Valentine's Day

Today was a food day, which means more to me than it would normally because I was feeling well enough to cook! For the last two months I've been exhausted and feeling crummy pretty much all the time, so preparing food has become my enemy. :( That's probably one of the reasons I feel like pregnancy robs me of who I really am; one of the downsides to growing a human. Thankfully, it seems like it's on it's way out when I have days like today! Granted, if given the opportunity I would have laid down and rested, but it wasn't like I had to rest, which has been the case MANY times.

So lunch was more like a breakfast lunch with scrambled eggs and bell peppers and onions and chicken sausage.

Dinner was the main meal I spent the day preparing for. I was really looking forward to having a Valentine's meal with Jake. He was scheduled to arrive in Sacramento at 5:30pm. Then a mechanical on the plane he was flying happened and they had to deice in Minneapolis. :( This meant Jake was going to miss his connecting flight and consequently not arrive to SMF until 8:30pm. I was so bummed. To lighten the blow, I shared some of the left over chocolate mousse (I had made for dessert) with Isaac. He was very happy to be part of my coping.

I didn't realize it at the time, but Jake had ordered me flowers AND chocolate (what a splurge)! He clued me to check the front door and there was the gift. So sweet.

Even though I'd like to be, Jake and I aren't naturally very festive, so doing anything special on holidays is pretty exciting. The flowers were beautiful and the chocolates surprisingly good! (I'm always a little weary of chocolates not purchased from See's or another reputable chocolate shop.) Sadly, as my life would have it, when I left to get Jake from the airport, my animals worked together to get the chocolates off the counter and ate about two-thirds of the box. Thankfully, no throw up and everyone is acting normal. I'm still bummed not to have the chocolates, but better for my health, right?

So before Jake got home I prepared salmon from a grilled salmon recipe, fingerling potatoes, and green beans. As soon as we got home from the airport, I put Isaac down and Jake put the food on the grill. Even though it doesn't look super pretty, it sure tasted good! Success!

Then for dessert, we had and a small red velvet bundt cake (mmmmm) and chocolate mousse with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM!

So it might have ended up being a late night, but it was wonderful to end it with my forever Valentine. :)

Happy Birthday Ashlie!

Today was my sister's 34th birthday. She is a fantastic woman through and through.

Even though I was not with her on her actual birthday, I was able to drive to San Jose on the 4th to make a birthday eve dinner and dessert. Isaac did great hanging out and playing with all of the Feffer's toys and I enjoyed cooking, visiting with my sister and playing with her girls. I also got to see my brother-in-law, Adam, which was a treat since the last couple times I've been with Ashlie, he has been working.

So dinner was Ina Garten's Spring Green Risotto with rosemary parmesan rolls from Trader Joe's (those rolls pair with everything!) and for dessert I made a Tiramisu Chocolate Mousse and got a double chocolate bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Deliciousness!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLIE! 

I am SO thankful that God blessed me with you as my big sister!

Friday Feffer Fun Day

Today I was blessed by having my sister and her fabulous daughters come over for the afternoon. I tell you, sisters are a gift from God! They arrived while Isaac was taking his morning nap, which was a perfect time for us to paint pumpkins! I saw a blurb on Facebook about painting pumpkins a teal color to let parents know that you will be offering something other than candy so that if their child has a food allergy your home is a safe place to go trick-or-treating (here's the link about it). Whereas I love the idea, I am not a crafty person, so this worked out to be the perfect thing to do with my nieces and sister. And I even ended up having a good time painting my pumpkin (it was a team effort)!

Once Isaac woke up we had lunch and Eleia allowed Ike to hold her arm as he ate. He LOVES to touch, squeeze, shake something/someone when he eats, so it was nice of her to oblige.

To maximize our time together, I made Ratatouille and a quinoa salad before they arrived so we could have that for lunch while they were here. While cutting up the eggplant for the Ratatouille, I found this little friend...

I don't mind spiders, but I still prefer them outside, so he was promptly moved!

