Toddler Meals: Lunch

Our lunches are fun and tasty. They're easy to make, healthy and very quick! I try not to follow any specific recipe.. Our lunches ranges between simple pick up foods and 

Don't worry, somedays, I pull through a drive through and we eat fast food... Ex: at in&out, Landon eats 1/2 a grilled cheese plain with grilled onions, 1 tomato, cheese on both sides along with 5-10 fries. Sometimes, if he's had an active day (swimming) he will have a cheeseburger plain with grilled onions & 1 tomato. 

All our meals are organic & served with 1oz almond milk. 

Option 1: 

 Whole wheat pita with cashew butter (instead of peanut butter)

1 string cheese

Mango slices

Pitted & Cut Cherries 

Almond milk

Option 2:

Earths best chicken nuggets

String cheese

1/4 peeled and thinly sliced apples

Pitted & cut cherries 

1oz almond milk

Option 3:

3/4 cup chicken & rice soup

Chips & homemade guacamole

Blueberries 

String cheese

2oz almond milk 

As you can see.. We love cheese for lunch!! He says cheeeeeeee when he sees it! 

What Landon Wore

Landon's little future prom date sent him the cutest shirt for his birthday... It's a 2T but it fits him perfect! Ummm.. Did anyone else hear that???? It's a 2T!!!! Geeze!

How cute is this outfit??? I'm dying because he looks so cool! Lol.. I'm not a huge fan of graphics, but this one is great and so adorable! 

Excuse me as I weep that my little boy is growing up too fast!!! 

Saying Good-Bye to Nacho, our Tortoise

After almost 9 years with my tortoise (Nacho), we had to return him to the reptile zoo over the weekend.

We have lived in 6 different cities together, we've grown up- he's been with me as I met my husband, we've had 2 dogs, 1 kitten, tons of fish, a baby... moved to apartments, condos, bought a home.. it's been such an adventure!

He was such a smart, stubborn and funny tortoise. When I first got him, he was the size of a ping pong ball... last Saturday, he was the size of our laundry basket... HUGE. He was so big that I couldn't even life him anymore!

When he was small enough, we dressed up for halloween.. christmas... we had a blast!

But as the years
two weeks ago, he pushed our patio chair into the pool...

once we installed our pool gate, things with nacho went from bad to HOLY HELL... within 24 hours, he ripped our gate, stomped through our flower bed (that he's NEVER touched in over 2 years)... so we thought he wanted to be on the other side of our gate... so we quickly moved him to the other side. He went into hiding... and when he woke... hell hath no fury as a tortoise scorn... he immediately went and tried to rip our gate down.

It makes me really sad that I didn't keep him for at least 10 years, but I had to think about what was best for him and what was best for my family- With his aggressive behavior, I was afraid that he could bite or one day bite Landon. We already walk on eggshells because he tends to come running into the house when we leave the door open- In fact, we bought a house without sliding glass doors because Nacho can open a sliding glass door.. come in and terrorize our dogs.

So, its been an adventure and I'm sad that we had to say good bye. Good Luck Nacho! I hope you get a chance to find some love and make some babies!

Family Photos sneak peek!

We had our family photo session with my favorite photographer.. Actually, my only professional photographer, LoveIs.

They turned out amazing!!!! Simple, classic, timeless! Can't wait to see the rest! 

Toddler meals: breakfast sampler

My husband reminds me every morning that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". Let me tell you, Landon loves his breakfast and almost always clears his plate and oatmeal...

Breakfast is always served with a bowl of Baby oatmeal and 1 oz almond milk... We make Baby a little more complicated than we should- but he loves it! 

Everything we eat is organic, most is gluten free (since my husband is gluten free)

2 tbsp: baby oatmeal
1/2 oz: almond milk mixed well.
1 tbsp: blueberry coconut yogurt
1 tbsp: prunes
2 tbsp steel cut oatmeal (overnight crockpot) or 2 tbsp instant oatmeal (stove top)
1 tsp: flaxseed

yes he will eat it all! it makes about 1/2 cup total.

option 1:

oatmeal

whole wheat waffles (earths best organic)

black berries

grapes cut in half.

option 2: 

scrambled eggs sauteed with bacon (nitrate free), zucchini, spinach and tomatoes 

blueberries

option 3:
scrambled eggs
brown rice trio: sweet potato, buckwheat, quinoa, brown rice and lentils (technically a quadruple)
onion
green bell peppers
bacon
tomatoes

blueberries
cut tomatoes

We change up breakfast everyday... but it almost always has eggs. we try to add tons of veggies and fruit to our diet and since we are drifting away from purees.

hope this helps!

Landon is 13 Months!!

Holy cow.. I have a kid that's 13 months and he's now a toddler! 

Weight: On his 1 year check up, he measured 30", weighed 20lb 10oz and his head circumference measured 46.5". 

Health: I believe his 1st molar is popping through.. Lots of drool and fussiness so we doubled up on the amber necklaces.. We buy them at inspiredbyfinn.com.. In the raw Baltic amber in harvest and lemonade. What a difference! 

