Happy Half Birthday, Holden!

Nicknames: The Captain Cappy, Professor Holden
Temperament: You are becoming a mama's boy. I have to admit, though, that I kind of love it. You'll be crying with someone else and come to me and be fine. You watch me walk up the stairs, walk out of a room, etc. You got your feelings very hurt the other night when I passed you to daddy [silly holden. but it was really funny.] You love to laugh and smile still. You are a tough cookie to crack. People will sit in front of you doing really weird/silly/funny things to make you laugh and you basically sit there and stare them down. My little, stoic baby. You are very inquisitive. You don't just like to [for example] touch the cup I'm holding, you want to see what's inside. 
Things I Could Do Without: You're teething so you have been extra fussy lately. Biting...'nuff said.   
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Baby's First iPod aka Baby Einstein's music on-the-go.  
Item/Toy You Love The Most: Your crib piano. You will stay in your crib for 30+ minutes in the morning just kicking it and listening to the music. Thanks for giving Mom and extra 30 minutes rest some mornings! It helps! 
Things I'm Loving Most Right Now: You are wonderful in your car seat and stroller!! HALLELUJAH! I took you on a walk in the Joovy yesterday and you loved it. Finally I can use our amazing stroller [thanks RTR]! I'm loving you reaching for me. You really do know I'm your momma now.  You have the adorable gummy smile now. 
Things You're Loving Most Right Now: You know, I'm reading from last month and you love the same things but times a million now. You loved the bath before but now you are a wild man in there! You splash, kick, squeal, get water all over mommy's glasses. I loved bath time before but seeing you in there now is way funner! Dad calms you down by singing "Pancho and Lefty". Since when do you love old country? You can also stand for a really long time!
Milestones: You can now roll both ways [front to back, back to front]. You have started to do "push ups" more and more. Prepping for crawling! You can sit up [and by sit up I mostly mean hunched over bent in half. but still!] You've also started solids. So far we've tried green beans & peas. Peas aren't your fav but you still do pretty good with them! This past week you've slept through the night for 5 nights straight! Lovvve it.




We celebrated your half birthday tonight with the usual suspects - Gigi, The Guerrero's, and Dad&I. I love planning these mini-parties for your monthdays. I know people might think it's silly but I'm just so happy you're in our lives that I want to celebrate it every chance we get. Now don't expect this always - only for the first 12 months ;) We had chicken teriyaki skewers & fried rice for dinner. mmmm. It was delish. Will definitely be doing that recipe again! Fried rice recipe here. Teriyaki Chicken Skewers recipe at the bottom. 

Of course we had to have birthday cake. We all know I can't have chocolate so I did vanilla cupcakes with a buttercream frosting. So good! Find the cupcake recipe here and the icing recipe here. 

[Asher was a good cousin and blew out the candle for Holden. Needless to say it became Asher's cupcake...hello spit!]

[Holden's first taste of icing. Was definitely a fan!]

[My favorite cupcake holders ever!]

It was great. We love you and really can't imagine life without you. Thanks for choosing us to be your parents :) 

-Little Wife Power House


UPDATE:
HEIGHT: 27 inches [68th percentile]
WEIGHT: 15 pounds 11 ounces [16th percentile]
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE: I don't remember exactly but 17th percentile

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers: [adapted by me]

Marinade: 

14 oz teriyaki sauce

6 TBS sesame oil

1/4 tsp minced garlic

1 lemon, juiced

1 TBS sugar

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts [or tenders]

Combine marinade ingredients. Slice chicken into strips and marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 375. Thread chicken onto skewers and place on pan [hint: soak bamboo skewers for 30 minutes in water before cooking]. Bake for about 30 minutes. Enjoy!