Halloween with Horses

A couple weekends ago Jay and I took Laina to "Halloween with Horses", a big production at the Colorado Horse Park here in Parker. We've (well, I) wanted to go every year since we've lived here, but this is the first year the weather was pretty nice. We went after Laina's nap, and unfortunately, missed all of the costume classes, which was what we (I) really wanted to see! By the time we got there, there weren't even any horses around, at all! There were a few trusty ponies, however, giving pony rides to the kids, so we tried to let Laina take a ride. She was completely fine with it...until the pony started moving, then she got scared. I was pretty broken up about it, you know, really hoping Laina will be a horse-crazy kid like I was (am). Jay, on the other hand, I think was secretly happy about the whole incident...you know, with horses being quite an expensive and potentially dangerous hobby. We'll see though, there is still plenty of time.

Besides the costume classes which we missed and the pony rides which Laina didn't like, they had 2 trick-or-treat barns, pumpkin painting, Jack Russell Terrier races, a bunch of other demos, and a little vendor area where we sampled some local honey and also some local homemade ice cream. Mmmmm. I think next year will be really fun because we'll know to check the schedule before we go, and with Laina being older I think she will have a lot of fun doing the various activities (hopefully including riding a pony!)

The Wheels on the Bus...

is Laina's favorite song. Here is a little clip of her singing it:

She also LOVES coloring, so Jay brought these HUGE papers home for to her create her masterpieces on!

more fall colors

This is the most beautiful display of color in the neighborhood, and it's right in our own culdesac!

Laina Update

Time for another Laina update. She is 18 months old! Sometimes I really can't believe she is already so big. It's a little crazy. We had our follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital for her weight and they were very satisfied this time with her weight gain and height. She is still on the small side, of course, but the doctor was pleased that she is gaining weight and that she is actually closer to the "curve" instead of falling farther away from it. My guess for her great increase over the past couple months is that it's due to a combination of factors, including the zinc supplementation, getting her on a good children's multi-vitamin, and her eating from my smoothies (in addition to her normal meals and snacks). The doctor was, not surprisingly, impressed by her language skills and was confident that her lack of weight was not hindering her development.

We also had her 18 month old well-check with her normal doctor and that was fine, too. The main suggestion she had for me was to not support her so much when walking with her, but instead to hold her by the hands and even try to just have her hold one hand as she walks to gain more balance and independence in her walking. As far as vaccinations, we decided to go ahead and finish out any series that had already been started, but to hold off on chickenpox and MMR for a little while longer. I love the fact that her new doctor didn't feel the need to lecture me on vaccines but just polietly suggested that I consider giving the shots before Laina starts school, which is what we were thinking, anyways.

Here are a couple pics of Laina during the "photo shoot" we did to get some shots of her modeling the dresses I made for my Etsy shop. In the bottom one I think she looks a lot like Jay did in some of his little kid photos.

almond butter

yum is about the best word for it. I have a new favorite nut butter - almond butter! I don't know if it's any healthier than peanut butter, but it certainly is a tasty variation. Yesterday I spread it on apples and then sprinkled cinnamon on top. It was like a gourmet treat right from my own kitchen! Laina loved it, too.

5-Day Reset + Quinoa Recipe

Since I've had a couple requests to know how this went, I decided to post about it here. Last week I completed a 5-day cleanse called RESET and it really was great. I was a little skeptical at first but I did it and I'm so glad I did. It isn't a starvation cleanse or super colon cleanse or anything like that. It's designed to get your body in a totally healthy state and cleanse your body of unhealthy cravings for sugar and hi-glycemic foods. A "side effect" is weight loss, and even though I absolutely did not do it to lose weight, I still lost 5 lbs! Crazy.

In keeping with the healthfullness, tonight I made delicious Quinoa-stuffed tomatoes and I wanted to share the recipe:

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups water
pinch sea salt
2 Tbs olive oil
2 shallots, minced (I just used 1/2 small onion)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, minced
1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 marsala wine
2 Tbs Tamari (or soy sauce)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro or basil (I used basil)
4 roasted tomatoes

Cook quinoa according to package directions (which is basically like rice, 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water w/pinch of salt, bring to boil, cover and simmer 15 mins or until water is all absorbed)

Saute shallots/onions in olive oil. Add mushrooms, dried basil and fennel seeds and saute until mushrooms are dark brown. Add cooked quinoa and mix well. Add marsala and tamari and mix well. Reduce heat and cover for a few minutes to let flavors mingle. Remove from heat and add fresh cilantro or basil and mix well. Fill roasted tomatoes and enjoy!

(To roast the tomatoes - cut off tops and scoop out a bit of the inner. Rub outside with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and roast on cookie sheet in 450 degree oven until slightly soft.) I way overcooked my tomatoes and they completely fell apart, so be sure to watch them!

Fall

It is cool today and really feeling like fall. The leaves are gorgeous red and orange and I absolutely love this change in seasons. I bought a couple pumpkins yesterday to put on the porch and today I bundled Laina up and took a brief stroll around the neighborhood to look at all the changing colors. I can't wait to make some hearty stews and warm soups and yummy pumpkin pie! I never realized how much I love fall until we moved to Colorado!

Laina got another tooth in the other day and a 5th one is barely cracking through now, too. She is constantly learning new things - her vocabulary is expanding exponentially of course, and she is starting to talk in (mostly) complete sentences. She also has learned to stand up all by herself in the middle of the room and balances standing all by herself for a few seconds. She is so proud of herself for doing this and then will flop back to the ground and do a little crawling strut all around the room. It's really pretty funny and we should probably get some video of it.

Laina also exclaims loudly "Daddy's home!" in the cutest high-pitched squeal I've ever heard every evening when Jay gets home from work.

Other things I am looking forward to this season are the long-awaited return of my favorite series, "24," the Twilight movie which comes out on Nov 21 (watch the final trailer for it on the Twilight Guy's blog), and having some time to read Stephen Lawhead's "Hood" which I picked up the other day and cannot wait to get into as Robin Hood is one of my all-time favorite stories and I'm anxious to hear it from Lawhead's perspective.