Bomb Diggity Chicken

I have to admit, when chicken is on our dinner menu, it is usually the boneless, skinless, variety. Sometimes, though, I need a little chicken skin! I roasted a whole chicken today and it was FANTASTIC! It was so easy and probably the best homemade roasted chicken I've had.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (ours was 7 lbs)
4 tbsp melted butter
4 cloves minced garlic
sea salt
pepper
mixed dry Italian herbs (I used the McCormick Italian Seasoning grinder)

Preheat your oven to 375. Spray the rack of a roasting pan with olive oil spray or brush with olive oil or butter. Rinse your chicken inside and out and place on the roasting rack breast side up with the wings folded back. Brush the chicken with the melted butter then rub in the minced garlic. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and herbs liberally. Roast for 2 hours.

So easy and so delicious! It will smell amazing within about 5 minutes of putting it in the oven!

Sorry there's no picture. I pulled it out of the oven just before running out the door to my sewing class. Of course, Ryan devoured it while I was out (yes, he saved a good amount for me). Upon tasting it, he realized he should have taken a picture, but it was too late!

1 Month Pics

We just can't get enough of our handsome baby boy!

Little Ocean Friends

A few weeks ago, we started putting Logan on his little activity mat/play gym. Initially he showed no interest but we kept putting him in it so he would have something to look at other than the ceiling. I would shake all the little animals hanging around him and say, "this is your friend, Octopus. Say 'hi' to Octopus. This is your friend Turtle. Say 'hi' to Turtle." Then, early one morning (like 2:30am early when he was super fussy with a tummy ache) I put him on the mat and he started interacting with his friend Starfish! He would bat at Starfish and when it stopped moving, he said "bah!" Then, he would grab it, wiggle it, and when he let go and it stopped moving, he said "bah!" He talked to Starfish for about 20 minutes. It was so cute and so awesome to see him recognize something and actually play with it. I could imagine all the little connections happening in his brain and it was beautiful.

Happy 2012!

How do you celebrate New Year's with a new baby? You go out to dinner at a casual restaurant, stop at the market on your way home to pick up bagels and lox for breakfast the next day, run a few errands, then pop open a bottle of bubbly and snuggle your baby while watching the ball drop from the comfort of your own couch. It was a perfect way to ring in the new year!

One Month Old

Our sweet Logan,

On January 3, we celebrated your one-month birthday. We can't believe it's already been a month since you entered the world and made us a family.

In your first month, you celebrated Nikolaus Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's. You were visited by Oma, Aunt Dani, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Derek, Great Grandma, Great Grandpa, Great Aunt Irene, Great Uncle Tony, Great Uncle Tom, and many of our friends. Everyone just loves you and can't get enough of you! You are Oma, Grandma, and Grandpa's first grand baby and the first great grand baby!

You are such a sweet baby. You usually sleep for 3 hours at a time and you're such a deep sleeper, you barely notice if we go in the car, to a restaurant, out on a walk, or to a doctor's appointment. Even your pediatrician loves how peaceful you are at appointments. You only cry when you're having an uncomfortable diaper change and when you're hungry. You become so frantic when you're about to eat; your little head shakes side to side and you attack your bottle like a lion attacking its prey. We often have to stop you during your meal to remind you to breathe. Your appetite is just like daddy's!

Snuggle time is your favorite. You find a special way to snuggle up to everyone who holds you. We love seeing your sweet little face up so close when you hug our neck and shoulders. You also love tummy time! Not because you love lifting your head and strengthening your muscles but because you know after a few minutes of hard practice, mommy will let you fall asleep on your tummy before she moves you to bed and lays you down safely on your back.


We could easily spend all day watching you. You are the baby with a million faces and they all make us smile and laugh. You have a strange need to stretch all the time. We think you must have been quite cramped in mommy's tummy (which is also how we think you got those sweet folds on your little ears). When you stretch, it's clear you're using every muscle, even the tiny muscles in your face. You grunt and groan like an old man trying to get out of bed the morning after a hard day's work. You do it all the time, too, while you sleep and when you're awake. It's hilarious!


You're growing so fast. When you were born, you weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce. You lost a little bit of weight while in the neonatal intensive care unit during your first week but quickly gained it back when we brought you home. We didn't even try to put newborn clothes or diapers on you because we knew they wouldn't fit. You've already outgrown some of your 0-3 month clothes because you already weigh 11 pounds, 4 ounces!

Logan, you had a rough entry into the world, but you've shown us, over and over again, just how strong and special you are. We love you more than we could ever express and are so happy you are our son.

Love,
Mom and Dad