We Eat | Asparagus!

It's so funny that I used to hate asparagus as a kid, I mean, really despise it. It does have a funny taste, but now I can't wait for spring when we can have asparagus several times a week. It's been at the farmers market for weeks already so we've been eating it a lot. I haven't really given it to the babies by itself as it's so stringy, but I've incorporated it into many meals for us, some of which they've gotten a taste of.

Asparagus Quesadillas
-Trader Joe's handmade tortillas
-slices of fontina cheese
-grilled asparagus spears

I like to grill up quesadillas on the stove top with some butter.

W&G were fans! Great for lunch and easy to have the basic ingredients on hand. It can also easily be filled with other things like chopped up roasted vegetables.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza with Prosciutto & Cherry Tomatoes
recipe featured on If These Pots Could Talk here

I used a premade cornmeal crust you can get at the Ferry Building farmers market, or at Whole Foods (at least in San Francisco).

The babies ate chopped up pizza for lunch several days after we made this for dinner.

Slow-Roasted Halibut with Shaved Asparagus & Fennel Salad
from bon appetit recipe 

W&G had leftover fish the next day, but there wasn't any asparagus salad left (you need to shave a LOT just to make two portions).

Salmon with Asparagus, Halloumi and Chickpea Farro Salad  
based on Closet Cooking recipe here

Lemon Risotto with Shrimp & Asparagus 
recipe features on If These Pots Could Talk here

W&G got the risotto in an easier-to-eat form, arancini (risotto balls). Basically I combined some of the cooled risotto with an egg yolk, a little more parmesan cheese, and then formed into balls. Then I rolled the balls in baby oatmeal (could also use breadcrumbs). I fried these up over medium heat until golden-brown. I tried one, sooo good!

Angel Hair Pasta with Prosciutto, Asparagus & Crushed Red Pepper

Not much of a recipe here. I used to always make Shrimp Pasta on those nights when we didn't have much in the fridge or I didn't feel like making anything more exciting. I now keep a package of prosciutto from Trader Joe's in the freezer, so this was quick and easy to pull together.

And finally, the limited-time Asparagus focaccia from Acme Bread at the Ferry Building. So good! The boys liked it but they mostly got the bread part. I still worry about the asparagus being a choking hazard, especially since I didn't have a knife to cut it down.

