The feature of November is Thanksgiving, of course. It's my favorite holiday because it involves the things that I love most in the world: family, friends, and food. Not always in that order...just kidding.
In honor of November, and Thanksgiving, I thought it appropriate to dedicate this month's blog to "Feeding Time". Anyone who knows Kevin and I, knows that we
love food. So it comes as absolutely no surprise to us that our daughter seems to feel the same. In fact, since she began eating solids, I have yet to see Analiese act full or express that she doesn't want another bite. Her meals end because I eventually tire of having to monitor her, or because things around the house still have to get done, regardless of how much we all love to eat.
One of my favorite presents was the Baby Bullet that my brother and sister-in-law gave us. Not only have I used it for Analiese, but it also has come in handy as the household food processor since ours is still packed away in storage. For the first couple of months, Analiese got to taste her way through every known fruit and vegetable (at least the ones not on the high allergen list) in pureed form. She seemed to like it all, for the most part but her favorites were definitely avocado, pears, and butternut squash.
Once she was able to eat more solid food, I found it was a lot better to keep her occupied with food on the tray, then it was to sit there and shovel it into a moving target. It is so interesting to see what patience it takes to coordinate small precise finger movements. Eating seems like such a natural process but parenting reminds you that every single thing has to be learned. She was happy, I was happy, and...
Unfortunately - some meals are messier than others. And why is it that babies hate being cleaned off? I use a soft cloth, I wait for the water to warm up, and still I am waiting for the day that CPS shows up at our door because the upstairs neighbor has turned us in for the shrieking of a tortured child!
Analiese loves to talk while she is eating. Here are her thoughts on Peas and Carrots. It's nice to see that Marshall is finally coming around with some affection towards Analiese...
As I mentioned before, Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday. I love the premise. I love the tradition. I love my family. I love stuffingmashedpotatoesandgravy. Here is my mom's table before we all sit down to devour the yummy homemade food. Those dishes came over with our great great great grandmother, Mary Hart (the one Analiese received her middle name from) on a ship from England circa the early 1800's. They are hand painted and lovely. They are also small compared to our plates nowadays, which just goes to show that gluttony is a more recent American past time.
This year was a special one because Alejandra's parents were visiting from Puebla, Mexico. It was their first time to experience a traditional Thanksgiving feast. It was also Paisley's first Thanksgiving Feast. Paisley is Adam and Alejandra's beagle - now about 7 months old - and her little nose can sniff out the smallest of scents so a huge turkey was no match for her!
Here's the Thanksgiving table in action starting with my mom, Nana, Lupita, Juan Miguel, Burnie, Adam, Ale, and our Auntie Sue. My place is the empty one - with the one stick of celery - and it stayed that way for the duration of the meal because Analiese was sick and teething...which meant my Thanksgiving Dinner was a microwaved plate at 8:45 p.m. when Analiese finally collapsed to sleep. Kevin had to work that holiday and his presence was deeply missed!
As I mentioned before, Analiese never misses a meal, so although she was sick and teething, she still managed to smile while she ate her peas and potatoes. She did not look like this about five minutes later, though, when she started fussing all over again...
She does love food but it turns out that some things are less desirable than others. During a complicated few days (enough said about that) I decided she might need some prunes introduced to her diet. She, however, wasn't as enthusiastic about them. In fact, I think that she actually flipped me off at the end of her 'prune shudder'.
Now that Analiese has passed the 8-month mark, it feels like her development has accelerated. Every day brings new fun things to notice about her. Her face keeps losing a little more of the baby look and we can see her little girl features beginning to shine through. Her hair is slowly but surely catching up to her one single long luxurious birth lock you have seen in previous blogs. She becomes more confident about standing/cruising the furniture, and loves to stand at her toy box and pull her own toys out. Mirrors are a favorite place to hang out and she loves to dance. She can walk with support and thankfully she seems to smile all day long.
