Weekend Update

First off I will say...stomach flu has hit our house...and I'm petrified...Bjorn has it, Tatiana and I do not. And I hope it stays that way. This morning (after being super sick all day yesterday and last night) he woke up and told me he was going to go to urgent care...I didn't want him driving himself because he was so sick, so luckily my dad drove over and picked him up. Thanks dad! Once he got home I quarantined him to the guest room. Then I ripped all the sheets and blankets off our bed and promptly washed them, then I did a load of all clothing and towels he has used in the past couple days. I also went around the house sanitizing, and he's under strict instruction to only use the downstairs bathroom. I hope his body fights it off soon, it's been really really nasty to him.

We are also dog sitting this weekend. It's the second time Rudy has stayed with us. He fits in pretty well here, and is a very sweet dog. My dogs are kind of indifferent to him...they aren't mean to him and they aren't friendly to him...they're kind of snotty I guess haha. I think they are threatened by having another dog in the house, but luckily everyone gets along well and there's never been any issues.

I have some awesome friends. I was going to hang out with two of my girlfriends last night...then I broke the news to them that the sickness had broken out in our house and it was up to me solely to take care of the baby. Well, no problem I guess...they both came over with wine and magazines and we ordered Chinese food. A super relaxed and perfect evening. Now today we are just taking it easy...Tatiana is actually napping (after fighting it for about 30 minutes), and Bjorn is out like a rock in the guest room. Tonight I plan on watching the SAGs (Screen Actors Guild Awards). I'm somewhat of an award show junkie and I have no shame. So now onto some new Baby T photos...

My baby is out of control...since she can't crawl yet she's taken to rolling all over. I can't even look away for more than a minute anymore because before I know she's jammed herself into a book shelf or half way under the couch.

Disassembling her play gym...

It didn't take her long to roll from the play gym to the DVD collection by the TV...I think she's trying to decide if she wants to watch a season of The Office or How I Met Your Mother.

Yesterday we received Tatiana's amber teething necklace in the mail. Amber is a natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory. When amber is worn on the skin, the warmth of the skin releases trace amounts of healing oils on the skin. Commonly known as "teething jewelry," baltic amber has been a natural and traditional European remedy for teething discomfort for hundreds of years. We got ours from Baltic Amber Teething Necklaces (a great shop, it came very quickly in the mail).

hooded baby...

snacking baby...

model baby...

 

 

Recent creations in the kitchen...

Thursday night we tried this buffalo chicken crockpot lasagna from 'A Year of Slow Cooking.' I would give it a 3 out of 5, and that's with my modifications. I think it would be better in the oven...sometimes noodle and/or rice dishes come out kind of soggy and messy in the crockpot. My modifications included, sauteing the chicken breast with olive oil, red onion, garlic, and sweet pepper....using gorgonzola instead of bleu cheese, and mixing it in with the ricotta instead of throwing it on top, I also added some extra sharp cheddar into the ricotta mixture. If I made this again I would make it in the oven and I would mix a packet of ranch dressing powder mix into the ricotta mixture. Although, I'm not sure I'll be making it again...Bjorn's response to it was, "It's fine.....but I don't really like buffalo sauce stuff." Okay, #92304 added to the list of "Foods Bjorn Does Not Like."

Last night I asked Bjorn, "Spaghetti and meatballs, or barbecue chicken pizza?" BBQ pizza won. I don't use a recipe, but here's a rough run down of what I use.

Crust:
store bought mix...and added to it:
fresh cilantro
minced onion
minced orange pepper
parmesan cheese
fresh cracked pepper

Sauce:
half and half mixture of pizza sauce (spaghetti sauce works too) and barbecue sauce

Toppings:
loads of fresh cilantro
sauteed chicken breast
red onion
red pepper
mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese

baked crust

 

toppings (no pepper or onion on Bjorn's half)

cheesey barebecue goodness

For lunch today I got creative and made some pasta that had a very fresh taste to it. I would say it was all about tasting the core ingredients...the only seasoning I used was fresh ground pepper and sea salt.

