Baby Food

 Disclaimer!!!! By writing this blog I am in no way saying I am super mom or that my baby is eating better, or I have it all together. This is not to make other moms feel less of a mother because they may or may not do this.  

Before we started feeding Audrey solid foods I did a lot of research about what kinds of foods to start her on and what she should eat.  I ran across this website www.wholesomebabyfood.com and it made me think that  I could make her own food too.  

I looked at many different websites and tried to figure out how much time this would take me and if it was even worth all the extra work.  I am a stay at home mom, so anything to save money is GREAT!!! But, I wanted to make sure that I would be saving enough to go through the work.

After reading blogs, and looking at websites, I found that it is actually easier than people think to make your own food.  Plus, you know that it doesn't have all the preservatives, and it is fresh food.  

Well the first batch I did was so easy. It really didn't take me that long to do. After several times doing it I realized that its better to do a lot at once just so you only mess your kitchen up maybe once a week instead of several times.

Okay I'm going to start from the beginning... 

The picture below is everything that I started out with. The book Homemade Baby Food

is something that I bought.  It is not required to do this, there are plenty of recipes online, but i really enjoy this book. Also, the diet coke in the pic is also not a requirement, but it is on my list of must haves when making food. :) There are also peaches, apples, pears, green beans, broccoli, peas, and I did do carrots with are not in the picture.

 

In this picture I have all of the utensils needed.  (Notice Audrey in the background enjoying her food!!)

Cutting board, knives, large pot, steamer basket, apple core, potato peeler, small processor, and a large processor.  I got the small processor for Christmas this past year.  It is great for small batches. The larger one came from my parents. This was actually given to them for a wedding gift, and they never used it, so I took it home.  If you are really wanting to do this, then I would recommend getting one.  It is not a must, but it does make it easier when you are making larger batches of food.   

This next picture shows the peas in my large pot.  I use the steamer basket and cover until the peas are soft.

I peel all of the fruit. For the pears I found that it is easier to cut the ends off and then use the potato peeler to get the remaining skin off. I then slice around the core and cut into pieces.  The smaller you make the pieces the faster they cook.

The apples on the other hand, don't work well for the potato peeler.  I cut them in half, or use the apple core, and then peel and cut them in bite size pieces as well.

You can either place these in a steamer basket or boil them until they are soft.  I don't boil them on a very high because I don't want the nutrients to cook out of them.  I add a small amount of Lemon juice to the apples and pears, this keeps them from turning brown.

Using almost all of my burners!!

Below are the carrotts that i forgot to place in the picture.  (Actually at first I didn't want to do them.  I had enough going on, but as you can see below my husband jumped in and did it himself.  I was grateful later!!!)

After your vegis are steamed I place them in my processor and blend them to the consistency that Audrey likes them.

To make a smoother puree, just add water.

Then you divided them into ice cube trays.  And Freeze.  I use ice cube trays because each cube is about 1oz. After they have frozen I pop them out and store them in freezer bags.  Then when Audrey needs to eat i grab a few and put them in the microwave on defrost.  

I didn't have enough I cube trays so I had to store them in something else until the others froze.

I timed this entire process.  From taking the very fist picture to the last picture it took me about 2 1/2 hours. I also kept my receipts from the grocery store and I saved a little more than half, by doing it myself.  

There are several more fruits and vegis that Audrey enjoys that are just as easy to do.

Beach Trip

Okay, so I know that is has been over a month since I have posted. So sorry to all my blogger friends. We have been supper busy the past few weeks. I will update on everything that has been going on, but I will break it up into multiple posts.  There might be more than one during the day depending on how much Audrey lets me post :)

The Last two weeks of July, Jonathan's work shut down to save money. We were lucky that we had already planned a week long trip to the beach the first week.  Jonathan's mom's side of the family has gotten together every other year for about 26 years, and almost all of them have been at Sunset Beach North Carolina.  We had 3 beach houses and over 20 people, plus a baby.  It was so much fun.  I didn't grow up in a big family, the most we would have together was about 11. So, getting together with more than 20 people and all eating supper together in the same house, and being at the beach together was exiting.

Well, let me back up and start from the beginning....

Jonathan and I knew that this was going to be a completely different trip with a 9 month old. We didn't want to leave and forget something.  So, Jonathan had the idea to go through the house, room by room, about a month in advance and write down everything that we would possibly need.  At the time I thought this was the most ridiculous thing ever.  I am a great packer and organizer and I knew what we needed to pack.  I would have made a list, but not over three weeks in advance.  

Jonathan, the engineer that he is, broke this list down into about 20 million ( a little exaggerated, but not much) different categories, down to what bags and everything, all the while me thinking this is way over the top. Which, if you know Jonathan you know he NEVER EVER does anything half way!!!

Well, let me say, when we started packing all the work Jonathan did to get us ready really paid off! It was so nice to have it all organized, and to be able to mark it off when I packed it so I wasn't stressed trying to make sure I had everything. Yes, I did come to him later and apologized for making fun of him, and how grateful I was for his color coded, 4 page spreadsheet that I used!! (I love you Jonathan!!!)

Here are some pictures of everything that we packed.  Just so you know, we were leaving on Thursday, driving to El Dorado (my parents house), Friday morning we were leaving and meeting up with Jonathan's brother and his wife and driving until Augusta Ga. Saturday we drove to Sunset Beach.  We would leave the following Saturday, stay at my parents a few days and then come back to Little Rock on Tuesday.  In case you lost count that is 12 days. A long time to be away with a baby!!!!

This doesn't include the back seat as well!!! It still surprises me how much stuff that some one so small needs!!!

