For the Love of Food

I know I have posted this picture before, but it is one of my favorites!

We started Logan on solid foods a little over two months ago, and I still get such joy out of giving him new foods to try. Up until yesterday there was only one food that he did not like, avocado. Not that I blame him. I would not want to eat spoonfuls of avocado either. However, in the past two days, he has decided he does not eat broccoli or peas anymore.  And this was after eating both of them multiple times!  I guess he has something against the color green.  I am just really hoping that I do not have a picky eater on my hands.  He does continue to do well with all of his other veggies.

In the veggie department he has had sweet potatoes, carrots, acorn squash, peas, broccoli and yellow squash. On deck in the next week or so are green beans and zucchini. We will see if the dislike for green veggies continues.  The fruits Logan has enjoyed so far are pears, apples, bananas, and peaches. This weekend he got yogurt for the first time which he is really enjoying. I love that growing season is in full swing in New England and that I am able to buy a lot of the food that I prepare for him from the local farm. He is currently eating three “meals” a day in between breastfeeding.

 Yogurt gets a thumbs up.

The boy's food has to be pureed with a few mashed exceptions. I have tried to give him very little bites of a few different foods (bananas, cut up Puffs, cheese) and he does not tolerate it very well. With the Puffs and the bananas, the bites were right behind his front teeth and he started gagging like he was choking (this is the same thing that he now does with peas and broccoli). He's a little dramatic. He did well with the small pieces of cheese, though. Regardless, I think that he may be on the pureed menu for a while longer.

A Visit From Nana and Papa

Nana and Papa came up for a visit this past week, arriving on Saturday. While it had not been long since Logan had seen them, he still had a bit of the “stranger danger” mentality right when they first arrived. However, he got over it very quickly and was enjoying rolling around on the floor and playing with them both before he went to bed that first night.

After seeing the pictures of Logan in his baby pool, Papa really wanted a chance to get into the pool with his grandson. On Sunday, I filled up the pool in the morning so that it had time to warm up. By late afternoon it was like bath water and Logan, Daddy, and Papa hopped in. Logan loves his baby pool.

Logan splashing around

Monday was spent around the house which was good for Logan because it meant more down time with his grandparents.

Since Logan is now eating solid foods, Nana got a chance to feed him.

More, Papa!

On Tuesday we all piled into the car and headed to the local farm where Momma buys her produce when it is in season. They have a little area of farm animals to pet that I wanted to take Logan to. He first got to look at bunnies in cages.

The bunnies were not real exciting.

Then he got to look at pigs. They were a little more amusing than the bunnies because they rolled around like Rocky does after he eats.

Next were the cows who were boring because all they did was lay there and swat away flies with their ears and tails.

Last were the goats. We all thought one was pregnant and about to give birth due to her size. After a quick look, Daddy realized that the male goat was just fat. American goats!

After a stop into the farm store to pick up some goodies, including homemade strawberry and peach ice cream, we headed home for naps (for Logan, Nana and Papa). Nana's favorite restaurant in the area is Margaritas so we made the trip into town for dinner. While Logan has been out to lunch many times, this was his first time going out to dinner. He did pretty well, but I do not see too many dinners out in the near future.

Overall it was a great visit. Living so far away from family can be hard, especially when we really want Logan to know his extended family. Trips like this one give him the quality time he needs with his grandparents. Thanks for a great time, Nana and Papa!

8 Months Old

On Wednesday, Logan turned 8 months old. Here is what makes Logan Logan right now.

He is very curious around the house.  This is where he is in his comfort zone. He will move just about anywhere as fast as he can to check out something new. He has even made a laundry basket a toy. And between a combination of his log rolls and being able to spin around on his tummy, he is a force. When something was out of reach in front of him, Logan used to stick his arms out at his side, and lift his legs and chest. I think he thought he could fly across the floor. Recently, he has learned how to get his legs under his belly and scoot forward just a little bit to get something that is just out of reach. He has gotten up on all fours a little bit, but I am not expecting a crawler anytime soon.

While Logan seems to have no boundaries at home, outside of the house he is a little more cautious. He likes to really take in a new situation before he seems to be too comfortable. He is also a little wary of new foods. You can never tell the first day he tries a new food if he likes it or not. The second day is when he starts to either get excited about the new food or tries everything in his power to not eat it. Which so far has only happened with one food.

Look Momma, I made a fort!

Logan is now starting to interact more with other babies. We get together twice a week with his friends, and he has reached an age where he is exploring other babies. It is really fun to watch.

Recently another mom from our mother's group commented on how much of a snuggler he is. I never really thought about it before, but he really has become quite the little snuggler especially when he is a little tired or just wants some Momma love.

His hair is growing at an astounding rate and is out of control.  He is like a human Chia pet.   

