Ch-Ch-Changes

Our daily lives have been slowly returning to pre-baby "normal." We even went out for breakfast last week. Dylan sat in one of those restaurant high chairs that was way too big for him but he seemed to enjoy it anyway. He mostly just babbled loudly and banged a spoon around a little. I put a tiny spoonful of ice water to his lips and he sipped eagerly and then made a strange face. His norm is breast milk and to say that breast milk is warm is an understatement.

Waking up after 8 AM is a luxury that I am happy to say I once again enjoy! For the past week or so Dylan has been consistently waking up after 8. Rolling out of bed when the sun is high(er) in the sky is such a pleasure after nearly 8 months of crack-of-dawn awakenings. I really think the extra hour makes all the difference for him and for me.

Of course some things are getting harder too. Changing him and getting him dressed has become a battle that he usually wins. I roll him onto his back and give him something, anything to distract him and keep him from rolling over and crawling away which sometimes works for maybe half a second but usually not even that long. He rolls right over and just try and stop him. We usually end up following him to wherever he stops to stand and putting his diaper on that way. The only other option is to forcibly hold him down on his back which we're just not willing to do. I think at least part of the reason he refuses to remain on his back is because he is prone to reflux and it's especially active when he's in that position. I suspect that only other parents with babies who suffer from reflux can understand why we're okay with chasing him around to put his diaper on.

Other than that things are moving along as they do. On one of our regular 7 AM trips to Whole Foods Market, Dylan and I encountered a young female worker who always flashes the most brilliant smile and enthusiastic wave in our direction. This time she practically squealed at Dylan and said to me "It's always such a pleasure to see you. He seems so intelligent, like he's always thinking about something." To which I responded "I hope so." But what I was really thinking is We need to get out more. The fact is I've never really been around too many babies so whether or not Dylan is exceptional in the true sense of the word is over my head. Of course he is exceptional to me and Thomas, but that's beside the point. On another occassion I heard the same girl exclaim to a fellow male worker "I love that baby! He is so adorable, don't you think?!" Actually, I do.

We finally bought Dylan a high chair. Until yesterday I was just feeding him in my lap. It's no big deal but it's really messy. We also figure that he's going to be starting solid foods soon and he'll need a place to explore his food. The counter top seems as good as any place and since we want to keep our possessions to a minimum we decided on a caddy high chair. He seems to like it.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving but to us it was just another day. Sure we ate some winter squash (Dylan had steamed broccoli-his first cooked food), but other than that it was just a regular day.

Dylan and daddy took their first outing together sin mamá. It was pretty nippy outside, in the forties I believe, so I dressed the baby in his only sweater and sent him on his way.

Thomas said that all went well and Dylan was content the whole time, no fussing in the car, no fussing in the store, no fussing at all. Of course this is a great thing but there are two sides to every story and the truth is he did better than I did because I was fussing until they got home. I scooped him up and squeezed him  tight but not too tight. I'm a total wimp. Show me my baby and I'll show you mushy.

To top it all off I've pretty much been living on these this week:

Egg and Daiya Burritos

2 tortillas (I like Rudi's Spelt or Whole Spelt)

2-3 farm fresh, free range eggs

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

2 handfuls cheddar or pepper jack Daiya

splash of unsweetened original almond milk

salt and pepper to taste

-Prepare scrambled eggs as you like them. I use almond milk, salt and pepper

-Spread the Daiya on tortillas and heat to melt the "cheese"

-Remove from heat and and dress with spinach and prepared eggs

ENJOY!

This month has been another big month for Dylan developmentally. He's not only standing well, but now he only really needs one hand for support and he has learned to turn himself around without falling. Most of the time. When he does fall it's a lot more graceful than it was just a week ago.

He's babbling more and more everyday. This month he moved from 'mamamamamamama' and 'babababa' to 'dadada' and most recently 'neh neh neh neh.' He's also learned to "motor boat" with his lips and basically does it all day spitting on anything in his path. Some of the noises he makes really surprise me. He must get these skills from Thomas because I certainly can't make the weird throaty piggish-froggish grunts he seems to have no trouble conjuring.

I finally committed to a few meet up groups and we attended our first meet up today. We went to a local farm to take a tour and see some cows. It was the perfect day for that sort of thing. 70 something, overcast, breezy. Breezy days are Dylan's favorite. when the wind blows he turns his head toward the gust and sticks his tongue out with a gleeful squeal. I really enjoy watching his hair blow in the wind. Before we left we sampled some yogurt cheeses, guanabana flavored drinkable yogurt. Thomas wanted to try some raw milk (which they sell for $8 per gallon), but they were out.  On our way out we picked up a dozen farm fresh eggs.  I asked about the diet of the farm's chickens and got the response "mostly bugs." Great!

Dylan seemed to be more interested in the other babies than he was in the animals. I think he's really going to enjoy the playgroups I've joined. I'm especially excited because he'll be around babies and kids of all ages. It's a good time to start getting him out of the house more I think.

After the farm we went for our third hike this week at a local nature preserve and Daddy volunteered to wear the baby!

I've also started to make him smoothies. Yesterday he had banana and pineapple and this morning he had avocado and banana. He really loves avocado anyway he can get it just like mama!

There was a lot of the banana-avocado mixture left once he was full so I turned it into a tropical green smoothie with raw honey and spirulina powder.

Tropical Green Smoothie
Fresh cut pineapple with juice
Half of 1 ripe avocado
1/2 banana
1 scoop green or superfood powder
1 TBSP raw, local, unfiltered honey
Water to desired consistency
**Blend and enjoy!