Evie has never been a picky eater. Lately though it's a battle to get her to eat. Things she couldn't get enough of ( avocados, bananas, peas.... ) she now blows raspberries at. It's been very frustrating. I can't be the only mom to have gone through this I have now made it my mission to get her to eat her veggies without her knowing it. I have come up with some "treats" to get her to eat. ;) These tasty nummies include chicken nuggets, melts and popsicles. Sounds like normal food, huh? Well they are but with hidden nutrition. Below are my add ins in case anyone wants to know. If you have any surprise goodies you make I'd love to know so please share! CHICKEN NUGGETS
Ground organic chicken
Cage free eggs
Breadcrumbs ( thinking of trying oats next time)
A veggie purée of spinach and kale
Seasons to taste
Cook into mini burger size. Freeze. MELTS
1. Purée of fruit and organic yogurt
2. Purée of fruit and veggie of choice Make un-chocking hazard size and freeze. POPSICLE
1. Purée veggies and mix with organic yogurt. 2. Purée veggies and fruit of choice. Freeze into molds

Let me know if you try these and what changes you make.

Evie has never been a picky eater. Lately though it's a battle to get her to eat. Things she couldn't get enough of ( avocados, bananas, peas.... ) she now blows raspberries at. It's been very frustrating. I can't be the only mom to have gone through this  I have now made it my mission to get her to eat her veggies without her knowing it. I have come up with some "treats" to get her to eat. ;) These tasty nummies include chicken nuggets, melts and popsicles. Sounds like normal food, huh? Well they are but with hidden nutrition. Below are my add ins in case anyone wants to know. If you have any surprise goodies you make I'd love to know so please share! CHICKEN NUGGETS Ground organic chicken Cage free eggs Breadcrumbs ( thinking of trying oats next time) A veggie purée of spinach and kale Seasons to taste Cook into mini burger size. Freeze. MELTS 1. Purée of fruit and organic yogurt 2. Purée of fruit and veggie of choice Make un-chocking hazard size and freeze. POPSICLE 1. Purée veggies and mix with organic yogurt. 2. Purée veggies and fruit of choice. Freeze into molds Let me know if you try these and what changes you make.

My favorite time of day, late evening. The house is quiet but for the singing crickets coming from Eve's sound machine. This time of night is her last feeding and as I hold her bottle because the sweet thing is just too groggy to know which end goes where, I pray. This list goes anywhere from "lord give me strength to make it through another day without falling asleep while walking" to "thank you Jesus for so and so finally understanding how to read silent e words". This list is some days long and some days short. I enjoy this time so much knowing its me, my Savior and the little miracle He has given to me. It's our time. Our time to be still. Ok. So I'm still working on the still part. Sometimes I talk too much, even in my own head. This time of stillness is so hard to come by and easily dismissed. Many times I plague it with tasks I can do one handed: emails, texts, ... blogging (eh, hem). All seem necessary in order to keep my sanity, my life organized, my relationships. Then there are nights when I look down at the perfectly serene face and know. Know the "needs" to stay focused on are merely distractions from the big need. My need/want to be that person God wants me to be whole- heartedly. And at this time, it's to be present with Him. To be still with an open heart and unplugged ears. So I put away the achievable one handed tasks and be. As eve sings herself into a slumber, I pray. I pray for many things, not excluding praying the cat doesn't decide to make an appearance making herself known through vocals that will now wake the sleeping child so I won't be able to sleep resulting in a high fog the next day. Yes, I pray this. Trivial, perhaps. But "making my requests known to Him" brings peace.

This is our third family vacation since becoming a family of three and each time we've gotten braver and gone farther. Our first was a road trip to Atlanta, Georgia. Then a plane ride to Boone, N. C. where we drove through snowy weather and icy roads. Now, another road trip. This time much further than the first that included an over night stop.

Once we arrived set out to get in as much as we could with a baby. Day one was gorgeous out so we hopped on the Metro and headed to the National Zoo. We loved seeing all the animals. It was quite a treck around the place with all the up and downs but seeing the pandas and seeing/hearing the lion roar made it totally worth it! We then decided to brave it past Evie's bedtime and head to Georgetown. We enjoyed so yummy cupcakes from DC Cupcakes!!!

Day two: to the Mall and beyond
We went to the National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of American History, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, Korean Memorial. Yeah, that's it and boy was that plenty! We are exhausted from all the walking and so proud of how good Evie did.

Day Three: wrap it up
Today was the day to do whatever else we wanted to do and hadn't gotten to yet. This included going to Jefferson Memorial and the White House. It was very cold today and all I wanted was to stay in with a cup of hot coffee. So, we settled for The Corner Bakery instead and enjoyed some lunch and relaxed. After so much walking yesterday our feet were still hurting.

Dinner: Haad Thai ( close to our hotel)

Day Four: farewell Today was the Centennial Cherry Blossom Festival. So we walked around the Tidal Basin and the Mall area where they had tents of stuff around. The neatest part was seeing all the kites being flown by everyone surrounding the Washington Monument. "how do the strings not get tangled?". We headed back home around 3:00pm. Of course with the festival it took forever to get out but we eventually did.

Tips:

* travel when it's nap time. Arrive with a happy baby! * eat when baby does, cuts down on stop time
* stop and let baby burn some energy off before driving another 4 hours.

Traveling with a baby can be exhausting and challenging. Some things I've learned is to just make sure you have plenty of diapers (we became pros at chaning her in the stroller), plenty of food (grabbing the free breakfast foods for her made it cheaper) and let her walk around whenever possible to help burn off the energy. Eve loves to people watch so having the backpack carrier allowed her to observe and be entertained. We were able to do so much. Even though we got many stares from people wondering why we would even think to bring a stroller on the Metro during rush hours it was the best time! Loved this vacation so much and even though Eve may not remember going or any details, we made an experience with each other. One I WILL remember and share with her one day flipping through the photos.

I always knew Eve was moving too fast. Take a look at the time scale chart. By 10 months (which she turned yesterday) she should just be getting her upper central incisor teeth. Well as of today, she officially has all upper and lower central and lateral incisors. That's right, she got her 8th tooth!!! Slow down, Evie. What's the big hurry? 

Happy 10 months, baby Evie! 7th tooth discovered: 01-21-12 bottom left next to the front. Up to 5 steps! I know it's not much but it's baby steps and I am excited for her. Although I think it's too much too fast. She definitely needs to slow down. She is doing great using other things to get around the room and loves to push anything she can. Her sweet noises of jibberish are becoming more and more clear to a meaning. Many sound as if they resemble commonly used words such as Dada, Mama, Dingo, more, etc. But they are really her own interpretation of them. She's getting there. Eve is doing great learning to feed herself. She has been enjoying eggs for breakfast and has even tried some spinach noodles topped with sauce with which she LOVED! She slurped them right up with no problem. Signing: She is putting out her arms to say "more". But she is still being very stubborn about trying to do anything. She would much rather make her noises to try and get what she wants. =]

Continuing to pray for health, to continue to grow strong and for her to know she is loved SO much! Eve, you continue to enthrall me. The joy you bring to my heart in inexplicable! Estimated Height: 29 inches
Estimated Weight: 17 lbs "I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." ~Abraham Lincoln