Kitchen Time

Baking.

Cooking.

Preparing.

All of the food prep possible is happening in our house these days.

I'm doing even more than I usually do (I find comfort in preparing and having a few 'staples' around the house most weeks). And Maddux hops in and out of baking interest.

I love it when she does, especially because Ruby is usually more likely to join her in the kitchen (she gets tired of 'mixing' with Mommy sometimes).

Ruby usually goes back and forth between working with one of us and running over to her play kitchen and recreating what she just did.

I hope her desire to create food for people extends beyond the quarantine!

Occupational Therapy

This is the only 'main' therapy that Ruby does not receive. While her PT incorporates some fine motor training into her therapy, and I read up on activities that will help her with OT, she's never had a professional in that area work with her. It was my thought initially to get her mobile as quickly as possible by hitting PT hard, and then once she could handle more, pull in speech to get her talking. Not that OT is not important, because it is, but I felt that walking and talking would help her more socially than holding a fork, or buttoning her clothes.

Because of that, there are many things I wish Ruby could do better when it comes to fine motor skills. She does not hold a crayon with proper technique, she cannot lace beads onto a string without assistance, she still struggles to pick up small objects due to inconsistently using her pincer. One area Ruby is starting to show improvement in, however, is her self-feeding with a utensil. Ruby's been using a fork for select foods (ones that are easy to 'stick' like Gardenburgers or some casseroles) with success for almost a year. We've been letting her use a spoon for cereal or oatmeal for about a year, and for the last 4-6 months, she's done pretty well to get that spoon loaded and then into her mouth, unassisted. However, she still would flip the spoon once it was inside of her mouth. During this last stay at home, she's corrected that and has had much better 'correct' form with the spoon.

As usually happens, that means I let her eat unassisted a bit more, which means she gets more curious without me hovering over her, so she's also used her fingers in the bottom of the yogurt or applesauce bowl if I'm not paying enough attention. So less mess from the spoon eating, but more (mommy's fault) finger eating.

Melts In Your Mouth

In true Daddy fashion, when I was out of the house the other night, Lehr secured his title of "Fun Daddy".

He pulled out the chocolate chips and let Ruby get her hands on some sweet goodness.

Seems like she took to it pretty well.

Just. Let. Me. Sleep.

This could possibly be the cutest video we've ever posted. Maddux and I left for a date and the boys fed Ruby dinner. From the looks of how it affected her, she had something similar to Thanksgiving dinner.

Fork It Over

I've been working with Ruby for a while on fork-feeding. Not me to her, but the other way around. This video was only the third time we worked on it. Not bad! I don't think she put the fork anywhere other than her mouth this whole meal. This video also shows Ruby's newest speech trick: saying "MMMMM" for 'more' (she dropped the sign last week).

Pincer Grab

One of the many things we are working on is improving Ruby's ability to pick up things with her pointer finger and thumb. When she's shoveling in finger foods eating, she still tends to 'rake', using her other fingers. Sometimes she uses the pointer and middle finger, but her palm is always involved.

We've tried to give her one puff at a time with varying success. Oh my, how time consuming is that! We still do this sometimes, but whenever we give her something on her tray, she reverts to the rake.

We then tried taping her fingers. She did ok with the tape, but because of the whole-fist approach she takes to eating, the tape was soaking wet after just a minute. That made tape-removal very difficult; taping was a one-time thing.

For now we have landed on the socks. I put two small holes in the feet of old Ruby socks for her thumb and pointer fingers. Then we put puffs or other finger foods on her tray and she has some practice using the pincer grab. The socks do get quite dirty, requiring washing after almost every use, and it's not perfect because she still can push against her palm a little, but for now, it's our best option.

Therapy Update

I seriously keep waiting for some type of plateau, but so far, Ruby hasn't found one.

A few weeks back we started working with a tension rod in Ruby's closet. Before that we  used a wooden stick to help her work between sitting on a bench to standing. She LOVES this activity and will do it as long as someone will sit with her.

Lehr built this cute little bench for her and we use it for sitting and for kneeling in front of (as a 'table' to play on and support herself). It is the perfect height for her right now because it allows her hips to be just higher than her knees. He knows he will be building new benches very often because this girl is a growing machine. She can also sit on that bench and reach for something flat on the ground successfully. (This requires a LOT of stability and balance.)

