Christmas Card Book

I made another book from saved cards recently.  I made my first book from L's baby shower cards and since it turned out so cute, I decided to make another from our 2009 Christmas cards. Like I stated in my other post, I wish I could take credit for this lovely idea, but I saw it on Pinterest.  Since I'm some what of a hoarder when it comes to cards, I decided to make more books.  I now have a book of our wedding cards, Christmas 2010 cards, and miscellaneous cards from 2008, 2009, and 2010...and 2011 is in progress!

Gift Wrap with Stickers

There are a few December birthdays in our family.  When I was getting ready to wrap those presents, I realized all I had on hand was Christmas paper.  So I decided to make my own wrapping using brown craft paper.  I printed out the lettering from Word in cute fonts and then copied by hand in permanent maker.  Then I added stickers from my sticker collection to embellish.  It was easy and fun!

Water Play on Highchair Tray

My little guy is obsessed with our dog's water bowl.  Since he was mobile, I've had to keep the water bowl in the bathroom with the door shut.  Every now and then, he manages to get to the bowl and the first thing he does is grab it, slosh it back and forth and tip it over, spilling water all over the bathroom rug...AGGHH!  So I thought why not give him a chance to splash his heart out somewhere other than the bath tub.  I stripped him down to his diaper, put him in the high chair and poured a little water directly onto the tray and added a few little plastic toys.  He loved it!  I have to add that his diaper did get totally soaked which made him a little cranky and ended all the fun, but I'll definitely try it again.

Butternut Squash and Apples

Apples were the first solid food L tried after rice cereal.  Not long after that I started him on butternut squash.  The two together along with a little cinnamon are delicious and one of his favorite breakfasts! When he first started solids I had to blend everything to a smooth puree, which was a lot of extra work (on top of peeling and dicing a butternut squash and six apples).  Now that he's moved on to chunky textures I just mash the mixture with a fork after steaming.  It's definitely still a chore to peel and dice that squash, but it makes enough to last a few weeks, so I don't have to do it often.  I steam the squash and apples separately since the squash cooks longer than the apple.  Once everything is cooked, I mash it together and then freeze in portions.  I add the cinnamon before serving, but it could probably be added in before freezing.

Oh, and here's a tip when picking out a butternut squash...pick out the least curvy squash you can find.  The curvier it is, the more difficult it will be to peel!

Toys Grouped by Color

L's favorite books are the ones about color.  He especially loves this lift the flap color book.  So I had the idea to arrange the toys in all his toy baskets by color.  I don't know if it will make much difference to him now at 10 1/2 months, but maybe on some level he'll start recognizing the toys as similar by color.  And if not, at least for now it makes for some pretty baskets!

Arugula and Cheddar Egg Yolk Omelette

I recently introduced eggs to L (around 8 months) starting with hard boiled egg yolk, but he wasn't crazy about that.  I decided to try a mini egg yolk omelette and that was a big hit, but only when it's chopped into tiny little pieces.  He's still adjusting to chunkier food.  I always make scrambled eggs for my husband and me in the mornings, so instead of wasting the egg white from L's egg, I just add it to our eggs.

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 egg yolk, beaten

1 tsp grated cheddar cheese

2 small arugula leaves, stems removed and finely chopped

Heat the oil in skillet.  Add egg, cook for about 1/2 minute, then flip.  Sprinkle with cheese and arugula and fold in half.  Chop into pieces and serve.

Indian-Spiced Lentil Stew

This is a favorite recipe from "The Baby & Toddler Cookbook". L loves lentils!

1 tbsp olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 medium red potato, peeled and finely diced
1/4 yellow onion, finely diced
1 small garlic clove, finely diced
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup red lentils, rinsed
2 cups chicken stock or veggie stock

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan and saute the carrot, potato, onion, and garlic about 5 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, and cinnamon and stir to mix well, then add the lentils and stock.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover, and simmer gently until the vegetables and lentils are very tender, about 20-30 minutes. 

I mash the stew with a fork before serving, but it could be blended to a puree if necessary.  I also doubled this recipe and froze portions to last the next few weeks.  Yummy!

Veggie Risotto

I adapted this delicious recipe from Annabel Karmel's "Top 100 Baby Purees", one of my favorite baby cook books.  It's actually orzo pasta, not arborio rice, which is used in true risotto.  But the creamy texture and orzo pasta make it very risotto-ish.  L loved it and I thought it was delicious as well.  I may make this for grown up dinner soon!

1 cup orzo pasta

2 small carrots, peeled and diced

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 cup chopped broccoli florets

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese 

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add the orzo and carrot and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the zucchini and broccoli and cook another 7 minutes.  Drain.  Melt the butter in the pot and return the orzo and vegetables to the pot.  Remove from heat, add cheese, and stir until melted and creamy. 

Makes about 8 servings.

Mango Strawberry Sorbet

I started making "sorbets" for L at around 7 months.  He loves them!  It's simply blended frozen fruit, sometimes with a little baby yogurt.  In the past I've made sorbet with peaches, blueberries, and strawberries in different combinations.  Today I tried mango and strawberry for the first time...delicious!

I started with fresh peeled and diced mango and a couple of diced strawberries.  Freeze for a few hours until firm and then blend to a smooth consistency. You may have to sprinkle in a little water for smoothness.  Return to the freezer and serve for a delicious sweet treat. I usually pull it out of the freezer just as I'm about to feed him dinner so it has time to soften.  This is an especially good treat to serve while their teeth are coming in!

Pot with water

L is always trying to splash in the dog's water bowl and I'm always trying to prevent this from happening.  So today I thought, why not give him his own container of water.  I used a large stock pot that was large and heavy enough that he couldn't spill or tip it over on his own.  Worked like a charm!  I added a few smaller containers inside the large pot to scoop and pour the water.

Baby Food Jar Cozy

I crocheted this brown cozy around a clean baby food jar.  It's pretty simple if you know how to crochet in the round.  I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with the jar, but finally decided to use it as a gift jar for my uncle who has a birthday coming up and is a big coffee lover.  I added the ribbon for a little flair and thought it turned out really cute!

Muffin Tin Fill and Sort

L loves to fill, empty, and refill containers with objects.  He especially loves doing this with these colorful plastic building shapes and their plastic container.  I thought he might enjoy a new type of container, so I set out the muffin tin.  It was a hit...if only for a few minutes.  This little guy is ready to move on to the next fun activity pretty quickly!

Chicken, carrots, and stars

Most of L's food is homemade.  It's been a lot of extra work for me, but I've actually enjoyed doing it, plus homemade food tastes so much better than food from a jar.  However, he doesn't mind food from a jar at all and is very happy to eat pretty much anything.  But homemade food is cheaper and fresher, so I'm willing to go the extra mile.  Since he was about 8 months, we started moving from purees to more chunkier foods.  Chicken, carrots, and stars is one of his favorites.  Here's what I do:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cutlets, or tenders

Baby carrots, thinly sliced (or other vegetable)

Pasta stars (Stelline pasta)

Brush boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use organic chicken) with olive oil and bake at 400 for about 30-45 minutes, turning half way through.  I always use an instant read thermometer to make sure its at least 165 degrees.  I chop the chicken into tiny dice or use a food processor and then use ice trays to freeze individual portions.  I store the frozen cubes in a plastic container or freezer bag in the freezer. 

Now that I have a week or so worth of chicken in the freezer, I just pop out a frozen chicken cube and defrost in my BabyCook (but a microwave would work too) then add a steamed vegetable like carrots, broccoli, or zucchini and then toss in cooked tiny pasta stars.  Sometimes I make a large batch of an entire dish and freeze meal size portions which saves time in the end, but doesn't allow for as much variety during the week.

Baby Shower Card Book

I wish I could take credit for this genius idea, but I saw it on Pinterest.  Luckily, I've saved all our wedding cards and miscellaneous cards from the last four years...they're all going to be books like this one soon!