Beets: A Study in Anticlimax

When I first started making LG's baby food, I solicited my mother's advice on what foods to try. She made a few suggestions, then said that if I ever tried beets, get ready for the strangest face I'd ever see LG make. Apparently when I was first fed beets, I screwed up my face into such a grimace, my mom never made me eat them again. Not that this sort of thing is hereditary, but I figured LG would do the same thing. I mean, who likes beets, really? (Sidebar: I still hate beets.)

We actually made beets months ago during the first big baby-food-making marathon when LG was 4 months old. I think we did beets, rutabaga, carrots and yams at that point. I later read that due to the high levels of nitrates in beets, you should wait until a baby is 8-9 months old before you give it to them.

So the beets waited at the back of the freezer.

I'd pull them out from time to time when I was rooting around for something else, every time thinking, "oh man, she's gonna hate these things."

Finally, Hollie and I decided it was time to bring on the beets. Today was going to be the day.

I'm not a sadistic person, but there's a small part of me that was looking forward to seeing just how she'd react. Another thing that folks mentioned was just how messy beets are. "Feed the kid in just her diaper! Don't even bother with a bib! Just get ready to hose her down when you're done!" (They are bright red, so much so that Hollie looked like she'd sliced her hand open when she was peeling them initially.) So figured, either way, a big reaction, or a big mess. It was going to be fun!

Want to see how it went? Check it out.



Yeah, mostly she was annoyed that I wasn't feeding her faster. Other than that, nothing. No reaction. In the video, that's just straight beet. In the picture below, I mixed it in with the rest of her food: squash, apple and rice. That's just about the closest I got to a bad reaction.

I mean, sure, it looks like she wasn't thrilled, but she immediate followed up that face with this one.
And do you see that bib? That's exactly how it looked when she was done. This might've been the cleanest meal we've had in days.

In the end, I just built it up too much. I forgot that one of the main things LG does to make me proud is that she eats everything.

Except apricots. Man... now that was a face.

8 Months: State of the Baby

Little G is eight months old today. It's a little bit weird to think that a year ago, we were four months away from becoming parents. It seemed like an eternity to wait. Likewise, eight months ago seems like ages. Time is funny that way.

So where are we now? I figured now was as good a time as any to summarize some non-height-and-weight-related milestones, facts and ephemera, if for no other reason than so I can look back and remember how eight months felt.

Favorites

Favorite toy: Not much question here. Space bee takes it in a walk. She could be surrounded by blocks, LEGOs, stuffed caterpillar, turtle, ball, whatever; and she'll grab that bee egg every time.

Hollie got the egg from work before Easter, and LG just loves the darn thing. Space bee got its name back on this post, because everything was about space that day.

Mr. Potato Head or various Gladware containers are just about the only thing that qualifies as a runner-up in this category, but they still don't hold a candle to space bee.

Favorite book: I consider this a two-way tie for first place. There are two books that she'll almost always quiet down and sit through. The first is Goodnight Moon, which, despite its general creepiness, is just fine. I'm not sure when it started, but even with all the other books we have, Goodnight Moon is almost always the last book we read before bed.

The other book is something we picked up for a buck or two in a bookstore at the Philadelphia Outlets. It's called One Nighttime Sea, and it counts up from one to ten, and back down again, with sea creatures. It has some really neat illustrations, even if a few of them (I'm looking at you, dragonfish and zebra morays) are a bit scary.

Favorite food: I hesitate to even include this, because you can't even pick a favorite out of the crowd here. She loves just about everything we've given her. If anything is surprising, it's just how much she loves spinach. I sauteed it in almost no oil, with a few tiny pieces of minced garlic and water from the garlic jar, and she just scarfs it down. But then, she also does that with mango, chicken, beef, green beans, peas, carrots, yams, squash, parsnip... the list goes on.

Behaviors

Speaking of food, she's recently started picking food up and feeding herself. We started giving her tiny pieces of pita a few weeks ago, and yesterday she was grabbing pieces off her tray and shoving them in her mouth. Her coordination isn't all there yet, but she's getting there. I tried it with cut-up banana this morning, but I neglected to consider just how hard it is to pick up slippery bits of fruit. I've been feeding myself for 30-plus years, and I was having a hard time.

She's been sitting like a champ for a month or so now, even though she still attempts to stand initially when you try to bring her to a seated position from laying down. She barely ever falls over, unless she's really tired.

And rolling? Yeah, she can roll. No more leaving her alone on the bed. Walk away when she's sitting in the living room, and you're liable to return and find her halfway under the couch. And the changing table? You'd never believe a baby could rotate along the Y-axis, but when she's in the mood, she starts spinning like a particularly willful grill spit.

While LG isn't exactly crawling, she certainly gives it her best shot. She's been pushing herself up on her hands and knees for a week or two, but she can't quite seem to move forward.

Backward though? She's got that down. Although that can cause a bit of trouble when you can't see where you're going. For instance, you might accidentally back into a doorway, and not be able to move any farther. Babyproofing, I fear you are going to need to happen sooner rather than later.

