Harper Elaine (in pictures)

We had our 3D/4D ultrasound done today, and we were so excited to get to see miss Harper! She is happy, active and so precious!



 

Say hello to our beautiful baby girl!

The GREEN Smoothie

Let me tell you about my latest discovery...Bennett, my non-veggie eating child will chug down a spinach smoothie! Im sure it helps that he has yet to associate the color green with veggies, that the smoothie is packed with other yummy things like bananas, pineapple, yogurt...but he really loves it!
I got the idea to make this smoothie initially from Pinterest, and then in my efforts to put a little more fruits and veggies into MY diet, I decided to try it out! It was so funny, as I was making the smoothie the other morning, Bennett wouldnt take his eyes away from what I was doing. He was mesmerized by my placing things into the blender and blending them. After I had finished making my smoothie, I sat down to breakfast and began to eat. I tried my smoothie (it was really good) and by that time, Bennett had decided he needed some of his own so I let him have a drink of mine and immediately after, he started moving his hands excitedly wanting more. I poured some into a sippy cup for him and he drank it all within just a couple minutes!
Now mommies, I know that you are thinking what I thought at first..."there is NO WAY my child will even drink this, let alone like it!" But I think its worth a try and even if your little one doesnt have a taste for it, maybe you will like it and it will help you get a little extra fruit and veggies into your diet!

Here is the recipe:

2 handfulls of spinach
2 bananas
1 cup of chunk pineapple
1/2 cup strawberries
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup water

Put your water and yogurt into the blender first, then the fruit, then the spinach. You want to blend this for a long time so there arent ribbons of spinach in the smoothie and its fine enough for your little one to drink through a sippy cup. Also, I dont like my smoothies not "frozen," so I freeze the pineapple or strawberries so the smoothie is thicker. If you do this, make sure to mix the smoothie with some milk for your little one so its thin enough to drink through a sippy.

 

 

When your finished, you have this yummy smoothie for you and your little one to enjoy! Hope you like it! 

busy, busy, busy..

Kyle's semester officially started Thursday along with MDO. As he was listing the things he has to do for each of his (online) classes last night, all I could think was "this semester is going to be BUSY!" Not only is Kyle taking 6 hours of grad school, but I'm taking "Wife of the Equipping Minister," which is a class specifically designed for women who are going to be pastors wives. Also, Bennett and I are doing MOPS (mothers of preschoolers), and Kindermusic as well. So...Tuesday evenings, Bennett gets to hang out with daddy while mommy goes to class, Wednesday afternoons are going to be filled with alternating weeks of MOPS and Kindermusic, and Thursdays will consist of MDO for Bennett and cleaning for mommy!
Bennett had a rough first day at MDO...when I picked him up he had been crying for at least an hour. I got to the school at 12:30, and his teachers said he had been crying since lunch. It was so stinking sad. As I got to his classroom, I could hear a child crying, but never thought it could be him. I walked in, and saw him laying on a mat in the back of the classroom, just sobbing. Poor baby. I think I'll have to start picking him up earlier than 12:30. He cried all the way home, all the way to our front door, through changing his diaper and finally calmed down when I sat down in the rocking chair with him. I snuggled him and rocked him, and he was out in two minutes. Poor guy just isn't used to staying up that late!
I'll have to say, I think this class I'm taking is going to be rather interesting. Two of my friends, Rebekah and Anna are going to take it with me as well, and another woman, Sarah is taking the class too. Being in class with these women is going to be great! I have come to really trust/love all of them as great friends here in the past few weeks/months and Im excited about how God is going to work in our friendships through this experience. I've been reading through our "textbook" for the class and I'll admit, a lot of it makes me want to burst out laughing. (Just picture...tea cozies, napkin rings, candles for mood lighting...just some of the necessities for making your home hospitable as a ministers wife.) Needless to say, it should be fun!
For those of you that don't know what Kindermusic is, it's more or less a program that allows preschoolers to experiment with musical instruments, dance to music, ect. Research has proven that music enhances learning, so I'm all for taking Bennett! It should be fun for him as well...he is such a musically inclined toddler. Any time someone sings to him or plays music he claps his hands and dances. It's just the cutest thing! It should be a fun experience for the both of us and will allow Kyle some homework time without interruptions.
I am so excited about MOPS! It's going to be great to meet more women that have children around the same age as Bennett and to hopefully make new friends at our church. I have always wanted to be involved in a group like this since we arrived in Fort Worth. Our mommy/wives Bible study in Stillwater was such a blessing to me and it has been very important to me to find something similar here. MOPS was out for the summer though, so I'm just not getting the opportunity to join up. I'm really excited too about meeting other women that are expecting, and even more so to meet other women that are expecting their second or third child. I know they will be such a huge help and soundboard when it comes to getting used to having two little ones.

