Food for thought.

Today our pediatrician gave me the green light to give Wyatt snack foods to get his gums moving. As I examined the contents of the Gerber Graduate line I found myself drooling in the aisle. Everything sounded delicious... from the Strawberry Swirl Puffs, to the Banana Yogurt Melts. A mom with a toddler was standing next to me and after swapping age and birth dates (awkward silence after announcing I just turned 24 in August) she told me to check the ingredients before making my snack choice. It wasn't until I turned the package around and read the nutrition contents that I decided that it was too good to be true. Like any food, if it looks and sounds that good- more then likely its not good for you.

Have you ever actually tasted baby food?

When I started Wyatt on rice cereal at 4 months, I told myself that I was going to try everything that he ate, before he ate it. My first thought was that it definitely was lacking something and considered adding a bit of maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon to it. Of course, this is what my overactive taste buds are used to- sugar and salt... 2 things good baby food should be lacking.

I went on to try the peas, green cardboard mush and judging by the look on Wyatt's face, he was as disgusted with these as I was. All of the orange foods were good... squash, carrots, rutabaga, sweet potato. The fruits are always yummy... a milder version of applesauce in a sweet array of flavors. They also have a higher sugar content, making them tastier yet obviously not as nutritious. Now we are at a new stage... out with the prepackaged mash and in with the real food. I have dusted off my Magic Bullet and am prepared to blend our dinner to a choppy pulp. I was under the impression that Wyatt wasn't old enough for this yet, but our doctor said that since his weight is great we can start trying to cut out a milk feeding during the day. Hooray for me!

This of course means healthier eating for Bryan and I. Luckily I enjoy cooking and as I have said before, I love nothing more then finding ways to make healthy food actually taste good. I am far from the organic, granola loving mom shopping solely at Trader Joe's for fear their child should inhale ecoli from processed spinach (if this is you I'm sorry, its just not a lifestyle I can relate too). I am a real mom, on a real budget (something you cant be on if trying to go organic), with a real husband that refuses to eat steak and potatoes less then twice a week. This makes things a little trickier, but knowing that my sons (and okay, husbands) health is a priority makes the task less daunting.

A have a few rules that I live by:

1. Snacks CAN and WILL be nutritious.
2. Hot dogs are meant to be eaten only at birthday parties, if at all.
3. Convenient foods make lazy parents... and unhealthy kids
4. TV dinners are just that... made for kids that eat dinner in front of the TV.
5. The only option given at dinner is peas or carrots. Even that is dependent on moms mood.
6. If the first, second, or third ingredient is sugar, it isn't healthy. No matter what the label says.
7. If they can mash it up, add chemicals and call it baby food- so can I, sans the chemicals.
8. I cant expect my kids to eat spinach if they don't see any on my plate too

Don't get me wrong. I understand that sometimes you just have to do what you can do get by. Some kids are just picky eaters by nature. Myself included! My mom used to have to make me a separate dinner because I demanded chicken with every meal. I would not eat beans and refused to eat spaghetti with sauce. To this day I still wont eat pizza or chocolate. This actually works in my favor, especially in the diet department but seriously- what kid doesn't like pizza?

I'm sure if I drove to some specialty store I could have found Wyatt a healthier snack, but I didn't have the time or the patience to unload Wyatt from the truck again... nor was I going to attempt to make a homemade batch of Cheerios. So, instead I tucked an Organic box of Lil' Vegetable Crunchies into the bottom of my cart, the best choice out of them all and avoided eye contact with the 33 year old mother, born in June.

Half way there.

I glowered at the number staring back at me as I was weighing myself this morning after eating the last slice of apple crisp my mother-in-law insisted I take home (though I didn't put up much of a fight), cursing the 5 lbs. that refuse to shed themselves. It has been 6 months and I am well beyond the "I just had a baby" stage. As I started to give myself a half-time pep talk it suddenly hit me...

my son is 6 months old today.

We somehow have made it halfway through the year, though I still feel like it was just yesterday that we were making the trip home from the hospital. Nothing clarifies how quick time truly flies like watching a baby grow up, day by day. The days turn to months, the months to years and suddenly before you know it you are being guided to your seat by your son, dressed in a suit... waiting for your replacement to walk down the aisle. Ouch.

