Wordless Wednesday: Cupcake Love

Newest Obsession- Toothpicks

We have found a little parenting trick- Abby will eat anything if we let her eat it off a toothpick!

We discovered this at Newk's when it helped her eat our grapes. They had placed toothpicks on both Marcus' and my sandwich to keep them together.

Eating 5 peas at a time on a toothpick or poking things on both ends is the most fun!

Of course, we also love poking lots of things at once!

Celebrating 12 Years

Marcus and Abby met me in Dallas ( I worked my annual meeting all week!) on Sunday, our 12th wedding anniversary. We had made plans to spend 2 nights in Fort Worth to celebrate our anniversary and take Abby to the FW Zoo.

Can you tell how wound up this little girl was? She was so excited to be out of the car, see Mommy, get new toys, and have a big bed with a mirror for jumping and dancing! We all secretly prayed the nice restaurant we had picked for dinner was as kid-friendly as we needed!

We took our annual anniversary picture in the hotel lobby. I love looking back at these pictures and am so glad we started this tradition. I hope Abby can appreciate it when we are old and gray.

We ate dinner at Tillman's Roadhouse in a trendy new area of FW, much like 2nd Street area in downtown Austin. The decor and atmosphere deserves a blog post on it's own, but it was funky and casual and perfect for our anniversary and Abby! She ate most of the most expensive kids' meal (grilled cheese- $8) we've ever served her!

The food was wonderful- popcorn with pepper and truffle butter is brought to the tables. We also had cornbread in the skillet and Marcus had a salted salmon with black-eyed peas. My chicken fried tenderloin was amazing! It wasn't a chewy cut of flattened steak. It was thick and tender and divine!

After dinner we walked across the way to Paccuigo for ice cream. They have the best flavors anywhere! We had raspberry milk (Abby), Banana Cream Pie (Anna), and Red Velvet Cake (Marcus).

We had a low key anniversary celebration, but a joyous one with the little girl that makes our marriage more beautiful. Happy 12 Years Mr. Jenkins!

For the Love of Ketchup!

This post is for Uncle Shaun who puts ketchup on everything...

As much as I have tried to discourage ketchup (messy, full of sugar, etc.) Abby has found it and likes it! She'll often ask for it just to play with it. She likes to lick it off her fingers or the food she has dipped into it. Gross! I don't like ketchup so the thought of it alone disgusts me. I use very little only on thick or unseasoned french fries.

At Fuddruckers on Friday night, Abby was eating it out of the carton. Yucky!

Sno Cones!

Thursday night we ate dinner a little early so we could drive over to the best sno cone place in our area- Kawaii in Round Rock. Abby had never had a sno cone, but we convinced her they are better that popsicles! I let her pick her color- she wanted blue. So, we ordered her blue bubble gum. I had Tiger's Blood (which was not like it normally tastes) and Marcus had margarita.

When we were almost there we realized we had jumped up and left the house without even thinking about a diaper bag! Yea for a potty trained girl! She hasn't had an accident in weeks and goes on her own without prompting most of the time. We were a little scared since they don't have a restroom at Kawaii :)

We had so much fun- I look forward to more sno cones this summer!

Push Ups

The weather has been so great the past few weeks that we rush home to swing in the backyard. While one of us pushes Abby and plays, the other makes dinner with the back door open. Then, we eat dinner on our tiny back patio. I have eaten dinner outside more this Spring than I have in all my life.

Since we are doing so much outdoor dining, we let Abby have a pre-bath post-dinner outdoor Popsicle for the first time. She ate her orange push up in her swing. Life can't get much better in the mind of a 2 year old! Honestly, it can't get much better for her parents either.

GIANT Marshmallow

Abby favorite treat is marshmallows. She will do most anything- eat her veggies, go to bed without crying, use the big girl potty for marshmallows.

Can you imagine her excitement when we bought her these HUGE marshmallows?

No telling what I will be able to get her to do for these!

Our First Snow Cone

Saturday after story time, Nana and I met Abby and Marcus at Moonie's for burgers. Abby's kids meal came with a snow cone and we let her enjoy her first one.

I picked banana since it was the lightest color. She did great- since she wanted it so badly she really focused her spoon to not lose any of her snow cone.

I ate so many snow cones while pregnant with her. It was my biggest craving. We drove around town to find snow cone stands open in the dead of winter. We had them daily while in Hawaii. Marcus even brought them to me at work many afternoons.

