Merry Christmas!!

I hope that you are having a very Merry Christmas!!!  We are enjoying a BEAUTIFUL white Christmas!  Loving our time with family!  And soaking in all of the blessings of Christmas Day!

 Merry Christmas from our crazy little family!

Making Baby Food

So as I mentioned in our last post, BB was waking up in the middle of the night again needing some chow-time.  As much as I wanted to hold off on solids until after Christmas - traveling with bibs, jars, spoons and the mess just wasn't sounding too fun - we decided that BB was ready to add solids to his daily routine.

We started out with rice ceareal (as recommended).  This is what he thought about that...

So I went back to what I did with both H and Bug... I made some sweet potatoes.  B was more of a fan of the sweet potatoes...

 

You might think that I am crazy to make baby food, but I really enjoy doing it.  I think that there are many advantages to making your own baby food...

1.  It tastes so much better

2.  It costs so much less

3.  You know exactly what is in the food... no additives or un-natural ingredients

 I bought this The Healthy Baby Meal Planner when H was a baby and have loved it.  You don't even necessarily need the book, but it great if you want a little more guidance.  Making baby food is so much easier than you might think, here is a quick tutorial of how I make sweet potatoes.

What you need:

Pan for boiling or steaming

Blender or food processor (I have used both and either one will work great)

Ice cube trays

Fruit or veggies

Peeler

...Making sweet potatoes..

1.  Wash veggies

2.  Peel off skin (H helped with the peeling process, he really wanted to be a part of making B's food)

 

3.  Cut potatoes into cubes between 1/2" to 1" 

 4.  Boil or steam until soft, check with fork.  About 20 minutes (I usually steam, but I was making such a large amount it wouldn't fit in my steamer)

 5.  Scoop out of pan and put in food processor or blender, do not discard water.  Add water from the pan to cover bottom 1/3 of potatoes
6.  Blend.  If too thick add more water from pan.
7.  Spoon out puree into ice cube tray

8.  Let cool to room temperature then cover with plastic wrap. 
9.  Put tray of food in the freezer.  You can either pop out a cube each time you feed your baby.  Or after the food is fully frozen, I pop out all of the cubes and store in a freezer bag.  Label the bag, cause sweet potatoes, carrots and squash all look the same: )

Enjoy!

6 months...

Is my baby really half of a year old?!  I know that I say this every month, but this is going by WAY too fast.  I wish he could just stay little for a while longer!

He won't stay little, so I will embrace the fact that my baby is out-growing this stage of baby-hood a little too fast.  This months changes and new developments include...

- Smiling a lot
-Rolling everywhere, if he wants a toy across the room, little man will roll to it
- Loving tummy-time, pushing up with is arms, almost looks like he is ready to crawl

- Eating food... which happened way too early (but the kid was hungry so we gave it a try)
- Sleeping through the night (again).  BB was on a couple week stretch of eating at 4am again, but with the introduction of baby food, sleep is our friend again.
- Found his voice and loves to babble, coo and  squeel
- Loves his tongue, sticks it out in all kinds of silly ways

- Loves to put his hands in his mouth and still loves to chew on his toes

BB continues to be a very chill, laid back little man.  He is the perfect fit for our little family and we are all so in love with him.

Christmas Traditions

This time of year is rich with traditions. Some traditions you have done for as long as you can remember, others you picked up when you got married.  Some you adopted from friends.  One of my favorite Christmas traditions was started by my sister (Kerri) when I was in college.  Kerri once told me where she adopted the tradition from, but to be honest, I can't remember where... so I am truly sorry to whomever deserves the credit...

This special Christmas tradition is a "Baby Jesus Gift."  It is the only present that we get to open on Christmas Eve.  But it is not just any gift, all Baby Jesus Gifts are to encourage spiritual growth for the year ahead.  Some of the gifts that have been given in our family include Bibles, devotion books, worship CD's, and books.

The other key to  Baby Jesus Gifts is that they are wrapped in Gold.  The best looking gifts under the tree, beckoning to be opened!

Do you have any traditions when it comes to Christmas gifts?  The other day my friend Megan was telling me that they give their kids 3 gifts, just like how Jesus was given the 3 gifts from the wise men.  I did a quick little search and you can read more about the tradition here.  I think we will adopt this tradition for next year... (already did my shopping for this year).

Whether your traditions are small or grand, new or old, I hope that your Christmas will be full of joy!

Year ago we moved it

Am I officially a Californian?? 
We moved into our house a year ago today
It was beautiful here today
Too bad December 7th last year it rained
I mean poured like you can't believe
But thanks to sweet friends and their families we were able to get moved in

The settling in took some time

Adjusting my heart, desires, and acceptance took even longer...
I don't want to say that I have "arrived"
I miss Utah, our friends, change of seasons... our tight knit community
But I am loving life in Cali
Loving our friends, church, weather, school option, pace of life, and so much more
Loving life as a family of 5

Lots can change in just 1 year
I am so thankful for this past year, for the changes in me and the changes in our little family!

Anticipating Christmas

Oh, how I love Christmas time!  The beauty of Christmas lights, the smell of evergreen, all of the yummy tastes of the season.  I love the gift giving, Christmas carols, receiving Christmas cards in the mail... I LOVE Christmas!  I love advent and the anticipation in Christ's birth. 

Do you celebrate Advent?  I know we are now 7 days into December so maybe not prime time to start Advent.  But it is not too late, our little ones won't know that we are a few days behind...

Here are some ideas for celebrating Advent-
Jesse Tree Devotional:

Fun activities with pre-schoolers-
Nativity Learning Pack from 1+1+1=1.blogspot.com
Preschool Christmas Activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler

Christmas books the kids we are enjoying:
 

And books we want to get:
 

Movies:

(just because it is so funny)

And reading for mama too:


I pray that as we are in the midst of a busy time of year that you are intentionally taking time away from the hustle and bustle to fully soak in the joy of this holiday season.  As you look forward to Christmas may your focus be on Christ, His birth and the reason for true joy!

Nothing says Christmas like the Beach

We had such a fun day at the beach
Every beach needs a little Christmas cheer, don't you think...

My Dad and Step-mom are in town from Denver

We are having such a great weekend with them here

Dancing on the beach is a must

Exploring the tide-pools

Fun with daddy

 We all ended up sandy and a tad wet, especially H and Bug

 Oh... and Bompa (Grandpa) too

BB enjoyed the beach too... though he slept through most of our time there

Such a great day that we will cherish forever!