5 day lunchbox plan!

I've been "prepping" for sending a lunch with Evelyn everyday starting September 3rd. My biggest concerns being waist (things she wouldn't eat, or designing a plan that required purchasing several things and not using but one serving), cost, and ease for her care givers to serve it. Yesterday, my sweet sister-in-law, Rhonda, suggested that I make a 5 day plan and just reuse it every week! How smart is that! Each lunch for the week will be different but we will rotate the same lunches each week. Since Evelyn doesn't quite have enough teeth to eat some things, I decided to come up with things I know she can eat right now, then as time evolves I can make new menus.

Here's the first menu I've come up with. The last row is her afternoon snack. I'm open for suggestions and comments! As you can see I had to reuse Turkey Rollups (that's not bad!)

A few specifications on the things I'm packing:

Smoothies: I found these super cool  silicone molds and some great
smoothie recipes on a blog. They also have some tons of other great lunch ideas including some super healthy muffins that I might bake in mini muffin tins for breakfast! I think I'll just worry about lunches for now though!

Pouches: I previously posted the reusable pouches I've purchased and the great recipes I came up with. However, it looks like the company has posted some great new recipes on their fruit, veggie, and smoothie recipes on the website! I ordered my pouches from amazon.

The great thing about the smoothies and the pouches is that you can make up a bunch ahead of time and be good to go for the month! That's my plan!

Yogurt: Choboni Greek Yogurt Tubes (no high fructose corn syrup!)

PBJ Mini Waffles: I buy little frozen mini waffles and make 2 mini sandwiches using 4 waffles! Super easy!

Turkey Rollups: Turkey lunch meat rolled up with the string cheese

Chicken Squares: I just cube chicken breasts or sometimes even a rotisserie chicken from Costco and freeze them in snack baggies.

Turkey Patty Squares: I cook several turkey patties at a time, cube them up, and freeze them in snack baggies.

Hope this helps someone! I can't wait to see how this works, I feel like my stress level has gone down about this!

Update and change

Well it's been a long time since I've checked in on our blog! Miss Evelyn is now 15 months old. Here's a snapshot of birth to 1 year! It's amazing how fast time flies!

 We are so blessed by this little girl! She keeps us entertained and loving life. Here's a photo journey of the past few months.

After a long battle with breathing problems, 11 ear infections and trying every homeopathic solution. Right after Evelyn turned a year old we finally had solutions and thankfully 3 months later she is SO much better.
*She got tubes in her ears. Not a fun experience but worth it so far
*She went to see a pediatric pulmonologist and has started 2 puffs of a steroid inhaler twice a day.

These two things combined have kept us out of the doctors office and Scott and I haven't had to miss a day of work in the last three months! BLESSINGS!

We now have an obsession with cars! She hasn't quite figured out how to drive them, but getting in and out of multiple toy cars is where I can most likely find her when I pick her up from Mrs. Donna's. I guess having 3 toy cars in your back yard has a purpose! If anyone has a toy car they would like to get rid of, we will happily take it off your hands so we can have one in our own yard!

Spending time on the farm! Over the past 3 months we have been to Arkansas three times! Unfortunately, my father had a quadruple bypass during our first visit. He is doing better now! For our second trip we went on a holiday weekend to keep my dad company during his recovery. Then we just went this past weekend for 4th of July and had a ball!

Here's Evelyn with her "Papa" Great Grandpa Jack on her first 4 wheeler ride and meeting the cows :)

Fine Motor Skill Activity!
Put the beans in the cup!
Claudia and Noe are always modeling
and working with the babies!

Those of you that have been following our family story know that we made a "tough decision" to leave Learn - N - Fun Home Daycare in November of 2012. While at the time this decision was right for our family because of the time we were spending in the car driving daily, we have missed the structure, cleanliness, attention to detail, daily reports, pictures and true love for learning Claudia and Noe have in their sweet home daycare.

Circle Time during Texas Week! This love bug is
transitioning to one afternoon nap,
and the thumb is evidence! 

Big news ~ we've gone back!!!!! The week before the 4th of July our other caregiver was on vacation and Claudia and Noe happened to have an opening and accepted Evelyn back into their home for the week. This was LUCK (and God!)! Evelyn had a great week but it was evident that she was not as advanced as the other toddlers her age. I'm not saying by any means that I believe that my daughter is "behind." She isn't, she is very bright and is a great problem solver. However, as an educator you know how much I value education and when I see an open door to learning for my little one I'm going to run through it if I can.

During the ONE WEEK she was their she began to communicate with us in sign language. I began to see changes that made our lives easier. In fact, so significant that Evelyn wasn't SCREAMING every time she wanted something to eat or drink. She was able to express herself. Although we had worked on sign language at home with her, it was clear that having the follow through on a daily basis at school makes a difference!  So, since Learn - N - Fun has a great group of toddlers right now and have an opening for the next few months until they have some graduating (and weren't quite ready to take on any infants since this group of toddlers is so much fun) we agreed that having Evelyn go back to Learn - N - Fun for the educational experiences, to learn sign language, and to prepare for a structured environment was best. We are so thankful that we have this opportunity to have her in there home for the next few months. Beginning in September Evelyn will go to the Spanish House for a spanish immersion preschool but we know she will learn so much in the next 8 weeks before she goes to "big girl school"! I can't wait to see what that next step for our family is like ~ and no Scott nor I speak Spanish!  I'm also super excited about taking her to big girl school and also quite jealous that Scott has asked if he can take her lunch box shopping! I guess we will start a tradition...I'll do the backpack shopping with her and he can do the lunch box :) So fun! 

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Feeding a Toddler

Hard to believe Miss Evelyn is 13 months old! She's walking everywhere and SO independent. She has 7 teeth and likes to feed herself. So, I thought I would share my "go to" foods that are quick and easy for me and healthy for her!

On my last post about food "Baby Food Part 3" I was mixing purees with chunks of food and still mostly feeding her myself. So, for this post I'll list several ways that Evelyn feeds herself now. Including my take on the popular pouches.

One thing I am very purposeful about is the order I give her food. I put the veggies down first, then meat, and lastly fruit. If I do it in any other order she will pick the fruit/meat out and leave the veggies.

Vegetables

•  Veggie Fries: I found these really cool fries at my local Super Target. Evelyn likes them...with mustard. I just noticed on the website they have other great products too! I'll be looking for them.
• Sliced Black Olives
• Mini Dill Pickles, sliced: I've never seen a kid who LOVES pickles and doesn't make a face like this one! Evelyn enjoys pickles so much! 
• Diced Carrots and Green Beans: I found these at Wal Mart. They are a little pricey, but extremely convenient so worth it for me! 
• Broccoli: Fresh, steamed
• Peas: Frozen and thawed (they come in the little cups like the carrots and green beans, but I think they look gross)
• Avocado
• Tomatoes, sliced up
• Sweet Potato Fries: Be careful when you buy these. Many of them have ingredients that are not healthy inside of them. 

Meat/Protein

• Chicken: I buy these from a rotisserie chicken from Costco and then dice the breast meat into little cubes and freeze them in snack size ziplock bags. You can also use boiled chicken breasts or grilled chicken breasts, whatever is most convenient. 
• Turkey: I bought frozen turkey breast burgers by Jennie-O (they come in a 6 pack), cook them all  stovetop and slice them into bite size pieces.
• Meatballs: When I make meatloaf or meatballs I make some mini ones for Evelyn and freeze them in snack baggies.
• Turkey Sausage: Frozen Turkey Sausage Links (I get them at Costco) cut into bite size pieces. She eats 1 for breakfast. 
• Beans: all kinds, canned

Fruit

• Slices of grapes
• Blueberries
• Sliced up blackberries/raspberries
• Fruit cups with fruit juice (not light or heavy syrup). They come in mixed fruit, tropical fruit, and single fruits

All about pouches:

• I love the pouches, they are great for when you are "on the go"
• They can be deceiving, because the veggies are often listed first, but the majority of the ingredients are fruit with a little bit of vegetables 
• They are really sweet. So of course kids love them! 
• So, I came up with a solution! I made my own pouches with 2 servings of veggies and 1/2 - 1 serving of fruit! 
• I bought EZ Squeezees pouches online. They are refillable and dishwasher safe! I love them. So far I've refilled them 3 times and haven't had any problems with them. I bought 18, and calculated that I need to refill them 4 times to pay for the purchase.
• I did not use pouches until Evelyn was about 11 months old, and I only give them to her when we are on the go or at snack time. I have a few friends that have said they can't get their kids to eat the pouches anymore, so I'm trying to be purposeful about when I give them to her so that she really enjoys them. When I did start giving her the pouches at first I had to feed them to her, but then I started her on a straw sippy cup and she is a pro at downing the pouches herself. 

Recipes I've used and pureed in the vita-mix:

• 1 bag butternut squash, 1 bag peas and carrots, 1 can of pears in fruit juice 
• 1 can pumpkin, 2 steamed sweet potatoes, 1/2 bag peas and carrots, 1 can apricots in fruit juice
• 1 bag butternut squash, 1/4 bag brussels sprouts, 1/2 bag green beans, 2-3 apples (cooked stovetop), a little white grape juice

Baby Food Part 3

I'm so amazed by what babies can "gum" and eat successfully with such a small number of teeth. During month 9, I started experimenting with Evelyn eating her own food (beyond cheerios) at dinner and at all meals on the weekends when we were home. She is now successfully eating most of her meal herself, although I supplement by feeding her some pureed veggies since it seems like half of the food goes in the high chair. Here are some of our favorites for each meal. In addition I must recommend eating with no clothing on and using a bib that "catches" some of the food!

It is also important to note that when I cook dinner for us I try to think about her. For example, if I make ground beef for spaghetti for us, I will take off about 1 cup without seasonings and portion it out into smaller amounts for her in small snack baggies so I can pull meals out for her on the fly. So when you see "1 cube" those are portions I have frozen in ice cube trays. When you see 1/4 cup, those are portions that I have frozen in small snack baggies.

Breakfast:

• diced bananas
• diced pears
• diced peaches
• diced sweet peppers with scrambled eggs and hash brown potatoes
• diced sweet peppers with diced turkey sausage
• applesauce mixed with 1/2 of a hard boiled egg
• chunks of clementines

Lunch/Dinner:

• 1 cube of ditali pasta with 2 cubes pureed veggies
• 1/4 cup ground chicken with petite diced tomatoes and 2 cubes pureed veggies
• 1/2 to a whole diced avacado
• diced carrots with peas and small shreds of chicken
• 1/4 cup pot roast with mashed carrots and pureed sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup pot roast mixed with some brown rice and mixed veggies
• pureed okra and sweet potatoes (I didn't puree it until the okra was complete mush, you can still taste the texture from the seeds and some of the okra skin ~ which is what I was hoping to achieve) 
• 1/4 cup red beans and brown rice with pureed veggies (see Baby Food 2 post)
• 1/4 cup ground chicken with cabbage and carrots (cooked until soft ~ used for egg rolls for us)

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Spinach and Tortellini Soup

For dinner tonight I made Spinach and Tortellini Soup. I must give credit to my friend Kattie for the new idea! I also found 2 recipes on pinterest, but was torn between the two and didn't have all the ingredients for either one...so I made my own recipe using what I had in my pantry with the support of Recipe 1 and Recipe 2

My Recipe:
Place and stir together the following ingredients in the crockpot on low for 4 hours (I actually put mine on "warm" and left it for 6 hours.
4 cups or 1 box of chicken broth
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
1 bag of fresh spinach
1 pkg of sliced mushrooms (torn into smaller pieces)
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon italian seasoning (I don't really know how much I used)
1 hefty pinch of red pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic, minced

About an hour before dinner turn the crockpot on high and add:
1 bag frozen cheese tortellini (I personally didn't think it was a good idea to put these in earlier because I didn't want the noodles to get soggy)
1 brick of cream cheese cubed (I'm sure you could do a broth based soup and avoid this...but it sounded SOOOO good!)