Ingredients:
3 hard boiled eggs
1 avocado cubed
3 slices of cooked bacon
fresh ground pepper
fresh ground sea salt
parmesan cheese
extra sharp cheddar
olive oil
gli Argumati Extra Virgin Lemon Olive Oil

I used a mix of whole wheat penne rigate and Whole Foods orecchiette rigate pasta...I needed to clear up some space in the cupboard. And the lemon olive oil really made this dish. It's expensive but I highly recommend it. It's not just olive oil with lemon flavor...the lemons are actually pressed with the olives. If you don't have any you could try adding fresh lemon juice or fresh lemon zest. I added the room temperature ingredients to the warm pasta and mixed it all together...It was super good!

the ingredients

the finished pasta

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed avocado for lunch...Tatiana had two thin slices of avocado, sweet potato puree with oatmeal, cinnamon and nutmeg, and about 6-8 Gerber cinnamon apple puffs. I think she really enjoyed it all! And she's getting sooo good at mashing food with her gums and chewing.

I've got a fever...and the only prescription is to........make more baby food?

I can't stop making baby food. I love to cook, and it's so fun and easy to cook up these easy dishes and then pop them in the food processor. We've got 42 homemade servings in the freezer and 26 store bought in the cabinet. I prefer the homemade, but it's nice to have the store bought on hand. If we're running out somewhere and I'm not positive that we'll be able to feed the baby solids I will grab a store bought container from the cabinet. Otherwise I risk the homemade food thawing out and possibly not getting eaten. The 42 servings will probably rise closer to 50 after the nectarines on my counter finish ripening and I can whip up more delicious baby food. I try everything I make it, and yes it does all taste good believe it or not.

The latest batch of food...and why yes that is my pineapple in the background, all mine, sorry Tatiana.

People often ask me where I get my recipes from. Truth be told, I have never used any recipes for my baby food. I just kind of wing it...I would say in general I'm a fairly good cook and I'm definitely at the point where I don't necessarily need to follow recipes (though this is not to say that I don't still seek out amazing new recipes to try for dinner!). I get a lot of information about what babies can eat and when/at what stage from www.WholesomeBabyFood.com. They do have recipes there if you are looking for some. I usually go there when I'm going to make something and a question pops in my mind, "Can I keep the skin on the zucchini and puree it in with everything else, or is she too young to be able to digest this?" Oh and yes, I did keep the skins on! This is also where I got my information on adding spice and fresh herbs to baby food.

So my freezer is being over taken by baby food, I had to organize it, and while I was at it I let OCD kick in and decided to inventory it all (by "serving"...either a recycled Gerber food container full or 3 - 4 cubes of food in a snack sized bag).

Homemade
Chicken Dishes
6 - butternut squash, apple, chicken
2 - carrot, rice, chicken
4 - zucchini, rice, rosemary, chicken

Sweet Dishes
3 - butternut, squash, apple, cinnamon
3 - blueberry, apple, oatmeal
3 - pear, oatmeal, cinnamon
4 - pear, kiwi, oatmeal
1 - peach, oatmeal, cinnamon
4 - sweet potato, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg

Savory Dishes
1 - broccoli, rice, cilantro
1 - broccoli
2 - avocado, cilantro, rice
3 - peas, basil, rice

Yogurt Dishes
2 - sweet potato, yogurt, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove
3 - apple, yogurt, oatmeal, cinnamon

Store Bought
Gerber
1 - peas
1 - squash
2 - sweet potato and corn
2 - sweet potato
2 - green beans
1 - banana
4 - carrots
3 - apples
1 - pears
4 - prunes

Plum Organics Baby
1 - peaches
1 - mango

Earth's Best Organic
1 - sweet potato and chicken
1 - pears
1 - prunes

Mega Update Time!

