warm weather

​Does this mean spring is almost here?!

Now, usually I am not one for the warm weather. I have always enjoyed things like snow, warm fireplaces, hot cocoa and curling up with my Kindle on a cold wintery night. But since Soren - things have changed. I LOVE warm weather.

Warm weather means exploring outside, trips to Coney Island where Soren experiences the pool, running around at playgrounds, picnics and trips to a bustling market filled with amazing produce.

As the weather turns - I look forward to starting these memories all over again. Now I understand what people mean when having a child is like reliving childhood through wiser eyes. So true! And now, I enjoy, remember and reminisce - making new childhood memories with my son and family.

So, yes, even though Soren is much more interested in getting the chalk out and promptly putting it back and then carrying the container around the yard - I am still going to show him what it is like when you scrape that mysterious powdery stick over concrete only to create art: a beautiful sky, an elephant - or even his name, the best art of all.

He does understand the swing and LOVES the underdog. He even preps for it with little giggles and lets out a raucous laugh when you sneak under the swing for the final push. We even kicked the ball around the yard and he was a such a trooper. Anytime he mis-step, he picked himself off, brushed it off and went after the ball - kicking and giggling.

I can't wait to start digging and gardening with him this summer. It's going to be so much fun. I really enjoy warm weather now, but even more than that - I love watching my son explore, adventure and experience the outdoors as we move into spring.

SHORT BUT VERY SWEET...

Last week, I had the pleasure of chillin' with my Opa. He drives busses from time to time - and as chance had it, he drove the Chicago (he's from St. Charles, IL) ECHL team down to Cincy to play the awesome Cincinnati CYCLONES!

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♥

So, I told him - during the game, we are coming to kidnap you for dinner and will have you back in time to pack up the bus and leave. He, was like - 'food, for free, my grand-daughter and great grandson - DUH! See you at 5!'

It was awesome - better than awesome! He is doing very well - healing up nicely after some medical mishaps of the past year (including a bum shoulder, you'd never know!). He's a trooper and my grandpa - he rules! So we grabbed some quick Potbelly's sandwiches with Soren and met up with Rick at work so we could all eat, or try to eat (since Rick has to board-op and of course it was an election night!) together. Opa got a quick tour of what we do and where we spend a better portion of our days. It was fun, nice and wonderfully familial. Thanks for the quick visit Opa!

♥Ich liebe dich xoxo 

FLYING BABIES

So the past couple days - it seems this topic has come up more than usual, flying with a babe. First (totally embarassing, but I love) in the sitcom Up All
Night where the leading couple decides to embark on a flight with their infant baby girl. And then, not even 24 hours later with two amazing CSO mom's. Now granted they are planning trans-atlantic flights and mine have been just to Chicago and the Lou, but none the less - I did do them alone, both of them. And that presents enough stresses in and of itself.

But stresses aside, because really - I hate to burst bubbles, it's not so bad. In fact, put your psyche in the right perspective and you will have a ball watching your little one discover a plane for the first time or 'people watching' with you as you wait to board. OR my ultimate favorite - falling asleep before the plane takes off giving me the aboslute pleasure of cuddling for just over an hour - LOVE!

So, the reason I am writing this tid-bit - is to relieve any pre-flight stresses. Here are some checklist do's before the flight day:

1 - purchase tickets (duh) and be sure to either look on the website or check with the airline for infant flight restrictions.

2 - call your airline (if you decide to lap baby instead of buying a seperate seat) and let them know you will be flying with a lap infant. They can only place you in specific aisles and they will conveniently flag your ticket so if a seat opens up, they will put you in an aisle with just you, baby and open seat for a bit more room.

3 - after getting a list of your airlines restrictions, it's time to go through the necessities baby will need while traveling.

This is always the tough part, because as mom's have it - we tend to over-pack. But this can be done, in an organized fashion that simply fits into one single

diaper bag. For most airlines, the diaper bag becomes one of your carry-ons, but once you add the babe, you realize quickly anymore baggage (i.e. purse) that you would normally bring, becomes too much. So I packed my necessities - wallet, phone, gum, and snack - this is very important, I will address that later - into the diaper bag. Since we have been wearing Soren, I carried him with our ERGObaby Carrier (absolutely the MOST comfortable carrier I have yet to find), and didn't have a problem. It even has a super convenient pouch in the front for your wallet, gum, phone and ticket.

