Wednesday Loves.

 Some things I love today.

Self-feeding.  Watching my little munchkin attempt to cram 3-4 Cheerios in her mouth at a time cracks me up, and causes me to become hyper-vigilant parent.  Ellie is still learning her limits, but she's so excited that she can get multiple Cheerios in her mouth that she does.  And then I take them out.

("Mommy, don't you take my Cheerios!")

Christmas preparation.  The gifts are all wrapped and under the tree.  Our Christmas Eve plans are set. I even went to Whole Foods today to purchase the necessary items for a corn recipe, including a gluten free version of the crackers.  Can you tell my husband is from the Midwest?  This was his one Christmas food request.  In case you have a Midwesterner in your life, I'll share with you, too.  It's pretty good.  I put extra crackers in last year, and it worked well.  (Note: I'm not even close to a food blogger.)

Baked Corn

1  1-lb. can cream-style corn

1 c. milk

1 egg, well beaten

3/4 t. salt and pepper

1 c. cracker crumbs

1/2 c. buttered cracker crumbs

Heat corn and milk.  Gradually stir in egg.  Add seasonings and cracker crumbs.  Place in greased baking dish.  Sprinkle buttered crumbs over top and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

(See, I'm not a food blogger.  Instead of a picture of corn, you get a picture of Ellie.)

Christmas tutus.  Ellie received this outfit last weekend, and I love it.  She's such a rock star with her "Very Merry" shirt and pink ruffles.  I'm in love.

(In the second shot, she was blowing raspberries.  Love that face!)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

PS. I've been getting variations on these questions a lot, so I'll answer.  "Do you put Ellie's hair in pigtails every day?  Does she cooperate?"  Yes, I style Ellie's hair in pigtails almost every day.  She has a lot of hair, but just on top.  (It's like reverse male-pattern baldness.)  Occasionally, she gets a ponytail or just a hat, but doing nothing leads to one tangled dreadlock.  She cooperates if she has something interesting right in front of her, but there are times she sees a different toy and tries to roll away.  I'm not sure how pigtails will work once crawling begins.  I admit, I don't want Ellie to have the stereotypical "bowl cut" for kids with Down syndrome.  I'm not sure if antennae are better....