Easter weekend!

Eli had a fun 1st Easter, despite the poor tummy troubles he was having. :( 
Grandma Cherry came to visit which was fun and then we had a quiet Easter morning at home before we went to my moms for brunch! I trust that you all had a wonderful Easter too!

Eli and Grandma Cherry, Eli looks like he had some whiskey in that bottle....

Easter Basket

For me?

Hey dad, did you see the Easter Bunny?

Eli and his little lamb

Pat the bunny!

Bubbles!

Ready to go in my Easter best!

Aunt Kelly and Rylee casting a spell

Passed out on the ride home!

'Risky Business' anyone?

Eli the chef

He has the crazy hair of a chef.

what are you making Eli?

Avocado Smoothie

So I read about this Avocado smoothie over at Honest Fare via [simplesong] and thought it sounded yummy. Plus, I thought I could make it for Eli too. So here are my 2 versions...

For me:
Half an avocado
Almost a whole apple, peeled and sliced (I saved some for Elis smoothie)
Soymilk
dash of sugar (the recipe called for agave but I didn't have any and they said honey was too overpowering.)

Blend!

For Eli:
About half of half an avocado :)
A few apple slices
2 oz of formula (or breast milk,) and maybe next time I would add a little bit more...

and Blend!

Voila! Yummy, and filling too!

mommys.........................elis

elis.......................mommys

Big E, Little e - 9 months!

Eli turned 9 months yesterday! We had a celebratory breakfast at our favorite breakfast place here in Denver; Watercourse Foods. Yum! He is getting so big. We have our 9mo check up tomorrow so we will really see how big he is. He is definitely more tall than he is chubby, ha! Which is funny since Scott and I were both chubsters! I don't think I wrote anything when he turned 8 months so...

In the past 2 months Eli...

-Can sit on his own without support
-Is starting to side-sit and use his hands better for support which will help him to prop on all fours
-Can 'creep '
-Can get onto all fours with some assistance and occasionally on his own, but doesn't last too long (His gestational age is still 7mo, so we have some more time before crawling. ;)
-Is still the sweet, happy boy who loves to laugh and smile, everywhere we go people comment on how 'happy' he is!
-Likes to go for walks, ride on the swing at the park, listen to his new cd of nursery rhymes, play, shove everything into his mouth, talk to the cats, snuggle, pull mommys hair, visit museums, read books, visit with his family, stand up, and he loves to take baths!
-Still no teeth yet, but has the 'pockets' now
-Is still a good sleeper!
-And a good eater, he eats anything I give him, let's hope this holds true

Things we've discovered about Eli are:
-He has a curl to his hair, especially when wet (so cute)
-He is ticklish
-He is trying to stand in the bathtub, that's not so fun for mom and dad, hello scary!!!
-And he is beginning to show signs of waving

He is becoming more and more like a little boy, which is fun but also sad when you want them to stay little forever!

We love our 'Big E, little e' so much!!!

Not a Meat Eater

Hi, I'm Eli and I'm not a meat eater. My parents are what you call 'vegetarians.'

'Listen, they take this stuff very seriously.'

Silly Head!

Hi again! So this onesie and my beautiful friend Kimiko over at I Like Ruffles have inspired a cooking series on the blog.  Recently I asked friends about any vegetarian cooking blogs they might know of, and I received very little response. Probably because very few people we know are vegetarian. But, some friends have asked me to give them recipes we use so that they can have more vegetarian meals in their diets. So here goes nothing! I'd like to call this series 'Not a Meat Eater,' and for the first addition I will share my version of a white chili recipe. Enjoy!


White Chili
*perfect for a cloudy/rainy day

This is Ellie Kriegers recipe that I got from the food network found here, with my vegetarian substitutions!

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 3 medium poblano peppers (about 4 ounces each), seeded and white ribs removed, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced * I used alot more garlic, since we LOVE garlic!
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste
• * 1 package extra firm tofu, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15.5-ounce) cans white beans such as cannelini, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
• *4 cups Veggie Broth
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano * I used less, just a dash as I don't like a heavy oregano taste
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can hominy, drained and rinsed
• Salt
• 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• Lime wedges

 

Directions 

-'Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over moderate heat. Add the onion, celery, poblanos, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

-Add the * tofu and cook like ground turkey, breaking up the tofu with a spoon, about 2 minutes. Add the white beans, broth and oregano. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.  

-Add the hominy and salt and more cayenne pepper, to taste, and continue cooking, partially covered, 10 minutes longer. Ladle into individual bowls and top each serving with 1 tablespoon of yogurt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cilantro. Garnish with a lime wedge. '

I highly encourage you to add the yogurt and cilantro as it makes it even more yummy! We've made this twice now and it feeds Scott and I dinner for about 3 nights, less if you have it for lunch too! I think it would be great with some corn-bread as well. I apologize I have no picture of it, I forgot to take one. :(

hi!

Hi!

Hello.

whoa...how'd I get over here?

umm, is this a hat? from grandma?

Oye! Get this hat off of my head!

ohhh, this is how you wear it. phew! I'm drooling so much because my 2 front bottom teeth are going to pop up any second!