A Day at the Pool

With our vacation quickly approaching, I wanted to try to get Colin acclimated to the water so he wouldn't be totally freaked and want to stay inside the whole time at the beach. He also starts swim lessons (round 2) soon and I didn't want to have the only child crying in the water. So I thought today would be the perfect day to visit our neighborhood pool. I asked him if he wanted to go and probably completely unaware as to what he was answering to, he said "Yes!"

We dig out the swim trunks, one of 2 remaining swimmer diapers from last year, fight the sunscreen battle, load up our bag, and off we go in the umbrella stroller. I hadn't made it to the next door neighbors house before I realized the umbrella stroller was a bad idea. It's about 1 foot too short for my arms (I can only imagine how Wes was able to maneuver it), the 20-lb beach bag is on the handle hitting my foot with every step, and it's really hard to steer. Colin was perfectly content and pointed out EVERY bird along the way.

We made it to the pool, only to read that it didn't open until noon! It was only 10:50. Luckily there's a small park right next to it to pass the time. Colin plays on the equipment for a brief period before beginning his OCD pastime - collecting and organizing. He proceeded to collect all the rocks and place them in a neat pile. That kept him occupied for quite some time and I enjoyed resting on the bench. As I sat there I contemplated what he could do next that wouldn't involve me having to get up (forgive me, I was having a lazy day). I had it - I'd ask him to move all the rocks to a different location. Yep, he fell for and happily obliged. Normally we would not have stayed there for over an hour, but I was bound and determined not to waste one of the two remaining swimmer diapers!

Finally it was time for the pool to open and off we went. I put my feet in the Arctic water and tried to fake that it wasn't cold. I got him to stand on the first step of the baby pool. That was short-lived after he felt the temperature. He took a deep breath and said "brrr". Being the great, lazy parent that I am, I stay there while he goes over to our bag to fish out a toy...or my cell phone. About this time a little boy and his family come in the side gate. Colin, not the most coordinated child (he gets it honestly), watches the little boy and continues walking towards me. We're all accustomed to staring in this house so I just watched and smiled...until he walked right into the pool! I lunged from my post and scooped him up out of the water. I felt like I was moving in slow motion towards a scene from tv. He was laying there face down and looked just like what you expect a person to look like who had died of drowning. He was fine but my cell phone that was in his hand and thus fell in the water with him, was not so fortunate! I think the frigid temperatures took over and he just wanted to be wrapped up in a towel. A few minutes later he was up and about and rearranging the chairs. Unfortunately, that was our only dip in the pool. I asked him several times if he wanted to get in and there was no hesitation before he said, "no". I suppose the trauma of the experience would've scared me out of re-entering as well. Here's hoping our next trip to the pool goes a little better. Hopefully seeing the other kids in the pool will entice him to try it. Although he is a loner and prefers to look at other children from afar. Hmm, who does that sound like, Wes?

Apparently this is a common occurrence among children this age. I wish I would have had the quick thinking skills of this mother to avoid any permanent scars.

Copycat Shitake & Goat Cheese Tarts with Vidalia Onion Marmalade

Let's just continue with the copying of restaurant recipes today with these scrumptious tarts. I dare you to try these and not like them. Our taste buds danced the first time we tried these little gems at Heirloom (Midway, KY). Midway is the darnedest little place, having more 5-star restaurants within a one-mile radius than the entire city of Lexington. That might be a stretch but I'd choose Heirloom or Holly Hill over any of the restaurants in Lexington any day of the week.

So when our local paper featured Heirloom in the "dining spot" of the Lifestyles magazine, I was all ears. And what do you know, the feature recipe was none other than the lovely goat cheese tart we had had on our first visit! This tart continued to be on their menu until just recently when Wes discovered, must to his dismay, that it has been removed from their current menu. I have the recipe now and when I have several hours, can reproduce a close replica of the original. The key ingredient is the Humboldt Fog goat cheese. This is serious stuff people! It's expensive but it's worth every red cent I tell ya. None of the other ingredients are all that unusual, you just have to have the time to make the crust, let it sit, and let the onions caramelize. I usually serve this as a side but it could easily be the main entree of a vegetarian meal.

