Tender Red Wine Beef Cheeks

I thought I might document the games I play with Asher at home while I can still remember. They grow too quick I think. Asher is already 5.5 months now and I'm counting my blessings that I'm home with him. Certainly there are days when I miss the intellectual side of work and freedom in doing things by myself but I still wouldn't ask for anything else but him.

In fact, I'm a little embarrassed that I have become one of those mums who gush about their child. Oh and wear gym clothes all day- they are comfy, dry quicker and looks good. Ha!

Back to baby games and activities...

"Aeroplane"- I placed him on my legs between ankle and knees and lift him to table top position with my back on the floor. It's another form of tummy time but I call him my little captain Asher and he fly to the left, right or crash on my tummy.

"Parachute"- Using cloths of different texture, I lift it up and let it float on his face. He loves this one and I reserve it for "cranky times"!

"what texture is this?"- As I fold clothes, I would rub some different texture cloths or items on his face. Terry towel, plain cotton, draw strings of a shorts..etc

"warm and cold"- I alternate between an ice-cube and a spoon that was dipped in warm water.

"Peek-a-boo"- Ahh.classic baby games. Sometimes I use the cushion, or hubby holds him while I hide behind the sofa/door.

"Let's fly up high"/"superman"- Lifting him up to the air and flying to different or things to the house. Superman is when he rests on my forearm and we fly to different rooms and places in the house.

"Dance"- haha, put on some music and we do a mummy and baby dance in our hall.

"Singing"- We do "this little piggy" or "incy which spider" up his body. He loves a good tickle!

"Do a good stretch"- I sing and stretch his hands and legs using "hokey pokey" or "How much do I love you...this much!"

"Boxing"- How can I not do this? We "box" or "high 5" using alternate hands and then we do a jiggle of the arms or a tickle. So it's "boxing boxing jiggle jiggle jiggle and then boxing boxing tickle tickle tickle".

"Upside down"- In a sitting position, I slide him forward, hold him by his thighs and hold him upside down. Or standing up, I cradle him across his shoulder and bum and put him upside down.

"Puppet"- I use several hand puppets and make silly noises or conversational speech with him.

"how many colours are there in a rainbow?"- I have several ribbons tied together. I tend to wave them around, front and back of him and on him and sing colours in my new inventive song (i invent a lot of songs including bath time songs..haha).

"Let's talk to the mirror"- He is so fascinated with the mirror. Sometimes, I stick him in front of one and we just look in the mirror. He talks to his own reflection and to mine. It's quite funny to watch.

"Jelly on a plate"- I place him across my thighs and jiggle around.

"Baby massage"- Some mornings I do a longer, 30 minutes massage on him. Other times, I choose to use a rhyme from Gymbaroo and he loves it!

Of course, the other activities I do with him are reading, talking to him, walking around our garden or surrounds, or simply just lying next to him while he does tummy time. I'm conscious as well that a child needs alone time to develop (supervised), so every morning and evening, I like to put him on his play gym and leave him there. It's actually quite interesting to watch him twist turn and explore his toys.

On other news, I have cut my hair to shoulder length. It's such a big thing for me as I always have relatively long hair. But it's getting unruly, untidy and falling out heaps :( I know it will get back to normal in time but I just thought it's time for a change.

This has been a strange summer for us in Perth. The weather has been really good except over the weekend when it reached 44C. Yes, we stayed in the air con for most of the weekend. We also had some chilly evenings as well. On one of my recent visits to the butcher, I spotted a pack of beef cheeks and thought I might give it a go in our pressure cooker. The result was amazing. Why have I not discovered this cut of meat before?

Tender Red Wine Beef Cheeks (serves 4)
1 kg of beef cheeks
1 red onion diced
1 tsp of garlic
2 cups of stock
1 cup of red wine
1 can of diced tomato
1 carrot sliced
3-4 bay leaves

Brown onions and garlic. Brown beef cheeks. Add in all liquid, carrots or mushrooms and bay leaves. Bring to a soft boil and place pressure cooker lid on. Cook for 30 minutes or so. Dig in with mash cauliflower.