2 weeks before Spring and it is snowing in Texas!

The inspector and termite guys were here for 2 hours, checking out the house for the buyers. Those are some dedicated guys.


Vivi is not sure what to make of this cold stuff coming down from the sky.
It was pouring snow! She lasted about 10 minutes and then went in to Daddy and a dry pair of pajamas!

I'll post more pics tomorrow of our wintery fun, we have a snowman in the making!

The Best of The Best

Even though I don't own this top book yet, I will one day.

I get it from the library a lot but the sad thing is they want it returned.

Anyway, this to me is the best book on family nutrition out there.

I love Dr. Sear's approach (except having your toddler graze all day) For the past year I have been feeding Isaac the vitamins from his website and truly this child is like never sick-even going to a preschool two days a week of germ infested 3 year olds.Why do I put so much effort into feeding these kids right? I have certainly babysat for lots of kids that had a regular diet of sugar and fat, and they were trim and seemingly healthy, so what does it matter? Well, for me I didn't get the chance to give my children a healthy prenatal start in life and because of that and the deficits they probably incurred during that time, I feel it is vitally important to get them on the best track now. It is a known fact that the way you eat as a child is a huge predictor of how you will eat the rest of your life and we want for them to have established healthy eating habits so that when they join the world of school cafeteria food, they will atleast know the difference. Awhile back I had a twelve year old boy say to me "what's junk food?" This was a kid that drinks Pepsi and snacks on cheetos every day after school. When I explained to him the foods that would fit in that category he said "then what do your kids eat?" As though these were the only foods in the world!

This is the book I have thumbed through weekly since Vivi started solids. It is jam packed full of info, at times overwhelmingly so, but boy is it good! If you know anyone who has a passion to make their baby's food- tell them this is the only book they will every need! It is amazing!

And on a side note- studies show that nutrition can greatly decrease the symptoms of disorders like ADD, ADHD, learning disablilies, and Sensory Integration disorder. When you feed your child's brain, they can achieve so much more!

Okay so I think that completes my food soap box. I can now move on. :)

On the Topic of Food...

I thought I would list some of the things I feed Vivianna (because its good for her, afterall) that I would not eat if you paid me. Come on, some of it smells so bad! Yet shockingly she devours them.

Here goes:

rutabega

beets

spinach

asparagus

mushrooms

smoked tuna quesadillas

sweet potato pancakes

cottage cheese

plain yogurt

salmon

butternut squash

avocado

chick peas

black eyed peas

soy veggie sausage patties

mashed cauliflower

So when do you think she is going to wise up to the fact that Mommy is eating Lean Cuisine pizzas while she eats this stuff? It took Isaac turning 3 years old to figure it out. He nows says "Mommy, how come you're not eating this?"

Hmmm...let me think about that one. :)

Don't Feed the Animal

We have been having some wild food adventures lately.

Here is Vivi with a blueberry pancake.

This is how she takes bananas now! It started when we were out one day and I didn't have a way to cut it. So we broke it in half and she went after it. She has done this countless times and has never choked! Crazy.
She never takes it out, just continues to slowly mash it in, swallowing as she goes.
And finally the stuffed cheeks!

This is spinach and yogurt. She was very annoyed that we were feeding her with a spoon and so she kept swatting at it until finally this happened. I said, well the yogurt in her hair might help the fly-aways!

SOLD!

Our house that has served us faithfully for four years will no longer be ours by the end of the month! After days of negotiating, we got the price we needed and the buyers will be closing on the 31st. I have mixed emotions as I am sad to leave but also ready for a new adventure. So the next couple weeks will be filled with signing a lease at an apartment , having the inspector come, and planning our last events here which include Vivi's birthday party, Easter with my family, and a wedding shower for our dear friends that we will we have planned just days before moving out!! This is going to be one stressful month! Here we go!

Surprise!

Vivianna got her ears pierced!

Before

AFTER

We have always wanted to get her ears pierced for her first birthday. We checked with our pediatrician a couple months ago and she said it would be fine. We asked lots of other parents about their infant's pierced ears and the general consesus is that if you do it before the toddler years, it is pretty much no trauma involved. After about 2 years old, the girls will have major anxiety sitting in the chair. So on our beautiful March first day we set off to a cute girl's salon. We chose little daisy white crystal earrings with a pink center and a "safety back", which means the earring does not poke through the part that holds it on, it has a rounded tip. She sat in Daddy's lap as Mommy was way more nervous! So they did both ears at the same time and she cried for maybe 3 seconds until she got her cup and then she was over it! We have video of her laughing and smiling right after but I can't seem to download it. She has been completly fine with me turning them and cleaning them- she is one tough girl! The older lady who did one of the ears said how beautiful her earlobes are. We think so too! (Click on this picture to get a better look at the earrings!)

After lunch we went to Barnes and Noble and she decided to check out the magazines. I guess she thinks she is a celebrity now with her new bling!