Hello out there...if anyone reads this anymore...especially since it's been almost 2 weeks since I last made a post.

Tatiana has been a busy girl since my last post... She's been to the Minnesota Zoo twice, and the second time she met the author of  Dizzy the Mutt with the Propeller Butt, she also got snuggled and kissed by the author and his wife. The author and his wife also have a 4 hour talk radio show on in the morning here (Mo-Fr). The last time I saw them at an event I was still pregnant, so it was fun to show them the final product! Tatiana is also quite obsessed with the large fish tank at the zoo. She sat there for a very long time, kicking her legs and talking to the fish...occasionally trying to grab one.

"Ooooh a miniature shark!"

Meeting Ian & Margery from MyTalk 107.1 after getting her book signed.

Our baby also turned...half a year old...WHAT!? Yes, she's 6 months old! Unbelievable...By the way these month photo shoots are starting to become nearly impossible...not only does she not sit still, but she also likes to knock over and pick up the photo props.

Here's her stats from her 6 month wellness check...
Weight: 15lbs 2 oz  - 40th Percentile
Height : 27 inches   -  90th Percentile
Head:   Errr..not remembering off the top of my head (no pun intended) but she is 30th percentile here.

She's now sitting up on her own. And by this I mean, if we put her in a sitting position she can stay there for a good bit of time. So far she can only get into the sitting position by herself if she's in her bouncer...which consequently means that the bouncer will need to go into retirement. It makes me a bit sad, she never was a huge fan of her swing, but she sure loved her bouncer as a wee babe.  She's eating a myriad of tasty foods made by mom, including mostly purees, and occasionally chunks or "fries" of sweet potato. She is also still teething, but those teeth have YET to cut through. We can see them starting to bulge on her lower gum, but they just aren't ready I guess...we however are more than ready!

"Mom, you're so silly, I told you I would sit on my own eventually!"

"Oh mom, relax...this isn't dangerous at all!"

Her new favorite activity...sitting in the play gym.

"Excuse me, you call these "fries?" I thought fries were supposed to be deep fried and served with ketchup."

New batch of food I made her last night. They are all blends and include:
sweet potato-yogurt-cinnamon-nutmeg-clove
pear-oatmeal-cinnamon
pear-kiwi-oatmeal
apple-yogurt-oatmeal-cinnamon
zucchini-chicken-rosemary-rice


And this my friends is how we all feel about teething in our household right now...

And I'll leave you with some very fresh photos taken this morning of the little ones.

Tatiana meets her....birthday twin!

Since the early days of my pregnancy I have been part of an online group of about 90 women who were all due to have babies in July 2010. Many of us have become close, talking online daily about our babies and lives, and sharing in the experience of having babies so close in age. I love this group of women, and they are another reason I am sooo thankful for the internet, social networking, and online forums.

Tatiana and I were lucky enough to meet one of these mommy baby duos face to face. They drove about two hours to our house where we hung out and went shopping. Not only is this baby, Olivia, a July 2010 baby like Tatiana, but she shares the exact same birthdate, July 16th. The girls are about 4 hours apart in age.

Without further adieu...the photos! Oh and we totally planned out the coordinating Baby Gap crawler skirts, because that's how we roll.

"Wait a second! You mean there are other babies who were born the same day I was!!!?? This is just mind boggling."

"Olivia, I know I'm kind of loud and overwhelming like my mom, but will you please be my friend?"

Tatiana likes to screech a lot...you know that loud high pitched excited baby scream. Whenever Tatiana would do this Olivia would get this huge adorable pouty lip and start crying...sooo cute.

 

And I have to share this one of just Olivia because she has the most gorgeous eyes ever!

So we've been getting more creative in our food all around lately... well minus Bjorn because he's still lovin' his blue box mac 'n cheese. But he did try some interesting food at the Thai restaurant last weekend, so big points for him.

