Our new name

I'm doing some tweeking on the blog (in case you haven't noticed).

I'm trying to make it more reader-friendly, more true to us, and more functional.

Our new name is "the chronicles of us." You won't see "The Growing Mirandas" on your reading list anymore.

Our new address is http://thesechroniclesofours.blogspot.com.

I'm so glad you're here and I can't wait to continue this journey with you through the blogosphere.
:)

Lucky number 7

Somehow or another, over half a year has gone by since my teeny, tiny baby boy was born. Yes, friends, my 8 pound 12.4 ounce, sleepy newborn is now a chubby, funny, very active 7 month old!

When we started the Tonka pictures, Cohen couldn't even sit up (obviously..he was one month old!).

(we just slipped our hand out of this picture for a split second to snap the shot) All eyes on daddy!

7 Months

And now he wants to play with the truck. :) Such a little boy.

And this is his camera smile. Scrunched up nose and all. 

Some of our other attempts:

And, quite possibly the most precious face you'll ever see?

Eating: I won't bore you with this.. as it's detailed in my "Adventures of baby food making" blogs. So, solids plus formula. He gets a 6 ounce bottle 4-5 times a day (depending on when he wakes, how much solid food he eats, when he goes to sleep, etc).

Sleeping: He is finally sleeping all night. He usually goes to bed around 9 pm. I love this time, because I always get to put him to bed. Occasionally he will wake around 4-5 and cry until he gets a bottle, then go back to bed. Otherwise, he sleeps until 8 o'clock when I'm home, or 9-10 when it's just him and Hector. (??) Now, sometimes we have that "off" night.. and he'll stay up until midnight... those nights/following days are rough. His naps are amazing, when they're done properly. He will take a 2 hour nap in the morning, then an hour-hour and half nap in the afternoon. :) He sometimes gets tired around 5, but if Hector lets him nap, for even 30 minutes, those are often the "off" nights. 

Development: Into everything! He isn't crawling yet, but he still rolls to get where he wants to go. He sits up for long periods of time. He loves to push buttons.. literally! He gets the remote, the laptop, our phones, Hector's x-box remotes, and his musical/sound toys and pushes all the buttons, over and over again. He takes baths in our tub now! He sits in there all by himself (one of us is always right by the tub) and plays with all of our bath time toys! 

Growth: Big! We forgot to step on the scale with him this month. :( But, I assure you, he's growing up nice and big. 

Adventures in baby food making: Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato! -and- A visit with great friends!

The whole time I was serving this one to Cohen, I kept thinking "Thanksgiving in a bowl" because it was that good. I mean, I could've eaten a bowl of this. Or turned it into a soup or something.. Mmmm.. it was de-lish.

So, I bought two organic sweet potatoes and one butternut squash.

I steamed the sweet potato in the microwave for about 25 minutes.

At the same time, I boiled the squash in a little water for about as long.

Pureed, and this came out the PERFECT consistency. :)

Funny face for the first bite...

More mama!! 

Blurry picture, but he's content. Promise.

So, this was a winner (in my book, anyways!). But he always gobbled it up when I warmed this for him.   If we weren't trying to sample lots of different/new foods for him, I'd make this one again, ASAP.

We finally got to get together with our friends, Natalie and Ry! It's been so long, I can't exactly remember when it was/how old Coco was. :(

BUT, it was a great time. Ry grilled burgers, we played with Cohen and Oliver (their amazing black cat) and got to catch up. And, there were armadillo eggs. You know, the grilled, bacon-wrapped jalapenos? The most genius appetizer in the world. And for dessert (and you know there was dessert, since Natty was cooking!) was S'mores Rice Crispy Treats. That's right, traditional rice crispy treats studded with chocolate and graham bits. 

In case you don't remember, Natalie and I met freshman year of college at TWU in Denton. We lived on a glorious floor in Guinn Hall, known as The Honor's Net Floor. Can I brag here? yes. It's where the smarty pants lived. We've had so many adventures... camping in real tents, traipsing around Spain, waiting in lines for Harry Potter premiers, dyeing our hair funky colors... And her awesome boyfriend (now husband) Ry was always around for the ride. We just love making memories with these two. 

Coco playing with Ry!

What a nice night. :) Thanks, guys! We love you!

Adventures in baby food making: Papaya!

Ok, this was an easy one. :)

1. Take a papaya.

2. Cut said papaya in four quarters, lengthwise.

3. Remove seeds.

4. Cut off the peel.

5. Cut up the "meat" of the papaya.

6. Puree.

7. Serve to el bebe.

I did this one in the blender, as opposed to the food processor.

Into the Munchkin silicone cuppies.

First bite usually always gets us a frown. But he liked it. :)

Isn't that the cutest face? And Cohen is precious, too. :)

We've just about finished up 6 little cups of papaya. Sometimes, I add some rice cereal to it. Hopefully by the next time we get a papaya, we can just mash it up with a fork, or feed him a little chunk. 

Overall, a good first taste for baby. :)

Adventures in baby food making: Creamy Broccoli and Cherry Banana Delight!

