Although I have been blogging for a few years now, I have been keeping a wall between us.  I have been hesitant to share.  Hesitant to let you, incredible readers and fellow bloggers, into the nitty gritty of my life.  I have been keeping you at a distance.

Stepping into the world of baby food has left me with more questions than straight answers.  After hours of internet searching, ending up in dead ends and more confusion, I finally realized that the answers I was looking for aren't searchable.

Each kid likes different foods, different amounts, and at different stages.  But that doesn't help a frantic mom figure out what food to introduce next.  So before I dive into a meal plan, here is a little bit about my food philosophy, and the first foods Behr ate (minus the lamb...we balked at introducing meat).


{breakfast}

Steel Cut Oats - serve plain, or add purred mango, mashed bananas, or apple sauce.  When serving these plain, I let Behr eat them with his hands, teaching texture and self-feeding.

Plain Whole Milk Yogurt - we currently buy stonyfield, but I hope to make my own someday.  Keep the yogurt plain to teach that not all food has to be sweet and sugary.

Blueberry Smoothie - blend 2/3 cup of frozen blueberries, a peach or nectarine, banana and homemade concord grape juice.  Occasionally we mix in apple sauce or mango.  When making this smoothie, add fruits you would like with blueberries

Sliced Fruit - bananas, apples and kiwis are favorites in our house, and help satisfy Behr while I get my act together in the morning.

{lunch}

Mashed Mint Peas - steam frozen peas and gently pulse through a blender adding mint and parmesan for a delicious mash.

Quinoa - commonly mistaken for a grain, this seed is an excellent source of protein.  Quinoa can be dry and fluffy when prepared, making it hard to eat/swallow at first.  Add cooked/pureed spinach, sweet potato, or beets and olive oil to make a mini casserole that is easier to eat.

Roasted Acorn Squash - left-overs from mom and dad's dinner.  Blend cubed squash with apple sauce and cinnamon to sweeten the deal.

Finger Friendly Veggies - cooked and cooled these veggies make lunch time fun: green beans, sweet potato fries, avocado slivers.  When cutting food, I make sure there is room to hold it and chew on the end, think short green beans.  This allows baby to pick up their food before complete control of the pincer grasp.

{dinner}

Sweet Potato and Pear - Make a pear sauce, similar to apple sauce (but with the opposite effect on the digestive system) add cinnamon.

Lentil Soup - cook lentils with finely diced carrots and tomatoes in a veggie stock until all bits are soft.  We life to add curry powder to taste - but not salt or pepper yet.

Carrots and Cauliflower - Steam and blend these two veggies and as the baby gets older, add grated cheddar cheese and fresh basil to expand horizons.

Spinach and Lima Beans - When blended, these two veggies have opposite consistencies.  Together, they are ideal for baby learning to spoon feed.




Do you have any favorite foods for baby?  Recipes I should try?  Questions about how I prepare food?  Ask away.  We are moving along to more finger and self-fed foods, but have not yet figured out a consistent rotation.  

The insanity of alumni weekend begins.  No matter how much we plan to don't plan we miss folks we want to catch up with, spend time talking to folks we never expected to see, and have a day that is better than we could have ever expected.  Here are bits of our 2011 adventure:

There are so many reasons to be excited it is Friday.  Here are my five favorite:

It was about time we introduced Behr to one our favorite places, Boston in the Fall.  So over Columbus Day weekend, we packed our bags and headed North.  This is our trip:


Our first day was spent catching up with former co-workers, and dinner with my best friends from high school...who conveniently moved to Boston after I left!

reunited with auntie karlene.  we have a picture that looks just like this from Behr's first week.

walking along the charles river

eating some fine banana before joining the adults for dinner

reminding auntie katie that her nephews are not cuter than Behr! :)

future lacrosse all americans

Behr was not into the picture taking...unless we gave him hay to play with.

original photo shoot here

We took a good long nap after the orchard.  Taking pictures is hard work!  But our afternoon held even more excitement!  Behr and I went back to the old college campus for a stroll with...Bridget and Parker!
We walked around campus with our babies, nursed them in broad daylight in a building that didn't exist when we were students, and got to catch up face-to-face.  It is always great to see old friends.  Seeing Bridget on campus reminded me of how many people I wish I could see more often.  But alumni weekend had only just begun...