10- & 11-Month Favorites

1. Trend lab crip wraps - About a month or so ago, William started spitting out his paci and going woodchuck on his crib. These wraps aren't cheap, about $50 to wrap all four sides of the crib. Definitely worth it if you plan on reusing the crib, which we don't, but I don't really want the guys chewing on the painted crib so this was a decent solution. I got one for George's as well when he started chewing several weeks ago. He only seems to do it on the edge that faces the rest of the room/William's crib. They're really soft, wash/dry easily and best of all, blend perfectly with the grey edges of the crib. They boys will still chew on the crib, but this protects it, and them.
2. Duralex glass bowls - Who knows what the deal is with heating plastic, even if it's bpa-free so I still avoid putting all plastic, tupperware, baby food storage, etc, through the microwave or dishwasher. It's kind of a pain, but I transfer everything to these glass bowls for heating and serving -- once the babies are eating out of a bowl, I'll just transfer the food back to a plastic bowl. I get the bowls at Sur la Table. There's a great selection of different sizes that are perfect for their 'main course' and 'dessert' (fruit).
3. Ore Originals baby brush set - I remember doing so much research on what brush to buy -- oh the joys of bed rest and having endless time on your hands. Anyway, William's hair is pretty out of control and we've had to brush it down after bathtime for months now, so that he wakes up with it looking somewhat reasonable. This brush is perfect; great quality, soft, but firm enough to actually shape the hair.
4. Wheels on the Bus song book - Out of nowhere, probably a month ago now, this became George's favorite book. He learned how to press the button to play the song and to this day, he can still find that single book on the shelf, pull it down, and play with it. He'll sit there on his own for a while, pressing the button over and over (but only once the music stops will he press it again). William likes it too and just learned how to press the button a week or so ago.
5. Crane Humidifier - We had this while I was pregnant but as there's not much you can do for a stuffed up baby beyond a humidifier, that has had a permanent home in their room. We usually use it when they're sick, but now we've started keeping it on every night. We're ordering another one for our room. I know Crane makes really cute animal-shaped ones for kids as well.
6. Wood Activity Cart - This is old school, a hand-me-down from my brother and I'm sure it had been through many kids before. While they're not quite as into the cart as they were in Feb. when we got it, this is still a big hit. It's such a great cart as it's made of wood and opposed to many push toys, this one is a sturdy box-shape, not on a slant like many which is definitely harder for a new cruiser/walker to use.
7. Vital Baby Straw Cup - I got plenty of recommendations from people before I bought their first straw cups. I had read about moms who have a drawer that's a bottomless pit of sippy cups as they can't find one that doesn't leak. Many moms recommended this one and they were right, these cups are awesome. W&G caught on pretty easily to them - we used a basic sippy cup briefly in the beginning but both knew how to drink out of my straw water bottle so we figured we'd just go to this. We haven't used it for milk yet, but it's awesome for water.
8. White Noise Baby app - Best $.99 I've spent. Dave has it on his phone and I also downloaded it on my mom's phone for when she's here while the babies are napping. William has been waking up from his nap at 3:30 each day (earlier than he should), screaming. I can't figure out why. I know he's not ready to wake up, but going in there, picking him up, etc., doesn't help at all. The only this that works is turning on the blow dryer on this white noise app. He'll cry for another 10 seconds or so after I leave my phone on the bed and leave the room, but then he'll go back to sleep. I'd say this works 95% of the time. It even worked for my mom last time she was here.
9. Baby Jogger City Select tray - This has saved me! The boys are so good at feeding themselves -- well, I should say they enjoy feeding themselves, as they still spill quite a bit. But the point is that they've done a lot better with food once they've been in charge. Now when I'm out on my own with them, I just keep them in the stroller and put their food on the tray and they go to town. It's a mess to clean when I get home, but we have a cordless vac that does the trick pretty easily, and I think it's still less work than prepping, serving, and cleaning up after lunch at home.
10. Boogie Wipes - This is one of those bonus items - no, you don't need to buy a separate type of wipe for their faces, but I think I got a pack of these at my baby shower and have been so happy with them. They really do work well for cleaning off the face and nose and they're the perfect texture and moisture for the face.

11 Months Old

Last week was such a busy week, but we had such great weather that I tried to get them outside as much as possible. My Dad finally got to see the babies during the day on Monday -- he usually stops by on his way home from watching Tenzing and Crusoe, but at 6pm, they're never in a great mood and I so wanted him to see them at a better time of day. He was meeting my uncle to work on the boat later that day, so it worked out perfectly when he came at 10:30, we got the babies ready and walked down to the Ferry Building park. We played for a while and luckily they really were in a good mood -- I was so worried they'd be off and he'd think that was their 'normal' demeanor. Then we headed to the Ferry Building where I got an amazing slow-roasted pork sandwich, followed up by a scoop of Secret Breakfast from Humphry Slocombe which finally opened! We had a really nice time together.

Tuesday was back to the Ferry Building, this time I got a Pastrami burger from Wise Sons. I brought lunch for the boys but they got my pickles (William can literally down his in less than a minute) and they loved the fresh strawberries. Tuesday night I had a quick Junior League meeting but Dave and I got to watch a Homeland before he left for Mexico City for work the next day.

Luckily the boys were good to me, since Dave wasn't here to do the morning routine, and made it until close to 7am. I was going to try a new music class on Wednesday but the weather was too nice so I changed the plan and we just headed to the park instead. We made it to our normal music class the next day -- the boys just LOVE the piano.

 They also can't keep their hands off Teacher Rachel's guitar.

Friday was a hectic day. My friend and I decided last minute to go to the Junior League Fashion Show luncheon -- we were considering going to the gala, but with both of our husbands out of town until Friday, we held off too long and settled on the more casual lunch. Though it was a lot of coordinating -- my mom came 10-12:30 before catching a flight to Chicago, Jessica came at 12:30, and I had to manage getting ready with them taking just a 30 minute nap, but in the end it worked out and I was out the door by 10:45. Erin and I had a great time, nothing like Champagne at 11am!

I got three swims in this week, which was great with the nice weather. Then Friday night we finally did an adults-only dinner out with my brother and Elizabeth. We had a great time and the food was so tasty. Poor Jessica had a long day as we weren't home until 11:30.

