{ RECIPE :: Crock-Pot Teriyaki Chicken }

Who doesn't love an easy meal that tastes like you slaved all day in the kitchen? That's the great thing about the crock-pot! You just throw it all in, turn in on, and 4 hours later...voila! I just loved the tangy sweet flavor of this melt in your mouth chicken dish. We will definitely be making this one again, and again.

INGREDIENTS:
12 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 3 lb)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup low-sodium GF soy sauce
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 1/2 teaspoons cold water
Hot cooked long grain rice

DIRECTION:
Place chicken in a 4 qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking liquid. Place liquid in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into liquid and stir until sauce is thickened. Serve with chicken and rice.

Note: I halved the recipe and it still worked fine in my crock pot. It might not need the full 4 hours time.

{ Dear Blair :: 7 Months Old }

My dear baby Blair, you are 7 months old!!! How in the world did this happen?  It's like a blink and you're a month older already!  So much has happened in the last month.  You're growing taller and smarter and getting cuter and cuter every day.  You are without a doubt my best friend and I yours.  You are the best thing to ever happen to me and your daddy.  We love you without end!  Here are some milestones we want to remember from this past month. Happy 7 months baby girl!  And sorry about the stain on the front of your pretty dress.  Mommy let you eat and apple slice right before the photo shoot.  Oops!

• At your 6 month appointment you weighed in at 17lbs. 12oz. (81st %tile) and grew to 26 inches in length (60th %tile) and there is no doubt in my mind you have grown even more!
• You have THE chunkiest legs.  Mommy and daddy call them your "leggies" and chews on them daily.  Every one else just admires them from afar.
• TEETH!  You have TEETH!  Two of them to be exact. Only the bottom ones have come in but we can tell the top two aren't far behind.
• You are definitely a mover and a shaker.  Your "leggies" are so strong now and you love to stand on them whenever you can.  If there is loud music on you'll bounce up and down to the beat.  The other day at Five Guys you were having your own little jam session in your highchair.
• You have been sitting so well now for about 5 weeks.  You'll lunge over to grab at toys, but you're very cautious not to tip over.
• No crawling yet.  (Thank goodness!)  I'm pretty sure you have to like tummy time to crawl though, which you don't.  You've always hated being on your tummy.  We still do it everyday, but you will only let us leave you there for 5 minutes max before the tears begin to flow.
• You have started rolling from your back to your front.  Although you prefer it when you "almost" roll over but not quite.  Because heaven forbid you'd get stuck on that tummy of yours!
• You have begun making your first consonant sounds.   You like to say "b-b-b-b-b" and "mmmm."  So although we always practice saying "dada" with you, maybe your first word will be "mama" afterall.
• Sophie is still hands down your favorite toy.  She gets chewed on, squeaked, squished and thrown across the room at least 10 times a day.  Your other favorite toys include your Baby Einstein turtle that plays classical music, your Harley Davidson teddy bear, all of your books, mom's lip gloss, our iphones, and the remote control!
• You are SUCH a good eater.  But anyone with eyes can see that!  You are nursing 3 times a day: morning, afternoon, and night.  And love to enjoy your cereal in the morning, some fruit for lunch, and vegetables for dinner. The only thing you haven't really liked is peas and kale.  But who can blame you.  Those are gross anyway.
•  You have been using your little walker car to get yourself around the house.  You can only go backwards though so you usually end up stuck in a corner somewhere.  But you don't mind.  You patiently wait for Mom to put you back where you started so you can do it all over again.
• It's so strange, but you love sitting in your crib.  Not laying in it cuz that would be awful to have to lay down and relax. ;)  But you love sitting in it with a toy or two and playing while mom folds laundry or does some tidying up.
• When you are tired and ready for your nap, you either fold yourself in half and lay your head on the floor, or you snuggle into my neck if I'm holding you.  You are such a smart little cookie.  Makes putting your down for a rest so much easier.
• Your finger dexterity is incredible.  If I put a handful of your little cereal puffs on the highchair tray you pick each and every one up and put them in your mouth.  A big improvement from trying to grab a fistful and just shove them wherever they'd land.
• You went on your second vacation this month and did SO well!  You were a great little sleeper, both at night and on the beach in your pack 'n play.  In fact, you took some of your best naps yet!  One was a whopping 3 hours long!  Boy was that nice for your mom to just relax and catch some rays on the sand.
• Bedtime is around 8:00pm and you wake-up anytime between 6:00-7:00am.  Usually if you wake up before 7 we let you just play in your crib for awhile, which you are happy to do.
• Daddy is working an earlier shift at work lately so we like to go outside on the grass at 5:30pm and wait for him.  You love to be outside and listen to the birds, watch the airplane and just enjoy the warm sun and breeze.
• Taking you to church is both fun and challenging.  You love sacrament meeting and are actually very well behaved.  You sit quietly with your toys and listen to the music (or make music of your own) and let mom and dad enjoy the meeting.  But when it comes to Sunday School hour, it's your nap time and you refuse to nap anywhere but the car or your bed, which obviously makes things very difficult.  We're hoping we figure out how to solve this problem sooner than later.
• In the mornings after daddy leaves for work, you like to come running with me.  You love being in your jogger and the minute my feet hit the pavement you are in a complete trance.  You almost always fall asleep about half way through our 3 mile run.  I can tell that on the mornings we don't go, you really miss that time to relax outside, which is good motivation for momma!
• The camera is your best friend!  It's like you know that when mommy gets out the camera it's time to smile and put on a show.  Cracks me up every time!