There was really no doubt she would like them.

Eating "Out"

When we picked Abby up from school on Friday, we knew we had to go out to dinner so that we could eat out! Wasn't it just gorgeous? It felt like April in January!

We ate at our new favorite go-to-neighborhood spot Maggiore's. The inside is more of a family-friendly sports bar with TVs, pizza, video games, etc. The outside dining space was empty when we got there!

While waiting on our food, Marcus and Abby ran around the grass. Marcus was swinging her in the air and then she'd try and walk and fall. We all found it hilarious!

After we had eaten, another family came outside and brought their dogs. Abby was in heaven and they were kind enough to let her pet them. I don't know how long we will be able to hold off without getting a dog :)

What a great night and weekend to be outdoors! I love it!

By the way, Abby is making huge strides and ate really well at dinner! We always pack a veggie and sometimes a fruit cup and that helps to supplement the kids meal which isn't always the best. Abby had corn with her "peet-za" (cheese bread).

Food and School Updates

This is Abby's plate after dinner the other night- this is a huge success! We fell into this bad habit of giving Abby only a few foods- foods we knew she liked and her options were slim. We stopped trying to introduce new foods because it had become such a fight at every meal. Abby was eating less and drinking milk to get her nutrients and to get full.

One of the biggest draws of the new school is that they provide her breakfast and lunch. We don't get to pick her favorites- she eats what they provide, what all the kids are eating, or she doesn't eat. The first week- she didn't eat. She cried and begged them for more milk to fill her belly. She ate like crazy as soon as we got home, she was starving.

We are more than 3 weeks in and things are getting so much better. She will try new foods. She eats more food at a sitting than we've ever seen. She doesn't finish her milk at most meals. It has been a tough transition and we are still in the middle of it, but I think the worst is behind us.

We are seeing her lose some of the milk belly and thin out a little. Nothing drastic and probably nothing anyone else would notice but us. I look forward to the day when she fully eats what we are eating- we are giving her what we eat for the most part now. Sometimes she eats it and sometimes we offer a marshmallow for eat bite of vegetables she swallows. At any rate, we are getting our nutrients in and that makes this Momma happy.

Messy Bessy

This is the look I get everytime I ask Abby to say "Co Co" which is Cohen's nickname. She says it " Do Do" which always makes me laugh. So now, when I simply ask she will laugh first. I love the way that little brain works!

Yogurt and applesauce are dinner time treats in our house. They are a big mess and we save them for dinner when a bath immediately follows.

She is eating in these pictures with her right hand, but eats with her left half the time. I still have no idea what "handed" she will be- a little surprise God is holding onto.

Pum-Pum and a Preview

If Abby could really talk, she would tell you that pumpkin bread is her very favorite dessert. She loves homemade pumpkin bread and the yummy slices sold at Starbucks. A hotel delivered 2 fresh loaves of pumpkin bread to my office this week and I knew exactly who would eat them!

Do you see the joy in that face?

And, do you see the sheer exhaustion caused by a day of learning, time change and a late dinner?

Dinner in our house has been a little off the past 2 nights because our living room looks like this!

Changing out floors while living in your house is a big mess! But, it will be a beautiful mess come tomorrow! I can't wait to share my "after" pictures with you!

Friday Night Treats

We picked Abby up from school Friday night and went out to dinner. The three of us haven't eaten dinner out in ages! We grab lunch or bring food home, but haven't sat down at a restaurant in quite a while. Abby was most excited about french fries and the elementary aged boy at a nearby table.

After dinner, we walked to the nearby Half Price Books and then to Yo Yo's for frozen yogurt! We love that place and Abby loves feeding herself yogurt.

Abby had vanilla with Captain Crunch and marshmallows. It was her first time to try marshmallows and she ate them all! A new snack to pack in her bag!

I had Cake Batter with brownies, cookie dough, chocolate chips and Reese's Pieces.

Marcus had cheesecake with cookie dough, cheesecake bites, caramel cups and fudge sauce.

There were 2 tables of teenage girls that all commented on how cute Abby was or some component of her outfit- her bow, capri pants, orange sandals. It just makes me laugh- I don't remember ever talking to babies as a teen.

I'm happy we have a low key weekend planned!

