Cooking with MY kid.

A friend of mine recently brought the blog, Cooking With My Kid, to my attention.  The woman is basically teaching herself  (and her kid) how to cook by preparing 365 recipes in 365 days.  While I am no where near as ambitious as her, all of her recipes were made with the assistance of her child, so I thought I would try a few with mine.  She recently celebrated Pumpkin Week by including pumpkin in all of her recipes. I had been lurking on the site for awhile, but all the pumpkin goodies pushed me over the edge.  

First up were her pumpkin muffins. Yum!  I have always been a fan of this sort of thing, but it was nice to see Amelia on board as well.  She wasn't as die hard as me, but she certainly enjoyed making them.  She started out with a picture of me trying to figure it all out--certainly not as glamorous as the Cooking With My Kid blog pictures, but real nonetheless.

  

She was totally into mixing and measuring.  I tried to let her do each step that she was capable of doing.  This is a big step for me and one I need to continue to work on!

  

Delicious!  They were excellent with my morning coffee and were the perfect breakfast treat to have laying around all week.

 

  

And after the pumpkin muffins were a hit, we decided to give the Pumpkin Spice Smoothie a try next.  I followed her recipe almost exactly, only adding pumpkin pie spice. I thought it was pretty good, but Amelia LOVED it.  She devoured her first glass and asked for more!!  Talk about an easy way to get some pumpkin in her!

  

As of right now, I have tons of additional recipes from the blog tagged that I would like to try soon.  She makes cooking with a little one look so easy and delicious!

Saturday, in the Park

 Alright, so it wasn't Saturday.  But we were in a park.  Me, playing around with our camera I never use.  Amelia, attempting unsuccessfully to make a large enough leaf pile to jump into.  Henry, super crabby if I made the slightest of moves to put him down, never mind trying to take a picture or two.

Beware...One of Those Proud Parent Moments Ahead

I try to keep these gushing proud parent moments to a minimum on this blog.  That is part of why I started each child a private blog of there own.  I don't tend to be real mushy, gushy in front of others, but this will be an exception. 

As you may remember from last year's parent-teacher conference, Amelia adjusted really well to school and her teacher had all good things to report.  And although I didn't write up the second conference we had last year publicly, it was another glowing report from her teacher.

About a month ago, Jason and I had our first parent-teacher conference of the year.  Upon sitting down, the first thing the teacher told us is that Amelia has taken some of the younger girls in the class under her wing (the class is mixed ages 3-5).  She mentioned one girl in particular who has had a difficult time adjusting to school and often complains of missing her mom.  The teacher said that every time the girl becomes upset, Amelia will quietly go over by her and rub her back and talk softly to her until she calms down.  I can really see Amelia doing this and it makes me so proud!  When a new student came to their class, the teacher appointed Amelia as the special helper to show her around and she took it very seriously! She commented that Amelia is assertive, very verbal, has an amazing vocabulary, and seems to have an aptitude for math and numbers.  She had a few examples of Amelia's work, but most all of the class time is spent doing "learning through play" type activities and there really is no "paper and pencil" work.

The teacher also mentioned that Amelia is very bright.  In fact, her teacher in conjunction with two others in the building are developing an enrichment program for a few students that have already mastered 90-100% of what they need to know by the time they leave pre-school.  Amelia is one of those students!  The teachers are using kindergarten curriculum to come up with challenging activities.  She has just started reading some words on her own and loves any type of knowledge I share with her.  She particularly enjoys hearing stories about famous people who have overcome some sort of adversity.

And although we didn't have a conference with her afternoon teacher, she has stopped me several times to tell me that she is so glad Amelia is in her class.  She calls Amelia a "leader" and a "great role model".  She also mentioned that the other children in the class notice when she is not there (she doesn't attend that class on Fridays, only Monday and Wednesday).

Both teachers mentioned that she often tells stories to the class (and teachers) about Henry.

While academics are very important, the fact that Amelia is so kind to others and puts an emphasis on being a great friend is incredible to me.  Looks like I got the whole package!  Needless to say, I am very proud of my girl.

What's in a name?

I've been thinking about this post for awhile.  It should probably go on the kids' private blogs, but why not embarrass myself and put it out there for all to see.