I know, I know... they have to grow and you have to let them but sometimes I look at Wyatt and I just want to go back in time. He is already reaching a stage where he doesn't enjoy being cuddled. He wont fall asleep in my arms anymore and I am beginning to think he loves his pacifier just a bit more then me. He is sleeping in his own room now, in his own bed, and all night long. I tried to cuddle him in our bed the other night, but he forcefully resisted, grabbing my eyebrow with his tiny, but Iron man like grip until I cried mercy. He knows what he wants and is slowly learning how to get it.

He is beginning to pick up the sign language. Though he isn't signing himself yet, I can tell that he understands the motions when I sign them. He gets a big smile and starts bouncing around when I sign 'Milk'. Bryan finds this one humorous (the motions imitate milking a cow, squeezing the hands open and closed) and is constantly pestering Wyatt with it. He closes his eyes and relaxes when I sign 'Sleep'. He opens his mouth when I sign 'More' and leans forward. 'O' means cheerios, a new experience he got to share with his cousin, Morgan. Its refreshing and exhilarating to see something that started as a boredom buster for myself is actually turning out to be useful. We have been working on 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'. Bryan insists on changing the sign for 'Daddy' because he thinks the one assigned by the ASL looks stupid (hold hand open and bring thumb to forehead). He instead made up his own, in which you hit yourself in the chest. I tried explaining that more then likely this will backfire and will make Wyatt look like he has a learning disability (imagine a 12 month old hitting himself in the chest repeatedly). I continue to do it the correct way... well see who wins.

We are also working on mastering the sippy cup. I started out giving it to him empty a few weeks ago just so he could get used to holding it. He quickly mastered that and was throwing it around the room in a few hours. One day I put some water in it so he could see that there is something inside of it, not thinking he would get any out, since technically they aren't supposed to have water until 6 months. I looked up from mopping the floors, only to find he had the sippy cup in his mouth properly and was guzzling away. *gulp* I guess that's what I get for underestimating my own son!

I remember thinking when we first brought Wyatt home- "This too shall pass...". He would be awake at midnight and I would remind myself that this will not last forever, someday he will sleep through the night in his own bed, and then someday he will want to spend the night somewhere else, and then someday he will no longer be sleeping in the bedroom downstairs... but instead in a dorm room across the state. The moments pass by too quickly to not enjoy every one of them, even the ones that take place at the wee hours of the night... or the early hours of morning.

Happy halfway baby boy... thank you for making the last 6 months the best 182.5 days of my life. We love you more then anything in this world... even Grandmas apple crisp.

Forever and always my baby you'll be.

To mom and dad.

I was lying in bed the other night when I suddenly became overwhelmed with the need to call my dad and tell him I love him... and I am sorry for my teenage years.

My dad was funny and goofy. Always making up silly things just to get us to laugh ("Waka, waka!"). My mom enjoyed life to the fullest and was constantly finding fun, creative things for my brother and I to do. When we got older, while the rest of the mom's were working on their tan at the beach, she was solemn skiing with us or jumping off the dock. Never worried about her hair or makeup... just enjoying life to the fullest and making the most of the moments she had with us. As I got older, my dad's antics only annoyed me and I wasn't interested in making memories anymore. They still tried, which only made me pull away more. Now that I have Wyatt, I know that for them, I was still a little girl in their eyes. I know that I will always look at Wyatt, no matter how old he is, and still see the baby he is now.

I know that someday Wyatt will no longer find my morning dance routine funny (Yes, we have one and it is awesome!). I know that he won't laugh at my funny faces or value my opinion in what he wears (I am relishing in the fact that he currently has no choice in this matter). I know that he will think I am a total dork and will not want to bring his friends over, for fear that I will still be in my pajama's when he gets home from school. I am accepting this fact now so that hopefully it doesn't hit me like a ton of bricks when he gets older.

