Potty-training Time?

Ok, Skyler still has a few months away to be 2 years old... is he ready for potty train?? This is what I have been researching for the pass few weeks, went through some reading... I think he might be ready? Expert actually says it is better to potty train earlier if your kids show sign of readiness. Checked through below list, I think he is ready, I will be ordering a potty this weekend and start my next project with Skyler when we received the potty. Very anxious how it will turn out? oh wait, he cannot undress or dress himself as yet, I did not let him try that before... so prior to that, I guess I need to let him work on pulling down his pull-up diaper first. :)

Potty-training readiness sign:
- You're changing fewer wet diapers.
- Your child's bowel movements are predictable.
- He broadcasts bodily functions, meaning you can read sign of him peeing or pooping
- He despises dirty diapers.
- He's able to perform simple undressing
- He understands bathroom lingo, can associates the word pee or poop.
- He demands a live demonstration, curious or wants to watch you using toilet

My second step will be choosing a right potty, still remembered the one we used when we were little, very simple little round bucket..hmmm... in red mostly.. haha... there are thousand of different one out there now, how to choose? After going through a few websites and stores, my conclusion is that the real fancy and bulky one are not recommended, it's nice for kid to sit on but painful for parents to clean due to the potty complication, too much parts to take off ,too hard to clean and too big to travel with. 

So, I have decided to go with the one that calls "Pourty Potty", highly recommended in the products reviews from varies websites, an award winning parenting product in UK.

The Pourty potty has a unique patent pending pouring duct so that you can empty the potty without any dribbles or mess. When you empty a conventional potty you have to empty the contents over the seating area and any pee dribbles down the outside of the potty and all over the place. The Pourty potty has a handle at the front making it easy to pick up your child's potty and pour the contents out of the back away from where the child sits or touches. The lip at the top of the duct is designed so that there should be no dribbles down the outside of the Pourty. You can then simply refill the Pourty with water and wash it out. The Pourty is very comfortable for the child to sit on because the seating area is wide and ergonomically designed. The two sides of the back rest offer ample support. The Pourty is made out of thick sturdy plastic making it more stable and harder for your child to knock over. The Pourty potty was designed by parents who became frustrated with the mess when emptying a conventional potty. The Pourty is made in England.

See below for one of the fancy one, it is 5 times more expensive than the Pourty Potty, comes with toilet paper holder, magazine rack... but how to clean huh? Don't look comfortable to sit on too? Don't think Skyler legs are long enough to reach the floor...

I will post my own reviews of Pourty Potty when Skyler starts his potty training. Hope I make a right choice. 

Turkey Meat Ball Spaghetti

This is one of the easiest dish that I prepared as lunch for Skyler, I added a little bit more of the mixed veggies so he will get all everything in one plate. Simple and easy. I was on a video call with my sister last week as I cooking, she mentioned I might need to get the pictures for some of the ingredients as it might not be as common in Malaysia. So, I snapped a couple pictures of the ingredients this time. Hope it helps?

Turkey Meat Ball Spaghetti

1 tsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Red onion
1 can Tomato sauce
1 Tomato
Thin Spaghetti
Broccoli
Zucchini
Turkey Meat ball (frozen package for kids)
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Sugar
Italian herb seasoning



Cooking instruction:

- Cooked thin spaghetti as package instructed, add olive oil and set aside
- Chopped all ingredients in dice.
- Heat olive oil, stir in garlic and red onion until it turn brown.
- Stir in diced tomato, cooked for a minute.
- Add all other mixed veggies and turkey meat ball and cooked for a minute
- Stir in the tomato sauce and simmer for 10- 15 minutes, the longer you simmer, the more flavor the meat ball will get.
- Stir in salt and sugar until it taste right to you.
- Pour Parmesan cheese on top and serve!

Note: I try not to use any frozen package food, but in real life as a working mom, it is almost impossible. So, i am very cautious as far as choosing package food for Skyler, first rules, NO ingredients that I don't understand. Second, no preservative, no artificial color and flavor. Must be low in sugar and salt too. Watch for it!