Ruby is still not crawling, but she tolerates us or the therapist 'helping' her to crawl. In fact, she doesn't seem to mind. (When we first started trying this months ago, she would cry and cry and cry.) Ruby can now push herself back into sitting from a belly-on-the-ground position. She is very proud of this trick and does it all day long. From sitting, she will rotate herself around and get onto all fours, but she usually doesn't stay there too long.

Regarding eating and speech, Ruby is eating all kinds of new foods. She still doesn't have any teeth (though one is about to pop!), so we are still a little limited in hardness of foods. She will eat most fruits that are soft in large chunks. She just 'chews' them with her back gums: mangoes, pears (her fave), peach, nectarines, berries... And she recently started eating Gardenburgers too. So far she LOVES them. Beans, rice, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, wheat germ...as long as it doesn't require teeth, she'll eat it.

Ruby is drinking water from a straw much more successfully too. In fact, she can even hold the cup most of the time (though she prefers to throw drop it, as most kids do).

Ruby is signing 'more' for food, but not for play or anything else. She sometimes signs 'all done' at the end of a meal also. During a round of "Row Row Row Your Boat" the other day, I really think she was communicating back and forth with me at the end, but no video yet.

Both therapists are happy with her progress. In fact, the last time the PT came, she couldn't believe what Ruby could do. And after 'testing' her with a few things, witnessed her pull herself to standing from the floor, all on her own. At that point she said she expected Ruby to answer the door the next time she came to visit.

Look, Ma...No Hands!

Well, actually both hands. But who's counting!

We've been offering Ruby puffs on her tray since almost the first time she ate solids, about three months ago. She quickly figured out that she could use her hands to affect those puffs, and after some practice, she even got them into her mouth! We then moved onto all types of finger food, with varying degrees of success and mess.

Until recently, the floor to mouth ratio has been pretty even, but as of last week, this girl is a pro. Suddenly I noticed that after meals I only found a few random pieces of finger food in her chair or on the floor instead of the dozens I was used to. Team Ruby, rockin' again....

Nom Nom

Ruby is an eating machine. She started a little slow, but her speed of consumption is up there with McQueen these days. She eats three meals most days (along with nursing) and has yet to 'reject' a food. So far she's tried sweet potatoes, avocados, winter squash, zucchini, pears, peas, carrots, oatmeal, pinto beans, pumpkin, mango, peaches and pears. Add to that, she's sipping water or breast milk through a straw during at least one of those meals. Rockstar.

The video clip quickly shows the 'exercises' Lehr and I do with her before she eats. Sometimes we use a small spongy type tool to do the inner-mouth work, but mostly I use my fingers these days. These exercises are designed to help the muscles that Ruby uses for eating 'wake up' before she eats. Given her success, I'd say they're working!

The second clip shows Maddux helping Lehr feed Ruby. You'll notice her doing some sign language. We used some ASL with the other kids and have already started with Ruby, mostly during meal times. Maddux is always such a good helper and she loves to use the signs also. However, what you'll see on the video is a combo of real signs, signs that are 'close' and then Maddux just making some stuff up because it makes sense to her. She also goes through about 25 tissues when left to her own devices...good times.

Night Shift

When Ruby was born, Lehr and I decided that once we thought she was ready for a bottle, he would feed her at the 11PM time slot, to allow me a little extra sleep. (My alarm clock goes off at 4:30am with or without her.) She's a rockstar, chugging that bottle for him, and it's been quite a while since she's needed anything other than that between the hours of 8PM and 7AM. Unfortunately, because we do reserve the bottle for that late night slot, the kids hadn't had a chance to feed her much yet. After Eli's party, however, I had a dinner to go to, so the kids got to help Daddy feed her just before bedtime. They love, love, love doing that. Maddux really got into it, dabbing her lips when some spilled. And Eli got all snuggled in his bed before Daddy brought Ruby to him, because he wants so much to have her sleep with him some night.

A few nights later, Maddux got to feed Ruby again, purely unplanned. Lehr had just started to give Ruby her 11PM-er when Maddux woke up to go to the bathroom. Lehr called her in and let her take over for him. I didn't get to witness it, but Lehr said both girls slept through the feeding.

Muscles

So the other night we had an Eliason standard of 'summer' vegetables sauteed with potatoes and chicken sausage. As usual, at least one child initially resisted the peppers. And as usual, once said child (this time it was Maddux) finally tried them, it was instant love. She couldn't stop raving about the orange bell peppers.

This carried over later than night into her bath. She told us: "Look at my muscles!!! You know those peppers I ate at dinner? They grew them! People will see me and be like, 'whoh! where did those come from?' and I'll tell them cuz I ate my dinner and sweet peppers." We had her repeat herself for the camera, of course, cuz we're those parents.