Orange Fingers

We offically have a Cheetos fan! She asks for these over most other foods and seriously, they make such a mess! Have you tried Baked Cheetos? You honestly can't tell the difference! They are so good.
Where will I find Cheetos prints next!

Corn on the Cob

I love corn on the cob and anytime Marcus grills, I make sure he adds corn on the cob to our dinner plate! Abby likes corn, but I've never thought to give her a cob to try. She was watching us eat it and took the cob from my plate! She did great and ate a lot of the corn. I need to buy some frozen small cobs for her lunches. Having so many teeth helps her out! I think she has 16 or 18 teeth :)
Next time, I think we'll go without the handles. She didn't use them and kept trying to bite them.

Abby has been a FABULOUS eater over the last 3 weeks. It is major progress from the hit or miss eater we've had beforehand. We are filling up her plate a second time during dinner and her lunchtime report is consistently saying "all" instead of "some" or "most". I think life is so much easier at this age with a happy eater and sleeper- those are the biggest blessings!

Table Time

When Abby started eating rice cereal and baby food, she sat here.Once she discovered how easy it was to get out of the Bumbo, she moved to here. I love the idea of this chair, but the layer between the cloth and the plastic became a mess.

Once I discovered how much food was trapped inside the Fisher Price highchair, she moved to this. I consider this to be the best highchair out there- it is under $20 and cleans up super easy. It is light weight and easy to take apart and transport.


and now, we are moving to this! Amazing! In just one year! No wonder she sleeps so much- she is growing and learning all day long. I can't imagine how exhausting it is to try and figure out your surrounding, language and take in what you see when everything is new.
We were having real troubles with Abby in restaurants and we are an eat out family, so I wanted some solutions. We decided to make some changes at home to imitate dining out. We moved our dinner up a little and pushed Abby's back so that we all ate together. We had previously fed her about 5:45 and we ate around 7 when she was in bed. We also removed the tray from her red highchair and fed her on a plate, on a placemat at the table with us. We also seat her while we are preparing her food to teach her patience while waiting on her food. It all seems to be working- we've had a couple of really pleasant experiences.

With all of these changes, it feels like the time to move her to this seat. It attaches firmly to our dining room chair and attachs her to it. It will also help us push her up closer to the table and can travel with us so we can enjoy picnic lunches or eat at family gatherings easier.

New Fruits

My Dad and stepmom have a plum tree in their yard that can yield a ton of plums each season. Knowing that, I though I'd buy a plum for Abby to try out. No go Grandpa. She wasn't impressed at all. I think the sticky juicy part had more to do with it than flavor. She doesn't like her hands diried by her food- same reason I don't eat oranges and eat pizza with a fork! We do like apples! We had bought her slices at Sonic before and she likes to gum them. A slice of apple can take her ages to eat which is nice at restaurants while awaiting our food. We stocked up on apples for school.
We plan to try our fresh peaches soon- she likes canned!

We Drink Milk, Water and...

TEA!

I have given Abby a little tea from my straw before, but she is becoming a much bigger fan these days and wants to drink from my straw rather than take the little I have placed in the bottom of the straw. My friend Caroline was talking about how they are teaching her daughter to drink from a big person cup, so I thought I'd see how Abby could do with it.
If it had been anything but her beloved tea, I don't know that she would have done so well. But for tea, she really sat still and focused. Doesn't see look like a big girl! Wow!

Here is the video of her drinking and then proclaiming, "tea!". I also got her to say my new favorite word, turtle, on video. Grad a tall cold glass of sweet tea and enjoy! Abby was drinking green tea sweetened with honey, so it didn't seem to effect her with sugar or caffeine high :)

Chick-fil-A

About once a week we will have family night at Chick-fil-A. Abby eats well there- thank goodness their nuggets are cooked in REFINED peanut oil. No allergies!

After eating she will explore the playground with Marcus and has finally managed to climb up to the top. She won't go down the slide by herself yet, but is inching closer! On our last trip, she discovered our ice cream cone and Marcus shared his with her on the way home. She wouldn't give it back so we put her in her high chair to eat it. It was fun to watch!
She didn't realize she could eat the cone and would squish the cone up into her face trying to lick out more ice cream. Then she asked for a spoon to help her out.

The Chick-fil-A drive thru just isn't going to cut it anymore. She knows the place now!

A Lifelong Journey of Love

Abby has begun her lifelong love of french fries! Doesn't every girl love a good warm crispy fry?
This girl sure does!