Week 36 in dinners

Luca is 36 weeks old and this week his appetite for solid food has exploded! He's eating more and more now, and he's showing me how adventurous he is with new tastes and textures. It's so much fun.

I thought I might share our dinners for this past week. I normally cook dinner for hubs and myself, and save some for Luca for the next day, so that's what most of these meals are. There are repeats of some of his favorites, too.

Dinner 1: Lemon chicken with broccoli, whole wheat egg noodles, and green peppers

 It's a good thing we wear a bib! Most of Luca's dinner usually ends up here! We also had watermelon for dessert...mmm!

Dinner 2: Turkey tenderloin with lemon pepper, spinach noodles and sweet potato fingers

 Luca loves noodles and is still figuring out how to swallow them. Sometimes he'll pull them in and out of his mouth and giggle- must feel funny in his throat!

Dinner 3: More turkey tenderloin with grilled zucchini and tomato

 Most meat I don't feel like I have to cut up, but the turkey tenderloins aren't moist enough for Luca to gum, so I do tear them into smaller pieces.

 We've been adding some sort of puree during or after most meals, and this night we tried yogurt. Luca still isn't quite sure, but toward the end he was warming up to the taste.





Dinner 4: Baked salmon with mustard, rice pilaf, and broccoli

 Luca's favorite veggie is broccoli. He loves to suck out the water!

Dinner 5: Spaghetti with ground turkey sauce and steamed zucchini

 This was FUN but MESSY!

 Love this kid.



Dinner 6: Turkey burger with pepper, avocado, and plum

 We have a local farmer's stand near our house, and they have the best organic fruits and veggies- Luca loves plums! This night he ate almost EVERYTHING, and if I'm remembering correctly this was the first (and only, so far) night he slept all night. Yay Luca!

Dinner 7: turkey burger with parsley and garlic pepper, mixed veggies, and another plum!



 We're not always sure what things are going to taste like, so usually Luca makes a face like this the first bite. Then he usually realizes he likes it:)

Because Luca has been eating a lot more solid food, we've found it necessary to give him some prunes and offer water often during dinner. It helps with his digestion.

So there you have it- dinner in a week!

What are your kiddos eating for dinner? Any favorites or suggestions?

8 months old!

My sweet Luca,

You're 8 months old! I was looking at some of your newborn pictures the other day and I cannot believe how much you've grown. You would never know you were a 5 pounder when you were born! Your appetite is really picking up, and you love love your dinner time with mommy. We try all sorts of new food, and you've been making a huge mess every night. Making a mess seems to be a theme these days, as you're playing with more and more toys and wanting stimulus from all over. Some of your favorite toys are kitchen utensils like big spoons and spatulas. You try to put the serving spoon in your mouth, and laugh when it doesn't fit.
I love your laugh..

You seem to always have something in your mouth- your toes are still a favorite, but I think it's getting a little harder for you to reach them because of your growing belly:)

Your feet are growing SO fast, and some of our favorite summer shoes don't fit any more! You're already wearing mostly 12 month clothes (and some of those are getting snug), so I try not to plan for what size you'll be in the winter because I just don't know!

You've started to really recognize some of your favorite toys, and you love to hug. You like to grab my face and pull me close for an open mouth smooch/nose bite. Mommy loves loves your hugs, but finds it very cute when you love your giraffe too!

Wait a second.. I know you!

You're my giraffe!

And I lovvvve you!

You're so curious about textures and you love the soft rug in your room and Max's soft hair. You're learning that if you pull on it, the rug actually lifts, and you find that hysterical. Mommy has to keep you from pulling Max's hair like you pull the soft rug!

You're also beginning your journey of learning how to crawl. You have the backward scoot mastered, but you just need to learn to go forward! It's work in progress, and you're doing great.

The reverse crawl

Some milestones:

Swimming in the ocean for the first time with Daddy- you laughed hysterically every time a wave hit. I've never seen a baby love water as much as you do. You trust and love your Daddy so much.

Standing while holding onto the ottoman

Actually swallowing a lot of what you eat!

Sitting up and watching the world around you

Sleeping through the night for the very first (and only) time- mommy hasn't slept that much in months!

Meeting a ton of new family at your Auntie's baby shower- you were very very cranky, but everyone still thought you were adorable!

Playing tickle monster, peek-a-boo, and ride the horsey- you laugh SO hard!

Story time with daddy- daddy gives you your bath and reads stories with you on the weekends and you LOVE that time with him.

Favorite toys: stacking cups, sofie the giraffe, captain calamari, and of course kitchen spoons. Daddy got you a new piano and I can't wait for you to try it- you're going to love it!

Saying (I think) mama- I'm still waiting to call the official "first word" milestone until I hear it clearly

Starting to wave hi to people. You say "hi" (kind of), again waiting to call that one

I say this every month, but I'm enjoying my time with you so much. You make me smile, and I can't imagine my life without your giggles.

All my love,

your mama

Bento Boxes: so many choices!

Luca's desire for solids has seriously exploded in the past few weeks. I can.not.eat.anything in front of him without a meltdown if he doesn't get any. So I figured it was time to think about some healthy snack options both at home and while we're out. It's SO much easier to grab a few cheerios or a rice cake when Luca is begging for food, but I know it's my job to create healthy eating habits yada yada so I need to get on my A game when it comes to variety and healthy food choices. If you've been around the blogosphere, you've seen how creative and awesome some moms are. They create bento boxes of whale shaped sandwiches and star shaped cheese. I'm going to preface this post with a statement: I most likely won't ever be that creative, and my snack trays will probably never have a theme!

When it comes to food storage there are SO many choices. I thought I might share some that looked like they would work for both snacks for little guys like Luca and meals for later.

Boon Trunk Snack Box- $17.99

This box actually isn't available yet- I know I'm a tease. But you can preorder it on Amazon and it'll be available October 8th. I love the different size compartments, and I love the handle. Boon products are all dishwasher-safe, BPA-free, phthalate-free and PVC-free, and I love most of the designs so I'm looking forward to this product being available for purchase. Plus it kinda looks like a whale, so maybe I could get some creativity mama points there.

Fresh Baby Easy Divided Snack box- $8.75
This lunch box has a plastic insulation on the outside, and a stainless steel food divider on the inside, which according to the reviews, keeps food cold or warm for longer. I really liked that you could change the location of the divider, but I didn't like that liquid items could seep under the divider to the other items.

Dr Sears Nibble Tray- $7.99
I have a few friends who actually use this and love it, and I'm agreeing with them already before even using it. I love the size compartments, and that items stay contained in their section and can't leak into others. The top green part is actually a detachable dipping tray that has it's own cover. Luca already loves cucumbers and rice cakes with hummus, and I'm trying to incorporate more "dipping" options, so this is good. All items are BPA free, and it is dishwasher safe but can't be microwaved. Definitely not a dealbreaker for me.

Annabel Karmel Lunch Box- $5.98
So this is one of the double decker lunch box options. It seemed like more than we needed, but eventually might be an option.

Sassy On-the-go Feeding Set- $6.99
I actually really like the idea of this box, and I ordered it to try it out (I also ordered the Dr. Sears Nibble Tray). I like that it has the option for lids on the smaller compartments, so the days when I have something runny, I might use this. I can already tell I might prefer the Nibble Tray because it has space for so many more options. But we'll see!



So I guess I'll know more in a few days or weeks when I've really had a chance to use these! I hope it'll allow me to offer Luca more variety while not taking too much extra time to prepare.

The obligatory Luca pic.. fun with fruit!