IHOP

I am often away from the house when the rest of the family eats breakfast on Saturday morning. Lehr usually makes the kids pancakes or waffles and they joke about saving one for me (but they never do!). As of late, these breakfasts have expanded to include eggs, and now chicken or turkey sausage. This last week I got home from my run just as they sat down to eat, meaning I was able to join in the feast. I called it an "IHOP breakfast" because Eli's plate had pancakeS, eggS, and sausageS. And he ate every last bite and had more. Insanity!

Gingerbread Houses

The kids and I have been moving through many fun "Christmas-y" projects this season. We've done light-seeing (several times), decorating, making cards and envelopes, baking and decorating gingerbread men, making ornaments for friends, and today we checked 'Gingerbread House' off of our list.

I am so not crafty. I love to do crafts, but my ability to pull them off is very limited. When it comes to the kitchen, the story is the same. I've seen several gingerbread kits in the past (I know you didn't think I'd tackle making one from scratch...), but I'd never seen anything but shoddy construction results: icing not holding, candies weighing down the roof, etc. I picked up a kit at Target last week, one that contained enough for five small houses rather than one big one to argue over.

When I pulled it out after school today, I warned the kids that sometimes these things don't work as well as we might hope. I told them it would be fun regardless, but to not get upset if a house collapsed due to it's own weight. (One of the children has a more difficult time accepting events that don't occur as planned or expected, so it's always best to warn him, uhhh, or her, beforehand.)

Upon opening the package we discovered two pieces that were already broken: awesome start. At least that made it easier to divide the houses evenly, right? When I finally broke open the white icing (it was really difficult.....another sign, I thought), I went to work putting one of the kid's houses together so it could dry and they could decorate. Immediately my mood brightened because the icing stuck and HELD from the moment I applied it. It was even better than hot glue! Maybe it had to do with the houses being smaller and not as heavy, but this project went off without a hitch. The kids had a blast decorating with gumdrops and little candy balls and colored icing. No arguing, no complaining, just smiles and laughter...kinda amazing. I will definitely attempt this project again next year. As long as I can find the same awesome green box at Target, that is.

Cupcakes

I've been trying really hard to intentionally do fun things with the kids. I always have great ideas, great plans, but horrible execution. That is, I rarely do what I want to do with them because we're short on time, it'll make a mess, too late to stay up, etc. My control-freak self is trying to let go of some of that and be a more fun mom :)

Last week we searched for cool leaves at the river and in the yard and then did a leaf rubbing. Eli said he'd done it at school already, but he still loved the project. And even though Maddux didn't quite do it 'correctly', she had a good time too.

This week we made spider cupcakes. Sugar. Frosting. Candy. Oh, the horror. I made the cupcakes just before Eli got off of the bus so that we could decorate them together. That meant me doing the frosting and decorating and the kids just sticking the 'legs' in, but that was enough for them to feel totally involved. They loved it. And even though it totally trashed my kitchen and consumed my afternoon (and two trips to the store earlier in the week), I loved it too. Once we were done, we delivered a few to friends in the neighborhood...the kids REALLY liked that. Now if you'll excuse me, as I'm off to tackle clean-up now as my kids run around in a sugar frenzy :)

Bagels!

About a month ago Eli started asking for candy cane bagels. Last year or the year before, our usual spot for Sunday bagels had 'candy cane bagels', which were regular old bagels, but dyed red and twisted with regular (white) dough in the shape of a candy cane. After two failed trips to score said bagels this year, Eli and I asked if they were just sold out. Apparently they were not big enough ticket items to warrant a return. Given our new, fancy dancy kitchen, and some help with childcare this week since Lehr is working less, I told Eli that we'd make our own bagels the week before Christmas. As fun as this sounds, I am not always the best with baking. Cooking I can handle, but I don't have a lot of confidence where baking is concerned. Nevertheless I found a recipe and this morning my boy and I set out to the store to get the necessary goods. Eli helped me mix the dough and roll it out. We divided it in half and mixed in some red food dye (that's when Maddux entered the equation). After some more rolling, we had 16 long 'snakes' that soon turned into eight candy cane bagels. So much easier than I thought and they turned out pretty good!

Gobble, Gobble!

We had no real plans for Thanksgiving; eat, play, and then eat some more. Of course Eli planned to bowl, play basketball, and work in some hockey. And high on Maddux's list was playing 'Go Fish', preferably with Grandma Cathie, preferably in the kids' secret room.