Bennett's First Day of "School"

Today was Bennett's first day back to Mothers Day Out. All this week I have thought about what Im going to pack him for lunch, what he is going to wear, what lunchbox Im going to buy, how/if Im going to fix his hair...my mind has literally been consumed with the details of our baby boy going back to "school."
As Bennett woke up this morning, my first thought was whether or not he would be upset when I dropped him off. I got him out of bed, changed his diaper, gave him a big first day of school breakfast, (Mini ham and spinach fritattas, strawberries, a carrot and apple oatmeal muffin and milk) and then dressed him for the day. He even got to wear his new big boy shoes from Nana Sherrie. After Bennett was dressed, hair fixed, lunchbox packed, diaper bag packed, and ready for school, momma got ready too and we headed out the door.

After I pulled into the parking lot and got Bennett out of his seat, he scraped his knee walking to the building. :( I picked him up, loved on him and then he immediately wanted back down to walk. We walked into the building, into his classroom, and he went straight over to play with his teacher. (That made for a sad mommy) I grabbed him up, he gave me hugs and kisses and then wanted down again to play. I snapped a few pictures and left.

Now begins my day of cleaning, laundry, and hopefully taking a nap.

Apple, Carrot and Zucchini Muffins

How many of you are on the "my child won't eat his/her veggies train?" There have been many people comment to me about my last post saying "WOW, Bennett will eat spinach??? My child won't touch his/her veggies!" Let me tell you that the quest to get Bennett to eat his veggies has been a rollercoaster and has recently been on the downhill slope. When Bennett was an infant he LOVED sweet potato, carrots, turnips, zucchini, etc. But now, he won't have anything to do with the majority of vegtables offered at mealtime. His lack of interest in his veggies got me thinking..."how can I make sure Bennett gets his veggies and still offer veggies at the same time (though he won't eat them)? My solution: find as many recipes as I can that essentially "hide veggies" in them but are still yummy and appealing to a toddlers eye. I like recipes where veggies can be exchanged for one another, and better yet, recipes that contain two or more veggies and fruit as well. That's why I was super excited when I came across this recipe for Apple, Carrot, Zucchini Muffins! Not only does Bennett LOVE any kind of "bread" you put in front of him, but he is getting FOUR different food groups in just one muffin! (Grain, Protien, Fruit and Vegtables) Another great thing about these muffins is that they can be frozen as well! The recipe makes 22 regular sized muffins and would make twice that in mini muffins. I encourage you to give it a try! Making sure your little one gets all the nutrients he/she needs isnt easy, but with a little planning, preparing, and a little help from your spouse/significant other (yes, daddy has to watch the babies while mommy cooks :)) your little one will be getting his fruits AND veggies and begging for another muffin!

Here is the recipe:

Zucchini, Carrot and Apple Muffins
adapted slightly from Amy's Bread, NYC
print recipe

3 cups flour
1 1/8 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened coconut
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups peeled grated carrots
2 cups zucchini, unpeeled
2 cups granny smith apples, grated
3/4 cup walnut pieces, or 3/4 cup golden raisins or both

Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins.
In large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, coconut, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and baking powder, whisk together.
In another medium size bowl, whisk eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add grated carrots, zucchini and apples. Stir together, until all fruit and vegetables are mixed well.
pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients all at once. Fold until all incorporated. Fold in nuts and raisins if using. The batter will be very thick.
Scoop the batter into greased muffin pan using a large cookie scoop. Or use a large spoon or measuring cup. Fill the muffin tins almost to the top to insure full, rounded muffin tops.
Bake at 400 for ten minutes, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Check the muffins by inserting a toothpick in center, if it comes out clean, muffin is done.
Leave the muffin in the tin for about ten minutes, then loosen edges with a butter knife and remove from pan to cool.

