Another Photo Shoot! Part 1: Sports Theme

Ezzy's had all these sports toys for awhile, but he's never actually played with them before. So when we brought them out for the photo shoot, he was so mesmerized that it was nearly impossible to get him to look up at the camera. Even with three people yelling his name, all he wanted to do was examine the football and basketball. I'm sure that makes Daddy and Grampa proud :)

Next up: the Paddington pictures!

It's the Little Things: Baby Optimism

Sometimes I marvel at what a cheerful baby we wound up with. The simplest things can crack him up. And even stuff that I find mildly traumatic doesn't seem to phase him. As long as he isn't hungry (I'm currently trying to keep a steady stream of blueberries flowing his way so he doesn't "yell" at me) he's generally smiling.

Exhibit A: Shaking his head "no" - he doesn't actually know that it means no, but several times a day he'll shake his head and he gets such a huge kick if you do it back at him.

Exhibit B: The "lean" - About a week ago, while we were out to eat, he started leaning to one side and then just staring at us until we mirrored him, then he would start cracking up, sit back up, and then promptly do it all over again. Where do kids come up with this silly stuff??

Exhibit C: I was trying to do a little jump rope workout yesterday, and Ezzy wasn't happy about it. So I tried to cheer him up by singing along to the radio for him (which truly wouldn't cheer anyone in their right mind up, but I was grasping at straws) and he found it hilarious. So of course I had to stop what I was doing and pick him up for a little impromptu dance, which cracked him up even more. I love this boy so much.

Exhibit D: (a little less cute, a little more traumatic) - last night Ezzy pretty much projectile vomited all over me, myself, the couch, and the floor. This was the first time he's ever done that. I think the last time I saw that much vomit was when I was in middle school babysitting my brother and he left a trail of puke from our back door, through the living room and up the stairs. My stepdad walked into me sobbing about halfway done cleaning it up. So I personally have never dealt well with throw-up situations. But Ezzy just went straight from throwing up back to being the most cheerful, bouncy baby that he normally is. Also, this was one of many many times that I'm reminded how thankful I am to have Joe on my parenting team. Hats off to any and all single mommas, cause I don't know how you do what you do. I'm pretty sure we'd all still be covered in puke if Joe wasn't there to help out.

I'm joining up with Words About Waverly and Sadie Sky Boutique where you can read about other moms' special little moments this week :)

Baby Eats: A Sample 9 Month Old's Meal Plan

For the last month or so, Ezzy has been eating actual solids (as opposed to just pureed and mashed food). I found it kind of nerve-wracking in the beginning, because I figured since he doesn't have any teeth, he would just try to swallow stuff whole and I'd have to do the baby heimlich maneuver on him. Thankfully he's good about gumming stuff into mush before swallowing. So far there are only a few things I've given him which he hasn't liked: avocado (you can check out his disgusted face in this post), potato (I really don't understand this one), certain types of bread, and scrambled eggs. We're really trying to start him off eating his fruits and veggies early, because Joe and I both know firsthand that it's harder to teach yourself healthy habits later in life. I was the child in a high chair eating McDonalds and drinking soda out of a baby bottle (Seriously. I have the pictures somewhere.) It wasn't until I was an adult that I educated myself about nutrition (the book Superfoods Rx changed my life) and started eating fruits and veggies and whole grains, and eventually gave up meat. Joe also doesn't eat meat, so obviously Ezzy will be a vegetarian when he's eating at home. I'm not going to force him to not eat meat, but I'm not going out of my way to prepare it for him either. So here's a little insight into what kinds of foods we've been feeding him lately, and what he likes at this stage (although I've heard with babies and toddlers, they like stuff one day then hate it the next, so this info could all be very different by next month.

At the Valentine's potluck we went to earlier this month, a sweet little girl was kind enough to share her peas with Ezzy, and he surprisingly loved them. Now I just microwave frozen peas for a minute, let them cool down, and he eats them plain.

Ezzy is a fan of cheese. I bought him mozzarella sticks from Trader Joe's and just tear off little pieces for him.

In the past week I've been giving him tofu when we eat it and he loves it. Once was at a vegan restaurant, and I think they just prepared it in some kind of veggie broth. I also made it for dinner a few nights ago, and I baked it brushed with a little barbecue sauce. 