Saturday, Dave was on duty as I had the Spring Movie Event for Junior League at SFCAPC. Sunday we went to church and then got something to eat. Everyone took naps that afternoon, even mom, which rarely happens! We took them to the park that afternoon and even brought their cart so they could push it all over. Of course it was a hot item with all the other kids too.

Mar 12: G stands unassisted
Mar 13: G's first steps
Mar 19: W can point
Mar 20: W says 'caw' for bird (like the bird in one of our books says), G waved goodbye to me

EAT: I'm so thrilled with how they're eating, but still a bit worried that one day they're just going to decide they don't like half of what I'm offering. I've highlighted a lot of what they're having in other posts and I'm curious to find out from the pediatrician how much they *should* be eating, but it seems to be the right amount. They both have their pincer grip down and have for the last 3 weeks or so which makes eating all these finger foods much easier.

They both love cheese, otherwise George will go for the carbs first, or the meat/eggs, William will finish all his fruit first. Their typical breakfast was just featured; for lunch we're often on the go, but I'll bring along a string cheese and a vegetable and then usually they'll get their meat/carbs from what I'm having. It's getting to the point where I need to order them their own meal though as the three of us sharing doesn't leave enough for me :). It's nice to have two little ones to share a smaller portion though.

I need to do a post on their typical dinners, but they're eating more and more of what we're having, but I'm still doing a fair amount of prep just for them as there are certain things that are easier for them to handle. I'm doing a lot of patties, balls (meatballs, veggie balls, etc.) and pita/quesadilla stuffed with veggies.

One thing they don't like that goes along with eating is wearing their bibs. For the past week or so, they like to pull them off and we haven't really figured out how to deal with this yet.

I'm still doing the breastfeeding/pumping thing, but will start weaning around their birthday. William's taking about 24oz a day which has allowed me to build a mini-stockpile in the freezer.

I hate to do this to them again, but after changing my sixth poop of the day and it's only 2pm, I feel I must mention it. This is seriously like the newborn days. Sure, they're eating a ton, but we seriously are going through more diapers than we did the first month, or at least it seems. Especially since their new thing is to wait until they've just been changed, and then poop. For the past few days, there have been multiple naps/bedtimes, where we put them down, they won't go to sleep, I open the door to the room only to be welcome by the unpleasant aroma and get to change them. again. This happened with both of them last night. And let's just say the aromas after that burrito feast yesterday were gnarly.

Current schedule:
5:40am - mom pumps
7am - wake up, 6oz bottle for William
7:30 - G nurse
7:45 - breakfast
9am - nap (40 mins to 1hr on avg)
10am - G nurse, 3oz bottle for W
12pm - lunch
1:30 - G nurse, 5oz bottle for W
2-4pm - nap
4pm - G nurse, 3oz bottle for W
6pm - dinner
6:45pm - G nurse + 6oz bottle, 7oz bottle for W
8, 9:30pm - mom pumps

Typical for W - on his back, sprawled out
SLEEP: They've actually done a lot better the last month; I think the time change worked to our advantage. We had to play around with the schedule for the first few days, but they're consistently sleeping in longer now. For a while there, they were waking up at 6ish, or sometimes even before. They would go back to sleep, but now, there might be some movement around 6:20 or 6:30, but then they settle in again until close to 7am. They're taking a bit longer to fall asleep most nights; plenty of paci exchanges and chatting going on, but it's rare that any crying is involved, so generally when they're put in their crib at 7pm, we're 'off-duty'. There definitely are still the random wake ups in the night where we need to replace a paci, but these are rare enough, and neither Dave nor I have any problem falling back asleep right away.

G, always on his tummy, butt up in the air
Naps. The morning nap still varies; sometimes it's just 40 minutes, others it's as long as an hour and a half (but that's pretty rare, and always only one baby). The hard part with naps is that 75% of the time, they don't wake up at the same time. I generally try to sneak one out (if they've slept long enough that it's okay for them to get up) and let the other one rest. George has been a champion napper in the afternoons though; half of last week he slept almost 3 hours. William, on the other hand, has not been doing great in the afternoons. They both consistently go down about 2:10 (get the in crib right at 2pm), but almost like clockwork, William will wake up screaming at 3:30. Most of the time, I'm able to put on the blowdryer white noise and he'll go back to sleep and almost all the time, George isn't disturbed, but even when William does wake up, even if he makes it until 4pm, he's been pretty grumpy. It seems like he needs to sleep longer and I can't figure out why he keeps waking up at that time, especially since he wakes up so upset.
PLAY: It does keep getting better and better in this category. W&G are playing more and more together, whether it's sitting next to each other in a pile of books (after working together to take all the books off the shelf), pushing the cart together, pushing doors or sneaking to 'ring' the wine glasses hanging from our wine cabinet. I've started trying some discipline so I crouch down and say a firm 'no, we don't touch the glasses' while shaking my pointer finger. Well, they just laugh and imitate me, shaking their fingers back at me!

Their absolute favorite thing at the moment is playing with doors. We have French doors that separate the dining room from the living room and they could spend all day pushing those doors open and closed, using the door like a walker. They still love the cart, and have figured how to pull it away from the wall and start pushing it again.

They also love playing with anything that has buttons or plays music. George's favorite book at the moment is The Wheels on the Bus, which has a button that plays the tune of the song. He pushes it with his middle finger. After their obsession with the piano at music class, Dave got them a little toy piano that's similar to the activity table and they love that too.

They enjoy reading books and will actually sit and listen. They especially love books where they can touch different textures.

They still love bathtime, especially when Daddy does it complete with his 'Splish Splash' routine. Their new favorite is brushing their teeth with their toothbrushes, for a few weeks, this really helped with the squirmer and the screecher while getting them dressed for bed. William doesn't really screech anymore, but George will always be squirmy.

Something new this month is that we've been playing in their room a lot more. Now we can spend upwards of 45 minutes in there as they love to cruise around behind their cribs (which we pull out from the wall in an attempt to get them to stop pulling back the shades), back into the closet, and of course, using the door as a walking, pulling it open and shut. They also love using their diaper bin as a walker as it slides across the floor pretty easily. Oh, and collecting all the pacis from their table.

A couple in the one hand
One in the mouth

Got them all!

Now let's go on an adventure!

When we go to the park, William enjoys cruising around, his preferred mode of transportation, cruising over anything, and anyone, in his way (including bigger kids, parents' legs, etc). George continues to put leaves, sticks and sand in his mouth and will find the tiniest spec of something, get it on his finger, examine it, and then eat it. William likes peek-a-boo through the holes at the park and loves the swings. They seem so grown up now; George can ride the rocker by himself and William is there pushing kids around on the merry-go-round. Crazy.

Both have been a bit clingy this month. If William sees Daddy leave for work in the morning, he crawls after him and collapses his head on the floor and cries. It was hard for me to be home when the nanny was here, as if I walked through the room, they'd both start whining to be with me, but with Jessica here now, they've both gotten a lot better at this.

W&G are both really vocal, George especially has discovered how to make sounds by patting his hand to his open mouth, flicking his fingers on his lips, etc. Though we hear all the typical syllables, I'm still not convinced that either is saying much in regards to their surroundings. But I am known to be tough on these subjective 'firsts'.

MOM: This has been a really good month. I feel like I have it under control, though I do feel like it's the calm before the (walking) storm. The boys are fun and they're playing together which allows me to get a few things done. I also feel like I'm in a good spot with stuff for me, doing a lot with Junior League, now helping Travelzoo with a project and I'll be taking over as moderator of the New and Expectant Twin Moms meetings starting in April. It's a good balance between baby stuff and everything else. In addition to their birthday party planning, the other big project I'll be working on this month is weaning. Though I debated a bit about continuing breast-feeding George, after talking to the doctor, I decided I don't need to. There doesn't appear to be any health benefit and as far as bonding goes, George doesn't necessarily prefer nursing to the bottle so I don't think it will be a tough transition. It's so hard, after so many month of worrying about, and trying to boost, my supply, that now I'm going to strategically reduce my supply. I haven't started yet, as I want them both to make it to a year with just the breast milk, but in a week or two, I'll start dropping a feed and using frozen milk as needed. It's a bit surreal -- all the time spent nursing and pumping is coming to an end, which is definitely a good thing, but it's a little hard to imagine I'll be done with it. I definitely am looking forward to a bit more freedom and being able to go out for longer stretches of time -- not to mention not waking up at 5:40am to pump!

To my boys:
There was the best moment yesterday when I was sitting on the floor nursing George, William was drinking his bottle next to us, but mostly squirming, when William started climbing on George, burying his head in him and you both just started laughing, and kept laughing. These are the moments when I'm beyond thrilled that I got two of you at the same time.

Listening to you in your beds is also one of my favorite times. You stand where your cribs touch and chit chat, steal pacis, pull the shades together and purposely wake the other one up so you have a buddy to hang out with. I've made it a habit of watching you sleep for a minute before I go to bed myself. I know you'll never be this little again and it's a peaceful way to end the night.

Luis. You did it, you took your first steps! I realize I should be challenging you more because Jessica told me she saw you standing unassisted, then I put you out in front of me and you took a few steps before stumbling into me. I couldn't believe it! You still mostly cruise and crawl, but when we have you do your walking, you can now do 8 or 9 steps. You are so active these days it's crazy. All over the place, I can hardly nurse you before bedtime anymore; you're just too antsy. And so big! Every time I lift you, I tell you what a big boy you are; you feel like a ton of bricks. It makes sense though. You eat like nobody's business. You're over avocados, but besides that, I can't think of one thing this last month that you turned down. I will have just taken you out of your high chair from breakfast, when I come sit down in the living room with my bowl of cantaloupe (of which you've just had some) and you're already cruising over to me begging for more. The burrito day was the best of all. I couldn't stop laughing at how you went to town on that thing. I don't blame you though, Sisig makes a mean burrito. You're still very detailed-oriented and like to figure things out. You still have such a sweet temperament; you don't even complain when you get your nose cleaned out, how is that possible?? In fact, you giggled last time we did it! What I noticed this month is that you're becoming a bit of a joker. I can already see the wheels turning in your head and you laugh when you do something you know you shouldn't. My biggest challenge with you is getting your dressed/changing your diaper. You are still the squirmiest worm ever! You are so independent, but I don't mind when I get a couple bangs on my bedroom door in the morning when you're ready to eat; you're still my patient boy who waits a good 30 minutes at least to eat in the morning. It makes me a little sad to see how big you're getting, but there's nothing better than witnessing you reach major milestones.

William. Your hair is getting out of control, but it's the cutest thing ever. You will be getting your first haircut before your first birthday. Like your brother, you are getting more and more active every day, but you are one serious cruiser. You are so much more independent than you used to be, cruising down the hallway, into the dining room to push the stools, even behind the cribs in your bedroom. You love music and definitely have Daddy's moves (thank God!). You still shake your body when certain music plays and absolutely love the piano at music class. You're still demanding in certain ways (you MUST eat immediately in the morning, you whine to get out of the stroller the SECOND we enter the door), but you've evolved into the sweetest little boy. You love to cuddle, especially with Daddy, and especially when it involves snuggling on the couch together while watching a Baby Einstein. You know what you want and will only eat just how much you want, not a drop more, of your bottle. You have had some trouble with your naps, waking up really sad at the same time each afternoon, but I'm starting to wonder if you realize you get that time to yourself with Mommy so you're doing it on purpose. While you may not throw down the volume of food your brother does, I am so proud of what a good eater you are. You have come a million miles from the early days, and for that, I'm so grateful. Such a change from when you first started solids, or even from a month ago, when you would let food you didn't want to eat roll back out of your month. Now you really eat pretty much everything. As always, you're so vocal and can't wait to hear your little voice emerge with more words. You're using your hands more and love to point to things. My favorite is when you get really excited about something -- you have a big smile on your face and your arms and legs go crazy (this usually happens when you're laying down). William, you may have given me a tough time in the beginning, but you are so much fun to be with and I'm just so grateful for that. You're my little gentleman, crossed feet and all.

We Eat | Sisig Burritos

One of Dave and my favorite things to get in the city is a California Sisig burrito from the Senor Sisig food truck. Basically it's a Filipino burrito with French fries INSIDE the burrito (see here). I know it sounds totally indulgent, and it is, but it is so so good. I felt like changing it up today and there's a new park that is on the way to where Sisig was going to be parked so I figured it would be fun to have the boys try their first burrito. No, not the California Sisig, a more basic version.

Well, to say it was a hit would be an understatement. I ordered one burrito for myself and one for them to share, figuring there would be plenty leftover for another meal. Theirs came with chicken, Adobo garlic rice, pinto beans, lettuce pico de gallo and cilantro cream sauce. I unwrapped the foil from the top of it and let George take it. He bit right in and kept going for it. I wrestled it away, which he didn't like, to give William a try, but he didn't really get it, didn't seem too interested, so I just pulled out a few pieces of chicken and beans to put on his tray and let George have back at it.