Heirloom's Shitake & Goat Cheese Tarts with Vidalia Onion Marmalade

Shells:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 oz (1 stick) butter, chilled (I only used about 7 T.)
2 egg yolks
water to bring together

Process butter and flour 10 seconds in a food processor. Add yolks and process 10 seconds more. Add water slowly until dough comes together. Form into disk, and chill 1 hour. Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick and place into 4- or 5-inch tart molds (I used 6). Pre-bake shells for 10 minutes at 325.

Filling:
4 oz goat cheese, softened (Humboldt Fog - found at Whole Foods or Fresh Market)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 oz sauteed shitake mushrooms (I just now see that I was supposed to saute them first, whoops)
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Blend in food processor until well combined.

Marmalade:
1 small vidalia onion, julienned
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (I used about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup sugar (I only used about 2 T.)
2 cups red wine (I omitted this this time because I didn't think it added a ton for the expense)

Combine ingredients and cook in saucepan over low heat until liquid is almost completely reduced. (This takes some time, i.e. 30 minutes or more.)

Put filling in a piping bag and pie it into pre-baked shells - no need to pipe, spooning works just fine. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Drizzle with marmalade just before serving.

Cheddar Box Caramel Cake

One of the many local food establishments in Louisville is the Cheddar Box Cafe. My mom first discovered this great little sandwich shop and bakery many years ago. When we were still newbies to the food scene there and didn't realize the plethora of great local restaurants, we'd frequent the Cheddar Box every time we went up to go shopping. Despite all our fabulous finds since then, this little place remains on our radar as a go-to lunch spot.

Another constant is our love for their yellow cake with caramel icing. For years we've tried to decipher the ingredients but have never been able to quite put our finger on it. Well a couple years ago I decided to take a stab in the dark and email the local paper's food writer. What do you know, he sent it to me right away! All those years of wondering and I could have had it all along. After glancing at the recipe, I could see right away why the cake tasted so delicious - heavy cream, butter, cream cheese, more butter and lots of sugar! How could it not taste divine.

I actually prefer a yellow cake with a little more crumb to it. This one is quite dense and the cream is quite noticeable. As it was baking it smelled like baked vanilla ice cream. The finished result tastes much the same. The icing is to.die.for! It's no joke one of the best caramel icings I've ever tasted. I'll print the entire recipe below but please note that I never measure my powdered sugar for icings, it's a by taste method only. I would venture to guess I did not add the full 3 2/3 cup that the recipe calls for, but maybe 3ish.

Granny was quite pleased and hopefully you will be too!

Cheddar Box Caramel Cake

Cake:
3 cups flour (I used all-purpose but I wondered if cake flour might have made for a lighter cake)
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 pound butter, softened (2 sticks)
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 T. vanilla

Icing:
1 stick butter (I used slightly less than 7 T.)
1 cup brown sugar (again, I used slightly less)
4 T. cream
3 2/3 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tsp vanilla

To make the cake:
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter. Slowly add sugar, a cup at a time. When well-mixed, add eggs 1 at a time. Then add dry ingredients alternately with cream and vanilla, beginning and ending with flour.

Bake in 2 greased and floured (I also used parchment paper) 9-inch baking pans at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

To make the icing:
Melt butter in small saucepan. Add brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Add cream and boil another minute. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and beat in cream cheese and vanilla. Let cool then frost cake.

Daddy's proud, Momma, not so much

This is the result of the questionable purchase. That's my Colin, a mere babe, sitting only a few feet away from the television, watching STAR WARS of all things! The chair seemed like a good idea when we spotted it in the store. How could we pass up a pint-sized chair, just perfect for Colin? Wes and I clearly had different visions for the chair - Wes = TV, Me = eating or lounging. Wes was thrilled to see Colin sitting still but better still, watching Star Wars.

Meanwhile, I was prefer this:
A nice lounge chair. Now if only it had a cup holder we'd be in business.

It's been a long time...

since I left you. I don't know about you but I seem to find a hundred other things to do once the weather turns warmer, the sun begins to shine on a regular basis, and the flowers start to bloom. Somehow the old blog has taken a backseat to all things spring as of late. I find myself thinking of plenty of other things to do rather than turn on my computer. But I know your lives have all but been put on hold and you are holding on in anticipation of my next words. So as to not let you down, I'm sacrificing a night of Blues Clues (yep, watched that for the first time just now and how is that still on the air - it's terrible), the Bachelorette (dvr), and my favorite pillow just for you.

