Today for lunch I decided to throw in something new... walnuts! G has had more peanut butter than I can measure, but he's never actually had any kind of nuts. I don't like them, so it's not something I reach for to give. Since he has his 4 molars in though, I decided it's something he could probably handle. Sure enough, he gobbled them right up!
I went and got a new backdrop yesterday (well... 3 yds of fabric to use as a pseudo-backdrop) and I'm in love with it! I went right upstairs and ironed out the crease so I could take a few pictures of Gunnar using it. Unfortunately, at that time of the day, the only place that had good natural lighting was my in law's bathroom.... which is tiny. I had to work in a very small space and the shots aren't wide at all. I also wasn't able to get a really good depiction of the detail on the backdrop. I do have a newborn photo shoot on Monday that I'm excited about and definitely plan do use then so you'll get better pictures at that time. Until then, here's some of the adorable little creature I call my son.
I wish I could feed myself the way I feed him. And I should! It all looks so delicious. I did steal ask to have the other half of his egg so it wouldn't be sitting in the fridge and get gross. I took the silence as a yes =)
Did I mention that my child doesn't eat meat? I'm not sure I did, but I might have. In any case, unless it's a certain type of chicken with a certain flavor (haven't figured out what exactly those flavors are) he won't touch it. And meat? Forget about it. Steak is out of the question, hot dogs are out, and so is ground beef. That's why you won't be seeing any of those on my lists. Plus, the idea of hot dogs just grosses me out so I really wouldn't want to feed them to my child (albeit, he has had hot dogs before and ended up throwing them up which is why I think he doesn't like them anymore... can't say I blame him). You'll notice a lot of the things I give him are chalk full of protein (peanut butter, eggs) and that's to make up for the lack of chicken he eats. I also try and provide a lot of things that are high in iron since he ONLY gets those from the fruits,veggies, and lentils. Beans are a BIG hit with the little man. They might not make for the nicest diapers, but they're full of iron and a perfect finger food! Also, betcha didn't know, but dates are high in iron as well. Yes they're a sweet fruit, but they have a lot of iron in them so Gunnar eats those frequently as well. Some of our big "iron" foods are: dates, beans, green beans, whole wheat foods, peas, watermelon, and sweet potato!
I finally fixed the second link's title! I realized that when I was prompted to keep my widgets, it deleted that entire section of the layout code... while still actually keeping them (just not visibly). Thankfully that was a quick 5 minute fix! Now y'all can go ahead and check out what's under the "Workin' Mama" tab!
Thanks for bearing with me!
Meggan brought to my attention that I didn't write anything about what I feed Gunnar for breakfast. I tend to get so preoccupied with lunch and snacks and I didn't think breakfast foods were something y'all were curious about as well! I don't go to the same lengths for breakfast as I do for lunch, but they're still healthy choices. Like any other mom, I just don't have the energy in the morning to give breakfast a lot of thought. Here's a sample of some of this typical breakfasts:
It's quite obvious that I'm making some blog changes. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the second link (the one right up there ^) to change what it says because that piece of the code disappeared... yet it still shows up. So bear with me as I try to get this all perfect. The links work, just the title of link #2 doesn't depict where it's taking you to. So sit tight, and don't fret (okay okay, it's me that needs to worry about that, not you). Explore the new layout and familiarize yourself while I get this all in tip top shape.
Until then.....
Start making your weekly food lists for your child(ren)! After reading the comments left on my last post, I realized that I ended up being a lot more helpful than I thought. That makes me excited... happy... thrilled that I could help! I noticed that y'all planned on writing down some of the things, if not all, from my list. Because my list changes each week (some of it, but not all), I've decided to post Gunnar's food list every Sunday! Hopefully this will help those of you who are in a creative rut to explore new foods and realize there's so much more out there to feed your child! This is still a learning process for me and I'm discovered new tips and tricks that make toddler feeding easy so I'll be sharing those with you. Please please please feel free to leave your lists too! I'm sure that y'all feed your children stuff that I haven't even thought of! I'd love to hear what they are!
