Quick, easy, and oh so yummy!

I thought I would give something new a try. I found a website that had some recipes for homemade baby food. I never realized how fast and easy it is to make your own baby food! So I thought I'd give it a try. First, I did something I rarely do....I went to Wal-mart. (I had to head over there to pick up some throw pillows for my new bedding.) So while I was there, I set out to find some sort of chopper/food processor to make my little one some sweet puree. I came across an inexpensive Hamilton Beach 3 cup chopper. This chopper works perfectly and gets the job done.

First up, I tried the bananas. Bananas are probably the one thing that I won't be chopping, kinda made them a little frothy...mashing them up with a fork or potato masher for a couple of minutes works better. Abigail LOVED the bananas, and I can't say I blame her. They smelled and tasted sooo much sweeter than the jarred. Yum! Be careful not to feed a baby too much banana though, the average banana is about 180 calories, most Stage 1 jarred food has no more than 45 calories. Start off with 1/3 to 1/2 of a banana.

Last night, I tried the sweet potato. I baked a small sweet potato, took the peel off and then put it all in the chopper for about 10 seconds. You can add water to make the consistency you need. Again, Abigail loved this!

Tonight, Abigail tried green beans for the first time. Before seasoning the beans I was cooking for the rest of the family, I dipped out about 10 beans and pureed them in the chopper. The consistency was similar to applesauce. Abigail's first bite was not so favorable but with each bite she seemed to enjoy them more and more.

Tomorrow we're trying pears for the first time. They are very easy to do given their softness. All I had to do was peel and cut up the pear and then puree. Again, the consistency of this was similar to applesauce. I'm looking forward to trying squash and carrots, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Abigail will continue to like her new menu!

No denying her..

I came across a picture of Abigail that I took this week. I think it's so sweet how much she looks like her daddy and in some instances, her Aunt Meredith. There's definitely no way Hudson could ever deny Abigail, not that he would want to of course!

"Hello Partner!"

Olivia and Maxwell celebrated the 100th day of school yesterday. Maxwell came with some funky glasses that he gladly modeled for me.

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Later on in the day, he came downstairs dressed in some sort of costume and said to me, "Helloooo partner!" Silly boy.

Who is that passy-loving baby?

Since the day she was born, we've been working with Abigail on taking a pacifier. I know some experts would not think this was a wise decision, but I've been there and done that with 2 other babies and it is sooo nice to have something to offer the little one when they are screaming their sweet little heads off in the car or crib. All of a sudden, without warning, Abigail has taken to a pacifier! And my sweet little coordinated baby can not only pick up 2 different styles of passys, she can get them in her mouth! I offer it to her after she's eaten and when she starts to get a little sleepy. Thankfully, she's a really good baby and doesn't just get fussy for no reason (excuse the bragging) but it does keep her occupied in the car, and we are in the car a lot.

She's also really improved her sitting by herself skills, I never invested in a Bumbo seat (I'm too cheap) so she doesn't get a ton of practice sitting up, but she's doing really well!! Abigail's hair is growing like crazy, it's just now to the point that I have to actually brush it down after a bath or it will stick up all over the place.


Check out that profile and all of that hair.


If I never post again on this blog, you'll know it's b/c my mom drove back up here to Fayetteville to strangle me for posting this picture, but I thought it was a cute shot of the two sleepy heads this morning (check out Abigail's crazy hair).


Our little one posing for me while watching some cartoons on TV.


In Olivia news, she found out today that she only has three more visits with her orthodontist before she gets her braces off (in May). She's getting them off much sooner than expected, the doctor has done about as much as he can at this point and she may have to have them again in a few years depending on how the rest of her teeth come in. Our experience with her having braces has been so much easier than I expected. I envisioned crying fits after having her braces tightened (I can remember how badly that would hurt me) and stuff getting stuck in her brackets, but it's really been no big deal.


She's acting silly here, but she wanted to show off the pink bands on her brackets...she got those today.

The biggest thing going on with Maxwell right now is his EXTREMELY loose tooth. This tooth is hanging on by a thread, if he sneezes I think it's going to fly out of his mouth. But he refuses to let Hudson pull it (I don't pull teeth, I pulled Maxwell's last one and it grossed me out). I'll try to get a picture of the thing dangling out of his mouth tomorrow...unless he swallows it in his sleep tonight.

