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!

Thanksgiving...

What a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We had delicious food with so much left over that each family took good-sized portions of everything home with them. There were word games, puzzle pieces to find and put together, and a 25 cent bet on which day snow would fall on first. There were nonstop conversations and laughter and it was so fun to watch all the cousins playing together.

We had a grand total of 24 people in my parent's home...all in my immediate family. Just between us, my brothers, my sister, and my parent's foster children, there were 14 kids there. Ages: 15, 13, 12, 12, 8, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 6 months, 3 months, 2 months and 4 weeks.

You learn pretty quickly to watch where you step, listen for your own child's distinct cry, and how to break up little boys who insist on playing with the exact same toy the entire time (ahem..Ian and Angel).

But what a fun Thanksgiving it was! I'm so very thankful for my family, our health, a warm home to come back to, and yummy food to enjoy throughout the weekend.

We only took a few pictures so here they are:

Ian with cousins Daniel and Caleb the night before watching a movie.

Dad and Sawyer hanging out after Thanksgiving dinner

And just for fun...Jeremy sporting a beard and me with my new brown hair.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Ian's new vocabulary

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

Just in case you need an example of this extensive vocabulary:

Andrea: Ian, it's time to pick up your crayons and put them in the little bag.

Ian: No

Andrea: Ian, you say 'Yes Mama'

Ian: Yes Mama

Andrea: That's right...now pick up your crayons please.

Ian: No

Happy 30th Birthday, Andrea!

My beautiful wife is 30 years-old today. She is the most wonderful person I have ever known, and I can't adequately describe just how much she means to me. I am so glad that my sons will be able to grow up with such a wonderful example of someone who thinks of her family above herself, and does it gladly.

I love you, baby - Happy Birthday! - Jeremy

"The simple lack of her is more to me than others' presence."
- Edward Thomas

6 months already

I can't believe Sawyer is 6 months today! I feel like I was just pregnant waiting for labor to begin. It's been so fun seeing him go from a newborn to a giggly baby with personality. He's so much like Ian yet so different. Although the difference I see is simply in being a younger brother. He has an older brother that he watches like a hawk. He has to wait more where Ian didn't. His schedule isn't as set and his nap usually gets bumped a little if we have to go somewhere. Thankfully he's getting pretty good at taking quick naps in the car while we are running errands. All of this is making him out to be a pretty mellow baby. He just goes with the flow until he really wants or needs something.

Unlike Ian's pregnancy, Sawyer's pregnancy and delivery were textbook. I wanted to avoid another c-section so I chose a midwife and delivered outside of a hospital. It was the best decision we could have made. We were able to enjoy everything that we couldn't with Ian's birth. I had him completely natural in water in a birthing tub. Jeremy was able to catch him and I held him as he cried for the first time. He never left our arms for even a moment and 12 hours later we were home and snuggled in bed. It was such a great experience for all of us and one I hope to repeat with our next child.

He was 7lbs 10oz . I could tell the difference right away between the boys. Ian was fragile at 37 weeks and Sawyer was hardy and healthy at 40 weeks. I was surprised to see how much of a difference 3 weeks is to babies. He had dark hair and blue eyes. He was absolutely perfect.


Now he's 17 lbs 6oz and almost crawling!

He's sitting up so well now.

Rocking out on his hands and knees.

I feel like I love him more every single day. He's so mellow and sweet-natured. His eyes light up when anyone talks to him and he laughs, full belly laughs, when he's tickled. I'm excited to see his personality come out even more and to hear his voice when he says his first word. Having him made me realize how much more I can love.

Happy 6 months baby boy.

For Grandpa Fred...

Here is a photo of Jeremy and the boys all ready for tonight's game with the Cowboys vs. the Eagles... can you tell who we are rooting for? (Sorry Grandpa Fred :)

Trick or Treat

We weren't planning on taking Ian trick or treating this year because I thought he might be too young. But then the kid in me got really excited for him and we** decided at the last minute to take him up and down our own block. We had a really fun time and it was a great chance to talk to our neighbors.

**Jeremy says he never went trick or treating as a kid and was a bit reluctant for Ian to go. I teased him mercilessly of course and then promised we wouldn't end the night with a cauldron of witch's brew. :-)

He didn't have a costume so I bought some Shrek ears at the store along with some play makeup. He thought the ears were bunny ears so I made a little nose and whiskers. He decided however, after looking in the mirror, that a 'roar' would be a very fitting sound for a little Shrek bunny rabbit. So in the end I'm not sure what he was but it was all pretty cute.

Sawyer getting ready to go trick or treating with us. He got to wear his poncho from Karli. He was adorable in it!

Dad took care of Sawyer because he didn't know how to trick or treat.

His first house! Our neighbor dressed the part. Ian thought the whole thing was really strange at first but quickly warmed up once he realized he got some candy out of it.

He would yell 'trick or treat' before anyone answered the door and then he was silent when they were actually standing there.

Sitting on our steps after the making the rounds.

Eyeing all the candy he brought home.