Delish!

Tonight during bath time I asked Matthew why he was eating his bath turtle toy and he responded enthusiastically with, "ah-licious!".

I See You

In your head listen to ET's voice, except instead of "ET phone home" insert "I see you" over and over and over for whole minutes.  This is what is coming out of the monitor as Matthew lulls himself to sleep tonight.  I can't decide if it's funny or creepy.  Just thought you'd like to know.

iRobot iMatthew

Rumba, Rumba... Rumba, Rumba...

Once upon a time in the not so distant past my son ingratiated himself with my Monday morning by sloshing lukewarm coffee all over my awesome house cleaning t-shirt.  I proceeded to scold him by showing him what a "mess" he made.  Since that eventful Monday morning he has excelled in identifying messes of all sorts (spots on clothes, dirty dishes, spilled food, etc.).  He was able to extrapolate quite well.  Over the last few months his favorite past time is to walk around my house and point out all of the messes (AKA bits of fuzz, hair, and dust) on my floors.  It's like having my own personal automatic vacuum cleaner.  Thanks, Kiddo.  Nothing like a 14 month old to make you feel like the world's worst housekeeper!  I'll have you know those floors get Swiffered and vacuumed on a very regular basis.

Side note - He also likes to pronounce the mess "all clean" once it has been disposed of.  One time he didn't like the fact that some milk had splashed on the lid of his sippy cup.  He declared it a "MESS" and then wiped the mess off with his finger.  He then declared the mess "ALL CLEAN".  He is too funny.

Santa? I Know HIM!

Somebody was too young to understand that Santa was coming, but that didn't stop him from being too excited to sleep on Christmas Eve!  I'll admit we did our best to prepare him over the course of December by pointing out Santa wherever we went (yard decor, shopping and gift bags, Santa at the mall, etc.).  Maybe he was ready for Santa because this photo shoot?  Matthew kept saying, "Out! Out!", but he didn't cry.  (Just tilt your heads.  I don't know why it's sideways!)

This Christmas Matthew learned how to say the very festive seasonal words tree, ornament (ah-mint), Santa, Ho Ho Ho, and Merry Christmas!  And he also thinks that reindeer "woof-woof".

Whatever the reason for his excitement I think Ryan and I were even more excited.  Just look at that adorable face!  It made it hard for us to settle down to sleep, too!

We hope everyone had a wonderful, love filled Christmas Eve, too!

Good Nights and Good Mornings

I was told that I need to be recording more of Matthew's funny little stories because (according to those veteran moms) I will never remember them.  I know they're right because I can't even remember what he had for lunch on some days, and since I've been terribly remiss as of late here are a few stories that make me laugh.

Bedtime:
My funny little guy is apparently learning all about bedtime prayers.  Every night our bedtime routine consists of a bath/teeth brushing, reading one book, turning off the lights (we make a big production out of the lights), and then prayers.  Ryan and I always start the prayer like any average bedtime prayer and then we end it by asking Matthew what he is thankful for.  I was fairly certain that he had absolutely no understanding of what we were saying, but the other night he answered me by saying, "Daddy".  I blew it off as a coincidence but then the next night he said he was thankful for food.  The night after that he told Ryan that he was thankful for Mama.  He's continued every night since then.  Current list of things he is thankful for: Daddy, Mama, Food, Food and Mouth, Papa, and Book. 

It's also worth noting that Ryan and I end his prayers by saying, "Amen" and then Matthew likes add, "All done."

Morning:
The other morning my little doll decided to rise and shine extra early.  I'm a bit spoiled.  I can usually count on a 7:30 am baby alarm clock.  Don't misunderstand, he awakes at 7 and then Ryan and I enjoy the baby monitor wake up show of Matthew practicing his words.  Anyway, this particular morning he woke up EXTRA early with no indication of slowing down.  Seriously, it was still dark.  I gave in and did something I never do.  I got him out of the crib and put him in the toy filled play yard at the foot of our bed in hopes that we could squeeze in a few more minutes of shut eye.  He entertained himself for a few minutes but it wasn't long until we started hearing "I see you, Mama Daddy."  Then he started asking for "mote" and "catinzies".  For those of you who don't speak baby that means he wanted the remote so that he could turn on his cartoons. 

14 months old... I'm in trouble.  At the very least I can say that not a single day passes where Ryan and I don't have a good chuckle.

Duke

I was a little lax in my picture taking, but seeing Matthew with Duke reminded me of what Smokey is missing (or maybe I should say what Smokey escaped).  Duke spent a week with us and quickly learned the ways of the baby/dog relationship.

 

1. Food is good and comes from unlikely places.

2. It is important to learn how to dodge and weave.

3. Everyone needs a good hug every now and then.

Makes my heart melt!

Fantastic Food Friday: Baby Puree

So what the heck do you actually feed that kid? 

 

Since his diet is a bit restricted, that question comes up a lot.  Well, at least one meal a day is a creative concoction of beans, brown rice and veggies.  Not only is it healthy and void of any allergy producing ingredients, but it is also cheap-o-rama.  I know he's capable of eating most of this stuff without it being tossed in a food processor.  I, however, also know how lazy impatient I am.  A super chunky puree makes for a quick meal, and I can make an entire batch to freeze.

 

Mommy's Favorite - Black Bean Puree

 

1 can of rinsed and drained black beans

1 can of corn (not drained - be sure the ingredients just list corn and water)

1 cup of brown rice

 

Matthew's Favorite - Chick Pea Puree

This one is definitely not the best looking (or tasting), but Matthew gobbles it up.  I guess I should be thankful that he likes his green veggies!

1 can of rinsed and drained chick peas

1 can of peas (not drained - be sure the ingredients are just peas and water)

1 small can of spinach (really, just use that adorable little mini size can)

1 - 1.5 cups of brown rice

 

Nobody's Favorite (but necessary for variety) - Kidney Bean Puree

 

1 can of rinsed and drained kidney beans

1 can of green beans (not drained - I use french style with only beans and water)

1 cup of brown rice

 

Basically I dump everything in a pot, add a bit of pepper and a tiny pinch of salt, and heat through.  Then I dump the mixture into my food processor and scramble things up until it's a chunky mess.  Next, I pour the pureed mix into ice cube trays and freeze.  Once frozen the cubes can be popped out and put into labeled freezer storage bags.  Each recipe makes at least 8 servings.  The chick pea makes at least 12.  I consider a serving to be about 4 cubes. 

 

In one afternoon I can make about 30 servings at less than 20 cents per serving!  It's pretty awesome and Matthew loves them.