Blueberries are one of his favorite things. I'm surprised by how many he'll eat in one sitting.

Also, bananas are a daily favorite for him. Instead of mashing it like I used to, I just break off little pieces for him.

We tried oranges for the first time the other day and he loved them. It was a cara cara orange, and it was delicious. If you haven't tried these, go get some today. They're in season right now and they're amazing. 

We also recently tried tomatoes, and I was surprised that he ate it without making his "you're poisoning me" face. 

Steamed beets and zucchini go over pretty well with him.

I've tried giving him beans a few times. It's hit or miss, but I'll keep trying because that's a pretty big staple of a vegetarian diet.

Frozen whole wheat waffles were his first finger food, and he still eats about one a day. And he still likes them straight out of the freezer. No warming necessary.

I've started carrying little puff cereal snacks with me wherever in case he needs something to much on. I've tried giving him plain cheerios, but so far he isn't a fan.

He still eats purees, but I usually add a little plain greek yogurt and some Gerber oatmeal cereal for a little extra iron and protein. 

Here's a day's sample meal plan for him (actually, this is what he ate yesterday):

• Breakfast: frozen waffle + banana.
• Lunch: veggie puree + yogurt + oatmeal.
• Snack: Blueberries.
• Dinner: cheese, peas, steamed beets.

Also, I'm still nursing Ezzy about 6 times throughout the day and night. Lately I've just been trying to feed Ezzy a little bit of whatever I'm eating (as long as it's soft enough) so he can get used to different flavors. We're lucky that he's a good eater. Even though he'll sometimes start off with a horrified look on his face, he usually finishes eating whatever is in his mouth instead of immediately spitting it out. Also, he's gotten really good about feeding himself. He'll pick up his food with his pincher and thumb, examine it, sometimes pass it back and forth from one hand to the other, and then cram the food + his whole fist in his mouth. It's seriously one of the cutest things to watch. One thing I've learned though is to only put one bite at a time on his tray, otherwise he thinks they're toys and starts banging them together and throwing them on the ground.

I want to get a little more creative and give him some homemade veggie nuggets and pasta, so I'll give an update on how he likes those in the future. If anyone has any other healthy baby meal recommendations, please let me know! I'm always on the lookout for food inspiration

And, just because, here are the many faces of Ez while eating:

One bite for my mouth. One bite for the floor. One bite for my shirt...

What is this???

I'll give it a try...

I just woke up, get the camera out of my face.

Scowling at Daddy while eating.

Ack! Call poison control!!

Food or toy? I haven't decided yet.

Weekend Recap: Photo Shoot & USC

Thursday we were lured into another JCP photo shoot thanks to some amazing deals they had running last week.

Here's a behind the scenes shot. More photos coming soon!

Afterward we did date night at the same vegan restaurant we went to two weeks ago. So yummy!

Saturday I had a little me time, so I did a lil workout and some at home spa treatments.

Meanwhile, Ezzy, Grandma, and Dad were taking advantage of lots of photo ops at the park.

This boy is ready to walk!

Clearly he's just humoring us even though he's not at all impressed with the swing.

The many faces of Ez. These pics crack me up every time I look at them :)

Sunday we were going to walk around the rose gardens at Exposition Park.

But they were closed until March, and the smell of manure drove us across the street to USC.

I'd never been on USC's campus before, and it's so pretty.

Ezzy was pretty puzzled over this bronze dog.

My lil star.

Couldn't resist a photo of these colorful bikes.

USC had plenty of fountains, and we made Ezzy pose by ALL of them! I'm sure he's traumatized now.

My favorite part of the day... (is that sad??)...Veggie Grill!!

The many faces of Ezzy while eating a blueberry. He LOVES them.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Coffee Date Friday

I came across this great link-up over on Rags to Stitches called Coffee Date. It's where a bunch of us write about random topics and thoughts going through our heads as if we were on....(you guessed it!) a coffee date with our dear readers. I'd love to get together for coffee with all of you, but I know you're scattered all over the place, so for now a virtual coffee date will have to do.

