And, She's Off ...

Well, this is it ... our lives will never be the same again ... our little peanut is MOBILE. She just tackled the skill of rolling from her back to her belly this week. Now she's all over the place! She's like a little tumbleweed. :) She has rolled into the coffee table and conked her head, banged her head on the hardwood floors, gotten stuck in her activity gym on top of her toys, and gotten real up close and personal with Portia and our kitty, a little too close for my comfort--Portia is 140lbs of pure love-but is rather clumsy at times. So her life is much more exciting these days! She's learning cause and effect ... and what it feels like to have an "ouchie" :) It is so fun to watch her grow and develop.

We've also moved on to carrots. :) That's a fun time ... I've learned that what goes in bright orange, must come out bright orange, from both ends. Ava actually doesn't seem to like the carrots--maybe because that's her first non-green food? I'll keep trying them...she'll get used to them I'm sure.

Which brings me to my next topic --- making baby food! I have decided to make all of Ava's food from organic produce ... as long as I possibly can! I feel like her virgin intestinal tract doesn't need to be invaded by food that may have traces of pesticides, steroids, fungicides, yada yada yada. Babies absorb so much more of that junk than adults because they eat about 6 times more fruits and veggies than we do as adults. I want to provide her with the most naturally grown substances that I can and after doing my fair share of research I think organic is the way to go for us. No added preservatives, no added sodium, no pesticides, just pure and natural fruits and veggies made with TLC by mommy!

I wondered at first if I would have the time and energy to put into making all of her food. For those of you who are wondering, I can get all of her food made and in the freezer in about 20-30 minutes one night a week. It's totally worth it to me! I use a great book called, So Easy Baby Food. It's available at Whole Foods Market and I'm sure you can buy it at Barnes and Noble or any bookstore too. There's not much to it when it comes to making baby food, but this book helps those (like me!) who don't know where to start. Nutrition is outrageously important when it comes to an infant's neurological and immunological development. I don't think infant and childhood nutrition is given the attention it deserves. The type of food that goes into a baby's tummy will mold her future nutritional tastes and behavioral development. I feel great knowing I'm doing my part for her future health and development by choosing the best foods for her now. I also hate that her virgin immune system is shocked with 4 vaccinations every two months for her first year of life, but I haven't quite figured out how to get around that one. Oh, I could go on and on and on about this! Does that mean that I think anyone who doesn't feed their baby organic produce are awful non-caring parents? Nope ... just that I am pleased with what I'm doing! Different strokes for different folks, right? :) Okay, that's my soapbox for the day! ;)

Some cute pics ... enjoy!









Just a quick video of Ava's latest skill :)