things i'm loving right now...

category: quick toddler food

Normally I like to cook for Lily, but sometimes there's not enough time in the day to do everything. So here are a few things that I rely on for quick meals and on-the-go snacks:

Breakfast:

1) YoBaby Plus Fruit & Cereal Yogurt and YoBaby 3-in-1 meals

 

2) Earth's Best Cereal Bars

 

3) Earth's Best Organic Mini-Waffles

 

Lunch/Dinner:  

1) Coleman Organic® Chicken Breast Nuggets

[so so good...i have to constantly remind myself that I bought them for Lily and not me]

2) Earth's Best Frozen Meals

 [oddly enough, her favorite part of these meals are the veggies!]

3) Frozen veggies

Snacks:

1) Toddler Mum-Mum's

  

2) Garden Cheddar Goldfish

  

[now with veggies added!]

Other things that are quick and easy to prepare: cut up bananas, sliced cantaloupe, & cheese cubes. Hope this gives you some quick ideas for your toddler!

the little gym

Lately I've been thinking of enrolling Lily in The Little Gym that's near us in Ashburn. I think it would be really good for her to interact with other kids her age. While we are so blessed that her grandma watches her during the day while we are at work, she doesn't really get the same interaction with other kids like she would at a daycare. I don't want her to end up being socially awkward and greedy when it comes to her toys. This morning I went to drop her off and her cousin, who's a year older, was also at her grandmas for a bit. Her cousin had a calculator that Lily NEEDED right away, so Lily went up and hit her in the back of the head and started making a mean pouty face. I'm sure that's normal...maybe. Either way, it got me thinking that Lily needs to learn how to share before she assumes she can get whatever she wants.

So, next week we will be trying out a free introductory class. She'll be part of the "Birds" class for infants/toddlers 10-19 months. It's also a parent/child class, which means active participation on our part. Ohhh just one more thing I thought I'd never do as a parent. It's amazing what you'll do for your kid!

 

this picture warms my heart...

life with a one year old...

...is so much different than life with an 11 month old! It's been less than a month since Lily has turned 1 and I've already noticed such a change in her personality. She wants to be held all the time and of course we can't resist her when she puts her arms up and makes the squeezing notion with her hands. She throws her food on the ground. She doesn't sleep in her crib. Even when she's in the deepest sleep, as soon as we put her down in her crib, she senses she's in her room and wakes up immediately. When we try to let her cry it out, she cries so much that she'll throw up. So, it's been a lose lose situation for us and we end up letting her sleep in our bed...which means no sleep for Brian or I! So, needless to say, we need to get her on a tighter schedule and need to start cracking down on her bad habits. Now if only we knew how to do that!

Lilyan's 1st Birthday

Lily is 1 year old! I can't believe it. Does that mean she is no longer a baby? Do I say I have a toddler now?! Well she is definitely acting more like one these days. She screams when she doesn't get her way and throws a fit if she can't play with your phone, keys, wallet...anything important. On the flip side, she is more cuddly  and just the sweetest girl ever. I love my baby toddler!

Here are a few pictures from her birthday festivities. If you couldn't tell, she's obsessed with Minnie Mouse. I'm hoping we didn't overdo it because I can see her developing a phobia over Disney characters thanks to her parents.

This was her on her actual birthday. I stayed home from work and made her mickey mouse pancakes for breakfast! These were the only two that resembled mickey mouse; the others looked more like blobs.

Her cute birthday dress:

Her birthday cake (Ultimate White Cake from Wegmans - SO GOOD)

We put the entire cake in front of her and she refused to touch it until we cut her a slice! So much for the typical baby face in cake pictures.

These pictures were from her Birthday Party over the weekend. I bought a smaller version of the Ultimate White cake above from Wegmans, smoothed down the frosting and decorated this cake with fondant. I must say, I'm very impressed with how it turned out...not so impressed with the stains left on my palms from the red and black fondant dyes. (more on this cake later)

 Dessert table and favor boxes. (The cupcakes were hot fudge sundae cupcakes - recipe from Joy the Baker...guests could decorate them with whipped cream, sprinkles, and cherries!)

Time to eat your birthday cake!

(or just stare at it until we cut you a slice)

yummy BBQ, pesto pasta salad, lumpia (spring rolls) & baked corn

She pretty much sat in this chair the whole night (gift from her Aunt) ...what a lazy kid!

Happy Birthday Lilyan!

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