Monday, March 23, 2009

"After" Shot of the Family Room


We still have a lot of decorating to do in the family room. We love the shelves. I started to put books and trinkets on them and then Alex came down to play and started taking it all down...so much for my decorating. Some day!!!


Homemade Baby Food...Yeah Baby!

Yeah I said it – Homemade baby food. When people find out I make my own baby food they seem shocked. Surprisingly with the right equipment (food processor and steamer) it is not as time consuming as one might think. I do try whenever possible to make my own baby food. I have really enjoyed making it. I like the fact that I can control what Alex is eating and how the food is prepared. In my opinion it is cheaper, healthier and allows for more variety. The neat thing is you can make a ton of it in advance and freeze it in ice cube trays and store it in food storage bags for up to three months. You can also control the texture of the food for younger and older babies. I have had to feed Alex out of the jar on occasion. A few things like prunes and apricots are hard to do yourself. I have also found that when Alex transitioned to eating chicken it was hard for me to get the right consistency in my food processor, therefore at first we had to start with the jarred stuff. Now that he has a couple of teeth and can mash food with his gums he does not like food from a jar anymore. The reason I am posting about this is because I wanted to share a website that I recently came across. I was looking for different combinations of baby food and finger foods. I love this site because you can search a particular fruit or vegetable to see when it should be introduced. It has sample feeding menu’s for different ages as well as nutrition facts about the different foods. It is very helpful and informative. For example I was looking for finger foods that are protein rich and found a recipe for Apple Turkey Sticks. Alex loved them. They consist of ground turkey, oat bran (I used wheat germ), carrots, apple sauce, basil, garlic powder, and egg yolks. You combine the ingredients and then bake it. I like the fact that I can pronounce all of the ingredients and it is a healthy dinner for little man. Sure, making baby food takes time and planning but to me it is well worth it.

Here is a link to the site: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/index.htm

Friday, March 20, 2009

Frank Family Update









We are having so much fun lately. We have been busy watching Dudley and Alex play. They provide endless entertainment – who needs TV!(truth be known we still watch our fair share of reality TV). Alex pulls up on everything and is crawling like a champ. He is climbing the stairs any chance he can get. We are starting to see top and bottom teeth come in finally. He is eating a wide variety of solid foods and starting to become his own little person as he explores his new big world. We are seeing more and more of his personality every day. He is growing up so fast. We recently just finished building some built-in bookshelves in our family room. Dan did a great job. It looks so nice. Alex got to spend some much needed time with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday so Dan and I could work on the project together! My friend Steph has inspired me to deep clean a few things (baseboards, top of my refrigerator and my oven mainly – who knew goo-gone worked so well to clean). I am not totally spring cleaning like she has been that is for sure. I just hosted a baby shower for one of my closest friends which kept me busy. We have had many play dates and walks with our good friends Lori and Emma. Emma is 6 months old and so cute! We get together just about every week. All and all, we have been pretty busy hanging out with family and friends!! God has been so good to us and we are continually amazed at all the blessings God has given us. I thought I should post some pictures of our recent adventures.

Contributors