Baby Vampire

Alice has grown fond of cherries. An excellent treat but bathtime is a more common occurrence these days.

Fatten her up like a Xmas Goose

Alice is a bit of a string bean as I was at this age. So much so that at her one year check up she actually weighed less than at her nine month appointment. The pediatrician thinks that Alice's current predicament came from learning to walk early (burning calories) and developing teeth late so she was not able to eat with enough skill to pack on the pounds. Also she was exclusively breast fed and kids who have formula in their diets are fortified with slow burning calories whereas breastmilk burns up quickly. The additional Rice cereal with pureed fruits and veggies only go so far. In fact I might have some weight loss success if I switched to an all blender diet and spent my days learning to walk in circles shouting "kitty!".

Long story short the Dr. wants Alice to gain about three pounds in the next five months.

I am firmly and manically committed to this mission. I add carnation instant breakfast (plus a vitamin shot) and frozen blueberries to her morning milk. I keep a tiny box of raisins in her hand at all times. I hand feed her crackers with veggie puree on top. I slather her ricecakes (the favorite teething device) with full fat cream cheese.

Which is why I recently cleaned:

A pair of my pants covered in cream cheese handprints.
A cat covered in carnation instant breakfast, milk, and blueberries.
A diaper filled with about a half cup of undigested raisins.

Right now Alice is holding an asparagus spear (topped with a dollop of deviled egg filling) and looking at me quizzically.

Two Firsts

Last night Tony and I fed Alice her first meal of Brown Rice Cereal. She took to it much faster than we had anticipated. I had assumed that she would push the first spoonful out of her mouth and play with the contents. Instead she took the first offered bite and quietly pondered the taste. Then she devoured the whole bowl.

After such a hearty meal we thought she could use a drink so we gave her a baby-sized cup (thanks Betty) and a little bit of water. At first she wanted me to tip the cup for her while she took some tentative sips. Ultimately Alice took the cup in both hands and doused herself while draining her first drink.

ATE foods

My Dad kindly offered to get us any baby present we wanted as long as we picked it out for ourselves. Dad and his partner Jill are not really baby people but they do like to give gifts. Dad said that my Aunt Betsy had suggested clothes or toys. I appreciate both of those things but the first thing that popped out of my mouth was "FOOD!!"

And thus it was done. Dad got us a four week gift of food delivery from a great Austin business called: ate foods

The food is really healthy and tasty. Every Monday they deliver to your door three meals big enough for two adults plus desert! Whee!! I would highly recommend this service.