Happy St. Patty's Day!

CHEERS!

Hey Good Looking ...... Whatcha Got Cooking?

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a great weekend! In spite the wet and chilly weather, our weekend was gorgeous. There's nothing like being rained in, sex and the city reruns, mid day naps, and random glasses of Merlot..... sigh.

Anyway, I can't believe how quickly baby's first year is rushing by. It seems like only yesterday we were fighting to get the bebe to latch on to my incredibly sore breasts. Well, as hard as it is to believe, Brody is starting solids. Exciting? I know. It took him a while to get the hang of it all and I must admit I was slightly worried, but now, he's got it down packed. So, I'm sure you've heard all the raving about making your own baby's food. I cosign to this. What better way to control the amount of healthy nutrients and ingredients your bebe intakes. Many moms shop whole food stores for organic fruits and veggies. Also, this is a must for the budget savvy!

Before you begin you'll need:

A food processor.
A steamer. A metal basket steamer is inexpensive and works great.
As many ice cube trays as will fit in your freezer.
Decent freezer bags – you don’t want freezer burn!
Foods that your baby is ready to eat.

1. Prepare the food - wash and peel (if necessary), then cut into chunks.
2. Steam or boil. In the process of boiling you can loose a lot of nutrients, so try to steam all that you can.
3. Keep all remaining water from the steam/boiling process. You will need this water to thin out the processed food.
4. Throw the cooked food into the processor and just let it process until the food reaches a “puréed” state. Add as much of the leftover water from steaming as is needed. Remember that if you have processed the food while it’s still very hot, it will thicken as it cools.
5. Spoon the food into ice cube trays and freeze.
6. Once frozen, remove the cubes from the trays and put into a freezer bag – label and return to freezer.

Baby Cubes is the only product on the market that has a lid attached directly to each cube for a hassle-free way to prepare and store baby food. There is no more convenient way to store baby food and breast milk than with our Baby Cubes™. This 2oz set contains eight individual freezer cube containers with snap-on, tight fitting lids and a storage tray that allows you to conveniently stack Baby Cubes™ in the freezer!

www.cabbageleafkids.com

yummy!

Baby Work-Out ....

So, today was Brody's first day at the "Little Gym." Awwww! The Little Gym is designed for the little people in our lives to get proper exercise necessary tooo.................. eat, sleep, poop and cry? Anyway, I wasn't very surprised to learn my bebe is not too fond of working out. I mean, he truly gets it honestly. The name of Brody's class is the 'bugs'. How cute!? The next class up will be the 'Birds' (just can't get enough with the names). Brody was a sport about participating, but I can tell it will take him a few classes to warm up. These classes will help him build important muscles to sit up, crawl, walk, and support.

Getting ready to go work out: "Mom, I'm overwhelmed with excitement!"

Go BroJo Go!

I couldn't even get Brody to try this!

How old are you?

Question: At what point does it become ok to tell your baby's age in years instead of months. While perusing the local TJ Maxx this week, we ran into the cutest mother/daughter duo. I noticed how well behaved little miss sunshine was and instantly fell in love. She wore the cutest ribbon in her hair and smiled as spectators swooned. Anyway, back to the point. As part of the "I'm a mom also" routine, I asked about sunshine's age. Her mom politely answered saying, "26 months." I suddenly wished I had my calculator on me. When I thought about how close 26 months was to two years, I wondered had this mom decided to refer to her child's age in months for the rest of her life???

Join us as Brody Joseph Masters the Art of Crawling! Part One...

Brody, what are you eating!?

The Devil's Little Helpers in Green ......

Who are these people trying to ruin my life ....... I was simply minding my own business trying to pick up a healthy lunch of seared salmon on a bed of fresh mixed greens, when I noticed them lurking from around the corner!

HELP ME!

Mardi Gras 2009!

Break out the mask, costumes, and beads beads beads ....... It's Mardi Gras baby! Brody Joseph, in all of his festiveness, insisted we celebrate! We visited our favorite folk at the Regency Retirement Home. Figure, if anyone knows how to get the party started, it's definitely them. Fun times .....

nothing says party like a yummy cake

Hey ladies, how'd you get those beads???

Fun times

Ms. Ann said Brody's the best baby she's ever seen - awwwww

Isn't he just the cutest!

Brody and I going bead crazy

What do you see, Brody

She played "Oh when the Saints go Marching in"

The Residents Marched......

...... and Marched!

Mommy, I love spending time at the Regency!

Mommy - Baby = ????

Hi my Brody Lovers,

Well, how was la weekend?? Brody and I crossed a very crucial bridge together this past Friday. As much as I promote "Mommy time" and feel any chic mom takes time away from bebe, I realized I was all talk and no game. Friday I hosted a soiree for la girlfriends. Once I came to the realization that my little nugget had no place at the party (trust me, I considered having him there) I knew it was time for us to go our separate ways for the evening. When his Grandmother offered to take the little man to church on the very same night ...... left me with no excuses.

