Arizona Trip

Madaelyn and I went to Arizona!! {a month ago} 
 
That is how we fly with a toddler! {I also recommend stickers!!}
Yup, its been a month since I posted, and I am working on tons of things to post… but, back to Arizona!!
We loved being in the warm, sunny temperature {80 degrees the day we left and came home to 15 degree weather….my body was in shock!} We visited with family, went to Sedona one day, and I ran my first half marathon!! My fist half marathon will be post for itself as it is a story of its own!
Sedona:
We went to Sedona for a day, and loved it!  The environment was a bit cooler than Phoenix, but the red rocks and city were ah-mazing! 
   

We even went on a pink jeep tour.



I promise she liked it.

 



 

Where the rugged terrain rocked my baby to sleep!  It was also the first time she faced forward in a vehicle!!

   

We also had a great time with family, and I absolutely loved having M hang out with my cousin who is close to her age! She just kept hugging her.
   
That’s just a snap shot of our trip, it was amazing.
The desert has a tendency to heal me and I’m so glad we went!

Be Well,

B

winner, winner, chickenless dinner

 

While paroozing online I found a recipe for meat-less taco's made with season walnuts as meat, plus the rest of your standard taco fixings.  I have never been a sour cream fan, so I don't add that, however you can make a cashew version. 

 

That is what I had envisioned for dinner tonight, but I ended up making pasta.

Whole wheat, with pesto sauce, baby spinach (fresh), with fresh tomatoes diced in.  A little extra basil and garlic, it was de-lic-ous.  :o) Some walnuts added in would have been great, but I'm a little leery on giving M walnuts and was hungry, so we passed on the walnuts for tonight.

 

We are big fans of whole-wheat pasta in this house. 

 M can eat it by herself and its filling, and has fiber.  Sadly, I have a difficult time feeding her dark greens.  She will eat the organic push packs that I buy for her mixed with fruit, but, lets face it friends, those packs cost some serious $$$.

So I am on a mission to find a yummy way to incorporate spinach and hopefully kale into her diet.

 

I personally drink a home made green drink (will post a separate blog with recipe on this at a later time) that I find delicious, however, M doesn't love it.  She also had tried my salads on several occasions, with no success in her toddler taste department. 

 

{roundabout to my original point}

 

I will be puree-ing spinach into my pesto pasta to see if M will eat it that way. 

Score one for hiding veggies in your child's food. 

 

{although spaghetti and squash is her favorite meal, that and veggie burgers.  win.}

 

 

What do you do to get your toddler to eat veggies? Or how do you make meals you like with veggies you normally wouldn't eat?

 

 

Makeover

 

Hello bloggers!  It's been quite a while. 

Life happens. 

 Change happens...

 

... and so has the appearance and content of my blog!

 

I have added pages about running and my vegan lifestyle. Have no fear there will be plenty of updates about M.  {and she has grown quite a bit since my last posting}

 

She is running around, showing her personality and is truly a gem. 

I will update you with a post soon to recap her milestones etc.

 

Otherwise feel free to look around at the new pages, and leave comments :-).

 

I will be running my first race this Saturday, the Rothman 8kn in Philly!!! I can't wait to tell you about it.  I am excited and a bit nervous! I know I can run the 8k as I have already ran further than that, however, I am used to running alone or with my jogger, not with a large group of runners, so I'm a little anxious about that.  Any tips from my running friends?

 

Some yummy recipes to come up soon as well including oatmeal choc chip cookies  and mulligatawny soup my vegan version.  Both are delicious!!

 

{I guess I am a slightly biased judge, but M ate both up...and we all know toddlers don't eat foods they don't like.  They don't always even eat foods they do like!}

 

 

Here is to good cheer and wellness. 

 

Bridgette

shutterbug

 

Fellow Momma’s {children, cats, and dog Momma’s} do you find that you take an obscene amount of pictures?

I literally had a handful shy of 500 pictures on my phone.

500.

I may have an addiction.  It doesn’t help that 90% of them are of Madaelyn and the girl doesn’t take a bad picture {complete mom bias here.  the blurry ones aren’t great, and there are ones where she is beyond cute. not just cute}

I hate deleting them from my phone.

Confession: I still have pictures of her on the day she was born on my phone.

 

Is that weird? I love her so much I hate deleting the pictures.

Thankfully they are all in digital format. otherwise I would be a serious hoarder of photographs. 

But, you see, they are useful for memories {and she is growing so fast. please baby girl, slow it down just a smidge} and many end up on here.

Plus, my phone is almost always within reach when she does something super cute and my camera is not.

 

Here are some of my {recently {within the past month} taken} favorites:

baby food

 

Madaelyn is now eating 3 square meals a day, and breast feeding 4-5 times a day.  I started introducing real foods at 6 months.  It was a struggle for me.  She is a champ and eats well so far.  I decided to make her babyfood. 

