Milestones: 7 Months

I hate time. Why must it pass so quickly? Why does my baby have to be 7 months already? He will be one before I know it, and although one year olds are still technically a baby, its just not the same. They are more independent and a far cry from snuggly newborns.

My Witten boy is growing and growing, he won't slow down. In the past month he got 2 bottom teeth, learned to sit up all by himself, and decided that he is a grown man. He now loves to sit on the floor and play with his toys, although I put a pillow behind him because he occasionally tips over. He also took a bath in the big bath sitting up all alone, and didn't tip till I tried to get his attention from above him to take his picture. He was kind of mad at me for that one.

He still isn't the hugest fan of most baby food, but yogurt is acceptable. He has had a couple of adventures with an arrowroot cookie and a graham cracker, both were deemed messy but delicious. Breastmilk is still his number one favorite food, and that is fine because its free and doesn't dirty any dishes.

Last month at the doctor he weighed 17 lbs 7oz, and that was before he put on any holiday weight, so I'm assuming that by now he weighs 18 lbs. He weighs enough that I hurt my back carrying him in his carseat yesterday so today I'm walking around like the hunchback. He weighs a lot, but he isn't a really big baby. He is just solid muscle, and he doesn't even work out.

Out of all of Witten's favorite things, sitting on my lap and smiling at me is in the top five. I don't even have to be doing anything special, he just likes me for some reason. Partly because I supply the milks. He gives me cuddles and some slobbery baby kisses and laughs, making him my favorite baby dude of all time. He also finds his sisters amusing, especially Alana when she is being wild and annoying. Wild and annoying Alana = hilarious. David's wrestling moves are also on his list of amusing things. He smiles the whole time, even if he is being held upside down.

I'm lucky to have such a good-natured and sweet boy to complete our family. If only he would stop growing up so fast.

By the way, this is what happens to onesie stickers when babies get bigger. You have to take pictures quickly because they want to eat the sticker, clearly stickers are a delicacy and oh so delicious.

The Lazy Mom's Guide to Homemade Baby Food

Leave it to me to wait until my third baby to make homemade baby food. Isn't it usually the first born who gets the most effort? Not in our house. He gets better quality food and better quality baby pictures. What can I say, I get better with time.

I have no problem with store bought baby food. It is convenient, inexpensive, and did I mention easy? Both of my girls ate store bought baby food, but never for very long. Once I let them self-feed they were done with purees and onto chopped up fruits and veggies that they enjoyed smearing on their faces.

My only issue this time around was taste. A jar of bananas that has been sitting on a grocery store shelf for who knows how long DOES NOT taste the same as a fresh banana. That's just science. Fresh food tastes better and I know exactly what goes into it and into my baby. I want my dude to know what real food tastes like, and baby food does not taste like real food.

So here I was, third time around, making the decision to feed my baby only healthy, fresh food that I have prepared. He has gotten a little baby oatmeal and yogurt a few times, but those are things I cannot make. Well I guess technically I could in theory make my own yogurt. But I'm not going to.

The first natural step for me in the whole baby food making process was to buy just a little bit extra fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes I cook them with the dinner I'm already making, or sometimes I just cook them up especially to puree and feed my dude. Either way I'm not doing much extra cooking. I have to feed him anyway, what is a few more minutes to steam some green beans.

Yesterday I made my dude some green beans and some broccoli.

I started with fresh green beans and diced them into smallish pieces. Right after I took this photo.

Then I steamed them. I happen to have a microwave steamer that I bought at Walmart for $6, but you can steam or cook vegetables anyway you want. This works for me because I can walk away from it and it isn't going to overcook or burn.

I typically cook small portions, so I only bought a handful of fresh green beans. Nobody wants to be eating the same food everyday for a week. After the green beans were cooked I set them out to cool, he wasn't going to be eating them immediately so there was no rush. Not all of the steps have to be done at the same time, this isn't that big of a committment.

At this point, while the green beans were cooling, I thought Why not randomly switch the vegetable that you are making right now to broccoli? That won't be confusing at all! I had a container of leftover steamed broccoli in the fridge already, so I grabbed that and added it to my to-do list. Sometimes I just cook a little bit extra of dinner so I can make it into food for Witten. See how I do that, save some time since I already had the broccoli?

