What have you done to my spoon?

Here Emma is happily playing with her banana-flavored spoon and I steal it and give her a mouthful of the mushed up stuff, which she does not really appreciate. Today, if you could ask her, she would tell you she LOVES bananas. But this being her first experience with food, and my first experience feeding a baby...well things were not so peachy!

What is on my spoon???

In this video Emma is enjoying playing with the bananas. Then she grabs her spoon, which she thinks is her toy. Only to discover it tastes funny..like bananas. Her expression at tasting food for the first time is funny!

Bananas - Anuk and Emma make friends

Anuk discovers that even babies give in to begging.

Backtracking - the 6 month BANANA adventure

Is there anything cuter than a kid eating her first mushed up banana???

Grand Dad and Emma-Lizzie at TG

Can diapers make you cry?

Just a little blurb from a sleep deprived mother... I think the diapers are keeping Emma up! I just called Green Mountain Diapers to ask about sizes, not wanting to make another purchasing mistake and burst into tears. What a nice woman, she talked me through measuring my mistake diapers, discussed baby body shape and diaper fit and encouraged me to order less diapers so I'd wash more often (better for diapers).

With Love, lessons from dogs that apply to babies and life

I had long ago discovered that if I did things with love that the results were always better. Everything is less stressful if love is applied, love comes with patience and a forgiving eye, but love also comes with the right ingredients for positive change.

Then I realized the only times I really failed at things were times when I could not apply love to the problem.

And recently I have learned that sometimes things are so hard that they just feel like failure, but as long as love is there, one comes out the other end of the challenge whole...and not broken. Crying along side your baby... unable to make her happy...unable to let her "cry it out".

I used to feel sad for the dogs I have that other people discarded. But now I am grateful, as these dogs have been the challenging ones. And I have gotten through the challenges by letting my heart grow. And I know these dogs are happy, since they are loved.

Examples of "With Love"

**....how else can filling dog bowls be fun for a baby? Emma will probably know all the dogs names soon, as I sing each dog's name and a little compliment to them as I lay out the bowls, add the food and whatever else.

**Saying good night to each dog as Emma and I tuck in the kennel at night...

**Figuring out that Java Bean can get along with male play mates as long as he enters the play area last...no stress for him if dogs do not dash out their doors into his "space".
**Figuring out after two nights of no sleep that Emma's diaper was keeping her up...not sure how I was able to have analytical thought after that much lack of sleep.

Emma has a wish list at Amazon

For anyone wishing to spoil a baby at Christmas... I have created an Emma only wish list on Amazon. With the new universal wish-list-button I have added a few things from LL Bean and from our favorite e-store Cotton Babies. It's the usual NH mom stuff...warm clothes, books and a few toys and a light back-pack style baby carrier.

I think this link might work:

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/1DM5YP8YN76LT/ref=cm_sw_em_r_wl

Or try clicking here: click-me.