Turkey is much healthier than beef meat ball

Pass my test... i recognized all the ingredients.

Low in salt, only 135 mg of salt.

Formula for how long?

If you ask me what is the biggest different that I see among Malaysia kids and the U.S. kids? I said definitely the milk consumption differences. First, the formula feeding age and, second, how much milk/ formula a kid drink?

I breastfeed Skyler for the first 6 months, he then switched to formula (milk powder) from 6 months to 12 months. After he reached a year old, our pediatrician wanted us to switch from formula to dairy milk. No more formula! I saw packaging on the formula that sell in Malaysia are for kids up to 10 years old... what? 10 years old? still drinking formula? why? 

I do agree to give formula just up to a year old, reason being kids are eating solid at that age and they should be getting their nutrition from their daily meals, not the powder! yes, I know I know... the formula companies advertise their products with all kind of vitamin and supplement that they put in it, but those are still just the evaporated milk, if you want to give calcium, vitamin D, and protein...why don't you give your kid some fresh milk? Vitamin and supplement that kids needs are best from fresh food, why from the compressed powder? We feed babies formula because they cannot chew solid food and food selection at that age are very limited, but for any toddler, their body definitely need more than what's in the formula to help growing and develop.

I strongly encourage all parents to feed their kids dairy milk after a year old, here is why..at my last trip in Malaysia, I noticed my nieces and nephews ranges from 3-5 years old eat very little during lunch or dinner, well.. they don't even have to have breakfast, why? oh, my brother said "because they drink milk powder already." It seems like formula is being treated as the main course, then the kids are free to choose to eat or not to eat their lunch or dinner entree as my brother think they get enough nutrition from the formula. Of course they drink quite a few bottles of formula a day. My sister is even funnier, she said " oh, my boy take vitamin too just to be sure he got enough". Why? why don't you give your kid real food that give them real vitamins and energy to help them grow and develop? So, I think, in a way, having formula actually mislead parents mentally that their kids already get enough supplement from the formula, and causing parents not paying enough attention to their kids daily nutrition balance. 

For Skyler, he is now 20 months, and he drinks 2 cups of dairy almond milk per day, total should be not over 16oz a day. He will need to first eat his breakfast, lunch or dinner main course, then I will give him 4oz of milk at the end of the meal. It is just like us drinking teh tarik, boba drink or smoothie with our meals. It's good if he finished the milk, if he doesn't; that is fine with me too because I feed him enough from his lunch or dinner. 

So, please ask yourself, if I gave you a cup of smoothie with all added vitamin and protein, will you drink the smoothie as your main course for lunch or dinner...everyday?

Skyler drinks almond milk instead of cow milk, I will post another blog on this topic soon.

Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Nuggets

Hmmm... thinking what recipes to share today... nuggets have always been kids favorite, it is a very good way to "hide" your green in your kids diet. Plus, you can froze the remaining nuggets and just reheat it as a quick snack or the on-the-go meals. Trust me,  it's very easy and simple, just mesh everything together and bake it. If your kid is old enough, let them help you shaping their own nuggets, you will sure enjoy the fun!


Ingredients:
1 16-oz broccoli, lightly steamed, drained, and chopped
1 cup Seasoned bread crumbs (you could try using baby cereal if you want, we know it works well with "baby meatballs")
1 ½ cups Shredded cheddar cheese (please use real cheese and not a "processed cheese food" product.)
3  Large eggs or 5 egg yolks -

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375
1. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well.
*Add seasonings if you like - garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example.
3. Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..And place on baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Too lazy to make fun shape... round is fine with me :)

Just the right size for Skyler to handle.

Skyler Eating Schedule

Healthy and good eating habit has been my number one focus for raising Skyler, all my girl friends can tell you how particular I am with Skyler's feeding. When I went back to Malaysia, my mom said "What you do all day is busy cooking for Skyler!!" well, she is quite right about that.

Below is Skyler eating and napping schedule, I am very consistant with it, don't know how many times my husband and I fight over rushing just to make Skyler dinner "on time":

6:30am-7:00am- Wake up
                        - Blend fresh fruit with cereal
                        - Pancake/ french toast/ wafer if he has enough time
                        - 8 oz of dairy almond milk

8:45am- At Daycare
           - Menu Breakfast (eg: french toast, egg, English muffin bar, bagels with cream cheese)
           - Dairy almond milk (I bring it for daycare, he does not drink daycare milk)

11:00am- At Daycare
             - Lunch (eg: spaghetti & meatball, cheese pizza, turkey and cheese wrap, BBQ sandwich)
             - Dairy almond milk

11:30am-2:00pm- Nap time

3:00pm- At daycare
           - Menu snack (eg: yogurts & cracker, cheerios, Trail mix, deli sandwich, saltine cracker)
           - Water

5:00pm- At daycare
            - Little snack (eg: cheerios, yogurt, cheese)
            - Water

7:00pm- At home
           - Dinner time... everything I cooked
           - Juice

8:00pm- At home
           - 4-8oz of dairy almond milk... depend how much he eat at dinner

8:30pm- Sleep.. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Yes, he eats a lot of meals, but does he looks overweight to you? He is well build, but I don't think he is fat. Agree?

 I review Skyler's daycare menu on a daily basis just to balance up with the meals I prepare at home, I watch his sugar and salt intake very closely and I will make sure he get enough egg, cheese, yogurt, fruit, veggies, meat, and carb on a daily basis. Ratio I have, always is veggies & fruit/ meat/ carb- 3/2/1. He has to finish the veggies first, then meat, carb always reserve for last. especially rice, he can eat or not eat, I don't care.  To me it just carb that does not contains a lot of nutrition.

One thing you will notice is only two times of "formal milk" times, the rest of the time, milk is just like us having a cup of smoothie or tea that go along with our meal. IT IS NOT THE MAIN SOURCE OF NUTRITION. Limit to about 16oz daily just to ensure enough calcium, protein and vitamin D.


I will try to post more of Skyler recipes, pls share your feeding information too, love to hear more about what others do.


Here are some of Skyler meals:         

Breakfast: French Toast, Blueberry
and strawberry mix.

Breakfast: Cinammom toast, blueberries,
egg & cheese, and sweet potato

  

Snack: yogurt, cheese, and mix cracker

Lunch: Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese,
and Fish stick, mix veggies

                     

Lunch: Spaghetti and meat sauce,
broccoli and sweet potato

Snack: Cheese, peanut butter sandwich
 and Mix puff

Dinner: Grill Salmon, green bean
 & mash potato

Dinner: Grill Chicken, mix veggies,
Rice with chicken soup

                 

First "The little One Gallery" arrived... safely!!

So excited... finally our first "The Little One Gallery" package arrived home. It stucked at the custom office for over a week, my poor sister fight so hard with them people and finally able to get it released,  she drove all the way to KLIA to claim the package. Thanks Sun sun! 

She is helping me with sorting and posting the item pictures in this blog. Just little something of everything, a trial out shipment. Hopefully we can get this done soon so you guys can order what you like. Comment and inquiry welcome! Don't forget to email us skyler_n_mum@hotmail.com or feel free to leave comment in the blog.

Yeah!

When boy goes to class with all the girls...

the poor pink cheek.. still bleeding

Ok, so Skyler class only has 2 boys, him and another kid, the rest of them are girls... I think about 7 of them. He moved into this new bigger class a few weeks ago, he has been coming home with bleeding scar on his face, the fifth times as of last Friday already... I guess they must be a lot of fighting going on in the class.

