Martha, Martha, Martha

Yet another Martha Stewart magazine...Can her empire expand any more? I love magazines and would sign up for this risk-free issue, but sadly they don't ship to the UK. Lame. Any takers?

exactly one year old.

Cole and I ventured to his 10am 1 year checkup today. It was risky business, considering that his nap time is 10:00 (although I have been trying to push it back a bit) and he can only be entertained by the paper lining the "bed" for so long. As you can imagine, come 11:00 (it was a long appointment...including my waiting time), he didn't even want my cellphone or keys. Or binky. Just his bed. The good new is--I got some advice for the screaming problem that became oh so unavoidable. This is what I learned about everything one years old (with special emphasis on Cole, of course):

His stats (if you are interested): He weighs almost 22 pounds [30%], is 30 inches long [75%], and has an 18 cm(?) head circumference[40%]. Anybody who tells me that my son is huge or "such a big boy" (which I get all of the time) is a little off. I have proof now.

He cannot eat shell fish or nuts, but anything else goes (including honey at this point).

He should be drinking 18-24 ounces of [organic] whole milk/day now. And the bottle is supposed to be no longer. I need to make a trip to buy some more sippy cups today. And Maggie (the very lovely doctor who is pregnant with her second baby girl) suggested trying one with a straw.

I am going to start giving him utensils with all of his meals so he gets the practice.

By 15 months, Cole (or any baby) should be saying at least one word. Even if it's not a word in my vocabulary, he should be consistent with saying "goo," for example, to mean he wants up, also for example. Cole is a bit behind with his language. He isn't saying mama or dada or many consonants at all for that matter. We already have a constant dialog, but I'm going to try to read to him at least 20 solid minutes a day.

His car seat can face forward. [Check. We were excited about that one and did it a week early.]

And the screaming problem? She is a bit concerned that that is his communication (hence the lack of speech). Her recommendation: to give it no attention. When he starts to scream, I leave the room. If I'm holding him, I set him down on the floor and go to where he can't see me. Hopefully it will help!

Will you guys tell me what you learn (or have learned) in the next several weeks..? Every doctor seems to have a different focus and it's so helpful to hear things that maybe we skipped in Cole's visit.

[Oh, and p.s. It's a stethoscope.]

delicious.

Coconut Cupcakes

3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature

5 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 t. pure almond extract

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. kosher salt

14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

2 cups sugar

1 1.2 t. pure vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

[frosting]:

1 pound cream cheese, room temperature

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 t. pure almond extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake 25-35 minutes, until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth. Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

And, look what I found: an amazing cupcake blog. Oh, this is trouble!

Chic Place Settings...for Kids!

No more Disney dinner wear for our little babies...check out this stuff. It's a new line of place settings for the style-minded. They are kid-friendly, but modern parents won't be disappointed. You've got the boy, girl, flying egg or melon. And I'm sure more prints will come out soon!

Their claim? You'll love them so much that they bet you'll hijack them for your own dish of ice cream.

PS: They have matching plush bibs to match!

finding his flare.

This will sound silly, but I'm in search of a new style for Cole. (Remember when you realised-in 5th grade-that you just aren't a Ked's girl? Maybe this isn't a universal experience, but it rang true for me. I'm not a Ked's girl, I'm not a loafer girl, and I have a hard time being a purse girl. I like unique and I have an especially hard time when unique becomes trendy. I always tell Brad...if only I had the money to dress my style.)

Anyway, I was realising when I decided it could be a fun idea to get a new "birthday outfit" for Cole's first party, that he's not a Gap kid. I buy Baby Gap because it's available and because I get money back on my BananaRepublic card. That said, I'm getting pretty bored of the button downs and the polos and the graphic t's that the "big" stores are doing.

This is a cute image because it looks very European to me..but how practical is it to dress Cole in a blazer and expect him to keep the top button done? [not very!] If I had my way, Cole would be dressed in Oilily or Fig Kids or BlaBlaKids. (And I'm good at finding these kind of boutiques) But none of those can work on my budget. So, where do I go to find the unique, the simple- boy clothes on a budget. I should be able to pay Gap prices for something different. (And probably available online..)

Style mavens??

lunch break.

I'm in a rut or crisis... call it what you will. I love the food I make (or Brad makes) for our family, but we're falling into the trap of repeat meals. I cannot think of a variety of dinner or lunches or even food for Cole. Luckily, it's not mimicking my spaghetti or quesadilla or pb&j routine in college, but none-the-less, I could use suggestions!

Today, let's tackle Cole food. (Or toddler food in general) I'm sure everyone is more creative than I've been lately. What's on the menu for Cole? This is what I've come up with (and obviously never all at once. We mix and match ideas):

kiwi

pears

grapefruit

oranges

pineapple

banana

mango

grapes

raisins

dried cranberries

applesauce

yogurt

eggs (scrambled, boiled)

cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, Babybell, cottage)

broccoli

asparagus

green beans

bell pepper

tomato

avocado

artichoke hearts

black beans

wheat bread/crackers (or toast)

Goldfish

cereal bar

ravioli

pasta

oatmeal

lunch meat (turkey, ham, chicken)

grilled chicken

beef

quesadillas

grilled cheese

homemade macaroni and cheese

I know this seems like quite the variety, but the truth is.. I usually don't have close to half of this stuff in my pantry/refrigerator. He gets quesadillas, sliced bananas, and green beans a little too often. Or eggs, toast and applesauce. It's a challenge to come up with a meal for Cole before our family dinner is ready. (Which is always the case. Cole gets hungry for dinner at 5:00! Ideally, we would feed him what we eat.) And lunches? I'm bored of what I prepare.

Any ideas?

Spanish Zara

While in Spain we went to Zara Home, which is probably one of my favorite home stores. There were so many things I wanted to purchase, but couldn't fit all of them in my suitcase (we packed real light). But, I did manage to squeeze in a few things...

A decorative pillow for the bed in Izzy's room. And her Grandma bought her the pink bunny from Zara too - it plays music and she really loves it. The room is currently a work in progress...



Then for one Euro, the store was practically begging me to buy this little hand puppet. Izzy loves when I stick in on my hand and it talks to her.