Happy Birthday America

Posted by Niki Murray on July 4, 2010

Today was a typical July 4th at the beach.  Good food (i.e. ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, key lime pie), pool, sun, beer, family and fun.  Ashley wasn’t in the mood for the pool so that didn’t last long.  Instead, we just hung outside with everyone else.  I’m exhausted.  It was sooooo hard to get her to go to bed tonight.  Luckily, Grandma provided back-up and eventually got her to sleep.  She was just so afraid she was going to miss out.  And between all the people coming in and out of the house, the fireworks (which are STILL going by the way) and the dogs barking, it wasn’t exactly the best environment for putting a baby to sleep.  I don’t know how it is in Raleigh, but down here at the beach, people think it is necessary to shoot off fireworks all during the night.  At this point, it is just annoying.  Yes they are pretty, yes I get it, but can we please move on now?  You know, some people do like to get some sleep around here.  Is that too much to ask?  Sorry for the negativity.  Maybe I’m getting older and it’s just the scrooge coming out in me.  Or maybe it’s the Mom that had a hard time getting her baby to sleep so she’s just pissed off at everyone.  I would go with the latter.

And I’m not the only one who has problems with fireworks.  Toby can’t stand them.  He barks, pants, and runs around the yard in circles. He gets all worked up.  There is no rationalizing with him.  It’s like he is in a trance, another state of mind. This year we locked Toby and Blake up in the garage under the house.  A few of you may remember the story a couple years ago when Toby was going bizerk at the fireworks so Blake thought he would “stop” the fireworks for him.  Blake proceeded to jump in the waterway, during the pitch black night, and swim up the waterway towards the fireworks.  Long story short, we barely got him back, and it was a nightmare I will never forget.  So tonight, Toby is on anti-anxiety medication and they are both locked up downstairs.

Anyways, it was a pretty chill day.  We really didn’t do much.  Perfect for a vacation huh?  Played ball with the boys, they swam, and I read a book sitting by the pool (I’m just now getting in on the Twilight craze!).  Played with Ashley and gave her some watermelon.  Van relaxed and enjoyed himself.  I don’t think I saw him open his laptop until tonight – which is a first!  And even then, it was just to download pictures.  We watched the fireworks from the waterway.  Very pretty.  And Ashley did good.  The noise didn’t bother her and she really didn’t show much of a reaction.  She was pretty indifferent to the whole thing.  Well, until you tried to put her to bed.  But overall, a wonderful holiday!

Here are some pictures from July 4th 2010…

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Did You Say Vacation?

Posted by Niki Murray on July 3, 2010

VACATION!!  Yes, I said it.  That lovely, summery word.  Don’t you get excited just hearing that word?  Go ahead, say it out loud.  It will make you feel so good!  V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!  Well, we are lucky enough to be on one right now.  We packed up the truck (half the house, mind you) and headed to Holden Beach to spend a week with my parents at The Franklin Resort, as my Dad calls it.  It feels so good to come down here and actually stay awhile, instead of the usual 2 day weekend where you drive down Friday night, spend Saturday here, then make the trek back to Raleigh on Sunday.   Staying for the whole week is so exciting!  We all needed a vacation.  Especially my hard-working husband! 

We left today and I’m planning on blogging every day about our little adventures.  It’s Ashley’s first vacation, so you know there will be lots of pictures to post!  We had a good trip down here, which was nice for a change.  The past few times we’ve made the road trip, Ashley has only slept the first 2 hours and then the last hour we have had to listen to her cry the rest of the way.  This time, she made it 2 hours, we stopped for a late lunch, fed her, changed her diaper, and then made it the last hour – with no crying – yay!  She even fell back asleep after our lunch break.  It really took us 4 hours to get here because of all the traffic getting on the island.  But Ashley did great despite being stuck in the car for an additional hour.

We arrived late afternoon and just relaxed a bit.  Aunt Jenn and Uncle Nathan are here so Ashley hammed it up for them.  We also got to see Uncle Eddie, Aunt Sibyl, and cousins Leslie, Blair and Hunter.  We all enjoyed a yummy steak dinner on the grill and chatted it up.  It was a nice start to our vacation.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store!

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You’ve Got a Friend in Me

Posted by Niki Murray on July 1, 2010

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Baby Scootin’ Boogie

Posted by Niki Murray on June 30, 2010

Ashley started scooting around this weekend for the first time.  I’ve always had her sitting on the rug or on a blanket playing with her toys, and tried to keep her off the hardwoods.  I just thought the hard floor wouldn’t be comfy.  But this past weekend, she backed herself off the blanket, onto the hardwoods and started spinning around in circles on her belly.  It was so funny!  So now she likes being on the hardwoods where she can slide around and pull herself in different directions…well, mainly just in circles.  Here is a video of her in action!

This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

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Too Cute for Words…

Posted by Niki Murray on June 23, 2010
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Happy Father’s Day

Posted by Niki Murray on June 22, 2010

I hope all of you Daddy’s out there had a wonderful Father’s Day!  I think the men in my life did.  My parents came to visit for the weekend so I got to see my Dad for Father’s Day, and Ashley spent the day with her Daddy, too!  It was a nice relaxing day.  Were you wondering what I did with that artwork Ashley painted last week?  Well, I matted and framed it and gave it to Van for Father’s Day.  It turned out really cool!

Ashley is such a Daddy’s girl!  She loves him so much!  We like to sit outside on the front porch and wait for Van to come home from work.  As soon as he pulls into the driveway she starts bouncing up and down.  She gets so excited to see him!  She laughs and smiles just at the sight of him.  It’s really sweet!  Being a Daddy’s girl myself, I know first hand the special bond between a little girl and her father.  I think Ashley has already formed that bond with Van and I can’t wait to see their relationship grow as she gets older.

I am also thankful that Ashley has both of her grandfathers here with us.  Unfortunately, I never met either one of my mine (and neither did Van) so I can only imagine would it would have been like to have them in my life.  I know they are watching down on me from heaven and I will meet them one day.  So I am very grateful that Ashley can grow up with both of her grandfathers.  What a lucky little girl!

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Finger Painting

Posted by Niki Murray on June 18, 2010

We had a play date this week at Janet and Cole’s house.  It was so much fun!  They had a cool activity planned for us…finger painting!!  Ashley really enjoyed it and she got paint all over her.  She  managed to get it on me, too!  She is very texture oriented so it was neat watching her feel paint for the first time.  She started slowly and then began smearing it all over the place.  It was fun watching her be creative with it, until she decided to eat it!  So we now have a corner chewed off of Ashley’s first piece of art.  Ah, the memories!

By the way – this is my 100th post!  Wahoo!!

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Roast Pear and Banana Puree

Posted by Niki Murray on June 15, 2010

Bananas unite!

Bananas split!

Go bananas
Go go bananas
Go bananas
Go go bananas

Bananas to the left

Bananas to the right

Peel your banana and mmmm, take a bite!

I tried a new recipe a couple weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to blog about it.  It was roasted pear and banana puree.  Did you know that bananas are full of potassium, magnesium, vitamin B, starch and soft fibers?  Baby’s intestines can handle them at 5-6 months.  Make sure you choose ripe ones.  They will have brown spots on the skin.  As for pears, they contain soft fibers and several types of sugar, such as sorbitol which stimulates digestion.  They are good for babies starting at 5-6 months also.

Ashley has had bananas and pears separately, but not together until now.  She loved the combination!  I liked it too, actually, and considered putting it on some ice cream for myself :)   So here’s what you do…

Take 2 bananas and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Take 2 pears, peel and cut into wedges.  Roast them at 400 degrees for 25 minutes and then puree.  The roasting caramelizes them and really intensifies the flavors.  They smell sooooooo good while they are cooking!  Oh, and the recipe says to put the bananas and pears on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Well, being the novice cook that I am, I thought wax paper was the same thing.  So since that was all I had, I put them on wax paper.  Little did I know the wax paper would melt creating a big mess getting them off the baking sheet!  I’m sure you expert cooks got a good chuckle out of that.  Oh well, we live and learn, right?  At least the puree was a hit!  A little time consuming, but it tasted really good, and it was different than the norm. 

Lots of Moms have asked me where I come up with my recipes.  I wish I could take credit, but no, I’m not that good.  A Fellow Mom’er told me about this website, weelicious.com, where she goes to get recipe ideas for her toddler.  Weelicious was created by a Mom who enjoys making fresh baby food, toddler food, and food for the whole family!  So I’ve been going there to get ideas for Ashley.  That’s where I got this recipe, as well as the Tropical Fruit Puree recipe.  She separates the baby food recipes by age, which is helpful.  So you can look at recipes appropriate for 6-9 month olds, and ones for 10-12 month olds.  You really should check it out.  It’s a great resource!

I also use two cookbooks:  Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel and Babycook Book by David Rathgeber.  They have good and innovative recipes, too.  Although honestly, I probably won’t even try 50% of the recipes in the Babycook Book.  Some of them are a little fancy for my taste, such as my first couscous, sea bass with fennel, and quail’s egg a la basquaise.  I don’t even eat that stuff myself, much less would I make it for my baby!  It’s geared for people that use the Beaba Babycook, so that’s why I like it.  It tells you exactly how to cook the food using the Babycook, how much water to use (if any) and how many pulses to puree it.  So I have tried the more simpler recipes in it, but Top 100 Baby Purees is more useful for the average “Joe” like me.  

Happy cooking!

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Goodnight Sweetheart

Posted by Niki Murray on June 14, 2010

Goodnight sweetheart, well, it’s time to go
Goodnight sweetheart, well, it’s time to go
I hate to leave you but I really must say
Goodnight sweetheart, goodnight

Yesterday was a fun but busy day for us.  Van flew a T-6 Texan World War II fighter plane out at the Franklin County Airport that morning.  It was a Christmas present from his parents.  So very cool!  Van absolutely loved it!!

Things were rushed from the moment we got up.  Ashley didn’t want to eat her breakfast and we were late leaving the house.   She also didn’t get a nap because her regularly scheduled nap time was while we were at the airport.  So I knew there was a chance that the day would be a little iffy with her.  Ashley did GREAT though!  Despite our adventure that morning and then running errands that afternoon, she did very well.  Her eating schedule and nap schedule were off all day.  But she hung right in there without a peep!  Last night though, it was obvious how tired she was.  Van gave her a bath and got her ready for bed early.  But I had trouble getting her to sleep.  We’ve had this problem before when she is just overly tired and she fights sleep.

So I went in several times to pick her up, give her a paci, pace the hallway, and sing our song (I sing “Goodnight Sweetheart” to her when she has trouble going to sleep).  Anyways, those things were working just fine and she would fall asleep while I was holding her.  But as soon as I laid her down in her crib, she would wake up and throw a fit.  So the third time I went in there I figured I would just nurse her again and see if that would soothe her to sleep.  I picked her up, got the Boppy pillow ready, and sat down in the chair.  As soon as I sat down, Ashley laid her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my neck.  I started singing to her and rubbing her back and the next thing I knew her little hand was rubbing the back of my neck.  So as I rubbing her, trying to comfort her to go to sleep, she was rubbing me!  Oh my gosh!  The tears just welt up in my eyes and I began to cry.  I cannot explain the immense feeling I had for her at that very moment.  How blessed am I to be the mother of this precious child?  What did I do to deserve such an angel?  Here I am trying to comfort her, and then it was like she was comforting me.  She just turned 8 months old on Saturday, but it was as if she was all grown up.  It was just the sweetest thing!  I wish I knew of a word to describe the love I have for her.  Love is an understatement.

And then I thought to myself, I will gladly sit here with her as long as she needs me to.  All she wanted was me, her Mom.  She just wanted to be comforted by me.  And rubbing my neck was a comfort to her.  Those tiny, little fingers rubbing my neck and twirling my hair was the greatest feeling in the world.  And then I realized it would not last forever.  There will come a day when she won’t want to be held, and it won’t be me that comforts her.  As a teenager, she may even be repulsed by me, her ole’ Mom.  But last night, June 13, 2010 at 9:15 p.m., all she wanted was me.  So I sat there for 30 minutes, holding her, embracing those tiny fingers on my neck, and cried like a baby.  After she had drifted to sleep I quietly laid her down in her crib.  Goodnight sweetheart…

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From Bugs to Birds

Posted by Niki Murray on June 12, 2010

Ashley graduated from her Bugs class at The Little Gym yesterday (tear, sniff sniff).  There was a ceremony and all of the babies got medals.  They had a little podium with an American flag hanging above and everything.  It was so cute!!  Daddy even came to watch and take pictures!  When we return in the fall, she will have moved up to the Birds class, which is for 10-19 month olds. 

It’s amazing to me how much Ashley has grown in the few months that we have been going to The Little Gym.  She has really opened up and gained self confidence.  When we first started, she hated the parachute and would cry when her teacher, Mrs. Leanne, got it out.  Now she will sit in the middle of the parachute with the other babies.  She used to cry when other people held her.  Now Leanne and the other parents can hold her without upsetting her.  She can sit up on her own now, perform back rolls and forward rolls.  She’ll put her hands down and tuck her head under.  She has learned to socialize with the other children.  Her favorite part of class is the end when we sing our Goodbye song and clap our hands.  She claps with me and laughs.   Sometimes she’ll even get a squeal in there!

I was a little reluctant when I first signed us up.  a) It costs money and b) How much would Ashley get out of it?  It’s not like she could run around and do somersaults.  After all, she was only 5 months old when we started.  She wasn’t sitting up unassisted and wasn’t interested in anything or anyone but me.  But each week she seemed to like it more and more and I am so glad we stuck with it.  It has been beneficial to us both.  We have made baby friends and Mommy friends and some of us have been getting together for playdates.  I hope we can maintain these friendships as our children grow. 

Ashley has really come out of her shell and I am so very proud of my Big Bug!   We can’t wait to see what the Birds class has in store for us come August!

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  • About Me


    My name is Niki. I’m a coffee drinking, baby food making, blogging mama to baby girl Ashley, 2 labs, and a cat. I absolutely LOVE being a Mom! I enjoy taking pictures of Ashley and making homemade baby food for her.

    I like doing anything outside whether it's going to the beach, strolling around the neighborhood, or just going to a park. I enjoy blogging and reading other Mommy blogs. I’m up for learning new things and have recently become interested in photography. I like a clean house, beds made, and checking off my to-do lists.

  • The Hubby


    I am married to Van, my best friend. We met in high school and have been together ever since! We practically grew up together. I feel very lucky to have found the man of my dreams so early in life. We married in 2004 and had a little girl in 2009. I can't imagine life without him. He keeps me grounded. He’s very practical, methodical, and technical. He’s a computer genius.

    We like going on vacations and would love to go back to Europe one day. Van is a regular “guy’s guy” and enjoys fishing, flying and riding his motorcycle. But he is also a family man. I love him!

  • Lil’ Pumpkin


    Ashley is our little bundle of joy. She was born in October 2009. Since she was a fall baby, we called her Lil’ Pumpkin while she was in the womb. Van now calls her Pumpkin Pie. I never could have imagined how much I would enjoy being a mother to this sweet little girl. I am just overwhelmed with love for her!

    Ashley likes eating homemade baby food, bouncing in her exersaucer, and watching the dogs play. She is entertained by my goofiness and she loves to sing and dance with me. I've never met a baby as happy as she is. She is a reminder of what life is all about. She makes us smile and laugh every single day!

  • The Boys


    Toby is our 8 year old black lab and Blake is our 3 year old chocolate lab. They are uncle and nephew. They have their own couch and some may consider them a bit spoiled. I enjoy making Frosty Paws (doggie ice cream) and baking homemade treats for them. Although I have to admit, I haven’t done much of that since Ashley was born. We celebrate their birthdays with doggie cake.

    Toby is obsessed with tennis balls and Blake loves his red ball. They are the best of friends. And they both LOVE swimming. Especially in my parents’ pool at the beach!

  • Jim Jim


    Jimmy is our 4 year old tabby cat. Van rescued him from the jaws of a pit bull when he was a mere 8 weeks old. I don't think Jimmy has forgotten that seeing as he is very attached to Van.

    Jimmy is an indoor/outdoor cat who loves to roam the neighborhood and hunt. He likes to bring us "gifts", anything from birds and rabbits to field mice. He is a sweet cat, but I wouldn’t cross him if I were you. You don’t want to see that crazed look in his eyes!

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