What's for lunch?

Today I tried something new at lunchtime - oatmeal. This solid food thing just keeps getting better and better. I thought I liked pears, but WOW, I love oatmeal. I like it so much, slow old mom couldn't feed me fast enough and I tried taking matters into my own hands. I grabbed the spoon from her so I could put it in my mouth myself, and later I tried eating my bowl. You can see some pictures of our adventure, which ended in the bathtub, here.

Weekends are the best!

I had another really fun weekend. Friday morning Mom and I went to a playgroup at the Jewish Community Center. Mostly I watched the other kids while Mom yakked the whole time, but we also sang songs about Shabbat, said ha'motzi, kiddush and said a blessing over the candles. It was fun and I can't wait to go next week.

Saturday morning, I went to my third swim lesson. We did the same things as last week and added one more thing called blast off. When we do blast off, Mom holds me by the side and I push with my feet. Then we blast off across the pool. My legs are very strong, so we usually blast halfway across. It's great.

After my nap, we went to a restaurant to keep Daddy company while he watched basketball, and I later hung with Dad while Mommy went to work for a little bit. It was nice to spend all that quality time with Dad.

Although it was very cold and wet all last week, Saturday and Sunday were warm and gorgeous, so Sunday we spent some time outside. Daddy, Mommy and I took a walk with our doggies and watched them run around at the park. Mom took me out of the stroller while we were there so I could really look around. The sky was nice and blue, and I had fun looking at all the dogs.

I can't wait to see what we'll do next weekend! Dad and Mom said they have lots more fun things planned for me. To see some pictures of this weekend, click here.

Finding my voice

Since I started eating solid food, I've been changing a lot. I am getting louder and Mom says sometimes when I cry I sound more like a little boy who's throwing a fit than a crying baby. I'm wiggling a lot more, I now have two teeth, and since we're putting new things into my system, new things are coming out. All of this is making life much more interesting for Mom and Dad, who are having fun watching me grow. Yesterday Mom took me to a photographer so they'll be able to remember all the fun things I'm doing. We had fun. The photographer kept saying how cute I am, and I felt like a model! Mom is proud.

Speaking of growing, since I started eating avocados, they've grown on me. I still don't love them as much as rice cereal, but they're good. Tonight I tried pears. So far, they are my favorite - I love them and gobbled them right up!

I also got to meet my third grandma this week. Oma came from Massachusetts to visit. She was excited to see Peepa and Matty and she took me shopping for lots of nice new things. You can see pictures of her visit and my other recent adventures here.

Swimming and Avocados

This morning I had my second swim lesson. We swam around while singing "The Wheels on the Bus," "Ring Around the Rosie," "The Duke of York" and "If You're Happy and You Know It." It was great, and I liked the class a lot more than last week. Dad took pictures of us and met us with our towels when we got out of the pool again. He's very good at cheering us on.

I also tried another new food today - avocado. Mom read that they are so healthy people could survive by eating only avocados. I couldn't though because I don't like them very much. At least I'm in good company; Dad doesn't like them either. Mom says we'll try again tomorrow.

You can see a bunch of pictures from my swim lesson and eating avocados here, and here's a video of Mom teaching me to splash.

Six-Month Doctor's Visit

Today I had my six-month doctor's visit. My parents were excited to tell the doctor about all of the new things I've been doing. He was pretty impressed. They took my measurements as well. I now weigh 12 lbs, 4 oz, and I am exactly two feet tall! My head is 41 cm around. The doctor said I am well-proportioned. He said I'm "quality, not quantity." I updated my growth chart on the right side of the blog.

The doctor also told Mom and Dad they could start feeding me more solid foods, and twice a day! I've been telling them that for a while now, but for some reason they wouldn't just take my word for it. Once the doctor was finished, the nurse came into to give me my shots. I remembered her from last time, because as soon as she came in, I started crying to let her know that I would prefer to not have my shots this time. However, Mom and Dad told me it was for my own good, so I got them anyway.

After my nap this morning, I get to have more bananas for lunch. Yay!

Surprises

I've had quite a few surprises in the last few days. Yesterday, our really nice neighbors surprised us by bringing over a gift basket with muffins, candy, and coffee for my parents. They really liked it. Since I couldn't have any, Mom and Dad surprised me tonight with a new food - bananas! I liked them about as much as the rice cereal, much more than the applesauce.

