Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Christmas has arrived in stores
It's true. And it started the day after Hallowe'en. It might seem crass and commercial to you, but for me, it's terrific. Rebecca is thrilled to see all the colourful decorations, the balloons, the videos, the bright lights, and the extra people shopping (already!). For example, our grocery store has been transformed - there is a t.v. display near the entrance, with one of those burning logs videos on - Rebecca likes this. There is a giant pyramid of water bottle crates decorated with festive cookie bags - Rebecca is astounded by this. There are red and green helium balloons near the cheese and meat section, Rebecca tries to steal them.
When I am feeling lazy and take her out shopping in the umbroller to a mall or store, I have to remember to keep her away from stuff she can reach - and boy, does that count for a lot. It can also be challenging to make my way into a store and fit past the displays. That bothers me because the umbroller isn't very large - how would someone in a wheel chair fit? Rebecca almost broke some bottles at the liquor store this week - but frankly, even if I had her in a cart or a large stroller, there would also have been stuff at her level (possibly pricier stuff too).
I have always known that stores do not arrange their merchandise at random. There is a lot of psychology involved (beyond what I presume is common sense choices). This was never so obvious to me as during my most recent grocery expedition. Rebecca was sitting in the cart, and we were waiting while the person ahead of us paid. The person behind us was loading items onto the conveyor belt, so we were essentially trapped. It was then that I heard a noise - the noise of Rebecca grabbing chocolate bars. Rebecca doesn't even eat chocolate bars! I realized that they had been position at the ideal height for a child in a cart to notice them and reach them. With their bright and shiny wrappers, they were an irresistible lure for my baby (wait until she understands what's inside). And what was positioned above them? Dora DVDs. Rebecca may only be 11 months of age, but I already know the power of Dora - why? Not because Becca has ever seen any Dora episodes or things, but because it is the name on the lips of so many children (and their parents). So, the grocery store is evil, if amusingly decked out for the holidays.
When I am feeling lazy and take her out shopping in the umbroller to a mall or store, I have to remember to keep her away from stuff she can reach - and boy, does that count for a lot. It can also be challenging to make my way into a store and fit past the displays. That bothers me because the umbroller isn't very large - how would someone in a wheel chair fit? Rebecca almost broke some bottles at the liquor store this week - but frankly, even if I had her in a cart or a large stroller, there would also have been stuff at her level (possibly pricier stuff too).
I have always known that stores do not arrange their merchandise at random. There is a lot of psychology involved (beyond what I presume is common sense choices). This was never so obvious to me as during my most recent grocery expedition. Rebecca was sitting in the cart, and we were waiting while the person ahead of us paid. The person behind us was loading items onto the conveyor belt, so we were essentially trapped. It was then that I heard a noise - the noise of Rebecca grabbing chocolate bars. Rebecca doesn't even eat chocolate bars! I realized that they had been position at the ideal height for a child in a cart to notice them and reach them. With their bright and shiny wrappers, they were an irresistible lure for my baby (wait until she understands what's inside). And what was positioned above them? Dora DVDs. Rebecca may only be 11 months of age, but I already know the power of Dora - why? Not because Becca has ever seen any Dora episodes or things, but because it is the name on the lips of so many children (and their parents). So, the grocery store is evil, if amusingly decked out for the holidays.
Rebecca update: 11 months
It's been awhile since the last post, so I thought I might give a broad update.
Eating - Rebecca continues to display a willingness to try new foods - including beans and flavoured rice. Unfortunately, she still despises my oh-so-healthy baby vegetable paella, and once it's in her mouth, she'll do her best to reverse the situation. This includes sticking her tongue out as far as possible (with food on it), or reaching into her mouth and removing the food with her fingers. As I was warned by my GP, Becca is somewhat disinterested in the eating process of late - unless some aspect of it is entertaining (i.e. unless she is feeding herself). In fact, barring instances where she feels unwell or frightened, she insists on holding bottles for herself (sometimes one-handed), and is now a sippy cup master. We have started introducing homo milk into her bottles along with the formula, so that when we do the switch over, it isn't too traumatic. I don't know if she's even noticed. Certainly, it does not bother her.
Skills - Greg has finally seen Rebecca walk - a whopping 6 steps too! I don't know what it was that happened, but suddenly, Becca has more confidence about her walking, and makes multiple attempts (successful), every day. She still crawls, does a lot of cruising along furniture, and by no means is exclusively walking, but she is somehow less afraid. We don't need to trick her into thinking she is holding on to something - she will go it alone. Rebecca has also acquired the following skills recently: sweeping things out of the way with her hands (specifically toys on the floor) and kicking a soccer ball (she really likes this). It is increasingly difficult to get her to sit in her car seat if she doesn't want to. She is too smart. And her hands are suddenly huge.
Teething - still working on the first molars. It comes in fits and starts, but the last few days have been bad. She is moody, shrieks or cries at random, shoves her fingers in her mouth, and had me up multiple times one night just for cuddles (I literally could not remember the last time she had gotten me up so often - which goes to show how much we take for granted).
