Weekend, etc.

This weekend was nice, nothing too exciting, but sometimes low-key weekends are nice and relaxing!  Saturday we didn't do much of anything!  We went on a walk Saturday morning, even though it was really cold and sprinkling.  During Leah's nap I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on good healthy foods.  I stuck to my Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 list and stayed within my budget. Nice! Being pregnant and not buying wine is making my grocery budget seem a lot higher, haha!  :-) I have found a few new websites and blogs with vegetarian recipes that I can't wait to try! 
One cool product I found -  It is chopped carrots, broccoli, cabbage, celery, green bell pepper, radishes and jicama. Today I mixed it with spinach and sunflower seeds in a salad.  And later this week I am going to saute and serve over quinoa!

On Sunday Dustin thought it would be nice to give me a break since he will be going on a business trip soon.  So Dustin took Leah with him to run errands and go visit his mom.  I felt so weird at first being at home by myself!  It was nice to take my time getting ready in my quiet house. :-)  Then I ran some errands and went to a movie with my brother and sister-in-law.  It was a relaxing day!

This is one of the presents Leah got for her birthday, a princess tent. (Luckily it fold up really small :-)

She likes taking her blankie and books in with her :)

Today I had a quick dr appt, we went to visit Daddy at work, then we went to Toys R Us.  Leah has birthday money so we went to look around.  After Christmas and her birthday, she has enough toys! So we looked for some other things that she could use.
We spent part of the gift card on these things -

Big sidewalk chalk and a travel tray that straps on to the car seat! Leah always likes to look at books in the car but drops them because her lap is too tiny :) This will be great at helping hold up toys/books and she could even color. And it has a built in snack cup!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

The Dirty Dozen

Ever since Leah has been able to eat solid foods, I have become SO aware and somewhat obsessed with what we are eating.  I WISH we didn't have to worry about where our food comes from, but we do. And for the most part, it is disgusting what is done to our food - the artificial ingredients, pesticides, long distance shipping, etc., and don't get me started about what is done to animals.  I love buying as much organic and local food as possible, but let's face it, sometimes it is way too expensive!  I thought I would take a minute to write out the list of foods that are best to eat organic and what we can save our money on. 

First, here is a definition of what organic means-

• Animals have not been treated with: antibiotics, growth hormones, or feed made from animal byproducts.
• Animals must have been fed organic feed for at least a year.
• Animals must have access to the outdoors.
• Food hasn't been genetically modified or irradiated.
• Fertilizer does not contain sewage sludge or synthetic ingredients.
• Produce hasn't been contaminated with synthetic chemicals used as pesticides.

Here is a list of the "Dirty Dozen", the foods that test the highest of pesticide residue.  

My goal will to be at least try to get the following foods organic! 

1. Apples

2. Celery

3. Strawberries

4. Peaches

5. Spinach

6. Nectarines

7. Grapes (and raisins!) (Hmmm, must be some wines too, right?)

8. Sweet bell peppers

9. Potatoes

10. Blueberries

11. Lettuce

12. Kale / Collard greens

A few more things to note -

* Milk  (This is an important one for our family. Organic and rbST free milk is a must. We get our milk delivered from a local dairy.  And FYI, Horizon milk is not actually organic for those of you that haven't heard!)

* Chocolate
* Coffee

 I have read that chocolate and coffee most often come from countries that aren't regulated so there is no way to know for sure the amount of pesticides used.

* Beef and poultry - Umm, just watch Food, Inc. :-P

Now, here are the "Clean 15" that test the most clean of pesticides, so are generally ok to buy not organic.

1. Onions
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapple
4. Avocado 
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mango
8. Eggplant
9. Cantaloupe 
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet Potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

A few tips for buying organic - 

*Shop for produce that is actually in season! If you see cherries in the store in the winter, who knows where they come from or how they are being grown!!

*Look for local Farmer's Markets which is not only better for you and your wallet, but supports local businesses!

I hope everyone found this helpful!  Happy 'Clean' Eating!  :-)

Weekend

I feel like I always do my weekend recap posts on Tuesdays, ha!  This weekend was packed full of fun. On top of all the activities, the weather was beautiful in Seattle! 60 degrees and sunny. Saturday afternoon was Leah's birthday party. In the morning we went to run some last minute errands like pick up the goldfish, cake, etc.  We also took the opportunity to go on a short walk outside before Leah's nap. 

These are just a few random pics of Leah playing the last few days....

Whoever invented 'mess-free' markers is genius!!

Whenever Leah is quiet in the other room I get suspicious but here she was the other night while I was cooking dinner. Just sitting on her trampoline reading like a little angel :)

Sunday morning we went on a long walk to a nearby park.  Leah played for awhile and we just enjoyed the sun!  Then that afternoon we went to our friends Katie and Bryan's house to watch the Superbowl.  (They are our friends that live close to us but just decided to accept a job offer in CA. They will be missed!!)  I could care less about the Superbowl but like getting together with friends and usually enjoy the halftime performance.  The only Superbowl I truly enjoyed was the one I cheered at in 2006, in Detroit, Seahawks vs. Steelers.  Life changing experience!!  Wish I had some pics on this computer of that awesome trip. 

