Fun Outing Failure

My SIL, author of the very thoughtfully written Mudluscious and Puddlewonderful blog, and her daughter (Cedric's cousin) spent a few days here with us in gloomy St Louis. Both kids were fighting colds and even though it was cold and wet outside, Stephanie and I decided no matter what, we MUST get the kids outside and do something. Otherwise we might go crazy.

And from past experience: Crazy Mothers + Wild Children = Crummy Dinner

Stephanie and I have a history of some rather fun outings. We thought killing an hour in the Climatron at the Botanical Gardens would be great. All in all the kids did enjoy getting out of the house, but to be brutally honest, this outing ranks at the bottom.

"What?" You may say, "Getting out of the freezing cold and exploring a tropical rain forest, what can go wrong with that?"

Oh my friend, plenty can go wrong.

Here is Cedric, utterly freaked out by a hallow tree. I was on my knees trying to show him that it was 1) fake and could cause no harm and 2) pretty cool.

Here we have poor, poor Eden after she walked into one of the lagoons. There was nothing but a bit of fern to prevent a curious toddler from walking right into the pond. No graham cracker in the world can make up for having to spend the rest of the outing with a soggy shoe, and soaked pant leg.

And last we have what happens when I, not realizing Eden was in need of some personal space, tell Cedric to give her a hug because she is sad. Thank goodness Aunt Stephanie was there to catch flailing arms. Lesson learned; not everyone wants a hug when they are grumpy.

Here's to better luck next time. And if these pictures make you laugh, its OK. There is something comical about how serious toddlers take life.

Smoothies

Cedric's favorite thing to eat is a frozen fruit smoothie. I must make smoothies at least 3 times a week. They are great too because he can help make them and with my mini-food processor, I can make the perfect amount, enough for both of us (or just one Cedric if he is really hungry).

The other day he woke up from his nap and asked to make smoothies, so I grabbed my camera...

First we add the frozen fruit.

Today we are featuring frozen peaches and mango!

Next we add a whole banana.

Then I pour over some french vanilla flavored yogurt.

Add a splash of orange juice and we're ready to mash the buttons! Cedric really enjoys pushing the buttons and I find a good combination of "chop" and "grind" create a nice smooth texture.

Taste test to see if its "ready." In other words, no more large chunks of frozen fruit to impede consumption with a straw.

All ready! But where is Cedric?

Cedric is having a complete melt down in communication. Does anyone else have this problem? It can get bad in our household after nap time. Eventually though, I figure out that he is trying to tell me that he needs my help to move the stool that he standing on, so that he can use it as a chair to drink his smoothie.

Here we are, stool is moved, Cedric using it as a chair, and is happily enjoying his smoothie.