Thursday, June 25, 2015

Henry: 12 Months

Did I really write that?! Yes, and I'm writing it a bit late. Henry turned 1. I was sick with a cold, threw a party, and then we moved on. I think being sick helped me not lose it emotionally, but I still look at him and think "Where did my little baby go?" Here are some highlights from his twelfth month!

Henry turned one in the concrete jungle!


  • Henry weighs 22lbs! He still has delicious chunks on his arms and legs.
  • Henry is crawling on all fours, no more slithering, and is walking with assistance from our couch, his activity table, a wall, ANYTHING he can use!
  • He eats everything. A week after he turned 11 months it was as though he decided to stop being picky and eat anything in sight! He has eaten every meat, some seafood, most vegetables (Doesn't house those like other things but doesn't ignore them entirely either), and cake. He ate half of his smash cake before we took it away!!! That's my boy.
  • There is zero stranger danger. He'll check someone out when we're out, but he doesn't cry or ignore people. He's always watching and will give anyone a high five!
  • He says Dada. I brainwashed him to make it happen before Fathers Day! I walked around life saying Dada with a picture of Mr. Miller. It worked. Now as for Mama, well, not yet. WAH.
  • He now has six teeth. Thank GOD that sixth tooth came in, we hit a very rough sleep patch!
  • Henry plays by himself multiple times a day. He will sit in his play area, play with his activity table, look through books, whatever he wants! We play with puzzles together, read books, and do hand games/songs.
  • He was the most well behaved baby for his birthday! He had lots of friends to play with, adults to love him, and he didn't cry when we sang happy birthday (Though I could tell he was definitely overwhelmed!)
  • We had a jungle themed birthday party and were so happy to host the friends and parents who helped us during this first year.
  • We visited the New York Aquarium, Coney Island, Connecticut, and every playground within two miles of our apartment! 
Baby boy, you are truly a joy. This child wakes up whining, and the second you look at him he giggles. He is the most easy going, go with the flow, happy go lucky guy in the world. We are so blessed to be his parents. All the pain, anxiety, sleeplessness, stress, frustration and chaos that a child can bring pales in comparison to the love, joy, laughter, tears of love, comfort and sweetness that he brings. 

Happy 12 Months Little Lion Man!
Let them eat cake!



Check out my article on SmartMom How to Raise a Son to be a Really Great Man

Monday, June 22, 2015

Cook Unity Meal Delivery Service Review and Giveaway!

Hello friends! It has been WAY too long, life got busy, a certain fella turned one (EEK!), and I have some great posts coming your way soon! I wanted to highlight a great meal delivery service that I recently got to try out called Cook Unity*. It was the week of Henry's first birthday party, and I came down with a nasty cold! I barely had an energy to open a can soup, let alone cook a healthy dinner! Here is a little bit of info about Cook Unity:


Cookunity delivers small-batch, fresh home-food from local chefs right to your door. We handpick the freshest ingredients to bring you tasty, wholesome meals for your family to enjoy.

Best Ingredients. Quality Meals

Instead of buying long life food that expires years from now, or spending your whole weekend cooking, we shop for the freshest, seasonal ingredients out there to bring you tasty food you feel good feeding your family with.
Whenever possible, we use organic, local, farm-fresh produce, and all our proteins are hormone-free and come from farms our suppliers visit regularly and that we have researched thoroughly. Our fish is sourced from sustainable fisheries.

Handpicked Chefs. Timeless Recipes

Our menus constantly change, because we select produce based on its seasonality and quality. We selected authentic recipes that families have enjoyed for ages and we asked some of the best chefs in town to cook for you with extra care and love.
Enjoy your spare time with your kids and let us do the homemade cooking for you!

Each week their menu is posted for entrees available from Tuesday-Thursday. I went online and ordered our entrees. Best part about it? They had kid's entrees too! Each entree comes with sides and dessert, so there was no adding to these meals. I loved the packaging upon delivery, the cards with the ingredients and nutritional information, and blurbs about the chefs who created these yummy dishes. Here are the yummy dishes we got to enjoy:
 Everything was securely packaged and survived a subway ride in rush hour!

 I loved the personal touch with the chef's bios.

 This was Mr. Miller's meal, it was DELICIOUS! He was a little hungry afterwards, but he had eaten a very small lunch.
 This was my meal! It was really good. The filling had a lemony flavor which I had never tried!

 I would have eaten this as a meal! IT WAS SO GOOD! I tried each part and it was delicious.
Henry approved! He eventually ate his broccoli.

So, here are my final thoughts on Cook Unity:
Pro's:
- I LOVED reading the information on each meal. Other meal delivery services don't list nutritional information, or maybe only list calories and fat. 
- You know exactly what is in your food - natural healthy ingredients!
- The child's meal lasted Henry THREE meals! It was plenty of food.
- Ease of ordering online and QUICK delivery turnaround!
- Everything was delicious!
- It solves the "I don't know what to cook for dinner" dilemma.
- NO DIRTY DISHES. I don't have a dishwasher - cry with me.

Cons:
- Meals did not leave enough for leftovers. Each meal is definitely one serving. We're leftovers for lunch eaters!
- They only deliver in Manhattan. Thankfully Mr. Miller works there so they delivered it to his building without issue!

Would you like the chance to win TWO free meals from Cook Unity? Enter below! The winner will be announced June 29. (Winner must be located or available for delivery in Manhattan) Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway *Disclosure: I was given three free meals from Cook Unity in exchange for my review. The opinions and details written are my own.