Pretzels, take two

Those first pretzels were edible...but, just not THAT nice. I think I needed a lower oven with a longer baking time. Anyway, maybe I'll try them again some day, maybe I won't. But, in any case, I wanted to make a pretzel that would be appreciated more. That people would REALLY like. So I used this recipe that I got in an email from mothering.com. It was super simple, only a few ingredients...actually, it was sent as a recipe to use with toddlers. :)

Anyway...as you can see, the finished product of CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS turned out great! I have to say, there isn't anything very pretzel-y about this pretzel. I guess the picture that came with the recipe had the pretzels twisted into the familiar knot, which did make them seem more like pretzels. Because honestly, it's more like a dry heart shaped chocolate cookie. With the addition of the melted chocolate on top, they are very nice. I think they would be even nicer if they were coated in say minty flavored frosting or something. Anyway, they kicked the other pretzels behinds. :)

Do you know that squeezy feeling you get in your chest when you think about how much you love your kid? Especially when they've been asleep for a full three hours, and you've actually had a moment to breathe? :) I'm having that squeezy feeling tonight. Beni is so awesome. She's doing all sorts of things that are just so cool. She has been waving bye-bye for a few weeks already... I can't remember if she started that in Australia or only after we got back. But today, or yesterday, she has also added in vocals to go with her little waving hand... she goes, "ta-ta-ta". It is so cute! We have been saying, "Ata" to her, which is bye-bye in Latvian... but you know how it goes when you're talking to a wee one, and you're trying to get her to respond, you end up doing something like, "Ata-ata-a-ta-ta-ta!" So, she's now repeating the ta-ta-ta part. :) Flippin cute.

Tonight, as I was trying to finish off making the chocolate pretzels, she was sitting at the table playing with random stuff. I had given her a highlighter and memory stick- two of her favorite things to hold on to and chew on. But, she managed to pull the fruit bowl over to herself.

First she grabbed an orange. She did actually puncture it with her tooth and must have gotten a bit of juice. She was pleased, but not satisfied.

So then she grabbed a nectarine. I've been sharing these with her the last few days, and she really likes them. She took a few bites of this one. She was really going to town on it...but then she got bored or it got too heavy or something, so she put it down and started trying to stick her fingers in it. That was when I took it away and ate it. :)

Lastly, she was going for the avocado, but, I honestly couldn't imagine enjoying biting into an avocado, so I pulled the bowl away at that point. :)

I just thought it was so cool to watch her first, manipulate her world as she wanted it (by pulling the fruit to her), then, doing the right thing with it! I mean, ok, most of us usually peel an orange before eating it, but, probably this is why she didn't continue trying to eat it! The fact that she spent so much time and effort with the nectarine just made her seem so smart! :) I guess, this is one of those moments where a mom just delights in the absolutely normal development of her baby because it is just so cool. It's cool to watch a baby put things together, to learn to do something like eat, and figure out the right things to eat, etc. And of course, it doesn't hurt that she is so obviously proud of herself for getting into things. :)

Beni loves Vegemite. She's daddy's girl! He fed her some Vegemite on rice rusks the other night... she was really showing those rusks who is boss with her one tooth. :)