It was AWESOME!

3/4 of a year old!

It seems like just yesterday I had this little girl...

I can still remember the fear of what was to come and the joy of such a gift! 

Today I still fill the same way. Just a few weeks ago she couldn't crawl and now she is rolling and crawling down the hallway and finding things to get into! It's crazy! She is so much fun and even though some days I just want to have a break, I do everything possible to still be everything for her.

Five Chirpy Birds
It's a really cute counting backward book
and I love that she pushes the button so
it will "chirp"

She has figured out that she can flip over
and climb out of chairs. Constantly
on the go!

Here's her 9 month update:

I love playing boxes when my mom
or dad get them in the mail!
Soon I hope to turn one into a car
 and motor around the house!

• I weigh 16 lb 7 oz (20%) and I'm 27.75 inches long (50%)
• The doctor isn't worried that I didn't gain much weight in these last 3 months and he said "by the looks of those thighs" I'm pretty healthy!
• I'm still eating almost anything and I don't really make funny faces at anything. My mom tries to get me to eat little pieces of food with my hands but I think it feels weird on my fingers and I just like to eat cheerios with my hands! I still have 3 solid food meals a day and now I eat a snack in the afternoon sometimes with my big kid friends at school. 
• I still drink my formula in a bottle, but I'm using the sippy cup at my meals with water in it. I really wish my mom would hold my my cup for me but she says it's important for me to try and do it myself as a big girl!
• I still take a 2 hour nap in the morning and the afternoon (and my mommy is so thankful)
• It took me a while to figure out how to move my hands and my feet to be able to crawl but I finally figured it out...I'm a supper crawler now!
• I really like it when my mom and dad hold my hands and help me walk.
• I still can't stand up on my own, but I'm starting to reach to pull up on things. 
• I can now sit up from laying down...last month I would sit but I couldn't sit back up if I fell. 
• I keep hearing my mom say "I can't believe she can just go and get up and move so much!" I'm a big girl!!!
• I know what the "FaceTime ring tone" sounds like and I love to talk to my Grandtama and Peetapaw in Arkansas on FaceTime!
• My favorite toy is this thing that throws balls out of the top of it that my mom got from Mrs. Jennifer's garage sale, the nurse of Dr. Gaitonde, who saved my life by delivering me so quickly!
• I giggle now when my mom and dad tickle me or blow on my belly! 
• I know what "no, no" means and I turn around to look at my parents to see why they are saying that to me. 

We are so blessed to have an amazing daughter and so thankful for all the tips and tricks people have shared with us along the way. I don't want to forget these for the next kid, so I'm documenting them here! Some of the things that really seem to be working in our house are: 

