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Elias at 6 Months

At six months I am introducing Eli to a variety of solid foods.  Watching him taste something for the very first time is a mix of excitement (what will he think?) and anticipation (will he like it?).  The amount of pleasure I get watching him move a bite around in his mouth, make a face like he has just been given sour mash, and then bang the tray for more, is borderline questionable.  Cedric had a palate for sweets.  My boy loved fruit in any form and was less enthusiastic about the savory dishes.  Eli has been the opposite.  He will gobble down the squash, beans, peas, etc and quickly loose interest in sweet things like apple, pear, and banana.   Where my boys' tastes dovetail is with ice cream.  Thanks to the genetic makeup of Zach’s mother and her mother, both boys show a remarkable predisposition for that cold dairy confection.

Behold the video evidence! (Backstory: Cedric had given me the unfinished part of a mini drumstick and when I noticed how intently Eli was watching the cone, I lost my mommy head and let him have a taste for the pure enjoyment of watching him taste ice cream for the first time.)

Personally I would take a bowl of fruit with whipped cream or sorbet any day.

Other than ice cream, Eli has tasted rice cereal, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini, green bean, banana, apple, carrot & parsnips, acorn squash & apple, green beans & potato & kale.

I introduced a Sippy cup.  It was kind of a disaster in terms of successfully drinking water out of it.  But he has been a fan of chewing on the spout.  After reading this post I tried letting him drink out of a shot glass.  It looks very wrong because its obviously a shot glass, but he is really good at it – so long as I actually hold the glass for him.  Its his preferred mode of drinking.

He has two bottom teeth and lots of swollen gums where more are sure to appear.

Wakes up at least two times at night to nurse.  Just like his brother at this age.

He doesn’t roll over but he seems interested in the possibility of rolling over.  What can I say, this baby is content to watch the world around him and vocalize how he feels about it.

What has been difficult is his sensitivity about the environment where he will nurse.  Upstairs, in a quiet, dark room is The Place where nursing happens.  If I try to feed him downstairs, at someone else’s home, or horrors use a nursing cover, Eli does the baby version of wigging out.  This has resulted in nursing strikes that last upwards to eight hours.  During which I am a mental and emotional wreck.  So even though its frowned upon I nurse my baby in a dark, quiet room.

6 Month Stats

Weight: 19lbs 2oz – 90th percentile

Length: 27 1/4 inches – 75th %

Head Circ: 43 cm – 50th %

Being a Humble Parent

I would not describe myself as a smug person, but its becoming more and more apparent that I have problems with this.  Especially when it comes to parenting.  But the Good Lord has taken mercy on me (or on the people I quietly judge) and is actively buffing this character trait off of me.  I know this because it seems like every time I have been openly aware of feeling the “Look at me! I’m a parent and I’ve got my act together! Which is obvious by my kids outstanding behavior!” the Lord has been quick to make me feel like I have no business judging anyone, especially other parents.

Exhibit 1: I share this story because I feel like it’s the point when I first became aware that God was trying to teach me something.  We are at a park with another couple and (not naming names but you know who you are) their child pooped on the slide.  Not a little, but A Lot.  Clean up involved using toilet paper from a groddy public restroom and walking the child back home.  I remember feeling smug, Cedric never did stuff like that.

Until the next day, when he pooped TWO TIMES on the floor.  Why? Basically he just didn’t want to stop whatever activity he was doing to go to the bathroom.  Twice.  Have mercy!   The second time I was cleaning poo off the floor I had the thought go through my mind, “I have no business judging because it doesn’t matter how good of a parent you are, with kids, crap just happens sometimes.”

Exhibit 2: Yesterday the weather was fine and lovely so I put Eli in the stroller and let Cedric ride his bike after lunch.  After 3 blocks he was ready to turn around and go home for quiet time.  Yes, sometimes he is that kid who will say that he is tired and actually want to go to sleep.  So we turn around and he races down the block and speeds right through the cross walk into the next block.  Crossing the street without a grown up is Huge No-No.  I had prided myself that I had put enough fear in him about how badly it would hurt to get hit by a car that he would never mess up.  When I catch up with him, I am very stern and remind him about the horrors of death-by-car, and that when we get home he will be in trouble.

He rides to the end of the block and waits for me, like normal.  But while he is waiting I see a couple start talking to him.  When I reach the corner I’m assailed with, “You ‘is mom?  Oh good, ‘cause we was wondering whereisyourparentsat?! Thank goodness he knows to stop before the street but we was still wondering whereisyourparentsat?”  I look at the man talking to me.  He has an open beer in one hand and some teeth missing and a giant marijuana leaf on his shirt.  Public drinking, drug sympathies, and bad grammar; he has reached the trifecta of “bad parenting” in my judgment. And he is making me feel like an irresponsible parent.

I thank him for looking out for Cedric and he quips “Oh is no trouble.  You know this is a nice residential neighborhood.”   That God is trying to teach me something about judging is painfully obvious to me.  I’m pretty sure I walked the last block with my head hung.

I’m trying to remember every day that everyone is struggling with something and to extend grace before judgment.  Especially to parents.

Busy Weekend!

It was a busy weekend here.  But not the kind of busy where you feel anxious over everything to be accomplished and hurried from one activity to the next.  It was the kind of busy where every day had an activity and it was fun.

Friday was my first parent-teacher conference at Cedric’s new school and it went well.  Gone are the days when he uses his fingers for guns to shoot peers.  Thank Goodness!  His teacher had lots of encouraging things to say about him, including that she thinks he is gifted in math.  Apparently on day 1 he took this and that and combined them together to make a complex tower of his own accord.  Wow. 

Eli had a play date with Baby Miles (who he shares a birthday with).

That night we had deep dish pizza and wings from Pi and watched the Cardinal’s win the World Series! Go Cards!

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to cheer on Zach and his sister who ran in a 5k. (FYI Zach is holding my coffee – his post run drink was water.)

This was another really fun race experience.  They offer a stroller run/walk and a kids run/walk, which I am tempted to participate in next year.

Way to go guys! We are proud of you!

Sunday we took Cedric, Eli and Cousin Eden to Ghouls in the Garden.  It was a fun, non-scary event where Cedric and Eden had a good time running around in their costumes collecting candy.

This is the face Cedric makes when he is scared (according to him).

I call this one, Dinosaur-Mid Flight.

Here is Super Bunny taking a quick rest on a sheep.

It rained on us a little but Eden enjoyed catching raindrops like snowflakes.

Eli enjoyed watching everything from the stroller.

But wait! That’s not all!  Zach went downtown Sunday afternoon to watch the Cardinal’s World Series victory parade.  Here are some of my favorite pictures he took.

Mark McGuire and sons.  I love that he is taking pictures of us who are taking pictures of him.

Albert and family.

Looking down Market St towards the Arch and a sea of red in support of the Cardinals.  It was a great weekend to live in St Louis.

Riding the Train

The Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad Association run a miniature train in Wildwood, Missouri.  For over a year I have wanted to do a family outing to this area so that Cedric could ride the train.

The train only runs May – October and only on Sundays.  This is part of the reason why we have yet to do it until now.  We have been going to a Saturday early evening service at church, so Sundays are less hectic and we are more likely to do family outings.

This turned out to be a great family outing. 

The train is a 30 minute ride in “open cars” through woods . . .

along the scenic Meramec River.

Its complete with lots of train things like signals, sidings, turntables (not wheelhouse – my mistake), and bridges.

And lots and lots of beautiful scenery. 

For my train aficionados this was pure awesome.

We will definitively come back in the Spring when Eli will enjoy it more. He spent the entire ride asleep in the Ergo.

Eli’s First Foods

Clockwise starting with banana, carrots, golden beets, sweet potatoes

The picture represents what I hope will be a week’s worth of first foods.  Not pictured is your standard rice cereal, parsnips, apples and pears.  I had already put them away and didn’t want to get them out for the picture.  I’m struck by overwhelming laziness sometimes.   There is also a pretty good chance I may eat the golden beets, this recipe is making me second guess giving them to Eli.

Eli’s first official food other than breast milk was mashed banana watered down with breast milk to be near liquid (on his 5 month birthday).  He was very excited to sit in the high chair and wear a bib.  Almost like he knew something different and special was going to happen.  When I showed him the spoon he was still and opened his mouth.  Then his eyes got big and he promptly spit it out.  Then mouth wide open for another bite.  Eli carefully moved the food around in his mouth and spit most of it out but wanted more.  I’m much more aware this time around of him learning.  In this case learning to use his mouth and tongue in a different way.  He also enjoyed the mess on the high chair tray.  It makes me think it might be time to make some sensory toys out of Ziplock bags.  (Like these.)

Overall it was a great first tastes experience.  But wow what a mess!  This mashed bananas “eating?” was followed by a good scrubbing in our deep sink.

Apple Butter Madness

This past weekend was Old Iron Works days back in my home town.  This is the third year my sister and I (with the help of our husbands, parents, siblings, aunts, and girlfriends) have demonstrated making apple butter in a kettle.  Making apple butter in a kettle is only fun if you have a small army of people!  Though we have done it with 5 people and that wasn’t too bad.  Cedric stayed with Zach’s parents for the weekend – THANK YOU Stephanie and Peter for driving him to their house.  Eli went to Old Iron Works and was seriously The Best Baby Ever.  Until the drive home, but that’s another story.

Here I am wearing Eli in the Ergo and nonchalantly handing money to my sister.

Grandma June supervising my Dad adjusting the fire.

Dad was in his element coaxing people to stir the apple butter.

My sister, the mastermind behind all this apple butter craziness.  Seriously you know its bad when you peel 144 pounds of apples and think, “Hey that only took a couple hours, we’re getting faster.”

I wish the Internet could have a scratch and snip option because this picture would smell like apples, cinnamon, and wood smoke.

“I have two teeth! Feed me!!” This is what I imagine Eli is thinking…

Maramec Springs is beautiful, especially in the Fall.

The Houghs surprised us with a visit on Saturday.

Minus my brothers, this is my family.  Right after this picture we all went our separate ways home.  Eli cried almost the entire way home – he had finally reached his “I’m done, people!” stage.  But poor little Riley-Roo blew chunks leaving an entirely different kind of smell in my sister’s car. 

At the end of this weekend, I always feel like I never want to do this again.  But even just a few days later when I look back I think, “That wasn’t too bad, and next year the kids will be older and it will be easier.”   Is this normal?