Hide and Seek

A while ago...I'm not even sure exactly when, though I could figure it out - but I don't feel like it right now...we caught Cece playing a game of hide and seek for the first time.  By the time I got the camera, she only really hid one more time, so it's right at the beginning.  After that, she realizes there is a camera and that she would very much like to have it.

Playground Shenanigans

Age: 41 Weeks

Phew - time is just flying by now!  I'm continuing to cruise and I can even stand for a few seconds all by myself.  If I realize that I'm doing that, though, I'll just sit down.  Still NO teeth.  I need some chompers soon!  Tonight was my first real sick moment.  Mom and dad are happy I've been so healthy this long.  It might have just been a mini-version of the virus.  Time will certainly tell.  Mom will know tonight (overnight) if it's more than that.  One of the benefits of breastfeeding is that when baby eats, if he/she is exposed to a virus, it sends signals to the mom's body to make the antibodies for that specific virus to kick it in the butt.  So, mom and dad are hoping that that's the case with this one and that I don't get dad's version.  Plus, since my eating made mom's immune system kick it up a notch, she may be protected too.  Knock on wood - but if she's MIA for a few days, that's probably why :(  I hope everyone else stays healthy - see you next week!

Back When She Let Me Feed Her...

These are oldies but goodies :) Back when Cecelia ate from a spoon, she did not like potatoes. Though potatoes in the form of mashed and fries aren't typically a problem food around here, so I'm not too worried about the future. We can wait on them for now. In the second video, you may note Cece's aptitude for self-feeding. Tomorrow, or whenever I remember, I'll post a video of Cece feeding herself some food.

Cruising

This phenomenon is now about two weeks old...whenever the super heat wave struck. So, these videos are not necessarily timely, but they are fun! Enjoy!

Age: 40 Weeks

I am 40 weeks old this week - I've officially been out longer than I was in!  It's been a whirlwind these past few weeks.  Time is really flying by, and I'm moving pretty fast these days too.  Though, ironically, while I'm more and more mobile every day, for this week's "photo shoot" mom was able to get quite a few pics to choose from.  Regardless of that, food-wise, I've been enjoying beans in addition to all the usual suspects.  I've been cruising, and I've even climbed my first step, but mom and dad figured out a way to put the ki-bash (sp?) on that one.  They blocked the bottom of the steps with my toy bin...it's not that they don't want me to learn to climb steps.  Gotta do that sometime, right?  But, the tricky thing is that I'll get myself up to a standing position on the bottom step and then when I want to "get down" I'll just sit, and it's a farther fall from one step up.  It's not that high, but it's high enough for me to take quite a tumble.  Speaking of which....well, mom will blog about that in a separate post...off to the zoo tomorrow with my Buddy, Baby B, and Thursday is Earth Day!  Do what you can to make it a great place for me to grow up!  Peace, Love, and Recycling!

Videos Coming Soon

So, I was planning to upload a video of Cece cruising...because she does that now!!!...and realized that I actually had quite a backlog to upload to YouTube, so while that's happening, I'll give you a quick preview of the videos to come over the next few days.  Cecelia not liking food, Cecelia liking food, Cecelia not liking food again...Cecelia standing, playing hide and seek, crawling and attacking the camera, being very amused by sunglasses, swinging...and clapping!, cruising...and I'm sure there will be more to come in the future.  Remember how I planned to get one video a week...yeah, I didn't do that exactly.  I know you're all shocked.  But on weeks where I did take video, there's generally more than one, so I'm sure it all balances out in the end.  The problematic part these days seems to be actually following through to upload them - see sentence #1.  So, baby steps...we're getting there and you'll all be richly rewarded soon with some fun visual imagery.  Enjoy!

Age: 39 Weeks

I'm such a mover and a shaker that mom and dad could only snap one picture, fortunately it was an OK one.  A little fuzzy, but it'll do.  So, I can't even remember what mom's told you, but I started cruising.  I'll hold onto the couch and move all the way from one end to the other.  I'll move along the coffee table, book shelf, tv stand...just about anything that will stay still for me.  I rode in my first running 5K this past Sunday and on Saturday I went to the Doylestown Rock Gym for the Super Comp - a superhero themed rock climbing competition.  I had to reveal my alter-ego, Incredible Baby!!  If mom manages to get on here more than once a week, perhaps you'll get to see what that get up looked like.  Enjoy this lovely day!!  PS - since today is the 14th, and a Wednesday at that....mom usually gets her act together to post on Tuesday, but I digress.  Since it's the 14th I am exactly 9 months old today!!!

Finger Foodie

While I exposed Cecelia to an extraordinary variety of foods early on, she seems to love one thing at a time.  Egg yolks seem to still be a winner, and the puree pancakes are always a hit.  Cheerios are usually good and the recently experienced grapes are something she seems to want with every meal.  This afternoon, she was grabbing for peas, which were out of vogue as recently as yesterday.  As we approach the 9 month mark, she's eaten...

