baby foods.

you know you're excited for christmas when you wake up in the middle of the night because you need to write down all the accents you are going to do for each page of the grinch who stole christmas. (this is a family tradition one of many that coat our family christmases, it's my only main role. hope i don't scare grace with my old lady voice)

brandon is in the bathroom shaving his head because we tried to give him a military cut and... failed. in all fairness, he had done more damage before i arrived on the hairy scene than after.

i've decided to get back on my fitness routine. and when i say routine i mean, whenever i can find a spare minute to jump on the treadmill while holding grace (who is, by the way, an excellent 16 pound weight) my lower back will thank me later! any pounds i shed will go right to that little chunk anyways! i love that girl. and if i need a break she happens to fit perfectly in between the treadmill's handlebars and the book holder thingy. after a while she figures out that the blinking lights are not edible and is done, but still.

i've been reading a lot of articles that speculate on why our generation turns so quickly in our food choices to bland starches (let them eat cake!), and dairy- and the theory is that we were introduced to those foods first! our palate is directed to there initially (with the exception of my father who is an alien and hates cheese) because what was your first meal? rice cereal. what was your first drink? milk! (don't get me wrong, no matter what science says, cheese is the love of my life. after brandon. which says. A LOT, i would put cheese on my cereal if i could. see? cereal, and milk...)

now many pediatric nutritionists are encouraging parents to try to broaden the spectrum of foods baby eats. There are countless seminars and tutorials online about making your own baby foods, which ones to avoid early on, which ones have the most pesticides, which ones have outer layers that contain great nutrients. keep the seeds or not. which ones to boil and which to bake, and which ones can be purreed just raw. they say not to be afraid of spices, and of things that you yourself don't like. and the time old tradition "try, try, again!" and again and again.

instead of carrots and peas and carrots and peas and rice cereal and more rice cereal, try avocados, peaches, apples with nutmeg, chickpeas with ginger, beets with rosemary! try fish (be careful of mercury levels)!
and when they get older, try mixing up your whole meal! i know it sounds gross but it's fascinating! then you won't get a picky eater!\ALSO, the time old claim that if you feed your kid fruits first they will prefer sweets is false. they are going to prefer fruits over vegetables no matter what order you give them in. so if you are an adult and you claim you like veggies over cake, you're crazy. that is all.

i've been really anxious to try some of this stuff myself, and now it's accepted to begin INTRODUCING solids (purrees, juices, squished stuff that is very fine) from 4-6 months depending on a variety of factors. grace seems interested in what we eat, and is growing some little teeth! but i still think her digestive system isn't quite ready, and my mom pointed out that as each generation is being introduced to solids younger and younger, we see an increase in child obesity. i think that's probably a valid idea.


so, i'm waitin a little longer. once this peanut grows a pair of teeth that can chomp i'll start with food mesh bags and try introducing stuff again. can't wait for this weekend, we are going to the pumpkin patch! i will be getting my FIRST HUGE PUMPKIN (ive always wanted one, but this year we are getting one because we want to cut two holes out the bottom and stick all of grace inside it and take pictures... whether she wants to is still debatable.)
she'll thank me for it later.
i'm so tired i could sleep on the floor. people aren't kidding when they say working out makes you sleepy. and i'm a natural napper, so sleepy is my middle name. or my first one. i can't remember, i'm too tired.

what are some of your favorite christmas traditions?