Mommy & Me + Daddy!

Hey! So here I am, back to boast on how awesome I think "The Little Gym" is. We are in our third week of mommy and me (+ daddy) classes and they get better every week! 

Connor playing ball!

These classes cover soo much it's ridiculous! I just can't get over it, really. They teachers are awesome and obviously qualified. & I love how much socialization Connor gets with the other "birdies". =) 

That's his little girlfriend (Baya) 

This past week we worked on doing the spider walk on a set of bars, he did awesome! I was so proud. =) The teachers also got out a blow up bounce thing and the parents and "birdies" sat on it while it blew up and then we bounced and jumped. They kids really seemed to love it. 

"Hi mom!"

This is Connor's favorite activity......the hanging bar.

MONKEY!! He hang there all by himself!

&& then of course must clap for himself. 

I really must say he's learning so much already and it's only the third week. He socializes much easier now. And seems like he's getting more outgoing. 

He loves the bubbles!

At the end of the class, they always get a stamp on their foot. This time it was a bumble bee!!

A Hiking We Go!

This past weekend we went hiking!! That's right Connor's very first hiking trip. I have to say it was a little rougher here in the lovely Carolinas than I expected, but still an awesome time. We were originally going to take Connor's stroller..haha glad we passed on that, as we wouldn't have made it more than a few steps into the woods. We used he trailblazer hiking backpack made by Evenflo. Fabulous product!! First off it's heavy, but not nearly as heavy as toting a 30lb toddler on you hip! The backpack has so many USEFUL features, a sun shade, padding, a backpack, toy loops (where we also secured our camera), side pockets...and the best Connor loved it!

It also stands on it's own!!

Now for the real shocker, it's only costs about $100 online, nice price for all you get right? Better than that we picked it up brand new at a yard sale for 5 BUCKS!! Yes f-i-v-e!! I just love yard sales, FABULOUS!!

So we decided to hike on Marrington Plantation at the Naval Weapons Station...great park. There we're a ton of trails to choose from. My one complaint was the trails weren't marked nearly as well as I would have liked. Hiking 6 miles into the woods with your toddler, you wanna be damn sure which one leads you out the fastest if the need appears!! We had a blast tho, Connor seemed soo interested in all of the nature. Thankfully we didn't see any alligators!! 

I did fall in love with this tree tho...

It was actually a pretty cool day that we went, about 97. I know right here I am calling 97 cool!! But the norm has been over a hundred here lately. Even with it being cooler than usual...it was HOTT!! 

Connor learned how to use the camelbak! How cute!!

He liked the vitamin water to!

Overall, I would SOO recommend the trail and the backpack to anyone wanted to hike the Charleston area!

I'm sure I will have a big post coming soon, as it's fourth of July. A big (early) thanks goes out to all our military and to my lovely husband!! THANK YOU! 

 

Sweet Potatoes! Sweet Potatoes!

This puree is great for babies first food, as well as toddlers. Connor is 14 months and still chows down on this. We actually made some earlier this afternoon, which is why I decided to share it with you. Anywho..it's super simple, just grab a few sweet potatoes and heat up the oven.

What will you need??

An oven heated to 400 degrees
however many sweet potatoes you want, we normally do like 3 big ones
&& some, formula, milk, water...whatever you little one's into.

Poke some holes in the potatoes (the more holes, the softer it gets) and put em' on a pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until the peeling is loose and will come off easy, BUT don't try to peel them as soon as there done..HOT!! You should wait like 45 minutes, seriously..they stay really hot for a long long time. Once they are cool, peel and toss in the blender, puree to desired texture, adding liquid to thin and you're done!! This recipe will keep in the fridge about a week and freeze for about 3 months. ENJOY!!

                                                                 My little helper outerer!!

PLAYDOUGH!!

