Blending Baby Foods (or how to make homemade apple & pear sauces)

After purchasing baby food from the grocery store for the last month, I saw firsthand how quickly it can add up. Baby food is expensive! So I decided to experiment with homemade food using a Magic Bullet Blender. What a machine! It works wonders for fruits and vegetables and the clean-up is quick and easy. If you're in the market for a blender, I highly recommend checking it out.

Here are some of the blended concoctions I ended up giving to my boys. Nothing fancy here. Just simple, healthy stuff that goes a long way.

Vanilla Cinnamon Pear Purée (makes 8-10 ounces)

• 2 ripe pears, peeled and cut into cubes (if unripe, steam for 5 minutes)
• 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract

Put ingredients into blender for 30-60 seconds. Add water to reach desired consistency.

Carrot Applesauce (makes 8-10 ounces)

• 1 cup of baby carrots (steam for 5-7 minutes or until tender)
• 2 large Honeycrisp apples (peeled, cored and cut into slices)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Fill a baking dish with enough water to coat the bottom (1/4" deep) and add apple slices. Bake for 25-30 minutes. When finished, drain the water and then combine carrots, cinnamon and apples in a blender.  Blend for 30-60 seconds or until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency.

Pears with cinnamon and vanilla. My boys couldn't get enough of this!

Welcome to Parenthood

Although our boys weren't due to make their grand entrance into the world until today, I developed some third trimester pregnancy complications with the end result being an expedited due date. So...on Friday, October 4th, at 1:03 and 1:04pm, we officially became parents. Hooray!

Henry Joseph Davis is on the left and Liam August Davis is on the right. We are so in love with them!

What Have I Been Up To?

Hi Friends! It's been a while hasn't it? Over the last few weeks, I kept telling myself to post, but life kept getting in the way (a good thing, if you ask me.) So what have I been up to lately? Are you sitting down? This is a long update!

In early June, we kicked off a plethora of home improvement projects (that "nesting" thing that happens during pregnancy is most certainly real), starting with a complete front porch remodel:

The front porch BEFORE the remodel. 

The front porch AFTER the remodel, taken on the day of my baby shower. (More on that later.) 

We also spent some time in Montana celebrating the marriage of our church friends:

Snapped this from my iPhone so it's a little blurry.

This was taken at the wedding. I was at my
20-week mark, halfway through the pregnancy. Yippy!

Later in the month, I held a Mad Men-themed party for Mike's 40th birthday. We even had our very own in-house bartender:

A little snippet of the bar that we set-up in our kitchen.

These are the custom cookies we had made especially for the event. 

Doesn't Mike look fantastic in that jacket? I threw
on anything that would fit over my belly. 

In mid-July, we bounced around barbeques. Our neighbors hosted an excellent one for Independence Day, though I forgot to snap photos. We also participated in a 4D ultrasound session. I'd share the photos from that adventure, but most people find them creepy. I thought it was an amazing process. 

Then just last week, we hosted Mike's parents for 10 days. We had a blast taking them around the Ballard Locks, Green Lake, The Museum of Flight, Alki Beach... we covered a lot of ground.

Oh, and to cap off their visit, my mom came over to our house and threw me a tea party-themed baby shower. It was fantastic! I didn't even have to travel anywhere!

The table was set for a lovely afternoon tea 

Beautiful tea cups covered the living room tables. 

Some of the colorful decorations hung just outside the dining room.

Custom tea cup cookies made for great party favors. 

Needless to say, the last month or so has been a bit of a blur with all of the activity. Until I get back on track with my regular posting schedule, things may be sporadic. That's what this time of year is all about though, right?  In the meantime, I hope you are all having a fabulous summer!