Making her baby food has been a rewarding experience for me.

1. I know what is in the food. No preservatives or any other crap.

2. I save a lot of $.  It is expensive

3. I like to cook and it super easy to make.

                  

 

Currently Madaelyn has a menu of bananas {which I started giving to her whole as well}, apples {gala, yellow, green, red..a wide variety}, pears, carrots, string beans, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes. 

She also eats oatmeal (the baby kind), Mum-Mum rice crisps, teething cookies {not real cookies}, soft pretzel nuggets that are frozen with the salt scraped off {super great for teething}, apple slice {no skin}, and puffs {we are still working on the pincer grasp so it’s a little messy. winston is thankful for the mess}

We also recently introduced yogurt.  I was worried about this because when she has to get supplemented with formula {when I am working..sadly I do not pump enough} she has to have soy because the regular formula gave her horrible gas pains and green poop/diarrhea..yuck. {sorry if that was tmi} and she has been tolerating it well so far.  It is a great dinner.  She is getting stonyfield organic baby yogurt.  complete with a fruit and vegetable added to it. perfect balanced dinner.

teeth.

ahem.  my little girl has teeth.  the bottom ones. 2 of them.

seriously?!

{for the record I think that teething may be one of the worst parts of parenting so far. thankfully no one remember it.  it’s the little consolation I have for myself}

I have tried to document this with failed success.  

When I get a good shot of those brand new chompers I will certainly share.

The first tooth erupted 1 day after Madaelyn’s 8 month birthday. 10 days later its neighbor popped up.

and there you have it. 2 bottom teeth.  I believe she is working on the top 2 now.

Arizona Bound.

 

So, Madaelyn and I took our first trip via plane ride together.  I being a first time mother and it being her first trip via airplane was super nervous.  It was a 4.5hr flight an oh.my.gosh. what if she cries the whole time, and there’s turbulence, and I can’t walk her around to calm her down?!?!? I will be that person the whole plane hates.

and yes. the plane was full.

Thankfully that was not even an issue in the slightest! In fact people commended Madaelyn’s fabulous plane etiquette both to and from Arizona!!

{but you all knew she would be an excellent flyer since she is so mannerable at home anyways, right? right!.}

Here are some highlights of our trip:

Arizona Loving. VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I may be a tad bit addicted to the way my child looks in leg warmers…. what can I say?  She looks ah-dor-able. I cannot wait until it is warm enough to rock that look at home in Pa.

Arizona was absolutely superb. We l.o.v.e.d. it.  Warm weather, family, no humidity {score for easy hair days, minus for a bloody nose the first night there…}

If you have not ventured to the desert I must say it is a beautiful place.  You should definitely try it.

Apple Crisp.

In honor of the fall weather I decide to make an apple crisp. yum.

The recipe is from my favorite cook book.

This cook book offers seasonal recipes to eat clean

(unprocessed/less processed) foods.

So here is a little photo montage of this delicious apple crisp.  Because, really, what screams fall more than a warm apple crisp?!

The above ingredients:

Apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, canola oil, oatmeal (rolled oats with flax seed), maple syrup, and flour.

The final product. I promise you it was de-lic-ous.

And here is how I cooked the meal.  With Madaelyn in her Moby Wrap.

{Where she ended up falling asleep}

Added bonus, the house smelled soooooooooo good.

What is your favorite fall treat?

4 months old.

      

When did my child get to be so big??  Weren’t you just in my stomach? Weren’t you just 7lbs 4oz?? Today you are 4 months old. {what?!?!.}  Time has flown by and I cannot believe that it is now November.

          

This past month has proven to be full of many changes for you.  You have become very interactive.  You love sitting up and now hate being on your stomach.

{I cannot blame you lying on your stomach provides a limited view}

You also love your “big girl” stroller.

 

You have become very verbal.  You can make vowel sounds as well as “buh” sounds.  You had your first laugh {at me sneezing} which has not occurred again.

You are recognizing people and do not like when I am out of your eyesight.  You smile with your whole face when you smile.

You love your soft pink blanket, luvvy, and pink doggie

{as well as your real dog and cat who you love to watch run around}

I’m so proud of all of your accomplishments and cannot wait to see what the fifth month of your life will bring us.

xoxoxo

3 months old …

Dear Madaelyn, I love you. xoxoxo

I feel that this statement covers all of the last months events.  Several things have changed, especially our family dynamic.

You are becoming quite the chatter box. your cooing and huge smiles are the highlight of my day. everyday. it never gets old.  I love spending time with you and can not wait to her you actually giggle. You are so close I know it will happen soon.

lately you have become quite a snuggle bug. it has been fabulous!

here are some pictures of our trip to Linvilla Orchards and your very own miniature pumpkin.…

		Linvilla Orchards 10.9.2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL