Apple Blueberry Squares

OK - so I had a recipe for "Apple Squares" from a family friend and decided to change a few things. I had blueberries on hand and wanted to add them and I also wanted to use mashed apples instead of diced. It came out pretty good (both my husband and 2 year old daughter ate them with a nod). Here's the recipe:

Apple Blueberry Squares

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c flour
1 c white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
Mixture of cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top - takes about 1 tablespoon of white sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Take the diced apples and blueberries and boil in water until fork tender. Drain, then mash, then drain and set aside. Mix all dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt - in a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter, brown sugar and white sugar and mix well - let cool (this is so the eggs do not scramble when added). You can stick it in the fridge to cool to room temp. (I did not time this but I'm thinking around 5 minutes or so.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Once the butter and sugar mixture is cooled to room temp, add the vanilla and eggs and mix. (I find that using a wooden spoon works best.) Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients at a time and mix well. Add the apple and blueberry mashed mixture - mix well. Grease a rectangular (13x9) pan and add mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!!

Sleep - a little longer - Please!!

How to get my 6 month old to sleep past 5am? That is the question. She sleeps pretty well - from around 8pm to 5am - 9 hours. But she cannot seem to sleep past 5 am - EVER! She gets up and has a bottle - then about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours later she will go back down for about an hour nap. I wish she would sleep the extra hour in the morning (until 6am at least) then get up for a bottle and be up for a few hours longer. It makes mornings very difficult to get everyone up and going. On the days I work - she wants to take her hour nap when we have to leave and so we end up with a very cranky baby (as well as a very cranky mommy and whinny 2 year old sister to top it all off). I just wish there was a way to get her to sleep an extra hour longer in the morning. We've tried putting her to bed a little later but it does not seem to help. She has a full bottle right before she goes to bed so I'm at a loss for what to do. Any suggestions??

Solid Foods

How to get a 6 month old to enjoy eating solids? That is the question. We started feeding my daughter solid foods around 4 months old. She was taking the rice cereal great at first. We tried a few fruits (pears, bananas, apples) and veggies (peas, sweet potatoes, squash); she would make weird faces and gag at first but then seem to like them. Now, she seems to take the bottle fine for the most part (4-6 oz every 4 hours during the day) but when it comes time to eat the solid foods she flat out refuses. Clamps her mouth shut and will not willingly open for anything. I've tried distracting her by giving her a spoon of her own to play with then shovel a bite in when she goes to chew on the spoon. I've also recently tried helping her to feed herself (with me holding her hand with the spoon and guiding it to her mouth) as she seems to have food envy when she watches my husband, her big sister and I eat. This seemed to work OK but I'm thinking there's got to be an easier way! Any suggestions?