For the second time in my life, last night I tried cooking tofu again. I like when I get it at a restaurant and it's in cubes, and is light and fluffy and spongey inside. How the HECK do they cook it like that? I got a block of firm tofu and soaked and soaked the moisture out of it until I felt like I had wasted enough paper towels/trees for the entire year. Then I cubed it, marinated it in soy sauce and pan fried it for about 20 minutes. Then I dumped it on a cookie sheet and let it cook at 400 in the oven for about 30 minutes hoping that would help dry it out better. Well it turned out better than the first time I tried (which was a mushy mess), the cubes stayed as cubes, and were dry on the outside, but unfortunately were still moist on the inside. It was most definitely still edible and good, just not what I had hoped for. If you're a tofu expert, please leave me a comment, I need help! :)

Tofu with carrots, onions, red pepper, basil and garlic. And straight out of the package Archer Farm's Coconut Cashew Basmati Rice (which by the way, is delicious).

Tried a new wine last night as well. I've been eyeing this one for awhile since it's called "Cupcake." The woman at the store informed me that both the white (sauvignon blanc) and red (a blend) by Cupcake Vineyard are great. I've only had the white so far and it was very yummy. Oh, and totally reasonable at around $7-$8.

Now onto the adventure's of Tatiana's cusine de purée...we have introduced some spices and herbs and even blueberries into her diet. I've got a small stash of peas-fresh basil-rice, apples-cinnamon-oatmeal, and blueberry-apple-oatmeal. She loves them all so far. I do not use recipes but seek out advice from wholesomebabyfood.com.


peas-basil-rice

blueberry-apple-oatmeal

I'm running out of recycled Gerber food containers so I had to use an icecube tray for some of the blueberry mixture. I do not have a normal ice cube tray...I have heart shaped, star shaped, and mickey mouse head shaped. And so I present you with heart shaped frozen cubes of baby food.

Here's the current freezer stash. It includes sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, avocado, pears-oatmeal, apples-cinnamon-oatmeal, peas-basil-rice, and blueberry-apple-oatmeal. I hope to add carrot-cilantro-rice to the mix soon.

When I was making the blueberry-apple-oatmeal Tatiana was in her jumper in the kitchen. So I gave her a spoonful of it fresh out of the food processor. She made a sour face, until about the third spoonful. Then it was pure deliciousness to her.

And on a fun note, the convertible car seat for my car arrived today. It's the Combi Coccoro in key lime. And I unintentionally dressed Tatiana to match the seat.

Also, I caught my baby chewing tobacco this morning...at least that's what it looks like in this photo. :)

And I'll end this post by saying...best thing ever? Grabbing your sleepy baby out of their crib in the morning and bringing them into your bed to snuggle for a bit...then having them wake up minutes later smiling in your arms. *swoon*

Baby's First Trip to the Art Museum

I figured we better take advantage of the fact that our baby isn't walking and throwing tantrums yet...so off to the art museum we went!  I graduated with a degree in Art after studying Art (painting, printmaking, ceramics, photography) and Art History, so Art History is very important to me. We went to the Walker Art Center, which has a great mix of Post Modern, Modern, and Contemporary art. We also finally got to use our UPPABaby G-Luxe stroller for the first time. Loooove it. It's so light weight, comfy for Tatiana, and its wheels swivel so elegantly. We were at the museum for two hours and Tatiana (and Bjorn) didn't cry or whine the entire time. Tatiana was so busy looking around at everything.

Gettin' the new stroller ready to use.

Wearing her Walker badge.

Tatiana checking out Andy Warhol's "Sixteen Jackies."

"Marilyn," Andy Warhol

Surrounded by Sol Lewitt's work.

After wards we had some Thai food. We tried to feed Tatiana a bottle at the table, but she was so distracted. Every time someone at a table in front of us or behind us would talk she would start straining her head and neck to try to see where the voice was coming from. Thus is the daily challenge of feeding an almost 6 month old...wait did I say ALMOST 6 months? Geeesh!