Not-so-Wordless Wednesday

"That's shocking!"

More yummy food

Alessia is just loving "big people" food. We have now introduced protein (meat) into her diet. After her Thanksgiving meal of turkey and sweet potatoes, we have tried chicken and beef. She loves either of them mixed with peas and carrots - which I think taste like chicken soup and beef stew - and chicken with butternut squash. When I first started making her baby food, I didn't think I would do the meats, but now I realize it's just as easy as the fruits and veggies. If we're going to eat chicken, I just make some plain for her. Same with the beef. And since she'll eat her food pretty thick, I don't have to water it down too much or puree it to death. It still manages to look a little appetizing.

chicken with peas and carrots

Chicken with butternut squash

No picture of the beef, sorry. Actually that one didn't look too appealing, but it tasted good! Thanks to my little cuisinart mini chopper thing, it takes no time at all.
Any other suggestions for meals? Other combos?

First Christmas

The first of many firsts this month: Alessia cut down her first Christmas tree! (ok, she watched daddy cut it down)

We usually go out in a big group with my inlaws and their friends, but we just couldn't justify making the trek into PA 1 1/2 hours just to get a tree and torture the baby. We decided to go local, so we all went our separate ways. Besides, I'd much rather support a local business. So after a yummy yummy breakfast with Danielle, Pete and Eliza, the three of us went to a local tree farm. It was cold (though not nearly as cold as today, when everyone else went), but Alessia and I kept each other nice and warm. Poor baby couldn't really move her arms in that big jacket, but she was really well behaved.
Today we decorated the tree, and although I thought to video tape that, I didn't take any pics. Since she's uber-curious these days, I put her in the sling as I hung ornaments. She loved it, except when I wouldn't let her touch the tree or the glittery ornaments.
Now it's officially Christmas time. No more "normal" music..have to find the holiday tunes on Sirius, and have to get some more presents for the family. Very exciting!

Oh, and I did feel a little guilty cutting down a tree just for decoration. But we apologized to Mother Nature and are planning to plant a tree in the spring to make up for it. Yes, I know I'm looney.

Go Elf yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thank you! We'll be here all week!

Happy Thanksgiving (better late than never!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Not only was this Alessia's first, but also our first time hosting Thanksgiving. Since both my brother and sister are out of the country, I had my parents over along with mark's, his brother wife and kids. I think it was a success. Of course I continued my mom's tradition of making entirely too much food, but now we have lots of yummy leftovers. For those of you who enjoy cooking, here's two yummy recipes we made: Porcini mushroom turkey and Cauliflower and brussels sprout gratin with Pine nut breadcrumb topping from Bon Appetit magazine. In addition, the menu featured 8 other sides (yes I'm crazy): roasted artichokes, rice stuffing (a tradition in my family), broccoli rabe, cranberry sauce (made fresh), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, roasted squash and parsnip medley, and corn bread. Oh and we started with a few appetizers: bruschetta, mixed antipasto and cheese and crackers. Thankfully, my in-laws made dessert: apple and pumpkin pies and my sisterinlaw made cookies. Can't wait to see the gas bill after having the oven and stove on all day, but it was well worth it. The turkey came out delicious; I splurged and got an all-natural free range turkey from the local butcher, and I swear you can taste a difference.
Alessia was sooo well behaved and sat at the table through the whole long dinner, mostly in her high chair, then passed around like a hot potato. She enjoyed some sweet potatoes (actually ate all of mine) and some turkey. It was so exciting to see Alessia enjoy her own little thanksgiving dinner. I pureed some of our turkey and added some sweet potato. She sucked it down like there was no tomorrow!


This Thanksgiving, I was so thankful for my beautiful little girl and my wonderful husband (as well as the rest of the family and all our friends).

And now the holiday season has officially begun! We're off to the mall to visit Santa, people watch and get some presents. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mamma's going it alone

:o( Mark is on a business trip for the next 3 days, so Alessia and I have packed up and gone to my mom's. There's no way I could've gotten her here in the mornings and get to work on time (nor do I really want to stay home all alone with her through the night). Although I'll definitely enjoy the time with my mom and all the free meals, I miss the hubs and our own routine. It was really sad doing bath and story time alone with Alessia. We've started a new routine: we used to sit on the bed and read a few books, then I would nurse her, however lately she's been reaching for me as soon as we sit down, so Mark will lean in and read her the stories by my shoulder so she can drink and see the book at the same time. It's definitely harder to do by myself, but we survived! And although she went down easily for bedtime take 1, I'm dreading the night. No, she still doesn't sleep through the night. But Mark and I have a little system going that works for us. When she wakes up the first time, she only wants me, so I pick her up and she instantly puts her head on my shoulder and goes back to sleep. But she won't let me put her down, so I slowly pass her off to Mark, who she always lets put her down. The next time, Mark usually gets her and brings her in the bed to eat, then whenever I wake up again and notice her still in the bed, he brings her back to her room. So tonight should be interesting. Wish me luck! I'll need all I can get to make it!

Where did the time go??

Sorry I've been MIA - things have been hectic around here and I just don't know where the time went. Work is really getting to me. I'm having a hard time juggling everything and having any spare moments to even think, let alone blog. I guess I can't be supermom and a superteacher at the same time. Something's bound to be half-assed, and right now it's definitely the teacher. My heart just is not in it for the first time since I started teaching. I would so much rather be home with my baby. But that ain't happenin, so let's move on, shall we?

Since I don't have much time these days, I'll give a quick rundown of what's been happening:
New foods for Alessia:

• bananas - she loves them, but they don't love her.
• green beans - did NOT like them at first. Actually gagged and puked (well the puking is Mark's fault. He made me give her another spoonful just so he could see her make a sour face, then she puked it all up) But after a few attempts and mixing it with brown rice cereal, she eats it.
• carrots - yum! They're sweet, so of course she loved them
• mangoes - these she just can't get enough of, probably because they taste like candy
• oatmeal - prefers it to rice cereal

What she's doing:

• sitting up on her own for long periods of time. She will actually sit and play with her toys. Until she starts getting nosy and looks around and...KABOOM! falls over.
• a kind of military crawl, a few paces, then rolls over or "swims" on the floor
• stands up holding onto the bars of her gymini - this is her absolute favorite. Sometimes she throws a fit if you don't let her stand up to play.
• "walks" when you hold her under her arms. Actually puts one foot in front of the other and will walk for as long as you hold her.
• making all sorts of sounds, and LOUDLY! She's been doing a lot of "singing" lately

um...I think that's about it! Now I should go do some real work *sigh* Is it June yet??

oh yea, I forgot, yay Obama!! As Oprah said, "Hope won". I'm so excited to bring Alessia up with a true example of "you can be whatever you want to be".