Ratatouille is one of my absolute favorite healthy, easy meals. So for those interested, here's the recipe passed down from my mom:

Ratatouille ("stew" or "soup" in French)

1 large onion

1 green pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large eggplant

2 medium zucchini

3 tomatoes, chopped 

         OR

5 tablespoons tomato paste

   & 3 tbsps water

1    tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 clove fresh garlic, minced

Dice eggplant into 1-inch cubes and slice zucchini into 1/2-inch rounds.  Chop onion coarsely and cut green pepper into squares.

Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid.  Saute the onion, garlic, and green pepper until they are soft;

stir in eggplant and zucchini and saute a few minutes more.  Add tomato and seasonings.  Cover and 

simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are well cooked.

Uncover and turn the heat up to evaporate some of the liquid.                                                                    Serves 6 to 8.

After lunch I played hide and seek with the girls and then Ashlie and I shared some PG Tips tea and yummy dark chocolate pumpkin spice salted caramels. If you have not had these- yes they sound just as good as they are. YUM! I really enjoy eating special treats with someone, so it was nice to share them with her. It was nice to be able to sip on some tea while the kids played in the other room. Isaac was so captivated by his cousins. It's fun to see them together.

Lastly, I got to read to the kids before they headed back on the road to San Jose (2 1/2 hours- not a short drive!). And because I can't help myself: here's a video with the pictures and a little video from our time together!

Thanks for coming and hanging out Feffers! I love you to the moon and back!

Isaac Weekly Update: Week 43

Isaac finished off Week 43 still a little sick, but almost 100% better. He doesn't act sick at all, but his nose is still a little runny and once in awhile he coughs. He hates having is nose wiped, but sometimes it needs to be done!

This week we had Isaac's first well child visit with a new pediatrician since we moved to Roseville. Thankfully, we really liked Rainbow Children's Clinic and Dr. Del Mar and the whole staff was great. It is a smaller office than the one we had in SLO, which I really like. You don't realize you have a preference on stuff like that until you experience it! I thought I wouldn't mind having my baby in the hospital since I am comfortable in the hospital setting, but next time I will try to have my baby in a Birthing Center or possibly at home. It wasn't a bad experience at the hospital, but I realize now that I would like to try something different. Something similar goes for Isaac's pediatrician's office. The one in SLO gets rave reviews, but it was just too big and impersonal for me and thankfully we found one that feels better here.

Isaac got his first flu shot and did awesome. He truly takes shots like a champ- cries some, but recovers quickly. He's a little low on his weight- 20th percentile. That kind of blew. I feel like I feel him a lot and nutrient dense food, but I guess he needs a little more! So this week I've been putting a few more nuts in his diet and avocado and other fatty good foods mixed with peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, beef broth, yogurt, chia seeds, hemp hearts, etc. He's tried just about everything and will eat just about anything.

Jake's sister, Kate, sent Isaac some clothes this week which was great since we were in need of 9-12 month clothes. Here's a couple pictures in his "My Aunt Rocks" shirt. Thanks Auntie Kate!

And now I leave you with a little video I made of Isaac's 43rd week.

And here's the video that I used in the weekly video of Ike grooving as he eats. :)

Isaac Weekly Update: Week 32

Isaac's been practicing his plank move this week. Just over the last couple days he has been getting more and more antsy to get moving. He wiggles around quite a bit and is able to move, but rarely forward. He usually pulls himself around on his stomach or pushes himself backwards.

This is him at bedtime pushing against the side with his feet- he did not want to sleep!

Because of all of this activity, Isaac earned himself a night without the bassinet piece to the pack-n-play. The bassinet part was really a benefit for me so I didn't have to bend down as far, but now it's become a safety issue. It may be time to purchase an actual crib...

