3 Cheers for Cheerios!

Feeding Monster has definitely become a favorite hobby of mine since he began eating solids.

On my fridge hangs a chart of baby foods sent to me by Heinz along with a free sample and some coupons. Thank you again Heinz! The chart has a list of "beginner" baby foods, and places beside each food to write the date and how your baby enjoyed (or did not enjoy) the food. It also has lists of stage 2, 3, and 4 baby foods with the same charting system.

It's been very handy in the process of recording how long it's been between each new food. However I think I will be developing my own similar charting system once 6 months rolls around and the types of foods Monster can eat/try widens greatly.

For about two weeks now I've been giving Monster a baby Mum Mum rice snack here and there. It's the perfect food to judge how the chewing process is developing in your infant. They devolve almost instantly, but babies have to make the chewing motion in order to break off a piece.

(Please note the APP and BC Interior Health Authorities do not recommend feeding your infant solids until they are 6 months old, everything I feed my Monster is at my own risk.)

He does really well with chewing, but like I said in my previous post Preparing for Solids I'm not really surprised at how quickly he learns when it comes to food. Today I decided to give him Cheerios for his new food. I'm not nuts, our public health nurse gave us a list of 6 month appropriate finger foods and they were on it!

He did fantastically! He doesn't quite have the pincher grasp down, so when he picked them up they ended up in his fist as apposed to his mouth. He chewed them until they broke down and softened then swallowed them like a champion!

Yes, I am one proud mama! ;)

Trip to Herold's Park

On Sunday we took Monster for his first picnic to Herold's Park. In the past family picnics were a weekly occurrence for my husbands family but since all the "kids" are grown ups and have kids of their own, they are less often, but just as special.

Packing for a trip to the beach is like packing for a over night vacation when it comes to an infant. That might be dramatic, but I'm somewhat of an over packer. I'd really rather have too much stuff with me, then be without something I really need. Herold's Park is right on the Shuswap lake, so I knew there would be a swimming adventure involved in the picnic. I had to pack all the necessary items for the family (My family of three, not my husbands massive family) to eat, go swimming, dry off, change, hike (we didn't end up hiking), and be in the sun.

An hour of packing and checking off the lists in my head, we finally left our house, and only had to turn around once because I had forgotten something. Luckily it was only after driving for a minute, and not after getting to Herold's (which is about 20 minutes from our house). Only once? I'm impressed too! :)

We spent all afternoon playing in the water and at the beach with Monster, my 4 nieces and

nephew. Monster only enjoyed looking at the water, he wasn't a big fan of the cooler

temperature (Despite that adorable smile above). I guess for now, we'll have to stick to the temperature regulated pool at the recreation center! Once he got dried off and set up in his stroller with his toys, he really loved the beach!

Auntie TgM and Uncle CgM brought their Kayaks and took the older kids for a spin on the lake, which they thought was tres cool! The event came to an end when Hubbs found patches of incredibly itchy bug bites all over his body, so unfortunately we didn't get the chance to hike over to Margaret Falls. That will be an adventure for a different day, maybe one when I have a jogger stroller that can conquer the mighty mounts of the forested path!