Lyla's current favorites

I saw this on my cousin-in-law's blog and thought it would be fun to do with Lyla (Thanks Julie!)

Color: Green
Number: Orange
Letter: A
Toy: Lenny (Wonderpets hamster she was just playing with)
Day: I don’t know (while shrugging shoulders)
Best Friend: Lila Rose
Drink: Water
Food: Blackberries
Snack: Bar (Kashi cereal bar)
Sweet treat: Pasta
TV Show: Yo da gabba train ride (Yo Gabba Gabba)
Song: ABC’s
Sport: I don’t know
Store: Eat
Restaurant: I don’t know
Book: I don’t know
Movie: Baby Signing Time
Animal: Animals, animals, animals from places near and far (this is a song that one of her toys plays)
Place to go: Museum

Cooking with Lyla

Normally we try to keep Lyla out from under our feet the kitchen when we are cooking, but tonight I thought I would try something different and let her help me out. I pulled a chair up to the counter and we worked together to make one of our family's favorite meals: Aloo Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower)!

She had lots of fun measuring the spices and dumping them in the bowls. She also loved smelling all of the different ingredients...she liked the ginger/garlic the best!

I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but it was seriously delicious!!

If you are interested in trying this dish out for yourself here is the recipe:

Aloo Gobi

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
1 large onion finely chopped
1 large bunch of fresh coriander chopped (separate the stalks from the leaves)
Small fresh green chilies chopped finely (1-3 depending on how spicy you want it.)
1 large cauliflower cut evenly into eights
3 large potatoes peeled and cut into even pieces
1 can whole peeled tomatoes grated
Fresh ginger peeled and grated
2 cloves of fresh garlic chopped
Cumin seeds
Turmeric
Salt
Garam masala

Preparation:
Heat several tablespoons of vegetable oil in very large shallow pan. Add chopped onion and 1 tablespoon cumin seeds and stir. Cook until onions are creamy and translucent. Do not burn the cumin seeds! Add the chopped coriander stalks (not the leaves yet!), 2 teaspoons of turmeric and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add chopped chilies and stir. Stir grated tomatoes into the mixture. Add ginger (around a tablespoon sized amount) and garlic and mix. You now have your curry sauce which can be used for any number of dishes!
Add the potatoes and cauliflower to sauce plus a few tablespoons of water to make certain the mix doesn’t stick to the pan. Don’t add too much water! Ensure the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Last, add 2 teaspoons of garam masala and stir. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top of the curry. Turn off the heat and cover for as long as possible before serving.

Yum!

Trying to get creative

We have been having to get extra creative with Lyla's meals lately. In typical toddler style she has become pretty picky about what she eats...but we have found that it is all about the presentation! Cookie cutters are our new friends!


Star cheese veggie burger = happy girl!



Pancake with fruit and star eggs:



Before we discovered the cookie cutters, she wouldn't touch eggs...now they are one of her favorite foods. Plus we can sneak in lots of chopped spinach and she hasn't a clue!

If anyone has any more sneaky tips for picky eaters we are all ears! Please share your ideas!

Potty time!

Very exciting news here! Lyla went on the potty for the first time yesterday! She even did it again a second time. But that was it...the mystery and excitement is over and she is back to wanting nothing to do with it.

Day at the Museum

Thursday night Lyla decided to wake up in the middle of the night yet again. She had done the same on Monday night and we were up for hours. I didn't want to repeat another "all-nighter" so I did what any tired mommy would do...beg and bribe! I told her if she went back to sleep and didn't cry or wake up until the morning I would take her to the museum. It worked and she went back to sleep without another peep. In the morning when I went in to get her out a her crib her first words were "I want go museum!"

So we did!

Here are some pics of our fun day:

Driving the big bus

Enjoying the awesome new Air exhibit. It is incredible! One of the best exhibits we have seen there so far.

Here is a little video of Lyla in the wind chamber.



Afterwards we went out for lunch and a sweet treat!



I thought I would add this picture in just because it was so darn cute! We went out and did some furniture shopping today and picked up a little tent for our happy camper.

Singing ABC's

We have to be very sneaky when we want to catch video of Lyla! If she notices that the camera is on, she gets very quiet and shy. The other day we were playing around after breakfast on Valentine's day and I was able to turn on the camera without Junebug catching me! She was pretending a piece of trash was a bar of soap and was washing her hands (we always sing the ABC's while we wash!).