First Bath

We had a much better experience with Liam's first bath than we did with Gavin's.  We had no idea what we were doing with Gavin!!  This time we were organized and better prepared for what we needed.  Liam seemed to like the bath - no screaming like his brother.  

Liam Week #2

Visitors are continuing to come - we love having the company and being able to share our new peanut with everyone.  Below Great Grandpa Hendricks and co-worker Jamie came during Liam's second week of life.  He also had a special visit from the stork :)

Liam Week #1

Our blog was started with the intention of having a way to keep family and friends informed and current with our lives (specifically with Gavin).  We all get so many e-mails all the time that we didn't think sending out a weekly update e-mail was going to do the trick; plus you always end up forgetting someone.

Well now our bundle of joy #2 has arrived and we've committed to do the same.  Everyone says you'll never take the same amount of pictures of you second or third children as you did your first.  We're hoping to change that standard at our house.  We do love to document our life through photos.  Plus we think our kids are adorable (that's our job as parents) so we try to capture every cute moment they have.

These are a few photos of Liam's first week of life.  He's now 3 weeks old...and cuter than the first week. We'll update more pictures later in the week.

Scrumptious Sundays

Another successful recipe from Runner's World magazine.  We made this last night for Jason's pre-race dinner.  It was so, so, so good.  And now Barb has leftovers for the week too.  For our non-meat lover friends, you can substitute the chicken for spinach and mushroom...we'll try that one next.

Quick, Creamy Chicken Lasagna

• 15 lasagna noodles (we used whole wheat), cooked al dente
• 4 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 12 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup chicken or veggie broth
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400°F. Combine chicken, basil, 8 ounces of cream cheese, and 1/4 cup broth. Mix remaining 4 ounces cream cheese with 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl; set aside. To assemble, spread 1/3 cup marinara on the bottom of baking dish, then assemble 4 layers in the following order: 3 lasagna noodles, 2/3 cup marinara, 1 cup chicken filling, 3/4 cup mozzarella, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with remaining 3 noodles, the cream cheese-broth mixture, 3/4 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover with cooking spray-coated foil and bake until bubbly, about 45 minutes. Leaving lasagna on same rack, turn oven to broil. Remove foil and broil until lasagna is golden brown, 5 minutes. Remove from oven; let sit for 10 minutes. Serves 12.

He's Arrived

Liam Patrick Hendricks

8 pounds 8 ounces

21.5 inches long

Finally arrived via C-Section Tuesday December 27, 2011 at 8:08 am

We couldn’t be happier.  He’s adorable, lovable, sweet, and all the things that babies are supposed to be.  Gavin is adjusting well and getting more and more ‘into’ Liam each day.  He is quite the little helper for mommy.  Jason is on sabbatical until mid-January and it has been so, so wonderful to have us all home together as we start our new family.  If anyone has any ideas of how we can sustain this lifestyle 24/7 - we’re happy to entertain them.

Jason was the official photographer of the day - he did such a WONDERFUL job taking pictures, being a new dad, and a super, fantastic, supportive husband!  Yes he truly is Superman!  This is one of my favorite pictures...Liam entering the world!!

Scrumptious Sundays

Scalloped White Truffled Pommes Anna

Very fancy name, pretty easy recipe.  Prep time was more than let's say mashed potatoes - but these were pretty and so yummy.  We even had the leftovers for breakfast the next day.  Jason made the dish on NYE and it turned out fantastic!  Unfortunately dinner on NYE was a little hectic while trying to put 2 little ones to bed, so we didn't get a picture.  This picture and recipe is courtesy of Cooking Light magazine.

Ingredients

2 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 

Cooking spray

2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

2 1/2 teaspoons white truffle oil, divided

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine 2 teaspoons thyme and kosher salt in a small bowl.

3. Drizzle butter into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet coated with cooking spray. Arrange a layer of slightly overlapping potato slices in a circular pattern in pan; sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon salt mixture and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon truffle oil. Repeat layers 4 times, ending with truffle oil. Press potato mixture firmly to pack. Cook over medium-high heat for 6 minutes without stirring.

4. Cover with foil, and bake at 450° for 20 minutes on bottom rack in oven.

5. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Loosen edges of potatoes with a spatula or knife. Place a plate upside down on top of pan; invert potatoes onto plate. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme.