Toddler Chores and Fostering Helpfulness

 Toddlers are SO eager to help.  Leo is no exception and he melts my heart on a daily basis with his desire to assist.  From scurrying to get me a towel when he hears the shower water turn off to helping me pick out my outfit when I get dressed (I have left the house in two different shoes because I couldn't bear to turn down his proud and earnest selections) to giving me his hand to steady myself when he sees me struggling to get up from my seat (the only thing harder than getting up from our comfy couch in the third trimester is getting up without toppling your oh-so-helpful toddler).

The catch is that all this enthusiasm and willingness to do anything to help out is paired with limited ability to perform much beyond basic tasks.  Of course, we want to nurture, preserve and grow this natural urge to be helpful - but it can be frustrating when you are trying to get a task done in a timely fashion.

Cravable

Lately I've had two major cravings.

1.  Salad with blue cheese dressing and bacon.
2.  Frozen strawberry margarita (which has been modified to a strawberry-lime smoothie)

These cravings are pretty intense and I've been having them about once a day.  I have gone through costco-sized bags of frozen strawberries, limes, and various veggies.  I suppose there are worse things to crave (like during my last pregnancy when I was all brownie-fudge sundaes all the time), but these cravings haven't edged out my natural drive for sweets and carbs - so it's not like I'm living on lettuce.  My usual hankering for chocolate milk and other such delicious things is still going strong; Pregnancy cannot change your basic chemical make-up, after all.

It's nice to crave fresh ingredients - even if it does require a lot of squeezing, blending and chopping. It is kind of strange to crave cold foods in February - but luckily the weather has been so mild that it doesn't feel too weird.  Also, bug goes NUTS for the strawberry-lime smoothie.  Just a couple sips and s/he is doing backflips in there.

*Disclaimer about the blue cheese - it is pasteurized, so no worries on that front.  Besides, the risks associated with eating soft cheese is significantly lower than getting into a car accident, and I haven't given up riding in a car, either.  I've even been known to eat sushi on occasion while pregnant - dun, Dun, DUN!

Handmade Holidays: Toddler Crafts

We really wanted Leo to feel invested in the gifts he was giving to family members.  So in addition to joining us for holiday shopping and giving input on picking out presents (which makes it take 10 times as long), we also tried to make some gifts at home that he could take ownership of.

The most successful of these attempts was our salt dough ornament project.  jb helped Leo mix, roll out and cut out the dough.  They used a basic recipe (1 cup flour, 1/2 salt, 1 cup water) and added a bunch of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice) to make them fragrant.  jb baked them during Leo's nap and Leo and I took it from there.

Once they were cool they were hard as rocks - which was the intent, since it would be great if they could last for years to come.  I gave them to Leo along with an assortment of crayons.  At first he wasn't sure about coloring on them, but after I demonstrated a bit he LOVED it.  Seriously, this kept him busy for over an hour.  That's like a year in toddler time.

First Trimester + Todder = Not Easy

I didn't want to write this sooner because feeling the way I did I knew I was in danger of crossing the line from slightly whiny to ungrateful complaining PITA.  Hopefully, now that I'm feeling significantly better I can stay just this side of that line.  That said - Holy Cow!  I do not remember it being this rough the first time around.

Sugar Detox Debrief

Eight weeks ago I gave up sugar.  It was supposed to be a one month sugar detox, but it's been nearly two - just call me an over-achiever.  Here's a recap of my not too stringent and fairly arbitrary plan to cut out the sweets.

Quiche: It's What's For Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

 Leo will eat just about anything if I bake it into a quiche.  It's easy to make, a flexible recipe, and fairly wholesome - the requirements for all my staple recipes.

When I first began making quiche I used this recipe, but have been making changes over the years - to the point where the recipe I use these days is almost completely different. 

peek-a-boo

baby blur

The most exciting news around here is that my mom is coming to visit!  Leo hasn't seen Abi in over a month so he is really going to be in for a treat.  And Abi won't believe he is the same baby who was barely taking a tentative step or two.

He will have to show her all his new tricks - and his new found  love of the curtains.  He uses them to play peek-a-boo for what seems like forever.  I love that since his feet usually stick out you can see his toes twitching with anticipation before he pops out.  He also just likes to sit under/inside them (like a fort).  He will take a toy behind the curtain, make sure I can't see him and play by himself for a while. 

