{1st tooth}

Over the weekend Cade's first tooth popped through on the bottom front of his mouth. I can see it's match under the gum, so I predict it won't be long until a few more come in as well. I tried to get a picture of this momentous milestone, but, really, what baby will actually let you take a picture of the inside of his mouth? I did get a few extreme closeups & cute pictures of the little guy though. 

He'll be 11 months on Friday (Kalea's birthday!). He's standing & cruising from one place to the next holding on to whatever is available - mommy or daddy's fingers, his sister's little stools, the Dora house, a cat, whatever! He weighs about 20 lbs & is well into 12 month clothing. That said, he is a great eater - still nursing a number of time during the day on top of three meals of baby food + whatever we're having to eat. Last night he chowed down on curried mushrooms, quinoa & Gran's peas. I honestly think he ate as much as Kalea! 

{ahhhhhh-vocado}

Did you know that when you feed a baby solids, it is darn near impossible to keep your mouth closed? Try it. Say, "Open your mouth! Ahhhhh!" Your mouth hangs open like an airport hanger yet the baby looks at you like you've got three eyes. Or, if he manages to open his mouth & keep it open long enough to jab that spoon in with the contents of smashed-something-or-another, he'll spit it out in slow motion then smear it all over his head. And the wall six feet away. 

Well, we have entered the solids portion of babyfeeding. Yes, breastfeeding is still in full swing morning, mid-morning, lunch, before naps, bedtime, in the middle of the night, so on & so forth. But, he was also clearly interested in real people food. We could tell by the grunting, drooling, reaching, grabbing & general hysteria when we'd sit at the table. So, on Cade's 6 month birthday we ventured into the world of food. And there's been no going back because he loves to eat. 

first food. avocado. despite the look, he loves it.  

Baby food/purees were not nearly as successful when we introduced them to Cassidy (think screaming, thrashing, general tantrum throwing...much like 10 minutes ago, honestly!) at 4 months. In hindsight, I honestly think we tried it too early & she just wasn't ready. If you know Cassidy, you know that she is a great learner but when she's not ready, she's just not ready. And when she is ready, she's ready right now & does a fantastic job - like potty training when she woke up & said to Michael, "No piaper on." OK then. We learned from our mistake & didn't introduce solids to Kalea until after 6 months. It went better, but she still had to learn to like them. We had peas on the walls more times than I care to admit from those helicopter arms as Michael or I gingerly navigated spoon to mouth. Cade, however, was born to eat. Again, learning from one child to the next, I decided to skip purees altogether & go with what is called baby-led weaning. Essentially, it's skipping purees & heading straight for mushy enough solids that the child an grasp for her/himself. I guess it's hip right now, but to be honest I just didn't want butternut squash on my ceiling. 


So we started with ripe avocado, followed by almost every other food we ate for dinner that was mushy enough. He's a mess, but doing great. A few weeks ago, I was running through store & found squeezable baby food pouches. What a fantastic idea! For a baby who is a good sucker & likes food & has a mom with spinach on the stairs issues, this is perfect! So we've added a pouch for lunch & dinner since then, supplemented by whatever else we're eating.

The food seems to be agreeing with him. Last weigh in, earlier this week, at 7 & a half months: 19.6 lb!

{what we're doing right now}

Last day of Spring Break & we're relaxing before packing up & doing last minute cleaning & laundry prior to a trip to Gran & Poppy's house for Easter!






- Posted from my iPhone

project 365 photo: 03.15.2011 {bedtime rituals}

Even with Michael's 10 hour work days, we've been fortunate to have him home by bedtime, even bath, a lot recently. I have to say that it's so much more efficient with man-to-man coverage than trying to juggle both girls bath, PJs, routines & rituals then bedtime.

Kalea is still nursing mornings & nights before bed (& we'll continue for a while longer if she still wants to!). The other night though I was thinking how our routine would vary once she stopped nursing before bed. With Cassidy we read books before bed even before she weaned so she had a routine already set up. She's a real stickler for routines though & it was good for her. I'm wondering though, since Kalea always has been the kind of kid who just lays down & goes to sleep when it's nap or bedtime, if it's necessary. We've talked about having the girls share a room too, once they're a little older so we can have a playroom. How would that work? I can envision certain chaos with the two of them in a room together unsupervised! Anyone have success - or funny horror stories - of putting young kids in a bedroom together?