Christmas surprise

We had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. The boys are very happy with their gifts and have spent hours playing with them today. Thank you family!

We haven't done anything today because we are still recouping. Even the simple act of posting seemed tiring but I wanted to share one picture from Christmas. The boys in their pajamas watching the snow fall outside. We were surprised and thrilled that it snowed since we weren't expecting it.

Our tree is now so crispy I worry it will turn to dust if any of us even brushes up against it. I hope tomorrow we feel rested enough to get rid of it but it's really...really...looking sad.

More pictures to come...

Merry Christmas...

Solution

Ian wonders around the house carrying his Cars cars with him everywhere. Since he's slowly collecting more and can't fit them all in his hands, we had to come up with a way to help him. Aprons can be so helpful that way. :-)


Tonight we are headed here and we're all excited Great Grandma is going with us. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Mornings

Sorry we haven't been blogging much lately. We are enjoying the holidays, going to see light displays, drinking hot cocoa, and reading new winter books that we just bought (and one that was given, thanks Bonnie!). And I'm sneaking in crocheting in any free time I have. We are keeping very busy and aren't taking out the camera much. I did snap some photos of the boys a few days ago though. We've noticed that Ian wants to play more with Sawyer now that Sawyer's crawling around everywhere. Ian will yell to him from a different room..."c'mere Sawyer!"...and look to see if he's coming. He's sharing toys more and will even give him a car and tell him to start driving. This is really, really getting fun.

This is about 99% of the photos I get of Ian: blurry and driving fast.

Sawyer is now a pro at crawling and can move very fast. And in the last couple of weeks he's started to pull himself up on his knees. But I was shocked when he crawled into the kitchen and opened one of the drawers and started pulling everything out. I can't believe it's starting already!

The color on this picture was weird but it was so cute of him that I had to include it.

And already the big brother, Ian is cleaning up Sawyer's mess.

We will be baking and decorating cookies this week, wrapping presents, and seeing more light displays. We are really looking forward to Christmas next week with the boys.

Lights, felt, and yarn

Here's proof of Jeremy's work on our house last weekend! He did a great job putting up the lights and I'm so proud of him. The bottom colored lights are wrapped around garland so it even looks nice in the day time. Ian loves seeing all the lights on 'Ian's house'.

Our Christmas tree (missing several ornaments because Ian thought they were actually balls and threw them across the room).

I started fiddling around a couple of days ago with some yarn and crocheted some flowers. Well that was all it took...tonight I went out and bought 12 skeins of yarn to start a new blanket. I'm so excited to get going on it!

Here's a felt garland that I finished last week. It turned out so cute and I love the way it looks next to our stockings. I can't say enough how much I love the world of blogs. There are amazingly creative people out there and it's so fun to see what they are up to and to dream about all the things I'd like to make. One day at a time...

Sunday Random

Today is the 2nd Sunday of Advent so we will light another candle tonight. This one for peace.

This morning we went out to a delicious breakfast at a neighborhood cafe that we just recently found. Then we headed to the store to get some lights to put on the house. Jeremy is currently outside bearing the cold to put them up for us...er..me. And he's doing it gladly. I'll have to take a picture when it's all done.

Here's a few random pictures of some things around our house. I've been experimenting with our camera because it does way more than I give it credit for. "Auto" works just fine for me but really...it's been begging for us to try a different setting so this is me trying. Some are grainy and out of focus but I love them anyway.

Advent calendar

The ball of lights that I have finally been able to use this year.

Is it wrong to adore your salt and pepper shaker?

My favorite mug from my new favorite place in Astoria.
The best couch blanket...ever.

And I just couldn't resist...Sawyer was in bed and Ian was being so cute.

See the pacifier? This is toddler for 'cool'.

Christmas tree hunting

On Saturday we ventured out before the storm to search for our Christmas tree. We went to a new place this time and ended up enjoying pony rides and hot cocoa as well as finding the perfect tree.