Perfect Summer Dinner: Fresh Spring Rolls

It is hot out.  Like gross, sweaty, don't-want-to-turn-the-stove-on hot out.  Days like this we try to eat something cool for dinner - but you can really only eat so many straight up salads, so here is one of our favorites for evenings when the AC can't even keep up with the heat.  I've heard them called fresh spring rolls, Vietnamese spring rolls and even summer rolls - basically, our version is just a salad wrapped in rice paper and it's delicious.  Once you set up your assembly station, preparation really goes quite quickly - and I know everyone always thinks I went to way more trouble than I actually did. Easy, healthy and delicious. 

Sugar, Sugar: Why We Choose To Limit It

Several times over the last few months jb and/or I have been asked why Leo doesn't eat sugar.  I've been pretty surprised by this question, thinking that it's fairly self explanatory - but more than one (totally intelligent and respected by me) person has asked, so I thought I'd outline our reasons for limiting sugar the best we can.  I'd also like to make clear that I don't judge parents who allow their kids to have sugar - especially in moderation.

1.  It's non-nutritive.  We want every bite he eats to count.  Ideally he'd eat all organic, local, non-processed foods - but that's not realistic for our family so we do our best to limit sugars, dyes, preservatives and to offer whole non-processed foods whenever possible.

Party Files: Menu (with cake recipes!)

 Last post about the party.  We got a ton of requests for the cake recipes, so those are included at the end.  For the main course we grilled eggplant, asparagus, black bean burgers, chicken-apple sausage, and turkey burgers (I used this recipe and went heavy on the parsely and grated in a few carrots).  Guests all brought side dishes including fruit, salads, hummus, and salsa.  There was a ton of delicious wholesome food - most of which Leo could eat.

It was important to us for him to have a good meal before his first foray into cake.  And he did.  Well, he was mostly too distracted to eat - but every bite he took was packed with good things.  And man did he love his cakes.  Jessica made them both from scratch using fruit purees, whole wheat flour, low sugar, and lots of love.

Baking Leo

Leo the night before his birthday party baking a birthday cake. 

PB&J

 Leo had his first Peanut Butter and Jelly today - or a variation of it at least.  It was easy to make  and a huge hit - and despite the extensive clean-up required afterwards (he had peanut butter in his hair!), I think this will be in our regular lunch rotation.  Leo was trying to lick his elbows he liked it so much.

To make a baby-friendly version of this classic lunch time meal I made a mixture of all-natural peanut butter and fruit puree (I used a strawberry-banana jarred food, but you can make your own or use any flavor). 

Natural Egg Dyeing for Earth Day

Rise and Shine Nurse

Hummus Pasta

This is my go-to quick dinner.  Delicious and nutritious - and so very quick and easy.

Super-Duper Pancakes

These pancakes are lot of bang for your buck - and Leo gobbles them up.  The recipe is super forgiving, so swap ingredients and see what works for you. 

Today in Food

Some of my favorite posts to read are about what other people are feeding their babies/toddlers.  There are so many healthy options out there, yet several times a week I find myself staring into the fridge wondering what the heck to feed my hungry hungry hippo.  So I'm returning the favor and sharing our day in food.  I should note that Leo is still nursing quite a bit, so we are still of the "food for fun under one" philosophy.  Also, the pictures do not necessarily reflect his actual serving size (sometimes more, sometimes much less) or the way I serve him.  He usually gets a few pieces on his high chair to try and feed himself. 

Baby Lunch: Broccoli-Yogurt Pizza

I promise this won't become an all pizza all the time blog.  I just wanted to share this super easy recipe that was a big hit with Leo.

(recipe after the jump)

Pizza Crust Recipe

By request, here is the awesome pizza crust recipe I've been using. (recipe after the jump)

Crusty

Between teething and a cold snap we've been laying low. Well, Leo has been laying low - I went out (Ethio Cafe) to celebrate a friend's birthday last night. As I've mentioned, my outings sans baby have been few and far between, so to have two solo social outings in two months is a pretty big deal. Now we just need to work on jb and I getting out together without our little shadow.

The Little Treehouse

Over the weekend we took Leo to The Little Treehouse and he loved it. I thought he would be too little (at 10 months) to get very much out of it, but he was crawling from toy to toy and was enthralled watching the bigger kids play.