Recap on homemade baby food.

On Saturday the Mercer family headed to Kreiger's to stock up on fuits and veggies to make Avery's babyfood. Kreiger's is a local grocery store that specializes in local, organic and Amish foods. Produce seems to be cheaper there, and you feel like it is better for you because most of the produce you're buying is grown locally.



Here is all the food we bought to begin our babyfood journey. I had bought the Cuisinart at Bed, Bath and Beyond earlier in the week. It was key to making this process go smoothly.





I was worried that this was going to be hard, but it really wasn't. I washed and cleaned the food, cut it, steamed it, chopped it in the Cuisinart and then froze it in ice cube trays. Here is a picture of the zuchini just before it went into the ice cube trays.

After the food has been frozen hard (fruits 1 day/veggies 2 days), I put the ice cubes in labeled bags.

So in the last few days I've made the following....broccoli, squash, zuchini, carrots, blueberries and peaches. I still need to make the cauliflower. And Avery has also been eating the avacado and kiwi. I'm not going to lie....the broccoli stinks, and the carrots are hard to get to the right consistency. They seem so grainy. I was sure she was going to turn her nose up at some of these things. But she hasn't once! She kind of looked at me weird when I first fed her carrots, but it didn't slow her down. This baby loves to eat!! In fact, I'm afraid I feed her too much. Breakfast = 3 Tbsp of cereal mixed with some sort of fruit. Today it was blueberries. Lunch = 3 ice cubes of a veggie, 3 ice cubes of fruit and a couple cheerios Dinner = 3 ice cubes of veggies and a yogurt and probably a couple of cheerios.

When we came home Saturday night I thought that we had bought enough food to last months....now I'm not so sure. I'm pretty sure it won't be long before we are heading back to Kreiger's.

Sippy Cup

This week I've been filling up Avery's sippy cup with 2oz of water and 2oz of apple juice, so a total of 4 oz each day. At every meal I put it on her tray. She is getting quite good at drinking from it. I took these pictures, and will have video to post shortly.

Weekend

We are excited about our weekend. Sunday is Avery's baby dedication at our church. So tomorrow we are going to look for something for her to wear. I'm hoping to find something that will be appropriate for Sunday, but something she can wear again. Pictures definitely to come. I also need to somehow find a way to complete my homework and study for Monday's quiz.

Play dates and new things

PLAY DATE
This week Avery and I went to our first official neighborhood play date. There are several new mom's who live in our neighborhood with babies around the same age. Our play group ranges in ages of 9 months - 6 weeks. It was just a nice time to get out of the house and socialize with other adults as well. Our plan is to do this every other Wednesday at a different person's home each week. I am scheduled to host at the end of February.

Not everyone could make it this time. We had Sophia (8 months), Miles (6 months), Mason (6 weeks), and our other neighbor stopped by with her 4 year old, Ava. I think the little ones bored Ava, but she is going to be a big sister at the end of May. It was fun to watch the babies take notice of each other. Sophia sits up and plays, where Avery and Miles would rather play on their tummy's. Avery is the most mobile of all of them so far. And Mason slept most of the time. He is so small, I feel like Avery was never that small. I know what you're thinking....where are the pictures of the group? Hmmmm I didn't get one of the whole group. However I did get these shots of Miles and Avery playing together. I will try to be better next time.

I think that this is the best picture I've ever taken of these two together. They are both looking at the camera. AMAZING!!

Avery covering Miles' mouth. He must have been saying something that she didn't like. :)

NEW THINGS

Avery tried her sippy cup with apple juice in it for the first time today. I did 2oz water with 2oz apple juice. She was a big fan! She doesn't quite know how to hold it and drink out of it, but she is working on it.

THIS WEEKEND

I'm so excited for the weekend to be here even though I had so much fun with Avery this week. It's nice to have Greg home with us. I am planning on working on making Avery some homemade baby food. Maybe some broccoli and cauliflower. Those are things that they don't sell in the store. I will report back on how it went.

I hope you have a great weekend!

7 Months

At 7 months you...