We weren't sure if Ian would ride the pony by himself but he did!

We were trying to get him to smile for the camera but he wouldn't. I think he was concentrating on not falling off.

Sawyer all bundled up because it was cold out. It had snowed earlier that morning but unfortunately none of it stuck around.

Searching for that elusive perfect tree...

Taking time out for a quick picture.

Ian told us he found the tree he wanted.

But we convinced him that we should take a little bigger one home. And here she is...

Taking advantage of all the mud before we headed in for hot cocoa.

Baby food

Sawyer started on solids the weekend he turned 6 months. I decided to start him out on an avocado since they are so healthy and didn't have to be cooked. Needless to say he wasn't too thrilled! He gagged and choked and couldn't get any of it down.

So I decided it might be too early for the avocado and thought pears would be a little easier for his first time. When Ian was around 7 months old I decided to make his baby food instead of buying the jars from the store. It was such a great experience I couldn't wait to do the same for Sawyer. It's so much healthier and you know exactly what's in the food and where it came from. It's really easy to do and only requires about an hour a week to keep up a good supply. You have to do a little preparation to take it with you but it's so simple and just a matter of warming it up and putting it in a little to-go dish for the diaper bag. Here's a little tutorial for anyone that is interested. This is how I make it but I'm sure there are many different ways. Wholesome baby food is a great website for the when, what, and how in making baby food.

I buy organic whenever possible for his food. It's really worth the extra price because it goes a long way and you know they aren't getting any pesticides or other chemicals.


I peel and chop the fruit/veggie and put it in a steamer basket in a pot on the stove. This method only takes short time...within 10 to 15 minutes depending on the food...to steam.


Once they are soft, I puree them in a food processor. This is a mini food processor I bought because I found it will do smaller amounts really well. I add water when it needs it to get that really smooth and fine texture. Pears don't need much water added at all but sweet potatoes and squashes need a good amount.


Here's a bowl of pureed sweet potatoes. I used 5 sweet potatoes and it made 8 cups.

Then I spoon it into ice cube trays. These trays happen to have a lid but I also have another set that I use without lids. Either way works fine.


After they are frozen, I simply pop them out of the trays and put them in gallon-sized bags. Now they are in perfect 1 to 2 ounce sized portions and I can grab whatever I feel like feeding him. You can combine them however you want. Really, the possibilities are endless!

Once they are a little older, you can leave the puree chunkier until they are ready for finger foods when they can have cut up fruit or steamed chunks of veggies. If you still aren't convinced...it's way more affordable than buying those jars all the time. Those 5 sweet potatoes that I bought for around $3 will last for 2 to 3 weeks at the current rate he's eating.

I usually try and take the cubes of food out of the fridge the night before for the next day. I just keep them in the fridge to soften. To warm them up you can heat them slowly on the stove which doesn't take very long or you can use the microwave. I don't recommend the microwave very often because it will destroy any enzymes and nutrients the food contains. Making baby food does require a little extra time but it's so minimal and worth all the effort.

And since I can't resist showing pictures of him. Here he is enjoying some butternut squash!

Sawyer's big news

While Jeremy and Ian were in the garage cleaning, I decided to take some new pictures of Sawyer in honor of his big news. He's crawling now! He's been bouncing on his hands and knees for a couple of weeks and then on Thanksgiving night he decided it was time and moved forward. He's getting better everyday and is so satisfied with himself when he finally grabs a toy that was just out of his reach.

He's also started on some solids and I'll be posting some of those pics soon. Here he is looking cute as can be and so proud of himself!

And finally, I just had to post a picture of my new favorite baby thing right now. They are called babylegs and you can find them here. I love (LOVE!) them. They are perfect for keeping baby's legs warm during the cold weather so there is no gap between the pants and the sock. They can even go over the heal to keep the socks on. And they are great for moments like this when baby is crawling and you want something to protect their knees. Plus...they come in adorable patterns and colors!