Table Foods

I don't think this is what the doctor had in mind when he said Annabella could start on "table foods."

My Princess and Her Peas

If I have any advice for parents of solid food eaters, it is this:

If at first you don't succeed, try peas again.

Peas are now Annabella's favorite food. I'm not saying that she doesn't still long for the Cheerio, but in its absence she is perfectly content with a tray full of sweet green peas. Not strained peas, but frozen sweet green peas that I microwave with a little bit of water for about a minute. She will eat a half a cup in one sitting. Yes, many will find their way onto the floor, down her shirt, and up her sleeve, inexplicably defying gravity. Still, she loves the ones that make it into her mouth.

Peas also elicit a fair amount of babbling. If I were to translate it, I believe that Annabella would be saying something to the effect of, "Peas. So green. So perfectly round. They explode in one's mouth like the finest beluga caviar."

Unlike caviar or Cheerios, the lost pea does create a choking hazard when it rolls away. After about 24 hours it dries up and hardens and is no longer edible. Also, when the peas come out of the microwave, you should test them yourself first because they can get very hot in the middle. You might also want to cook them on the stove to be even safer. To me, this kind of diligence is worth it to have Annabella back in Dr. Atkins' good graces.

My Princess and Her Peas

If I have any advice for parents of solid food eaters, it is this:

If at first you don't succeed, try peas again.

Peas are now Annabella's favorite food. I'm not saying that she doesn't still long for the Cheerio, but in its absence she is perfectly content with a tray full of sweet green peas. Not strained peas, but frozen sweet green peas that I microwave with a little bit of water for about a minute. She will eat a half a cup in one sitting. Yes, many will find their way onto the floor, down her shirt, and up her sleeve, inexplicably defying gravity. Still, she loves the ones that make it into her mouth.

Peas also elicit a fair amount of babbling. If I were to translate it, I believe that Annabella would be saying something to the effect of, "Peas. So green. So perfectly round. They explode in one's mouth like the finest beluga caviar."

Unlike caviar or Cheerios, the lost pea does create a choking hazard when it rolls away. After about 24 hours it dries up and hardens and is no longer edible. Also, when the peas come out of the microwave, you should test them yourself first because they can get very hot in the middle. You might also want to cook them on the stove to be even safer. To me, this kind of diligence is worth it to have Annabella back in Dr. Atkins' good graces.

Canine Friends

This is Annabella's friend Henry who has no idea of the impending fate of his tail.

He actually fared a lot better than her canine Uncle Barney did over the Christmas holidays.

Canine Friends

This is Annabella's friend Henry who has no idea of the impending fate of his tail.

He actually fared a lot better than her canine Uncle Barney did over the Christmas holidays.

When You're Young

When You're Young

Car Seat Confusion

Annabella has outgrown her infant car seat. Perhaps she outgrew it weeks or even months ago, but the car seat rules and regulations are so confusing that I just recently realized that it was time to upgrade.

Let me share with you the fruits of my recent research on the subject. And, as always, correct me if I'm wrong.

There are 4 types of car seats:

1. infant seats
2. convertible seats
3. toddler/booster seats
4. booster seats

Seems pretty self-explanatory, right?

Not right.

I've always considered myself to be relatively intelligent and I'm still confounded enough that more than once I've considered just having Annabella sit in my lap and take our chances.

First, some convertible seats say you can use them with infants, but no one seems to recommend that you do. Not only does it look like a baby fresh from the hospital would be swallowed up in one of those huge, cushy things, but they don't also function as infant carriers and that is simply insane. If God didn't intend for us to carry our babies around in car seat baby carriers then he would have given us pouches.

Here's another puzzler. Babies need to be rear-facing until they are 20 lbs AND one year old. So, if your baby is one year old and still under 20 lbs, or over 20 lbs and not yet one year old they should still be rear-facing. This does not, however, mean that if your baby is over 20 lbs and not yet one year old that she can remain in her infant car seat. Not only do infant car seats have maximum weights (ours is 20 lbs), they also have maximum heights (ours is 26 inches). So, if your baby reaches the weight limit on your infant seat before she reaches a year old, then you're forced to buy a convertible seat.