If we got together for coffee, I'd have to tell you about something that made me smile this week. Ezzy's Grampa just discovered this blog, and my mom reported back to me that she walked in on him crying, and when she asked why, he said he was reading about Ezzy's birth and it just made him so happy. That really warmed my heart. I'm so happy that Ezzy's life is filled with such love. He also asked why I don't blog every day and the reasons are: a) I'm a new mom! and b) our lives aren't exciting enough to warrant a blog post every day. Sorry.

I had a lovely mama's night out on Wednesday. We did another Painting & Vino class (my second one), and it was just as fun and relaxing as the first class. Our instructor was actually even better this time around. Although, honestly, I was happier with my moon painting from the first class. There were a lot of things I would have added to my School of Fish painting (below) but I just didn't have the time. I was also surprised and a little sad that Ezzy was already asleep when I got home. Not counting our nighttime feedings, which are a blur to me, I didn't see my lil guy for 12 hours! That's a record for me, and I missed him. Also, please explain to me why he went to sleep at 9:00 for dad, but the night before when I put him to bed he fought the good stay-awake fight until 12:30? We know which parent is putting him to bed from now on...

As Alissa mentioned on her coffee date, I too am obsessed with the Olympics. Specifically with figure skating. And even more specifically with the Russian figure skaters. (Sorry Team USA! Gracie Gold is a close second in my book.) But seriously, the choreography and passion and overall bendy-ness of the Russian skaters just can't be beat. Their spins are mesmerizing. I was sad that Yulia didn't do well in the individual contest, but her Schindler's List free style skate from the team competition remains my overall favorite. (Watch it here.) I love Schindler's List, and I actually just made Joseph watch it with me a few weeks ago, so it was fresh in my mind. She is amazing, and I already can't wait to see her at the next Olympics. I had actually resolved not to talk about my love of Olympic figure skating anymore, because when I bring it up people are either "eh" about it, or worse, I get a lecture on human rights. But since the ladies' competition just wrapped up last night, here I am rambling on about it again. Please tell me I'm not the only one who loves this stuff??

So if we were on a coffee date this week, what would you tell me about? Anything new and exciting going on? Anything that made you smile this week? Miss you all!

Indestructible

The above book is part of an "indestructibles" series, and since Ezzy has had it for almost a week now, and it is indeed still intact, I thought I should give it a little review. I had never heard of these books before, but they promise that they can't be torn, ripped, or punctured. Obviously I was a little skeptical. Ezzy is pretty persistent about chewing anything he can get his hands on. He also likes ripping and throwing things. And this book seems like it's made out of paper, so I was thinking at best it would last a few hours, which is still a feat in and of itself. Most paper books (which I don't give him) wouldn't survive ten minutes with this guy. He'll also chew threw the cardboard books, if given the chance. But as you can see in the picture below, he's still working on this indestructible book, and aside from being a little wrinkled, there are absolutely no rips and tears. And he loves it. I think it's the challenge of trying to destroy it and failing that keeps him entertained for so long. The book also promises to be safe, non-toxic, and machine washable. So in other words, it's absolutely perfect and what every baby book should strive to be. Also, the illustrations are beautiful. You can check out the whole indestructible series here. 

Enjoying his Valentine gift from grandma.

Weekend Recap: Valentine's Weekend in Pictures

Some sweet deliveries arrived on my doorstep on Valentine's Day.

Joe took Ezzy and I to a yummy vegan restaurant where we capped off our meal with some red velvet cake.

Took advantage of one more Vday photo op - the sweetest Valentine a girl could ask for.

Sunday morning we headed to Santa Barbara where we stumbled upon a great breakfast spot called D'angelo's.

We just happened to get a table without a wait, even though there was a huge line the whole time we were there.

We wandered around State Street enjoying the gorgeous weather.

The Santa Barbara courthouse was absolutely gorgeous.

We explored the courtyard

And climbed to the top of the clock tower, where we had amazing mountain and ocean views.

On top of the world!

Ezzy loved the beach.

The sand was powdery-fine and Ezzy got a huge kick out of it.

We were craving Mexican food for dinner so we stopped at El Cava.

And I had my first margarita in over 18 months. Yummy! (and strong.)

We capped off a perfect day with one more dessert - it was Valentine's weekend, after all!