Wood You Stop!

So the hubby and I always wanted a house with hardwood floors. We aren't the carpet type. So that's what we got. A house with ALL hardwood floors. No carpet in sight.

Alright!

More like All-Wrong!

Hardwood floors are not compatible with little babies...For oh so many reasons...

Reason #1: They're loud!
So putting baby to sleep is a very complicated, delicate, concentrated and involved ritual. He's a great sleeper, still sleeps through the night, great at napping, but getting him there is another story. He's got to have his Greenday and Bob Marley lullabies playing, he's got to be rocked, and he needs to be cool, and we need to bounce. When he's finally asleep and sound asleep, the tricky part comes, transferring him to the bed/crib. It's like a circus stunt - the balancing we have to do to hop on our bed and crawl to the middle while still rocking baby and then putting him down. All while not missing a beat while bouncing. And even if we get to put him down successfully without him waking up, it doesn't end there. We have to get off the bed and walk away, and here my friend, is where carpet would've been much much easier. Cause our house is old, and so our hardwood floors are old, which means, as we walk away after putting baby down to sleep, the hubby and I have to strategically find the areas on our hardwood floors that don't creak! It's like watching us play an insane game of Twister, or Hopscotch, moving from pieces of wood to wood, avoiding the ones that creak!

And heaven forbid anything accidentally drops on the floor while baby is asleep. On hardwood, it might as well be blasted on a loud speaker with Dolby surround sound!

Reason #2: Hardwood floors are...well, hard...
How is baby supposed to practice crawling and walking on hardwood floors? I can't imagine. I mean baby will fall and stumble, it's a given, and I dread it ever happening on the HARD wood floors! I am determined to buy large area rugs and we've already invested in those cushioned play mats so hopefully that will cover enough ground for baby to practice on. But realistically we cannot pad our entire floor, so there is still so much exposed wood floor that baby will just need to practice on. Do they make knee pads, elbow pads and helmets for little babies? =)

One great thing about hardwood floors - easy clean up! Thank goodness for that. Makes things a little less hard.

Pooped

So many things are happening right now, we've been soo busy lately and I just know things are not going to slow down anytime soon since the holidays are upon us!

Baby is successfully exploring his solids diet nowadays, especially with all the pureeing mommy has going on (refer to previous post). And with his newfound food, comes newfound energy, and newfound poop! (And unfortunately, sacrificed onesies.) Yup, nowadays, baby is eating up a storm, expending all that energy by causing a storm, and inevitably letting it all out by pooping up a storm. Baby is just literally pooped!

Baby celebrated his first Halloween and he had so much fun! To kick things off, we hosted our annual pumpkin carving and costume contest with our close friends and family. Baby was a pirate this year and so the hubby and I joined in as his first mates.

Then on the actual day of Halloween, baby was so excited that he did not sleep at all during the day! Of all the days...This was bad since that meant he would be real tired all night. We were hoping for the reverse, since all the festivities happen in the evening. But no such luck. Baby could sense the excitement in the air, I guess, cause he just would not go down for his naps at all during the day! But he was eating up his sweet potatoes, and boy did he leave a treat for mommy in his diapers! And we didn't even start trick-or-treating yet! This one was explosive, as they have been lately, and although I tried valiantly to save the onesie, it didn't make it. Let's all bow our heads in silence.

Evening came, and we ventured off to both families and did some trick-or-treating in our hood. Baby got a lot of candy, which means mommy and daddy need a lot of willpower! And Baby managed to stay awake for a good portion of the evening! But by the end of the night, let's just say baby was pooped - one of our easier efforts to put him to sleep.

Then yesterday, we visited the Skirball Cultural Center to see the Noah's Ark exhibit. Awesome exhibit and great for kids, highly recommend.

As if that wasn't enough stimulation for baby, my beloved sis and family surprised baby with his very first Radio Flyer! And not just any Radio Flyer, but the Ultimate Family Wagon! I'm going to try to ride in there with him! What's the weight limit on the thing?

Needless to say, baby was pooped afterwards! Pun intended! He took a big poop and was really pooped! Another easy effort to put him to sleep.

And today, we're celebrating my Aunt and Uncle's 25th Wedding Anniversary at Lawry's! Yummy! Known for their prime rib, and everyone is ordering the prime rib - except for me. Salmon please. I know, I know...The hubby yells "SACRILEGE!" and equates it with ordering fish and chips at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (which I don't) or ordering salad at the International House of Pancakes (which I don't), or worst yet, ordering grilled cheese at In 'n Out...which I do!

Anyhow I digress. Busy days, busy baby. I'm sure these days and months ahead we'll all be pooped! Pun intended!

Puree Fun

Sorry I haven't visited in a while folks, I've been tired...Spending way too many nights at the opera (refer to my previous post).

So entering this new world of mommy-hood I've stumbled upon a new pastime of pureeing. I've admittedly become a pureeing freak! The hubby bought me a nice, compact food processor and so I've been chopping and grinding away.

I make baby's food fresh! I puree sweet potatoes and carrots for him. And I've learned the art of deception and now make Deceptively Delicious food! I've hidden spinach and carrots in my brownies and I've fooled many a niece and nephew with chicken tenders breaded in broccoli! I think I just have more fun deceiving rather than the nutritious factor in it all!

Though I don't know how deceptive it all is, since I baked 2 batches of brownies, 1 healthy one with the hidden carrots and spinach, and 1 not-so-healthy one complete with caramel, nuts and tons of sugar! Guess which plate cleared out first. hmmmm.

I love pureeing! I think its therapeutic pulsing, chopping and grinding away! I enjoy my pureeing mommy-time, where its just me and my food processor and I'm mashing away. I can take out the days frustrations, anxieties and stress on those 2 little buttons and in the end, I have mashed up goodness. I would puree our annual Thanksgiving feast if the hubby would let me - though I don't know how liquid turkey would fare with the family.

Other than the art of deception, I also like that baby is getting a healthy start with all the purees. Plus, it's easier on the budget since 1 vegetable yields close to 4 servings! 4 servings of PURE goodness. No additives, no preservatives.

Pure(e) health, pure(e) nutrition, and pure(e) therapy for mommy. What more can you ask for?