vacation = good food

We're away in Montreal which usually brings out the best in B. and while he's slightly more picky than previous visits he has eaten ham sandwiches every day here. And pasta bolognese on two nights. It's sort of repetitive but I'm hoping the consistency hammers it home and he'll keep eating the ham sammies when we get back to L.A. I think there must be something about the saltiness 'cause they're going down much better than turkey. And the kid ain't hurting in the dessert category either, so far it's been chocolate crepes @ Jean Talon market, a chocolate dinosaur from Premiere Moisson, ice cream after his cousin's soccer game at Dairy Queen (more vile than I remember) and a cupcake from Juliette et Chocolat. Vacation is good for everybody.

books & cookies on a friday afternoon

Cookie decorating class rocked! Five bucks buys two cookies, unlimited toppings and one crazy sugar rush.

snack attack

B. wouldn't go to sleep last night so he sat with us while we watched Take Me Home Tonight. Awesome '80s soundtrack. And started eating our Peruvian corn snack. They're huge, roasted, salted kernels of corn. LMAO. So random for the kid who won't try anything new. And doesn't eat corn. Like tonight we took him and Gran out for In 'N' Out -- sort of a birthright for any kid born in California, especially one who's obsessed with bowling. (T. made some joke about the In 'N' Out on Radford which I know somehow relates to the Big Lebowski but I'm terrible with movie quotes.) And B. wouldn't eat the fries because they're not sweet potato and he wouldn't eat the  cheeseburger because...well, who knows? But roasted Peruvian corn kernels are A-OK. Funny little man.

stuff to try this weekend

• OMG, it's banana, it's Nutella, it's Bananatella. I am so making this today. Banana slices already in the freezer.
  via Baby Center
• I need to revisit this blueberry buckle. I was obsessed with buckles and coffee cakes a couple of years ago (B. was just an infant and I wasn't thinking about the nutritional value of anything!) especially with the addition of berries. There's something so pleasing about a rich, buttery cake paired with tart, juicy berries.
  via Savory Sweet Life
• And once I started poking around Savory Sweet Life, I found this watermelon feta salad than seems right up my alley. Score.
  

there's hope after all

For reasons that make no sense, B. tried and liked Cheddar Bunnies this week. I've tried Goldfish before but until now he's refused almost any sort of snack food. Give me an inch and I'll take a mile. Feeling daring, I spread a sheer layer of mustard and honey on his turkey sandwich today and called it a "sweet turkey sandwich." He actually ate a couple of bites and seemed to like it. Granted, there's nothing nutritional about any of this but it's been so long since he tried anything new I'm considering it a major victory.

For the record Ben's entire diet these days consists of: oatmeal (& applesauce), Cheerios, pancakes (& sweet potato or applesauce), mac & cheese (& cauliflower), pasta bolognese, turkey sandwiches, bean & cheese quesedillas with avocado (& chicken or pork) and pizza. That gives me exactly 8 options to choose from.

well, that backfired

We never gave B. fruit juice since he used to eat plenty of fruit and seemed to have no problem with water at every meal. Now that he's cut out ALL fruits in any shape or form (no raisins, no berries, no applesauce, nada!) I'm desperate to get some fruity goodness into him so we bought some Martinelli's apple juice this week. Only, instead of turning into a juice junkie like we worried might happen, he won't even try it. Not even when we diluted it with water and tried to trick him into tasting some. Or when I offered him a juice box with its own little straw. Crap. We missed the juice window and I don't know when we'll get there again.

best toddler fun in santa monica & beyond

Based on the advice of a neighbor we checked out Virginia Ave. Park on Pico Blvd. yesterday. One word. Awesome! The playground is nothing special but they have water jets running all day long. It was a blast to watch B. run in and out of the fountains and it didn't cost a thing!
Also on the free list (ONLY because we have a family membership) was the dinosaur exhibit at the Natural History Museum. The curators have done such a good job of the new hall and unlike NYC's Natural History Museum where you have to elbow your way through to see anything, the crowd here is manageable. It's like the less flashy, less fancy cousin who's a lot more fun to hang out with. Plus they open at 9:30, unlike everything else in L.A. that opens at 10 or 11.

In case anyone's looking for more ideas, here are the other places we've loved to visit this summer:
Annenberg Beach House on the PCH. Two words: heated pool!
Bay Shore Lanes bowling alley on Pico (just off Main St.): A little grungy but they went out of their way to set us up with bumpers and a ramp.
Long Beach Aquarium: Expensive but worth it.
Will Rogers Beach on the PCH: The shortest distance from the parking lot to the beach.
The Farmers Market Sundays on Main St.: Ponies and produce.
Aidan's Place playground on Sepulveda: Just a great place to play.
Venice Canal: No ducks the day we visited but still just nice to walk around.

Up next on our to-do list: Cookie decorating at Books and Cookies and the wading pool at Stoner Park.