He's sitting up! Finally. After over two months of being able to sit for a few seconds by himself to up to a minute or two, he can now sit all by himself. This is something he is very proud of, too.

Practicing with Daddy's support

One of Logan's new favorite things is the “keyboard” on his exersaucer. He now understands that hitting one of the “keys” will cause some of his favorite music to play. This lead to me buying him a little steering wheel that also makes sounds/music when buttons are pressed.

Lovin' that keyboard

Shifting his car

Logan has two teeth!  The second one came in at the end of last week.  They are both on the bottom.

If you look closely, you can see the two teeth.

Logan's nap schedule is starting to change.  He will now only take two naps a day. His morning nap and afternoon naps are getting to be 1 ½ – 2 hours long about half of the time. The other half of the time, it is still a 45 minute nap. Usually I can count on one nap a day being 1 1/2 - 2 hours.  I find I don't know what to do with myself during the extra time.

4th of July

Logan is a little too young to enjoy what Independence Day in America is all about: cookouts and fireworks.  However, we still managed to participate in some activities that were fun for the whole family.

Our town hall and singers from the senior center.

We started the day with the Brookline 4th of July parade.  While our town is small (just under 5,000), we do have a parade for the 4th.  I used to love decorating my bike in streamers of red, white, and blue and riding down to watch the 4th of July parade.  Matt did not share in this memory, but agreed to check out Brookline's parade.

Full of excitement!

Such a tired boy

The unfortunate part was that the parade was during Logan's morning nap time.  He slept through the whole parade.  Well, until a large tractor-trailor tow truck blew his horn right in front of us.  Logan woke up to cry for a second and then went right back to sleep.

After lunch and a nap in the crib instead of in Momma's arms, we headed into the heat to test out our new baby pool.  Logan loved it.  The last trip in the pool at Mackie's did not go so well, but I think it was because it was too cold.  I let this one sit in the sun all day (thanks for the tip, Mom!) and it was like Logan's bathwater when we got in.

While we all enjoyed cooling off in the little pool, Rocky enjoyed the big water bowl in the yard.  

By the end of the day, Matt and I got our cookout and Logan joined us for dinner, even if he did not get to sample this 4th of July cookout.  Next year, my boy, next year.

Veggie Tales

After two weeks of oatmeal, Logan finally got to taste something besides straight breast milk or something mixed with breast milk. I decided that his first veggie would be sweet potato. It was one of Daddy's favorites as a child and is supposed to be a favorite with most babies. I think Matt was a little jealous that I was making sweet potatoes for Logan, since I don't cook them for us because I am not a fan. Sweet potatoes taste like cooked carrots to me, which is one of the few veggies I don't like. Anyways, Logan really seemed to love his sweet potatoes.

I swear he liked them.

After a few days of the taters, I moved him on to carrots. While I may not like cooked carrots, Logan LOVES them. We realized that he just liked the sweet potatoes compared to his love affair with carrots.

Carrots everywhere!

Next veggie up to bat: fresh farm-stand peas. I was really excited about the fresh peas because they were locally grown and they tasted great as I was shelling them (even Matt agreed). However, Logan did not think that they tasted too great. I did not thin the first batch out enough for him, making his super sensitive baby gag reflex kick in which scared the crap out of Momma and Daddy! 

Peas make me gag.

After more processing, Logan will eat his peas. He is not excited about them like he is other foods, but he eats them.

Peas are okay now.

Acorn squash was next on the menu. I have never eaten acorn squash, but it is one of my grandpa's favorite veggies. And like his great-grandpa, Logan really likes it!

Ready for another bite of squash.

Now that I have four veggies that I know Logan likes, we are moving on to fruits. With every new food I prepare for him, I get so excited to see what his reaction is going to be to the new food. This is such a fun time of discovery with my little man.

Father's Day Weekend

The hat Logan gave Daddy for Father's Day.

Matt's first Father's Day was celebrated over a weekend, instead of just one day.

On Saturday, the family headed over to the Anheuser Busch plant for Rock N' Ribfest. Since we were going to Busch, we had to show Logan the Budweiser Clydesdales.

Whoa, that's a huge horse!

After that, we headed into the event for some good eatin'. This is the second time we have gone to the event and can't wait for Logan to get a little older so that he can enjoy the excellent kids activities, not to mention the food.

Can I eat ribs with one tooth?

The event wore the little man out!

On Sunday, Matt got to spend the day doing whatever he wanted. He enjoyed banana pancakes for breakfast. Daddy and Logan were able to spend some good quality time together while Momma cut the grass. Matt also spent time working on the cars, something he loves to do. The weather was a gorgeous, and the family took advantage of it. Matt had a great 1^st Father's Day.