Christmas 2010

Conor's second Christmas in pictures...

ornament on Nana and Papa's tree

playing in Mimi and Grampy's backyard with dada

at the Dallas Zoo

watching the cheetahs at the zoo

giraffe at the zoo

waiting for Santa on Christmas eve

decorations

Conor's stocking (or "sock" as he says) at Mimi and Grampy's

opening his "sock" Christmas morning

Madeline was this many on Christmas

Madeline opening gifts

Madeline with Belle and her pony

Madeline and Aunt Kelly with Madeline's dollhouse

Madeline in the dollhouse

Madeline and Clara

with dada and cousins

18 months!!!!

Happy 18 months to Conorman!!!

Age 18 months

Weight 30 lbs.

Length maybe ~32"? It's hard to measure him!

Size 18-24 month clothes, size 5.5/6 shoes, size 5 diapers, 3T hats

Hair Another cut this month. Brushes it himself.

Teeth Still 16, and no sign of 2 year molars.

Sleeping One 1.5-2 hour nap after lunch. 10-12 hours at night, usually up once or twice. Slept amazingly well on the trip Texas!

Eating 3 meals a day + multiple snacks. Will eat just about anything.

Movement Always busy and on the go! Likes to dance and twirl in a circle, does the "If You're Happy and You Know It" dance (especially likes the stomping verse), climbs all over the furniture and takes some pretty brave dives between things.

Milestones Signs/says "please", identifies things that are "hot...ouch!", can point out his hair and chin

Outings 3 Christmases! (Nana & Papa's, Owosso and Mimi and Grampy's), went to see Santa, Dallas Zoo, Hands On Museum and the animal show

Favorite toys/activities books, play cars/trucks, Playhouse Disney, peek-a-boo, teepee, animals

Words/sounds Lots of new words, including Brian, please, hot, Elmo, dino, bus, "oh noooooooo", up, Madeline, night night, coat, bird, eat, fish, Ashray (classmate), David (classmate); New sounds - rooster ("cock a doo"), snake, donkey ("eee ooo" while rocking side to side")

Memorable Moments Christmas, seeing Santa, petting a snake twice (once at the Hands On Museum and once at the Dallas Zoo), fourth plane trip, first stomach flu :(

Conorman's Teepee

Christmas came a little early on Saturday with a special delivery from the North Pole's Texas extension. Here is some video of Conor playing with his new teepee. I think he likes it - see for yourself:

He is already doing much better with the walls :)

Thank you to Santa's helpers Mimi and Grampy!!!

"OOOOOOhhh, BUBBLES!"

That was Conor's response to seeing big fluffy snowflakes falling outside yesterday :)

Santa

Conor went to visit Santa in downtown Plymouth on Saturday. He gave Santa high fives and touched his beard, but wanted nothing to do with sitting on Santa's lap.



Last year's picture for comparison:

Baby Foodie - Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash with Black Beans and Lentils

I tried to come up with a creative name for this recipe but couldn't think of one :(  It is basically just a mish mash of a few ingredients I had available.

This recipe makes a good soft taco filling for mom and dad, while the little ones can eat it by itself.  I pretty much eyeballed the spices so adjust to your own taste.

1 medium sweet potato
1 medium butternut squash
1 cup lentils, cooked
1 cup black beans, cooked
1 lime
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp corainder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Wash potato, pat dry and prick several times with a fork.
Slice squash in half and remove seeds.  Coat lightly with olive oil.
Bake squash and potato at 400 degrees until fork tender, about 30 min for squash and 45 min for sweet potato.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Cut squash and potato into approx. one inch cubes.
Prepare lentils and black beans - if using canned, warm over medium heat and drain.
Combine lentils, beans, squash and sweet potato.
Add zest of half a lime.
Add cumin, coriander, cinnamon and salt.
Mix and serve!
Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional Information, per serving
Calories                          174.8
Total Fat                         4.9 g
Saturated Fat                   0.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat        0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat      3.4g
Cholesterol                     0.0 mg
Sodium                           38.3 mg
Potassium                       607.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate        28.3 g
Dietary Fiber                  8.8 g
Sugars                            1.6 g
Protein                            6.8 g

Baby Foodie - Mini Pot Pies

This is soooooo easy.  It will probably take me longer to type this out than it takes to make.  2 ingredients, seriously.

Mini Pot Pies, from Pillsbury

1 can refrigerated flaky biscuits
1 can soup

Preheat oven to 350.
Separate biscuits in half.
Press one half of each biscuit into the bottom of a greased muffin tin.
Place a spoonful of soup onto each biscuit.
Top with remaining biscuit halves, pressing around the edges to seal.
Optional: Top with cheese, or a pat of butter and some seasoning.
Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes until golden brown.
DONE!

The beauty of this recipe is the versatility - you can use any kind of soup you like!  I think it works best with a cream based soup, like chowder or a chunkier cream of whatever.  If you use a broth based soup, it's best to drain it first.  You can also mix and match - I made it with drained southwestern vegetable soup and a dollop of cream of mushroom.  Make a bunch and freezer the leftovers.

Conor ate his so fast there wasn't time to get a picture :)

Nutritional information will vary based on your ingredients.