So, I told the principal this morning that it has to be a same girl, it's right about the same spot every single time, I understand they push and fight and play, I have no problem, but no bleeding allow...(you have to be nice here about teaching kid as they grow... blah blah blah).. I told her: "if her mom is too lazy to cut her nail, then she needs to stay home!", the principal said they will issue a letter to all the parents, if just to one parents, that might offend the parents. OMG! Ok, I will train Skyler from today onward with scratch kung fu, you tell me if her mom don't come and fight with me? Wait till she see her kid bleed then she will know if telling her to cut nails is offensive or not! GO SKYLER... Tiger paws!!!

Tiger paws in training... watch out!

All u ladies listen, last warning, no more scratching.. 

Just Skyler & Mom...

July 8, hot and beautiful Sunday, Skyler daddy is too lazy to wake up in the morning... mommy decided to go and hang out with Skyler for the afternoon, just Skyler and mommy....

We went to Chubby's for lunch, 11am, I managed to keep Skyler away from the I-Pad today! He is actually having fun stacking creamer and jam. Found a new play toy for him, I guess from now on, I will be paying attention to the restaurant surrounding to find things that might attract his attention rather than just throw him an I-Pad.

As we walked out the door, the waitress said "bye.."
Skyler replied: Byeee....
Waitress said: give me high five
Skyler gave a high five without even thinking while his yelling : high five!
I said: "Skyler, let's go.. "
Waitress said: thank you...
Skyler looked back: "bye.. thank you!!! " he said.
Waitress laughed and said: oooooo...
I guess my little boy just make her day!

He get bored with the crayon and coloring now. Creamers actually work better?

I guess i can save my money from buying him more Lego.  :)

Then, we went grocery shopping, he pointed and yelled apple, fish, nana.. (banana), at check out waited in line, he was standing in the shopping cart trying to jump out, I simply grasp a little "hello kittie" cookie snack that is on the shelf for him to play, turned around, "oh no!" , Skyler is actually eating the cookies, I took a bag of unwrap cookie, someone ate it before!! OMG... sorry boy.

Then, snack time, I actually found a very nice McDonald... it's a beach theme McDonald, Skyler is having fun munching his no salt fries... (of course we waited a while for our fries, they have to cook new fries and wash their cookware.. no salt.. haha) and watching bigger kid playing at the playground.

Mr. McDonald is surfing on the wall...

hmm... this is a nice McDonald...

I love fries, no salt fries...

Then we went home, a tired day, it's too hot outside, we ended the mommy and Skyler afternoon by playing at the little pool at our backyard.

Woo!

aiya...

Can I dive in this pool?

man.. a tired day!

Mozzarella cheese and Spinach pizza...

This is a 10 minutes recipes, kiddie pizza. Easy and nutritious, that is how I make Skyler eat his green, hide it somewhere :)  Love it especially on the go, I will froze the remaining up to a month and reheat in the oven for next serving.

 

Ingredients:

1 Naan Bread

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese     

½ cup mix steamed chop spinach and broccoli

Cooking instruction:

Preheat oven in 450 degree. Spread some mozzarella cheese over  naan, then spread the mixed spinach and broccoli, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of spinach and broccoli

      Use your hand and press on the topping so it won’t fall off easily when your little one is holding it or playing with it. Bake for 20 min or until it turn golden. 

     

Note: 

For older toddler, feel free to add cooked chicken chunk, slices of mushroom, onion or tomatoes.

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Ralph Lauren Polo Shirt... Coming soon!

Check out "The Little Gallery", we will be posting variety colors of the RALPH LAUREN POLO shirt in different size anyway from 24 months to 5T. Again, I bought this out of the retailer shop here in the USA, we might not be able to compete with the counterfeit one that is selling everywhere as far as pricing... but it will be much much cheaper than the one you can get out of the RL Shop in Malaysia. Well,  look at Skyler, isn't he cute in that Polo shirt???  Look like a model all the sudden.. LOL

Skyler is wearing 2T

Quality? no worry, who can't trust Ralph Lauren Quality...

Skyler n mom...