So, I did it. Brody's Grandmom (the mother of 11 children and 20 grands) has the whole keeping kids thing down packed. However, my heart bled as I strapped my lad into someone else's car. I looked at him to find the slightest bit of fear or uneasiness, but there was none to be found. He looked at me as if to say, "see ya." It felt so strange driving away with him NOT in my back seat. And, I'll only tell my Brody Lovers, I cried. I mean what if he takes his first step without me? What if he finally masters the night time prayers I've been trying to teach him? tear.

I'm happy to report, I survived. The yummy strawberries and passiontinis somehow carried me over the bridge. I love mi chicas. They were there for moral support and we ended up having tons of fun. When Brody returned, he immediately began yapping and cooing. It may just be me but, I could have sworn I made out, "I missed you fabulous mommy!"

Spread Love on Valentines Day!

Hi Love Birds!

I hope you had the most gushy, mushy, hopelessly romantic Valentines Day possible!!! Mine, which started the 13th and carried on, was simply divine. Despite the tragic tale of St. Valentine, this day is so wonderful! BroJo, as you can imagine, juggled several different valentines. He made sure he saw each of them just enough to make them smile! We also got the opportunity to pass out fresh baked cookies to the residents of Regency Retirement Home. What a treat. Brody was a big hit amongst the residents!! He charmed them all with his winning personality and stunning looks! The residents were so grateful. Check out the pics before you carry on with your post Valentine outing plans (wink).

The Future Bobcat.....

Hi guys!
So, Friday night Seph and I attended his first NBA game. Of course it was my mission to make sure the little man was dressed in the proper attire for the occasion. Since we are true Charlotteans, I thought he should be head to toe in Bobcat wear. So, I set out to find the perfect baby bobcat outfit. Surprisingly, it was much more difficult than I thought. In our crunch for time, we couldn't order off the Internet and the local sports stores, yes local, did not have any. You can imagine my frustration. As I bounced around the uncharted territory of sports stores, I noticed BroJo did not seem excited. He had this look in his eye. Oh, he feels the frustration, I thought to myself. This made me more motivated and head to yet another store. With time winding down, I slowly began to sink in the reality that Seph would not be a mini bobcat on Friday night. But it was his eyes! Those deep almond shaped eyes that told the story. What I mistaken for his frustration was actually him trying to get my attention. And that's when it hit me. My BroJo would never wear team paraphernalia to a sports game unless he was on the team. How could I disrespect his swagger? As I grabbed the orange shirt which subtly said 'I support the Bobcats', his eyes lit up with glee!


Anyway, we had a great time in spite the aroma of hot dogs and funnel cakes that kept making its way up my nose. GO BOBCATS!

P.S. I would like to formally apologize to the cashier at Carolina Place Mall. I was soooo frustrated and it seems pretty obvious Brody can not fit a 3T.......

Quite the Ladies Man!

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program For a Very Important Message!

Brody laughed out loud!! I mean REALLY LAUGHED! I don't quite know what was soooo funny. I simply told him, "You're not eating enough." I guess he thought that was a joke. By the time I grabbed the camera, he didn't think it was as funny. Listen closely and you'll hear his chuckle!

Picture This

BRODY LOVERS!!!!!!

Who would have ever thought one could truly miss those I've yet to meet! It's been wayyy to long since we've spoken! Oh the products tested, experiences gained, lessons learned, cities traveled, pounds lost, recipes tried, scrapbooks completed (j/k). I really don't know where to begin!!

What a difference three weeks can make. Seph (short for Joseph) is now talking up a storm! Seriously, I mean it. He wakes up with lots to say and being the outspoken liberal that he is, he says it. Oh, and the songs!!! He's bound to be the Chris Brown of his time (young boy just turned sixteen and I've got).

Well, my little cover boy had his first "real" photo shoot. The first of many of course. You would not believe how great he did. But the real question: Is this industry a scam?? As I searched and compared the prices of local QC studios, I found the prices incredibly reasonable, much to my surprise. So I excitedly booked an appointment. When I called, I doubled checked the prices once again to ensure I was correct about these oh so cheap shots! "Yep, that's correct," said the young lady on the other end of the line. She heard my excitement. "I very rarely see a mom spend less than $100. Most of the time $200," her voice dripping with warning.

As I replaced the receiver I thought to myself, there is no way I'll spend that much money. Their prices are much to reasonable for it to add up. Little did I know each of the 79 shots we took would be absolutely irresistible. How can you turn down that perfect purse of the lips, that huge grin, that wink, that perfect look of innocence. The answer is, YOU CAN'T. And mommies, you won't. You're just not strong enough. Send dad. He can do it. But you....YOU CAN NOT. So, I'll file this in the "lessons learned" category right behind wearing four inch heals while carrying a car seat down a flight of stairs. In the mean time, can anyone help me think of 275 of my closest friends who may enjoy a pic of the little man????

One of my fav shots! Mommy's little angel!