Simple No-Cook Lunch

Griffin is a peanut butter fan, so today I debuted peanut butter banana bites.  Griffin called them Pea Buh Nanas :).

Pea Buh Nanas

Banana

Peanut butter

1.  Cut the banana in slices.

2.  Spread peanut butter on one slice and top with another slice.

3.  Cut the banana bites in half for smaller pieces if needed.

I served the bites with pretzel goldfish crackers.  I'd say that this lunch was easy and a hit!

Halloween Books

With Halloween around the corner, we've been enjoying many Halloween books.  We don't have much room for decorations in the apartment, so I created a mantle landscape using our books and pumpkins.  It's been fun to Griffin to sit on the couch with us and ask for certain books that we then read together.  Here are the titles that we're enjoying.

Not the best photo....

• Trick or Treat Babies by Charles Reasoner
• Spot's Harvest by Eric Hill
• Who Will Haunt My House on Halloween? by Jerry Pallotta
• Halloween Night
• Halloween Fun
• Trick or Treat 
• Halloween Jack by Roger Priddy
• Little Jack by Roger Priddy
• Funny Faces Haunted House by Roger Priddy

What are some Halloween books that you are reading with your kids?

Moving with a Toddler - Part 1

Moving is work.  Moving with a toddler is A LOT of work!  Our move is a little different because we have moved into temporary housing while our home is being built.  Our family decided to bite the bullet and fork up the big bucks to live in a furnished apartment for 3 months.  Even though, the apartment came furnished, there were several items we needed to bring with us including Griffin's crib and glider, our clothing (summer and fall), cleaning supplies, beach items for our trip to Destin that we took in September, suitcases for our trip and my husband's weekly travels, laptops and printer, toys, toiletries and bathing items for Griffin and ourselves, leftover food, etc.  Believe it or not, all of this stuff adds up!!  Especially when you are hauling it up to a third floor apartment - lol!  Here are some tips I found that made Moving Part 1 a little easier....

• Embrace and accept the talents of your family and friends!  My mom is one of the most organized people I know.  She was an incredible help with packing up our items that we put into storage. We organized all of our boxes with coordinating labels for the room in our new house.  This will make unpacking much easier! My in-laws own a spacious SUV and were happy to come down to assist me with moving items from our old house into the apartment.  Our generous friends, Bianca and Jose, own a truck and offered to help us move Griffin's crib and glider.  This was incredibly helpful!  
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• Try to do as much as possible packing-wise when your kiddo is asleep.  I planned much of my packing around Griffin's nap schedule.  
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• If s/he is awake, include your kiddo in the packing fun.  Griffin enjoyed playing with bubble wrap and empty boxes while I packed.  I also gave him a Swiffer Duster and showed him how to use it.  This seemed to keep him busy for awhile :).

If I had to do this again, I probably would have gotten some help moving items from our house to the apartment through a company like 2 Men and a Truck.  Lugging everything up the stairs was a royal pain and exhausting....I have no desire to start a moving company soon but if I did , it would be 1 Lady and an SUV.  I don't think it would be very time efficient though - lol!

Garden Turkey Burgers

Let's face it....as parents we are always working to get our kids to eat their veggies.  I came across this recipe on Rachael Ray's site and adapted it.  It is packed with veggies and tastes pretty amazing.  Enjoy!

Garden Turkey Burgers

1 lb ground turkey breast

seasonings: course salt, pepper, basil, and garlic powder, to taste

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 carrot shredded

1 small zucchini chopped

olive oil for drizzling

optional:  your choice of cheese for topping

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl and form into 4 large patties. I put the carrots and zucchini in my food processor to speed things up a bit.
2. Brush with olive oil and cook 7 minutes each side over medium high heat in nonstick pan.  If you are using a Foreman Grill, cook for 5 minutes total.  Top with your cheese of choice.  I used Chipotle cheddar on mine and Baby Swiss on G's burger.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Served with butternut squash and raspberries
   
   
   
   
   
   

Hooray for Salmon

We've officially settled into our temporary housing situation - a cozy 2 bedroom apartment on the third floor. G and I have been hanging out at our new crib during the week while Michael has started traveling for his job.  It's not too bad, and the three of us make sure to get out and about on the weekends when Michael is home.  Along with mother-son bonding during the week, G and I have been enjoying some pretty tasty dinners.  Here's a twist on yummy crab cakes in which salmon is used.  Kind of reminds me of the days when I went to graduate school in Baltimore :).  Plus it's a great way to get in those Omega-3s - which are essential for brain development, as well as protein.

Salmon Cakes

5 oz. package Chicken of the Sea Skinless & Boneless Pink Salmon
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper (or more depending on your liking)
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
cooking spray

1.  Combine all ingredients with only 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs in a medium sized bowl.

2.  Form mixture into into 4 balls.  Roll in remaining breadcrumbs & flatten into salmon cakes about 1/2 inch thick.

3.  Cook on skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat until golden brown on each side.

4.  Serve with veggies and starch of your choice.  We love to have oven baked sweet potatoes with our salmon cakes.  I usually serve a salad for my husband and me and a green veggie for G.  Sometimes I'll serve with stewed tomato casserole which also go well with it.

Checking in with Griffin at 15 Months

15 months ago, a precocious baby joined our family.  Things have not been the same since!  Watching Griffin develop into a little person has been an amazing experience…he’s packed full of personality and smarts.  My husband and I often joke that Griffin is going to be tutoring us someday!  Griffin recently had his 15 month check up and he’s developing quite well.  Here’s a little information about how the G-man is doing…..