Poor Amelia has SO MANY nicknames (and Henry's getting quite a few himself), so I thought I'd document them all. You know, so you can all make fun of me later.  And, more importantly, so my kids can make fun of me down the road and insist on never making the same mistake with their own children. Without further ado:

Amelia's nicknames:

Mia
Mia Jane
Janie Jane
little lady
lady
lady bird
bird
little bird
pea pod
sweet pea
sweet girl
sugar pop
puddin' pop
pumpkin head
pumpkin butt (this is probably confusing to her since we don't allow her to say the word "butt")
honey bun
angel face

Henry's nicknames:
Hen
Hen-Ruh (given by Amelia early on, although now I use it more than her)
Henny
Henry Soakin' (yes, this one is strange.  Also given by Amelia and also used a lot more by me then her)
Henny Soakin'
pumpkin butt
Mr. Man

(As a disclaimer, it is important to remember the point of this blog. It is a baby book of sorts to me.  I have plans to continue printing the blog into hard-bound books so the kids will be able to read all about their childhoods and have a written account of it--embarrassing nicknames and all).

Role Models

Awhile ago Amelia confiscated my very old cell phone.  The one my father so graciously "bejeweled" one night when I was not looking (yes, it is as strange as it sounds).  The other day, Amelia came down from her "nap" with one of the many, many jewels from the phone stuck to her nose. I originally thought it was a fluke that she placed the jewel in the exact location where many people may choose to have it pierced.  When I asked her about it, she said she wanted to be just like her former pre-school teacher, Ms. K, who she adores (and also has her nose pierced).

As if that wasn't enough, when I went to pick Amelia up from pre-school a few days later, Ms. K was waiting to help her into the car.  When she opened the door, Ms. K said, "I HAVE to tell you a story" and then she proceeded to tell me how Amelia stopped her in the hall and said, "You know what Ms. K?  Sometimes when I am at home, I put a jewel on my nose and pretend I'm you!".

Pumpkins Galore

 I will spare you a lot of commentary and just say that this was our first trip of the season to the pumpkin patch.  If you don't include Eckerts (and I don't, since we went there for apples, really), this was Henry's first pumpkin patch experience.  I'm not sure that he knew what to make of it, but I am sure it will only be a matter of time before he loves pumpkin patch visits as much as his sister does.

A Mile(stone) A Minute

I very clearly remember my friend, Amy, having this same exact blog title with her second-born.  And, I also remember him being roughly the same age as Henry when she posted it.

Surely, you recall my posting about a week ago about Henry's first tooth.  In the week that has passed, he now has THREE teeth that have broken through.  In addition, he has said "dada" numerous times while looking at Jason (and not at all in his absence) which would make that his first official word!  And if THAT isn't enough, two days ago, Henry started dancing!  I have yet to get great footage of this booty-shaking movement he has perfected, but rest assured when I do it will be right here on the ol' blog.

The Magic Touch

Amelia has had a gift card from the Magic House burning a hole in her pocket since her birthday 4 months ago (Thanks Dan, Erin and Elise).  I promised her I would take her during Cycle Break and I waited until nearly the last day of break to do so.  When I think of the Magic House, I remember the narrow, crowded hallways from my childhood and was not enjoying the thought of navigating an energetic four year old and a stroller through the building.  I was there not too long ago, but I often forget how much it has changed and grown since my visits as a child.

We got there at a reasonable 10:30 AM and enjoyed all the areas that open early.  The place was neither narrow nor crowded.  It was great fun, in fact.  Really, one of the best places around St. Louis I think for the 4 year old set.

They have a great little Reduce, Reuse, Recycle exhibit going on now and I am pretty sure Amelia could have spent the entire time in that area.  She played with old (reused) toys and dressed up in old clothes, sorted recyclables, composted, "drove" a Smart car, and a few other things.

Henry, on the other hand, pretty much hung out in one spot with another little baby that looked remarkably like him.

You may be able to see Amelia's face imprint in the red pins below.  I remember this fondly as a child and Amelia certainly enjoyed it too.  We kept coming back for more each time we passed by it.

The sand area has been popular with Amelia in the past, but apparently it is old news now.  She did not even stop to check it out.  Henry enjoyed it though and even tried to take a taste or two.

