A Journal of November 3, 2011: In Pictures

I'm 2 but I'll never admit it.

Drew is going through a phase where nothing is ever quite right in her little 2-year-old world. She whines that she's hungry while she's still eating. If we're going to the park she wants to be home. If it's a school day, she wants to be in "gymnastics cwass". Last night, she said her knee hurt and though there were no bumps, bruises or scrapes, nothing would do but a band-aid.



So I did what any mommy does who just wants their child to feel better, I put on a band-aid. These things have magical powers, I tell you. The second I put it on, she felt better.... for about 3 seconds. Then she ripped it off and put it on the other knee.

Happy December!

A Great Birthday!

Wonderful pieces of my day:

• That moment when I woke up, normal, and had the little, silent aha moment of "It's my birthday!"
• I was the first one out of bed, if only by a few seconds.
• Addison came out of his room, pillow in hand, and he said, "This is my birthday present to you, mama! We can keep it in between our rooms." Melt.
• Ben made me french toast for breakfast.
• A million and one birthday wishes on facebook!
• The quiet of a coffee shop. I got to read part of the newspaper, do as much of the crossword puzzle as I felt like, and write a blog post.
• A man at the coffee shop came in with his white fluffy shitzu-type dog wearing a periwinkle sweater. He proceeded to show us his dog's tricks. The man would say a number and the dog would bark that number of times! Impressive!
• Couple of bites of a cheddar bacon biscuit.
• Discovering the absolute best antique shop I've ever been to, and finding a number of things I wanted. And, for once in my life, letting myself not worry about money and buying every single one of the things I wanted. Awesome.

• Cup of lavender chamomile tea.
• Pulled pork sandwich at Bunk Sandwiches. (cross #1 off the list!)

• Quiet lunch with my husband and sister.
• Stumbled upon crazy 24-hour House of Elvis art thing...

• Another Portland photo booth. (progress on #5!)

• A vegan cupcake made by my sister and served on a china plate!

• Cup of hibiscus ginger tea.
• Dr. Mario, pinball, Frogger, and racing games.
• Cargo.

• A simple dinner and a Tigger movie for Addison for an overall easy evening.
• Letting Drew eat food (mushy baby food) with her fingers and make a big mess.

• Birthday cards from special people.
• Phone call from my dad.
• Living room dance party, and birthday ice cream with Addison and Ben.
• Quiet evening.
• Cup of relaxing tea.
• Going to bed early.

homemade baby food

I do a lot of cooking, and I really enjoy the whole process! I love food blogs, cooking magazines, figuring out how to make a meal out of the random things in my kitchen that need to be used up, etc....but there isn't a meal I can think of that has brought me as much satisfaction as making my own baby food.

I love it! Like thrifting, or getting something for a great bargain, I guess it feels a little bit like cheating! I came super close to buying a 24-pack of jarred organic baby food at Costco tonight, but I'm so glad I changed my mind. Instead, I bought huge bags of carrots, pears and plums to make for Drew at a fraction of the cost!

I drove home put the kids to bed, and got busy making carrots, peas, potatoes and sweet potatoes. I'll save the pears, plums and some apples for another day. Its so fun!

Drew has never tasted jarred baby food. Everything she's had to eat, besides some packaged rice biscuits and the recent switch from breastmilk to formula, I have made myself. The ironic thing is, Addison ate only jarred baby foods. I think I tried to make sweet potatoes for him once, he hated it, and I never bothered to try again! What can I say, motherhood was a whole different ballgame for me then.

If you've never tried to make your own, I highly recommend it! If you can steam veggies and fruits and have a blender or a food processor, you can make it in a snap! There are lots of great websites that tell you how to make different things and what foods to introduce at which ages. Just google "homemade baby food" lots of options will pop up.

Happy cooking!

Happy 4 month birthday, Drew!

Drew,

At 4 months you giggle, blow bubbles, talk and coo, suck your thumb, put your own self to sleep, cram everything into your mouth, drool like crazy, take a bottle like a champ and sometimes sleep for 9 hour stretches at night!

Your brother absolutely adores you and kisses you and thinks you are the sweetest thing. We all do.

Thank you for coming to us. I have enjoyed every day with you and I hope you don't grow up too fast.

Love,
mommy