Happy eating!
In the past several months I've had several people (ok maybe only 2 or 3, but still...) ask me how I come up with so many different things to feed my child for lunch and snacks, as well as asking what some of those things are. I was going to write about this a while ago, but completely forgot. Thankfully, I read MckMama's post today and it reminded me so I thought I'd go ahead! Plus, today was my "prepare and store 'bites'" day.
If you're not familiar with what that means, I'll tell you. 2-3 times a week (usually 3), during nap time, I spend a good 30 minutes in the kitchen going through the things in the pantry and fridge and pulling out stuff that I plan on feeding G. With those, I cut them up/ slice them/ whatever and store them in tupperware that way, when lunch or snack time comes, I already have everything prepared and ready to serve. Just grab out of the pantry or fridge and put on a plate! I've discovered this not only keeps me sane, but it also keeps my child happy. See, G isn't one to wait for food. When he sees it being prepared he wants it immediately and will throw a fit if not given any. Doing this makes it so I can quickly feed him and shut him up keep him happy. If you've never thought to do something like this, or even thought about it but haven't, I urge you to try it! It really saves me a lot of time and I don't even have to really think about what I'm going to feed him. This technique (if you want to call it that) is especially helpful for moms like myself that hardly feed their child(ren) processed or packaged food. Yes, my child gets graham crackers and goldfish but these are on occasion. He really only eats fresh food that require preparation. It makes me feel better about what's going into his tiny little body.
Now... how exactly do I come up with all the different things to feed him? Well, it's all about browsing! Luckily, I don't have a picky eater. Ok, so he doesn't like meat, but I wouldn't call that picky. He will gladly eat any veggie you put in front of him. Because of that, it's not too hard for me to find stuff to feed him. Going back to a previous point I made, I try to only feed him fresh food and healthy food. I never quite know what he's going to feel like eating that particular day, but I try it anyways. On Sundays, I prepare a list, like the one below, of foods that are quick, easy, healthy for him to eat, and that I know he likes. I keep this list with me and throughout the week if I get any ideas of other things to feed him I add them to the list for future use. There's so much food out there and you can't be afraid to let your child try them (unless of course there is an allergy or chance of an allergy). Your child might surprise you with what he'll eat!
Keep in mind that these aren't the only things my child will eat this week. He'll probably get some goldfish or other crackers and dinner will be whatever my mother in law prepares. He ALWAYS eats what we eat (unless it's fish, I choose not to feed him any fish) for dinner.
Today we did things a little bit different here at home. Typically, Gunnar wakes up around 8 and we play in the room for a half hour, eat breakfast and play some more. By 10:30 he's ready for his morning nap. However, today was different. I decided it was time to try something called room time. I learned about this from Kassi who learned it from Diana. It's an excellent idea and a great way to keep a mommy sane! Up until now, Gunnar has just been too young for me to be ok with letting him stay in the bedroom by himself. Plus, he just wasn't a huge fan of me not being around him. I decided to let him play in the room for about 25 minutes (with the door open and a baby gate across the door) while I went downstairs to make myself breakfast and eat it in peace. Because, you know, as a mom of a toddler, you absolutely cannot eat any food without your child whining and wanting to have a bite off your plate. I go through it every morning and it's far too annoying. So I decided to shake it up. This morning, after I took a shower, I put Gunnar in his room and put Clifford on to make sure he'd be ok with me not being present and I scooted myself downstairs to make breakfast and eat in peace. It was delightful. I needed it so much. He was absolutely perfect just keeping himself busy with Clifford and his toys upstairs all by himself while I was downstairs eating my yummy breakfast. This will now become part of our morning routine and possibly afternoon as well. It'll give me a few extra minutes to do my homework in peace which is always wonderful and needed.
In an upcoming post... I'll show you Gunnar's new sleeping arrangements and tell you how it's working out for us.
