Beany baby

Amelia is learning so much at this age, and she's becoming more and more independent. Sometimes, she really surprises mommy and daddy.

I recently read that a baby Amelia's age should be able to use a straw. Well, Amelia hasn't really had much access to straws, so I wasn't sure this would be true of her. So, the other day when she caught mommy drinking an iced soy mocha through a straw and fussed for a chance to try it herself, I thought there would be no harm in letting her "have a sip." After all, she had never been given a straw before; I thought the chances of her using one correctly were slim to none. Boy was I surprised! She slurped that mocha down and dribbled it all over her shirt - evidence for daddy to see what she had eaten. Apparently, Amelia really likes soy mochas. Thank goodness it was decaf.!

Then on Sunday, as Mike was walking out the door for an atypical trip to Taco Bell for lunch, I asked him offhandedly to buy pinto beans for the baby...since he would be there anyway. Amelia has eaten beans out of my burritos before, and seems to like them okay, so I thought she might enjoy a little bite of refried beans from Taco Bell.

When Mike got back with the beans I realized that I had forgotten to say, "no hot sauce." I sat the baby in her high chair and carefully dug out small bites with little to no sauce for her to eat. Then the baby reached for the beans. Normally, she likes to put her hands in her food and feel the textures, so I thought nothing of it. Then she did something I did not expect and crammed a fistfull of beans into her mouth! She ate the whole dish of beans, hot sauce and all, getting them everywhere. Boy was that fun to watch! She is starting to really enjoy eating "grown up" food of all kinds. Yesterday, she even ate a couple of pieces of tart and sour kiwi. You never know with this girl...

Anyway, she's up and ready to go to the store. Maybe I'll let her pick out some food while we're there.

Lisa