Good Eats

Okay so I stole the title from Food Network's Alton Brown. Appropriate I would say because the show is all about teaching about every kind of food possible. I'd definitely say we're on quite the learning curve being first-time parents of a baby who is starting down the road to eating solids.

We're slowly expanding Shay's culinary palette. So far, her faves include pureed sweet potatoes and butternut squash. While I make her fresh, homemade baby food, I wanted to test out some jarred baby food just to see if she'd go for the flavor of different veggies & fruits. She did try 2 small jars of organic baby food I purchased at Whole Foods, one sweet peas and the other pears. The verdict? Loved the pears and tolerated the peas. So I figured I'd try to steam up some sweet peas and puree them. I think this picture sums up how the homemade peas went over:

Peas = Fail!

As with all things baby, I've had to really research the world of introducing solids, what kinds of foods to give at what age, how to prepare & store it, etc. I found a great website, Wholesome Baby Food that has a wealth of information and has some great recipes and answers to FAQ's. Love it! I'll definitely be referring to this site often. I've found that I steaming is my favorite way of preparing her food. It retains a lot of nutrients and I use a little of the water I used to steam the veggies to thin out the puree a little bit. I tried baking but I don't like how it tends to dry out the produce.

It is amazing how individual humans are even from a young age. We were sure that Shay would love banana since it's sweet and she absolutely refuses it! Then Jeff thought she'd hate sweet potatoes (because he does) but she adores them and gobbles them all up. It'll be interesting to see how her tastes change as she gets older.

Shay's pediatrician said that she can start with proteins now. I'll have to research that some more. Typically, a lot of the books and websites say to introduce protein between 7-8 months which Shay will be in a few weeks. I think we'll go with chicken slow cooked in our crock pot to make sure it's well cooked and very tender so we can mash it up for her...this should be an adventure! Wish us luck!

Fun with Aslan

Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. What puts man in a higher state of evolution is that he has got his laugh on the right end. ~Max Eastman

Birthdays, Burton's and Buggy

Happy 6 month birthday Shay Bug!

And, speaking of birthdays, Shay's daddy just turned the big 4-0 on Sept. 10th! In addition to a night out at the Melting Pot (photos in previous post), Jeff's grandmother Louise, affectionately known by everyone as "Nana," flew to Nashville along with her 2nd cousin Barbara to surprise him for his 40th! His sister Julie & her husband Bob showed up at our house along with Nana & Barbara on Sept. 9th. When the doorbell rang, Jeff went to the door expecting to see our neighbor or a salesperson and it took several moments to process what he was actually seeing. I wish I could've seen his face (I was standing behind him with Shay)...everyone said it was complete confusion, then shock, then joy. Mission "Birthday Surprise" accomplished!

We all had a fun-filled few days while they were in town and built some sweet memories. We are so glad that Nana got to meet Shay in person. If pictures are worth a thousand words, then I really don't have to type any more...I'll leave you with some photos of the weekend:

Jeff's ice cream cake.  We thought the image of Father Time holding a baby was appropriete this year!

Bob, Julie, Nana, Jeff & me

Nana, Jeff & Shay Bug

Jeff, Shay & Barbara

Love the expressions!

Milestones

It is amazing how much a baby can learn and change in a very short amount of time. In just the past two weeks alone, Shay learned how to sit up, crawl and cut two teeth! She's been trying to crawl for over a month now, falling forward, not moving her hands or trying to get her feet under her. All of a sudden it was like a light bulb went off one day and she just GOT it. Now she speeds around like the Usain Bolt of crawling!

Other accomplishments in Baby Land include eating solids (oatmeal cereal and sweet potatoes being her favorite), pulling up to an almost standing position, laughing/squealing and sharpening her ever-expanding fine motor skills (i.e. grabbing Mommy's earrings, picking up small objects, pulling Aslan's tail, etc.).

My mom & her boyfriend Ron came to visit over Labor Day weekend and we all had a great time. Well, all of us except for Shay who fussed most of their visit. I attribute this to two factors; the first being that Shay is teething and sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning, her second bottom tooth decided to rear its pearly white head and the second factor being that we think Shay is a shy baby. Both Jeff & I were very shy as kids so we'd be surprised if she isn't. She isn't in daycare and she doesn't have any siblings so we will really have to work on socializing her. I felt bad for my mom who was sooooooo excited to see her only grandhchild. She was a good sport about it though and plans to give Shay a hard time about the picture below when she's a teenager:

Jeff's turning the big 4-0 on September 10th, so I took him to one of his favorite restaurants, The Melting Pot, for an early birthday dinner while Mom & Ron babysat Shay Bug. It was the second time we've gone on a date with just the two of us since Shay was born. We had a great time together and it was a wonderful way to kick off Jeff's birthday week.

Jeff & me ready for a night out

My handsome husband!

Chocolate fondue = happy Jeff

We also decided to paint Shay's room over the weekend.  It used to be the same green color as our bedroom, but we opted for a lavendar with pink undertones to better match her decor and ended up really liking the results.  Here's Buggy hanging in her newly painted digs:

I'll leave you with a video of Shay chasing our cat Stu.  Please ignore the bad video quality as this was shot on Jeff's cell phone.  Shay's having fun...Stu not so much, hehe!