Finally a Cracker Recipe!

I have searched high and low for a good cracker recipe! I have tried the recipe from Nourishing Traditions and for some reason we do not seem to love it as much as everyone else. I've tried making up my own recipes (I try this way to often and fall on my face... way to often!)
Of all the recipes that I have tried this one is the best AND the easiest! Whoo Hoo!

My main motivation for finding a good cracker recipe is so that I have a quick and easy snack that both boys can have while we are out. I hate Goldfish crackers,I hate cereals, I hate baby puff things... I think I'd rather hand both of them a snickers bar! So this seems to be a good compromise! It's not the best and I haven't tried to soak the grains before I made them, I'm not sure if I will because that takes more work and I'm not sure I feel like dealing with more work!
For those who are interested ... here she is....

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup plus 1 tbs olive oil

1 cup applesauce

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt 

Mix salt, cinnamon, flour and oil until mix resembles coarse meal. Add applesauce and mix well. Form into ball (add more flour if too sticky - knead in well) and split into halves for rolling. Roll out 1/8 to 1/16 thick on floured surface. Use sharp knife and cut 2" squares from dough - place on baking sheets and prick 2-3 times with fork. (optional - top with sugar and press sugar in to get it to stick into dough). Bake in 350 deg oven for 10 minutes, flip crackers and bake 5- 10 mins more until crispy.


It is really good tasting to me, hopefully Gman will agree. He seems to be my toughest food critic right now!!


Enjoy! 

Bastian's Well Child Visit

Basarooski-doo also had a 3 Year Check-up recently.

He weighs 39 lbs and it 38 inches tall. (Less than 10 inches taller than Gabriel!)

He had to get a few vaccines as well. He didn't cry, but he did yell. He was fine as soon as he saw the bandages and got the stickers! He also enjoyed having a War story to tell anyone and everyone who would listen for the next week!

Gman's Well Baby Visit

Our Little Gman had his "6 month Check Up" a few days ago. (it was delayed because of vacation and a vaccine delay)

He weighs 17lbs 6oz and is 29 inches long!

He is in the 50% percentile for height and off the charts for length!

Not too surprising since he is super skinny and super long!

He reacted to his shots much better this time. We didn't have 3 days of a grumpy baby dude like last time.

Still no teeth! And no sign of them.

Gman Starting Solids/Sitting Up and Almost Crawling!

We had planned to delay solids until 7 months. But after multiple days in a row of a grumpy baby dude and we could not explain the issues we decided to go ahead and offer some baby food. Only 1 week earlier than planned anyways... so no big deal!

We offered bananas first and he took them like a champ! Bananas are delicious.. so no real surprise. After he had his first meal he fell asleep and it was seriously the deepest sleep I have seen him have in weeks! So I am glad that he is getting some rest with a full belly! We will see how dinner goes.

Here are some photos of our fun day -o- first solids!

We Looooove Bananas! 

He is also sitting up like a champ! While Bastian was sitting by 5 months, Gabriel has shown no real interest... until now! By 6 months he was sitting by still using his hands to support his body. But then one day he decided that he had figured it out! And he has never looked back. We do still have the occasional topple, but he is doing great!

Sitting up like a champ! 6.5 months!

Gman also has his little heart set on mobility! We are not sure if we are excited or scared about this! He has crawling basics down.. but it is more the coordination of everything that seems to be the problem. I'm sure he'll figure it out sooner than later. And I will figure out how high things need to be and how I need to vacuum more often! That much I could live without!

He is super close to crawling as well!

Bastian loves to help where he can!

Bastian has been the best big brother ever! We were seriously worried when we were pregnant, let's face it... Bastian is not the calmest of children. But he has blown us away! He loves to give Gman toys and try to calm him down when he is upset.  We have had a few "Why is he crying?" " Because I poked his eye!" Moments and for that we are grateful! 

More to come on the Well Visits of Both Little Men. 

Belle Isle

It seems like every week we are finding something else that is super fun for our family! Our recent find was Belle Isle. An island that was used during the civil war as a prison. It has awesome hiking trails and we totally love it!

On the bridge to the island!

Bastian on the trails.

Bastian pretending to fish.

Bastian and his walking stick.

We had a ton of fun and we can't wait to find more exciting places!

Team Whitehead goes on Vacation!

We recently took a 12 day tour to see pretty much all of our Friends and Family that we  don't see often... This is what our trip looked like;

Hance and Bastian at our first stop!

Stop 1- Ashland KY- To see  Tony's Cousin Hance and his wife Stacy and their little lady Hider (who is 1 month younger than Bastian)





Stop 2- Bluffton, IN - To see Papa Ken and Grandma Brenda. We also got to see Uncle Steve and Uncle Richie

Stop 3- Niles, MI - To see our friends Stella & Austin

Stop 4 - Battle Creek, MI - To see military friends
 Bob & Lori and family and Jason & Nikki and family

Stop 5 - Auburn Hills, MI - To see our friends Steve & Kristina and Matt & Beth  and their babies of course!

Stop 6 - Ovid, MI - To see Tony's Family

Stop 7 - Mt. Morris, MI - To see my family

5 Generations!

Stop 8 - Grand Blanc, MI to see more friends

Stop 9 - Franklin, OH To see Jamey, Steph,
Cameron and Joey

Stop 10 - HOME!

Our trip was sooo much fun. All the parts that we were worried about were awesome and the entire trip was a blast! We learned that Thanks to a manual pump and a very mellow G-man that we can go on long trips with very little hassle. We even got to stop at the Newport Aquarium on the way home. That was a surprise from Tone Tone... I was super pumped!

It was great to see everyone. It was great to get out of our house for a while and recharge... but after all of that it was great to get home!

Here are a few more exciting shots from our trip!

Bastian and Gma Lou

Bastian & Great Great Grandma Mott

Bastian & Gma Beth in the pool!

Gman learning cards from Heat

#1 Turns 3!

Bastian's Pirate Party was a huge success!

We had a ton of fun planning( for months!) and setting up. Luckily my mom and Bill were in town so that made things quite a bit easier to tackle.

We had a huge table set up outside for the cake. And for Tony to show off his sweet swords!

We had a bunch of our friends and their little ones over... due to the crazy heat we stayed inside except for the cake part of the party of course!

This was how our kitchen island looks for the party. We had Eye Patches & Dip (Blue Corn Chips), Pieces of Eight (Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies), Cannon Balls (Whoppers), A Fruity Pirate Ship- To prevent scurvy( Watermelon) We also had Davey Jones Burgers and Salty Dogs on the grill!

The Whole Cake Table Set Up.

Of Course we had to decorate the chalkboard for Bastian's sweet bash! I'm not the best artist... but I learned that when having a pirate party... when in doubt add more skulls and crossbones.

We had a ton of fun and we are still working on those Thank You Cards!