Today, Sean and I took the girls for a hike around the lagoon. We decided to go on a bear hunt. Have you read the book? It was our inspiration and it turned out to be a ton of fun. Securely strapped to Sean, Piper was completely content in the Bjorn. Dillen led the way and Roxy followed closely behind her. We saw lizards, butterflies, lots of birds, caterpillars and squirrels. Roxy got a little ahead and in a big voice yelled, "Here! I see some bear paw tracks!!!" Sure enough, she found what looked like some very big dog prints. She was convinced we were getting close to the bears and Dillen easily went along with the fun, giggling the whole way. When we came upon a small ditch that led down to a darkish hole in the forested trees, we decided that must be where they were. I told Roxy to keep her voice down so they wouldn't come out and growl at us. She quickly responded, "But I have this stick. I'll just hit them," while showing me the large stick she had been carrying. What a little protector. ;)

Roxy kept that stick (and a few handfuls of rocks). All of us enjoyed the adventure so much we will be keeping those memories for quite some time.

Posted by Rebecca at 11:04 PM | Permalink

That's right! She did it. ALL by herself. :) Piper figured out how to roll from her backside to her belly (going over her left side) all by herself today. And, once she had it, she kept doing it over and over again after I rolled her back onto her backside. Dillen, Roxy and I whooped and hollered for her and Piper was beaming a huge smile from ear to ear - basking in her milestone accomplishment! Good job, Piper Ann! :D

Posted by Rebecca at 8:27 PM | Permalink

Sean and I have come to the realization that:

1. We eat out too much - allowing our girls to eat corn dogs, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, etc. way too much.
2. We don't introduce enough vegetables to their diet.
3. We spend too much money on food.
4. We are tired of asking at the last minute "What do you want to do for dinner?" which either results in going out or fixing a quick "Pasta with butter and cheese" for the girls.
5. Our girls deserve lessons in cooking and knowing how to prepare healthy meals of their own in the future.

So, we decided to make Sundays our Family Cooking Day! (notice the exclamation point for good measure). Here's how it works: We decide upon three meals we are going to make for the week and go to the grocery store first thing Sunday AM (the earlier the better to beat the crowds). Then we come home and, AS A FAMILY, cook the three meals (knowing full well Sean will pick up any slack - heh). We cook enough food so that whatever we eat on Monday, there is enough left over for Tuesday. Whatever we eat on Wednesday, there is enough left over for Thursday. Whatever we eat on Friday, there is enough left over for Saturday. On Sundays, we go out -- especially since much of the day is spent cooking! :) Of course any of those days can be switched around if we don't want to eat the SAME thing the next night.

Today was our first attempt at this new routine and so far so good!

Fortunately for me, I have an amazing group of friends who are willing to share their (kid approved) recipes with me and so now I have several to choose from. But Sean wanted to take charge this first time around and chose meals from his trusty old healthy cook books. We decided on these three meals:

1. Risotto Primavera
2. Chicken Stew with Peppers and Pineapple
3. Braised Pork Chop with Apples

The girls did amazingly well helping to snap the veggies apart, throw ingredients in pots and stir items together. Dillen even tried to read the directions to us. Mostly, they REALLY enjoyed tasting the rawness of the foods and the "fruits of their labor." I was surprised to see them gobble up diced cooked onions like there was no tomorrow. They also enjoyed eating raw red bell peppers and asparagus. There was nothing they wouldn't try and nothing they said tasted "yucky." I am hoping this rings true for the week when the meals get eaten for dinner.

All in all, it took until around noon to do the shopping and cooking. And all of the ingredients (including spices, corn starch, oils, etc. - which will be used again on future Sundays) came to just under $100. I imagine as we continue through the weeks we will find even less expensive ways in which to create meals.

The experience and quality family time was priceless.

Posted by Rebecca at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by Rebecca at 11:54 PM | Permalink

Well, it's happened. Piper has officially gotten her first cold. :( She's getting through it like a trooper - not really crying (she's not a crier) but instead just yelling... she does that a lot. Her nose is stuffy and runny and her face gets a little blotchy. She's sneezing a bit but other then that, she's hanging in there. Hopefully, this will pass quickly. Her appetite hasn't changed so that's good.

I gave her bananas for the first time yesterday. She wasn't really sure what to make of the taste. She kept scrunching up her little nose but she swallowed it all down. She does like to eat. Dillen was eating a chocolate lollipop in front of her today and she watched very closely and kept sticking her tongue out like she wanted some. That made Dillen and I belly laugh. She is such a neat little baby. She loves to focus on anyone who will look at her and she gives the biggest, sweetest smiles. She giggles now - especially when being tickled or teased with quick, tight hugs. And she's ALMOST mastered rolling over. When we lay her on the blanket on the floor she lifts her feet up to her hands so she can grab them and roll onto her side. She will hang out there or start to motor around in a circle. She has this down pat. If you look away for one minute, when you look back she's in a completely different position.

She had her 4 month check up on the 6th of this month and is right on track with everything. She is in the 80th percentiles for height and weight. She holds her head up strong and is standing with assistance. I've decided to split her immunization schedule up - creating more office visits then most. But I don't want so many vaccinations in her system all at once. I don't care what the rulings are out there on the subject of immunizations and autism. I am going to play it safe. Why not? Fortunately, she takes shots easily. In fact, she slept right through her last ones! Lol.

Posted by Rebecca at 11:37 PM | Permalink

Dillen lost her second top front tooth yesterday. She now has an adorably large gap that gives her the look of a sweet little vampire. Surprisingly, she is not lisping as much as I thought she would. She keeps wanting me to test her by telling her to say something with a whole lot of Ss. "The sweet snake sank soon after sunset." But she's not getting tripped up and she loves it. :) Patinka, her fairy, of course came and made a mess again leaving dust everywhere delivered a cute little charm in the shape of a heart... just in time for Valentine's Day. She really is a clever little fairy, messy or not. ;) Dillen was excited to wear her charm bracelet to a Valentine's party hosted by some of our favorite friends (hi Carrie!). I hadn't seen many of the children at the party in quite some time and it reminded me how quickly time is passing. Seeing Dillen every day, I don't see the slow changes happening to her physically. But looking at all of her friends from Orange County was a shock to say the least. Our 5/6 year olds are growing up. Fast.

Posted by Rebecca at 10:49 PM | Permalink

Piper, being 17 weeks today (!), enjoyed a tablespoon of baby cereal for the first time ever. We propped her up in her bouncy and, flanked by her two sisters, she gobbled the entire little bit down. Nothing amazing happened, there was so big fanfare, but the significance of the moment did not escape me for a minute. It is a HUGE step when a baby eats food other then milk for the first time. I was eager to get her started since she seemed ready: watching us eat with interest; has doubled in weight since birth; holding herself up strong when in my lap; able to turn her head to look around. I am glad it was successful. Now Sean can feed her, too. :)

Video was taken but I still need to upload it...

And one other thing that is new to her (and me!), she has discovered her left thumb. She sucks on it so much the skin always looks like it came out of a fun hour in a pool. She's a self soother. Dillen and Roxy never found their thumb and wouldn't take to a pacifier either. I was their human pacifier. I thought I was this for Piper, too, since she gagged on a pacifier each time I tried to give it to her. She has been searching around her hand for something to suck on for about a week or so but it wasn't until a few days ago that she latched on tight and the light bulb went off for her. The connection was made. W00t!

Posted by Rebecca at 10:51 PM | Permalink