I'm baaaack!

Hi there! Happy 2014 & Welcome back! So…unfortunately my first attempt to blogging kind of failed. However, I am back and after figuring out what got me to stop blogging the first time, I am now here to stay. Initially, I started my blog to have a place to share all my crafty projects and maybe even inspire others to be crafty and creative. Well, let’s just say I got a bit carried away and overwhelmed with ideas on all the things I wanted to do with my blog, and because of that I lost track of my main purpose. I took me some time to reflect on my goals and also set realistic goals for myself because I also want blogging to be fun for me. Anywho, enough with my spiel! I am back and I’m looking forward to sharing with you all the projects that I’ve created in the past few months and new ones to come. I also plan to continue to share with you my joys as a mother and any tips/suggestions I may have.  

Now, let’s catch you up what my family & I have been up to for the past 3 ½ ok 4 months…

1. We took Makena to her first pumpkin farm!

It was such a beautiful California day! Makena loved touching (and even trying to eat) all the pumpkins. This was our first year actually going to a pumpkin farm, which was really cool! Last year, we went to a pumpkin patch with J's nephew's and little miss Makena was growing inside momma's belly. 

2. We cut down our Christmas Trees in Santa Cruz!

For the past 4 years, we've made a tradition with J's family to go cut down Christmas trees the weekend after Thanksgiving. It is something we all look forward to every year! This year was extra special because Makena was able to be apart it. 

3. We celebrated our first holidays as a family :)

Aside from the cold that comes with it -the holidays are my most favorite time of the year. I love the spirit of the holidays and being surrounded by love & family. I also feel that especially around the holidays people are more happy, more smiley and in a good mood. To be quite honest, I've always wanted a baby to be born around the holidays because it's the most wonderful time of the year!

4. Makena turned ONE!

Oh my… I still find it hard to believe that I have a one-year-old! Where the heck did time go? You know that I LOVE to plan parties and I was so very excited to plan my girls 1st birthday party. I decided to keep the book theme going (my baby shower was Dr. Seuss themed) and did The Very Hungry Caterpillar party. It actually fit Makena perfectly because once she eating solid food, she was indeed a very hungry caterpillar! We decided to have her party a couple of weeks before her actual birthday, so that we could celebrate with her Grandma from Maui and my family who was here from Puerto Rico. The day was absolutely perfect, weather and all! Makena was surrounded by so much love and I couldn't have ask for anything more. I had a lot of fun designing her invitations and party decorations (will be sharing pics soon!) and I look forward to the day she can become apart of the planning process.

On her actual birthday we spent the day as a family in San Francisco. We took her to the Exploratorium and then had lunch at Bubba Gump's. I would have to say her favorite part of it all was watching and listening to the sea lions on pier 39. For dinner we invited our families over for pizza & cake and again it was just perfect! :)

5. We visited Lake Tahoe!

We drove to Lake Tahoe which is just 3 hours away from where we live in CA. I had not been there during the winter since I was about 7 years old! :( It's such a beautiful place in both the summer and winter and we hope to make a lot more trips now that we have a little one. Anyways, our trip there this time was great. We went with family who was visiting from Puerto Rico and just had a wonderful time. Although, there was not a whole lot of snow there was enough for us to enjoy. Makena also loved every bit of being there and she did not mind the cold at all!

5. My blog got a new name & look!

As you may have noticed my blog has a brand new name & look.  Coming up with names for things is always challenging, but I honestly feel like this one fits just right. This blog was created on the basis of crafting and that is what I love to do -and just like that I came up with my love for crafting.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and continuing to be on this journey with me. I'll be back soon to share the projects I made for Makena's 1st Birthday Party.

Grande abrazos,

Nathalie

Makena's Baptism Part II

Hola,
I hope you all had a wonderful day. Today I wanted to share with you the things I made for Makena's baptism. I went for a pink + gold vintage-y theme and tried to keep it simple yet elegant. I am very pleased with how everything turned out, but couldn't have done it all without the help of my sister + best friend who both spent hours with me making the crepe paper roses (thank you times a million!)

Let's start with the invitations...