Today was a big day in Cohen's world! We tried two new foods!

The day started with me going about 15 minutes away from our home to Central Market, in an effort to buy organic. The only item that surprised me price-wise were the organic cherries...$6.99/lb!!! eeek! But I got a bag of less than a pound, jeez, that's hard to justify! :) I bought the cherries, some bananas, butternut squash, sweet potato, broccoli and a papaya. The papaya is the only thing that did not come organic. Oh well.

So, the broccoli.

Bright green broccoli crowns! I used two of these.

Into the steamer with water and a tablespoon of unsalted butter. Steamed in microwave for 20 minutes.

Pureed in food processor with a scoop of rice cereal, half a scoop of formula and a little more water. (I added the steaming water, but there wasn't much left.)

Looks very yummy! (we tasted it and both agreed we'd need some salt.. sorry, Coco!)

Ok with his first bite...

Starting to dislike...

Literally dry heaving here... :(

Sealing that mouth so I can't get anymore in!

So. The broccoli wasn't a huge hit. Better luck tomorrow. I'll get Hector to add some of the leftover mashed potatoes to it tomorrow, maybe. I knew it would be rough--broccoli has a strong flavor! It ended up being the perfect consistency, though. I'm kind of glad it only made enough for three more servings... we're moving on to something really yummy on Monday!

I wasn't planning on giving him more after the broccoli, but I felt bad for the little guy--not getting a dinner he could enjoy. So I whipped up a Cherry Banana Delight. I got this recipe from Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Baby Purees. 

So for the Cherry Banana Delight:

6 beautiful, red cherries. Cut them in half and remove the pit and stem.

Simmer with 1 tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes.

Mash up one banana.

Add mashed banana to pot and simmer for just under a minute. Pour mixture into food processor and add  1 tablespoon of rice cereal. Puree. 

So pretty and smells won.der.ful.

He was scared I was giving him broccoli again!

Then he realized what it was and ate it all right up! He loved it! I'm pretty sure if he could lick the bowl, he would have!

This mixture was enough for three servings; I froze two. It was sort of a simplified compote--baby style. I tasted this.. and I wanted to put it on a piece of puff pastry and dollop some home made whipped cream on top! YUM!

I don't know if you remember the original food containers I got, to freeze and store the food I made, but those were very poor quality. Cute, but cheap. :( The little lids broke off and almost all of them cracked. 

So, today, I bought new ones. Silicone ones, with screw on lids. :)

I'll be sure to pop the food out of the little cup before microwaving anymore. 

Next up: Papaya! (I'm expecting him to love this!)

Then: Butternut squash and sweet potato puree! (I think he'll love this one, too!)

Big boy pj's!

Just wanted to show you what this 7 month old is wearing to bed these days!

It's a two-piecer! Size: 9 mo... :-/ 

This face, as is the one above, is his camera face. He squints his little almond eyes and wrinkles up his nose and waits for me to snap the picture. 

These pj's make him look so skinny and long and so much like a little boy... it makes me sad to think he's so big. 

But he's also still tiny, and I can scoop him up in my arms and give him a bear hug. 

Sweetest, happiest boy on the planet, our Coco. 

Adventures in baby food making: Pears and Potatoes and Bananas!

We added pears a couple days after the apple fiasco. Compared to the apples, Cohen loved the pears!

Aren't they gorgeous??

Thanks to a tip, I steamed these first and the skins pretty much peeled right off. Steamed in microwave for about 25 minutes.

Puree in food processor, this time, I added all the steaming water--perfect amount.

Into the freezer!

Mmm Mmm Pears!

Three or so days after the pears, we introduced potatoes! Regular ol' russet potatoes. I figured he would like these because I'd given him a little shred of my baked potato one night and he'd gobbled it right up and opened that mouth for more!

Peeled and cleaned, three medium sized potatoes.

Into the pot, to boil for about 15-20 minutes.

MASH 'em up!

I added a little less than a tablespoon of UNSALTED butter. I read that this is ok, in serious moderation. Make sure, if you use butter, that it is unsalted, as babies' tiny kidneys can't handle the salt yet. Potatoes pretty much need a little something; they're so starchy and kind of bland without.

Here's the finished product!

Tasting time!

DISLIKE! Thanks, Hector, for catching my face too! :)

That left eye kept twitching... poor baby! They tasted just like mashed potatoes!

I think he had a huge issue with the texture. Hector gave them to him again later and added more water.

"Can we stop, please????"

I think this was about the last bite I tried with him. 

He's had the potatoes a few times since then and still isn't a fan, but will eat them. Next time, I'll add either carrots or sweet potatoes to the mix to sweeten it up a bit. 

Now, I didn't take pictures of these, but I also started bananas with Cohen. This guy LOVES bananas! Even from the very first bite. I bought some organic bananas. I took half a banana, mashed it with a fork until it was really macerated and gooey looking. Then I added a half scoop of formula and a little water. 

And lately, I've been mixing it with his oatmeal--big hit!

On the menu tomorrow: Creamy broccoli! (I'm worried about this one!) 

This weekend: Mashed papaya!

Check back! :)