SB's Food Adventures

Sara Beth is a great eater! So far, she has been very adventurous with what she eats (basically anything we put in front of her). We are super-happy about that, too! What in the world would I do with a picky eater in my house? This weekend, her daddy made her mini-pancakes for the first time (no syrup yet though). It was the first of many yummy, special weekend breakfasts I'm sure. For dinner this week, I made her lentil "burgers" with a mint yogurt sauce for dipping. I got the recipe from my baby food cookbook. These aren't fabulous pictures, but they tell the story nonetheless. Enjoy!

One of our messiest meals yet

But oh so yummy!

Mini pancakes for SB and big pancakes for us

All by myself!

Sara Beth is learning to feed herself with a spoon. She claps and smiles when she does it all by herself!

She can see!

We couldn't put off her first hair cut any longer. . .

A Food Post (What? No SB pictures!)

     I haven't posted about food in a LONG time! It's not that I haven't been cooking, I just haven't been photographing my food. Sara Beth is way more photogenic than my dinner! Anyway, tonight's meal was really yummy so I thought I'd share. I don't have a recipe exactly, more like a method. I just made it up as I went along.

Braised Chicken and Kale

1. Brown a couple of chicken breasts on both sides. Remove them from the pan.

2. Chop, then saute half an onion, a couple of garlic cloves, and a lot of kale (I used half of an extra-large bunch, but a small bunch would work fine.).

3. Deglaze the pan with a little chicken stock and a splash of white wine. Add the juice and zest of a lemon. Season with salt and pepper.

4. After that reduces a little, add about half a cup of marinara sauce (I had some homemade spicy marinara leftover from making pizzas.).

5. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces (it won't be fully cooked yet) and add it back to the pan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for a while.

6. Serve over mashed potatoes (although rice or pasta would be good too).

Canton

     My friend, Diana, and I took a daytrip over to Canton Trade Days for the first time a couple weeks ago. Little did we know that bringing two 10 month olds along for the experience wasn't the best idea. Tristen and Sara Beth did so great despite the freezing cold windy day. We couldn't have asked any more from them. Sometimes they played together in the wagon. Other times they napped in the stroller. Still other times they were on their mama's hip. I didn't buy very much at all. The scale of that place is unbelievable and it was overwhelming for this first time visitor! I would love to go back on a slightly warmer day and sans children to explore some more.

Growing Up. . .10 Months Old

3/1/2011- 10 months Old

  
  Another month has passed and our little girl just keeps on growing up. Today is her 10 month birthday. That means she'll only have one more of these month birthdays before her real first birthday. Crazy! February passed with no sicknesses to speak of, thankfully. Even her little digestive system has stayed fairly regular, thanks to Benefiber and some occasional juice. The weather has warmed up considerably (although winter may still pop by for a visit) so we've had some chances to get outside for walks and trips to the park. I'm getting excited about spring and summer temperatures so that she can wear cute little bubble outfits and shorts again. I miss seeing those chubby legs out in the open! Here's what Sara Beth has been up to this month:

• She started feeding herself finger foods. She has pretty good hand/eye coordination so she does well with it. We started with pieces of banana (which was very slippery) and have moved on to peas, kiwi (rolled in ground flax seed), sharp cheddar cheese, and cheerios. She's almost out of the pureed baby food that I made a while back. I guess I better start figuring out what to make for her next!
• As far as spoon feeding goes, she tried a few new things this month: turkey, white potatoes, and some spices (cinnamon, oregano, sage, pepper, mint). I'm trying to get the nerve up to make some curry and give that to her. She's got to learn some time, I guess. That's what we eat around here at the Hart house! :)
• She is so much steadier on her feet now! She can walk as far as she wants while pushing from behind a toy or a rolling chair. We've even seen her stand independently for a couple of seconds. It's hard to believe that she'll be walking soon.
• She still has only her bottom two teeth so far. For a week or so, she was drooling and chewing so much that we thought new teeth were coming in, but so far we have no evidence of them.
• Her hair is really starting to fill in on the sides and in the back. I was looking back at pictures from November and noticing how little was actually there. She still sports a ponytail most days since there isn't much you can do with the long pieces of hair that hang down to her nose. We are able to pull her bangs to the side with a clip or bow sometimes now.
• This past Sunday, she graduated up to the next class in the church nursery. Now she gets to play with the bigger babies that can walk.
• Sara Beth uses lots of words! Her favorite, by far, is "dog". "Zilla" is way more discernible now too. Occasionally, she'll say "mama" which makes me smile. She can also, say "bow" (as in a hair bow) and "bye" in addition to all the many other words that she already knew.
• She loves to dance to music. Whether she is in her crib or playing with a toy, she bounces and sways when a song comes on that she likes.
• She is still crazy about books! You have to read at least three books every time you sit down with her. She really loves for Adam to read to her because he does all the voices and makes realistic animal sounds. He taught her how to make an elephant sound the other day. It's hilarious to watch her imitate her daddy!
  
  



Feeding herself



Playing at Daddy's race



Crawling in my room



Flower girl!