My Child NEVER Shuts Up

And I love it! I really do. He is such a little blabber mouth. Still half toddler babbling, which I will miss so much, but half real words, & bonafide sentences! He can easily string together 6 word sentences now. Such as:

"Braden, do you want some Yop?" ~ Me
"Yes, I do! In a cup." ~ Braden

No big deal. He's just talking and telling us what he wants. He is getting to be so interactive with his trains and cars and tractors, it's super nice to be able to enjoy my morning blog reads or do whatever I need to do in peace and quiet before I make him breakfast while he plays with his toys.
 
He also really loves to dance and to sing. He's starting to hum to songs and sings along, mimicking sounds of words. Most of the songs he likes are way too fast for him to follow along 100%, but he shouts out certain words and phrases like nothing. At the end of the Veggie Tales theme song, he closes his eyes and shouts "Taaaaaa-aaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaLES!!" then laughs along at the end, for those familiar with the song.

He also loves to be silly and laugh. And is a bit OCD about having things closed:


Eating
Here is a video from today at lunch. His eating has improved so much since we took away his booster seat so he can have "his own chair" as he likes to say. Yes, especially at supper, there can be a lot of up and down, but he's also understanding a lot more that he has to come back and eat to finish "x" amount of bites.


Don't you love the "I don't know" at the end? *swoon* He is eating more meat now, still loves his fruits and veggies, and never turns down eggs or breakfast foods. Eats most at breakfast, lunch is touch-and-go, and so is supper. It seems to be getting better every day! Here's another "I don't know" from our trip to Poppy's last weekend!

Clothes
Wearing 2T shirts and mostly 2T pants. I have to roll up 2T jeans, it seems like they'll fit him forever, he's still REALLY long in the body and yeahnosomuch in the legs! Will be wearing mostly size 6 shoes, but size 7 Toms & sandals this summer!

Potty Learning
Um, yeah...not so much. Actually, I know he's ready. But I plan on doing a post about that soon, so I'll leaving you hanging in suspense until then!

One other milestone looming in our future is the move to the toddler bed. All that have done it before me say it's not so scary, but I'm just not ready yet. I'm thinking we should do it before baby comes, because it's a big enough adjustment for him to be a big brother as it is without having the comfort of his crib to rely on!

Anywho, that's about all I've got for Braden for now! Ever since I stopped his monthly updates, I've been slacking on remembering to blog about him period! Bad mommy!

Y3W: Hot Bruschetta Appetizer

Looking for an AWESOME appy to make next time you have company over? Heck, I'd even make this just for me and hubs! Every time I've made this it's gotten rave reviews. I thought I'd share:

Ingredients:

• 1 baguette
• 1/2 cup mayo 
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese 
• 2 cups medium tomatoes, seeded & diced fine 
• 1/2 tsp pepper 
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 
• 1 tsp dried oregano 
• 1/4 tsp dried basil 
• (you can add olives too, but I don't like them!) 

Directions:

• Mix ingredients together
• Slice baguette into rounds and lightly butter
• Scoop bruschetta mixture onto bread slices
• Bake for 15 minutes at 350. 

Tips:

• Use roma tomatoes as they don't have as much "tomato guts"
• Make the mixture the night before and refrigerate
• Can substitute mozza cheese for cheddar mixture - I had to use a bag of shredded white/orange cheddar at Christmas this year and it was still delicious!
• Eat them fresh out of the oven for optimum deliciousness!

Pardon for the cruddy-ish picture...those were literally the last 4 pieces at Christmas this year and it was an "oops I forgot to take a picture of this for the blog!" moment, so it isn't all nice and artsy fartsy! And I'm glad to have a permalink for this recipe now so as not to bug my e-BFF Marie for the second year in a row for this recipe that I emailed her years ago!

Pin It

I hope you enjoy, let me know if you do!

First Movie Night & Popcorn!

I have been a scared peds nurse when it comes to giving Braden popcorn. I think "they" say you can give it at age 2, but I know lots of friends and family have given their toddlers popcorn before then and they've all survived. I was just worried about aspiration I guess! But, with close supervision, on a chilly evening last week, I made Braden his first popcorn while we sat down and watched Cars as a family.

He really liked it! He loves the opening 20 minutes or so of Cars and then he's off and on playing and paying attention for the rest of the movie.

And after the movie Daddy was playing Xbox, Braden found his controller (an old one that doesn't work) and plopped himself right by Jay...it was so darling!

So I guess I was worried for no reason, and now Braden can enjoy popcorn as a treat sometimes!

Braden: The Bottomless Pit!!!

