Dairy Free Cinnamon Rolls

Wasn't certain how they would turn out, but they actually were pretty delicious.  The recipe is here.  While dairy free and tasty, I really doubt they are healthy.  But I've been wanting one and since I've eliminated dairy, I can't just get one at the West End Bakery even though their cinnamon rolls are the best ever.  I've had 10 days of complete dairy elimination, I started about a month ago, but had a really hard time not having cheese.  Milk, no problem, I just picked up some almond milk.  But I couldn't completely eliminate cheese, I went lighter on the cheese, but there really isn't a replacement for cheese so it was hard.  But about a week and a half ago, I decided that I really needed to have some control in order to see if dairy is what is causing Brie's diaper rash, since we have been washing her diapers extra careful now to make sure ALL soap is gone and we went through many loads to find out how much soap was the appropriate amount of soap to put in the wash.

Anyway, so back to the cinnamon roll making...

Brie and I had an awesome time.  She giggled while rolling out the dough, check out the amateur video below of it.  I had to video it, because she was loving it so much, I wanted to catch her giggles.

She added a lot of love and drool, so I'm not certain these can be shared with the neighbors...

Spring is here...

Brie and I have been enjoying this lovely weather by spending as much time outside as is possible.  She loves playing in her activity center (the first picture is with her playing in it) and will spend time just chilling in it.  We also go on our 3 1/2 mile loop walk around the neighborhood and chat with neighbors along the way.  It is lovely getting to know everyone and I think we are all excited to spend time out of doors.

Brie is tuckered out from all the play.

Brie enjoys her play time with all the other babies and I enjoy chatting with all the mamas and getting their advice and talking to them about how things are going.  We've been enjoying the fact that our meet ups have been able to be outside every so often.  Ahhh...lovely spring weather.  Brie also spent some quality time with her grandparents.  Check out the photos here.

While Brie and I

have been enjoying the lovely weather by getting out on walks with friends, Mat has been working hard on some prescribed burns.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="The Crew - Burning at night"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Burnt"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Steep hike up"][/caption]

It's the perfect weather for doing some prescribed burns in this area, so Mat spent 3 LONG days on a prescribed burn. We didn't get to see him until late Saturday night and he's back at work this morning! Meanwhile, I get to spend quality time with Brie. Thanks Mat!

5 Months Old

Whoa!  Where did the 5 months go?  Everyone is correct in saying time flies.  I ran into a girl I know at the grocery store who has a baby a few months older than Brie and she was told "the years fly by, but the days are long."  I have to agree with that statement.

I've loved each day I've been able to spend with Brie.  She is changing so quickly.  She can now semi sit-up for about 5 seconds, she would prefer to be standing pushing off of us than sitting on our laps, she can scooch herself for a bit across the floor, she coos and drools like no other and so far, she's keeping her beautiful blue eyes!

dinner time

Sometimes I get stuck in a routine and make the same old thing for dinner.  Pasta, enchiladas, pizza, burritos, and stir-fry are staples around here.  It's easy, no thinking required.  Lately, I've been trying some new things out like a roasted chicken.  I thought it would be hard, but surprising simple and delicious.  I found the recipe here on The Pioneer Woman's blog. I will definitely make this roasted chicken again.

I've also been experimenting with quiches.  They are surprisingly simple, I just thought they were more complicated.  But all you need are a pie crust, some eggs, milk (I've been using almond milk with no problem), some sauteed veggies and an oven.  Awesome and delicious.

On Monday, The Healthy Voyager had a delicious soup recipe for meatless Mondays.  Again, another easy and delicious recipe for a hearty bean and green soup.

I still fall back on old routine items, for example, last night we had pizza and salad.  But it's been fun branching out and trying new things.

My self-imposed mountain biking hiatus is officially over!

Wahoo! I don't know how I managed to not ride my mountain bike for as long as I did...over a year. Jeepers. Went for my first ride with some ladies from my mama group last night and it was AWESOME! Wish I'd had more time to spend out there, but it was getting beyond dusk. I forgot how great it felt to be all flow-y on a bike. Luckily, the ladies I went with knew it was my first time back on the bike and didn't take me on any killer uphills. I want to go again and again. I might just have to take Sara, Brie's aunt, up on her offer on watching Brie once a week. Did I mention how great it felt to be riding on 2 wheels? It's fun to hike and all that, but in my opinion nothing beats the downhill on a bike!!

Always changing...

I think that I've finally figured out Brie and then she'll go and mix things up. For example, she used to take a morning nap around 10:30/11 for a couple hours, then 2 shorter naps in the afternoon. Not so this week. She's all about not napping. Well, more like catnapping. She's taking a few 20-30 minute power naps throughout the day now. I'm not certain they are really power naps as she seems crankier than normal. (Is crankier a word? Sounded better than more cranky.) Maybe she's teething...I feel like I see a white spot under her gums, but can't feel anything really yet. We probably won't know until a tooth pops out, which could be several months away according to some things I've read. Anyway, it's always a new day with Brie. Last night she slept from about 10:30 p.m to 4:30 a.m. I call that success!

It's amazing how much Brie has changed since birth.  She can now grasp things and put them in her mouth; she can lift her head up when doing tummy time and roll over front to back and back to front; she loves standing with us holding her up (she has preferred that since birth) and stretching her legs out; she gurgles and coos and makes all sorts of other noises; she smiles, giggles and laughs; she's quite the observer and loves to watch what I'm doing, whether I'm sitting at the computer, folding laundry or preparing food.

Brie's been a fantastic companion on my strolls around the neighborhood.  She loves to be outside with me pushing her around (I get a great workout in that 3.5 miles of pushing).  Neighbors come out and love to chat with her when we walk by (resting time for me).  Bonus:   her stroller has a perfect spot to store the trash I pick up as we go along.  All in all, we are a lovely team.

I love this video of Brie:

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