Once a Dutch Baby breakfast was consumed, Eli and Grandpa Jim went across the street to shoot some hoops on the big rim. I joined them for a bit, followed by Maddux, Grandma Cathie, and Daddy, all at staggering times. At one point it was just Eli and I, so I taught him to play horse. Even though he rarely made a shot, he loved the game and wanted to play 'cow' next. Maddux enjoyed entertaining the neighbors' dog more than anything. She spend most of her time throwing the ball two feet in front of her in an effort to play 'fetch'.

While the turkey cooked, the kids became interested in the whole food prep for the day. Someone asked them what they thought the turkey's name was and the name 'Emily' came up. Both kids have classmates named 'Emily', so I guess it was fitting??

For the feast we enjoyed turkey (prepared a special way by Lehr...delish), sweet potatoes, caramelized onion mashed potatoes and our family's traditional dressing made with wild rice. So good! Our meal concluded with apple crisp (Eli didn't even miss the pumpkin pie) and then went upstairs to play (yup...you guessed it) more bowling before bedtime.

Big Old Birthday Bash

This summer has obviously been a challenging one for us, especially when it came time for celebrations that usually require a house, or at least a kitchen with an oven. But I have to say that the kids' birthday parties were at least as good as they usually are, and totally low-key, which is all we know how to do!

Eli's party threatened to be a scratch due to the weather, but thankfully the sun came out around lunchtime and kept all of the rain clouds away. We gathered around the pool at 4PM and the kids swam their hearts out. When they weren't showing off their best moves on the diving board, that is. We still haven't done the formal-invite, kids-choice-of-guests thing for the birthdays yet, but our group of friends contains several kids, so it works out just fine. All in all, there were five other kids (making seven total), and more adults than that. Pizza arrived just as the lifeguard blew the whistle for adult swim and the kids swarmed. Of course they only finished about 1/2 a piece and three grapes each before the whistle blew again and they were back in. It was almost as though Eli forgot about the 'main event'.

Thirty minutes later I pulled the specialty made, variety selection of cupcakes out and once again kids were everywhere. I think we had seven choices: s'mores, peanut butter cup, mint chocolate, chocolate chip cookie, key lime, red velvet, Guiness, cookies n cream, blueberry and strawberry. Eli chose S'mores almost immediately, as I assumed he would. Maddux followed suit and they both scarfed them down in record time. Of course Maddux ended up wearing most of hers. Another thirty minutes or so of swimming later and the thunder started, so we made our way home to show the house progress to a few friends. It started to pour down while we were in the house, so I guess it's good that we left the pool when we did.

Again, I have felt a bit bad for how low-key the parties were this year, but the kids have had a blast, and looking back through the pictures makes me realize that Eli didn't miss out on anything; he was just happy to spend the day with some really great friends.

God Sugar

So if you know me, you are probably going to roll your eyes and remind me that all of the things I say I don't do I really DO do, but I'm still sticking with my story. I do not obsess about food labels. And I do not constantly tell my kids to not eat sugar or sugary things because they are the devil. But we do talk about sugar sometimes. And we talk about the kinds of food that best fuel our body. At the end of the day, our aim is moderation. When they ask for another nectarine after they've already had two, I tell them that it might make their stomach hurt, so let's try another food instead. And yes, sugar does come up from time to time, but usually when they ask me about it, not the other way around. When it comes up, it's always Eli asking if a particular food has sugar in it. Like grapes. I usually tell him that it has sugar that God put in there, rather than sugar that someone else put in there (like in candy or lollipops). Eli brings this kind of conversation to the table a lot. He's just that kid that likes to think through every little thing.

Fast forward to today when I hear him in the other room with D talking about a snack. Eli asks D about his snack and then tells him that what he's eating (apples) has "God sugar" in it, which is ok, but you still can't eat too much of it. Love that kid.