• wear size 2-3 diapers


• wear 9mo - 12mo clothes


• still only have your 2 bottom teeth


• take 2-3 naps a day


• sleep from 8pm-6/7am


• eat 3 "real" meals each day. Your favorites include pumpkin apples, pears, mixed vegetables and squash


• snack on cheerios broken up in quarters


• started to experiment with a sippy cup and juice


• love to watch the cat, Sonya. She even lets you pet her sometimes...until you grab her tail


• don't ever stay in one place. You are usually rolling or scooting all over the place


• have really started to giggle often

You'll notice that there is not a sign in this picture. Last month the sign created more distraction than anything else. So I tried something different this month. This photo session was much easier than others in the past. I'm not sure if it was because there wasn't a sign to play with, or Avery is just growing up.

We have a scooter

Last Wednesday Avery started "scooting". I've been trying to capture video since, but she was camera shy...that is until tonight. Here is our little mover and shaker...

Avery can sit up for short periods of time without any help, but she would much rather scoot and roll around the living room. It is definitely time to invest in gates, plug covers, etc. It will only be a matter of time until she is an official crawler.

Avery's favorite food

This morning I was feeding Avery this....

and I told Greg that I think it's Avery's favorite. He said that Avery likes everything and he doesn't think she has a favorite. He almost had me convinced until I started to put the jar away and Avery reached up and cried out. She has never done such a thing. This girl loves her Pumpkin/Apples. The only problem...I'm not sure I can buy any more of it. I found this flavor in the Fall, when we were just starting to think about feeding Avery real food. I couldn't pass up anything Pumpkin...I love Pumpkin and couldn't wait for A to try it. So I'm considering dealing with the snow and seeing if Walmart might still have some more.
Here are some pictures to get your Avery fix.

**Update...I made it to Walmart and bought all 5 jars that they had. AND Greg changed his mind after he fed her tonight. He now agrees that this girls loves her Pumpkin Apples.

New Years Resolutions

Today on Kelly's Korner she is asking us to share our New Year's Resolutions. This is the first time I've ever participated in any of Kelly's Show Us Your Life Friday's. Which brings me to my first Resolution...

1. Update our family blog at least 2 times a week. Unfortunately all of our family and friends live farther away than we would like. And Avery is growing and changing every day. By updating our blog more often we will be able to share more of Avery with the ones we love.
   


2. To be a more positive person. In 2009 I made some big changes...had a baby, quit my job and went back to school. I am in uncharted waters right now. I've found myself being more negative in this situation that I would like to be. I've spent way too much time stressing about money/finances, and not enough time enjoying my time with Avery. I want to face 2010 with a positive attitude, and know in my heart that these changes I'm making today will be so worth it in the end. *This will be the hardest one for me to keep...feel free to remind me of this often.
   


3. To focus on being a good mom to Avery and wife to Greg. They are the two most important people in my life. I want to give them my best everyday.
   

These Resolutions are so different than any of mine in the past, but I'm excited for 2010...it is going to be a great year and a great beginning to a new decade!!

Dog Watching

Bumpa and Michelle gave Avery a walker for Christmas. When we first put her in it, we realized that it was going to be awhile before A would be able to use it as an actual "walker". But Bumpa and Michelle don't worry-A has got a lot of use out of it. Mostly to supervise kitchen duties or vacuuming. But today we found a new use...dog watching.

**I apologize for the poor cameraman. I'm still getting use to our new toy.

There is not better sound than Avery laughing/giggling. The first time we ever heard it was when we were in Michigan for Christmas. She giggled while playing with her cousin Layne. Too bad I didn't have my handy camera then :)

6 Months

Wow! I can't believe 6 months have gone by so quickly. At 6 months you...

• weigh 17lb 11 oz & 26 1/2in long.


• still only have 2 bottom teeth.


• wear size 2-3 diapers.


• wear size 9 months clothes.
• eat 1 sometimes 2 "real food" meals - including avacado, applesauce, peas, green beans, squash, carrots, sweet potatos, prunes, pears and cereal.


• you stop to watch the ringing bell Hershey Kiss commercial.


• sleep all night unless your teeth are bothering you.
• most importantly...almost all troubles can be solved by singing "The Wheels on the Bus".

You've grown so much these last 6 months and can't wait to see the little girl you become in the next 6.