KatieL's Profile

Angel food cake or french silk pie -- anything where you need to mix of course, but these you have to mix for a long time! Also, on the savory side, compound butters.

King Arthur or Martha Stewart Baking. I haven't read Dorie Greenspan's but I'm sure that is excellent too.

iPad 2 starts at 499.

Love this. What color of paint is on the walls?

I don't have anything to add but your son sounds like a real character. I love his request!

I have it. I can't really compare to the Stokke, but I did like another Scandinavian model (blanking on the name) and got this after shying away from the cost of the other.

Like: the look of it, and that it eventually can be used as a stool; assembly was OK

Dislike: the tray and footrest aren't easily adjustable so I have to keep the allan wrench taped to the bottom so I can loosen the bolts to make adjustments
- the plastic tray is a little difficult to get off
- the lapbelt is confusing, so I don't use it and then my 18 month old likes to stand up in the chair, freaking me out
- there is a seat cushion that comes with a fabric cover that velcroes to the wooden seat; the cover immediately got dirty and then fell apart when I washed it, so now there is no way to attach the pad to the chair (I guess I could tape velcro on to the coverless pad)
- it's got a large footprint

I don't know if the more expensive Scandinavian model I lusted after would be any better. I think this will get quite a bit more use after I can take off the tray and my son can use it as a chair.

We recently adopted a 1-year-old (now 16.5 mos) from the Philippines. I was advised to get a booster rather than a highchair; while I still got a highchair (it converts to a stool) and we use it when we are eating at the counter rather than at the dining room table, I could have gotten away with just the booster. I use a changing pad on top of a dresser (I started off thinking I didn't need a pad but he rolls and the raised sides are key). I didn't need to buy any toys or clothes -- I got plenty of hand-me-downs which were great because he was a lot smaller than I thought he would be! I use a basic Graco stroller a lot as we walk around our neighborhood frequently -- also a hand-me-down but we bought an umbrella stroller in the PI which was great for getting through airports coming home. I didn't need formula as he was already drinking whole milk but you'll need some of whatever they are used to while you make a transition.

It might be better to tell you what 1) I got before we picked M up and that we use a lot or 2) what I had to get shortly after coming home: diapers and more diapers, diaper pail, wipes, extra sheets, extra waterproof mattress pad covers, a "splash mat" to protect the floor from M's spills, bottles with handles (trying to convert to sippy cups but he still demands a bottle at bedtime), scotchguard for furniture and rugs in the nursery, a bathtub spout protector, nail clippers, orajel, a forehead thermometer, crib toys that M can manipulate himself (the starry turtle and Fisher-Price aquarium), lots of babyproofing stuff to latch everything (including oven and stove locks), stair gates, kids' music, carseats (an extra for Grandma's car), Nuby sippy cups with handles and straw, plastic bowls with suction cups, treat containers in which he can stick in his hand and pull stuff out, sunscreen, kids' bug spray, books showing animals and/or a picture with one word ("First Words" books).

I highly recommend getting your clothing sorted by size and season before they come home as I agree with another poster, trying to find clothes when "under duress" is pretty tough.

Good luck, you must be so excited!

I scored a lovely Serena & Lily crib set (William, discontinued I think) at the Room & Board clearance sale. I didn't know it was Serena & Lily when I bought it, and couldn't figure out how or why it was originally $559 (marked down to $99). I thought the original price was a misprint on the R&B website! It is very lovely, but I'm still amazed that anyone would pay that much for crib bedding! (Hint, there are still some available.)