Such a Big Boy!

Michael has started branching out a lot more lately when it comes to food. He is eating almost all table food, and really liking it.

Last week, we had fried chicken, so I was cutting some off the bone for Michael and he loved it. But apparently I wasn't giving it to him fast enough so Andrew handed him the whole leg. Michael then proceeded to chew on the chicken leg for the next 10 minutes. He is definitely a southern boy!

Also, Michael has decided that he can feed himself, and doesn't need my help. How did he get so big, so quick?

He does a great job getting the spoon to his mouth, and the food into his mouth. He hasn't figured out how to get the food onto his spoon from the bowl yet. But that will come in time.

He is very proud of himself!

Now if we could just get him to eat fruit and veggies that aren't pureed. He really doesn't like the slime factor.

Finger Food Favorites!

Just wanted to share some of Michael's favorite finger foods. He is getting the hang of picking up the item, and it actually making it to his mouth. Before, he would just grab the item with a fist, and then as he brought it to his mouth, it would never actually make it in. The dogs liked it a lot better before, cause most everything ended up on the floor. Their new favorite place to hang out was under the high chair.

Michael's first favorite is Veggie Straws. My sister had been buying these for a long time, and I have had them, but just never bought them for myself. Well, in March, at Leilani's birthday party, she had a big bowl of these, and we decided to see if Michael liked them. HE LOVED THEM!! He couldn't get enough of them. They are great because he can hold them in his fist, and feed himself. Even before he had mastered feeding himself, these were easy to do. They melt pretty fast, so I wasn't concerned about him choking on them. They are just as good for him as any other "children's snack food," if not better. There are no preservatives, no trans fat, cholesterol free and are made from real potato, tomato and spinach. And Mommy and Daddy love them too!

Here he is, reaching up for a veggie straw

Getting it to his mouth

Yummy!

Gerber Puffs are another favorite.

These are a little harder to pick up, since they are so small. But they come in great flavors, and we have found ourselves snacking on them when we are feeding Michael. They melt super fast, so again, no choking hazard, and have 2 grams whole grains per serving. They are formulated with Vitablocks nutrient blend for snacks - iron for healthy cognitive development; zinc, a major building block of a healthy immune system; and vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant.

And I think these go on the all-time favorite list for anyone who has children:

Cheerios.

Michael seems to like them just fine, but Andrew gives him puffs instead. He doesn't like cheerios, and doesn't think Michael should have to eat something that tastes like "cardboard." Silly Daddy!

More Baby Food

Last week I made a ton of baby food, and it has been great having it in the freezer. When it is time for Michael to eat, I just grab a few "cubes" out of the freezer, put them in the microwave, and in about 15 seconds, Michael has a meal. Here is what I made: Green Beans Carrots Apples Pears Peaches Prunes The easiest to make are the ones you can find in the frozen food section in the grocery store. I was able to get the Green Beans, Carrots, and peaches that way. Then you just throw them in the steamer, let them cook, then puree, portion out and freeze. Really easy. I started taking pictures while I was making all of the food, but then decided I was making too much to take that many pictures. So, here are pictures of the green beans and carrots. If I make anything super interesting, I will take some more pictures. The most time consuming to make were the apples. I had to peel, chop, steam, puree, and portion out. If I had an apple peeler, it would have make this a lot easier. Maybe next time I make apples, I will borrow an apple peeler from someone. That would save a ton of time. Michael is getting the the point where he is almost ready to eat table food, so I'm not sure how much more baby food I will need to make.

Making Baby Food

Thursday, I decided to try making my own baby food. I started with Sweet potatoes.

I used the website wholesomebabyfood.com as a reference.

I started out with two medium size sweet potatoes.

Washed them, and let them dry.

Took a fork and poked holes all over.

Wrapped them in plastic wrap, and put them in the microwave for 8 minutes, turning them over halfway through.

After they were done cooking, I took them out, unwrapped them, and let them cool for a few minutes.

I cut them in half and scooped out all of the "meat" and put it in a container.

Then I took my Kitchen Aid Stick Immersion blender, and pureed them.
Then I added water. A lot more water than I thought I would need, but I didn't want the sweet potatoes to be too thick.

After they were good and mixed, I spooned them into an ice cube tray and put them in the freezer.

After a few hours, they were nice a frozen, so I took one out for Michael to eat, and the rest I put in a zip lock back and labeled the bag with what it was and the date.

I think he liked it. What do you think?

I figure Michael can eat 1 or 2 of these cubes in one sitting, so I have at least 6 servings, but probably more.

Total cost to make: $1.36

Total time to prepare: 30 minutes

I will definitely be doing this again. Maybe I'll try carrots next. Any suggestions would be great.

The best thing about making my own baby food is that I know exactly what is in it.

Cereal is a winner!!

This morning, I gave Michael some oatmeal cereal for babies and he loved it! So happy that we have found something he likes and is willing to open his mouth for.

I guess I should have started with cereal, but I just wanted him to have something yummy for the first time. We can gradually start adding fruit and veggies to the cereal.
Check out my little guy eating up the cereal. He couldn't get enough!

I just love his little grin!

Bananas!

On Monday we tried Bananas, to see if Michael would like them any better than the avocado.

Once we got them in his mouth, he liked it. The problem was getting them in there and keeping them in there!

First Foods

This weekend, we gave Michael his first taste of solid food. We had planned to start when he turned six months old, but since that happened on Monday, it was easier to do the first food over the weekend. We decided to give him avocado since it is nice and creamy, and very good for you.

Well, on Friday night, we ate pizza for dinner and we always give Michael a piece of crust. He usually just looks at it, and then drops it on the floor. Well, Friday night it went straight into his mouth, and he sat chewing on it for a long time. I'm sure it felt good on his little gums, and it tasted much better than any of the toys he has to chew on. I hate to document that pizza crust was his first solid food, but in actuality, it was.

On Saturday afternoon, we attempted to feed him the avocado. Let's just say that he liked the pizza crust a lot better. He took the first bite with no problem, but then he didn't want to take another bite. We did manage to get some more in his mouth, but I think most of it ended up being spit back out. We tried again that night, and he didn't like it any better the second time.

We will just keep trying new foods and eventually he will get the hang of eating solids and I'm sure he will learn to love them!