Tips:
-I used unpeeled, cored Macintosh apples.
-I did not add the nuts or golden raisins! Im still a bit freaked out about nut allergies..
-The original recipe calls for 12 large muffins. I thought the muffins would be too big as a large muffin, especially since these are dense, filling muffins. I baked the muffins in regular size muffin tins. The recipe yielded about 22 regular size muffins.
-Since I did not make the muffins into 12 large muffins, I cut the baking time. The original recipe calls for 400 degrees- ten minutes, rotate the pan, lower temperature to 350, then bake for an additional 22-25 minutes. Maybe this was a misprint? That would total at least 32 minutes. Way too long. My muffins were done baking in 16 minutes flat.
-Super moist. Great texture. These freeze well.

Toddler Meal Ideas

I have been thinking about doing a weekly/biweekly post with toddler meal ideas for friends of mine that have toddlers or little ones that will soon be toddlers. You should know, I try very hard to feed Bennett food that is wholesome, yummy and packed with nutrients. It is very important to me that my child get everything he needs during the day to make him healthy and strong because he cannot do this himself. If Bennett were allowed to pick his foods, I can guarantee he would eat Birthday cake all day long!
I have this theory/thought process that really presses on me daily, and that is: Bennett doesnt have the ability to make the right decisions when it comes to healthy eating, so its my job to make sure that he eat as healthy as possible. Now, that doesnt mean that I dont allow him to have a bite of apple crisp or a taste of ice cream every once in a while, but its always in moderation. Only Kyle and I have the ability to give Bennett a head start in life when it comes to eating healthy and making the right food choices for his growing body. I have made a point to make sure that our families know that I do not want our son having candy, cake, cookies, ect. on a regular basis, and I do not want him having pop at all! Our niece and nephew drink pop all the time and it drives me crazy! Not only is it not healthy for them, but it sets them up to have a preference for a drink with no nutritional value and empty calories!
Anywho, here is my toddler meal recipe for the week: Ham and Spinach Mini Frittatas. The great thing about these little guys is that you can personalize them any way you wish! We put ham, green onions and cheese in Bennetts and he eats them up! They can also be refrigerated for up to a week, so they are awesome to make a week in advance and you have a quick and healthy staple food that you can serve with some fruit and a quarter slice of whole wheat toast for a yummy and healthy breakfast that will get your little one started off right for the day! 

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces thinly sliced ham, chopped
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 2 mini muffin tins (each with 24 cups) with nonstick spray. Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Stir in the ham, cheese, and parsley. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide the frittatas onto a platter. Serve immediately.

Per piece (40): Calories: 22; Total Fat: 1.5 grams; Saturated Fat: 0.5 grams; Protein: 2 grams; Total carbohydrates: 0.5 grams; Sugar: 0 grams; Fiber: 0 grams; Cholesterol: 44 milligrams; Sodium: 68 milligrams

***Side Note***
You do not have to stick to the recipe specifically. For example, I basically picked up eggs, cheese, frozen spinach, ham and green onions from the store, thawed the spinach, cut up the ham and then placed some of the ham, some of the onions and some cheese in a greased mini muffin tin, then poured the seasoned eggs on top of them. I only used 4 eggs, omitted the milk and it made 12 mini frittatas.

Recipe found at foodnetwork.com

Happy Birthday to Bennett!!!

Bennett's birthday weekend was fabulous! We drove back to OK on Wednesday, spent the afternoon with Kyle's family and the evening with my parents. On Thursday, we spent the day with Kyle's family again, and the evening was spent surprising a good friend of ours for his birthday! Friday began the birthday festivities! We took Bennett to Pryor early Friday morning to have his one year/cake smash pictures done by Kyle's cousin Kristy Troyer. (She is the same photographer that did our wedding, and she does a great job!) We left my parents house at 7:15 to be in Pryor by 8, but had to stop at Walmart to pick up Bennett's cake. Ill have to admit, I was a bit disappointed by Walmart's "effort" on his cake, but when it came time for pictures, the cake wasnt the star anyways. Kristy took some pictures of Bennett before the smash:

during the smash:

and after the smash, but we dont have those yet! The experience was one that Ill never forget. Bennett had no hesitation when it came to his birthday cake although, he didnt like the icing much at first. He stuck his hands in the cake, pulled them back and tried to shake the icing off his fingers. It was stinking cute! His birthday party was wonderful too. I think all together, we probably had 30 people show up to share in his special day. Here are some pictures from it:

Monster cake, cupcakes, cookies and fruit kabobs!

Opening presents!

With cousins, Nathan and Lily!

Devouring his birthday cake!

AND>>>>Here is the after birthday party pic: