Help with Meal Ideas for Pre-Toddler?

So, I've been brainstorming ideas for Nora's meals now that she is going off of purees. I'm hoping to come up with some kind of "meal plan" especially for breakfast and lunch so I can prepare everything the weekend ahead of time and have it ready to go during the week. Here are some ideas I have so far:

Breakfast:
Kashi whole wheat frozen waffles
Yobaby yogurt
Toast + cream cheese
Diced fruits- banana, berries, cantaloupe
Egg yolk omelet w/cheese and avocado
Whole wheat pancakes (plain or topped with ricotta; banana or blueberry)
French toast

Lunch:
Steamed veggies – squash, carrots, zucchini, broccoli
Bread w/cream cheese, tomatoes, and avocado
Roast chicken or turkey meatballs
Tuna or chicken salad
Hummus – something to go with it?
Cottage cheese
Tofu- scrambled? with veggies?
Squeezie food pouch (she likes sucking on these)
Pasta with cheese and peas

Snacks:
Puffs, cheerios, veggie puffs
Cheese slices
Diced fruit
Crackers or graham crackers; plain quaker rice cakes
Hard-boiled egg

Dinner (she'll usually eat what we're having unless it's really spicy; then I need backups):
Chicken nuggets (not a fan of these so far but maybe when she gets more teeth)
Pasta + cheese or sauce, meatballs
Steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots + peas
Avocado slices- frozen or fresh
Roast chicken
Grilled cheese toast
Tofu- baked? stir fry?
Sweet potato fries

Does anyone have any other ideas? Or suggestions for planning meals for a soon-to-be toddler?

8-10 Month Old Schedule

I shared our schedule when Nora was 4 months old. I thought I would share Nora's current schedule, as things are looking to change around here pretty soon, with Nora eating more and with me wanting to slowly start weaning her from the bottle (her pediatrician suggested we have this done by the time she's one). Though it makes me a little sad because it's our snuggle time. But this is the schedule she's been on for at least the last two months- it felt good to have some regularity! Babies change so fast, it can feel hard to keep up.

7am: Wake up. A lot of time she wakes up before this but we're trying to enforce the "no coming out of your crib until 7am" rule (unless she starts crying. Right now she just talks to herself for like 20 minutes). Mostly because otherwise she kept waking up earlier and earlier. She has bottle #1 right when she wakes up.

8am: breakfast. Usually yogurt and something else, like egg yolk omelet or whole-wheat waffle.

8:30a: on weekdays she heads to daycare.

10a: Bottle #2. Usually immediately followed by her best nap of the day- a little over an hour (actually an improvement from a couple months ago when all her naps were 40 minutes or less).

12p: Lunch. Usually a puree plus some puffs or cheerios (this will soon change though as the puree days are coming to an end very soon).

1p: Bottle #3.

2-4p: Somewhere in here she takes her second nap of the day- usually lasts from 30 minutes (at daycare) to an hour (if she's at home).

Nora during naptime. This is the blanket one of her great-grandmothers made. So precious!

4p: Bottle #4.

5p: She gets picked up from daycare

6:30p: We all try to have dinner together. Nora gets mostly finger foods- usually avocado plus some other veggies, then part of whatever we're having. Sometimes a little puree too to round it out.

7:30p: Bathtime (every other night). Kevin's in charge of this one! I pick up her room and lay out her jammies in the meantime.

8p: Bottle #5 and sleepy time.

Something to remember

... when I look at all the piles of crap and laundry that I have to do.... or when I'm tempted to try do get things done during "Nora time"...

Babies Don't Keep

by Ruth H. Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Colorado Weekend

We went home a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the life of this wonderful lady, and while it was a somber occasion, I was reminded once again of how wonderful it is that Kevin and I both have such wonderful families. I really want Nora to know all these amazing people in her life.

Nora did pretty well at the traveling, though it's definitely getting harder every time we fly- she is very active and it's hard to entertain her on our laps for a 3-4 hour flight. She did sleep though for at least part of the flights which helped. She also flirted with all the other passengers, so they didn't seem quite as annoyed when she did a few shrieks here and there.

Saturday we went to the beautiful memorial service- it was very touching, and I think Kevin's grandmother would have loved all the music and speeches in her honor. My parents watched Nora for us, and then met us for the reception following the service.

We went on a walk Saturday afternoon, and then Saturday night, we celebrated my dad's birthday- I was glad we could be there to celebrate with him. He made great drinks (as always), and we had a yummy dinner that my mom made (Kevin made great mashed potatoes). And we got some good photos while the light was still good.

My new favorite picture of the three of us:

Sunday we went to have brunch with Kevin's side of the family. It was so fun to see our nephew and Nora interact, and her other "cousins" (Kevin's cousin's children). I know in a few years they will have so much fun together. And she got lots of attention from her other grandparents and aunts and uncles.

A really terrible blurry photo but I love it anyway- Nora's cousin giving her a hug :):

I meant to take more pictures in better light, but it was dark before I remembered, but I still like this one even though there are some flash issues.

Monday was the burial service, which was family-only and quite touching. I will miss Kevin's grandmother a lot.

Anyway, that was our weekend back home!

Favorite 6-9 Month Items

First of all, see my favorite newborn items and favorite 2-6 month old items. The items for 6-9 months are mostly the toys that Nora plays with the most, but I've also included a few practical items.

1) LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table. We replaced our activity mat with this activity table, and it's been great for letting Nora practice pulling up and standing. There are two different settings- jazzy music and "learning" (abc's, numbers, shapes, etc). Also, we still on rare occasion use our Jumperoo (and we definitely used it quite a bit from months 4-7) but Nora doesn't like being confined in there much anymore so I'll likely pack it up or sell it.

2) Tolo Toys Rolling Shape Sorter. I love this toy, and so does Nora. The shapes are also rattles (and some of Nora's favorite things to chew on), both sides come off to act as lids, and the toy is very durable and will likely be entertaining for months if not years ahead. Nora has already started understanding that the shapes go inside (she actually has started to pick up all her toys and try to put them in there), although she can't quite match shapes correctly yet.

3) Books. That's Not My Bear/Monkey. Chugga Chugga Choo Choo. Dear Zoo. Nora loves the "touch and feel" and "lift the flap" books right now. And trains. So what if she doesn't read books right side up? She clearly is a creative thinker. :)

4) Zo-li Straw Sippy Cup. I mentioned this in her 9-month update, but this cup is great! So easy for her to use, and I like that straws encourage better mouth development.

5) Stacking Cup Set. We have this one from green spouts so the cups are BPA, PVC, Nitrosamine and phthalate free (not many of her toys are that green-friendly). They also have little holes in the bottom so they can be used during bath time. She plays with these all the time!

6) First Years Ignite Stroller. We were using the Snap N' Go with her infant carseat, but now that she's in her convertible carseat, we needed a light umbrella stroller for traveling. I picked this one based on reviews and it worked well on our recent visit to Colorado! The storage space underneath is my only complaint- too hard to access. But it folds easily, seems durable and comfortable, and is reasonably priced.

7) Car Seat Travel Bag. I debated buying this, but in the end I'm glad we did. I figure we'll use it quite a bit with all the traveling we have to do with Nora this year. It allowed us to protect the carseat when we checked it through to our destination. It also gives you a bit of extra storage space for your travels. :) I probably looked totally ridiculous wearing up but the backpack features allows you to free up your hands.

8) Formula Dispenser/snack container. We've used this container quite a bit when traveling with formula. It has three separate compartments that you can premeasure the formula into and then a convenient spout for dumping it into the bottle. I also use it now to send little snacks to daycare, like cheerios.

9) Wiggly Giggler Rattle. Nora likes shaking this toy- it's pretty funny too, given its resemblance to the "shake weight".

10) Bottle cleaning supplies: a Bottle Brush and a Silicone Drying Mat. Since I have to wash bottles every day, I do them by hand rather than in the dishwasher. The bottle brush is essential, and the mat makes for a nice place for everything to stay organized and dry off.

11) Flower hair clips from Celeste and Company. You'll notice in two of the pictures above she's wearing them (and probably many pictures in the future)! Her hair is starting to grow out and I don't want to cut it too much (I'd like her to have longer hair and no bangs right now). These clips stay in pretty well (better than some others I've tried), considering her hair is super thin. She pretty much wears them every day now to keep the hair out of her eyes. I want to get a few more different styles!

Items I've previously recommended that we still use all.the.time:

1) Levana Video Baby Monitor (despite bad reviews on Amazon we've generally really liked ours. I think I would like pretty much any video monitor though- the video is the important thing!).
2) Homedics SoundSpa Machine
3)Fisher-Price Booster Seat.
4) Glider from Room & Board.
5) Sassy Ring O' Links.
6) HALO SleepSack Micro-Fleece (though once it gets warm enough, we'll stop using it).
7) BOB Revolution Stroller.

Like Father, Like Daughter

Remember when I posted this picture during Nora's first month?

Well.... here are the 9 month equivalents. How are they so alike already?

And just a really cute one:

p.s. Happy birthday to my Dad today! He's someone I hope to emulate as well. :)

Swing Low

A couple weekend ago we took Nora for her first ride in a swing! She didn't really like the swing as a newborn, but she seemed to like this experience a little better (and what better view in Baltimore than that from Federal Hill park, with lovely views of the Inner Harbor).

I can't wait until the weather is more consistently nice outside and we can take Nora to the park more often- especially when she starts walking.

9 months in, 9 months out

Nora has been "out" as long as she was "in"- she was born at 39 weeks, and it's now her 39th week out in the world.