Sunday, March 18, 2012

Photo booth, Gymnastics and Instagram

Last weekend Elle and Tommy's preschool held their annual carnival.  This year we put on a photo booth for the kiddies to get a snapshot with various props.  It was a lot of fun.


What's a carnival without a little....cotton candy.


I couldn't tell, but I think Elle liked it.


Tom-tom thought a bow tie was a mustache.


He hopped in with some shades and a sombrero to pose with K-bear.


Elle and her BFF Sophia posed using bow ties as bows in their hair, cute.


Speaking of Elle and her BFF, they both started a gymnastics class together, and are LOVING it.










For some extra cash on the side, Elle has started teaching classes out of our family room.


Elle decided it was time for a cut...

And we discovered instagram.  It's a fun little app that helps edit your mobile photos and "frames" them up to look professional.  Elle wanted a glamour shot of her new 'do to send out to family and friends.




Even Tommy got some instagram action.

So long folks, stay tuned for a post about how we made Tommy's dreams come true!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Food Photo Album, Dairy/Egg-free Cupcakes, and Exercise!

Tommy is an extremely picky eater, the only problem is he can't afford to be!  Back when Khera was a tot of few words, I made a picture book of her doing things and we'd flip through it and chat about what she was doing in each picture.  She LOVED it, so I thought "Why not make a food book for T-Man?"!

Here are some snaps that will be going into his book.  He is allergic to dairy, eggs and beef, so sometimes we are at a loss as to what to feed him.  Some of these foods are not his favorite, but I'm hoping if he sees himself enjoying them in a picture, he might be more apt to trying it again at a future date.

Van's multi-grain waffles with Sunbutter and syrup on them:


Drinking with a straw out of a "big-boy" cup:


Eating a sandwich (rather questionable if he is enjoying this, but he is actually touching the food which is a HUGE step in the right direction):


Drinking Silk out of a big boy cup:




Apple slices with the skin ON:


Word is Tommy likes raisins at school, but refuses to touch them at home:


We made oreo milkshakes using SoDelicious Coconut milk and ice cream:


Tried and true garlic hummus:


Kashi TLC cereal bar:


Kids ice cream cone with SoDelicious coconut milk ice cream.


We also ventured into trying some dairy-free "box" recipes using oil and egg replacer, yes I am letting Elle lick the bowl.  We did use egg replacer though!
(I may or may not be known to let her lick the bowl if we have used real eggs...)


Here are the brands we used (Betty Crocker Super Moist "Devil's Food Cake", and Ener-G Egg Replacer).  They turned out fairly decent, I may have under-cooked them because they cracked a bit on top, but they were true to their name and we will use the recipe combination again.


They got the Tommy seal of approval, and that says a lot!


We also made a batch with eggs and butter for the girls and let them decorate them.


Here was the prototype:


For the past three nights Elle has "suited'-up" and ran laps around the pool to work off all of those calories.  Here she is posing in her gear:


And getting after it outside:


Khera got a little jealous of all the attention Elle was getting and thought she'd give her a little competition:


And like most good things in our house, this too came to an end with a boo-boo of some sort:


But wouldn't you know, she got back out there the next night--without shoes.

I couldn't get a good photo of her, she looks like she's power walking, but I assure you she was sprinting like a little Kenyan girl would.


They thought it would be a good idea to decorate their playhouse, I don't have the slightest where they got that idea ;-)


Elle has taken to reading to Tommy a lot lately too, he really is enjoying their time together despite the look on his face.


The Statue of Ell-iberty:


Elle made a Disney count-down sheet, we decided to make the pilgrimage there finally this spring break.


OK, gotta run in pick up Kher-bear from school.  Tommy  and I will be back soon!