Height:  33 ¼ inches (95%)

Weight: 29 lbs. 3 oz. (90%)

This boy is growing like a weed.  The doctors says he’s the size of a 23 month old....Griffin’s father is hoping for a sports scholarship someday – lol!

Gross/Fine Motor

• G is running around everywhere!  He is much more fluid walking over uneven surfaces and is developing an awareness and caution for them.  He continues to climb up the stairs and can alternate his legs to climb when an adult is holding his hands. 
• One of G's favorite things to do is walk around carrying things as well as to push chairs around our house.  When you ask him if something is heavy, he grunts when trying to pick it up!
• Griffin is able to open all of our door handles – scary!  We haven’t had any major accidents until this past week.  He opened our garage door which does not lock and fell from the stairs.  He did a full flip in the air and landed on his back.  He was scared but okay with a little bruising.  I told him that he would have won and Olympic gold if it hadn’t been for the landing – ha!
• Griffin’s height is an asset to him when he wants to reach for things.  We have to make sure that we push items far enough back on our tabletops, top of our dresser, and top of our bathroom vanities. 
• Griffin is able to brush/comb is hair and brush his teeth.  He looks forward to brushing his teeth and runs to the bathroom saying ‘tee tee’ each morning and night.
• He’s able to use a toy hammer to hit a variety of objects.  He hasn’t hit his finger yet, but he’s hit mine and boy did it hurt!
• Griffin will use a spoon/fork with assistance to eat.

Vocabulary – Griffin’s receptive and expressive vocabulary are immense. 

• He is able to identify and say several body parts including: head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, leg, knee, foot, toes, fingers, nails, & hair on himself and others. 
• He follows simple directions (i.e. Bring your shirt to the laundry room, Put the nail file in Daddy’s drawer, Find the ________ book) and answers simple questions related to wants and needs (i.e. Do you want to go outside?, Are you all done?, Do you want more?, Where is (specific toy, book, person)?)
• He is a walking dictionary – lol!  I have been taking a word inventory of what he says, and it is now over 100 words!  I really think that his interest in books as well as our family’s verbal nature have helped Griffin’s expression.  However, I also feel that he’s always been a verbal kid and quite social, so these factors have helped as well.  It’s really cool to take a word inventory of what your child says.  Remember - do not focus on word pronunciation but on the fact that your child is using the same word to name an object.  For example, if your child consistently calls a butterfly “buh,” that counts as a word.  The pronunciation and articulation of speech is developmental and ‘buh’ will eventually become ‘butterfly.’  If your child is not using a consistent sound or word to name something, it should not be counted on his/her word inventory.  Words that your child imitates should not be counted.  Words that are counted should be ones that your child independently states.  Give it a try, and you’ll be amazed at how many words s/he is actually expressing!
• G states the names of family members and familiar friends.  He is not saying his own name yet and calls himself ‘baby’ when he sees a picture of himself.
• Griffin sings e-i-e-i for Old McDonald as well as 'row, row, row' for Row Your Boat.  He also likes this Country song where the chorus is "Girl, you make my speakers go 'boom boom'!" and he fills in the boom boom part.
• G is filling in the words of favorite books.  This is so cool to see!  It’s also neat to see what books he gravitates to as well.  I hope it continues as it’s important for kids to develop a love of reading.
• Some letter recognition is emerging and G identifies and names the capital B and D consistently.  He can identify and state the letter G from his name.

Social skills

• This child has never met a stranger…he readily engages with people and seeks them out.  Griffin has been very interested in reading emotions of people’s faces, faces of characters in his books, as well as faces of models in advertisements (getting the mail is one of his favorite things).  He is able to make a happy, sad, and mad face.
• We’ve started doing some 1 minute timeouts this month.  I’m not really sure they are making a difference.  The harsh voice and ‘no’ really don’t make a difference either.  Our pediatrician says that some kids get really upset and hurt by the harsh voice and ‘no.’  I guess Griffin carries his ‘happy-go-lucky’ nature to the disciplining as well.  We’ll have to keep trying different techniques to see what he responds to best when it comes to discipline.

New and favorite foods

• G’s pediatrician says that he can eat everything now.  We tried peanut butter on some whole grain bread yesterday, and it was a hit!
• G continues to enjoy all kinds of foods, but favorites are black beans, guacamole, cheese, blueberries, yogurt, and a variety of quesadilla creations.  He likes chicken and hamburgers especially when they are dipped in BBQ sauce J.

Sleep Patterns

• G has always fought sleep and it’s been an ongoing battle in our house.  Everyone has his/her own tolerance to listening to a baby cry!  I’m happy to say that G has been going to sleep at night without any tears for the past 2 months.  I read him 3 books and then put him in his crib with some of his favorite books.  I turn on the sound machine for 45 mins and play a song from his musical lamb.  He is generally asleep between 7:30 and 8:00.  It has been nice for both mom and dad to have an evening finally!!
• As for naps, I think G is a reverse napper…..he catnapped up until 7 months old.  Then, he took his first real nap.  Well, it seems that now he will go down for 2 naps a day.  These naps are generally 1 hour in length, but sometimes longer.  I guess he’s finally wearing himself out – haha!

That's our little nugget in a nutshell.  He certainly keeps me on my toes!!

Rockin' Rotini

A quick recipe from the other night that incorporates all of the basic food groups....enjoy!  I know my little guy loved this!

Rockin' Rotini

serving of cooked rotini pasta
ground sausage crumbled and cooked (I used half of package for the three of us)
2 cups of sauce (your choice - jarred or homemade)
1.5 cups of cooked peas

1) Cook sausage in a skillet and combine with tomato sauce.  Cook and simmer.

2) Add sauce to pasta.

3)  Add peas.

4)  Eat and enjoy!

Mangia Mangia!