Annabella was nearly 20 lbs at her 6 month appointment and although she's been working some of the baby fat off by crawling after Cheerios, I'm pretty certain that she has exceeded the 20 lb mark. Her feet also hang off the end of the infant car seat. This is not considered a good thing.

So, armed with recommendations from friends and Consumer Reports today I purchased the Britax Marathon. You can use it in the rear and forward-facing positions until your child is over 65 lbs. The Marathon is by far the most expensive piece of baby equipment we've bought, but I feel like if I'm going to spend money on something it probably should be the thing that is the best at protecting her from the most dangerous thing we do.

Marco installed the seat last night (rear-facing, of course) and we plan to put it to good use as soon as we have some place to go.

Car Seat Confusion

Annabella has outgrown her infant car seat. Perhaps she outgrew it weeks or even months ago, but the car seat rules and regulations are so confusing that I just recently realized that it was time to upgrade.

Let me share with you the fruits of my recent research on the subject. And, as always, correct me if I'm wrong.

There are 4 types of car seats:

1. infant seats
2. convertible seats
3. toddler/booster seats
4. booster seats

Seems pretty self-explanatory, right?

Not right.

I've always considered myself to be relatively intelligent and I'm still confounded enough that more than once I've considered just having Annabella sit in my lap and take our chances.

First, some convertible seats say you can use them with infants, but no one seems to recommend that you do. Not only does it look like a baby fresh from the hospital would be swallowed up in one of those huge, cushy things, but they don't also function as infant carriers and that is simply insane. If God didn't intend for us to carry our babies around in car seat baby carriers then he would have given us pouches.

Here's another puzzler. Babies need to be rear-facing until they are 20 lbs AND one year old. So, if your baby is one year old and still under 20 lbs, or over 20 lbs and not yet one year old they should still be rear-facing. This does not, however, mean that if your baby is over 20 lbs and not yet one year old that she can remain in her infant car seat. Not only do infant car seats have maximum weights (ours is 20 lbs), they also have maximum heights (ours is 26 inches). So, if your baby reaches the weight limit on your infant seat before she reaches a year old, then you're forced to buy a convertible seat.

Annabella was nearly 20 lbs at her 6 month appointment and although she's been working some of the baby fat off by crawling after Cheerios, I'm pretty certain that she has exceeded the 20 lb mark. Her feet also hang off the end of the infant car seat. This is not considered a good thing.

So, armed with recommendations from friends and Consumer Reports today I purchased the Britax Marathon. You can use it in the rear and forward-facing positions until your child is over 65 lbs. The Marathon is by far the most expensive piece of baby equipment we've bought, but I feel like if I'm going to spend money on something it probably should be the thing that is the best at protecting her from the most dangerous thing we do.

Marco installed the seat last night (rear-facing, of course) and we plan to put it to good use as soon as we have some place to go.

My Daughter Loves Cheerios More Than She Loves Me

Annabella has fallen in love. I knew this day would come, but I thought I'd have a good 13 or 14 years until I had to acknowledge the fact that I am not the greatest love of my daughter's life. But the day has arrived and I must accept it. My daughter is in love with Cheerios.

You should see her eyes light up as we sprinkle the toasty O's across her plastic yellow tray. I have seen her travel great distances and across several rooms if she happens to spot some long-forgotten, unattended O.

Annabella has two methods of eating the Cheerios:

1. Tweezer Hand
2. Shovel Hand

Tweezer Hand is the most accurate of the two methods and the one she most commonly chooses when only a small amount of Cheerios is present. If faced with a larger number, Annabella can easily shift into Shovel Hand. This affords her the opportunity to fit many Cheerios in the mouth at once, but has the negative effect of sacrificing some to the floor or to the side of her face where she is under the mistaken belief that they no longer exist.

When Cheerios do fall on the floor, I want you all to know that I would never, ever pick them back up and feed them to her again. Or, almost never.

On the advice of my sister, I have tried to replace the Cheerio with the frozen sweet pea. I place them in water and microwave them for 30 seconds. After I let them cool off I scatter them Cheerio-like on her tray. She will eye them suspiciously and then give me a look that lets me know that she is not fooled. Using one of the methods described above, she will get several peas into her mouth where they will remain for up to 30 seconds before being summarily rejected. And then she will demand more Cheerios.

Poor Dr. Atkins is rolling over in his grave at the amount of carbs my daughter consumes.