Egg-cellent!

This morning Cole had egg yolk for breakfast! I am so excited that, so far, it looks like eggs are a go. There's no rash and no other signs of allergy. Eggs are a great source of protein for my little dairy-free, banana-free, and nut-free monkey!

Sharing the Love

I was very blessed to be able to nurse both my babies. Nursing is such a personal decision, and I believe you've got to do what works best for you and your family. If our circumstances were different, I may not have been able to nurse them, and that would've had to work for us. Anyway, recently Cole was preliminarily diagnosed with a milk allergy. As a result, I decided to stop nursing and put him on formula for the next two months (until he switches over to rice milk). I have experienced some of the feelings I had anticipated feeling: sad because my baby is not so much a baby anymore, happy because I'll get to eat what I want when I want, and maybe a little guilty for not being able to finish what I'd set out to do (nurse for the first year). One thing I did not anticipate was being able to share the wonderful feeling of feeding Cole with Sydney. Yesterday, when I gave Cole a bottle for the first time at lunch, she immediately asked to help. I said yes, but it didn't work out well (he was too hungry, and she was too impatient). Today, I did a little more planning, and voila - what a sweet, sweet moment!

Tiny Toes Ballet

This morning, Sydney's friend, Avery, invited her to dance class (it was bring-a-friend-to-class day). It could possibly have been the cutest thing I've ever seen. It was a half tap and half ballet class. Sydney did great. First, she was definitely dressed the part thanks to her leotard and tights from Halloween and some ballet shoes that Avery loaned her. Second, she seemed to really enjoy the class. She could have cared less that I wasn't in the room and participated in each exercise. She listened to the teacher and twirled when she was supposed to twirl and leaped when she was supposed to leap. She was especially excited about the stamp she got on her hand at the end of class. Watching her and the other little girls and boy all dressed up and dancing was just so stinking cute. I think we'll make a habit of going to ballet class... thanks so much Avery!

Southwest Shredded Chicken Three-Bean Chili

This was easy to whip together. I used chicken that I popped in the oven earlier in the day. At dinner, it took me about 20 minutes total to pull together (including the corn muffins I made in my mini cupcake maker).

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 14 oz cans chicken broth
16 oz can black beans, drained
16 oz can red kidney beans, drained
16 oz can cannellini beans, drained
15 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Tabasco hot sauce
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 heaping Tablespoons chili powder
1 heaping Tablespoon cumin
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and shredded chicken breast; cook for 1 minute then stir in chicken broth, beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, hot sauce, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes then reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.

Original recipe: http://www.picky-palate.com/

Snow Day at Gamma and Papa's

Tuesday was another snow day. The roads ended up not being too bad, so we headed over to Gamma and Papa's house for some fun. The kids had a blast! Here are some highlights:

Gamma was so excited to see us!

Syd and Papa immediately got to work on Play Dough. Syd was at it for about two hours!

Meanwhile, Cole got his first hair cut. Well, just a trim. Gamma trimmed around his ears to get rid of his old man do.

Syd and Papa did some bird watching.

Gamma and the kids played some great tunes on the piano. A great time was had by all!

Hot Tamale Casserole

This was absolutely fantastic! Thanks so much to Jen, who passed along the recipe.

Jiffy corn muffin mix (prepare using directions on the box, you will need milk and an egg)
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (16oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10oz) enchilada sauce
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 can (2 ¼ oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the beans, enchilada sauce, chilies, olives, chili powder and cilantro, heat through.

Prepare the cornbread mix and put it in an 8 x 8 casserole dish. Top cornbread mixture with the meat mixture. Cover and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Then add cheese for the last 5 minutes until it’s bubbly and cheese is melted.

Cole Thomas at 9 Months

We had a very eventful day yesterday. At lunch, Cole ate a ton! He had peas and carrots (chopped), cheese quesadilla, green beans (pureed), and cheerios. Approximately 15 minutes after lunch, he looked like this (poor baby):

I'm not sure what caused the hives. He had previously tried all the food he ate for lunch. The only thing I can think of is that I steamed the peas and carrots in a bag with corn. Even though he didn't eat the corn, the peas and carrots were cooked with the corn? Maybe he's allergic to corn? Who knows?

Anyway, after that fiasco, we headed to the doctor's office for Cole's 9-month check up. Here are his stats:

Weight: 20.2 lbs

Height: 29.5 inches

Head circumference: 18.5 inches

He's above the 80th percentile in height and head circumference. He's in the 44th percentile for weight. He's tall and skinny - like someone else I know. :)

The doctor was pleased with his growth and with his development - Cole is pulling himself up and cruising the furniture at 9 months - not bad. The doctor was especially intrigued with Cole's teeth. We had thought that his teeth were a little crooked, but it turns out that we were wrong. Instead of Cole's two middle incisors coming in - which is most common - he has one bottom middle and one left incisor. I posted this picture a week ago, but it's perfect to show his teeth:

Even more unusual is that the next tooth that appears to be coming in is Cole's upper left canine. If that is the case, Cole's going to look like a part-vampire baby in no time. We can call him Fang! I can't wait to get pictures of that - stay tuned!