It seems like everyday Gunnar does something that completely catches me off guard. Not something bad, but something that I had no idea he could do. It amazes me the more and more he does it. I can't get over how much he learns just by watching and listening. It's almost scary... almost. I guess since he doesn't talk yet I didn't really expect him to communicate in other ways, even though every book and website says that late talkers get pretty creative with finding other ways to communicate their wants. Crying, whining, and fussing was all I saw... but there's more than that. He can certainly show and tell me in his own way what he wants and I didn't even realize it. Today was one of those "wow" days for me. I kept noticing little things that he does that I hadn't noticed before, or did notice but didn't think too much of it. I'm so incredibly proud of him and love him more and more each day. He's such a good little boy even though I have to tell him several many, times a day to not climb onto the fireplace.
So what was it that I noticed today, you ask?
Well let me tell you!
It all started with me asking him "Where's the birdie?" to which he responded by walking over to the bird's cage and pointing to it! I tried doggie but I guess were not quite there yet. He loves the bird more lol. I also asked him "Where are the planes?" and he pointed to the 3 plans that are hanging above his crib in his room. This one really amazed me because he just recently (last week maybe?) noticed them and started pointing to them. Every time he wakes up he has to point to them now lol. I also asked him where the fan is, and he pointed to the ceiling fan. He knows what his sippy cup is and will go get it when I ask among other "commands" such as these:
"Sit on your bottom"
"Lay down"
"Stand up"
"Bring me _____ (insert object here)" (this one is tricky as he doesn't always know what the object is)
"Close the cabinet" ... something I say at least 10 times a day
"Put that back"
"Gunnar, dance!"
All of these commands are followed by a "please" and "thank you" ... always. I can't even think of a time when I haven't said please or thank you. In addition to these he can point to his head, sometimes his belly (if you catch him when he's not distracted), he "helps" me get himself dressed and undressed by making whatever arm I need available and free of a toy, stepping in or out of pant legs, and giving me the foot I need to put on socks or shoes, and when I say "All done? Would you like out?" he'll start to get out of where ever he is (high chair he'll pull up and the tub he'll try to climb out).
I'm sure there's a ton more but these are the ones that came to my mind instantly. It's just crazy how much he's learned even though he isn't using words to talk; he's still able to fully understand everything that I say! It's mind blowing.
I love newborns. So so so much! They're absolutely precious; so peaceful; so natural. I want a newborn again, but that'll just have to wait.
It was my privilege to photograph the oh so cute Hunter Samuel for my friend Megan and her husband. I've known Megan since my freshman year of high school and now she's married and has a son as well! Gunnar came along with me and had a blast playing with Megan's husband and just exploring their home and making a mess. I told them he was just preparing them for what's to come =)
I'm most definitely liking obsessed with this picture. I didn't even think twice about it when I took it, thinking it was just going to be another picture taken from behind. When I opened up my SD card and took a look at it I was delightfully wrong. That pose. So cute! Such a little model if I do say so. I can't stop staring at it. I hope that's not a bad thing. I did take the picture and edit it after all.
Had enough time to drool over the yarn swatches in my previous post? Dying (hehe, yarn humor) to know what it's going to be made into with the chance that you may be able to purchase it? Well, let me tell you!
Tomorrow at 11 am (pst time) I will be stocking.........
Only one of you will be able to purchase this item. As stated in my Etsy store, something like this is a once a month occurrence since I don't have the time (currently) to be sitting and knitting away on shorties and longies even though I'd love to.
The yarn in my previous post will be what is used. The top one, Spumoni, is for a girl, and the bottom one, Robin's Nest, will be for a boy. At this time, I'm not 100% sure I will be doing a different color waistband and cuffs, but there is certainly a possibility, I just need to find coordinating yarns to go with them.
So again, 11am tomorrow morning I will be stocking this one and only pair for this month. You will be able to choose between the boy yarn and the girl yarn as well as the size you'd like. If your child isn't born yet, I will make a newborn size.
Enjoy!
In the next couple days, you will find out what these yarn swatches mean for my Etsy store. Until then, feel free to drool =)
