Comments(2)First 3-year-old outing: The Wonder Place
Today was Anna’s 3rd birthday! David took off and we went down to The Wonder Place in Little Rock. (I had been there once before with Anna, but it had been a while.) She had a blast! I think she liked the tree house thing the best, climbing up and down the stairs. We don’t have stairs at our house, so I guess it’s a novelty. :) But she also went shopping, played in the sand and water, and lots of other things.
March 21, 2011
When did she turn into a… a… a kid?
Something must happen around 3.
The babyness has disappeared. That distinctive run/walk of toddlerhood is long gone. The broken sentences have become full paragraphs. The drama is on. Independence is gaining ground.
I can do babies. I can do toddlers. But kids? I don’t know what to do with kids. But I’m figuring it out.
And she’s a pretty neat kid.
March 12, 2011
5 Months
Today is Sarah’s 5-month birthday! We were busy busy busy today, visiting my family this morning, going to the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Little Rock this afternoon, then a girls-only dinner party with some friends tonight, but I managed to snap a few pictures of her right before bedtime. :)
Let’s see… she is smiling and talking lots, laughing a little, grabbing hold of everything, drooling a river, sleeping through the night… oh, and rolling over! From tummy to back, that is. She eats about 5 times a day, sometimes 6. (No cereal yet; we’ll start that in another month.) She’s taking 3-4 naps per day, mostly short ones, but sometimes she can be convinced to take a long afternoon nap. She’s at the age where we have every baby apparatus out right now; she is big enough for the exersaucer and bumbo, but still likes the swing and bouncy seat, etc.
Without further ado, here’s that great smile:
March 5, 2011
Bye Bye, Baby Bed
Well, just like that, Anna is done with her crib. I know, most kids her age have long since switched to a bed, but Anna liked her crib, slept well in it, and never tried to climb out of it (although she certainly could have if it had occurred to her). Why mess with what works? Well, it stopped working. We’ve had a heck of a time getting her in bed lately, dealing with melt-downs and crying fits until 11, 11:30, or even past midnight. Couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Night before last, about midnight, David managed to get something out of her indicating she didn’t like it dark. Ok, no problem, we’ll leave your lamp on. (And why didn’t you say something about this a month ago? Or even 3 hours ago, for that matter? Hmph.) Last night, she didn’t even want to get in her crib. She didn’t like her crib, but couldn’t tell us why. Who can explain the whims of a (nearly) 3-year-old? So she slept on a blanket on the floor. (She didn’t even want to sleep on the crib mattress on the floor.) So, we decided, NOW is the time for the bed switch. Today.
I was skeptical whether she would actually take a nap in it, but she did. I went in and woke her up a little after 6:00, and she was hard asleep. I guess she’s a little sleep-deprived! So far she’s doing ok tonight.
February 12, 2011
4 months old today
There’s nothing sweeter than a newborn baby. Except perhaps a 4-month-old baby.
Really, I think babies get a lot more fun at this age. Newborns are sooooo tiny and fragile and make you go “awwww” at their tininess and fragility, but honestly, they can be fussy little critters and really don’t have that much to do with you. Sarah is such a doll now. She smiles, talks, and loves to play little games and sing songs and read books, and watches everything around her.
Do any of you parents have this problem: your baby is smiling and cooing and has all the charm turned on, then you point a camera at her, and you suddenly get that deer-in-the-headlights look? Sarah seems to smile when someone is interacting with her and making eye contact. So it takes multiple people to get a picture of her smiling–one to hold the camera, and one or more to engage her and make her smile!
So some of these were shot solo, but they are still cute I think, and some were with help. We have Nana and Granddad here from Colorado to help celebrate her “birthday” this month!
February 9, 2011
The Great Snow of 2011
This year, we were prepared with proper snowsuit and boots! Our friend Emily, who has outfitted Anna with numerous bags of clothes after her 3 girls have finished with them, gave us the snowsuit. My mom got Anna the boots yesterday at Wal-Mart. Yeah, with everyone else who was buying milk and bread. I hope it wasn’t too crazy. :)
February 6, 2011
Sizing
January 30, 2011
Taco Pie
Last week we actually tried a second recipe from Taste of Home 2002, before moving on to the next cookbook, since it was right there on the same spread as the Sausage Spinach Turnovers and it looked interesting. I used my usual pie crust recipe, though, instead of theirs. The recipe makes two pies, but I halved it since one is plenty for us for a few meals. One pie only used a half pound of ground beef. There is a lot of other stuff like mushrooms, spinach, beans and tomatoes, so it is pretty filling even with the minimal amount of meat. We thought it could use a little more taco flavor, though. Verdict: Make at least one more time.
January 24, 2011
Cookbooks, cookbooks everywhere, and not a bite to eat
Last week when I finally unpacked all our cookbooks, I was surprised at just how many we had. They wouldn’t even all fit on one shelf the width of the entire china cabinet. Then I got to thinking, why do I have a hard time coming up with a menu plan every week and end up resorting to the same old things over and over? There must be thousands of recipes here, so there is no excuse!
David suggested just going down the line and trying one new recipe out of each cookbook each week. So I grabbed the leftmost cookbook: Taste of Home 2002.
Year before last, I did Menu Plan Monday almost every week, where I posted our meal plan (and the occasional recipe) for all to see. Last year, as you may recall, was the Year of Disruptions and I soon gave up even attempting it. I was considering starting it back up again this year, but I think instead I might try to report on whatever new recipe we try each week. Maybe this will hold me accountable to trying some new things… maybe…
So this past weekend I made Sausage Spinach Turnovers. Sausage browned with onion, mixed with chopped spinach, cheddar cheese, and some seasonings, baked inside a pocket of bread dough. It made a tasty lunch one day, and dinner the next night paired with a salad and some sweet potatoes. I think if you had the patience, mini-turnovers would make a wonderful dish to take to a brunch. Verdict: keeper.