So out came the broccoli, and out came the food processor. I just have this little food processor, which is an accessory to an immersion blender I have. If you have a bigger one feel free to cook more veggies at once, but small quantities work for me and my baby food processor.

I added about half of my cooked broccoli, and a fair amount of water. That's the secret here, you aren't going to get the texture you want unless you add some water. You are just going to get finely chopped up vegetables. And you don't have to add water to every puree, some foods naturally contain a little bit more water than others.

I initially added about 1-2 tablespoons of water, then pulsed the broccoli a few times and reassessed.

It needed more water, so I ended up using about 1/4 cup more. Then it was pretty smooth, but the nature of broccoli isn't that smooth, it still had a couple stray sprout guys hanging out. That's okay, my baby is older but I would use a smoother fruit or veggie when they're first starting out, depending on what age you start your baby on solids. My girls got baby food at about 4 months, but I didn't start consistently giving it to Witten until 6 months, which is actually what most doctors will recommend.

I took my final product and divided it into small tupperware containers. I put one in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. Alternatively you can freeze it in an ice cube tray or something similar and then freeze individual portions. Food stays fresh in the fridge up to 72 hours, but I would toss it after that to prevent the growth of bacteria. It is also recommended that you not feed a baby directly out of the storage container and then reuse that same container of food on another day. The bacteria from the baby's mouth goes straight from the spoon into their food, and just to be on the safe side I always feed my dude out of a separate bowl. Any food that you store in the freezer will last up to about 3 months, but I make mine in such small batches that it doesn't last that long. If you don't freeze any of your purees you will have to make them more frequently.

In my freezer right now I have broccoli, green beans, and some sweet potatoes. None of these things required more than ten minutes of actual "work" from me and they taste so much better than food from a jar. Not that I want to eat pureed broccoli, but I have a full set of teeth.

There are instances where I feed him non-fruits and veggies, like oatmeal or even yogurt. He loves the yogurt, but it has way more sugar in it than any baby needs so I only give him small amounts at a time. He is a fan though. I only buy brands that don't have high fructose corn syrup and have natural ingredients, babies should eat wholesome, healthy foods.

The thing about making your own baby food is that it doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming. I have three kids, am a part-time student, and spend way too much of my day driving back and forth to pick up my kindergartener. My secret to saving time is to break up some of the steps when I have to. I cook extra veggies at dinner to feed to Witten later. Then I can pull those out of the fridge the next day and they're already cooked and chopped, ready to go. If you are eating healthy then feeding your baby healthy should be the next natural step.

I know this may sound like Greek to some people, and I get that. So I'll help a little more, its the least I can do right?

In most cases, if you would eat something cooked, then your baby will eat it cooked. Broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, all of those things need cooked. And some of them can also be bought pre-chopped (that's how I buy squash all the time) and you can steam it in your microwave, right in the bag. When it comes to fruit, some need cooked and others don't. Bananas are probably the only thing I feed him raw at this time, I choose to bake or steam other fruits like apples, pears, or peaches.

Since it is winter the variety of fresh fruits or vegetables on hand is different, and in this case buying frozen alternatives is fine. I never opt for canned though, they won't taste as fresh and many companies add salt. Frozen peaches are great though, so are green beans (and they're already chopped up!).

Steaming vegetables is not rocket science, my steamer even came with a handy little chart. Most vegetables are done in less than ten minutes, just chop them up and stick em in the steamer.

Cook times for most veggies are not too tough to remember:

• Green beans: 8-10 minutes, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• Broccoli: 6-9 minutes
• Carrots: 6-9 minutes
• Cauliflower: 7-13 minutes
• Corn: 1-2 minutes
• Zucchini: 4-7 minutes
• Squash: 6- 8 minutes. I generally buy this in a bag, chopped, and follow the directions on the bag. Don't even need a steamer, you cook it in the bag!

These vegetables should all be cooked until fork tender, if they are undercooked they will not puree the way you want them to.

Other things I choose to roast/bake in the oven instead. Its not any less convenient, and the texture is generally better for some foods if you don't microwave it.

