Moran Family Adventures: musings of a boy mom

A Fall Day in Georgetown One of the main reasons we go to Georgetown is for brunch. One day while exploring, we came upon a sign that read "Bocce, Bowling, and Brunch."  Food and activities that require aiming/throwing? Matthew was in! For as long as I can remember, that husband of mine has been obsessed with throwing things at targets. In Tucson, one of his favorite activities included throwing rocks at one of the many cacti outside our front door. He gets some serious enjoyment out of asking me to name a target and then he tries to hit that target with a rock. In a few short years, I see Jellybean partaking in this silly game, and like his dad, getting a kick out of it.  Anyway, back on topic. This last Sunday we went back to our favorite Georgetown brunch place with the bocce ball and the bowling. We've become quite the expert parents at getting around the D.C. Metro with a big stroller. Matt's pretty good at maneuvering up and down the escalators with Jellybe...

Smile For Me I've been having a difficult time keeping up with Jellybean's milk requirement. As a result, I have to go in during my lunch break to feed him so that I can build up my stash of frozen milk at home. I can't complain about that though because it gives me a reason to run over to the daycare to hang out with him! After his feeding today, I rocked him in the rocking chair for a bit since he was giving me those super sleepy eyes. When he gets like that, he just stares at me. I swear he doesn't even blink, he just sleepily looks at me. Usually he'll turn his head to catch a glimpse of all the other kiddos making noise in his baby room, but when he's tired, he refuses to look at anything else but my face. It brings me so much joy. As his eyelids began to succumb to sleep, Jellybean laughed out loud and finally fell asleep.  This reminded me of those first few weeks we were together. Before his smile was a permanent feature on his face like it seems to...

 Pumpkin Butt Sometimes I really have to wonder if babies are toys for grown ups. I just have too much fun with my son! I'm taking advantage of his young age. At this point, he can't say no to me when I try to put him in funny hats, outrageous outfits, pose him in front of pumpkins, and even…paint his butt like a pumpkin. Just chalk it up to another Pinterest find. When I told Matt I wanted to do a mini fall photo shoot, he rolled his eyes. When I told him I was going to paint Jellybean's butt like a pumpkin, he walked away. From his perspective, I get it. I mean, what dad would want his son posed for photo shoots with his rear end painted bright orange? Not exactly manly. But like I said, babies are toys for grown ups and I'm taking every opportunity I can with Jellybean before he can roll his eyes at me like dad. It was way too cold to do it outside, which kind of bummed me out because the light outside is so much better. I took all my fall decor, a blanket, my ...

Getting Creative  Today was one of our first real blustery fall days. Where when we went outside and immediately ran back inside because that cold air is just going to take some getting used to and we aren't ready for it yet! Chilly weather always calls for soup, but I wanted to make something Jellybean could eat too. Normally, I would have taken advantage of being able to make my awesome chili, but Jellybean can't have that right now, so I opted to make split pea soup instead.  At this early stage of baby led weaning, I still want to take it slow until my kiddo gets the hang of chewing and swallowing. And the point of baby led weaning is making foods that we can all share as a family. In a way, it forces Matt and I to eat healthier too. Nothing processed, no added salt, and lots of fruits and veggies! And that's exactly what goes into split pea soup…..minus the ham I added (and later picked out of Jellybean's bowl so he couldn't have any)....

Homework  Jellybean isn't even one year old yet and he's already getting homework assigned to him….from daycare! Well, mom is getting homework from daycare. Last month it was a collage of family photos, this month, it's family hand prints on a tree. They display the arts work in the hallways for everyone to see, so the Moran family definitely has to step its game up. What can I say? We're a bunch of show offs with a pretty ferocious competitive streak.  I love when I look in Jellybean's cubby and there's artwork (finger paint on construction paper) for me to talk home and display proudly on the fridge or at my desk. So when the daycare asks for me to help out with arts and crafts time, I'm more than willing to help out! Besides, I saw the idea on Pinterest and wanted to do it anyway.  Like most things on Pinterest, that website makes things look so much easier than it really is! For example, baby handprints are next to impossible to capture perfec...

Not A Morning Baby  Actually, he's always in a *great* mood in the mornings. He smiles, plays contently by himself, and talks all the way to daycare. The one thing he hates doing in the morning? Eating solids. Apparently it's too much work.  Since I'm not doing rice cereals and oatmeals that are fortified in iron, I need to find other ways to make sure my kiddo gets his vitamins. At six months, Jellybean's iron supply that he's had stored up begins depleting. I've read conflicting research on wether or not iron is transferred via breast milk, and since I'm generally iron deficient anyway.....it doesn't matter if I transfer it via breast milk because it will still not be enough.  My sister in law told me that eggs have more than enough iron to suit Jellybean's dietary needs. Baby allergies and eggs are often a result of egg whites, so, I eat the egg white, Jellybean eats the yolk, and we both stay healthy! Since eggs are technically a bre...

Criss Cross Apple Sauce  Ok, so I know I've harped on how important it is for me to avoid processed baby foods and rice cereals and give Jellybean REAL food. But I really wanted him to try apple and there was no way I was going to give him an uncooked apple because in this early stage, he won't be able to gum something that hard. At the same time, a cooked apple would turn into apple sauce in his hands anyway....and to be honest, I really wanted to spoon feed him SOMETHING just because it's fun.  So....I asked dad to bring us some organic apples from Whole Foods this weekend. I don't always go organic, but apples are definitely on the list for *must* always buy organic. Matt brought us our favorite honeycrisp apples and away I went to making baby friendly apple sauce.  I boiled (baking is better because it preserves more nutrients) some peeled apple slices for about 9 minutes, blended the cooked slices with my immersion blender, added some cinnamon for addit...

Abby Matt and I bought Abby in early 2009. We took her home at 7 weeks old after doing tons of research on the perfect breeder. Nothing against those that want to rescue a dog, but we wanted a pure bred German Shepherd. Almost 6 years later, and Abby has been a pretty awesome addition to our family. Unfortunately, she had a few run ins with a very mean golden retriever as a puppy and she's not well socialized. Abby is extremely alpha and as long as the dog weighs at least 50lbs and acknowledges that she's the boss, she'll get along great with another dog. Kids on the other hand......she's never had much experience with kiddos. We would take her to work as a puppy so she could meet other people, but when it came to little people- well, we didn't have many friends with kids so Abby never interacted with them during that puppy stage. As a result, she tends to bark at tiny humans and scares them off. Abby & Jellybean Knowing this, I was of course terrified o...