My Take on Introducing Solids

Like with every other developmental milestone, I choose to take the child-led route. I let him feed himself, if he's interested. I have a few rules I follow; for example 1. nothing chokable, of course, and 2. veggies first. I don't spoon feed him anything. And I don't give him any baby cereals or the like.

I think it's important to follow his lead, and let him make his own decisions. I also think it's important for him to first develop a taste for vegetables before fruit. He really isn't ingesting any food, he's just getting a feel and a slight taste of different flavors. Really, he only needs breast milk. I think taking this approach will help him develop lifelong healthy eating habits. It worked for his veggie-loving big brother :).

Triple Berry Muffins

Yet anther thing I love about the Pacific Northwest is the abundance of delicious berries. We've had a bag of a berry mixture in my freezer that we've been using throughout the winter. This past Sunday Burl woke up asking for muffins. And thus was born this simple muffin recipe.

Cream:
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C honey
4 T butter
Add:
1 large egg
1 t. vanilla
Add:
3/4 C sour cream
1/4 C milk or cream
Sift together:
1 1/2 C flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
Add flour mixture to butter mixture.
Fold in 1 C frozen berries
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Makes one dozen.

Enjoy!

This Little Man Right Here...

Oh the tantrums lately. They've been epic and difficult and frequent and exhausting. We never experienced the terrible twos or threes. But four is difficult already, and he isn't even four yet ;).

I think it's time I put the plea out there and ask how you have peacefully and lovingly handled per-school age meltdowns. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

For now, here's my plan of action.

1. More sleep

2. Healthier eating. For us, this means even more veggies, less refined sugar, more protein.

3. More time outdoors. If this means packing a picnic and spending the day at the beach, then that's what we'll do.

4. More time snuggling. Each time I get Bodhi down for a nap, I want to hustle and get stuff done. Burl on the other hand wants nothing more than for me to sit and snuggle him. He even asked to nurse the other day, which he hasn't done for months. I let him, and it was weird for both of us. He had this confused look on his face, as if he didn't know what to do, then said, "Let's just snuggle".
5. Avoiding places and activities that trigger the tantrums. Darn those ladies in the Safeway bakery! Why must they hand out cookies and cause and argument between my boy and I when I say no cookies? And the Hot Wheals displayed right in the checkout line? I'm not buying him a toy each time we go to the grocery store. And the Children's Museum? Not a chance right now. Unless the whole downtown Everett population wants to hear him scream when it's time to leave. These places will have to wait until we're over this hump.

I think the novelty of having a baby brother has worn off, and Burl is just craving my attention. Reconnecting with him and holding him and cuddling him, now more than ever, seem essential for his healthy development.

What do you think, friends? Can you share your experiences please?

March 4th.

My darn lack of confidence in my writing skills has kept me away from this space for a bit. Each day I've thought of dropping in to say hello, but I just haven't found the words or inspirations.

I still don't have the words or inspiration, but here I am.

It's been a good weekend. We're having some work done in our kitchen and dining room. There's sawdust everywhere, but it's incredible how much knocking down a few walls has lifted my spirits.

I also starting building some cold frames and Burl and I purchased some seeds at the Co-op. This time of year really is one of my favorites.

Tomorrow is Monday, it's going to be a good week.