Looking out the window...

No snow, but we have a little ice on the tree limbs.

Cookin' for my baby

Now that Hannah is eating at least two solid meals a day, I decided to try to make her food myself. It seemed simple enough so I checked out some books from the library and put Hannah in her bouncer and went at it. I think I had the most fun taking pictures of the food. Here's how I did it:

First I found some basic recipes to start with:

butternut squash

Apples!

This will be a future recipe

Then I bought organic ingredients. Matt and I don't eat strictly organic, but for Hannah I am being a little more cautious about her food for now. Total for everything was $13 and some change.

Then I washed, peeled (my least favorite part, took FOR EVER!), and diced everything.

Steamed to slightly soften, but not enough to extract the good nutrients. (forgot to take pictures of that part)

Pureed in a blender

and Sifted the apples only, just to make sure I removed all the skin. Since I didn't sift the carrots, they have the texture of level 2 baby foods but that is fine, Hannah is getting the hang of it. (not pictured either)

Then froze into portion sized cubes using ice cube trays

So all in all it took about 1.5 hours to do all the preparing and tend to my little one, and then I just froze in batches for the next 8-10 hours. It definitely tastes better than the canned baby food. The butternut squash is my favorite and Hannah's too. We do use the canned stuff also when we're out or on the go. So we're one week down and have barely made a dent in the stash. I think it may save a little bit of money but knowing that there are no preservatives and how it was prepared is the most important thing.

Since I've started feeding Hannah solids it's made me think more about the types of foods that I eat. She is eating so healthy like we all should. I'm trying to limit our use of processed foods and then slowly cut back on refined sugar and white flour... except for the occasional treat. It will be a process but I think it's doable. I hope Matt feels the same ;) Hi honey!

Next Up....

Asparagus puree?

Don't think so

7 months!!

My morning do'

Hey peeps, I'm baaack! It's been a while since I've done a post but I've been kind of busy. So here's what I'm up to these days.

Right now this is my typical day:

5:30-6 Wake up and eat. Say hi and bye to Dad before he goes to work and then back to sleep

8-8:30 Wake up for real.

9ish Eat some yummy breakfast that mommy cooks for me. Some mornings I eat every bit and some morning I get distracted and want to play.

So then I play for a while. I like to listen to music and jump in my "jungle". Then I like for mom to carry me around for a while. My favorite song at the moment is "Pants on the Ground". When Mommy sings it I crack up...seriously, we all laugh.

Between 10 and 11 I take a nap. Normally around 45 min.

Then I'm up again to play and ride the "mommy taxi". ( I did over hear mom and dad talking about not picking me up every time I wave my arms and whine, So I might have to figure out another way to get around...no fun).

Mom tries to put me on my belly to learn to crawl? I don't like this, it's too much work for me. I'd rather sit and play. I can bang different toys together to see what sounds they make and then taste them to see if their suitable for my mouth.

Then I take another nap around 1ish for about 45 min.

When I wake up we go on a walk or I watch a baby video or read or we run errands. I just go with the flow. I wait for Daddy to come home and have fun with me. He likes to make me laugh and I like that.

I may take a cat nap later in the afternoon depending on what kind of day I've had.

I eat some delicious dinner around 5-5:30 and then its BATHTIME, my favorite :)

After bath, I go to sleep. Lights out by 7 and I'm a happy girl!

Oh yeah and my truly favorite thing right now is spitting...I do it when I wake up, after I eat and sometimes before I go to sleep. It's so fun and it makes mommy and daddy laugh!

In action...

Here we go!

Hannah the Taradactyl

Untitled from Lindsay Bledsoe on Vimeo.

Hannah hadn't pooped in almost a week when this video was taken....she pooped the next morning. I think she was working up a poo.

Prunes

Hannah prefers prunes to carrots...

I don't get it...

YUM!

Sittin' with Daddy

A New Chapter for Mike and Wally

Today Mike and Wally are at a new home. Yeah, it's different without them here but they are HAPPY!! Since Hannah joined our family my priorities have shifted quite a bit and my time with the boys was less and less. Besides feeding them, letting them outside to potty or play, and Matt and I tucking them in at night, they were on their own. They were taken care of but they are the type of dogs that need interaction with people and they deserved more love than we were giving them. To make a long story short, we found a family about 10 minutes down the road who had recently lost two dogs who were very similar to Mike and Wally. They have 3 children and one other dog who missed his buddies. The wife was a previous vet tech and now a stay at home mom. They came yesterday with their youngest girls and they immediately ran to Wally and he was in heaven!! Despite Mike jumping up and down with excitement the little girls were not scared of him in the slightest. I think Matt and I were more cautious with them than the mom was. She was really laid back and we packed up all their belonging and sent them on their way. I know they're dogs but they were our first "babies" and it was very sad to see them go but I truly believe and know that they will be happier with their new family. Danielle, the mom, called me last night to let me know that Mike had calmed down and they had a great afternoon with the boys. We will be able to visit them whenever we want so that is good too!