The big hit for Henry was definitely the water area.  How nice that they have built in baby seats at the water table.  Unfortunately, the seats are set up to allow any overflowing water to land directly on the lap of the occupant.  Needless to say, Henry spent the right of his time at the Magic House pants free.

We never come close to seeing and doing all there is to do on our visits which is part of what makes it such a great place to come back to time and time again.  This was our first time seeing the renovated upstairs and Amelia LOVED the Mystery Solving area that included a secret passageway through the fireplace AND the opportunity to crawl through the ductwork and look for various clues.

This was also our first trip to the Oval Office, courtroom, and congress.  I sort of thought she might be bored with all of this, and although she doesn't look overly enthused here--she loved it!

I finally let Henry out to crawl around in the Construction area and once I got him away from the pea gravel, it was great!  This was the last part we were able to explore after our nearly 3.5 hour trip.  Henry had had enough, but Amelia could have continued for hours. 

I left there super impressed, as usual, and I STILL haven't seen all of it.  The outside area garden area looked great, but we never made it out there.  Luckily we still have money on the gift card and it's still burning a hole.  As soon as I can find someone to take Henry for the day, we will head back down and pick up where we left off!

Overbooked

Somewhere between gymnastics and swim lessons, I became that mom that overbooks her 4 year old.  Not only does Amelia now attend school 3 days a week (2 full days and one half day), she has basketball on Monday nights.  And swimming lessons on Saturday mornings.  And Sunday school for an hour every single Sunday. And starting in a few weeks when swimming and basketball are over, she will start a six week session of gymnastics.

But as long as she is all smiles like this, busy we will be.

 Henry could take or leave the swimming lessons and Sunday school, but he seems to really enjoy basketball practice.

 Actually, Henry may actually enjoy basketball more than his sister.  She went from being completely pumped about it to ice cold in about 3 sessions. Gymnastics will be a nice change.

 Amelia enjoys swim lessons immensely.  But in actuality, I think she just enjoys the chance to be back in the water.  I am completely unimpressed with her indoor swim lessons and swear to never return to this particular venue.  I think our money would be better spent coming to open swims several times during the winter and letting her do her own thing.

 

And after one week in Sunday school, Amelia spent the next week doing the following (please ignore the blaring Gwen Stefani in the background):

 I would seriously hear her practicing at night in her room and watching herself in the bathroom. Hearing her do it still makes me giggle.

Picking Some Apples

As is our family tradition, we headed out to pick some apples this fall.  We love to go to the Grafton Eckerts so that we can take the ferries over to the IL side.  This year we were fortunate enough to have tons of Jason's family along for the ride.

I really do love the ferry, even though it is a short ride and a bit pricey, there is something magical about it. 

Poor Henry missed the ferry ride.  He was too busy snoozing in the car.  Did I mention we picked a FREEZING day to go apple picking?  

Henry awoke just in time to catch some pumpkin time at the tiny store we always stop at on the way to ferry #2.  There pumpkins are the cheapest around, so we always stock up.

They have a little store inside with lots of goodies like Apple Butter and homemade turtles.  Amelia picked out tiny pumpkins for her and Henry.  Other than that, I pretty much used the inside to get more pictures. 

Amelia found some corn and was cracking herself up by pretending to eat it.  Yep, its the little things.

We JUST missed making it onto the second ferry when we pulled up which gave ample time to get out and throw rocks into the river.  I got out of the car just long enough to take a few pictures, but man it was COLD and WINDY!

Once we made it to Eckerts, it was easy to see that the focus was more on pumpkins, than apples.  We picked late this year, but we still walked away with a bag full.

Even Henry got into the spirit.

Baby Mason is only a few days younger than Henry.  Unlike me, though, his mom remembered his jacket (and she even brought him a sweater to boot).  Poor second child, Henry.

Jason's cousin, Derek, making sure that Amelia was using the apple picking tool safely.  Luckily with Jason around, we didn't have much need for this particular tool.

Jason's gotten in the habit of carrying both kids at once and I feel the need to take a picture EVERY time.  That's seriously like 60 lbs. of kid.

The whole apple picking crowd!