Sleep: we are in a transition of some sorts.. Some days he sleeps 6:45-7:30.. Some days 7-7.. The 7-8:30.. We are just going with the flow! His naps range between 10-12 & 2:30-4 or just once a day from 1-3... I wish he would take a 3 hour nap.. But at least he's sleeping.  

Social:  we had a visitor for 4-5 days and Landon played so well!! He loves chitter chattering with other kids! 

Diet:  with his molar coming in.. He's only able to easily eat purées.. Lots of  iced water for the hot summer... We are weaning, so we are nursing 3x a day. Some days he follows me around asking for "baba" and signing milk. Also he has a tendency to look down women's shirts asking them for "baba". Yeah, hopefully we will completely wean by 14-15 months! 

Clothes: he completely had a growth spurt and suddenly couldn't squeeze into sizes 6-12 and 9-12 any longer.. So we had to do some shopping!! 12-18 months & size 4-4.5 shoe!! 

Baby Gear Love: we are digging his train table, his outside play area, the bike he built with his Oanh Ngoai, books.. Loves pushing his stroller.. 

Crying: no crying.. Just super loud squawking. 

Likes: exploring our kitchen.. Loves plastic utensils, Mickey Mouse club, trains, iced water, phone chargers and light sockets. 

Milestones-
Walking!! 1 week before his birthday!
Climbing.. We say a lot of, "get down" & "careful!!!"

words:
Dada, dog "dah", Leiah "yeya", Ba (grandma), please "peaz", done, poo, help "hew", up "puh", water "wahwah", bottle "bah", milk "bah"...

Signs: "all done", "milk", "more",  "eat", "please"

He can stack blocks, clean up his play area and put away all his bath toys when he's done! 

If anyone sneezes, he will bless you with an air kiss.. Also he enjoys blowing kisses.

He's growing up too fast!! 

Btw.. Life with 2 babies gave us serious baby fever!!! Too cute! 

Landon meets Mickey Mouse!!!

Landon is obsessed with Mickey Mouse.. He LOVES watching the Mickey Mouse Club and he lights up when he hears the hotdog song...

When my cousins came to visit, we decided to take our kids to Disneyland... Just for a few hours. 

We had a great time! Sort of. Lol! I died when my husband went and surprised us with Landon's first ever set of Mickey ears.. It even had his name embroidered on it!! He wore his hat for 5 hours.. 

My poor lil guy refused to walk around and I couldn't figure out why.. Until I took off his shoes to find a blister on his toe!! I ended up borrowing my cousins ergo and carried him for about an hour. 

The lines were insane.. Min 30 minutes just to ride a kiddy ride.. Um no thanks!! I can see why people get season passes.. 

Overall, I'm so excited we got to experience this when he was young but I don't think we will come back for a very long time!

If you're planning on taking your little one to Disneyland.. Pack plenty of water, food, snacks & don't expect to ride any rides! 

Xo!

**I just ran across this blog on pinterest- its a baby/toddler survivor guide to Disneyland... check it out!

Landon is 12 months

I just looked back and realized I never did Landon's 12 month update!

Wow 12 months! Can't believe he's been in my life for that long!

Weight: On his 1 year check up, he measured 30", weighed 20lb 10oz and his head circumference measured 46.5". I was surprised.. He felt like he was heavier, but I was wrong! 

Health: a little extra tired when teeth come in, but overall he his as healthy as can be! Can't ask for anything more! 

Sleep: sleeping great! We moved his hours up to 7 since he dropped his second nap.. Sleeps 7-7!

sleep: 7-7am
naps: 10am-12! Not sure how i feel about 1 nap a day.. But we will see! 

Social:  this guy is is very friendly! He loves swim school, loves gymnastics... Loves children & dogs. He's a little unsure about adults so if you want to hold him, you have to bribe him with a walk. We are currently dealing with his obsession with kissing. He will kiss anyone and according to our doctor, this can be very dangerous because he's not fully vaccinated.. So now I have to follow him around and watch him like a hawk because I have to constantly say, "no kissing.. We blow kisses.. Not on the lips?!!" 

Diet:  this month, we are eating anything and everything... He likes it puréed, he likes it not.. He likes all fruit and veggies mixed with food. I love his eating habits!

Clothes: 6-12 clothing and 9+ month jammies. Diapers sized 3.. Everything seems snug so we might have to do a little shopping! Favorite places for clothes: baby gap, old navy, crazy8, cotton on kids, target, Zara, and h&m! 

Baby Gear Love: balloons... Cars, trucks.. Sippy cups.. Regular cups. Introduced his outside play area... As a birthday gift! Sandbox, water table, picnic table, basketball hoop & slide! 

Crying: he likes to fake cry.

Likes: exploring our kitchen.. Walking, taking walks, traveling, using his pushcars, throwing balls.. Trucks 
Milestones: We have a few..
Walking!! 1 week before his birthday!
says: Dog "Dah", turtle "tuh tuh", More, dada, mama, says "Ong" for grandpa in vietnamese, "Ba" for grandma in vietnamese. Favorite word: Bad Dog "bah dah"... then he points. when we say "NO", he points his little index finger and says "bah", bird, tree, bottle
Signs: "all done", "milk", "more" and "eat"
teeth 7 & 8 are starting to pop through!