Who Doesn't Like Guacamole?

It seems lately that Gaby is growing by the minute.  With her getting older the type of food she is eating and when and how she is eating it seems to change all the time. 

When we first started her on solid foods (around five months) I had read a bunch of books on feeding your new baby and thought it best to try to stick to them.  Her first introduction to rice cereal was rough and to say she did not take to it right away would be the understatement of the year.  When I saw our family doctor about two weeks after starting to feed her he said "the babies job is to spit it out and yours is to shove it back in".  So that is what I continued to do...

Eventually I started to lean away from all of my books instructions and went with my gut instincts and some advise from friends.  It took time but eventually both Gaby and I got the hang of  it and I am happy to say that at eight and a half months she is eating three meals a day, along with a snack in the morning and afternoon.  She still has three to four bottles a day but we have switched her from formula to organic homogenized milk.

Her taste buds have really been developing and with that I have pretty much given up on feeding her any jarred baby food.  Let's be serious, that stuff tastes terrible! I  have always done my own vegetables but now am making meal and fruit concoctions as well.  This has been allot of fun and I have been freezing a ton of stuff.  Most of it is just meals that I have made for Nic and I and then put in the food processor (eg. beef stew, chicken noodle soup, thanksgiving dinner).  She seems to like all of it but is not great with chunkier textures so I add organic vegetable or chicken broth when I put it into the food processor to get everything to the right consistency.

Today for lunch I made her a mild guacamole and she loved it! In general she really likes things that are tart (especially plain greek yogurt) so I thought she might like this.  It was funny because as she ate up the first few bites I said "that's my girl".   Like I am the only person in the world who LOVES guacamole and by her loving it, it means she is my daughter and mine alone (I think sarcastically). Then I started thinking.. Does A like guacamole? I know she likes taco's? I should text her and ask her? ...

I think part of the reason for this thinking pattern is our on going discussion about nature vs. nurture.  As I type this my daughter is talking away (at an ear piercing volume) just to enjoy the sound of her own voice.  A is a bit quieter and Nic and I are big mouths. Who will she take after?  I guess only time will tell.

Overall Gaby is doing great and both Nic and I are really enjoy being parents.  She started to crawl a little over a week ago and is really moving now. She can get from one end of the house to the other in a blink of an eye which has us trying to keep a close watch on her.  One minute she is playing on her blanket with a toy the next minute she has both dog water bowls upside down and is playing in the puddle of water she has created.  At these moments you just have to laugh.

Her personality is also growing and she is a very happy baby.  I mean she always has been but she smiles and laughs allot more now and makes a few funny faces when she is contemplating something or giving a bit of attitude.  She also "dances" to music or singing and will clap when she is in the mood.  We have been working on getting her to give kisses and she is starting to get the hang of that as well.   

With fall in full swing I am looking forward to the upcoming winter.  With being a stay at home Mom, while working full time, gardening, housekeeping and a busy social calendar, summer has pretty much kicked my butt! I am sure things will be crazy until Christmas but after that I am looking forward to tying up my year end and then spending the winter enjoying my wonderful family. 

Sometimes I still can't believe that Gaby is ours and we get to keep her forever.  It all seems a bit too good to be true.