El Rey

On Tuesday, Josh finally took me to El Rey downtown, a place he had been telling me about for months!

It is a Cuban / Mexican restaurant. I got the Summer Special - three shrimp tacos with mango, avacado and tomato, with melon juice.

I can see why Josh eats there so frequently. Too bad my work location does not have such good places to eat!

My Husband, the Attorney

While Josh passed the BAR back in November, he still needed to be sworn in. On Tuesday, he took Ben and I downtown and was finally sworn in!



After that and a great lunch at El Rey, we went to my parents house. Ben had storytime with his Oma Angie.



He also played around with his uncles and Opa!

Ben's Baptism

On Sunday, December 28, Ben was baptized!

His Aunts Alicia and Bethany were his sponsors. He was very active during the baptism, but fell asleep by the end of the service.



Ben was back to his social self when we had lunch - yummy fajitas and chocolate cake. He gave us a HUGE smile while hanging out with Uncle Alex.

Josh's 26th Birthday @ The Salt Lick

Josh's birthday is two days after Christmas. This was his first birthday with Ben, and it was the first time that Ben rolled over (from being on his tummy to his back)! Of course I was folding laundry and had to wait a few days to see it myself!

Benjamin enjoys looking around outside (in fact, the day before, Josh was even able to distract him from being hungry by walking around with him outside!).



The dogs enjoy time outside too!



Later in the day, Josh and I had to take Ben to the church for a pre-baptism meeting. Then, we met his family, my Dad and sister at The Salt Lick. I got the turkey platter again. Soooo good!

Christmas Day

After a very loud Christmas Eve night (Ben would scream unless Josh or I held him), he woke up to be in a good mood for Christmas morning. He dressed as Santa's Littlest Helper - in the same outfit that his Uncle Thomas wore for his first Christmas many years ago!







A couple of outfits later, he was having fun with his Aunt Bethany!





And, for the first time, I actually got all six dogs (Danke, Delilah, Sammy, Bailey, Sadie and Perry) in a single photo!



Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Every year, Josh and I spend Christmas Eve with my family, then travel to San Antonio for Christmas morning with his family.

Next year, Ben will be enjoying food during the Christmas Eve meal. This year, he was just tempted by it!



We opened presents prior to going to the Christmas Eve service. Ben insisted on me walking him around and watching the service on the TV screen.



Benjamin was introduced to Sammy the cat - too bad neither of them realized the other was there!



As usual, Ben had lots of fun with his Opa Peter.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My mom, sister and I made these chocolate chip cookies from Cooking Light. They came out perfectly - and will now be my "go to" cookie recipe!

Grasshopper Bars

My sister Alicia came in from London and brought this recipe for Grasshopper Bars from the Austin Junior League entertaining cookbook. We tried it - it was tasty but very rich!



She told me that she had also made Cooking Light's Chocolate-Mint bars, and that those were better - so I'll have to try them one day!

Cherry Nut Mudslides

Tempted by the combination of pistachios, hazelnuts, cherries and chocolate, I really wanted to make a Jacques Torres for Cherry-Nut Mudslides. However, the 5 dozen seemed like a bit too much, so I used the Cookie Madness version, keeping the hazelnut modification and pistachios.

If you really like bittersweet chocolate, you'd probably like them. As for me, I'll be making them with a different chocolate batter. I still have plenty of pistachios and dried cherries in the pantry!

Getting ready for Christmas...

Mission Burrito

Better than Freebirds? I think so!

Josh and I were thrilled to see that a Mission Burrito opened up nearby this past week. Even though we've been out of town a lot, we've already managed to eat there twice!

Pre-Christmas Gatherings in San Antonio & Fredericksburg

The weekend before Christmas, we traveled to San Antonio for Josh's paternal side's family Christmas, and to Fredericksburg for his maternal side's family Christmas.

That Saturday, the weather was great - and Ben loved being outside!







Perry was happy to be around lots of people.



We opened gifts in the afternoon on Saturday.





On Saturday, four generations of Schneider men were together.



Ben was able to dance to Guitar Hero again!



The nezt day, we traveled to Fredericksburg.



There we had four generations on Josh's maternal side, including his Oma and my mother-in-law.





Ben got some quality tummy time.







That night, after we got back to San Antonio, it was time for Ben to relax. I had to get something from our room, so I asked Josh to keep an eye on him. He did so - literally!

12 weeks old - and such a big boy!

Here is Benjamin in a 12 month thermal pajama set - almost three months old, he is definitely growing quickly!

Peanutty Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Since I picked up some peanut butter chips at the store, and Josh really likes Reese's, I decided to try modifying a recipe for Grasshopper Brownie Cookies (from the Cookie Madness blog) by switching almonds and Andes mint chips for peanuts and peanut butter chips.

The cookies came out much more tall than the previous version (likely due to the shape of the mix-ins), but seemed to be a success. Since I prefer chocolate mint, I would rather make the original version - but that is just a personal preference!

Three Cheese Baked Rotini

Two years ago, I started making a baked ziti for Josh using ground beef. It's been ages since I've made it, so I decided to modify my "recipe" when Josh wanted it again, based on some ideas from each of us. It's definitely better now!

Three Cheese Baked Rotini

Ingredients

• One package of spicy Italian sausage
• One 16 oz package of whole grain pasta (we used rotini)
• Two cans of tomato sauce
• Skim ricotta cheese
• Mascarpone cheese
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Cooking Spray
• Panko
• Italian Herb Blend
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook the sausage in a pan with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and italian spices. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to instructions.

Place the sausage and drained pasts into a large casserole dish. Add in the tomato sauce, a couple tablespoons each of mascarpone and ricotta cheese and some mozzarella cheese. Add in garlic, if preferred.

Mix well. Top with panko, mozzarella and use some cooking spray to make a crispy crust. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Weekend in San Antonio

On Saturday morning, I drove up to San Antonio where Josh / Ben were staying with my in-laws. Ben seemed very happy - and we finally have a formula he can take if I am unable to nurse (e.g. unexpected business trip) - Nutrimigen.

That night, we went to the Riverwalk and Alamo. We first ate at Caaa Rio, where I had some fantastic crispy chicken tacos. While I was eating, Ben was having fun with his Oma Glenda.





It had been a very long time since Josh and I had eaten there.



We then walked over to the Alamo.







Josh and I then tried to get Ben to sleep after getting back. He was being a little grumpy - but a couple hours later was asleep in the crib!



Ben was back to his alert self this morning!



He even danced to Guitar Hero!