• Sweet potatoes: roast whole, at 350 for about 30 minutes. If you pierce it with a fork prior to cooking it tends to cook faster. Check for doneness after about 25 minutes by squeezing the potato while wearing an oven mitt. It should yield to gentle pressure.
• Apples and pears: peel and roughly chop, then bake in a shallow dish with a little bit of water at 350 for about 35 minutes. They should be soft and are relatively easy to puree.
• Peaches: since it is winter I have only bought frozen, sliced peaches. This does save time since they are peeled and ready to go, but defrost them in a colander with cold running water before you cook them. Bake them in a shallow dish about 25 minutes in a 350 oven or until tender.

Don't add sugar or any sweetener to any of the fruits, especially if you want your kids to like the taste of the fruit or vegetable the way Mother Nature intended. If a fruit is particularly sour then it isn't ripe enough, use something that is going to be better tasting and in season. You can, if you're feeling particularly daring and adventurous, add a little sprinkle of cinnamon to apples, pears, or peaches. You know, if you like to live on the wild side.

Also make a note to steer away from things that babies shouldn't eat until they are at least one, like honey, peanut butter, egg whites, shellfish, and berries. There are plenty of foods that they can have and they like variety just as much as the rest of us. Once my kids get a little bigger I usually give them more table food or whatever we are having for dinner, with emphasis on fruits and vegetables.

At this point my baby is 7 months old, so he will probably only eat purees for another month or so. Once he develops the ability to pick things up with his thumb and forefinger (the pincer grasp) he can start with more self-feeding. Then I will feed him the same things he is already getting, but skip the puree step. I will also add in more meats and some cheese, but not too much dairy. I skip pureed meats of any kind, because gross. He is breastfed, so he doesn't need any extra protein that he isn't getting from breastmilk.

Let's review in case anyone has forgotten anything:

• Cook extra vegetables when you are prepping dinner, you can use the leftovers later to feed your nugget.
• If you don't have any extra cooked veggies on hand, steam or roast a small portion and then you can come back later and puree it. It doesn't have to be done immediately after you cook it.
• Puree the amount that you need, in my case I just do about 3-4 servings at a time, except when it comes to butternut squash because I buy it in a large bag. Stick 1-2 servings in the fridge, then you can freeze what you want to use later.
• When it comes time to defrost, treat the food the same way you would any other food you need defrosted. I put mine in the fridge overnight, but you could also microwave it (on defrost or low power) until it is thawed. Don't leave it sit at room temperature, that is a no-no when defrosting anything.
• Not all baby food needs to be cooked and prepped ahead of time. Mash up some banana or avocado, mix up a little baby oatmeal, or give them some yogurt. Sometimes raw food is fine.

I don't feel like feeding your kids should be time consuming and complicated. You can feed them simple, whole foods without much effort. I promise. If I can do it, and I can be lazier than anyone realizes, then anyone can do it. It doesn't take much more than 5-10 extra minutes, scout's honor.

And you end up with a happy, healthy, satisfied? customer, who still might make faces when eating broccoli.

This Dance We Do

This thorn in my side highchair has reappeared in my kitchen in the last month. Its fun when babies get to that stage when they can sit up in a chair and join in on dinner, but come on people, this chair isn't helping me to not stub my toes on things. It is ALWAYS in my way. I have a small kitchen with no real spots to put it, so no matter where I put the dumb thing I'm tripping over it, or moving it to get into the fridge, or moving it to do laundry. I cannot win with this chair. But then I put a cute and chubtastic boy in it and I don't mind so much. He doesn't mind either, as long as I give him toys and crackers.

And Then She Could Read

Doing It All

Sometimes, some people, ask me, because they're curious How I do it? You know, it. The cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the making of too many cookies, the pictures, the blogging, the student crap. I have no answer. I don't do it all. In fact, since my dude arrived on the scene, I've been a little lazy. Not like groundbreaking unparalled new levels of laziness, just normal, mom-of-3-kids laziness.