NOLA Jazz Fest 2010 - Day 3

We kicked off our last day with a trolley ride. Eli remembers the trolleys from previous years, but I think this is the first one Maddux will remember. We rode the train about half way out St. Charles and then turned around. The kids liked it, but it is rather stressful holding them in the VERY open windows. Not only are they in danger of falling out, but lamp posts, trees, and other trolleys pass by extremely close as the train is in motion. Regardless, we all had a good time and were able to make it to Fest before they opened again.javascript:void(0)

I was in charge of the 'schedule' today, so we did a lot of moving around and we stayed mostly on the opposite side of where we'd been. The music tended to be more traditional in NOLA style too. We started at the Kids' Stage with the Red Hot Brass Band: a band made up of kids no older than high school. They brought their newest member on towards the end (part of a program called 'pass it on'). He was four years old and he played the snare drum. Eli loved this band, joining in their Second Line after their performance. From there we went to the Jazz and Heritage Stage. That stage is all about big 'street' brass bands, feathered costumes, and Second Lining. Two or three of the older 'kid' musicians jumped in to join the Storeyville Stompers Brass Band, providing an awesome show. Maddie was getting tired (and hot, due to the sun) at this point, but she did let me dance with her for "You Are My Sunshine". We also heard "When The Saints Go Marching In" for the eighth time...it never gets old. Mad Dog even chimed in wiht her own "WHO DAT?!?!"

We then went to the Gospel tent and the Blues tent. The kids were both exhausted by now, and Eli fell asleep in the BOB. Maddie had no choice but to nap on me, which I loved. Then, when Eli woke up, I transferred her to the BOB and she slept for another thirty minutes. That girl was tired!! We ended our day at the Blues tent with an awesome performance by Jonny Lang. Eli loved the music and learned that the band was 'playing filthy' for the last number. (It was pretty insane!)

Another Mango Freeze was shared, lots of red beans and rice was consumed, Ya Ka Mein, craw fish beignets, and bottles and bottles of water were put to rest. And yet we were still hungry for dinner. I picked up a few re-heatable pasta dishes from the local farmers market to eat in the hotel room. The kids ate in their underwear - awesome pictures.

2010 04 NOLA Jazz Fest from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.

NOLA Jazz Fest 2010 - Day 2

Before we drove to Jazz Fest today, we met some friends for breakfast. "Uncle Catfish" (and his wife "Mrs. Catfish) met us at a fun neighborhood spot. The kids had a blast hanging out and being silly with the names we call them. We got a tour of their new house and both kids were totally awestruck by their powder room downstairs: blue walls, blue sink, blue lights.

So today was a perfect example of something the other side of 'shoulda/coulda/woulda'. It shoulda rained all day. The tornados coulda come through and ruined Jazz Fest for everyone today. We woulda been sad, oh-so-sad. But instead we were incredibly lucky with the weather. We arrived before the gates opened to find very windy conditions. As long as you didn't take any dust directly in the eyes, it was ok. Once again, we camped out at Gentilly. We were convinced we would be at fest for only a few shows, so we decided to head back to our great location again and enjoy while we could. (I don't think I mentioned the location: RIGHT next to long long lines of porta potties with no wait and perfect views of the stage.)

The main event for us was Bonerama, with their four trombones and awesome New Orleans sound. Eli and Maddux loved them, recognizing a song or two during the set. More food was consumed, more dancing occurred, and lots of air drumming took place. After 'lunch', we granted the kids their coveted Mango Freeze. After we let them share one last year, they've been obsessed. It doesn't help that we have this picture hung in Maddux's room, so they are reminded of it every day. (Maddie often tells me, "I want to go there again, Mommy. To Mango Freeze.") Long story short, all we heard on the car ride down here was Eli telling us, "I want to share Mango Freeze with Maddie again, Mommy. I will hold it and share nicely with her." Sure enough, he did a great job. They sat next to each other and Eli did his best to divvy up the sweet treat between them. At one point I noticed the small bites he was giving both of them. Eli assured me, "I don't want to give her too much cuz she'll get a brain freeze."

Sometime after that, Maddux was wearing thin, so I threw her in the BOB and took her for a stroll, convinced she'd pass out. She did: first sitting up and slumped over and then finally against the back of her seat. I got to see some Cowboy Mouth while we walked and she got to recharge in time for more craw fish and Overly boy interaction. She and Russell hit it off quite well, sitting on each other's laps and running around. He was so sweet with her...she's a lucky girl to have such nice boys to look out for her!

Bathrooms were the theme of the day with both kids going about twelve times each. It was noticeably warmer today (but still not bad), and that meant more water consumption. How, I'm not sure, because Maddux drank so much yesterday you'd think she'd float away.... Anyway, for one trip, Eli told me, "I won't touch anything inside, Mommy, because it's disgusting." (I let him go in the porta potty by himself - I just stood outside of the door.)

On our way back to the car we were treated to a street concert. This is so common around fest, but it was the first one the kids had seen. They were both wide-eyed and silent. Neither would dance with me, but Eli talked about it a few times on the way home.