The favors using 8oz mason jars, soy wax, vanilla, and fresh lavender 

The favor tags

Rose crepe paper pom pom centerpieces

Thank you cards using mini crepe paper roses

That's all I have to share today. I hope to be back soon with more fun stuff! :)

Abrazos,
Nat

Makena's Baptism 9.8.13

Hi there, 

I know I said I would share my daughter's baptism photos weeks ago...well you know... life kind of got in the way. Anywho, rather late than never, right? Without further ado I share with you Makena's special day...

My Family

Makena & her daddy

Makena's Godparents

The reception

The favors

Makena's baptism day was beautiful. I think she knew that it was her special day because she was such a good baby all day long. If I had to guess I would say that her favorite part of it all was when the priest poured the holy water over her head. She just looked back as if she were saying, "do it again." It was so precious. We feel as though we have been truly blessed with such a beautiful, happy, healthy, amazing little girl. She is a gift from God, and we are thankful for our gift everyday.

Tomorrow,  I will share with you the crafty things I made for the baptism which include: the invitations, thank you cards, crepe paper pom poms, mason jar candle favors & tags. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Abrazos, 

Nat

Homemade with Love: Defrosting/Warming & Packing Baby Food

Hello again, yesterday I discussed how to freeze and store baby food. Today I will discuss how to defrost/warm and pack homemade baby food. First things first, how much food do babies eat? Typically most babies eat about an ounce of food per meal when they are first learning to eat solids. With time and as baby grows, they will eat more. What is nice about the ice cube trays is that each cube is approximately one ounce -this gives you perfect little portions of food without hardly any work! As baby grows simply defrost more than one cube at a time.

Defrosting & Warming
There are several ways you can go about thawing baby food. The first way is by creating a double broiler on the stove top by putting water in a pot, and placing a bowl in the pot. Then you just put the frozen food cube in the bowl and let it warm up. Easy! Another way of thawing baby food is by using the good ol' microwave. If you choose to use the microwave be sure to defrost the food cubes in a glass bowl and not a plastic container as research says glass is safer than plastic. Also, when using the microwave BE SURE to stir the food to ensure that there are no hot-spots that will burn baby. Lastly, you may thaw baby food in the refrigerator over night in closed containers. This method obviously takes longer than the first two, but if you plan accordingly its no biggie.

Good to know
Babies like room temperature foods, so reheating and serving baby food cubes warm is not necessary. The food cubes can be served at room temperature once they have been thawed and heated.
Homemade baby food that has been thawed can be kept safely in the refrigerator for up to 72 hours, just be sure to keep the food in a sealed container to avoid any contamination.

Packing
A good overall tip to help ease packing and traveling with baby food, is to try and serve some food at room temperature. By doing this it will allow baby to grow accustomed to food that is not hot. This will be a life saver and you will never have to worry about a meal being rejected because it is not hot. Depending how long I'm out for I pack a mini cooler with my baby food in a container/s. If its a hot day I add an ice pack to the cooler, but it is not always necessary.

Nat's Picks: feeding products

1. Skip Hop Triple Bottle Bag
Originally I bought this bag to store bottles when I'm on the go, but now I use it to pack baby food. It's durable and spacious. It can hold up to 4 bowls of food or 3 bowls and an average size sippy cup. I love that it can attach to my Skip Hop Diaper bag or I can use it as a shoulder or crossbody bag. It also has a compartment in the front for a bib and/or spoons.

2. Nuk Gerber Graduate Bowls w/ lids

Love these guys! You can defrost up to 4 food cubes per bowl. The lids fit nice and secure. I've never had a spill or leak, and they are dishwasher safe.

3. Sassy Less Mess Spoons

My good friend recently gave me these as a gift! The tiny holes help keep the food on the spoon longer and the angle of the spoon makes it SO much easier to get the food to the mouth. Great gift!

4. Skip Hop Zoo Bibs 

 I have 3 of these bibs and use them all the time. They are super lightweight, easy to clean, and water resistant. My favorite part about them is the built-in tuck away pouch -perfect for storage!

5. Chicco Polly Magic High Chair

Choosing the right high chair was a bit of a challenge.  There are literally so many high chairs out there! After going back and forth between a few high chairs we finally decided to purchase this guy. So far, we have zero complaints. It so so easy to keep clean and have several neat features. I think Makena's favorite feature are the wheels. She loves been rolled around in it from the dining room to kitchen and vice versa.

