Three

I am in denial that my baby is three. He is my baby, and who let him grow up anyway? Not me.  I wanted him to stay little forever. Guess this is what happens when you feed them.

Two was a big year for David. He grew and learned so much this ear. He's potty trained, got his second set of tubes and adenoid removed. He got a new baby cousin, decided that water rocked, moved into his toddler bed, and then his big boy room. He got rid of his paci and moved out of the high chair. He made new friends and became more independent. His speech has come so far and he was dismissed from 1st Steps, but will still see an SLP through the schools in the fall.

We love our little guy more than he will ever know. How can you not look at this guy and just smile?

Rainy Saturday Fun

A few weekends ago, it was rainy, cold, and gross. What to do with a 2 year old...

Nate decided to take David to see an IMAX movie about polar bears. It was only 40 minutes, the perfect length for a little guy. I would get mommy time, and they would get bonding time. David had other ideas. "I NO GO IF MOMMY NO GO!!" he screamed.  We tried everything to get him to go with daddy with no success. So with 45 minutes to starting, me with no shower, and 40 minutes to the theater with drive plus parking time,  I quickly got ready and to the movie with baby doll and blankie in tow.

David was excited about the big theater and going to see a movie. He was excited about the glasses - until he put them on for the opening credits. Ice shattered and came at him, he was done with the glasses. He had to have jumped 3 feet out of my lap. He shoved his face in blankie and held on to baby tight as he could. He didn't even want me to wear my glasses, which was okay because 3D movies make me sick. He sat still until the last 10 minutes when he was done, but a few snacks kept him in check.

After the movie, it was lunch time. Nate took us to a Japanese steak house, like Benihana's, only in a shady part of town and for way less. The food was still really good though! We thought David would love watching them cook. A big flame to start things off changed his mind, and he wanted nothing to do with the chef. He was smitten with the soup though.

Thankfully our little guy took a nap in the car, so I got to run and pick up some clothes for baby girl that I bought from someone else, then it was home we went. On the way, we passed a sign for a fish fry at the fire station down the road.  Nate's grandfather used to work there, so Nate thought it would be fun to call them up and go. Downside - I hate fish. Upside, they had tenderloins.

We met his grandparents and his parents there and David was so excited to see the fire engines, eat his hot dog, and try some fish, which he loved. It was loud and busy, so no one minded him being a squirmy 2 year old - he even found some other squirmy kids to run around with. After eating, Nate took him out to see some of the fire engines up close. So cool!

So, I may have not gotten my mommy time, my house cleaned, or my nap, but I did get to spend a fun day with my boys. I look forward to spending more days with them like that, and adding a little girl to the mix.

Smoothie Packs

Emily is an amazing woman. I may have never met her, but we chat daily with other May '09 moms and she is amazing. Why you ask? Well, for a million reasons, but for today's entry it's for her brilliant recipe for smoothie packs.

Now, I have wanted to make something like this for a while, and just couldn't find a combination that was good and healthy at the same time. Cue Emily and her super ability to take recipes and tweak them. (You should check out her recipe page on her blog - she has a ton of yummy ones.)

I took Emily's recipe and tweaked it slightly to sneak more healthy goodness into these. Nate and David love them, and now I know how I will survive in July very pregnant. Smoothies by the pool. Well, the wading pool.

Click here for the original recipe and pictures. I am horrible at taking pictures while I make things. Emily is not.

Here is my tweak:
1 can orange juice concentrate
1 1/2 cup greek yogurt (any flavor - I used vanilla)
4 cups spinach - stems removed for easier blending
protein powder - I used 4 good sized scoops of vanilla

I did not add bananas to this base. I'm not a fan, so I left them out. I blended well and used silicone cupcake molds filled full to freeze. We don't have ice cube trays, and those were what I used to make baby food, and they worked great.

I made individual smoothie packs so I could make a quick one in the mornings. To assemble, I added one base and between 1/2 and 3/4 of a cup of fruit. I used a tropical blend, blueberries, and strawberries and just mixed up different fruit in each pack. I even froze some bananas for Nate and David. I placed each pack in a sandwich sized bag. Oh, and the base alone makes a pretty good smoothie too.

To make, let the fruit thaw for a few minutes- or impatient people like me can stick the bag in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. I added 3/4 to 1 cup of milk. Finished, it was about 12oz. Extremely yummy, so the extra 4oz in a serving are needed.

I had enough to make 18ish smoothie packs (I doubled the recipe. I made some packs and saved some base cubes to make more later.). I'm going to make some and see how they freeze to make smoothie pops for the summer. Heaven!

Thank you Emily!