Here's a weekend recap for you, starting with the greatest:

Granny turns 95!! Whoppee! Only 5 more to go until the big one - heck, they're all big ones at this stage, right?
For her birthday she requested 2 things, well really 3 including the cake, of us, er Colin - to see him ride a tricycle (which had to be bought first and of course was her treat) and for him to read her a book. We managed to make the first wish come true but ran out of time for the second one.


And for her gift, she asked for tennis shoes. I'm pretty sure she's never owned a pair before now but look out, she's got a pair now! We had to reassure her that these were what tennis shoes looked like now days. She wasn't so sure at first. What and where she plans to go in these beauties, I'm not sure, but I can't wait to see her wear them.


After the birthday celebrations, we enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend at the park, shopping, and of course, eating! More posts to come with Granny's cake recipe and a purchase for Colin that I will soon regret. Until then, this sums up Colin's weekend:

Double fistin' it and lovin' it. He's so excited he worked up a good sweat.

The New Bachelorette

Are you as excited as I am to welcome the new Bachelorette, Jillian, back tonight? How quickly we (I) forgive and forget the debacle that ABC created with last season's Bachelor. Thankfully, Jillian was able to escape relatively unharmed and hopefully will have a chance to meet the love of her life right before our eyes over the course of the next few months.

I'll admit I wasn't a huge Jillian fan during the Jason show but she's really grown on me and I'm really looking forward to this season. I did a search to add a picture of her and I found a sneak peek of the 27 eligible bachelors. If anyone was searching for a name for a baby boy, there are plenty to chose from. How about Mathue, Kiptyn, Tanner (x2 - really?), Reid (of course I'm partial to this one since that's Colin's middle name), or Sasha? Sasha? Isn't that a girls name? Ok so my pick, based on a thumbnail image, is Greg. Although he may resemble Jason a bit too much, so my backup is the ever-loving WES!
**Revised - Not so sure about Greg's egocentric personality. I mean who rates themself as a 10 and says "hug it out" twice in one minute?! I hate country music so Wes is out. And I'm sorry I made fun of Kiptyn's name because he's really hot (his name is still odd).

Stay tuned, we'll dish more later!

Halfway and Lovin' It!

Loving is probably a stretch but I don't dread working out anymore. Somehow Jillian has managed to capture my attention and keep me motivated for 15 straight days (with 1 Mother's Day break). That's right, I've survived to the halfway point and I'm so proud. Of course there is this little voice in the back of my head reminding me that I'm not finished once these 30 days are over. Wes informed me - oh yes, I've recruited him into the club now too - that I would have to move onto something else after this. I guess that means I better start looking for another giveaway to fund my next phase! Anyone...

Update

He's still precious! He's becoming such a ham in front of the camera and suddenly understands how a camera works. Like most kids (and adults for that matter), he likes to see himself on the display screen as soon as the photo has been taken. This first group is him rearranging the deck furniture. I have no idea what his methodical ways imply about his future but he loves to make piles, organize, and group things together. All I know is if he keeps this up, he'll never have clutter in his life. I guess there could be worse things to wish for.
Look at my not so little boy! I think he looks like such a little man in this big boy outfit. Then add back in the blankie and he's still my little boy. For the record, it's not a blankie, it's a blam-lee.

Happy Birthday Alexandra

Saturday we had the chance to spend the afternoon with one very precious little birthday girl, Alexandra. We told Colin we were going to a birthday party and while he seemed to understand what we were saying, really all he understood was "go". He's to the repetition stage and we tend to take for granted that if he can say it, that means he also understands what he's saying. No so in most cases. He did quite well, even with just a 45 minute nap. He enjoyed playing with Alexandra's toys - both old and the ones she just unwrapped, cleaning up the wrapping paper, and stealing some of the attention away from her (sorry Alexandra, you have full reign at Colin's next birthday!). Although the two of them didn't give each other a second look this weekend, the mothers have conspired to have an arranged marriage at a later date. The kids don't know but would they really understand anyways? Mother knows best!