I know some of you may think what we did was horrible but I think we did the best thing for the boys. Not everyone who has a baby will make the same decision that we did. We had just never gotten to the point where they could be inside and chill out. So when they were in the room we couldn't just relax. Every family is different and they seemed a lot more laid back about certain things than we are so I think that will be good for the boys.

So I'm taking the pictures off the side bar since they're not ours anymore. :( There were good little boys and we miss them... I'm looking at the holes that they left in the yard as we speak. We might fill them in or we might leave them for a while.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the boys....miss you and see you soon boys!

Carrots and Apples

Hannah's first baby food besides oatmeal has been apples, which she liked almost immediately. Carrots was the next food we introduced and as you can see below, she was not crazy about at first. So now we mix it with rice cereal and add more carrots each day. She is enjoying the taste better this way. I try everything she eats and it's not bad...it's not great either but it's edible. We also have these little "munchkin" brand net-chewy things that you can put apples, bananas, avacados....or whatever you can imagine in and she chews and sucks on those. She can suck the life out of an apple slice! Next up, peas and bananas. I'm starting to cook her baby food next week. I've checked these books out of the library and it looks pretty simple and healthy:Cooking for Baby and Superfoods for Baby, and Healthy Baby Meal Planner.

We're still working on sleeping through the night but so far we've gone from crying for 15-20 minutes to wimpering, to talking. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I hope the progress continues. :) I'm feeling pretty good and I see a pattern emerging. Hopefully we'll have a schedule soon.

Here it comes....wincing

FINALLY a video!!

I used a different website so try it again.

Hannah laughing from Lindsay Bledsoe on Vimeo.

Hannah's first 6 months

Enjoy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

6 1/2 Months...long post!

The things they make me do....

Playtime with Daddy

This means "pick me up"

Her new playmate

Hannah is currently sleeping off her Dr. visit from this morning. We went in early, had the first appointment of the day and we were still there for 1.5 hours, mostly waiting. She is really a brave little baby. She did well through the check up and then had 4 shots (two flu, and two vaccines, we delayed one vaccine until next month). I was hesititant about the flu shot but after doing a lot of reading we decided she should get both due to her age and complications with the flu. So anyway she cried for less than a minute and then was fine. She has been very timid with strangers lately but she smiled at the nurse and the nurse told me she was pregnant and that other babies had been the same way with her...pretty cool!

Hannah is 26 1/2 inches and 18 1/2 pounds. So she's plump no doubt. Our Dr. is a very nice lady but she almost reprimanded me for letting her be this big. I still nurse her at night, and the dr. said that they try to cut that out once babies are around 14 pounds so she's way past that mark. Sooooo this means we are going to really try to cut out night time feedings. I'm going to ease into this. I have read a lot on this topic but actually doing it will be the learning part. If you have any advice or encouragement for me in this area, I would love to have it.

Here are some things Hannah is doing right now at 6 1/2 months.

*Still putting everything in her mouth...no teeth yet!

*First food: Apples with her oatmeal

*Loves to play sitting up

*Starting to babble and Whispers a "bu" and "th" sound, it's so cute

*Does not like tummy time, will only roll one way. Dr. says this is normal for now, so we'll keep trying.

*Will look for you when you when you disappear around a corner

*Loves music and to watch me dance, favorite CD is 'Dance Baby Dance'

*Will spot her paci within a 100 yard radius and try to get it (I exaggerated a bit on that one)

*Likes her reflection

*Loves to hear people talking, she will sit contently if Matt and I are having a steady conversation.

*Has developed an ANGRY cry. I thought something was wrong with her but this new loud and shrill cry means she is angry. She doesn't cry often but when she does it can be loud.

*She also has a pouty face when something scares her or she doesn't like something. She is easily soothed and it's pitiful when she does it but it's also really cute. I hate to grab the camera when that happens but I would like to have a picture of it.

Current sleeping status is: bedtime 6-7pm then wakes around 9-10pm, then 3-5am, then 7-8am she is up for the day. Her naps are normally three short naps anywhere between 30 min to an hour. This could all change soon since we have to cut out nighttime feedings.

I know there's more but that's all I could think of off the top of my head.

Pictures from the weekend

Mom, Dad, and Stefan visited us this weekend. Yes, we just saw them but Stefan is going back to school soon and who knows when we will get to see him again...plus we always love to have visitors!! So we spent the COLD weekend mostly playing inside with Hannah, a trip to the mall (awesome sales going on right now), and a trip to our fav. mexican restaurant.

Playing with the blinds

Hannah, the center of attention, as usual

Hannah is trying out Stefan's hobo tobogan look

I think it looks better on Hannah

Grocery Shopping!

mid blink

looking at the big lights

Hannah's first trip in the buggy.

I wasn't sure about doing this, but since there were only 3 cars in the parking lot this morning at the store, I figured it would be a good time to try it. I sanitized the cart and then put on the cover, then sprayed the cover with lysol, then sprayed Hannah with Lysol....haha jk but I did sanitize so I think she'll be fine.

She didn't smile at one person in the store, which is not like her. I think she was just taking it all in. The clerks would smile and talk to her but she was stone cold. It was so funny.