A Nice Morning Routine

We have the nicest morning routine I've ever experienced. I used to just hate mornings. They made me grouchy and sluggish and forced me into a lifelong habit of COFFEE. Oh wait - that's a good thing.

Anyway, the little guy, Jason and I have a sweet routine. Ian wakes up rather easily, looks at me and goes, "Uh?" He wants one of two things: nom-noms or TV. He'll even go so far as to point to the TV set - "Uh? UH?!" *finger pointing*

I flip on the telly to V-Me, advert-free international programming dubbed in Spanish. His favorite shows are Cinco Minutos Mas (Australia), Pororo (Korea), and Las Tres Mellizas Bebes (Spain).
Then while he watches his developmentally-sound TV shows, we get ready for work - make coffee, wash face, get dressed - all at our leisure. The little dude might get out of bed to amble about, grabbing this or that. But mostly, he sits on the bed looking like this:


And this:

The Feeding Mystery Solved!

So the feeding mystery has been solved. The secret? There isn't one.

Basically, I was totally stressed about Ian "being behind" because he wasn't diligently eating his finger foods like "all 14 month olds should." We simply started feeding him what we eat and presto change-o! Happy boy.

His favorite foods so far are the black beans, grilled chicken and veggie rice from Gloria's. He could eat that all day long. The biggest thing we've learned recently is that if he has his own plate, he will ignore it. He wants whatever we eat. So now we salt our food a bit less and use very little spice, and are able to share with the little dude all he pleases.

Amber's Sweet Potato Fries

Amber has been a lifesaver today, sharing her knowledge with me on the foods Colm likes. Colm is 6 months older than Ian, and as I tell Amber: "Girl, I'm so lucky you got knocked up before I did." She's a wealth of knowledge! Here's an email I got from her today (among many other amazing suggestions) for Sweet Potato Fries that are baked!

1) Slice a sweet potato into little fries
2) Coat with canola oil, salt and pepper
3)Throw in the oven at 400 for about 12-15 minutes (or when they start to brown).
4) Turn them over in the middle, so they'll cook on both sides.

Super healthy and kids LOVE them!

She also suggests baking chicken strips (coat chicken in egg, dip in breadcrumbs or crushed up corn flakes and bake), or bean/cheese quesadillas. And she adds, "Be prepared for mess, but it's also fun to see when they really like something. Colm will say OOOOOOOH...yummy! So cute! :)"

THANK YOU AMBER GIRL!!!!!

Toddler Food Ideas

Ian is now at the "no more pureed food" stage and it's time to get him on the finger food express. I'm going to use this post to maintain a list of food ideas as they come to me. All would be cubed or sliced into a safe finger-food size:

PROTEIN
hard-boiled eggs, deli meat (turkey, chicken), tofu dogs, peanut butter

DAIRY
cubed Swiss cheese, string mozzarella cheese, yogurt snacks, cream cheese

FRUITS
grapes, strawberries, bananas, avocado, banana, peaches, plums, raisins

VEGGIES
zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, peas, cucumber, broccoli, yellow squash

GRAINS & SNACKS
saltines, graham crackers, Cheerios, multigrain waffles, multigrain pasta, toasted wheat bread, Goldfish crackers, cereal bars

COMPLETE MEALS
Mac-n-Cheese + peas + ham
Pasta + marinara + ground turkey + veggies
PB&J sandwiches
Cream cheese + fruit + crackers
Grilled cheese + avocado
Pizza: wheat english muffins + marinara + veggies

Recipe: Peas & Carrots

Ian has become one picky eater. One day he'll love bananas, the next day he refuses them. He uses his arm to wipe my hand away, a lot like how we used to deflect attacks in kung fu - only not as painful!

He seemed to be refusing all the yummy home cooked veggies I was making, so I decided to do it Julia-style: add butter! I mixed in a little pinto beans for some protein, and cereal for some heft, and guess what? He loved it! The recipe (like all home made baby food) is so simple, there's no reason to pop open a jar every meal:

INGREDIENTS
2 large carrots
2 cups peas
> OR 1 package frozen peas & carrots
1 tbsp pureed pinto beans*
1 tsp Brummel & Brown yogurt butter
1 tbsp Earth's Best baby cereal



WHAT TO DO
Cut and peel the carrots. Steam the veggies together until tender. Chop in a handheld chopper until chunky, not pureed. Mix in pinto beans, butter and cereal. Microwave for 10 seconds if butter doesn't melt. Done!

Mimi and Ian eating dinner in the sunroom

* I have jars of this in the freezer. You can make one bag on a Sunday afternoon, store in clean baby jars or ice cube trays, and you'll have enough beans for a month or more!

My Vampire Baby

Ian's teeth are coming out like gangbusters. Just the other day I noticed a new incisor on his left, then felt for the right one, and sure enough it's coming out! The next day, my mom noticed a new tooth on the bottom, and the symetrical buddy coming out soon, as well. By the way he's rubbing his cheeks and pulling on his ears, I can only guess molars are on the way, too! The little bugger won't let me see that far into his mouth, so it's all conjecture.

And guess what's his new favorite thing to do? Biting. He's exploring his new teeth, my little Count Dracula.

Yes, He Loves McDonald's

During the cold winter days, it's easy to get cabin fever. Ian is certainly not immune to boredom and the "same old stuff in the same old house." One day I got the idea to take him to McDonald's, not for the incredibly nutritious food, but for some free indoor play. He loved it!


Admittedly, we bought him a yogurt parfait, the only thing on the menu I would even consider feeding him. He loved it, but not as much as the slide and other children. He even got a hug from a cute little 2 year old. What a mack daddy!

My mom and Randy have also taken to McDonald's. These are some pics of them at our local Oak Cliff McD's, complete with graffiti tags! Nice.