Ahh the days of toddler-hood. =) Playdough was one of my VERY favorite things as a kid. Remember sitting for hours on end rolling it out and tearing it up and starting all over again. Well we have reached those days and I'm proceeding with CAUTION! First off I committed to doing homemade playdough. I thought it would be simple..a little bit of internet research, checking out my favorite blogs and I'd find the perfect recipe and gracefully make it with my little man and play for hours....about that. Do you have any idea how many recipes are out there..?? Edible playdough, non-edible, salt, peanut butter, kool-aid..on and on and on!  After HOURS of internet searching and reading and re-reading eight million recipes and reviews I finally picked one. The simplest one I could find, and to be honest I was weary of whether it would actually turn out. So to the kitchen pantry I went, grabbing flour and salt and bowls, (my munchkin following my every step). After I got everything ready and started making it, camera in hand..Connor went crazy, threw a fit and ended up in the living room with dad. So I was left to finish the playdough all by myself. Even though my peaceful little fantasy of flour and bliss didn't turn out, Connor absolutely loved the playdough. =) It was the perfect amount, and texture. All in all it was a success. So here it is..pictures are indeed scarce. 

What's better than making playdough with your toddler? It being simple and EASY!! & trust me this couldn't get much easier.

1 cup of flour

1 cup of salt

1 cup water

yup that't it..mix it all put and P-L-A-Y!!

Toss some flour on the highchair and let em' have at it.

We used spoons, spatulas, and even a infant tooth brush... =D

It kept him busy for hours =)

TIP: Is not going to harm the baby if he/she eats a small amount, however I would highly advise against it seeing as how it has so much salt. Also try to keep them from feeding you canine family members, as salt it terrible for them!

Sick update

Hi. I'm sick..still. My poor little munchkin is also still sick. Some how my husband is not. I'm all stuffy and congested and feel so weak. Hopefully this passes by monday.

A little bit of it all

Welcome back! I told myself I was going to only post ONCE a week... But I really want this blog to be something Connor can look back on when he gets older. I want him to be able to see our day to day life, and big events, like his first birthday.

 So today I'm going to do a "everything" post. First I have a review on some Mommy & Me classes. Like I mentioned the other day, I recently took my son to a Mommy & Me class at "The Little Gym". One very awesome thing was he got to have a free class. That;s right, he got to go in and have a full 45 minute class with no cost or commitment. =) Pretty cool right? Well my first thought before we got there was "This is pretty expensive for 45 minutes once a week", but we went anyway just to see what all the hype was about. This class was AWESOME! Connor has such a great time, not to mention so did his Dad and I.

First off they had a sign up at the front desk welcoming their newest little "birdie" with his name and all! How sweet! Then he got a free "The Little Gym" sports bottle, and this is all before class even starts. The gym and the waiting area are separated by a glass wall, so you can either watch or go in and play (shoes off please!).

We went in with Connor. At first he was a little nervous. Then they started the "Hello song" with these little shakers, he loved it! =) They did a parachute activity, flips, pull-ups, bubbles, balls, songs and tons more. All and all we signed up for the semester. I definitely recommend this for mommy and me classes .

Connor James turned one year old on April 13th, 2011. However, I hadn't started this blog yet so I'm back tracking to that very day. As you already know, we are stationed in Charleston, SC and have no family here. I do have a cousin in NC tho, so we went there and had a small get party. I have LOTS of pictures =) 

Cake done by Amelia Claire's Sweets & Treats

 http://www.ameliaclaires.com/Amelia_Claires/Amelia_Claires_Sweets_%26_Treats.html

We ate cake, open presents, went to Monkey Joe's, then...the tornado sirens went off. Yes a tornado hit Fayetteville that day. We wrapped up the party and booked it home! Seeing all the tornado damage on the way, not to mention dealing with all the wrecks and gridlock. But Connor slept the whole way home so it didn't bother him. 

We had a safari party for our little monkey!

In the end he had a really great time. =) I think this just about wraps up this post. Good night! =)

Star-Spangled Fruit Tart

Hello, here we are at our third post already! I don't know how I've found time to do all of them, tonight it's because my lovely husband is entertaining our little monster. 