I don't try to be Supermom! If I did, I'd fail. My day is a whirlwind of housework and just for fun I try to squeeze in some homework and then just for laughs sometimes I sit on my couch and watch Law & Order SVU. That last one rarely happens, but I do love that show and its weirdness combined with lots of predictability. At the end of the day everyday I kind of feel like I've accomplished nothing, even if I've barely sat down. By the time the Daily Show comes on I'm tired and ready to sleep, and eat some cookies if I managed to find time in my day for that. I don't that I have the energy to be Supermom! I'm just barely getting by being Regular mom who tries not to lose her temper when kids are fighting about something stupid!

I can admit to being good at some things, domestic or not. I'm good at these things because of LOTS of practice. I can make a decent batch of cookies, but I've got a crazy sweet tooth and I've been obsessed with chocolate chip cookies since I was old enough to chew. I have been making cookies since I was old enough to use the oven and not all have been good. I can make a decent dinner, but that too has been something I've been doing since I could use the stove. There is no secret to cooking, you just have to follow directions, it isn't rocket science. I can take an above average possibly pretty good photograph, but that too takes practice practice practice. My house is clean and even with three kids I find time to vacuum everyday, this isn't something I compromise on. The bedrooms can be messy, but I must have a clean kitchen and living room in order for my brain to function properly.

As much as I can admit to things I do well, I can also admit that some things I suck at. Sewing: I am the world's worst seamstress. There's a reason you don't see me on here posting pictures of things I sewed up in my spare time. I am horrible at it. I'm not patient enough and I HATE sewing. If I can't buy it or get someone else to sew it for me I don't need it. I can't do a cartwheel, because as a small wimpy child I was convinced that my arms would not support my 50 pounds of body weight. I don't know how to whistle, a skill that my six year old has mastered. I'm terrible at math, that is why I am retaking a math class I took 2 years ago and got a bad grade in.

I don't shoot for perfection, I set my sights on slightly above average. I want to be a B student at life. There are things I do well, not everything mind you, and in those subjects I get an A. But then there are those subjects that bring my life GPA down, even if I'm not being graded in whistling. You don't have to do everything, be everything, and always be the best. Just give everything a fair shot and know when to throw in the towel, or when to just stop what you're doing and go make some cookies.

Growing dude.

I am a terrible blogger. I'm busy, I'm distracted, I have a short attention span. Instead of doing math homework right now I'm taking five minutes to share new things about my dude.

First, he has two teeth. Two teeth he was not happy about getting, but now he has them and all is good again. They are razor sharp too, he'll bite you. You've got to watch your fingers, he is hungry.

Second, he can now sit up all by his lonesome. He does suffer from occasional tipping though, so you have to be careful because if he falls over he gets MAD.

Third, he is the cutest dude in history, but he will not smile at the camera no matter how much I jump around. The only way he will smile is if I take my face out of behind the camera, so sometimes my pictures are a little off center. Totally worth it though, he has a cute devilish boy smile.

It's a Good Thing I Don't Make Resolutions

Yesterday Witten was sick/teething. I accomplished very little and ate approximately 6 granola bars instead of actual food. Today he is still kind of grouchy and I don't want to use what little down time I do have making my brain work. I haven't publicly worn yoga pants in a week, but my energy for most things is minimal. January is blah, it shouldn't require so much effort. Plus its literally 10 degrees outside, so I'm cold and my fingers are cold.

Instead of writing something insightful or some crap like that I'm just gonna post some pictures of Witten making me work to get him to smile. Cause he's cute and I like him. Like, a lot.

2013: The Year of the Yoga Pants

It is January 9th and so far this year I have only worn jeans one time, and not even for the whole day. I have worn the same three pairs of yoga pants, on rotation, for a week and a half. The number of times I've washed my hair can be counted on one hand, and the times I've bothered with makeup on one finger. I think I can officially make an announcement here: I have gotten lazy.

I don't look completely horrible, but I'm far from photo ready right now. I am getting a haircut tomorrow so maybe I will turn a page on this laziness, but that is doubtful. 

Right now I'm in denial and lazy about getting dressed. Tuesday I start a microbiology class that I am not looking forward to, and Alana just went back to school Monday, and I always have things to do, but in my mind it is still Christmas break when I didn't leave my house for a week or change anyone out of their pajamas. Good times.

