Monday, January 31, 2011

Thursday, January 20, 2011

This Little Six-Month-Old


This little (okay, not so little) six-month-old weighs 20 pounds and eight ounces and measures 27.5 inches long.  To give you an idea of just how scientific the length measurement is, she was 28 inches long at her four month appointment (and trust me, she has not shrunk). Go figure!

 

We've now lowered her crib mattress to the lowest position, to prevent her from climbing out and hurting herself one day, but, more immediately, to protect the poor mobile creatures that she had started grabbing, pulling down, and trying to eat.


She is a very vocal little peanut, spending a great part of each day squealing, grunting, or emitting long, low noises that sound kind of like a baby foghorn. Every now and then, she makes a big, satisfied-sounding sigh, as if she's just poured herself a big glass of wine and put up her feet after a long day at the office. Those are pretty great. Sometimes, when she's fussy, she makes a sound that goes something like this: "mumumumu." I'm pretty sure that her first words are right around the corner and that they'll be: "Mom, Dad, I just want to say thank you for all the hard work that you do to keep me fed and happy." Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what she'll say.


She likes to hold and suck on a sippy cup, although I'm not sure that she understands yet that she can drink from it. Won't that be a revelation! For now, chewing on the bottom is pretty good.


She has eaten (or, more accurately, been offered) rice cereal, pureed sweet potato, pureed carrot, mashed potato, a Keebler Club Cracker (oops), steamed carrot sticks, chopped spinach, and cooked apple. She has smeared all of the above-mentioned foods on her face, hands, and highchair.


She loves to giggle, and Matt and I are shameless in our attempts to elicit laughter from her. Pretending to eat her hands, tickling her while changing her, or playing with a pink poodle puppet from Great Grandma and Grandpa Denny are all pretty reliable methods.


I'd say that she's doing pretty well!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Sunday Brunch

This morning, Alice had a hankering for something new and different.  "Enough milk!" she announced.  "No more steamed carrots!" she declared.  "I have a tooth nub now and I demand to be taken seriously. I want to eat something that will tempt my palette and tickle my taste buds!"  Always eager to oblige her every whim, Matt and I decided that Sunday brunch was in order.

First, we had to get through the obligatory bundling up and strapping in: a great inconvenience for Alice, as this ritual was standing between her and a good meal.  Nonetheless, she was very accommodating.


Once we had parked, we further prolonged her wait by taking a little stroll.  Alice continued to be a very good sport, indulging Matt with a few chuckles while he made horse noises.


And then, at long last, settled into her high chair, Alice was ready to feast.

"So now, Mom and Dad, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of somebody's uncle: 'Allez cuisine!'"

A baby of the people, she wanted to start with something simple and straightforward. Thus, for her first course: linoleum-topped table.

"I find that the simplest preparations are always the most delicious."

Next, Alice wanted something with a sharper, edgier flavor.  She went with the menu corner, which had been highly recommended to her by a fellow chowhound.


For her third course, Alice sampled the restaurant's take on an old standby: single serving package of Smucker's Jelly.

She tried both the mixed berry...


... and the orange.


At this point, the waitress had recognized Alice for the true foodie that she is, so she brought out a rare delicacy reserved for the restaurant's most sophisticated patrons: cup of Montgomery County water, punctuated with a drinking straw, courtesy of the chef.
 
"Uninspired and safe. Tastes like every other straw I've ever had. What's next?"

What a shame that it was not better executed.

And then, just when we thought that Alice was slowing down, that she could not possibly sample another dish, out came the pièce de résistance: aluminum spoon.

She took the time to really study it.

"One eats first with one's eyes, you know."

Then she dug right in.


And, finding the spoon to be up to her standards...


...she finished her meal with gusto.


And so, having feasted heartily, Alice left the restaurant satisfied.  She also left the restaurant with one menu, two jelly packages, a straw, and a spoon littering the ground around her high chair. 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Matt and I split the pancakes.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011


Poor little Alice has been all bent out of shape for the last 24 hours. The culprit: her first little tooth poking its way through her bottom gum.  She's not sleeping well, and is so tired that when Matt blew his nose earlier this evening, she promptly burst into terrified wails. Let's hope that this passes quickly!

{Also, as if there were any doubts, I did not take the above photo. It's from www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog}

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Sittin' Pretty

Alice has been working very hard on her solo sitting technique. 

And she's thrilled with the progress that she's made.
 

Things just taste better at an altitude of 1.5 feet.

The crisp air up there gives her voice a different ring.

And the extra room around her head makes gnawing on her favorite toys even easier.

If only she could stay up there forever.



I guess all good things must come to an end.