More Please!!!
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

I think that should be Braden's new nickname: The Bottomless Pit! I am pretty sure this boy would NEVER say no to food! In fact, he's started doing this ----------> (in the video) when he wants more food, and then throws a mini-tantrum (already!?) when he doesn't get his way. In the morning I've upped his portion from 2 fruit cubes and ~4 TBSP of oatmeal to 3 fruit cubes and ~5 TBSP of oatmeal. He also gets finger food, usually toast, as an afternoon snack, and then he gets 1 veggie cube with 1 meat cube for supper along with finger foods from our plate. The finger food is just for practice, he really doesn't eat too much of it...he does the best with bread, which he LOVES. I am thinking I will have to start adding an actual lunch, and not just snacks...as this boy is HUNGRY. And, I have only cut out one breastfeeding session a day! This is before his morning nap, as he's just eaten a gallon of oatmeal and fruit.

I think he's making up for his lack of weight gain from 3-6 months. I will be very interested to see what he weighs at the end of the month. He's just about outgrown his Pekkle (Costco) and Carter's 9 month sleepers, which he's always first to outgrow and move onto the next size. Even some of the onesies he's ready to toss into the 9 month storage box. I can't believe that some of the babies in my online group are already in 24 month clothing! Yup, that's what I said! There's a few in 18 month and 1 that I know of for sure that's ready for 24 month. I'm glad my little guy isn't that big of a chunker!

So since I've been a lazy blogger, enjoy some of my latest Braden pictures!

Hehe...just love this expression!

 No forward crawling yet, just backwards!

 Braden 7 months, Trinity 5 months...pretty much the same size now! Braden actually stole her soother and was going to put it in his mouth, but I stopped him!

 Braden and his Papa.

 Playing with Papa and Luke.

 Auntie Joy helped Braden sneak a taste of the whipped cream off the birthday cake!

 We still can't get a pic of Braden smiling with us AND looking at the camera...getting closer!

 We went for a walk last week and it was CHILLY! Had to bundle him up and he looked so cute. This is his "denture face"...reminds me of when my grandpa used to take his dentures out and smile!

 Wearing Daddy's hat.

Time to get a bath chair! Anyone know where I can get one?

Thanks for reading! 

Adventures in Solid Foods: Spaghetti!

Mmmmm...spaghetti!!!
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

We've been giving Braden more and more finger foods...mostly just to practice with after he has his purees. He absolutely loves his food and he's really good with his hand to mouth coordination! I'm not too sure exactly how much he's eating, but he does get a bit down! It's wonderful to go to a restaurant with Braden, give him a cracker or a bit off our plates, and just let him entertain himself.

He is definitely getting chunkier in the face and has some great thunder thighs going on!

Adventures in Solid Foods: Cherries!

Let's Try Cherries!
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

Again, not posting all our new foods....but couldn't resist to take a video of cherries! Fresh, BC cherries from Grandma & Grandpa, I might add! He just had this adorable smirk on his messy little face after every bite. Too cute!

Adventures in Solid Foods: Pears!

Let's Try Pears!
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

I decided not to take a video of EVERY new food we're doing because I thought it might get a bit redundant...but I couldn't help taking a video about half way through Braden's first pears last night! It was so funny, Jay couldn't get them in there fast enough! I knew he'd love them. We've also done peaches and he loved those too! I think I'll try and introduce him to as many fruits and veggies as I can...then I'll do beef and chicken and by that time I think he'll be ready for 2 meals a day. Fruits in the morning and then veggies and/or meat for supper.
Braden had his 6 month appointment yesterday afternoon and all is well! I mentioned to Dr. Maseka that I wasn't worried, but had noticed Braden wasn't even gaining a pound a month anymore and that he sure had slowed down! He wasn't concerned at all because he's an active baby who is VERY long!

Braden's stats from the office:

Weight: 15 lbs 14.5 oz (fully clothed with a diaper on)
Length: 27"
Head: 44 cm

His measurements always seem to be more than what they truly are at the office for some reason. Weight is always up of course because they don't strip him and for some reason he's always longer too! So I'll take him into public health on Wednesday and do it properly myself! :)

Adventures in Solid Foods: Apples!

Let's Try Apples!
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

Also Braden's first fruit, if you don't count avocado. This was quite a different texture for him, because puree as I might...apples kinda have a natural grit to them. He ate them, gobbled them up, but they definitely were no butternut squash! P.S. Mosquito bites are no fun...especially under the eye!

Another P.S. - Happy Half Birthday to my American girlfriend, Liv!! I'm only 10 days behind you! We can celebrate over some pureed pears - yum yum!