I would rather sit on the couch holding my dude than wash my hair or blog. But I don't neglect everything, I've still cooked dinner and baked excessive amounts of things and my house is clean. Too bad people can't see that, all they can see is my yoga pants and Nikes and lack of makeup which is SCARY.

Everyone deserves a chance to recover from Christmas, I'm just extending mine longer than usual. I barely took my tree down on Monday, that's new record for me. My brain hasn't even begun to function properly in this new year, exhibited by this blog which has no direction and no end in sight and I'm just rambling on, hoping something will come to me before I have to get up and cook dinner and make my kids stop eating Cheetos so they will eat whatever dinner I cook.

Let's summarize here: I am lazy. I have sorta writer's block combined with a short attention span...look over there> granola bars! I have no desire to wear non-elastic pants or put on makeup, but after I get a hair cut tomorrow at least part of me will look not gross. Witten is trying to grab the keyboard so he can vouch for my short attention span, but I won't let him chew on it so he is getting mad and I think I'll end on that. Before everyone quits reading, which I would've done about 200 words ago.

Shoulda Woulda Coulda

I would like to blog and post pictures, but for some reason blogger won't let me. It hates me, so I hate it back. That'll teach it. But seriously, I have issues with blogger right now and if it doesn't shape up I'm gonna kick it. Is anyone else unable to post pictures from their computer, because it doesn't even give me that option and I'm not blogging until I figure out how to fix it, I'm obsessive like that.

Milestones: Six Months Old

Come on dude, slow it down a little bit. Six months old? Really? You're joking me right? How are you already so big?

This dude won't give me a break. He is dangerously close to sitting up on his own, but he occasionally throws himself backwards so I have to sit behind him for a little bit of insurance. He can roll, forwards and backwards, but usually chooses to lay however we put him down, only turning to face another direction if something interesting is happening.

He only eats pureed foods a couple of times a week, because of my laziness. I have food that I've made to give him, but he is far from malnourished at 17 lbs 6 oz, so I was putting it off. I don't feed him store bought baby food, because it doesn't taste like the food that its supposed to be. I feed him fruits or veggies that I have prepared myself, or even some vanilla baby yogurt a few times.

The dude has discovered the built-in toys that are his feet, and tries to pull off every pair of socks I put on him. He is the Houdini of socks, if he can't grab onto them then he rubs his feet together at breakneck speed till the socks begin to slide off. Its quite a trick. The discovery of his hands a couple of months ago has helped him in his efforts to remove all socks, those things are handy, especially when you want to eat every toy handed to you ever.

His favorite trick is to shake his head no, which he does enthusiastically. We ask him questions and he shakes his head as fast as he can, and the answer is always no.

His chubby cheeks and perfect lips are just too kissable, I know because I give him lots of kisses. He tolerates it, but only really likes it if I tickle his chubby neck. That is hilarious indeed.

He LOVES to watch football with David, he will not even blink he stares at the TV so intently.

He turned six months the day after his first Christmas, which he found mildly amusing. He loved the tree and the lights and would stare at them like they were amazing. He also loved the wrapping paper, it was delicious. David let him pre-unwrap a present the last two weeks before Christmas. He would sit on David's lap and tear little bits of paper, then put the present in his mouth to taste test it. It must've been good because he tried to eat it everytime we handed it to him.

He is the sweetest and most lovable dude. I wish he would stay little for longer, this baby phase is too fleeting. He is handsome and full of personality and only smiles at the camera when he is plotting something, like taking off his Santa hat when I'm taking pictures, that was a good one. This dude makes me happy and I'm pretty sure that if I look away he will be turning one tomorrow. Better start planning his birthday party!

Fighting My Inner Grinch: A Christmas Recap

I don't especially like Christmas. It is too much work, too much about things, too much build-up and anticipation for just one day of the year. I don't remember the last time I didn't feel just a little bummed at the end of the day and I can't really pinpoint the cause of it. Maybe its just that there is so much hype leading up to it and then its over in a flash, leaving a trail of crumpled wrapping paper where there was once a pile of gifts accompanied by the excitement of new toys.