Dustin, Kevin, Bryan

Leah giving Cohen a kiss as he drove her around the house :)

Yesterday Leah had her 2 year doctor appointment.  I was so nervous as to how she would react now that she is SO aware of everything around her.  She did such a great job!  She did everything the dr asked, including opening her mouth and saying "ahhhh" when she needed to look in her mouth.  She even showed her how well she can talk. Which in response the dr told me that Leah is advanced for her age with her speech. *Proud Mommy moment* :-)  She weighs 23.5lbs which is in about the 15th percentile for her age. I told the dr that she eats a lot and often, she must burn it off quickly!  She said keep trying to feed her more calories and keep her on whole milk for now. Whatever, seems like she is doing just fine in my opinion and eats more than her friends her age! Anyway, she had to get one shot and she didn't even cry!  Yay!

Leah picked out a Toy Story sticker after her shot!

After the dr I took Leah to the mall and we had lunch and I got her a hot chocolate which she enjoyed :)

 Today we mostly just hung out at home. There was a crazy & loud windstorm last night that kept waking us all up so we are tired today! 

Leah's Elmo Party

Yesterday we had Leah's birthday party! We tried to keep it small with just Leah's close friends, aunt&uncle and grandparents.  I think everyone had a great time!

We did an Elmo theme so one fun thing we did was get Elmo's pet goldfish Dorothy to make an appearance!  :-) Leah loved it.  And then we covered our dining room table in butcher paper and had a bunch of crayons out for coloring.  We had bowls of goldfish crackers everywhere, and also served pizza, veggies, fruit kabobs, juice and soda. 

Then Leah had the best time opening all of her presents. She is a lucky girl who got some very cool gifts!

New sandbox from Grandpa!

Then it was CAKE time. Leah was looking forward to this since she saw the cake earlier in the day!

I love the way the cake turned out.

She blew out the candle on her first try!

Then it was time to just play with her friends.

Leah's friends Emma and Ethan

And Cohen and Ashlyn

Weeeeee!

The ball pit was a huge hit with the kids!

She loves broccoli!

Couldn't get her to put it down for a photo, ha!

It was a very fun party.  I am kind of bummed that I forgot to get ANY video. I wish I had asked someone to video presents and cake. Darn it! Well at least I have the pictures for Leah to look back at.  I still can't believe that she is 2!

Leah is 2!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my amazing daughter (Yesterday, Feb. 2). I cannot believe that two years have gone by since she was born. Although it seems like she was just born yesterday, I can't remember life without her. 
* Most of this post is for our memory, so, sorry if it bores you* ;-)

My sweet angel the day she was born.

Leah is the most amazing little girl.  She is brilliant and has the funniest and loving personality.  She loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone (that she knows well and likes!).  She knows how to act silly and cracks us up daily.

She can count to 10.  She knows all of the letters and can sing about half the alphabet song (little sections at a time)  She talks SO much and repeats everything we say.  She is saying 5-6 word sentences.   She knows her name, how old she, that Mommy and Daddy are really named Kristin and Dustin.  She has an amazing memory and will recount little details of our day to Daddy when he gets home.  She is very observant and will point out things around her. Sometimes we are shocked by the things that she knows and is aware of!  She is even starting to talk in different tenses and uses plurals. 

Leah at her 1st birthday party.

Leah is a great eater. She is not picky at all and loves vegetables and trying new things.  We are on a great schedule for the last several months which includes one nap at around 1:30 for usually 2 hours.  Then she goes to bed around 8-8:30 and usually sleeps until 8-8:30.  She is still in her crib for now.  We haven't started officially potty training yet. We will start that soon.  She still really loves her binky but it lives in her crib, meaning she only gets it for sleeping.  I am dreading taking it away soon and I really hope it won't be as hard of a transition as I think. 

Going to the Kids Museum on her birthday this year

We have just recently started letting Leah watch a little more TV. Now we let her watch one show while she drinks her milk at night, then we go upstairs to brush teeth and read books before bed.  The only shows she likes are Elmo's World and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Other than the nighttime show, the TV is off during the day unless I need to get something done in the morning. 

We have lots of fun friends and we get together with other kids at least a few times a week.  Leah's best friends right now are Madeline, Abby, Ashlyn, Cohen and Dallas.  I have met a lot of new Mom friends so we usually have lots of activity options throughout the week. Both me and Leah get bored if we stay home all day so we always try to get out to at least run errands or go outside for walks every day.  She loves to sing and dance anytime she hears music.

Leah is a busy girl.  She keeps me on my toes :-)  She loves to climb and run and be active.  She sometimes will sit and play with toys but it will only be for a few minutes.  She loves to follow me around and see what I am doing.  She loves when I vacuum, she thinks it is a game for her and that the vacuum is chasing her. :-) She is also pretty sassy and we have started giving her timeouts when she tries to test us by not listening.

I could just go on and on about Leah :-) 

Yesterday on her birthday my mom came over in the morning to give her presents.  Then she came with us to do a toddler class at the kids museum and then we had lunch at Red Robin.  After Leah's nap we met Daddy for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.  It was a fun day.

New ball pit from Mommy and Daddy

Cute little table and chairs from Nana

Trike from Grammy

Yummmy ice cream!

Happy 2nd Birthday Leah Nicole!  We are looking forward to her party tomorrow!