Plaid + Dots

hand print art: peacock

Miss N has been a busy bee this winter making all kinds of cool things at the mom+me art class.  Usually it's a flavor of "hand print" art and I love to see the creative projects the art teacher comes up with each week.  This week's piece is so freaking cute that I had to share... isn't it a lovely peacock?  The other great thing about hand print art is that I end up with a creative collection of my little ones growing digits :-).  I'm definitely framing and hanging this in our gallery in the basement.  

 

tiny tots broccoli grilled cheese

Miss N has quite the discriminating palate these days.  The kid is hit or miss on her veggies and will eat pretty much any fruit.  She loves cheeeeee (in her own words) and will pretty much eat anything covered with it.  In an attempt to get her to eat some yummy green stuff, I made her a grilled cheese sandwich that was infused with broccoli puree.  She gobbled it right up!  Yay!  Here's what you need to make your tiny tot a delicious grilled cheese sandwich that hides the veggies:

Ingredients

• Slice of Wheat Bread
• Slice of American Cheese
• Broccoli (I used organic frozen)
• Butter

Recipe  

• Steam the broccoli and puree with a little water in a blender.  
• Cut the slice of wheat bread in half so that you have a top and a bottom to your sandwich.
• Butter the opposite (outside facing) sides of the bread.
• Slice the cheese in half.
• Layer a slice of cheese on the inner facing part of the bread.
• Smear the broccoli puree on top of the cheese.
• Layer with the second slice of cheese.
• Put the top slice of bread on the cheese.
• Grill the sandwich until the cheese melts.  

Serve to your tiny tot and enjoy!!!  :-)

celebrating one : balloons + party hats included!

We celebrated Miss N's first birthday over the weekend and here's some pics from the fun party!  Happy First Birthday to my little girl!!!

 

P.S.  All decor, party hats, cupcakes and treats were handmade...  I'll be posting the how to over the next few weeks.  Enjoy!

baby food combos - eating her "colors"

I love to cook.  

Plain and simple.  

Fancy and gourmet.  

Fresh ingredients.  

Organic and natural.  

Ethnic and American.

It's relaxing for me to chop and stir and pull together a delicious meal.  So when it was time to start Miss N on "solid" baby food, I was really excited about introducing her to new tastes and textures.  We started with plain ole rice cereal and in about 3 months she graduated to meals full of color...  pink, orange, white, green and purple.  With every meal, I try to make a few "colors" so that Miss N gets a wide variety of food into her sweet little tummy!  She likes some of the baby food and really points her nose up at the others.  However, I've found that playing with recipes and combinations of foods has been fun for both of us and each meal is more interesting than the previous.  Here's a few of Miss N's favorite combos....  try them with your baby and hopefully you'll be getting your lil one to eat a few more colors too.

PINK BABY FOOD RECIPES

Summer Smoothie: Mix together 1 watermelon cube** and 2 apple cubes.

Tropical Smoothie:  Mix together 1 watermelon cube, 1 mango cube, 1 apple cube, and 1/4 of a smashed banana.  

ORANGE BABY FOOD RECIPES

Sweeeeeet Veggie Mix: Mix together 1 sweet potato cube, 2 carrot cubes and 1.5 Tbsp of oatmeal. Add a little water to get the food to the consistency your baby enjoys.

Peachy Veg:  Mix together 1 carrot cube, 1 peach cube and 2 Tbsp of oatmeal. Add a little water to get the food to the consistency your baby enjoys.

WHITE BABY FOOD RECIPES

Banapple:  Mix together 1/2 of a mashed banana with 1 apple cube and 2 Tbsp of oatmeal.  Add a little water to get the food to the consistency your baby enjoys.

GREEN BABY FOOD RECIPES

Hiding My "Greens":  Mix together 1 green bean cube, 1 apple cube, and 1 Tbsp of rice cereal.  Add a little water to get the food to the consistency your baby enjoys.

Popeye's Favorite Greens:  Mix together 1 spinach cube, 1 zucchini cube and 1 Tbsp of rice cereal. Add a little water to get the food to the consistency your baby enjoys.

PURPLE BABY FOOD RECIPES

Blueberry Bliss:  Mix together 1 blueberry cube, 1 pear cube and 2 Tbsp of oatmeal. Add a little water to get the food to the consistency your baby enjoys.

** I make my own baby food purees and freeze them in these great OXO baby food freezer trays.  1 cube is the equivalent to 1 oz of baby food.

cloth diapers..not the kind your mom used

So, it's going to be a scorching day in the east and it's also "Diaper Day".  A good day to clean diapers and let them hang dry in the sun while we enjoy a nice and relaxing dip at the local pool.

We made the switch to cloth diapers about 2 months ago and I am pleased to say that it was an easier switch than expected.  I went into the process a little overwhelmed and skeptical about whether or not it would be something we embraced.  I chatted with an experienced friend (thanks Melissa!) who gave me a ton of advice and directed me to some valuable resources that helped make our switch a lot easier.  We bought a trial pack (some Fuzzi Bunz, BumGenius and Flips) from Nell's Natural Baby and decided to give it a try for 3 weeks.  If after 3 weeks we weren't sold, then we'd return to Nell's for a refund and go back to the organic disposables we'd been using.

Well, let me tell you... diapering technology has come a long way from the days of a piece of cloth and safety pins.  Don't get me wrong, these old school diapers still exist, but now there are cooler options (in a wide array of colors and patterns) for keeping your baby's stuff contained.  We ended up settling on a combination of the Flip One Size Stay Dry and the bumGenius One Size Pocket Diaper.  We love the hook and loop since they are easy to close for everyone (no more fumbling with those crazy snaps).  We have a wide assortment of colors (pink, buttercream, blossom, green, violet, and white) and have enough stocked up so that we do laundry about every 2-3 days.  It's really a breeze now.

At first there was little resistance from my hubby (he wasn't a fan of the smell of the diapers) but now that we've got a system to keep the smell at bay, he's on board.  It was an easy transition and I feel so much better about this decision.  We're keeping organic material close to babies bottom (healthier option) and are helping the environment by not contributing too much to the landfills.  A "win-win" for all.  

 

changing day by day..

This week has been a whirlwind of change for Miss N.  She's mastered the fine art of the scoot/crawl (it's a pretty funny combo that looks like she's doing the breaststroke) and this morning she showed us that she's can pull herself up to a standing position.  I have a feeling this little one is going to keep us on our toes!

Watching a baby develop is one of the coolest things to experience.  They learn so quickly and change with a blink of the eye.  It seems like yesterday that I was holding her in my arms amazed at this tiny and fragile little person.  Now, she's demonstrating her cute little personality and trying to become more independent.  I often miss the days where she'd lie quietly on my chest and snuggle but I love the laughs, interaction and cute noises she makes today.  Everyone says "enjoy it.. it goes so fast" and I wholeheartedly agree.  It's going too fast but we're enjoying every minute of this amazing ride!