I don't hate Christmas, I just hate the emphasis on stuff. There's so much buy buy buy! when that isn't what it is supposed to be about. At our house we aren't especially religious, but I still don't want my kids to grow up thinking that Christmas is about presents and Santa. I even asked Alana what she thought it was about and she said being happy and loving your family, so I guess that was a mild success.

I fight the battle of Its not even Thanksgiving yet but let's put up our tree! and the other battle of Let's buy more stuff for our kids that we don't need and have nowhere to put! and the end result of that fighting is Grinchiness. I don't want to deal with Christmas. I don't want to wrap presents. I don't want to assemble a fake pine tree to put in my living room. I just want to eat cookies and be left alone.

The only thing that has changed my outlook on Christmas was having kids. They make everything funner, and seeing Christmas through their eyes makes the season a little more magical. When Santa emails them and knows to tell Alana to be nice to her sister and for Ava to eat her vegetables and I see how excited they get over it, that makes Christmas worth it. When I put up the tree and Witten just stared at the lights for literally an hour, that made me happy. When Alana whispered I'm so excited its Christmas tomorrow! right before she fell asleep on Christmas Eve, that made me smile.

I try to get into the Christmas spirit. I watched the movies with my kids, then made lots of paper snowflakes with Alana inspired by Elf. I baked excessive amounts of sugary things, because something in my mind says Caramels and cookies = Christmas time. I wrapped presents with David, because he thinks that its fun and I try not to see it as a chore. And I ate lots of cookies and caramels, because my brain says Eat them, they taste like Christmas.

The only thing that really makes me happy and excited is being with my kids on Christmas. They make me forget how long it took to put up the tree and all of the other stuff. They make me glad we bought so many annoying toys and books and puzzles that made them so excited, even if Santa got the credit for the toy that Ava wanted most in the world (curse your commercials Dr Mommy!).

Christmas always ends up being a success, and at the end I'm only left with a slight feeling of my normal How did time pass so fast today? How does it pass this fast everyday? How is Witten's first Christmas over already? This is depressing but I'm also happy just to be with my kids and be able to buy them presents and make them cookies and see how excited they are when there are other people who aren't as lucky.

After all the presents and cookies and family I'm just glad to squeeze these Christmas nerds and open their endless pile of toys for them. Spoiled, wild, loved Christmas nerds.

Ava isn't really a morning person, especially when we wake her up yelling "Santa came!"

He was more excited about finally getting to rip the paper off of the presents.

Doctor Mommy, the most coveted toy in Ava's existence

Santa may have misjudged how much candy cane wrapping paper it would take to wrap 3 large presents. And he also only had two fancy bow/tag combos. But he did have distinct "Not Mommy's handwriting" penmanship

We kind of love Melissa and Doug toys. And I've made quite a few pretend peanut butter & egg & cucumber sandwiches since Christmas

This was a gift from Alana's teacher. She was really excited to throw it around in our driveway on Christmas Eve, she credits it with Santa's arrival.

Hanging out and playing on my phone on Christmas Eve. We weren't sure if we were going to go anywhere, so she clearly dressed herself. Later she added sparkly tights and some Pumas for outfit of the year.

I love that my kids get just as excited to get new books as they do about new toys. And I didn't get a picture of her with her toy from Santa, but he brought her the Merida doll she asked for.

They were patiently waiting for Ava to wake up so they could open presents.

What am I supposed to do with this? Rip it? Well if you insist. (I didn't actually get a picture of him with it opened, but Santa brought him an elephant ball popper that the girls are obsessed with).

Me (minus makeup) and wide awake Witten dude

This one is our "normal" picture

And this one is how our family looks most of the time.



Witten and David. Someone told Witten its manlier not to smile in pictures.



Witten: I must escape!

He is storing food for the winter in his cheeks.



Alana-bana



Ava Jo

Here's a photo challenge for you: Take a picture of 9 kids and try to get at least half to look at the camera and smile. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!

Quick pics

Oh dude, you are so cute. I would rather hold you than blog anyday, especially when Blogger takes 20 damn minutes to upload one picture. If you didn't nap I'd never accomplish anything because I would rather be holding you instead. Keep on smiling at me dude, I'll give you whatever you want.