Eating - Rebecca continues to display a willingness to try new foods - including beans and flavoured rice. Unfortunately, she still despises my oh-so-healthy baby vegetable paella, and once it's in her mouth, she'll do her best to reverse the situation. This includes sticking her tongue out as far as possible (with food on it), or reaching into her mouth and removing the food with her fingers. As I was warned by my GP, Becca is somewhat disinterested in the eating process of late - unless some aspect of it is entertaining (i.e. unless she is feeding herself). In fact, barring instances where she feels unwell or frightened, she insists on holding bottles for herself (sometimes one-handed), and is now a sippy cup master. We have started introducing homo milk into her bottles along with the formula, so that when we do the switch over, it isn't too traumatic. I don't know if she's even noticed. Certainly, it does not bother her.
Skills - Greg has finally seen Rebecca walk - a whopping 6 steps too! I don't know what it was that happened, but suddenly, Becca has more confidence about her walking, and makes multiple attempts (successful), every day. She still crawls, does a lot of cruising along furniture, and by no means is exclusively walking, but she is somehow less afraid. We don't need to trick her into thinking she is holding on to something - she will go it alone. Rebecca has also acquired the following skills recently: sweeping things out of the way with her hands (specifically toys on the floor) and kicking a soccer ball (she really likes this). It is increasingly difficult to get her to sit in her car seat if she doesn't want to. She is too smart. And her hands are suddenly huge.
Teething - still working on the first molars. It comes in fits and starts, but the last few days have been bad. She is moody, shrieks or cries at random, shoves her fingers in her mouth, and had me up multiple times one night just for cuddles (I literally could not remember the last time she had gotten me up so often - which goes to show how much we take for granted).
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
Thursday, November 9, 2006
The squirrel does not wave back
Rebecca recently decided that baby food is unappealing (bar the very occasional strained beef and vegetable purée), so I have been scrambling to find other foods that she might deem edible.
So far I have had success with the following (fast becoming a respectable gastronomical repertoire):
Her energy level continues to be just plain crazy. I have a theory that she is stealing energy from me (it would explain so much!) but I have nothing concrete to substantiate my claim.
Rebecca will now cower around my legs when frightened, and will cling extra hard if I am holding her and she becomes scared (for example, when the vaccum is running). She takes a few minutes to warm up to people she hasn't seen in a while, but then is as bubbly, babbling and sociable as usual.
Our neighbourhood has many birds and squirrels. In particular, many black squirrels make their way through our backyard in the course of the day. Lately, Becca and I watch the squirrels because she loves to observe animals and finds it very exciting. She even waves at the squirrel, who blithely continues on his way without returning the greeting.
So far I have had success with the following (fast becoming a respectable gastronomical repertoire):
- My mom's beef and barley soup (skipping out on the big chunks of beef and the big chunks of carrot - so basically, broth and barley)
- Zoodles
- Alphagetties (spelling?!?!)
- Plastic cheese (i.e. processed cheese slices)
- Fruit cups where the quality of the fruit is such that the pieces are small and dissolve in your mouth
- Little pieces of cold cut (ham generally)
- Small pieces of whole wheat bread (not toasted)
- Scrambled eggs (sometimes)
- Mashed banana
- Rice krispies
- Cheerios
- Fruit yogurt
- Baby mum mums
- Pieces of arrowroot cookie
- Formula (of course)
- Infant cereal
Her energy level continues to be just plain crazy. I have a theory that she is stealing energy from me (it would explain so much!) but I have nothing concrete to substantiate my claim.
Rebecca will now cower around my legs when frightened, and will cling extra hard if I am holding her and she becomes scared (for example, when the vaccum is running). She takes a few minutes to warm up to people she hasn't seen in a while, but then is as bubbly, babbling and sociable as usual.
Our neighbourhood has many birds and squirrels. In particular, many black squirrels make their way through our backyard in the course of the day. Lately, Becca and I watch the squirrels because she loves to observe animals and finds it very exciting. She even waves at the squirrel, who blithely continues on his way without returning the greeting.
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Rice krispies experiment
Rebecca is beginning to show a preference for foods that she can feed herself (unless it's yogurt, which is always welcomed). After many frustrating attempts to feed Rebecca meat purée at supper, I decided to let her try feeding dry rice krispies to herself. We started with a bowl, but she seemed inclined to just dump it, so instead, I poured rice krispies onto her highchair tray. Although many rice krispies ultimately arrived at locations other than her mouth, she had great joy in scooping them up with her hands and shoving them in her gaping maw. I never had to worry about choking - she seems to handle the cereal quite well (if not gracefully). And she was very happy. Of course, now the floor is crunchy, and I am finding rice krispies just about everywhere. Who cares though! (Are you reading this Mom?). Actually, what was the best moment was when Rebecca decided to feed rice krispies to me by shoving some in my mouth. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. (To be honest, in the compliments department, nothing beats the little trick-or-treater who came by and said the house smelled good - a ringing endorsement for my curry if every there was one).
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