Colin searching through the loot and Colin stealing her gift, Elmo.

The birthday girl seemed to have a great day and we were so happy to spend it with her. It's been an exciting year full of highs and lows but it's hard to think of any of that when you see that precious face! You can read more about the little cutie at Southern Comfort.


















The birthday girl in the midst of her gifts and then her ENORMOUS cupcake! I don't think even I could put that thing away.

Weekly Recipe Roundup 5

I just have 2 relatively quick entrees for you this week. We had a full week of great meals but the other meals were either repeats or involve me improvising and I don't feel those are worthy enough to recommend. These 2 are though and both can be modified to suit your tastes.

Parmesan Chicken Remix - Another stellar recipe from The Review Lady. I believe she found the recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, which is a little surprising considering the relatively low caloric content. The recipe uses panko (Japanese bread crumbs) to provide the crunch without being fried. Oh Panko, I love you! By pounding the chicken to 1/4-inch, you cut the cooking time in half and thus the chicken retains a lot of the moisture. I didn't have seasoned panko, so I just seasoned it myself with some dried basil and oregano. I followed the recipe and served the chicken atop a bed of mixed greens dressed with the simple vinaigrette. However, I could easily see this being a part of traditional Chicken Parmesan and being served atop spaghetti and topped with tomato sauce and cheese. You could also just serve the chicken by itself with a couple veggies on the side. The recipe is very versatile.

Spinach and Cheese Lasagna - As I was typing the title I realized I made a promise back in the winter to use my crockpot at least once a week. Well that went out the window with the early burst of spring we had back in March. This lasagna recipe is a great way to make a family favorite and make it quickly and easily. I had a note to myself to add some hidden veggies, i.e. shredded carrots, chopped mushrooms, etc, but I failed to read my own note! I suppose the spinach was enough this time but next time I hope to remember at least the carrots. I believe I ended up cooking mine on low for 3-3 1/2 hours and some of the noodles were a tad soggy. The flavor was still good but I think I'd cut the time by and hour or so. I also failed to fully drain the spinach ,which made for a little excess water upon plating. It doesn't make the prettiest of presentations, but who cares as long as it tastes good?! I got this from All You Magazine and couldn't find it online, so I'll post it below.

SPINACH AND CHEESE LASAGNA

2 28oz can crushed tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1 15oz container ricotta

½ cup grated Parmesan

16oz shredded mozzarella

12 lasagna noodles

2 10oz pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

(*Add some shredded carrots and/or mushrooms)

Combine tomatoes, garlic, oregano and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together ricotta, Parmesan and ¾ of mozzarella.

Spoon ¼ of tomato mixture into bottom of a slow cooker. Top with a layer of noodles, breaking to fit, if necessary. Sprinkle 1/3 of spinach over noodles. Spoon 1/3 of ricotta mixture over spinach. Top with ¼ of tomato mixture. Repeat with 2 more layers of noodles, spinach, ricotta mixture and tomatoes. Top with a layer of noodles and remaining mozzarella.

Cook on low heat until noodles are soft and lasagna is warmed through, 2-3 hours.

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all the mothers reading this had a fabulous day with their families. I know I did! My boys surprised me with a brunch at Azur. After filling up on Banana and Cream Stuffed French Toast (to die for), we headed home for naps - well all except me. I went to my mom's to deliver her gift and then to pick up some essentials for a picnic dinner. Wes had told me I could do whatever I wanted to do all day and that he would cook dinner. Well being the anal planner that I am, I had already planned the week's worth of meals and had all the corresponding ingredients. I gladly took a rain check for a time when I could fully appreciate it - from planning through execution. I did improvise from my menu in favor of a fun picnic to take advantage of the beautiful weather. We ended up having some good old deli sandwiches with the tastiest Sweet Crunch Whole Foods bread (try if if you haven't). I whipped up some pasta salad full of veggies to go with the sandwiches. We also walked around Mayfest in Gratz Park for a bit prior to our picnic. Colin enjoyed, at least from a distance, the small petting zoo consisting of sheep, alpaca, goats, and an enormous cow.