As far as me, I'm loving my new laptop. This gem is so fast and I'm actually enjoying Vista, despite all of the bad press, it's working very nicely for me. I love being able to lay in my cozy bed and surf the net until I can't keep my eyes open any longer. By the way for you Gymboree fans, don't forget, Gymbucks expire soon!

Hudson has had a long hard weekend, he's been working on achieving a goal and just cannot get it done no matter how hard he tries. Despite the kids and I cheering him on every step of the way, he's still suffered an agonizing defeat each and every time. No this is not Ga. Pacific related...that stuff is a breeze compared to this....bless his heart, he just CANNOT rescue Princess Peach on Super Mario Bros. This is the old school Mario Bros...the game we played in like '84. We downloaded it to the Wii (for a whopping $5) and it's a been a thorn in Hudson's side since he first picked up the remote to play it. He just can't get past old Bowser on 8-4. If you have any tips, send them his way! And if I never post again on this blog, you'll know it's b/c Hudson strangled me for disclosing his Wii addiction! :)

Yummy Treat

After Maxwell's haircut (one of his favorite things to do), the kids and I made a quick stop by Starbucks to use a giftcard (thanks Ursula!). I may be the last person to realize this but they now have kid size drinks (80zs) and they were only $1.10. I bought Olivia and Maxwell hot chocolates, they come in cute little cups, just like the adult sizes...which of course, Olivia thought was so cool; She had never drank out of a "real coffee cup before!". Another neat thing about them is that they aren't near as hot as the one I ordered, they were warm instead...so the kids didn't have to wait around for it to cool off. So if you're kids are in the mood for a nice little chocolate treat, stop by a Starbucks!

Six months already!?

The past six months have flown by! Abigail has been such a good baby and has been a sweet addition to our family. She had her 6 month check up today and is quite the small fry. She weighs in at 15lbs 6ozs (38th percentile) and is 24.75 inches long (16th percentile), she obviously is not taking after her daddy in this area! Thankfully she still has not had one cold (knock on wood) so there was not a lot to discuss with her doctor!

Some of Abigail's favorite things:

1. She loves jumping around in her exersaucer.
2. She loves chewing on a passy after eating.
3. She loves falling asleep to her Fisher Price aquarium.
4. She enjoys watching the cat and trying to grab him if he's within her range!
5. She loves burying her head in mommy and daddy's shoulder when she gets excited.
6. She loves grabbing mommy's hair and pulling it when she eats.

Olivia has been wanting to visit the World of Coke for a while, so Hudson had the idea of taking the kids Sunday after church. Olivia and Maxwell enjoyed checking out all of the Coke memorabilia and of course tasting all of the different Coke drinks from around the world. The 4D movie was really fun and despite the shaking of the seats, the spraying of water and the loudness of it all, Abigail took it in without being scared silly. It was a fun day out with the kids and definitely worth the trip!

Another Slideshow

We had tons of pics taken in Crossett this year (due to the fact Meredith got a new camera!). I think she took over 1000 pictures. I know you all have been checking my blog every minute for another slideshow (yeah right)...so I don't want to disappoint ;)

Such a big girl

Abigail has recently started eating solids. So far, she's eating bananas and pears, we are gradually introducing her to new foods. I haven't decided what to start next, possibly sweet potatoes? Since she's such a big girl now, I got out her new seat to eat in. She really likes it and enjoys playing with the toys on the tray after eating!







My view of Abigail from the kitchen....she looks so itty bitty!


Ganmamma feeding her some pears.

Just rolled in...

Once again we survived the looooong drive from Arkansas to Georgia. We had loads of fun with the family and the kids had a blast. Not only did we celebrate Christmas, but also the 80th birthday of Hudson's grandmother. Memaw is such a sweet blessing to us and we were so happy to be there to help celebrate her birthday. I must give my mother in law a shout out for being a wonderful nurse to me and Nana to the kids...she did a fabulous job of taking care of me while I recuperated from having my gall bladder removed this past Monday. She was right there instructing me to take it easy and also jumped all over me if I even looked like I was thinking about picking Abigail up or doing anything I shouldn't have been doing. Thanks Margaret, you're the best! Thanks to Meredith and Emily as well, for sticking around Monday morning to keep my 3 kiddos while Hudson and Margaret were at the hospital with me...it was nice to know the kids were well taken care of while mommy was headed under the knife! (or scope)

I only have about half of my Christmas pics loaded (onto my sweet new laptop that my sweet old husband gave me for Christmas). I've made a couple of slideshows and will post the rest of the pics tomorrow, including Christmas in Fayetteville with my side of the fam.