Vegetables: carrots, rutabaga, potato, butternut squash, zucchini, broccoli, peas, sweet potato, avocado, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, spaghetti squash, and acorn squash

Fruit: apples, bananas, peaches, pears, apricots, prunes, plums, mango, papaya, and grapes

Protein: tofu, egg yolk, fish, yogurt

Grain: waffle, bread, english muffin, cereal, pasta, pancakes

I try to serve a vegetable, fruit, protein, and grain with each meal.  Grains are always a win...our little carb queen.  Early on, when Cecelia was breastfeeding and would get seemingly annoyed with me that things weren't coming fast enough, I had a glimpse of the future with her trying to shovel food in her face faster than it was coming.  Well, talk about self-fulfilling prophecies!  Grapes, which she LOVES, need to be peeled and quartered and if there aren't enough prepared, I'm sitting right there peeling and quartering grapes and tossing them on her tray.  Her fine motor skills are phenomenal!  She's able to pluck out the food she wants and leave the rest without a second glance.  I sometimes try to put two foods right next to each other in hopes that she'll pick up both to put in her mouth, but she's too smart for those shenanigans.  She still won't take food from a spoon, our little independent thinker.  Once she's able to grasp a spoon though, look out.  I'm confident food will be flinging and flying soon enough.

ACV

Apple Cider Vinegar is called for in some recipes I've made in the past, hence why it just so happens to be sitting in my refrigerator and it's also an ingredient in the baby pancake recipe listed below.  Check out what I stumbled across in my Google Reader today:  Apple Cider Vinegar: Drink To Your Health .

I do so love finding out that something I already have and/or do/ingest is healthy and beneficial in more ways than one.

Baby Pancakes

Kelly at http://www.questforrealfood.com/ asked about the baby pancakes with fruit and/or veggie purees mixed in and here's my response via a comment to the post "The Baby Made Me Do It".

Hi Kelly, I'll email you also, but here is the recipe I found for anyone who is interested. In a later post, I discuss how this recipe has no eggs in it since babies are not supposed to eat egg whites until after they are 1 year old. It comes from a book "You Won't Believe It's Vegan!" by Lacey Sher and Gail Doherty. You can substitute the fruit/nuts in the recipe for any of your fruit or veggie purees and you can always use more of the puree, it will just be more potent. I figure more fruits and veggies is better anyway! Use these for older kids too to sneak in fruits and veggies that they turn their noses up at.

Tiffany's Pancakes (Yeild: 16 large pancakes)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil (I've recently heard that canola oil's not so good for you, so I'm sure you can substitute an even healthier oil instead, but we have to use our huge bottle up anyway)
1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk (I used So Delicious coconut milk since that's what we had on hand and it worked just as well)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped fruit or nuts (this is where I put my puree)
Safflower oil, for the griddle
Vegan margarine, for serving
Maple syrup, for serving

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
1) Into a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
2) In a medium size bowl, combine the water, oil, soy milk, vinegar, and vanilla, and whisk until thoroughly combined.
3) Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until all the lumps are gone. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the fruit or nuts.
4) Oil a griddle wiht the safflower oil and heat over medium heat.

Enjoy!

Age: 38 Weeks

Hello Folks!  Today is April 6th (one day before my daddy's birthday!) and it is supposed to reach 85 degrees outside today - 85....now we're talking!  I'm a summer baby and was never a huge fan of the cold weather, so bring it on!  Plus, now I get to wear all of my super cute warm weather clothes.  But, back to me...I've been continuing to eat finger foods with great gusto.  Mom has made several of my purees into pancakes including, but not limited to pear pancakes, papaya pancakes, rutabaga pancakes and a mix of broccoli, peas, and butternut squash - yum!  More pancakes to come, plus she discovered a prune muffin recipe..hmm.  Part of the pancake problem, though, was that most recipes called for eggs (which makes sense and all) but I am not supposed to eat whole eggs until a year, just egg yolks, so mom found a recipe for pancakes in her vegan cookbook which excludes eggs and has been using that one, but these muffins call for eggs, so we'll see - maybe they can just get frozen until I'm a year old, or maybe mom and dad can get things moving with the prunes :)  Regardless, I'm also a moving maniac!  Beginning on Easter morning, I started to crawl up on my feet and mom and dad blamed the dress, but I've continued to do so on occasion sans dresses, so perhaps this is the next step on my road to walking.  I've been beginning to cruise side to side holding on to things, and I'll even balance myself for a few seconds before landing with a plop on my hiney.  Aunt Katie would be so proud because this new crawl looks even more like a monkey move - I'm just an example of evolution at its finest!  Enjoy this wonderful weather!!!