How do you know when to stop doing the things that drive your kids crazy? And why should you? So what if I want to the moon walk in the kitchen every morning, much to Wyatt and his friends dismay? My dad used to pick us up from the bus stop and every day on the drive down our road he would ask how our day was. He would always pretend to be distracted, miss the turn in the road, and continue to drive into the field. All the while my brother and I are yelling at him, "DAD! Watch the road!" and he would quickly counter steer the van back onto the gravel... with Danny and I giggling in the back. He did this until I was 15. At the time, I hated it. Now... I love it and I am so thankful that he never stopped. My dad used to play the piano or guitar in the morning before we went to school. I don't really know why this bugged me at the time, but it did. I was a teenager and didn't really need a reason to be annoyed. Now... I want to learn to play the guitar so I can walk into Wyatt's room singing "Good Morning Sunshine" every morning. How cool would that be?

Wyatt, despite what we may lead you to think... you parents were wild and crazy in our younger years. We also at one point in time- were cool... though I know that will be a hard idea for you to comprehend. Your dad raced dirt bikes and even won a few trophies. Your mom was voted Best Dressed in her class and used to race her Honda on the straight stretches. We were fun and crazy and we have so many stories to tell you... when you are much, much older.

I guess the point is, you never feel old. You always feel like that cool, 16 year old that you were in high school. I know that I will embarrass my kids... and I cant wait to do it. Because hopefully someday, they will look back and laugh.

Just like I do now.

I love you mom and dad... and the crazy, fun, embarrassing mom you taught me to be.

Living in the now; eat, crawl, sleep.

Milestones of the first year are a moms best friend and worst enemy. We are constantly checking what our babies are supposed to be doing this week/month and feel a sense of pride if they should start doing them early... and angst when they start lagging behind. One thing I have learned is never to compare, never push, and never say never. I am learning to appreciate the little, every day things rather then continuously look forward to what tomorrow might bring.

Never to compare. I was reading one (of many) toddler development books and a few of them said that around 5 months you might start hearing some familiar words/babbles. This of course put me on babble alert, listening and interrupting every sound. Wyatt has recently started saying, "Ba, ba, ba..." and yesterday on our drive over to Gigi's house he switched to (much to my dismay) "Da, da, da...". I don't know if this qualifies as his first word, but I think it is close enough to count. I don't want to be one of those moms that says her son was talking at 5 months when really he was simply sputtering through slobbery lips, but I will say he is starting to pick up on this thing we call talking. I just shared this bit of news with Bryan (who is over east hunting at the moment) and though he doesn't say much, I could tell by the tone of his voice he is overjoyed. Ahhh... 2 prophecies fulfilled- had a son, first words were dada. 2 gold stars for mom. I think so. (Gold stars magically turn into dollar bills when dad is gone!)

Never push. We are currently working on crawling. He has the pieces to do it, he just cant figure out how to put them all together. He is sitting up now without any hesitation and gets annoyed if you try to lay him down. He rolls over like a fish out of water (and somewhat resembles one too) and can hold himself up with his arms. I have seen parents push their kids to crawl or walk and it just looks miserable. I want crawling and walking to come naturally to Wyatt at his own pace. I want him to discover it on his own, so that he realizes he can do it... with or without me by his side. Someday I will wish he would just sit still, so I may as well enjoy this time while he still does.

Never say never. I had originally said that we weren't going to start baby food until 6 months, but when our pediatrician gave us the green light at 4 months (due to a good weight/height) I decided to go with it. One more fun thing to add to our day. Being a stay at home mommy, adding peas to your day is considered 'spicing things up'. I started with the rice cereal but he quickly got bored with that. Carrots, squash and sweet potatoes are favorites... with peas and green beans coming in last. We recently started making our own food... an endeavor I have been looking forward to for a while and he is in love with avocado (great, the spendiest of them all) and rutabaga. We have also been playing around with a sippy cup and he is starting to get the hang of it. This picture is of Wyatt at Gigi's house, sitting in the same high chair that his mommy and Grandma used. We are so lucky to have such an amazing Great Grandma! We love our Gigi!

So many things and so much time. Most people say so little time, and so did I up until a few weeks ago. I had to stop myself recently because I found that I was just going through the motions of the day, not stopping to really just enjoy Wyatt for the baby he is at this very moment. Every day I was waking up and he was that much bigger. It started to wear on me, the idea that another day had come and gone and it was a day we could never get back. I thought maybe we didn't do as much with that day as we could have. So now I take a moment each morning after Wyatt wakes up and I just sit with him. Its our time, without toys or books or baby food. Just me and him. I can never get these moments back, but I can make sure we make the most of every moment God gives us.