Adventures in Solid Foods: Green Beans!

Let's Try Green Beans!
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

I am absolutely amazed and astounded that Braden liked green beans! I only started liking them as an adult...and with butter and salt and pepper with them! But, I figured I'd give it a try. He had his classic "ewwww" first bite but then he ate them up!

And I also decided to introduce a sippy cup today for him to practice with, with a little bit of water. Mostly, it's a new chew toy!

I bought fruits at the grocery store today, so tomorrow I'm going to make applesauce for Braden and then I have to wait a bit for the peaches and pears to ripen. Yum yum!

Adventures in Solid Foods: Butternut Squash!

Let's Try Butternut Squash!
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

Wow! Squash was a big hit, in spite of that classic first impression! I think this is his favorite of the first 3 veggies. After the video was done he didn't even try to play with the spoon anymore, he let me just shovel it in! I'm giving him 1.5 oz of veggies every morning now. I made him some green beans last night...but only 4 portions, because I just can't see him liking them, but you never know! I didn't think he'd like squash and it's his favorite so far.

Mmmmm....I can do it myself!!

Adventures in Solid Foods: Sweet Potatoes!

Let's Try Sweet Potatoes!
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

Wow! Someone loves their food! I know he loves his new toys - the spoon and bowl - but he does love what's in it too. I had a big mystery when I cooked these sweet potatoes. I thought they were supposed to be orange...but they are an off-whitish color instead. They tasted really good, but it got me thinking. I know yams cook up orange and maybe there are other varieties of sweet potatoes. Someone help me out? Doesn't really matter...he loved them, regardless of the color!

Haha! I love it! Moooooooore! I want moooooore!! So we do 2 more days of sweet potatoes, then we try butternut squash. I think I will let him try bananas too once we're through the squash days, just to make sure he doesn't have a reaction to anything. I have only cooked those 3 foods so far, so I think we'll keep going with them until I get more freezer tray space. Then I'll cook green beans...and who knows what after that!

Adventures in Solid Foods: Carrots!

Let's Try Carrots
Originally uploaded by NurseLovesFarmer

So on Tuesday was day #2 of solid foods. I decided to just push the avocado aside for now, seeing as how I wouldn't even eat it myself...and he didn't seem terribly interested at all. So I chose to go with carrots next because they are MY favorite vegetable, and "they" say to go with root veggies first because they are naturally sweet. So that video isn't the best, I had the camera set up on a mini tripod, and didn't realize that my arm was in the way for the most of the video! Jay was still sleeping for Braden's first carrots, so I had to made due on my own! I'm going to do a little video of every first food, so I'll get a better angle next time if Jay is still sleeping! Day #1 of carrots went pretty good. He definitely enjoyed them more than avocado, day #2 went even better, he got through them pretty quickly. Day #3, which is today, was GREAT! He LOVED them! He gobbled them up so fast! He was literally looking in the bowl for more when we were finished. I've probably been giving him about a tablespoon every morning...I'm not really sure when I up the quantity?!! I'll have to go back and read in my baby food books. I know to give them 3 days in between new foods (skip that part on the avocado ;) so that I can determine if he has a reaction or an allergy...but not sure when I can increase how much he eats at a time. Here are some pictures from our carrot adventures...

Day #1...

Day #3...

So tomorrow we try sweet potatoes! I imagine he'll just love them too! I am very happy that we decided to start a few weeks early...he's doing so well and he doesn't look so sad when we eat now!

Adventures in Solid Food!

So after a bit of thought and talking it over with Jay...and feeling tremendously guilty every time I eat in front of Braden...I decided what's a week or two in the big scheme of things? So we did something very easy and what Laura and a couple of baby books recommended - avocado! I'm not a fan myself...but Jay is, so it was easy to prepare, all I did was mash it with a fork and mix some breast milk with it...and voila. Here's a picture after his first bite:

Definitely not a huuuuuuuuuge fan of avocado!

Another bite?

If anything...he had fun chewing on and playing with the spoon!

 Hey, Mom! That was new! Let's try it again tomorrow!

In the end, he still did eat most of it...but definitely didn't enjoy it. I don't imagine it had a great texture...and I don't like the taste myself...so we're going to try carrots tomorrow, so I hope that goes better for him and that he enjoys it. But, I am very confident that he is ready for solids. He took the spoon very well, opened up his mouth like he's supposed to, he doesn't have his extrusion reflex anymore, and I think he'll learn to "chew" and swallow with time. I figure they start soooooo slow on solids it wouldn't hurt to at least try! Here's the video of his first solids. His expressions are just priceless!