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{Katie’s Baby Blog} Holiday Traditions with Lily

This will be Lily’s second Christmas! Last year she was only a month old so we didn’t really celebrate much. Thanksgiving we were just out of the hospital, so we stayed home and for Christmas I was still recovering from my c-section so we didn’t do too much that day either.

But…this year, I want to start our family holiday traditions! I know she is only 1 year old and probably won’t remember much from this year but it will be fun for us, too.

I’m sure our holiday traditions aren’t much different from yours, we always put up our Christmas tree and decorations after Thanksgiving and decorate the outside of our house with lights, too.

I love baking cookies and making hot chocolate and watching cheesey Hallmark movies; so I can’t wait until she is old enough to do those things with me. I can start by letting her watch me bake cookies and helping with taste testing!

On Christmas Eve, we always go to my grandpa’s house for dinner and to open presents during the day. We love to go to Christmas Mass that evening. Then, when we go home, before bed we like to watch a Christmas movie. My mom always gave my brother and I one present to open Christmas Eve and it was always PJ’s to wear to bed. I love that tradition so I definitely am going to start that with Lily this year!

Milk and cookies will go out for Santa and carrots for the reindeer!

Then, we will wake up early Christmas morning and open presents, have a delicious breakfast and then go spend the rest of the day with our family!

Just spending time with your family during the holidays is so important to us. Rushing around gets hard sometimes, but if we didn’t do it, I know we would wish we were with our family and all of the craziness that comes with the holiday.

It’s all so special and I am so excited to create fun memories for Lily!

<3 Katie Ryan

{Katie’s Kitchen} Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Cinnamon Butternut Squash

Brought to you by Catoctin Mountain Orchard

I made this dish for our Thanksgiving dinner and it was a huge hit!!  With the holiday season in full swing this is definitely an excellent addition to any meal…and it’s easy!

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss your brussel sprouts in olive oil and salt and cook for 20 minutes on a pan in the oven.

Toss your cubed butternut squash in olive oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon, then roast for about 20 minutes or until fork tender.

Then, in a large bowl combine your brussel sprouts and squash along with dried cranberries and your lightly toasted pecans.

For pecans, I roasted them with butter and brown sugar…yum!

Add a little bit more maple syrup, if needed and toss everything!

Ingredients: I got the recipe here!!! 
Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
  • 3 cups Brussels sprouts ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt to taste
Roasted Butternut Squash:
  • 1 1/2 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1-inch cubes (Yields about 4 cups of uncooked cubed butternut squash)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Other Ingredients:
  • 2 cups pecan halves
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup optional

 

{Katie’s Baby Blog} Lily Turns 1!

Turning one is a big deal! Not just for our little ones, but for the parents, too!

WE MADE IT THROUGH THE FIRST YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

That was a cause for celebration in our household. So we did on Saturday, two days before her actual birthday. We invited our family and close friends and threw Lily the girliest pink and gold bash ever. We did a charcuterie board for appetizers and then had a taco/nacho bar for dinner. Dessert was cupcakes, cookies and a beautiful “smash cake” for Lily.

I’m not sure that Lily knew exactly what was going on at her house on Saturday, but she wore her special birthday dress with a pink bow in her hair and played with her cousins all afternoon.

When it came time for cake I put her in her highchair and we all sang Happy Birthday to her…she looked a little confused, but she went ahead and scooped a big chunk of icing off of the top of her cake anyway and put it in her mouth and said “Mmm Num Num.”  She only says that if she really likes something!

She didn’t eat too much of the cake, she just licked a lot of the icing off!

After dinner we opened presents and she played with her new toys until bedtime!  It was such a fun day.

On her actual birthday, Monday, November 18th, my husband and I gave her the rest of her cake (which Tim and I ended up eating the rest of) and sang to her again and then played in her playroom all afternoon.

At the end of the day, after she went to bed, Tim and I sat and looked at all of the pictures and videos of Lily that we had saved and it was a little emotional for me.

My baby is one!!! It went THAT fast….in the blink of an eye. One year has past and it blows my mind how much she has grown. She’s officially walking, talking and copying almost everything we say and do. Knows some animal sounds and is smart in so many other ways. She has a ton of hair! Almost 4 teeth, and weighs 20 lbs.

My little baby that weighed 7 lbs 5 oz one year ago…is a toddler now and it happened so fast. All of the nights we didn’t sleep, all of the exhaustion throughout the long days of working and taking care of her, and all of the fun that we had over the past year have been the best moments of my life. I wouldn’t trade it all for the world!

<3 Katie Ryan

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