Rainy Days

David is out of town.  There's some kind of Ruby on Rails conference in Portland. (Ruby on Rails always makes me think of Dorothy chasing down a train... little red slippers click-click-clicking away on the tracks.)  Anyway, I always find myself feeling like my left arm is missing when he's out of town.  This is what I'm doing to survive day 1.  The baby is sound asleep in the car, the drive thru Starbucks chickies are starting to know me by name, the wifi reaches the driveway, and the rain is lulling me to sleep.

Friday seems really far away.

Smoothies and Frozen Fun!

At nearly 9 months old, Connell has decided he's going on the typical baby hunger strike.  Initially I was concerned, as I always am when my kids go through this phase.  However, with the lovely new baby food guidelines allowing yogurt, I decided to see if I could sneak something other than breast milk into my teething munchkin's diet.

Today's smoothie ingredients.  They vary all the time.

 I seldom, if ever, take the time to measure things while cooking for the family.  Why do anything differently when it comes to the baby, right?  So I can't offer you exact measurements.  But I can tell you it's wicked easy.  

Combine:

• Two big spoonfuls of whole milk yogurt (Stoneyfield Farms Organic Whole Milk)
• Half of a very ripe banana (the riper the better)
• Handful of frozen berries 
• Roughly a quarter cup of whole grain baby cereal (Earth's Best is my favorite)
• a half jar of something green (homemade works, too!)
• and enough white grape juice to make it smooth 

(Note:  Freeze the other half of the banana and jar o' green for future smoothies.  You can freeze the rest of the juice, but I don't usually bother with that.)

Toss it all in the Baby Bullet (purchased at a consignment shop for half the retail cost.  Woo!  A blender would work just as well.).  Whirl until it's smooth.  Watch for pesky frozen berries that refuse to cooperate.

Toss it in.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into two cups.

 This usually makes two smoothies and as long as they're kept in the fridge, they will last for two days without a problem.  My favorite smoothie cups are the Take and Toss Straw Cups by The First Years.  The straws are nice and wide, which accomodate the slightly thicker texture of a smoothie.

See?  Smiley babies LOVE smoothies!  

Now, I know not all babies willingly use a straw.  Connell is a little unusual in that regard.  So here's another way to get the goodness of a smoothie into your happy little hunger striker:

Munchkin makes great molds with rounded handles, perfect for little fingers.  I highly suggest offering this treat on a hot day and right before bath time.  They're great for teething, too.  We've had success with freezing left over smoothie and homemade applesauce.

Other smoothie options:  mango, peaches, spinach, green beans, peas, avocado, carrots, prunes, apples, sweet potatoes... well, you get the picture.  Anything goes!

Enjoy!

Sweet 16

On the eve of her 16th birthday, Jillian looked at a crying Connell and sighed.

"I don't know how you put up with this all day."

"What?"

"The crying and holding and whining."

I wasn't sure how to explain it to her.  Her life experience hasn't taught her the giving end of momma-love.  So I tried.

"You were like this.  And every second was worth it.  I mean, you're pretty amazing, right?"

"Eh."

"Oh shush.  You're amazing.  I think so.  Dad thinks so.  Your aunts thing so.  It's common knowledge.  So I manage the crying and whining and holding because I know the end result is worth every gray hair."

My Bookends playing dress up.