Oscar Stew

I took Rowan to her “early intervention” appointment today per the pediatrician’s orders. They said that Rowan is right on track, no need for any kind of specialized help from them. I was never worried about her development, but we decided to go just to ease any concerns that her pediatrician had. She passed the vision, hearing, and physical exams with flying colors. They said she was perfect, although, she does need to get her bum in gear with regard to crawling. If she isn’t crawling in two months, THEN we have a problem! 🙂

Rowan slept in the car on the way to the appointment. Sleeping off nerves, perhaps?

Ok, here I am in this strange place with all these strange people. I passed, so can I go home now?

When the pediatrician told us Rowan was off her curve that was about the same time that we were in the process of expanding Rowan’s dietary horizons. We’ve had a lot of success with homemade baby food.

Here’s what a typical days worth of grub looks like. Pears & peaches for breakfast, carrots for lunch, and peas & pumpkin-apple for dinner. Why homemade? Well, it’s cheaper, tastes WAY better, and it’s the crunchy thing to do. I like crunchy! Plus, it’s fun to see steamed veggies whir around in the food processor.

Rowan is pretty serious when it comes to food. I can never get her to crack a smile when she is chowing down. Be sure to feed her as fast as is humanly possible to avoid dealing with “Chief Wiggles Her Head.”

After the starter fruits & veggies we upped the ante and blended even more exotic flavors. Zucchini, yellow squash, peach-pineapple, mango-papaya, and more… She hasn’t turned down a flavor yet!

Apple-Blueberry is her favorite. And it makes for some pretty diapers. Comes out lookin’ just like it went in.

gimme Gimme GIMMIE!!!

We are gearing up for “stage 2” foods. Tonight we sampled peas with chicken and brown rice. Mmmmm! I have to admit, sometimes her food is so good, I’m tempted to polish off her leftovers. Not really, but it is pretty tasty!

Cheerios and crackers are also a staple in Rowans diet, of course. She prefers crackers over cheerios because even though she has the pincer down, getting that itty bitty cheerio into her slobbery mouth is quite challenging. It usually ends up lost somewhere in her fingers, or stuck to her sticky cheek. Oh the perils!

Time flies. Rowan is a whopping eight months old. I’ve been (trying) to have some fun with her in the studio. She usually has her own ideas, but I take what I can get. I can’t wait until she is old enough for bribery!

Most of the time she is an angel. We finally have her taking consistent naps, but night time is still a constant struggle. We’ve tried it all, and she is just stubborn. I wonder where she gets that from?

The dimple-cheek angel is a rare bird. Did I mention it’s even more rare at night?

Here is miss Itty Bitty wearing the outfit she wore home from the hospital when she was 2 days old! Finally, it fits! She is about 14lbs these days, and carries most of it in her cheeks…both varieties.

Sugar and spice and everything nice? Or shugga shugga, honey honey?

This looks like a sweet innocent kissy face, but beware – she’ll slime you!

Rowan’s favorite thing is anything that crinkles. Toys are just ok, she’ll go for a chip bag or crinkled paper over a brightly colored toy. And yes, I saved a weeks worth of chip bags to get this picture. So?

She can’t get enough. I’ll freely admit that I’m a Sun Chips addict. It’s my “treat,” and every time I open a bag you can bet that Rowan will be clamoring at my feet waiting for her turn.

I want every last crumb of goodness out of this bag! I swear she didn’t learn technique this from me…

Sick inside. Cold outside. Feeling icky during icky weather adds up to a double fever. I haven’t left the house in a week now, I’m starting to get that itch, or is it a twitch? twitch? twitch?

Brinley is finally on the mend. After some scary high temps she is back to her feisty self.  Remind me that’s a good thing, okay?

We discovered that “sick milk” comes in PINK. I didn’t have to beg her to drink it anymore. Because color is more important than flavor, right? mmmhmmmm. I was greatful for the pink sick milk and the peace of mind that even though she flat out refused to eat anything for two days, I knew she was getting some nutrition.

During our down time we took the opportunity to make the most of our abundant girl time.

Rowan made peace with being left on the floor. She’d much prefer to play with crinkly fruit snack bags over toys, so we did indulge her every once in a while.

Throw me a bone, will ya?!

Hey this bone tastes like apple! Thanks! How many licks does it take?

Last time we were at the library, Drew picked out THIS book. Ever since, he has been collecting any and all manner of junk that may or may not be craftable. Mad scientist Drew got busy building his robot while Brinley dozed and watched movie after movie. I’m proud to say that he mastered the glue gun with only the very minorest little burn on his finger.

That robot’s got some hairy eyebrows. Oh that’s right, those are optical lens cleaners. Sorry.

Observe! My creation is almost complete! That is a rare 16 cent pint of B&J’s folks! Hooray for coupons!

Uh oh, I’ve got extra parts. Did I miss any steps?

Behold: Junk*E! He’s already drawn up plans for Trash*E, if anyone wants to donate parts you know where to find us. ha!

It is wintertime, so rather than wish death to Hammy, he provides us daily entertainment. Opening the door this much is just enough to drive Cheddar and Hammy completely crazy.

Next time we have double the fever we will be triple-prepared: Grandma J sent us a sweet Play-Doh toy, a DQ gift card, and a designated “Feel Better Bear.” Thanks Grandma J!