• Put her to bed in her crib before she falls asleep and if you rock her, don't let her fall asleep in your arms. If she falls asleep in your arms, gently wake her up just a tad and lay her in her bed. If you don't she will be startled by the different surrounding when she wakes up. I have to admit, I personally truly believe in this one. Since Evelyn was in the NICU for 3 weeks and I only saw her 2-3 times a day for about an hour and the nurses had other babies to tend to. She was cared for but she was also put in her bed after feedings and would fall asleep on her own. The day she came home I continued what they had done and we have never had a problem. Tonight is a prime example. We put her in her crib awake and we never heard a peep out of her. Sometimes she cries for a couple of minutes, but that is only about once a week. The only time I let her fall asleep in my arms is if she is sick or if I've been away and I've really missed her!
• Once she turns 6 months of age routine is really important. Every night I get her from school, we play until 6:00, she has dinner, she has a bath, and then we skype or facetime with her grandparents in Arkansas (at least 2-3 evenings a week), we read a book, she drinks her bottle and she goes to bed. The lights in our house are not bright after bath time. She does not take her bottle in the living room, it's always in her bedroom with a low light and Scott or I sit in the rocking chair. I really think this makes a difference. 
• Communicate with your spouse. I don't think I'll forget this one lol...but dad's don't always know what mom's need. What help they need with the baby or what help they need around the house. So, it's important to communicate. Let your spouse know what you are struggling with and or need help with. Also, make time to love your spouse still. It's really easy to get caught up in "the baby days" and only focus on your child. Try to have a date night at least 2 times a month baby free! See if you can trade off with another couple that has kids to save on baby sitters. We trade one night a month with My brother and sister in law. One night we keep their boys and one night they keep Evelyn every month. It's a great trade off!!!!
• Don't waist your money on all "girls" stuff or "boys" stuff. Buy gender neutral. I love all my pink stuff, don't get me wrong! However, everything does not need to be pink. After Evelyn was born and all of the costs of things that are needed kept adding up I decided gender neutral was the best way to go. After all, do you need to have barbie sippy cups or will the purple and lime green one work for a boy or a girl? When the next lovely little Hatfield comes along I hope and pray that we only need clothes, because, wow all the trinkets and gadgets and random little things sure do add up!
• Dr. Karp's 5 S's are a life saver...and you can't spoil a baby before 4 months of age...just love them and enjoy every minute of holding them!

I can't really think of much more, but I do know that I'm LOVING Evelyn right now. She is so much fun and makes me smile. I can't wait to update you next month on how much has changed.

8 months old...

Well our 7 month old post never got posted...here's our pic that I managed to get in between moving and being sick!

We are now 8 months old and having so much fun!!! (Well this post has been in the making for 3 weeks now so she is almost 9 months...but the pictures and things she can do are from the 8 month mark)

                Evelyn LOVES books!                
She climbs
 out of my lap every
morning and every
night to pick a book
to read!

Here's her 8 month update:

• For lunch and dinner I'm eating chunkier food and I pretty much like everything! My mom wrote 2 blogs about the food she has been making me and you should look at them if you need ideas for your kids!
• I like to eat mum mum cookies, puffs, cheeto looking puffs with cinnamon on them, and TONS of cheerios. I really don't think picking up pasta, carrots, or anything else is very cool. 
• I eat solid food 3 times a day and have 5 ~ 4 oz bottles of formula a day, plus a 6 oz bottle after my nap. 
• I take a 2 hour nap in the morning and in the afternoon.
• When I get full I turn my head away from my bottle or the spoon.
• My mom and dad are working on sign language for "all done," "more" and "thirsty" but I don't use it yet. 
• I can sit up on my own, but can't sit up from a laying position by myself still. 
• I like to stand up and play with my activity center if someone sits behind me and catches me if I fall and I like to walk but I can't pull up on things yet.
• I love to roll to places I need to go! I also crawl on my side a little bit, but not up on my knees
• I'm still fascinated with my dogs and I think it's funny when they give me kisses.
• I like my new school! Mrs. Donna takes good care of me and she always has a smile on her face and is ready to see me each morning. She sends my mommy pictures in a text message almost every day!

The holiday's have been a lot of fun with Evelyn. The best part was watching my parents enjoy spending time with her. Actually, the best part was Scott taking the week off and going to AR with me to see my family. It really meant a lot to me and once again as I've said many times I have the most amazing husband. He always puts his family first and believes in all of my goals and values me as a wife! I'm so blessed and thankful for him.

A few traditions started this year:

• Her Grandma Janet got her a Christmas nightgown (always a red one!) that she opened on Christmas eve and wore. This will be something special each year! She has also done this for all of the other grandkids but believe it or not these things are hard to find! She finally ordered one online from CA. 
• Scott and I got her a book about the Christmas story and I plan on adding one to our collection every year! 

We didn't buy her any presents personally, but she still got a ton of stuff! From pajamas she needed to the annoying toys that my mom is determined to find each year! She got a pink laptop that has buttons and a mouse on it that sings a song I have already memorized..."My first laptop is so fun it's made just for me..." and it goes on and on and on! I'm sure this is just the beginning!