How to dress. This one is probably pretty obvious - comfortable. You are going to be running around with your little one and stand the possibility of being spit up on, grabbed (so no shirt that tears easily), food spilled on, breast milk leaking and/or formula spilled. So nothing you care too much about and that will match the shirt you SHOULD be carrying in the diaper bag in case this happens. Now if you are traveling with two parents - all the better. That gives you an extra set of arms to hold your loved one AND an extra bag for packing things you will need.

But to prevent from over packing, I would try to keep baby's things to baby's bag.

So what do I put in that bag and how? Here you go:

Bathing Supplies (all supplies are travel size, 4oz or less) - pack into a 1-quart zip- lock
1. Baby All in one Shampoo

2. Baby Lotion
3. Anti-bacterial hand wash
4. a few cue-tips
5. a few cotton balls (put cue-tips and cotton balls in a seperate zip-lock to keep them dry)
6. Toothpaste & Toothbrush (for baby and parent(s))

First Aid - pack into a 1-quart zip-lock 1. Bandaids
2. Polysporin (or neosporin for some) 3. Baby Tylenol (Little Fevers)

4. Baby Saline (Little Noses) 5. Asperator
5. Thermometer

Diaper Supplies - pack diaper cream, Aquafor and powder into a 1-quart zip-lock. For the other items I had a slightly bigger bag than the 1 qaurts that came with

the diaper bag for Soren's covers and extra clothes.
1. Diapers for every 1-2 hours you travel depending on how your baby eliminates on a normal basis. This is tough - Soren slows down quite a bit when we travel, so I went through about 4 cloth diapers total when at the airport. If bringing cloth or even with disposables, I recommend using the scented or oder eater diaper bags for the dirty dipes.
2. Wipes (I know, duh - but I almost forgot mine since I make his at home!!)
3. Diaper cream we use badger balm - good for baby's bottom and small!
4. Aquafor
5. Powder (if you use it)
6. Diaper changing cloth we use JJ Cole which also holds our wipes
7. For cloth diapers - at least 2 extra covers

Making traveling comfortable
1. Change of shirt for parents (depending on how long the flight and if you have a partner and extra bag - maybe even an extra outfit)
2. at least 2 changes of clothes for baby
3. Baby's blanket (Soren does have a favorite)
4. As usual when packing for yourself and baby - think layers, you never know what temps your going to run into

Distractions/comforts
1. 2-3 of baby's favorite books/toys 2. Pacifier (if you are using)
3. Teething toys (Sophie, rings, etc...)

FOOD!!!
I highlight this one, because a well fed, rested babe is a happy one. Same with the parents.
1. Be sure to pack food (if baby is on solids) for at least every two hours with a variety of snacks. I used the Ella's and Peter Rabbits and Packed 3. They are super small and easy to carry. I also packed Soren's Munchie Mug, which is priceless. Sometimes it had oats, sometimes raisins or sometimes whole-wheat bunnies. Once even a peanut butter sandwhich!
2. Pack snacks for parents - you will get hungry and need your energy too! I packed at least two Cliff bars for myself and bought myself water once in side the gates. Oh! and gum - because bad breath and ears popping is never fun.
3. Drink for baby. I packed water for Soren. Between that and nursing - it was plenty of liquids. So one sippy cup, in an outside pocket - easy to grab.

So packing all of it up. The reason for the clear zip-locks: At security you have to

take out ALL the liquid items, which includes your first-aid, creams, etc.... So to make it easy on you, especially when traveling alone, all you have to do is take out your zip-locks, put them in a tray and stuff them back in when your done.

They DO test baby's liquids (in our case water). It's just a PH stick, so no worries. Then your security. Take off not just your metal items and shoes - but babies too. I don't feel comforatble about the x-rays, so Soren and I went through the

standard ones. And the second time traveling - he walked through on his own (ADORBS!!). Once your through security, just have fun with your baby - show them around, experience this together with levity, knowing you haven't forgotten anything and you are traveling with your most loved one - most likely getting ready to make new memories with other loved ones.

When on the plane - RELAX. Baby picks up on your vibes, so just have a good time. They want to tear apart the plane magazine - so be it! It's free anyway!