As for language, she definitely recognizes her name, and she'll turn her head when you call for her. We're starting to think she understands the words "mommy" and "daddy," although she doesn't say them yet. If you ask where mommy is, she'll turn to look for her. Just don't do that when mommy isn't around; that's just mean.

Her vocabulary of sounds is getting broader, and as soon as she's ready to identify "mama," she'll have the sounds, since "mamamamamama" is her default noise. But she also does "babababa," various vowel sounds, popping noises with her lips, in addition to the ever-popular raspberry.

All in all, she's a pretty amazing kid to watch. She learns something new nearly every day, even if that thing is, "Hey, dandelions are pretty tasty!"

Happy Mother's Day...from Little G's Mother!

Happy Mother's Day!

So, it's my first Mother's Day as a really, real mother, and I'm thinking about what it feels like to be a mother. (Last year was nice in that I knew biologically I was a mother, but I did not have to fight the grapefruit inside me when it was naptime.)

Some women say they felt like a mother when they first found out they were pregnant. I felt great to be sure, but I don't think I felt like a mother. I felt nervous and excited and bit nauseous- but not like a mother.

Some women say they felt like a mother the first time they felt the baby move. It felt cool, but mostly I felt "Was that gas? Am I hungry, again?" and the urge to wiggle around to see if I could make it happen a second time. Still didn't feel like a mother.

Some women say that felt like a mother the first time they saw the baby on the ultrasound. It felt amazing to be able to see a little life growing and moving. Then, she did crazy things like hide behind her hands and throw the goat. It made me laugh, but make me feel like a mother? Not particularly.

A bunch of women say they felt like a mother the first time they saw the baby's face. How did I feel finally seeing this little person that I had been thinking about pretty much non-stop for 38 and half weeks. "Super-stoked" and the admittedly more refined "elated" would definitely make the list. Also on the list: "exhausted," "scared" and "relieved she wasn't an uggo." (I kid, I kid...sort of. Do you think any new mom thinks her kid is not the most beautiful baby in the world? Evolutionarily, it makes sense that despite all outward appearances, every new mom thinks her baby is the Gerber baby. Darwin be damned, Little G was the freakin' cutest newborn ever. For proof, check out the end of the post. INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF.) But, surprisingly, "like a mother" probably would not.

I've felt like a lot of things over the course of the last 7 and a half months: a 24-hour convenience store, a blanket, a mess, a broken record (of "5 Little Monkeys"), a zombie, a lion tamer, a tissue, a hissing balloon, a carnival ride, a zookeeper, a hammock, a doofus, a jungle gym, a pooper scooper, and a vacuum cleaner. I've also felt lucky, frustrated, amused, tired, amazed, annoyed, and downright happy over the past 7 and half months. And, most of all, I am completely in love with this little baby girl. But do I feel like a mother?

Two weeks ago, Little G gave me my first requested kiss. She was sitting on my lap and giggling as I blew raspberries on her belly ( a favorite pastime). I stood her up on my lap and asked her to give Mommy a kiss. She leaned in and planted a wet kiss right on my cheek and continued to giggle. (Note: a "kiss" at this stage is little different from an attempt to consume my face. An open-mouthed face-to-face smash.) That moment right there was the closest I have come to feeling like a mother. I suppose that as Little G inches closer to becoming a kid instead of an infant, I will inch closer to feeling more like her mom and less like one of her primary caregivers. I think it will speed the process along when the "mamamama" noise she makes all the time really means "mama" and really means me.

Until then, I guess I'll have to just keep loving her and clean the drool off my face from all those kisses.

I mean....seriously, the cutest newborn ever, right?
I love you, Little G. You're the best Mother's Day gift I could ask for.

Though, you're not off the hook, Matt...

Happy Star Wars Day!

Another geek holiday nearly passed without comment, and for that I am sorry.

But I made it in just under the wire, so unto you I say, "May the 4th be with you!"

An old picture, yes, but no less cute for the waiting.

Also, to dork it up further, I think I'm wearing a Green Lantern t-shirt.

Resplendent in Her Easter Finery, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bonnet

If you recall, LG had roughly 4 bajillion different outfits for Christmas. It was her first major holiday, and we may have gone a bit overboard. Maybe.

Easter, it turns out, didn't have quite as much variety. (Not for lack of trying. We went to the Limerick outlets and looked at what felt like 4 bajillion Easter dresses.) But what we lacked in quantity, we made up for in quality, at least as far as pictures were concerned.

So without further ado, and precious little additional commentary, I present Little G's Easter photo shoot.

Much appreciation to my mom for just happening to have a selection of straw hats and ribbon that was an eerily perfect match for LG's dress. (Seriously though, who keeps eight straw hats on hand for emergencies? My mom. That's who.)

The conversation went something like this:
Hollie: We're happy with the dress we bought her, but I really wish we had time to buy an Easter bonnet. It would really complete the outfit.
My Mom: Would one of these do? (Nearly a dozen hats of varying size appear out of the ether and land on the table in front of Hollie.)
Hollie: Umm... yes. This could work.