Well, he devoured that thing. Kept gnawing away. And yes, I must admit, not nearly all of it made it in his mouth. In fact, Mom made the mistake of forgetting the bibs, so I tucked a few napkins in his shirt. Like that did anything. There was rice EVERYWHERE. But nothing a quick vacuum can't take care of (make sure to empty the bag/container!).

He had finished about 3/4 of the burrito (minus all the rice that had fallen into the stroller seat) when I finally pried it out of his hands and took him out to go play at the park with William. He seemed content. That is until I put them both back into the stroller to go home 30 minutes later, George picked up right where he left off, scrounging around on his tray and in his seat. By this time William decided he liked the food too so I put more on his tray.

When we got home, I shook them both off over the stroller seats, though plenty of pieces fell to the floor. I got out the vacuum to clean up and they both go to town picking up the leftover food from the floor and eating it. Not even 30 minutes later, George nursed just as long as he always does before going down for his nap. If that doesn't put him into a food coma, I don't know what would!

The remains

We Eat | Breakfast

This breakfast pic is from 2 months ago, they look so much bigger in their high chairs already!
Breakfast is a pretty easy meal to get going as it's a lot of variations on the same thing and all of it is really quick to prepare... though never seems to be quick enough as when 7:45 rolls around, the boys are whining to get their food.

My mom calls their spread 'the lumberjack special', which usually consists of:
  • 2-3 different cut fruits (berries, banana, peaches-currently from frozen, kiwi, clementine, honeydew, cantaloupe, mango-from frozen)
  • 1 Carb (toast, pancakes, French toast, homemade cereal bars, muffins, Cheerios, frozen waffle)
  • Whole milk plain yogurt (approx. half a cup), mixed with probiotics, baby oatmeal and 2 ice cubes of pureed fruit, often mango, pear or apple)
  •  Egg yolk, generally 4-5 days a week
I'm looking forward to all the summer fruits they'll get to have fresh to change it up! They've been loving the strawberries that are already at the farmers market.

So as this blog is really like an online journal for me, I've tried to take photos of the different meals I make them to keep track of what I've tried. Here are some of our typical breakfasts:

Note the smaller portion, this is from late January: yogurt/cereal/puree, waffle, raspberries & peaches

Another reasonable portion from late Jan: bananas, oranges, pancakes, scrambled egg yolks
Early Feb: cereal/yogurt/puree, pancake, cantaloupe, bananas

Early Feb: bananas, cantaloupe, French toast, cereal/yogurt/puree

Feb: bananas, egg yolk, cereal bar, yogurt/cereal/puree, Cheerios

Mar: cereal/yogurt/puree, peaches, blueberries, multi-grain mini waffles

Mar: Peaches, French toast, blueberries, banana, yogurt/cereal puree

Mar: cereal/yogurt/puree, blueberries, kiwi, honeydew, multi-grain mini waffles and egg yolk strips

Mar: yogurt/cereal/puree, bananas, kiwi, French toast

Mar: multi-grain mini waffles, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries (not pictured: yogurt/cereal/puree
The last three are pretty typical of what they're eating now. They always finish everything. George goes for the eggs and carbs first, whereas William will always go for the fruit. Surprisingly, they both like the yogurt, even though it needs to be spoon-fed.

I was getting the multi-grain waffles from Trader Joe's, then I tried the Earth's Best mini-waffles for kids, but after comparing labels, the Whole Foods 365 multi-grain organic waffles seem to be the best -- lowest in sugar and sodium, highest in fiber. That makes for an easy choice for all of us, as I'll usually make two waffles: one for them to share and one for me. I'm also the recipient of all the egg whites after I make their egg yolks, so that works out pretty well for me too.

After a year, they can start having egg whites, though they did have French toast when we were out last weekend (make with the whole egg) and they were fine, so hopefully that's a good sign. Anyway, I'll start making mini quiche and frittatas and load them with veggies. I have a few more muffin recipes bookmarked as well; I love have fresh muffins on hand, but they are messy with babies! I've also heard from other moms that smoothies can be really popular with kids and you can load all kinds of good stuff in them. They're getting pretty good with their straw cups for water, but not sure they're ready for smoothies.