Backyard Playground

With a June, July and August that was alternately hot and wet, we're finally starting to enjoy the outdoors again. We went to a few parks with friends over the summer, but frankly it can be a little miserable. Ninety degrees is bad enough, but it's made even worse when your infant is pressed against you as you chase your toddler.

Luckily we've had some beautiful weather lately, and we're actually enjoying our (fenced in, so no chasing!) backyard. A swing for each of the kids and a hand-me-down slide/climbing structure and voila! An afternoon of fun.

Our front porch is great, as anyone who has seen our porch full of chalk "artwork" can attest. But it's the backyard that Edith yearns for. It may be the size of a postage stamp, but it does the job.

Photo Friday: Pretty in Pink

Sept. 12, 2015

Atticus Eats

Atticus very recently started eating real food, and what a difference it is. Not only is he happier during our meals, it's such a difference from the way that Edith began.

For the first few weeks of Edith's eating adventures, we stuck to homemade purees. I remember carefully smashing her first food -- avocado -- and adding liquid to make sure my precious baby would be okay.

Atticus's first food was also avocado, but we served it to him in strips, following the methods of baby-led weaning. BLW essentially means giving babies finger foods that they are able to pick up and put in their mouths by themselves. Finger-sized strips allow them to hold one end while placing the other in their mouth -- six-month-olds don't yet have pincer grasps, so no peas, Cheerios or the like!

I'm not a BLW purist, so we do help him put some food in his mouth -- yogurt, in particular! He seems to really like green beans. And if he can't quite reach the bullseye that is his mouth, he at least enjoys squeezing his foods to a pulp.

Avocado a few days later - even messier!