We didn't have any particular plan for taking posed pictures this weekend, but when we decided to use the freshly mowed lawn behind my parents house, we realized the perfect accessory was this little lamb that Hollie's parents had given LG the day before. Just awesome.

So there you have it. Cutest Easter ever? I might be a little biased, but yeah, I think so.

Strange Tales in Kiddie Lit: The First in a Series

As I've previously noted, LG really enjoys books.
And we really like reading to her. Before every nap, and before bedtime, we read at least one story, which means we've read a lot of stories more than a few times. As you read these stories over and over, you start to notice things.

Like the fact that a lot of kids' books are weird.

Seriously strange, as a matter of fact.

Sometimes it's just poor writing. Take Danny and the Dinosaur, for example. It's a perfectly fine book, to be sure. In a nutshell, it's a fantasy about a young boy who visits a museum, meets a dinosaur, then spends the day adventuring around his town with the titular dinosaur.

Setting aside for a moment any problems about whether or not dinosaurs are alive now, or able to talk, or resemble sauropods who walk upright, there's some strange goings-on here. And it's mostly the fault of the words the author has chosen. What am I talking about?

A little setup for this picture: Danny and the Dinosaur are visiting the zoo, which is a lot of fun, not just for them, but the other zoo patrons as well. Too much fun, in fact, as the Dinosaur is so distracting, no one is paying attention to the other animals. And then this happens:
I realize this is a First Reader book, but page 38 features some pretty strange language, by any measure. Tell me, is "Please go away so people will look at the animals again" really that much harder to read? I'm not a huge stickler for not ending sentences with prepositions, but that's some awkward construction.

To say nothing of the fact that this admonishment comes from a "zoo man." Zoo man? Not Animal Trainer, not Caretaker, not--for crying out loud-- Zookeeper?

I try to imagine the conversation that might've occurred between the author, Syd Hoff, and his editor. Maybe it went something like this:

Syd Hoff: I'm writing this dinosaur book, and I'm stuck on the part about the place with all the animals. What's the name of the place with all the animals?
Editor: That'd be a zoo, Syd.
Syd Hoff: Right, right... who runs that place, the place with all the animals?
Editor: That'd be the Zoo Man, Syd.
Syd Hoff: Great. That's why I keep you around, Word Fixing Man.

Okay, so maybe I'm being a bit hard on a book for little kids. It really is a fun book, and we like it a lot. We actually picked our copy up at a yard sale, because it's tough to find an older copy in good condition online.

But this next book... it's hard to find the words to describe the weirdness on display here, but I'll try.

Goodnight Moon, a beloved classic, sure. For me, the illustrations in general are a little unsettling, but your mileage may vary.

Aside from the general creepiness of the book, I have a some specific issues with the bunny family depicted therein. Both of my problems can be found on this spread:
Any guesses as to what I'm talking about? Take a look at the lower right portion of the picture, under the little bunny's bed.
These nice, pleasant, peaceful looking bunnies have what appears to be a tiger skin rug in their child's room. Setting aside the unpleasantness of a skinned animal in a kid's room, how on earth did these bunnies get a tiger skin rug? Exactly what kind of bunnies are these, anyway?

Creepy bunnies, as evidenced by my next point. In a story that points out nearly every aspect of a child's room (including a bowl full of mush), it's interesting what the author chooses to leave out. First, she leaves out the tiger skin rug. Then she leaves out this little gem.Seriously. That just happened.

What on earth is going on in this picture? Calling it like I see it, there appears to be a enormous bunny--decked out in waders and a bait pouch--fly fishing. Except he's not catching fish. He's catching a smaller, stream-dwelling bunny. That, my friends, is messed up.

In truth, it's not hard to understand why Margaret Wise didn't describe this painting in the text of the book. Look at the other pictures. Cow jumping over the moon? Easy to describe. Three little bears sitting on chairs? Couldn't be simpler. But a cannibalistic, fly-fishing lagamorph who appears to have knocked over a tree for some reason?

I'd be at a loss, too.

Spaced Out

I'm not much of an astronomy nerd, but I love space. Could be my deep and abiding love for Star Trek, or just sci-fi in general, but I get excited about the possibility of space travel, even though I won't live to see the day an ordinary guy can take a trip to the moon.

But that doesn't mean I can't celebrate exciting events in space history. This week (on LG's 7-month birthday, in fact) marks two separate space travel milestones. On April 12, 1961, a Russian cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin was the first man to travel in space. Twenty years later, on April 12, 1981, NASA launched space shuttle Columbia, the first reusable space vehicle.

Adding to the excitement this week, NASA announced which museums would receive the three retiring space shuttles. Shortly after that announcement, Sotheby's auctioned off a Russian space capsule that sent a dog and a mannequin in a flight suit into space and back again. Safely.

It's a good week to be a fan of space. And I'm celebrating the only way I know how. Doing silly things on Twitter. Check out the feed to the right of the blog, or visit my feed directly at http://twitter.com/SolvingForG.

I promise more pictures like this one of LG in her reusable spaceship: