meals to go

We are off to Seattle, WA. this weekend!

Chris and I are so excited. It's a big deal for us because this is our first out-of-town trip as a family of three. Initially we thought it would be a great dry run for the major travel to NC for Thanksgiving. Then we realized that Sunday is our 1 year wedding anniversary and so a fun weekend getaway is definitely fitting.

Along with the excitement of course, comes my anxiety about traveling with baby food. Ever since I began giving Leon solids I've always made home made purees. From time to time I would offer him some Earth's Best jarred food that he actually loves. It's interesting how he refused my home made pureed green peas but the Earth's Best green peas and brown rice he loved instantly. You can never tell what will be a hit so the key is to just keep on trying different flavors.

I've been reading up on what to do so I could still incorporate Leon's frozen home made food cubes to ready made baby food. I found this article to be very helpful.

I got this super adorable mini cooler from Target. I'm so amazed at how attractive looking it is compared to the typical coolers out there. It has two pockets on the front that could hold baby spoons, a small fork to mash fresh food on the spot and some moist wipes. It can also hold a lot of food inside.

... and here are the store bought baby food I'm going to try and offer Leon. Hopefully he will like it.

Love this photo of my darling 'lil boy

That is Chris' arm holding him steady

When we found out I was pregnant and after recovering from the sheer surprise I began the search for the perfect stroller. Since I had no previous experience about parenting or baby items- I thought the expensive strollers out in the market must be the way to go. These strollers look so cool and hip plus most of the ones that are

retailing for $900++ offer the so-called travel system convenience.

So I ultimately decided on the Orbit Stroller Travel System. I loved almost everything about this stroller except two things: the cost- a whopping $900 and the weight. The heaviness did not bother me at first but now that Leon is about 16 lbs there is no way I could lift the car seat out of the car and unto the dock. If I had known we could not use the Orbit all the way to toddlerhood then I would have definitely passed. Oh well lesson learned and hopefully a lesson I could pass to other new moms. The expensive travel systems are not the way to go.

Knowing better I began my search for a reliable, reasonably priced stroller that we can use until Leon no longer needs one. After many many many reviews I've read and specification comparison with other strollers- I decided on a Maclaren Techno XT lightweight stroller.

I took it for a test walk today and WOW is all I can say. Extremely light and super easy to maneuver. Love the 6" double suspension wheels and the true one hand fold into a super

slim umbrella-like style. It even has a handle on the side so it can easily be carried through an airport or up a flight of stairs. I'm pretty sure we will be using this stroller for a LOOOOONG time.

Dinner tonight....

Easy and simple dinner not to mention healthy. Spring mix greens with garbanzo beans, sweet tender beets, cherry tomatoes and grilled chicken topped with yummy green goddess dressing

On his changing table... check out those ruby red lips!