Finally, to cap off a wonderfully special and superb day, I treated myself to a break from Jillian. Surprisingly, I actually missed it and looked forward to starting back up tonight. It could be because I'm starting to see some results. What more motivation could anyone ask for?! My eating habits haven't exactly been scaled back so to see progress based on exercise alone is pretty impressive in my book. Once I have my 6-pack and monster biceps, I'll be sure to post a picture. Please, no one hold their breath!

I hope each of you had a special day. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful family who treats me like a queen. Colin is such a joy to us and I'm proud to call myself his mother. I look forward to many more Mother's Days and Daddy looks forward to the first Mother's Day that Colin can actually take the reigns. I love you boys!!

Men Versus Women (Take One)

It will come as no surprise to you that men are different than women.  I mean there's a whole series of books based on the difference, "Women are from Mars..." - perhaps you've heard of it.  Since I witness these little nuances on what seems to be a daily basis, I thought I'd share some of my observations with you.  After all, I'm pretty sure my audience is 99.9% female so, I would think you could all relate!

Example 1:  Wes and I are in the car and pass a house with a flag displayed out front.  I attempt to read the flag aloud and can only decipher a few words about championship and NHL.  Wes quickly quips, "Oh they put that up every year about this time to support the NHL tournament."

I'm sorry, what?!  You've noticed this flag for "several years" and I've never seen it?  How is that possible?  I notice everything.  I could tell you from head to toe what every coworker has worn this entire week.  How is it possible that I didn't notice a bright red flag flying outside a house that I pass on a weekly basis?  So I turned to Wes in disbelief and ask him how in the world (and why in the world) had he noticed that and I hadn't.

Wes:  "Different things catch our attention because we have different interests."

Me:  "True, but that house could have been on fire and you wouldn't have noticed that.  I think you should rephrase your sentence to, "Danielle, my brain is eternally programmed to sports and nothing else matters.""

Wes:  Eye roll - that's an assumption since I was driving and couldn't look.

I suppose it's true, we all consider different things important and worthy of a second glance.  I should embrace and appreciate our differences and realize we'd go crazy if we didn't have our own unique interests.  I'm sure there will be more, so stay tuned!

I should also just be glad I have him.  I found a blog today that had me in tears multiple times.  I knew it would but I felt drawn to it.  It's about a guy who is raising his 1-year old daughter on his own because his wife died before she ever left the hospital, 27 hours after her daughter's birth to be exact.  He tells it like it is, holding nothing back.  He does inject his sense of humor and sarcasm but it's still very much real.  He has started a foundation for other widows to help deal with the loss financially.  If you feel compelled, you can check his site out here.  I found myself trying to put Wes in his shoes and I think that personalization is what really got to me.  I mean even down to the clothes the little girl was wearing - he picked those out, he dressed her.  I feel for him, I really do.  I couldn't wait to get home and give Wes a big hug!

Day One: Jello

Jillian did some serious damage on my muscles, or lack thereof, last night. I eagerly, well as eager as one can get about exercising military style, opened and began my newest workout regime last night. I had seen Jillian staring at me long enough from the kitchen counter and I was ready to show her who's boss. Honestly I didn't know what to expect. I do exercise some but I've also seen her on the Biggest Loser and that's enough to scare this mouse back in her hole.

She tries to start off all nice and stuff by telling you her patented 3-2-1 series. Silly me, I thought there'd be one set of 3-2-1. Oh no, that would have been way too easy. I think there were 3 but after the first one, I lost count, primarily because I could no longer feel my arms. Hello Jello! From the initial push-ups straight to lunges with weights over head, and then repeat, I was painfully reminded just how pathetic my poor arm muscles really are. Clearly an area that needs improvement for me.

Surprisingly, the rest of the workout wasn't that terrible. Don't get me wrong, I broke out in a full body sweat, could hardly walk down the stairs, and was ready to collapse afterwards, but it wasn't as bad as I had psyched myself up to believe it was going to be.

Here's to another 29 days. Why am I sitting here? Off for some more booty shaping fun.