I take that back.. (as I get up and make a pizza, hot wings, separate the baby and puppy 58 times!) Ahh.. the joys of motherhood. So earlier today Connor and I made a fruit tart to add to Brad's Father's Day gifts. I would tell you the rest of the surprise, but it's just that and will have to wait until Monday. =) Speaking of, Connor's second Mommy and Me class at "The Little Gym" is on Monday! I don't know if any of you have your children in a mommy and me class, but trust me it's SOO worth the money. They will love it. Anywho that's another post for another day. Like I was saying we made a fruit tart, which is DELICIOUS! My one mistake was using a generic pie crust from good ole' Walmart. It just crumbled to pieces the second I started. Next time I will have to attempt making my own. So with it being so close to both Memorial Day and 4Th of July (& my husband being in the Navy) I figured we'd not only tell him what a fabulous dad he is, but thank him for his service as well. So no more waiting here it is..

Our Kitchen Adventure..

What you'll need:

• 1 pie crust
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 cup halved strawberries 

( I DON'T recommend changing from almond to vanilla, it really makes a difference)

First step - Mix the cream cheese, almond extract and sugar together in a bowl.

Works better with a blender =)

It should look something like this.

After licking the spoon and blender, put mixture in pie crust and spread around. 

Next you need to decide on a pattern, like I said we were doing patriotic so we made a star and added a border. 

Of course we had to try them first, ya know to make sure they were good =)

Apparently he didn't like them, but Yogi does!

Our looked like this...

Then you slice up the strawberries into halves, and place them in the middle.

THE END!!

Mmmmm

This recipe is from our friends at http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Star-Spangled-Fruit-Tart

Butternut Squash && Peach Puree {Baby food}

Hello, welcome to my second post and my first recipe post! As you will soon find I'm a homemade baby food nut. I think homemade baby food is the way to go for SOO many reasons. The obvious, it's healthier, and taste better. And the not so obvious..IT'S EASY! My biggest problem when deciding what to feed my little bundle of joy was time. I thought going the homemade route was going to be like cooking a meal every time I went to feed him. Trust me it's not. It's so simple, a few days out of the month spent in the kitchen, freeze it all up and your good to go. So before we get way off track lets get this recipe up. This is for babies around 4-8 months, however Connor still eats it mixed with yogurt at 14 months. 

Ingredients:

• 4-5 large peaches (or you can use canned)
• 1 large butternut squash

Directions: 

          Preheat oven to 400. Slice both ends off the squash, stand it up and cut in half. Scoop out the seeds, discard. Poke holes in the squash with a fork. Place halves face down on a baking sheet (cover sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up). Bake for 45 minutes. Peel and slice the peaches. After the squash has cooled, scoop out the “meat” and discard the skins. Place one cup of butternut squash and two cups of peaches in blender, pulse until smooth. You'll probably have extra squash leftover, you can just puree it plain or double the recipe. This recipe will keep in the fridge for about three days, or freeze for three months. This goes great with SO many things it's ridiculous! Yogurt, applesauce, cottage cheese, eggs...the list is endless. Well I hope ya'll enjoy! 

Welcome!!

Hello. I'm new to the blogging world. I've always read them but never thought I'd have time to keep one of my own, recently I've decided to try it out and here we are! This being my first ever blog post I'm going to introduce everyone. My name is Lindsay, I'm a stay-at-home mom. I have a curious little toddler, Connor James. He is 14 months old & a handful!! =)

My partner in this crazy adventure we call life is my very best friend who i happened to be lucky enough to marry, Brad (AKA Dad!!). He is in the U.S. Navy (Which is why we are here in SC, thousands of miles from our family). He is my other half, my partner in crime, my missing puzzle piece, and I'd be lost without him. We will be talking A LOT about him this week, because as you all know this Sunday is Father's Day!!

Another big person in our lives that we HAVE to add to this blog is our Granny...

And of course our Papa...

Granny & Papa live what seems like millions of miles away in MO but come see us often. And to wrap up this introduction we have..

YOGI BEAR!

Yogi for short, is our newest addition to the family as of about a month ago. He is a chow chow/lab mix. We adopted Yogi from a shelter in Walterboro, SC at just a few weeks old, he is now about 15 pounds and getting bigger everyday!

Well I think this about wraps up our first post! I think I'll post about once a week on a normal basis. However seeing as I'm just starting today I have a lot I want to get on here, like our first finger painting for Papa...and of course some baby food recipes! See you soon!