The last surprise came at bedtime. When it was time for me to go to sleep, Dad put me in my crib... and it was lower than this morning! It seems Mom and Dad are wondering when I will be able to pull myself up, so they lowered my crib mattress so I can't accidentally climb out and run amok.

First Swim Lesson

Yesterday while I was supposed to be taking a nap in my crib, Mom discovered that I’ve been practicing different ways of escaping. I didn’t realize she was spying on me, and she saw me roll over on my tummy, push up on my knees, flatten back out and roll over onto my back.

Since my parents are now aware of my intention to become more mobile, I need to come up for a new plan of attack, and today I may have figured out what that is. Mom and I went to our first swim class at the YMCA, so pretty soon I may just be able to swim away! Mom was really excited about it. She swam a lot when I was in her tummy, and she was happy to do it with me in her arms. There were lots of kids in our class and I was the youngest one. While Dad cheered us on and took pictures, we sang “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round,” “Ring Around the Rosie” and I swam after a little plastic fish. I really liked kicking my legs and just relaxing in the water. I can’t wait to go next week!

You can view pictures from first swim lesson here.

High chair and applesauce

Before I was born, Aunt Laurie knew I would want to eat one day. She's pretty smart, so she got me a high chair, and yesterday Mom set it up for me. I love it. Now Mom and Dad can put my food right in front of me so I can play with it! It's also nice because now I can sit at their level when they eat. I'm excited about all the new foods I'll try while sitting in my chair.

Speaking of new foods, today Mom and Dad gave me something new - applesauce. They were pretty excited because they thought I'd like it, but I had other plans. If you'd like to see how that went, watch my latest video here, and you can see some still photos here.

Tummy, Tooth, and Day Two of Solid Food

During tummy time this morning, I rolled over onto my back for the first time. Just to make sure Mom and Dad knew I meant it, I did it again when they put me back on my tummy. It was pretty funny, and now I've reached another developmental milestone - rolling over both ways. Mostly I just roll back over onto my back because I don't love tummy time.

Today Mommy noticed something I've been trying to tell her about for a few days. I'm growing a tooth. I was in a grumpy mood this afternoon, so our whole family (me, Dad, Mom, Peepa, and Matty) went for a walk. While we were walking down the street, I yawned and Mom finally figured it out. She noticed a little bit of white sticking out of my bottom gum. She started whooping, which surprised Daddy and cheered me up a little. Now Mom and Dad will get to start cleaning my gums during bathtime.

I also got to eat more rice cereal tonight, and I had a little more fun this time. I explored the food and spoon a little more with my mouth and had a great time spitting the cereal everywhere and making a mess. Mom says that's what it's all about, and Daddy tries to keep me neat. We'll see who wins this battle, although he made sure I was extra clean at my bath tonight. I can't wait to try things like peas that I can really spread around.

We took more pictures and added them to yesterday's folder. Make sure you check them out here.

My first taste of cereal

I've had a really fun year so far. Today was by far the most interesting. Dad and Mom fed me my first solid food, some rice cereal. Since Mom fed me for the past six months, Dad got the first changce to feed me solid food. At first I didn't know what to make of it. Then I tried eating it like I drink milk. Toward the end, I got a little better at eating off the spoon and started gobbling the cereal up. I liked it a lot and am excited to have some more. Mom and Dad didn't try any, but said there are many more tasty treats where that came from. I can't wait to find out what they mean! Mom said applesauce is next, and next week I can try bananas, just like a monkey!

I also wore a bib for the first time today, which Mom saw as an opportunity to introduce me to the Longhorns. Since Dad wants to teach me all about sports, Mom said I'll probably get to visit the University of Texas, where she went to grad school. She made lots of fun friends there, and I am sure I will too. Thursday we went to lunch with one of them. Saad was the first person she met when she moved to Austin, and he showed her and Uncle Daniel around. Yesterday we had lunch with another fun friend, Kate, who now goes to UT. She used to be a tv news reporter near Grandma and Grandpa, in Harrisburg, and now she does it here. So far I've learned not only that Longhorns are fun and interesting people, but that they make good bibs!

The video above was taken with our video camera - Dad finally figured out how to upload videos from it. In addition to the video above, we posted some fun pictures of my culinary adventures.