Weekly Recipe Roundup 4

Another successful week in the kitchen. Could it be that I've finally developed the ability to read a recipe and determine whether or not it will taste good? Let's not get carried away! This week will probably end up being a week of flops. I'm really trying to make an effort to cook with what's in season or what's on sale. I choose an ingredient, this week it was strawberries since they were on sale, and do a search of my recipes to find one that fits. The only problem with this is you have to do even more research ahead of time and in my case, it actually delays my recipe planning a bit until I've had a chance to look at the ads. I doubt I'll be able to curtail my entire weekly menu around this idea but if I can incorporate 1 or 2 meals, I'll be content. Now I need to work on a way to incorporate fresh ingredients from Farmer's Market. That's really a challenge because you never know what they're going to have that looks good, which really makes planning ahead a challenge!

Here are a few keepers from last week:

Roasted Strawberry Salad with Baked Goat Cheese - As you know by now, I'm a big fan of Kevin at Closet Cooking. If I ever go to Canada, I'm going to show up on his doorstep with an empty belly, ready to eat! Kevin made this last summer to utilize some in-season strawberries and I was immediately inspired. What could be better, strawberries, gooey cheese, and toasted walnuts?! The only modifications I made were to add homemade croutons (only because I had them on hand) and I had to add a little more liquid to the dressing because my strawberries didn't produce enough juice. Overall, the warm strawberries with the gooey goat cheese were a perfect addition to a sometimes boring green salad. The roasting of the strawberries gave them a nice soft texture and actually enhanced their sweetness quite a bit. Be sure to use coarse (fresh, if you have them) breadcrumbs so they'll actually stick to the goat cheese. All I had were the superfine kind in a canister. Homemade would have been much better.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas - My search is over for great tasting Mexican enchiladas! I have found THE recipe to beat all recipes and it has even been slimmed down by Cooking Light. I must admit I was a little surprised to see CL at the top of a recipe that called for 1/3 cup butter (and I'll probably cut that some next time) but the rest of the modifications were great and totally unnoticeable. The yogurt provided a great, creamy consistency and we didn't miss one bit of the fat from the full fat shredded cheese. I'm generally not a fan of condensed soups but I'll make the exception over and over again with this recipe. I served it with our favorite Corn and Bean Salad and some local salsa we bought at the farmers market.

Note: The link to the enchiladas isn't directly to the recipe because there appears to be an error on CL's website. If they haven't fixed the link and you're interested, I'll be happy to send it to you from my file, just let me know.

Philly Chicken Sliders - Oh Paula, I love you. And I love you even more when I try one of your recipes that doesn't involve a gallon of butter deep fried in lard! This recipe is quick, easy, and surprisingly healthy - it must not be an actual Paula recipe, rather a write-in from a reader. Whoever it was, it's a great idea. Put anything on a small bun and you've got a fun meal. I couldn't find this posted on her site, so I'll post the recipe below. Try it with any of your favorites. Wes and I think this one needs a little sauce (mustard even) or maybe a Cheese Whiz-type product - I'm vehemently opposed to the stuff so that's not an option for us.

CHICKEN PHILLY SLIDERS

1 T. olive oil

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion

1/2 of a green pepper, sliced (I added this)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

16 small dinner rolls, split, buttered, and toasted (I only used 10 and I didn't butter them.)

8 slices provolone cheese, cut in half (I cut mine in quarters, used 2 per sandwich, and only used 5 slices.)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion; cook for 8 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Add chicken, and cook for 2 minutes, or until heated through.

Place prepared roll halves on an ungreased baking sheet. Top bottom halves of rolls with chicken mixture and cheese. Cover with roll tops. Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

(Paula Deen Magazine May/June 2009)

Chomp!

It never ceases to amaze me some of the things Colin comes up with.  Where and what do these thoughts stem from?  One of his crazy ideas developed months ago and for whatever reason he's still hanging on to.  He loves to show his affection by biting Daddy's nose.  Somehow I manage to escape the fun most of the time, leaving Daddy as the primary target.  

Daddy told him from the beginning to be gentle and luckily he's obliged his request thus far.  You never know it's coming until you see him coming at your face with his mouth wide open.  I'm sure part of the thrill is getting a rise out of Daddy each and every time.  He'll do anything for attention and especially a laugh.  We choose to view it as a form of affection!