Well, we got to El Dorado Thursday evening and everything was going great.  Audrey went to bed, and we stayed up for a little bit to talk with my parents.  We went to bed early because we were getting up at 4am.  At 10:30 Audrey woke up screaming!! I mean screaming!! I get her up and tell Jonathan to keep sleeping because on of us needs to be able to drive the next day.  My mo got up with me and so did my dad at one point. It was a miserable night!!! She screamed until about 1am., fell asleep with me on the couch for about 30 min. Woke up again and cried until 3.  My mom took her about 3:30 and I slept until 4 and then got up and got ready to go.  I just kept telling myself that she would eventually fall asleep and maybe it would be in th car!!

We left on time and had a pretty easy ride. Audrey fussed a little, but that is to be expedted when driving almost 16 hours in one day.  I told Jonathan she was only verbalizing how I was feeling. :)  We stopped in Augusta, GA and stayed the night. Audrey cried almost all night as well.  I was laying in the bed with her holding on to her ankle as she was crying and moving around, just praying that I wouldn't fall to deep asleep and she would crawl off the bed.  Jonathan woke up around 5 and took her outside and walked up and down the parking lot with her so I could get some rest.  Oh the life with a baby!!!

We had about 4 more hours left on our trip, and it went a lot better than the day before. Our first night at the beach Audrey slept all night long. It was such a blessing. I don't do well without sleep and I was really on the verge of a break down!

The rest of the week was a great time!! Even though it was absolute HELL to get there, it was very much worth it.  We had a great time with family, great food, and had beautiful weather.  Audrey wasn't really fond of the beach, but Grandpa would take her down to the water every morning and she would nap in his arms for about 30 min. just listening to the waves. Every day she got better and better.  Below are some pictures of our great week!!

This was her fist day on the beach! Taking her morning nap

The sun was so bright

She loves her Grandpa!!

And Granna

Nap time ( Love the matching hats!!)

 Uncle E and Aunt Kissy

(Jonathan's brother and his wife)

 Family Pic

 My Favorite

Audrey driving with Grandpa

Audrey watching the corn hole tournament with Grandpa

Part of the family

 Jonathan and I were on a team

we lost :(

I love how even Audrey is looking at the camera!!

We had so much fun!! It was nice to have extra hands to take care of Audrey and also enjoy time with family.  Jonathan and I are hoping that the next trip is far enough away in the future that we will forget about how miserable it was to get there!!

Happy Birthday to me!!

(I wrote this yesterday, but never published it)


Today I turned the big 25!! I have had a wonderful day and week.

Jonathan's sister Karen came to spend the week with us. It has been so much fun to have some one here with me during the day to talk to!  We have had a very fun filled week.  We visited down town and went to the farmers market and the next day went and shopped at the Pleasant Ridge shopping center.

Today we went to the Heights and walked around.  After walking around we stopped by Cupcakes on Kavanaugh to cool off.  We decided it was okay to have our dessert first before our lunch because it was my birthday.  :)

decisions, decisions, what cupcake to choose...

red velvet, and white with choc. icing.....

yummy!!!

We then walked down to Za Za for lunch.  It was the first time we have eaten there and it was wonderful.  Karen got a yummy salad, and we split the Margaretta pizza.

Audrey eating her lunch

yummy green beans

After our wonderful lunch we came back to the house so Audrey could take a nap. We decided that we would rest as well from our very eventful afternoon.

Aunt Karen offered to babysit Audrey so Jonathan could take me out for a birthday dinner.  We went to my favorite place Macaroni Grill.  This was the perfect birthday, spending time with great family and eating great food!!! What more could you ask for!!!

Recap

I know 2 post in one day!! Hey, I've got to take advantage of a baby sleeping in and nap time.  Besides I've been really lazy the past few weeks about posting.  I thought since it has been a while I would post some pictures of some of the things we have been doing.

Father's Day weekend we went down to El Dorado to spend it with my family.  While we were there my best friend from high school was also in town with her little boy.  We have known each other since 5th grade and have kept in touch.  Her little boy is 6 month old Kaden.  Audrey was very excited about meeting him.  She couldn't get enough!!! I just hope this isn't a sign!!!

 This highchair was my Grandfathers highchair that his parents bought used! Also, take a look at that little foot, remember the picture several post back,  she has to have that foot propped up!!

 Her new found friend!!! She LOVES Chloe!! 

 This is now how I find her when I go to get her up now. Or she is standing!!

This past Thursday we went to an Arkansas Travelers game with some of our friends.  It was so hot and humid. You would think as the night went on that it would get cooler, not so much!!!  It only got more humid.  However, Audrey did extremely well!!!  The game started at 7:10 and we didn't leave until 9 and she wasn't fussy at all considering how hot it was!! You can tell by her cute little red cheeks :)

 Don't you love those pretty blue eyes!!

 Jonathan said I had to take a picture of the field too!!

We have had a bit of a squirrel problem at the Friedmann house.  We have 2 bird feeders on our back deck. They are supposedly squirrel proof and have worked really well to keep them out until they chewed through the plastic to get to the seeds.  Well, Jonathan has declared  war. I woke up Friday morning to this sitting on my deck! I had to watch this poor little squirrel all day long struggle to get out.  :(  I did keep Jonathan and his buddies at work laughing while called him throughout the day to ask if I should give him water or some more seeds, or if I should be worried that he was getting rained on :) 

Well, Jonathan came home and killed the squirrel and it is now sitting in my freezer waiting for me to cook it (which I may or may not do).  I'm really hoping this war ends soon, I'm not sure if I can handle anymore squirrels in my kitchen!!!

 1 down, 1 ba-gillion to go :)

 Be afraid, be very afraid!!