Read the couple books you brought along, break out a snack or offer some milk. I always bring Soren's two favorite books at the time and some teethers (sophie, teething ring, etc...). Below are a few links that made traveling a blast for us. I hope some of this helps. Enjoy your little ones - they don't stay that way for long!

Flying with Kids
TSA 3-1-1
Delta Children's Baggage Allowance with Links to other Infant flight Restrictions

♥

♥

Love. I have known this word to be true, but never did I know the true extent of it. My mother said to me this past weekend - 'now you know what it means to love so much it hurts... your heart gets so big it might burst!'

She is so right. I love my family, but I fall in love with my family - my guys and our pup - more everyday. And every night before I go to bed, I wonder - could they all be possibly any cooler? any more adorable? more lovable?

And again, as they do everyday - prove to be true - so much cooler, stinking adorable and more lovable than I ever thought possible.

so perfect

BABY FOOD

Baby Food, a very hot topic among parents. For our kiddo - I thought, what the heck, lets make some baby food. We were already 'granola-ing' it up with cloth diapers and breastfeeding, let's just take it that obnoxious step further?!

No, really though, kidding aside - after our experiences with nutrition, Rick and I both felt a sincere obligation to feed our budding son 'good' food. So, thus started the research, how can we do this to the furthest extent possible? First - our food.

During the pregnancy, we BOTH made some pretty big diet changes. We were already farmer's market fans, but we started using a grocery service here in town that really accessed local produced - Green BEAN Delivery. We started cutting more and more meat out of our diet (now vegetarian and bean/legume fanatics!) and began the search for the obscure, strange...vegetable. Well, some anyway. I soon became a huge collard green fan and Rick and I found ourselves bingeing on spinach and chopped carrots like potato chips!

Then Soren was born and the first five months of grocery shopping was easy, well almost, as some of you may know how much I loathe my pump. But I love nursing - and has been well worth the bouts of mastitis, plugged ducts, bite marks, pink milk and chapping. So worth it. Well - then came the drool and our first set of teeth. Soren was sitting upright and grabbing for food - it was time.

First up, bananas (well pureed!), then avocado, then sweet potato. From there, winter squashes, carrots, and so on. The list of vegetables this child has tried (steamed, baked and raw) is astounding! I have discovered new foods from just making baby food alone, an absolute win/win for this family.​

So making the food - that's a pretty simple task. Steam, bake or raw - puree to baby's ability to chew and water down to desired consistancy with either purified water, breast milk or in our case - water used in the steaming process (to preserve as much of the nutrition as possible). Then to storage - we found these AWESOME ice cube trays at Bed, Bath and Beyond with covers over top so I could label what was inside the trays and the date they were frozen. Then the cubes went from being a serving a piece to 6-8 cubes in a single meal! A great way to store food. Then we moved on to his breast milk containers from Avent for storage and at 15 months - he's on table food. I still make his applesauce though ;).

I aboslutely loved making baby food - and honestly miss a bit of it, but am delighted to see our little eater always up for trying something at least once and eating full servings of Kale and Whole-Wheat noodle Alfredo or asking me for another Portabello mushroom melt sandwich.

Not being an aboslute about the baby food, we have had our instances when we needed quick food on the go and food that would stay in any temperature scenario (like our visits to Coney Island). Here are few that worked wonders for us and Soren still eats to this day for snacks:

Ella's Kitchen
Peter Rabbit Organics
Plum Organics
Bebo Naturals (my favorite - but temperature sensative)

I also understand - sometimes breastfeeding doesn't work out with baby (there was a point with Soren I myself was prepared to make formula) and you need to supplement or use formula. Finicky stomachs, from what I understand like a few of these. I am not an expert on this, but just in case - these might be worth looking into:

Earth's Best Nature's One

These are just a couple - and I am no expert, so if anyone else has any other suggestions please note! Also, you can even make your own formula, there is even a recipe and how-to in the the Super Baby Food Book, which is
an absolute must!!! Even if you don't make your own baby food, this is a great guide into the toddler years and even healthy habits to start with your family (and it's never too late to start!). I even started making Soren's own baby wipes!

We move to gardening in the spring - so on with our foodie adventures!