Back to Routine ... Almost

Our Christmas holiday break came to an end this week. After a busy week of family and celebrations we took a few days before work started back to hibernate relax. Usually the start of the New Year brings a welcomed change back to routine, especially after consuming more baking, Bailey's and chocolate than the other 11 months of the year combined. 

This year our transition back to routine was a little slower than usual, with winter truly arriving in Kelowna. After a green Christmas, last week we had the most snowfall seen in Kelowna in 78 years and the first Snow Day for schools in 35 years! This made for an interesting commute to work to say the least.

V loved snow day! There is nothing funnier than a baby dressed up like a marshmallow waddling around in the snow, making face-down snow angels here and there as they try to navigate in all their winter gear. My family teases me that when I was little I always screamed "It's tooo tiiiiiiggggght!" when putting on snowsuits. Now having first-hand experience dressing a one year old in too much winter gear, I think my complaints were totally legit ;) 

In other news, I'm working on let's call it "enhancing" V's nutrition. Not a New Year's resolution per say, but more so a realization that although we've been blessed with a great eater, she definitely holds out for her "favourites", which are generally those things that don't make the cut when it comes to a healthy balanced diet. The kid would eat bananas, pasta, pickles and cottage cheese for every meal if it was up to her. Don't get me wrong, she can totally still enjoy these foods, but I'm going to try harder to mix in a few alternatives, starting with breakfast. 

Our first stop was smoothies. One of my long time University friends feeds her boys "hulk juice"; nothing like a little fake-milkshake paired with a superhero to sneak some spinach into their diets! It seems mamas everywhere are mastering kid approved smoothie recipes. 

I started with some recipes I found on a blog I follow, Baby Boy Bakery (written by an amazing and inspiring Mama), which can be found here. We subbed in plain or vanilla greek yogurt, added half an avacado, and V went crazy for it! Success. It turns out my husband Mike also likes our new breakfast go-to, so it's a double win. 

Another breakfast food I've made a few times this week (on days when we've been home for the morning) is pancakes. I'm not crazy about boxed mixes, and I've been making the following recipe for years. I don't know the original source to credit and I've made a few tweaks here and there, but honestly V can't get enough of these! I'd like to say her excitement in the pic below is for the pancakes she's eating, but, truth be told, it's a big weekend for football in our house and V has learned to celebrate "touch down" and does so every few minutes. So friggin' cute. 

Also, check out the new clip-on high chair in this pic that we bought a few weeks ago-- the Guzzie and Guss Perch, which we are loving so far! 

Toddler Approved Pancakes 

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup white flour  
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large banana 
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 large egg w/yolk
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup nuts, mini chocolate chips (optional, I don't usually add anything) 

I have to admit, I am still learning the basics about blogging, and have been trying to find the time to "learn" the ropes of how having a blog works. I wanted it to look perfect of course, but have now decided that design and perfection can come later, and I really just need to get going on regular content (the whole point of this thing anyways). 

Happy Sunday!