Solid Food update

Jacob has now consumed half a bottle of organic sweet potatoes. in one sitting. That's a quarter cup! and he is happy as a clam

One Month Later, more stats, and solid food!

So sure, we have been remiss in our blogging duties, and sure, we should update daily, or perhaps weekly, but in our defense, we have a baby and a toddler, both of whom have been sick with colds over the past few weeks. Our baby, specifically, seems to be convinced that we are attempting to suffocate him every time we wipe his nose, and he therefore throws a hairy conniption fit. Our toddler is slightly more amenable to the nose manipulation, but she has lost sleep and is crabby, and in case you are unaware, a crabby toddler is the purest concentration of evil in the universe. We have been trying to convince her to use her words instead of whining, but a tired, sick, crabby toddler has little recourse but to whine, and so this is a recurring conversation in our household.

But now, the colds have more or less abated, and normal lives are slowly returning. In the course of the diseases, however, many things have happened and we have been documenting them on virtual film in anticipation of the time when we may return to interaction with the outside world, and it seems that time has come.

In the last checkup a few days ago, Sophia weighed 31 pounds, and stands 3 ft 1 inch tall. Jacob was 12 pounds 11 ounces, (still in the 3rd percentile for weight) and about 25 inches long (64 cms). The doctor suggest for Jacob to start on solids so that he could get bigger ... she's concerned that his head is too small. We suspect some cultural differences, as his head looks perfectly good to us. Regardless, doctors have extensive knowledge that we do not, and although it still seemed a bit early (our baby is growing up!) we decided to give it a try. The other motivating factor is that Jacob is more and more interested in food. He is constantly looking at our dinner plates with heightened attention. If I am holding him in my lap while we eat dinner, and if I am not paying close enough attention, I may look down to find that his hand is deep in the mashed potatoes. So given that interest, and the doctor's suggestion, we decided to take the plunge and start him on solids.

First solid is usually rice cereal mixed with breast milk, and Jacob took to this like bees to honey. I think he has been so interested in food that any addition to his diet is a euphoric experience. He continues to be very excited about food, and will eat a couple teaspoons at a sitting. We have increased the proportion of rice cereal to breast milk making the pablum thicker and more full of texture, and he has continued to be very enthusiastic.

The second food we introduced to him was mushed avocado mixed with breast milk, and he has been enthusiastic about this as well. We will add a new food to his repertoire every few days, just to keep an eye out for allergies, but Sophia hasn't had any problems, and there isn't a history of serious food allergies in our family, so I think we're ok.

Photo evidence:


Ooh. Spoon! lemme lemme lemme



This is Great stuff!



This is my happy face. (it's sometimes tricky to grab a smile when it happens - he was smiling a lot, honest!)



Sophie is a good eater too!

Photojournalist in Training

From time to time, Sophia gets a hold of the camera, and creates a series of stunning photographs. Her composition and use of colour are well beyond what might be reasonably expected for a novice photographer like her. She obviously enjoys breaking from tradition and arranging her subjects in unconventional placements. It is truly art about which one could say "My two-year-old could do this!"

 
 
 
 

On this last one, you can see her blue knit shirt, her jeans, the strap of the camera dangling down, and her index finger. She calls this one, I believe "Self-portrait"

Gymnastics!

Sophia is gaining skills in gymnastics at an amazing rate. She is able to walk along a balance beam with help, and she is even able to climb up a wooden ladder (something that gave her real trouble last season). She loves bouncing on the trampoline, and I think that the exercise and enjoyment that she gets out of it is at least as important as the balance and equipment skills she is starting to understand. Gymnastics is definitely an activity we will be keeping for a few years to come. (sorry for the dark pictures - they were far away)

 
 
 
 

Spontaneous sorting behavior

From time to time, Sophia is a little quiet and we have to look over to see what she is destroying. Today, she was sorting the fridge magnets into colours. definitely related to emergent behavior in chaotic systems, or at least self-organizing maps.