Isaac usually takes three naps a day, usually around an hour each, though his morning one sometimes is one and a half. A couple days this week he took two, with the afternoon nap being 2 1/2 hours! Wow! Go kid go! The best part is afterward he is so happy and obviously well rested. When he does his three short naps a day, usually he wakes up from his afternoon one yawning and clearly still tired. I’m not sure how to encourage him to sleep longer! Hopefully he'll just do it. :)

Ike continues to eat like a champ. Foods to date are:

Avocado	Carrots	Oatmeal
Peach Sauce	Lentil Soup	Cheerios
Applesauce	Turkey	Cream of Wheat
Chicken	Egg Yolk	Green Beans
Yams	Banana	Pea Soup

Favorites are probably peach sauce, applesauce, chicken, lentils and cheerios

With the increase of solid foods we now have a very obvious increase of solid poops! The other day Jake changed Ike's diaper and said, "His poop smells weird." I told him that the fact that he knows that Isaac has a "normal" poop smell shows that he is truly a father. When Isaac was strictly breastfed he pooped about once every 3 days. Now he poops around three times a day! We are still using cloth (though we use disposable every so often) and thankfully the poop usually comes off the cloth pretty easily. 

Pooping, eating, naps and developmental milestones. This really is what life with a baby is all about and it's amazing how much thought and effort can go into these things! Overall, I love it. I mean, look at that face! How could I not?!

Week 31 / 7 Months Old!

Yesterday marked Isaac's 31st week of being outside of the womb! :) During week 31 Isaac turned 7 months old!

He has his 8 teeth and is liking food more and more. He sits in his Summer Infant Support-Me 3-in-1 Positioner, Feeding seat and booster (a favorite item of mine). It's a super handy, easy to move chair for him to sit and eat in. His favorite food this week was my mom's lentil soup. He also likes chicken and continues to love Cheerios. I considered trying the "baby led weaning," but got nervous about him choking, especially since he has so many teeth! He's just able to bite off big chunks, so that makes it a little more scary to have him feed himself bigger pieces of food.

Isaac sits up really well now and is able to sit and play with toys easily and often goes into the tripod pose in attempts to move, but no actual forward movement; if anything, I find him pushing himself backwards.

We traveled again this week to Roseville and Ike did really well up until the last hour and a half. We desperately searched for a song or a toy to help calm him (sleep really was the answer as it was his bedtime). "The Crow Song" from Music Together and "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from Mulan momentarily stopped the crying along with his indestructible book and elephant. However, stopping and taking him out, feeding him and getting back on the road ended up being the real remedy. Even with that hiccup, I still claim that Ike is a good traveler. :)

He still sleeps in the bassinet part of our pack-n-play, but now he can flip onto his stomach and is beginning to pull himself up once in a while, so that probably won't stay for much longer.

We also went to the beach for the first time this week. Sadly, little Ike got his ankles bit by (I think) a bunch of tiny sand fleas. It didn't hurt him, but it looked terrible! :( The waves didn't seem to phase him much. I want to take him again sometime, but I will be on high alert for those little pests!

And I will leave you with a video of Isaac enjoying his lentil soup...

Avocado

I liked today. Jake came home after a long 6 day stretch, I got to catch up with a good friend, we were able to FaceTime with Jake's parents and (the best part) we napped. :) We also introduced Isaac to his first solid food! (pictures to follow) I was much more proactive in getting photos today, so I will share today's news through those.

Isaac and me waiting outside for Jake to get off the plane

My dear friend, Rachel.

Isaac acts very interested in food, so I have been aching to begin him on solids, but I wanted to wait until Jake came home. Originally I was going to wait until his 6 month birthday, but it's only one week away, so what the heck! I decided we would start him on avocado. This may have been a little ambitious, since (as my mother pointed out) it is not sweet at all like breast milk. I did try to mix some breast milk in to help the transition, but, well, you can see from the photos...

Started off good

hmmm

what is this taste?

it's suppose to go down my throat?

What did you give me?!

He ate it, but I wouldn't say he did so with gusto. Perhaps we'll do something sweeter for his half birthday, like applesauce. I can't believe we're already at this point in his development! Exciting times.

Isaac had a good time talking with his Michigan grandparents:

And my favorite part of our day- napping.

These Springsteen boys love their naps!