Blogger Stats

Blogger allows you to see your stats.  This includes how many times your posts have been read, your audience, and your traffic sources.  When I checked recently, I have had 12 hits from Romania and 18 from Germany.

I do not know anyone there but it's pretty cool that perhaps a Google search directed them to my humble blog.  What was their search, I wonder...and I wonder what they thought when they were brought here to my musings, drivelings, and utter nonsense.

Hello, there Romania and Germany!  Welcome to A Homemade Kitchen.  Take your shoes off and stay for awhile.

Baby Blues

I was overcome one day.  And I pulled out my camera and snapped some photos of my boy's baby blues.  They melt my heart.  Every day.

His right eye has a skinny brown streak in it.  My favorite.

Getting tired of the close ups.

Please stop, Mom.

Be still my heart.

One sepia for good measure.

Feeding J: The Start of 'Table Food'

J had his 9 month check up the other day.  Stats:

Weight: 17lbs 3oz
Height:  29in
Teeth:   2
Smiles:  498
Giggles: 604 (can you have more giggles than smiles?)

We talked about crawling, babbling, rolling, sitting, clapping, sleeping, and eating.  The newest phase in J's culinary adventures can begin.  He can start having 'table food'!  I find it humorous that this is what it's called since that is what we call the 'people food' we give to the dog.  The doctor said we could start introducing most everything - even ice cream!  I'm not sure how much sugar I want him having and this is coming from the candy, ice cream, chocolate, and sugar-loving queen.  I am not one to restrict foods - everything in moderation and I will not deny him treats.  He can also have juice which I am also hesitant of but it may be the only way to teach him to use a sippy cup.  The doctor told me half juice, half water.  I may make it more of 25:75 ratio of juice to water though.

Anyway, I'm thinking about having a blog series called Feeding J where I write about new things we've tried, the trials or successes of the new foods, and any recipes or cooking techniques I've used for his food.  Would you be interested in that?  I know I would be.  And I have read other blogs that do similar things and I devour what they write about in regards to what they are feeding their babies.

Still on the No list for foods are: shellfish, nuts, milk (but he can have dairy products?), and honey.

This week, he has been introduced to fresh banana, scrambled eggs, the soft part of bread/rolls, baked carrots, sherbet, apple juice, and Cheerios!  Wow!  Taste explosion!  Some went well (sherbet, juice, carrots, Cheerios), some not so much (banana and scrambled eggs).  I know it's a texture thing so we will try again!

Things he's already been eating beyond formula, oatmeal, and jarred baby food: yogurt and puffs.

I am excited we are at this point in his feeding but am also sad that he's grown so much already.  Before we know it, it will be his first birthday (which, by the way, I am already starting to plan and it most likely will have a food related theme)!

Until the next culinary adventure for Baby J!

Special Guest Post

We have a treat today.  It is my very first guest post!  There was someone who wanted to write and say hi.  
It is very exciting for me to have someone else write a post today.  He enjoys a large variety of food, loves the sunshine, and is becoming quite the animal lover. Enjoy!

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It's evident that he has an obsession with the computer.  Clearly, he sees Mama and Daddy on it too much.  He sees it and squeals with delight and gets very upset if he is not allowed to type.  Once in front of the computer, you would think he has been handed the crowned jewels.  Kids today are so technologically savvy.  It starts early.

I hope you enjoyed this post and perhaps there will be others in the future.  Have a great day!

Growing

J is a machine.  He has the army crawl going like it's nobody's business.  He's got two teeth and eating like a champ.  There is so much going on in his development.  It's making me miss the days of endless snuggles and having just a blob on the floor for tummy time.

There are still snuggles.  They are just less and don't last quite as long as he now knows how to push away and wants to get moving.  He's curious about everything and loves the dog like crazy.  I wish Maddux would appreciate it more than he does.

I also miss the guarantee of naps during outings.  He's now at that age where he doesn't nap in the car or while out running errands so getting out of the house right now is a little more difficult.  We want to ensure he gets his naps in and we might have an hour window between eating and nap time where we could go out.  That's not to say we won't interrupt his usual nap times but sometimes with the crankiness that is a result, it's not always worth it.

It's such a great age right now and I am loving every second.

On another non-baby related note, if you use Google Reader for your blog reading, you must have received the message that said it was going away and you will need to move your subscriptions to another reader platform.  I moved over to Bloglovin and it was actually super easy!  It brought all of my saved reading lists from Google Reader over so I didn't have to re-subscribe once there.  There is also Feedly but I haven't used that.  Bloglovin seems great and there is also an app for your phone and tablets.  So, bring A Homemade Kitchen over or subscribe via email with the link on the right.  Happy blog reading!

I'm Scared

J has begun sprouting teeth!  This means more food to start trying.  We can move into puffs, Cheerios, and other delectable tasties.  It's so exciting.  But it terrifies me beyond belief.

My biggest irrational (or is it??) mom fear to date is choking.  I think about him eating finger foods and I almost can't breathe.  I am petrified beyond words of him choking and me not being able to help him.

I have not had any stronger fears to this point.  I do not fear him bumping his head, or falling off the couch, or cutting his knee.  I don't even fear SIDS.  I did have a crazy apprehension to his soft spot when he was a newborn to the point I even dubbed it the "Kill Spot."  But this fear of choking is paralyzing.  I'm scared.

I broke up a puff last night into teeny tiny pieces.  I put them in his mouth.  He spit them out and I tried again.  He gummed a few and ate them.  Success!  Then the last bite, he gagged about five times and I freaked out that he was choking and said OK!  We're done.  No more.

I need help.

Moms - How can I get past this and not want to feed him mush for the rest of his life?  I know I can't and I won't.  But it's all just too scary!  Talk me down.

Bedroom Redesign

M and I have been living in our current home for about 5 and a half years.  Of which, I have never redecorated a room save for J's nursery.  The time has come.  First up, our master bedroom.

A wonderful friend of mine who is part of a newly formed makeshift Facebook Mom's group created a mood board for me with ideas for the makeover.  How beautiful is all of it??

It created giant inspiration and made me completely obsessed.  The amount of pinning on Pinterest is absurd.

The color palatte will be blue, gray, yellow/gold, and white.  My new favorite combination!  Our walls are currently blue and will not be repainted because one, it's too much of a hassle and two, I don't want to.  So with the blue walls, I will bring in the gray, white, and yellow with bedding, curtains, accents, and artwork.

I have decided on this for our bedding.  It has been shipped and is on its way!

West Elm

For accents and curtains, I definitely want to bring in the yellows and golds that my friend suggested in her board.

I love the gold panels for the windows.  I like the puddling on the floor but don't know how that will bode for baby and dog.  And ironically enough, our wall color pretty much matches the wall color in the photo.

West Elm

Throw pillows are arbitrary and literally get "thrown" off the bed but they are so pretty!  And expensive.  I may be inclined to learn how to sew. There are so many gorgeous fabrics out there and I might just go hog wild.

Ebay

I need artwork, accents, and wall decor.  My hunt begins!

So the bedroom redo is underway!