Well that's all I have to share for today. Again, I hope you find this information to be helpful and useful. Next week I plan to start sharing some homemade baby food recipes -so don't forget to check back in!

Abrazos,

Nat

Homemade with Love: Freezing & Storing Baby Food

Hello,
A few weeks ago I shared a chart with you of what my daughter Makena was currently eating. Well, my baby girl is 4 days away from turning 8 months and is eating a whole lot of food! When I first introduced solids at 6 months she barely at anything. I literally was lucky if she ate a couple of spoonfuls. Also, I took the advice from my lactation consultant and fed her after I nursed her and I got worried that by doing so she was never going to like eating solid foods. I was wrong. It took her about a good solid month for her to get used to eating solid food on a regular basis and now she has grown to love food (and still loves nursing too! win! win!) Now my girl faithfully eats at least three solid meals a day!

Here's a list of all the foods she is currently eating:
1) avocado
2) acorn squash
3) bananas
4) oatmeal cereal
5) pears
6) apples (fuji, gala, and granny smith)
7) butternut squash
8) plums
9) sweet potatoes
10) sweet peas
11) nectarines
12) spinach
13) peaches
14) zucchini
15) green beans
16) beets
17) carrots
18) yukon potato
19) chard
20) eggplant
21) mango
22) broccoli
23) pumpkin

She is quite the eater and I am very pleased that out of all the fruits & veggies her only dislike thus far has been sweet peas. I've tried mixing them with other fruits and veggies and she'll eat them, but they're definitely not her favorite. Once Makena turns 8 months I will start feeding her berries and proteins and I'll also introduce herbs & spices.

I love making Makena's baby food. I admit I may be a little obsessed with baking/steaming, pureeing, and freezing. I just love the entire process from going to the grocery store and picking out new foods, bringing them home to cook, serve, and freeze, but also I know exactly what I'm putting into my daughters body. Oh, and not to mention its so much cheaper!

I like to make a bunch of different food all at one time and freeze it that way I don't have to continually pull out the food processor and make food at every meal -that would be crazy!

With that being said let's get to the freezing & storing of baby food...

Freezing
According to wholesomebabyfood.com baby food cubes are safe to keep frozen for about 3 to 6 months. However, it is recommended to use the frozen baby food within 1 month, due to the amount of water crystals that tend to build up causing the baby food to loose nutrients. If you choose to refrigerate fresh pureed baby food it is recommended to not store it for longer than 48 hours to minimize the bacterial growth.

Storing 

I ordered the Fresh Baby So Easy Baby Food Kit from Amazon around the time I began solid foods. The kit included a cookbook, a how-to DVD, a nutrition tips card, and two freezer trays with lids. Since I like to make a lot of food at once just having two freezer trays was not enough. I thought about ordering more online but Amazon sells them for $8.77 for a pack of two, which I thought was expensive. Around the same time I was searching for more reasonably priced freezer trays w/ lids, I came across the Daiso Japan store (I LOVE this store!) near where I live and found trays for $1.50! What a deal, right? So far they are working out great and the lids are secure like the more expensive ones. Remember that you don't have to have lids for your trays, plastic wrap will do the job just be careful that the purees don't spill out. 
Here's a picture of the dollar fifty trays from Daiso....

Remember that you don't have to store your baby food in ice cube trays you can use mini-muffin trays, individual plastic freezing containers or glass jars that are safe to freeze. I would not recommend Gerber baby food jars or jars that are similar as they are not safe to be frozen and have the ability to crack and leave behind tiny shards and fragments. I know the brand Ball manufactures 4oz jars that are made for freezing. 

I typically allow the baby food to freeze overnight and then I transfer the cubes into freezer ziplock bags and label them with the name & month. By transferring the cubes to freezer bags it frees up the trays for the next batch of food and frees up space in the freezer too!

The process...

I hope that you find this information helpful. Don't forget to check back tomorrow as I will discuss how to defrost/warm and pack baby food and also share some of my favorite feeding products!

Abrazos,

Nat